This restaurant is no longer open on Sundays, but they have not updated their website. We had out of town guests and were very disappointed.

A going back to college dinner gone wrong! The worst service I have ever experienced in Springfield. For starters, our server Karmen ruined the surprise after I had called multiple times to make arrangements for a special friend returning to Harvard University. We had been seated for twenty five minutes before she took our order. Throughout the night she rarely checked on us, as if we were a burden. Not once did she smile at us or show any sense of hospitality. She was rude and we all felt very uncomfortable. It was a crowded space, average food, and HORRIBLE service, but that's not all... At the end of the evening there was an obvious miscommunication between the hostesses and the server as I watched them argue about our prepaid cake serving fee and ice cream. After such a negative experience our tip was less than 20% but reflective of the overall substandard serivce. At the end of the evening two hostesses followed our party outside and proceeded to verbally abuse us using colorful language and treating us like children. Needless to say we will NEVER return and we will be sure to share our extremely disappointing experience with all those we know. Unbelievable. read more

Excellent. Everything that my wife and I have had here was wonderful and the atmosphere is very relaxed and pleasant. My wife had professed an aversion to tiramisu, but was converted here. If you are going to order appetizers and desserts as a couple, I would advise splitting the entree. The primary negative that made me is that when the restaurant is very busy (such as on Valentine's day) service has lagged. And my wife notes that the decor is slightly dated, but as a guy, I didn't really notice. However, the excellent food and ambiance make this a solid pick! read more

We came for dinner tonight and were blown away. I've come here of and on for years, used for catering events, etc but tonight the food was particularly spectacular. My husband, aunt and I have the filets. So good. My sister had a seafood pasta which was also fantastic. Covid had been hard on all of us but this was exactly the restaurant experience I wanted/needed as we try to get back to "normal". Thank you chef and wait staff for a worthwhile evening. read more

Had a lovely dinner here. The lobster ravioli was excellent. Order the chocolate lava cake at the end. It is the perfect amount of chocolate and ice cream. read more

Enjoyed a family reunion in the private dining room on 8/31. We ended up with more people than we booked and they couldn't have been more helpful or more accommodating. They quickly reconfigured the table all the while making sure everyone had a drink. Cassidy, our server, was terrific. Everyone enjoyed their food. All the pastas were particularly good. Don't let the strip mall location scare you. The place is great. I'll definitely go next time I'm back in Springfield. read more

Always amazed by the quality of their food! I ordered their avanzare pasta and the only mistake I made was not ordering an extra order to go! Thank you for always surpassing my expectations! read more

The PESTO BUTTER BRO!! Two different kinds of bread to enjoy. We got thee last piece of lasagna. Some call it luck but I think they saved it just for us. Dusty totally had it going on with the dessert suggestions. He described them to the point you just couldn't say no. If you're a hooker for tiramisu like I am, don't skip it!! read more

I have been in search of some good ITALIAN FARE since moving to the Springfield area...three years ago. And, I am always on the lookout for some great Italian Sausage. No, I have not found even one that I could boast about. Maybe Avenzare's will be it...I hope, hope, hope. read more

My husband and I went here for our anniversary last night. First time we've ever tried it. Everything was amazing. We started off the the Calamari. Came out hot and it was heaven. I ordered a spicy seafood pasta.....omg so good. Lots of seafood to noodle ratio, perfect heat, cooked perfectly. The bread seemed homemade and the butter they served with it was fantastic. I would recommend this place to anyone going out for a special occasion. We had a fantastic dinner. Thank you for making our night special... read more

Took my uncle Lyle and my fiancé out for dinner here & Ordered the sausage rigatoni & ribeye steak medium rare. Every dish was amazing. Our waitress Josie was great and chef chuy came to our table to greet us with a bottle of wine we had previously ordered. great guy- we will be back ! Don't let the outside fool you. Expensive but we'll worth it. Come hungry ! read more

