Gratzzi Italian Grille

This spaghetti & meatball dish from Gratzzi looks appealing, right? I mean, just look at the size of those meatballs! Disregarding the fact that it took us nearly 30 minutes to get our food, precisely why this dish was so bad is because the meatballs were as hard as bocce balls. Even with a knife one could barely cut into these things. I am part Italian. My grandmother was born in Brunico. I grew up in a small town that was dominated by Italians. Despite my mother being 1/2 Italian and not having been invited to host her own cooking show on PBS (ha!), she knew how to make meatballs! In my entire life I have never had such horrible meatballs. Why are they like this? Whoever from Gratzzi made them, or if they were even made by Gratzzi…, compacted them way too tightly and/or, severely overcooked them. This was our second time eating there. The first time we were unimpressed as well. A vodka sauce that was weirdly watery. But they do have an excellent location and the bartender, who has been there a long time and is very personable and has a good following. (Interesting, we found out that most of those who sit at the bar at Gratzzi, don’t order the food there!) And of course, everything at Gratzzi is inordinately expensive. Though they are not downtown but offer much better Italian fare, try Noble Crust or Jay Luigi.

Food was excellent. Server was fantastic. A bit of a wait for the meal but well worth it!! European style seating so loud snd back to back. Had the chicken piccata… delicious!

🍷 Food Review: Travel Edition: Gratzzi Italian Grille – St. Pete Magic ✨ If you haven’t been to Gratzzi in St. Pete yet, do yourself a favor and go. The atmosphere hits that perfect balance between lively and cozy — think warm lighting, friendly chatter, and a true neighborhood Italian vibe that instantly feels like home. Dinner was perfection from start to finish: house salad with signature dressing, a ridiculously good chicken parm served with house made gnocchi by request, and the showstopper — a pasta cheese wheel that was pure table-side theater (and yes, worth every bite). Sharing the experience with NYC galfriends just made it all the better. Gratzzi isn’t just dinner — it’s a full-on experience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ --------------------------------- Life Enthusiast. Pittsburgh REALTOR®️. Real Estate Investing. Acquisition & Renovation Funding.

Nice atmosphere and presentation of the food. Maybe it was the food we got but it was nothing to write home about except the house salad was very good especially the vinaigrette. The lasagna was bland, the spezzatino risotto was ok, had a little heat. The homemade bread they served was fine and served with oil which was just bland.

We came in as a large party and even with a reservation we waited a while to be seated. For appetizers we had mussels, salmon and shrimp. The mussels and salmon were just okay but the shrimp was delicious thanks to the red sauce. Anything with the red sauce was great but everything else was average. The drinks were weak and lacked alcohol. For entrees we ordered several pastas and once again the red sauce dishes were the best. Overall it was an okay visit. The service was friendly and attentive.