I was really hoping to have a nice Italian meal during my stay in El Paso. I ordered the chicken alfredo, and my husband ordered the linguini with shrimp. The noodles were overdone, and our sauces were identical. The sauces tasted like nothing but an excess of butter with little other flavor. The meals came with a piece of bread, which was burnt. We had seen that this place had excellent reviews, so we were especially disappointed. Definitely will not be returning! read more

Rather than write a long winded review, I'll simply say that this place is arguably the best Italian you can get in town. The menu is short and sweet, the dishes incredible, and the service is fantastic. It's BYOB, so make sure you bring a choice bottle of wine along. read more

This food was horrible! I placed an over the phone order. They opened at noon on Saturday. They said the order would be ready in 10 to 15 minutes. Took that long to drive over there. Picked up the food. Came home to eat. Pasta was dry , chicken was dry. Not a good experience. Would not recommend. I thought the food would be fresher seeing is that they had just opened. And they did not have that many customers there. read more

This has got to be one of the best pizza places in the US. I was extremely surprised to find such an awesome pizza shop in the middle of the desert. The crust is crispy yet chewy and beautifully flavored and textured. The perfectly done flavor of the crust is enhanced even further by their oven which is a wood fire oven. The sauce is also home made and beautifully seasoned and fresh. The toppings like the hand made mozzarella and the fennel sausage are exquisite. I've had each and every signature pizza and not a single one was a let down. Cafe Italia does cary a few different appetizers and salads, my favorite the house w/ fresh pears and walnuts and homemade vinaigrette. The menu is dedicated to their pizza so you won't find any other choice of entrees. It is also BYOB so be sure to grab a nice bottle or two of wine to accompany your meal. read more

This place is great. The Margherita pizza was delicious and crispy. Service was fast and excellent. All but 2 tables filled up while I was there but I thought the speed of service was great. Business travelers: they take Amex cards. I'll be back! read more

Awesome food! Great service! I only wished I lived in El Paso so I could eat here more often! Everything we ordered was incredibly tasty! The appetizer plate with goat cheese, fresh hot bread from the brick oven, and other assorted goodies was perfect to share with a small group of four. I had the spaghetti and meatballs- delish! read more

Cafe Italia - Pizza with mushrooms, roasted fennel, and house-made mozzarella - Italian Near Me - El Paso, Texas

Put in a to go order for a calzone. I was a bit skeptical when I ordered it but wow did it amaze me. Worth the try and it came with a complimentary order of bread. The food was ready surprisingly fast as well. Check it out read more

I am visiting El Paso (former resident) and wanted to try something other than the great steaks and Mexican food I've been enjoying. I'm a big fan of wood fired pizza and this place got good reviews on Yelp. My first impression was that it was a very awkward layout that produces an uncomfortable environment for it's clientele. I clearly felt like an outsider while I was seated there and almost left when I first sat down. It has a concrete floor and some banquet quality table and chairs. The layout is simply odd and appears as though it was some office that had installed a kitchen and threw together a small dining room. With that being said, the pizza was very good. I ordered my pizza with pepperoni, proscuitto and fresh mozzarella. I requested that it be cooked well done and the chef did a great job perfectly cooking my pizza. I was disappointed that they do not serve alcohol and that you must bring your own bottle of wine with you. Aside from the strange ambiance, the pizza was well worth the money that I paid. In a different location I would have easily rated this place 4 stars. read more

BLUF: Overall an excellent "mom & pops" brick oven pizza place! A must try while in ELP. Upsides: Service was on-point and excellent pizza. The crust and ingredients were delicious. Small and quaint atmosphere. Downsides: The pasta is not house-made, but quite honestly the brick-oven pizza is the headliner so unless you have a tendency to "Order fish at a Steakhouse" then this is easily overlooked. Also, if you're not from the wonderful LoneStar state then you might be disappointed to know this is a BYOB establishment. Personal rant: If I were a local in ELP looking for a business venture, I'd open a small craft beer and wine store in the same shopping center to cater to restaurant patrons...Ok, stepping off my soap-box now. read more

First of all, locals and visitors do not have to be surprised that El Paso has a place with great and authentic pizzas. I reject the mentality that we are unsophisticated and ignorant. Daniel and Cafe Italia have certainly set the standard for wood burning pizzas in El Paso and their hospitality matches their cuisine. I am fortunate to visit Italy 6 times a year but and I do not rush to eat pizza when I arrive because Cafe Italia's pizzas is as good as it gets. And this location on N. Mesa is BYOB. Thank you Cafe Italia an Daniel for giving El Paso another great restaurant read more

The food here is absolutely delicious. The place is beautiful inside and the customer service is always excellent. Recommend 10/10.

We absolutely LOVED it! Pizza's are to die for and the atmosphere was great. Our entire family wants to go everyday!