This one was a surprise to me. It was our anniversary and we had not been to Avanzare before so I setup a reservation. We both love pasta dishes so we were excited after looking over the menu. To start we had insalata di arugula. The salad was very good and ended up being the highlight of the meal. The mix of apple and Gorgonzola was great flavor combination. I followed that with the Linguini Alla Avanzare. Basically a seafood liguini with shrimp, scallops, and white wine garlic sauce. I'm sad to say it was bland. I'm not a big on adding salt to dishes but this one needed it. Not something I was expecting at all. My lady had a similar issue with her Pollo Caprese. We finished the night with a creme brulee. Hoping to end the night on a high note was no going to happen. Instead of a nice nut brown sugar we had burned already cracked tar. At that point we were just done. We don't like to raise a fuss so we paid and went on our way. But seriously I didn't have to taste that brulee to know it was wrong and neither should have the waiter. Always give a place a second chance and hope this was a one off miss. read more

This is a wonderful Springfield gem that took me a few years to discover. I have tried much of the menu an have not had anything that I would not order again. I recommend the rigatoni a la Tony, which is probably the best pasta I have ever had. The venue is very classy, you would never guess it is located in the strip mall from the inside. There is a party room that is available for events that seats about 15 or so comfortably. I highly recommend Avanzare for special events or a nice night out. read more

We chose this venue for our 55 wedding anniversary based on a previous visit years ago, which I would say was great. Service, food, etc. Our visit last night for our anniversary was, how shall I say, a place to eat. Very noisy, the rib eye steak(s) were very poor. My wife's steak was very fat, mine you could hardly cut with the steak knife. Taste was average. Paying $42.00 for a steak one would expect a top quality cut, not my opinion. Service I would rate average, I still gave a 20%+ tip. I would have trouble rating this venue as a place to go, we will never be back! read more

Seriously amazing. I had the filet and Everytime I am here,.I think it's the best I have ever had. Today was another!!! Thanks for. Wonderful date night")*)*)" read more

I am not sure what everybody is raving about. This place is overpriced and overrated. You will pay at least $20 per plate for food you can get at Nonna's for example a lot cheaper. As another reviewer said, it's has horrible lighting and the service is so-so. The one thing this place has going for itself is the perfectly al dente cooked pasta. The flavor, quality and imagination of dishes, however, is severely lacking. read more

Avanzare Italian Dining Pros: Decent Italian food Cons: Cramped & smoky location. Egregiously over-priced. Keeping this review short. Good - but not great - italian food. Fresh quality ingredients and well prepared. Service was good and decor was fair. I'd be happy to eat here again, but... the prices were ridiculous. Completely out-of-line for the ambiance and food quality. My point isn't to diss Springfield, but I could have had the exact same meal, decor and service in Kansas City or Denver for about 2/3 the price. Is the dining selection in Springfield so limited that a restaurant like this can get away with these prices?? Obviously it stuck in my craw. If someone else is picking-up the tab, eat here. The food is good and you'll be happy. Just don't pay for it yourself. read more

Ok, here's the thing. People make this locally-owned place sound like it is downright incredible. I don't consider incredible. It's just good food. The service is good. Atmosphere, well I would give it more than 5 stars, because it sits in a shopping center but doesn't look like one inside. I think the atmosphere combined with gifted cooking is why people rave. If you're taking a person on a first, second, or third date or a business dinner and it's important to you to really impress them with the ambiance and smooth-moving servers, go here. But -- if you just want great Italian food, there are other places in Springfield that don't have the name recognition city-wide that this place has. Ask some locals. One budget-friendly place is near MSU. Another is in the Camelot Center on Campbell. Another place is near the intersection of Battlefield and National, across the street from Commerce Bank. read more

