When we first moved to this area, Avanti's was often brought up as the best place around. Specifically, the gondola. And, after having had many gondolas, plus other items from their menu; I just don't get it. The gondola is really just a few pieces of lunch meat, a couple of slices of tomatoes, and a leaf of iceberg lettuce. That's it. The bread is sweet, and nice enough, but has a very dense texture and no crust to it at all. I have no idea why it is made such a big deal of. The pasta is not much better, very bland. The one thing I have experienced which is positive is the staff was very helpful and nice when I picked up an order for a fundraiser, which they seem to do quite often. Overall, I would never choose to go to Avanti's on my own, and whenever it is unfortunately selected as a work lunch and I'm asked if I am going, I reply with a very unenthusiastic "I guess". read more

Their bread has a lot of sugar so its got a sweet flavor. They use the bread for their gondolas and as a side for spaghetti, ravioli, etc. This is a big draw for them. The service, especially for takeaways, can be mediocre. I went there on Ash Wednesday and asked what they had without meat -- the bimbo at the cash register simply shrugged her shoulders and said she didn't know (actually, she probably didn't). If you're looking for good sandwiches in Bloomington go to Potbelly's -- which has at least two locations, each within a mile of Avanti's. Potbelly's makes the sandwiches right in front of you and is very generous with the toppings and the people are really glad to be serving you (at Avanti's they act like they're doing you a favor). read more

Let's start with what makes Avanti's a worthwhile spot to stop at: their bread. It's sweet, fluffy, and chewy. If you pair their bread with meat and other fixings you can have a decent sandwich, such as the Screamin' Salami. Outside of that, however, Avanti's is a mediocre American-Italian restaurant. Sadly I don't recommend trying any of their pasta or sauces. It's generic and frozen and not worth my palate's time. Stick with the bread! read more

While everything is closing during the COVID19 pandemic, making it hard for some people to get food, Avantis chose to waive delivery fees. I've always felt like Avantis, as a local chain, is really part of the community in central IL, but this proves that they care about the community, because they care more about feeding people than making an extra buck. Good on you, Avantis. You'll always have my business. read more

A local place surrounded by corporate restaurant chains. The clientele is families taking out their college offspring for one last meal together before school. Don't expect the food to be authentic, but just because its not that doesn't mean that its bad. I can see how the bread sticks out as its really soft and has a slight sweet taste. I also heard that their spaghetti is a favorite among locals and is ordered by a lot. Just got a medium pizza with bacon and sausage and it was pretty good. Service was also top notch as Kyle S. was very professional and deserved a large tip. A good place to have if your dorm building is across the street, which some are. read more

This place totally sucks! The food is all frozen stuff reheated. The soup was 100% sodium, worst than Campbells. The chicken on the pasta was definitely out of a frozen bag. Pasta was way over cooked. The salad looked and tasted like it had been prepared and sitting around for a couple of days. We paid our bill and left. The server was very nice, poor thing.. look for another place! read more

I was in town for work last month and the manager at the Double Tree ordered me some dinner to be brought in . Ummm yes folks The Double Tree Bloomington takes that good of care of you ! Anyway on to the Samich I had it was called the Primo Pizza Burger . DELISH and that made me very happy after eating TGIF the evening prior . Here I am back in town and I ordered from there again . I can tell you the Bread is HEAVEN . Haters are going to hate ! But Olive Garden is so gross I cant believe people prefer that to this yumminess ! Tonights I am sure will be yummy as well . I ordered a Gondola to have for lunch Wends . thats how convinced I am read more

It's Avanti's, a staple in central Illinois. The bread is the reason they exist. Their Gondola sandwiches are great and the whole reason we make it a point to eat here at least once per year. This is a no frills Italian restaurant. Excluding their bread, they are a step below Olive Garden. They do not serve wine, nor beer. Menu is basic but good and consistent. I almost always order fried mozzarella sticks as a starter, then either order their Italian beef or Gondola. read more

I had never ordered catering before. This was the first time. And i couldn't have asked for it to go any smoother. Made a phone call, paid over phone, free (local) delivery. Everything was on time and was prepared perfectly. Fed 20 people for just over $100. I will use them again on my next catered event. Thanks!! read more

I don't want to be negative, but the change to shredded lettuce on gondolas was a very bad decision. Neither the taste or texture is good. It has a weird taste and ruins the sandwich. Suggest an option on online ordering to get regular iceberg, regular romaine, or shredded (for people whose taste buds don't work well), and please buy only lettuce that tastes good! read more

