We went here for a first try as a new restaurant in Valpo. Its theme is Italian and their Vodka sauce is spectacular! I'm also shocked that the reviews aren't better for this restaurant. The service phenomenal, food phenomenal, atmosphere low volume and the dining room is very small. We had Ty as our server and she was spectacular! Sure, I could go to Chicago for this type of restaurant but who wants to battle and pay for parking and also pay city taxes!? Rather just go in Valpo where I can get a FREE parking spot right in front of the restaurant! read more

See all

I have NO idea how this Farina location only has a 3.6 rating. It was absolutely delicious and the portions are incredible. The bread was only $5 and very tasty. Gotta get the vodka sauce to dip it in. The chicken parm is big enough for 3 meals or people. And it's perfectly crisp and their sauce is great. I had the spaghetti and meatballs and it was easily a 5/5, highly recommend. Everything we had or was added (vodka sauce to dip in) was recommended by the bartender (I believe her name was Angie, sorry if that is wrong!), she was incredibly helpful, nice and had refills ready at all times. This place is fantastic, highly recommend. And they had awesome happy hour deals that we found out bc of the bartender as well, we will be back very soon! read more

See all

Excellent! The Food was amazing, and our server Ava literally made the entire visit an experience. Wish I could give more stars Top level restaurant!!! read more

Just went back to Cafe Farina Valpo. Sorta love their bar. Nice pours and nice staff. Now onto food. This time having learned they are one of two places I know of that actually serve FRESH calamari - NOT fresh out of the frozen package like EVERY OTHER PLACE IN VALPO SELLS. this is a squid they get in and take apart and slice up. You can taste it in each piece. Fresh. Now here is my feedback about the wasted potential these folks have in their hands with real fresh calamari. I wanna see lemon slices, a few pieces of rosemary, garlic cloves, caper berries, jalapeño slices and a garlic lemon aioli would be a perfect touch. Cocktail sauce in this case is a total waste for this delicious dish. Cocktail sauce is for second rate calamari NOT this delectable treat. Now if they don't update it with my suggestion then serve a ponzu sauce to go with it. 10/10 the bar and the calamari but I wanna see the innovation. read more

See all

I ordered online for dinner tonight. I got the linguini with class in red sauce and a side salad. Within 10 minutes of ordering, I got a call from the restaurant that my dinner was ready. As soon as I walked into the restaurant, it smelled so good! The hostess was very nice. She had me sign my bill while she grabbed my dinner. When I got home, I really enjoyed my dinner. The side salad had mixed greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The Italian dressing came on the side. The linguini was cooked perfectly and there were lots of clams in the shells seated around the pasta. The red sauce wasn't too spicy and had lots of clams in the sauce. Great portion sizes for the pasta and salad. I'll definitely be ordering from here again! read more

Easily the worst meal I've ever had at a non-chain restaurant. I've had a bad meal or two in my life at Denny's or IHOP or buffets before, but you almost expect that from them. I used to think that the only problem with Italian places is that it's so hard to screw up pasta, that Italian places can take shortcuts and still keep everyone happy, now I'm so sure. The decor is like a PARODY of an Italian place. It's not overt enough to be self aware, just boringly cliche. Bad decor is easy to ignore if the food is good. But wow, this was awful. I got the lasagna, and I'd bet the inflated entree price that it was made 3-5 days prior (if not a week) and refrigerated. It tasted like a big plate of *unseasoned* ground beef with some soggy GFS lasagna noodles. They put some sauce and a bunch of melted cheese on top to hide it, but once you cut into it, it's very easy to see that it's not made with a bechamel and if there's even any ricotta cheese in there, it's too little to even taste. If there's an award for worst lasagna, congrats. You made it. My wife got the Cacio e pepe with lemon. Which actually tastes okay but also was very clearly not Caccio e Pepe at all. It's just Spaghetti noodles with a Lemon sauce and some crushed peppercorns sprinkled on top. We got the tiramisu after that because it's my wife's favorite and it was pretty good. So, there's that. The service was good. We sat at the bar and the bartender was helpful and attentive. Will not be returning. Sorry if this sounds salty but it's still less salt than they put in the lasagna. read more