This is truly one of Springfield's best restaurants. It's in a slightly awkward location and the curb appeal isn't great, but once you get inside that's a different story. I must admit that I hadn't been here for a few years since last night. The ambiance was similar to how I remember it, though I'm sure some updates had been made. I'm going to get this out of the way by saying the food was fantastic but the service was poor. After being seated, it took 30 minutes before our server came to our table to take a drink order. We were seated at 6:30ish and left a few minutes after 9. Our server was Ashley. Regardless, onto the food. I started with a classic Caesar salad which I always adore - especially with anchovies. My SO had the house salad with mixed greens, beets, walnuts, and blue cheese. If you're from Springfield, it is quite similar to the salad that Clary's served since the 1980s. Still a great combination. Both salads were dressed appropriately, fresh, and great. For the main course I ordered one of the three specials for the evening, a rack of lamb with "Gorgonzola cream sauce," asparagus, and whipped potatoes. I ordered the lamb medium-rare and, in my opinion, came out rare (some centers still had a purple tinge). Flavor was great, presentation was great, and although there was too much sauce, it was good as well. My SO ordered the "Rigatoni alla Tony" which consisted of rigatoni (obviously), shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, etc. It was a very good dish, reasonably priced ($16ish), and something I would defiantly order again. I like this restaurant but the service was just very, very slow. Perhaps this was an isolated incident. The only reason I don't give them five stars was because of the service. Unfortunately, going to a restaurant isn't only about the food. read more

Avanzare Italian Dining - New Zealand rack of lamb, "Gorgonzola cheese cream sauce," asparagus, whipped potatoes. - Italian Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

This is where I chose to have my family bday dinner. Love the lighting. Love the ambience. The food and service is impeccable. Even on a Monday night they were full so make a reservation. Even though it wasn't on the menu, I was craving veal and they made it to order for me. Yum! read more

Avanzare Italian Dining - Italian Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

One of the best meals I've had along with a beautiful restaurant and kind, helpful staff. Will definitely be coming back the next time I'm in Springfield, it is so worth it. read more

I've eaten here twice in two months. Both experiences very positive. Definitely the best lasagna in town. Light noodles. Hearty meat. A hint of cream in the sauce. Update: I wrote this review about a month ago. Recently I returned to Avanzare specifically for the lasagna only to discover at 6:00 p.m. in the evening they were out. Turns out they don't make it every day and my waiter said they hadn't gotten around to it that day. I was disappointed and left. So here's my take: If you like lasagna, go to Avanzare and no where else, and you folks at Avanzare need to figure out how to always have such a signature dish ready for customers who want it. read more

Excellent fresh Italian fare. And they DO stock Sangiovese (in contrast to one complaint). We had superb bruschetta and fileto brandy (in tomato brandy sauce that was divine), and an acceptable veal scallopini that was the Special of the Day. We recommend extra bread to sop up that sauce! For dessert, the flourless chocolate cake was freshly baked for us (you must order early or be patient). As this is the only restaurant at which we've eaten in Springfield, we've nothing to which to compare it locally, but it was well worth the visit. We recommend you inquire after the booths in back that are less noisy. The front of the restaurant houses the bar/kitchen grill. read more

Insanely good from beginning to end! Steak and pasta exceeded every expectation. Service, atmosphere and food off the charts.