I'll post this review for both locations- Avanti's is a staple in Blormal. My family has been coming here for years (I was raised in B-N, since then have lived around the US in Boston, Chicago, San Fran, Vegas and traveled all over the world...and I still love coming home and returning here again and again. 2 of my brothers went to ISU and would go on all you can eat spaghetti night and I think the most one of them ate was like 5 plates lol. The original Avantis is across from my old high school and I remember days when I or a buddy might forger lunch money and we'd bum $3 off each other and head to avantis for a helf gondola or a loaf of bread and sauce.... It's important to note that everything served at Avanti's isn't 5 star - the 5 star items are centered on their amazing bread that is baked fresh daily. I've heard that the original owner came in ridiculously early every morning to bake the bread himself long after he ever needed to work another day in his life. What a guy! When he passed, I heard others in his family took over for him and I applaud their efforts...in my opinion the standards, service and most importantly FOOD at the new location is just as good if not better than the original location. Also the takeout area is open very late which is awesome. The service is always very friendly! I remember coming in once after college and seeing my ex gf's little sister working once.... and i hadn't seen her in like 10 yrs....she looked like my ex did when we were dating in high school! LOL.what a flashback... Stick to these items - gondola's, garlic bread's, sandwiches...and maybe the spaghetti feast night over the items such as soups, ravioli and other pasta, which are more like good fast food italian. To come to Avantis and order soup or salad or ravioli even in my opinion is kind of like going to a steak place and getting a veggie plate then complaining about the quality. Not that those items aren't good, they're 3 star and not bad.. To all the haters - Avanti's isn't Biaggi's or fine italian dining LOL. Go to Avantis with your bros or hos, take your date you want to impress to Biaggis...completely different experiences, price point, everything. A GF of mine owns a few Italian restaurants in Boston in the North End and she appreciated Avantis for what iit s when i took her and she loved it. if you can make better bread let me know, i'll give you $100 for a loaf of it. I've traveled all over the world and never had better :) read more

This used to be one of my favorite small chain restaurant 30 yrs ago. The bread is fabulous....reason for two stars! Grabbed a a quick meal before flying back home. Skip the lasagna and the chili. Both horrible!!! Total waste of calories and money! Lasagna was all sauce...three slices of pasta with one tiny bit of cheese between one layer. Other layers were pasta on pasta. No thanks! Stick with the gondola!! read more

I spoke with Martha from Avanti's this morning and they are taking care of the situation. I appreciate the customer service and will continue to be a customer in the future. thanks read more

This is a local family favorite. We love the gondola sandwiches, their fettuccine Alfredo and the pizza bread. Yes, lots of delicious carbs, but they have good salads too! Now they have cheese balls!! read more

Not the best Italian in Bloomington, but four stars for value when compared to others. Casual, inexpensive italian food. Their Tuesday night 'all you can eat Spaghetti' is hard to beat. One negative - they appear to have high wait staff turn-over, so it is not uncommon to find clueless, inexperienced help = be a little patient. For business travelers (aka Me) - good place to go when you have blown your budget and need an inexpensive day. read more

So let me say this is our first visit. We're a group of three and we all ate off of one Gondola Deluxe. We added the chips, the fruit and the bacon. We had all the spreads and two types of peppers (banana and gardinier). We all ate with tip for twenty bucks, plus our take home roll of bread. They brought us bread and butter upon sitting while reviewing the menu. John our server was not just attractive but very hospitable. We never wanted or waited for anything. Five stars for sure and we'll definitely be back. I'm recommending this place to all of the Bloomington passersby and residents. Avanti's is affordable and delicious, and there is a variety of food for everyone. The menu has pasta and sauce and vegetarian sandwich's literally it's hard not to find something for the diversity of today's family. So if you're in the area and have an appetite. Stop by Avanti's. And don't be afraid to ask to take some bread home...we did and I look forward to our late afternoon snack. :) read more

Avanti's Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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Love the pizza and the pizza bread - the bread has a sweet flavor to it. I think the Gondola sandwich is a bit over-rated. The pasta is just ok - but nothing to write home about and isn't something I typically order. This particular location is right by the airport in East Bloomington - another location on campus in Normal. read more

Ordering by carry-out is iffy. I carefully told the person who took my order that I wanted Caesar salad with FRIED chicken breast on it. Nope. "Fried" wasnt in her vocabulary that day -- what I got was a cold bare naked chicken breast, like it had been just taken out of the freezer and thawed. I'm done with Avanti's. read more

Sandwich the Gandola with Turkey and Swiss was mediocre. Would I go there again only if I was stuck at the hotel I was at like I was today with not really any food around. The sandwich itself was a good size but the bread was dry, ok amount of turkey and 3 tiny pieces of lettuce. I could go for more vegetables on it or maybe some more lettuce. Not quit sure why people rave about this. It's sub par. read more

My family and I eat here from time to time because it's so close to our house, and I regret it every time. Even from the moment we walk through the door, I'm thinking to myself, "why are we here?" The portions are unnecessarily large and I always leave with a tummy ache. There are slim to no healthy options. The food is terribly low quality. But.. with all that being said.. they DO have great gondolas that are wonderful if you are looking for catering for a large event. Just.. refrain from dinning in. read more

Treat yourself! Get a Gondola - you won't be disappointed! Also picked up a family tub of spaghetti! So so good! Ordered from the takeout side of the restaurant - Everyone was very nice! read more

Delicious food at an affordable price!!! The meatballs are wonderful and generous sized! Try the lasagna!

