The Italian Connection

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Cody Weikel

via Google

I attended a group work dinner at The Italian Connection and we had a great time. The restaurant is in a converted house, and it does feel like a big dinner party! The food was amazing and is made to order. The pasta is fresh and delicious. Our server was friendly and was able to answer questions and make recommendations. This is definitely a place to come back to!

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Jenna Handlin

via Google

What a perfect homey Italian restaurant. The interior is cozy making you feel right at home. The service was welcoming and very personable. All the food was delicious. The homemade pasta was cooked to perfection and is hard to find in Fort Wayne. I can’t want to come back and try other offerings!!

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Alex Riggers

via Google

My wife and I have a list of restaurants we would like to visit, we finally made it to the Italian Connection. We were seated upstairs, its close quarters but not as bad as some say. Parking is definitely a little tight, as others have stated. I ordered the chicken parm, which they warned me wasn't traditional. My wife ordered Alfredo Primavera. My chicken unfortunately came out undercooked. We told the waitress and she informed me she had to take my plate, I naturally agreed to this. The waitress came back out and apologized profusely to us, and removed my chicken from the bill. We didn't get to speak to the chef or owner, they didn't come out. My wife let me try her Alfredo, the sauce tasted of half and half. It was definitely not appealing to me. The salad was underwhelming. Lacking flavor, but was fresh. The bread was also underwhelming, it reminded my of just white bread slices. The compound butter was maybe the best part. My chicken came with a side of noodles and red sauce. The noodles were alright, reminded me a lot of egg noodles. The sauce was good, but not great. We likely won't return, mostly due to the owner/ chef not making amends themselves. We loved local businesses, so we truly hope they figure it out and continue serving food people do enjoy, it just won't be to us.

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Mateo Gebon

via Google

This is a pretty cool old-school Italian restaurant. It’s like being in somebody’s home, and it has a warm atmosphere. Pictures hang on every wall, and the staff were professional. I definitely recommend getting a reservation. Even though I didn’t have one, though, the staff got me in. I tried the fettuccine Antonio, which was delicious. The smoked meat really added to the creamy flavor. Prices seemed reasonable. This is definitely a hidden gem in Fort Wayne.

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Black Talon

via Google

I've been here for a decade and I have never heard of this place before, until I was talking with some guys at work and one of them told me about this place. It is in fact a restaurant, but it was someone's house that has been converted. Its wonderful in there. The tables are a little close together, so there's a nice background noise of people enjoying themselves, but its not so loud you can't hear the company you're with. The staff was very pleasant - though they have a unique way of interacting with the clientele. Not bad, just different from other sit down restaurants or reputable eaterys; maybe a bit less professional than what I'm used to, but that doesn't mean it was bad. They recommended dishes, and wines, and even explained to me what some of the Italian words meant. They described in great detail what their dishes were like and which ones might suit my tastes. The walls were filled with memories. Pictures from various families crowded them, and it felt like a museum of happiness in there. They used bottles of wine that had been signed with notes of appreciation and dated by previous customers going all the back to before I was born. The real star of the show for me was the food though. Its been about a month since I went there, and I'm still thinking about the food. Now understand, I've never been a real fan of Italian food. I mean its a poor food. It was borne of necessity, and now its considered "luxury" for noodles with a bit of toppings. But this dish that I got, the Alex's Special... it was truly unlike anything I have eaten before. They served the dish to me on plating that was chipped a little bit, but clearly very well cherished and taken care of. And when I bit down into the food itself it was like I got connected to the entire Italian culture. Generations of love, laughter, and bliss seeped through me as I chewed and then swallowed that one bite. It felt like that scene in Avatar when Jake Sully connected to the ancestor tree of Eywa for the first time. Thats the best way I can describe it. I understand now why Italian food is coveted and considered a delicacy, I had just never experienced true and real Italian food before in my life. I can see why this place is so popular, and why one requires a reservation. I made mine 3 months in advance as it was a special occasion for someone I love. She too enjoyed it. If you care about someone highly, I recommend taking them here. It was fairly priced, and you get a lot of food for the amount that you pay. Its an older fashioned sort of place, with incredible charm. I recommend everyone in the Fort Wayne area eat here at least once before they die.