I'll start by saying Five Stars is very accurate, Great food, great eating environment, and I have most always had good service AND ITS ACTUALLY ITALIAN FOOD!!!!! This place is where you should go if you love food and like your stomach. Italian food is hard to come by in SGF (REAL ITALIAN FOOD THAT IS). Avanzare delivers quality, but if you like delivery food dont come and head to your hole in the wall. I held back the fifth star because I reserve that for consistency for places like this, and in the last few years I'll admit we have had some 'off' experiences. Overall this is a great place, high end so you will pull out the card here, but worth it if you like Great Authentic Italian Food and you care how its prepared! We would bring anyone here, and often its hard to talk me out of coming here if I have not been in a while. My wife and I cook quite a bit at home, we care about what food we eat, and how it is cooked. We care about the quality of food and I think it would be fair to say we know a bit enough to distinguish between Sams Club bulk veggies and what we were served here. I am on a somewhat different field as when we go out we bring the kiddo too; no matter where we eat. I find it can tell you a lot about a place how they treat a family walking in with a kid as opposed to a couple who looks like they are made of money. We got treated well each time with the kid. By the way our kid is usually pretty calm and not a terror in public, if your kid yells stay home. My Meal: I have had the Linguini Calabrese (lobster, jumbo scallops, crab and linguine.) AMAZING. It was all fresh, not hatchery, cooked perfect and I sometimes dream about it. A real Italian dish, seafood, savory, fresh produce and a side of pasta. The wife had Linguini Alla Avanzare, she was equally blown away by the fresh mushrooms, shrimp, scallops and tomatoes that were perfect and not caned. The Kid had Salmon (shared with Grandma who was in town and knows her food too) Rave reviews there. All in all fantastically prepared food for those that love food. The environment was great, low light, classy but not pretensions. It was a good time every time. I have read the reviews of this place and can honestly say im a little shocked. I have eaten here for years and have never had a "poor" experience; and I am no schmo to fine dining. Im not going to bash one instance ive had here because something was wrong with my food; to be honest this hasn't happened. And speaking from experience as someone who has actually eaten real Italian food from birth I can say this place has it. I don't know who mentioned the place by MSU but I can tell you I have gotten up and walked out of that spot and vowed never to return. You have to be drunk or high to enjoy what t 'shambinos' (not the real name) call food, which just ends up being twelve types of noodles with sauce. Italian food is not pasta for 8$. And I am local and I know good food and that ain't it but this is! Not to drive the knife deep here but if you pick the downtown Joint (schmona's not real name) or (SHAMBINO'S you probably don't know what your talking about but like kraft dinners too much! Ok I'm almost sorry for that and I'm done now. I have had off service twice at Avanzare that I can remember; and I wonder if it was the same lady who served Doug R. because it sounds like we had very similar experiences. Aside from the potential to run into her, I have had great service 99% of the time. Even the best fall short, this place very rarely does. read more

One of our favorite date night locations, food, service everything always awesome. Only negative is that the shopping center is a little run down. Shrimp app is amazing! read more

Ate here for lunch recently, and I have to say that it was the best Italian food I have had in years. Hubby got the Lasagna made with their fresh in-house Italian sausage. I had a taste, of course, and it was very good. I had the Pollo Alla Parmigiana, and enjoyed it immensely. They also have some lovely crusty bread with a side of whipped garlic butter. Delicious! Also, the bathroom here is very nice. There is no changing station in case you need to know. The atmosphere of the restaurant seems a bit too nice for young children, anyway. It's very pleasant, with cloth covered tables and mood lighting. We will definitely be back. read more

Avanzare Italian Dining - Lasagna. Yum! - Italian Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

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The food here is very good! I started with the insalata alla Tony which was very nice. For my entree I got the special which was the red snapper with shrimp and potatoes with green beans. Excellent dish! I had a nice glass of Pinot with dinner. For desert I went with the tiramisu and it was the best tiramisu I have ever had! Just a couple of things I was disappointed with. The table next to us ordered oysters and they weren't on the menu I could hear their waiter tell them they had many things not on the menu but we were never offered anything special like oysters and I love good oysters. Also the place was loud and hot. It's an open kitchen set up so I expected some noise but it was overbearing at times. Th short answer is that the food is a solid A+ but the atmosphere is more like a C. read more

We had our son's 18-person graduation party at Avanzare last night. I was dreading all the things that could go wrong. But from the moment we walked into the beautiful room they had set up for our party, they made sure we had no reason to worry about a thing. The food was sublime. The steaks and pasta were so delicious and the service was exceptional. If you're looking for a wonderful place to have a meal with friends, or in this case, 18 of your closest family members, Avanzare is IT. Highly recommend. read more

This is my all time favorite restaurant in Springfield! You will not be disappointed in this friendly Italian flair goodness!