What can I say... it's a cheesy rendition of "fine Italian". It's a lot of show but no go. The food is meh at best We had the following : Chicken Parmesan..: soggy and no flavor covered in a ketchup tasting marinara ... like Prego. Terrible Fettuccini Alfredo. Was ok. A little bland but the dish usually is imo Greco sausage and peppers and Caesar salad. Both were ok. Not bad. Lettuce was little limp could be crisper The food is ok I could eat it again but my biggest complaint is the pricing. Why is it that I can he the same dishes but better in Chicago for less money. Pretty much most of the restaurants in Valpo have lost their minds with pricing. I can get meals for the same price or less all day long in Chicago. In Valpo I expect them to be much less. Rents etc are not anywhere near what they are in Chicago. I also will say the place is a little chaotic and they seem to be understaffed. I would guess once the bloom comes off the rose it will get better but for now don't count on getting a table without a wait and as others have said reservations are useless because they can't get you seated at the time promised likely due to the chaos. read more

Been here 5 times, food is great. drinks are great. vibes and location are great. The reason i'm writing this is because of the GM Chris. Pinnacle of the reason people come back. extremely personable and made us feel right at home. Best experience we've had was a 15 minute stop in for a drink because of Chris read more

Wett dog food. Clams were oily mushy all crumbs hardly any clam....bruschette again oily mess

Went to Cafe Farina food was good and atmosphere was very nice we had a great waiter John that was not only friendly he was very entertaining we will definitely go back the dessert we're also very good lemon sorbet yum! Very generous potions! Very Delicious! read more

Great food great service great wines Best Italian food in Valpo/ Chesterton area Ambiance matched the other categories Delicious read more

We had a wonderful dinner at Cafe Farina! We had been to the one in Michigan City and heard that the Valpo location got off to a rough start, but appears that things are going better. Our appetizers were good and all 5 of us enjoyed our dinners. Service was really good and Jake took great care of us. We will definitely be going back ! read more

My dinner party called in a reservation over a week ago and when we arrived, was told we had to wait 30 plus minutes. Not acceptable. We went to Fig and Fables a few doors down n had the best food! Please don't take reservations if you cannot accommodate them. read more

We had a great meal at Cafe Farina - Douglas was a wonderful server. The calamari was delicious and my husband enjoyed his chicken Parmesan. The chocolate cake was enormous.. be ready to share! Friendly staff. Jaime was super friendly. read more

Excellent food, service and drinks. Can't wait to go back. The re-design of the space was perfect.

Wonderful experience. The food was great and the service was perfect! We would definitely go back again.

I've been here twice now, one time with three other people and another time with nine other people. These were family members and we all tried each other's meals and they were all fantastic! I feel like I've tried half the menu now. We go to lots of restaurants from very small and simple to high-end Michelin. The food here is great- lots of flavor, not too salty, pairs well with their wines and the wait staff is professional. It is great for friends, or out of towners. read more

We also made reservations for 7:30. We arrived on time and were told we had a 45 minute wait! Host said he would call when table was ready. No call received! 2nd strike! First strike was at Farina supper club last year. Waiter was stoned. Messed everything up including bill. Food was meh! read more

This place prides there self on there Calamari. It is flash fried but still over cooked and rubber. In my opinion they should drop the kale in all salads. The bread cost money and is mediocre. I think they should do that better and make it free as the bread can make or break you. I had the creaser salad and to my surprise it came with kale and soo bitter. 25doller salad had half of a half chicken breast. For that price it should have been whole breast also the Cesar dressing is just a little to anchovy forward or they should use better quality anchovy which would make big difference. Service is fine and cute place but would only go back if I hade too. read more

We had reservations for 6:30 and arrived on time only to be informed that, even with reservations, it would be a one hour wait. Why bother with reservations? read more