No one else is in takeout area of this restaurant.. ordered 2 Gondolas... still waiting..10 min... no gondolas .. really? Got my $ back and walked away after 15 min... ugh!!! read more

Best bread in town! The Gondola is to die for. They now serve Gluten free items. The cookies are made by Udi's but the gf bread is great. Daughter loves the pasta read more

The kids had pizza my wife had the ravioli and I had the chicken Parmesan with tortellini instead of spaghetti pretty good and fairly cheap got out of there under 50 bucks for a family of four I like that :) read more

My family and I go to Avantis often. Typically we go to the Normal location however today we ordered from Bloomington. We got home and our garlic bread was completely burned. Very disappointing because we were looking forward to it. We won't be going back to the Bloomington location for a long time. read more

Outside looked like i was getting Olive Garden ... Inside its Dennys! Limited menu. Greeter acted annoyed we wanted to wait for a booth. Lasagna wasnt even as good as stoffers frozen. My husband had a sandwich and sat until I was nearly finished waiting for mayo. Had to ask for water. Two stars ONLY because it was cheap (still not worth it). Go pay at the register. Will add pics. read more

Avanti's Italian Restaurant - Bland food - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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Order in is fine. I ordered a gondola for delivery. Took over an hour and my bus left. What a joke. Worst delivery service I've ever had.

This place was probably the best Italian I have every had. Food was EXCELLENT and prices were unbelievable! We ordered a lot of food as we were on the road for about 8 hours that day and starving! The service was excellent and on point. I was totally surprised to get food this quality for this inexpensive ($55 for a family of 4,,and we ordered 2 apps and 4 large meals). read more

I wound up her after BW3's was overcrowded and I was hypoglycemic. The blah exterior had been keeping me away up until then. My instincts were right. The food lacked in flavor. One good thing about the experience...the food came out quick....however, it was likely frozen and microwaved onto our plates. I would have skipped this place and went to McDonalds and enjoyed better food but I had to please a crowd. The smiling Christian was nice but I was upset to hear that they didn't serve any alcohol. Take my advice and just get to BW-3s before the crowd picks up so you're not put in the same desperate situation that we were. Skip Avanti's unless the taste of food doesn't matter to you. I would rather eat my cat's steamy turds than go back for another "Italian" Grinder. I'm going to go puke right now...... read more

This place never ceases to disappoint me. They have some of the best gondolas at the price that you get them for. They always give you free bread and if you really want to put the cherry on top then make sure that you order an extra cup of meat sauce! read more

Take it for what its worth. You get what you pay for. Its basically fast food italian. Keep your expectations medium and u wont be disappointed. If you expect biaggis or olive garden, its not and not supposed to be. read more

I've eaten at Avanti's my entire life. I've literally spent thousands of dollars there. But 2 of the last 3 times we have ordered, they've left items out. In both cases, I have driven back to pick up the items...and nothing more than "sorry about that." Honestly, I shouldn't be paying for the second trip back. It's getting pretty disappointing. read more

Been a number of years since I last ate here and now I remember why. The reason this place is so popular escapes me. The sauce is blah, the salad common, no wine, at prices that should dictate more 'Italiano' I think I would rather eat at Fazoli's. read more

We used to love this place, went all the time. I think they've had a manager change recently because it has really gone downhill. The host staff doesn't have a clue, the servers are adequate- sometimes. The food seems to be smaller portions and not so tasty. The bathrooms were disgusting on our last visit. I wish they'd get the old manager back, things were sooo much nicer. read more

I have no idea how the locals can like this place. They make the most bland meat sauce I have ever had and they put on most of their pasta dishes the sauce taste like it is made from only two ingredients: tomato paste and ground beef The only item they had that was good was their bread. read more

Best bread ever!!!! If you've never eaten at Avanti's, do yourself a favor-get in the car and drive to one now. Since my college days, this has been one of my favorite restaurants, and anytime I'm back in town, I stop in for a meal...or to take home a gondola and loaf of bread :) read more

Best place ever! My family has been going since a was a kid! I go whenever I'm back in town! Love the bread and meat sauce! Gondolas are great! And the Italian beef with mozzarella us amazing! read more

The sauce was not flavorful. The meatballs were so bland no taste at all. To top it all off I found a short hair under my sandwich. Staff was attentive and manager seemed nice. read more

The food is consistently the same. On the last two visits, we received terrible service. On the most recent visit, our server took the order and never returned. Someone else dropped the food at the table. Our order was wrong, we received no refills or checkup to see if everything was okay. After 20 minutes of being done eating, we came up front to pay without our bill. read more