Awful service and awful Asst Mgr. skill set...Ordered two appetizers and glass of tea. Server NEVER took entree order at all. Server stood around at grill waiting for orders but not servicing tables. I ran out of tea twice and had to ask for refills both times. They brought out bread service and just piled the plate with garlic, parmesan, and pesto butter on top the bread in an empty plate and left it on the table without any explanation. I had to ask hostess what the green stuff was; she explained it was pesto butter. I spoke to Asst Mgr who did not address either the bread or tea refill situations. He offered to comp my tea. I simply told him I wanted to see more of the server at my table addressing table needs rather than standing around the grill waiting for orders to come up. Didn't seem to really affect Asst Mgr; he seemed humored at my frustration with the service. My guest attempted to order wine and server didn't know wine pour sizes or even the house wine available. After the server went to check what the available red wines and pour sizes were and changed story two more times about wines and prices, I again asked for the manager. He had no idea why the server of nearly a year couldn't answer these questions. Again, the Asst Mgr seemed honored rather than concerned. I asked for check. Asst Mgr delivered check. I paid. We left and went to Chili's. Won't be returning!!! PICS: 1) Bruschetta served on dry, stale bread 2) Calamari was good but small portion size for the price 3) Same dipping sauce for the calamari was served with two totally different consistencies. Asked for two dipping sauces...one for each guest. read more

Wow. Just wow. We were satisfied with everything. We went at the recommendation of a friend who has complained for years that he couldn't find good REAL Italian food. Well, he found it and absolutely loves the place, so we decided to give it a try. The service was first class but very comfortable. I hate stuffy service. Our server, the host, everyone there, were all very hospitable, knowledgable, and relaxed. Our meal was perfectly timed and we never watered for anything. Almost every single thing we ordered was spectacular. The portabella mushroom appetizer was the only thing I wouldn't order again. The rest was absolutely awesome. Highly recommended! read more

My boyfriend and I went here for dinner one evening to celebrate a special occasion. The front of the restaurant does not look like much, but the inside is beautifully decorated and has a wonderful ambiance. I started with a glass of the Malbec, and my boyfriend ordered an old-fashioned. They were both delicious, and our waiter knew her drinks very well. We started off with an order of the bruschetta as our appetizer, and it was amazing! The tomatoes were fresh and the bread wasn't too crispy. We split two entrées because everything on the menu sounded amazing. The rigatoni alla tony came out with a creamy pesto sauce, shrimp, and sun dried tomatoes. It was delicious, but my favorite of the night was the filleto al porcini. I ordered my steak medium well, and it came out super tender and tasty. It was topped with gorgonzola and came with a side of mushrooms, a Parmesan risotto. We ended with a glass of port and the tiramisu. We will definitely be back again to try more of the menu. read more

Avanzare Italian Dining - This is the Rigatoni Alla Tony - Italian Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Definitely a place you can't pass up on. The food was amazing, fillet mignon was cooked perfectly. The staff treated us with special care plus the owner checked up on us every chance he could! One of my new favorite restaurants! read more

Came here for my birthday with my boyfriend and the food and the people were amazing! Our server Aaron was fantastic! Definitely recommend this restaurant for delicious Italian dining! read more

Avanzare is a fantastic place to eat! The atmosphere is amazing and the food is very high quality. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a great meal! read more

The food was pretty good however the chicken was over done and chewy and the service was not as good as it could have been

This is our favorite Italian restaurant in Springfield! It's a great environment and the food is always on point. We have always had great service and their desserts are amazing. I normally eat the Alfredo and it's always so good. We had a couple of drinks there on Valentine's Day and even those chocolate martinis were delicious. Eat here, it will make you happy read more

Delicious food! My husband and I came here on our anniversary and weren't disappointed. It's a smallish place inside a strip mall that looks more the size of a bar than a full restaurant, but there's a full kitchen tucked in there and you can see a couple of the chefs working next to the bar while in the dining area. The staff is very friendly and service is great. The price is good too, especially for such good food. The only thing I'd do differently is come on a less busy night, it filled up quickly and the dining area became very loud, just because of so many people enjoying their food and talking in a small space. I'll be coming back again. read more

This place is awesome! Every time my wife and I travel to Springfield, we always eat here. Service is always great and they always have great dinner specials. Their filets are top notch. Do not judge this place by the strip mall! read more