MUST HAVE THEIR MEATBALLS! I don't typically order spaghetti and meatballs any where, but this is a must try! So tender and flavorful! I was in El Paso for a two weeks, but I couldn't leave without having their meatballs again! Pizzas here are good too. It's BYOB here. So don't forget your drinks! read more

We go to this place every week. We bring our favorite wine bottle that we share it with our friends! The pizza is the best in El Paso, their dough is to die for!! I also have ordered the spaghetti and I loved it!! Michael is a great waiter, he remember what we like and treat us special all the time. We will go every time we have a chance... WORTH IT!! read more

Best chicken Alfredo I've ever tasted. The sauce was amazing and the bread with garlic butter was so good. Definitely coming back here.

We really enjoyed the pizza and the service. The freshly made mozzarella is amazing and just like what we had in Italy. They would call this cheese "fior di latte' " The caprese salad was spot on and the fresh rustic bread made a good mop for the left over olive oil. Always busy I"m told so expect to wait in your car for a few minutes until a table becomes available. Small staff does their very best to serve this busy little place and pull it off with a great attitude and a smile. We are going back each time we visit El Paso. You can bring your own wine for a small fee. read more

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While the food is delicious, customer service is not the greatest. My boyfriend and I got to the restaurant around 9:10 PM (the restaurant hours are from 5 PM- 10 PM). As soon as we walk in and the host receives us, she tells one of the servers it'll be a table for two. The server immediately checks her watch in front of us, which right off the bat made us feel like we were bothering. Food was brought out pretty quickly and our server was nice, which is a good thing. We thought it was a little odd that two different servers went to ask if we were doing okay since it felt more of a way to rush us and not genuine concern. At 9:30 PM, a couple came in and they were turned away, which my boyfriend and I thought was ridiculous. If you don't want customers after 9, then change your hours. Also while eating, I could overhear the servers talking amongst themselves saying they were ready to leave and playing around in the dinner area. They were also sitting in one of the tables with their bags and stuff ready to go home. I thought all of this was unprofessional, especially since it wasn't even 9:40 yet. We ended up leaving by 9:45 PM. So sad they closed the establishment on the east side, they provided good customer service and made us feel welcomed. Not going back to a place that doesn't value its customers. read more

One of my favorite Italian restaurants. Everything tastes fresh and has the perfect seasoning. Their pizzas are airy and fluffy.

First time at the Eastside location. Food is fabulous!!! Everything is so delicious. Definitely will be back.

Cafe Italia does not have the best pizza in El Paso. They have the best pizza ANYWHERE!! We go at least once every other week and every visit is perfect. Everything is very fresh and very tasty. The owners/staff are great. Nice intimate place. The only negative is if you go on a busy night it may take awhile to get a table. However, it's well worth the wait. I can't eat pizza at any other place in El Paso. Cafe Italia makes the others look pathetic. Keep up the great work Cafe Italia. read more

Best Pizza in El Paso. Gracie and Andy c Basil are phenom. After reading reviews it looks like I'll have to try dessert next time! read more

Best pizza in El Paso, period. I never expected to find such good pizza in El Paso of all places! This pizza can hold its own in any city really - even in Italy! It's all in the crust: thin but not cracker thin, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside and just the right saltiness. I get the margherita pizza every time, and it's consistently good. I never bother with anything else on the menu, the pizza is what you come for. The service can get slow when they are busy, but they make up for it because they are always friendly and courteous. My only gripe is that they have the same DVD on repeat every time I go in... yeesh ;) read more

Fresh ingredients! Everything you can ask for and not overpriced. This place was very convenient, traveling from VA to CA. read more

Cafe Italia - Spicy pizza sauce and added spicy italian sausage. Awesome place and food. The staff was very friendly. - Italian Near Me - El Paso, Texas

Great place. One of our best finds since moving to El Paso. Food is always yummy and service is always good. Has an outdoor patio set up but a bit warm this time of year. Definitely a thumbs up read more

Loved the unique ingredients in the pizza but the caprese salad was a little bland and could've used some balsamic vinaigrette. Overall, it was pretty delicious and loved the BYOW thing :) read more

Their pizza is usually great, but sometimes they're inconsistent because in our last visit, some parts of the dough were burnt. Maybe it's because they didn't clean their oven thoroughly. Other than that, they have one of the better and authentic pizzas in town. read more

Cafe Italia is my go to pizza place!! I get the all meat pizza and the caprese salad--can never go wrong! don't forget to bring your own alcohol because this place is byob! great vibes, get there at sunset to sit outside and enjoy the views! read more

Very cute quaint mom & pop Italian restaurant , friendly staff, amazing ! Bread, and good food. Definitely recommend trying it, you won't regret it! read more

Fantastic pizza place. Pizza is made or broken by the crust. And the crust (and appetizer bread) is delicious. BYOW, but there is a liquor store close by. Small and busy. Really nice atmosphere. read more

One of the only Italian spots I'll dine at in El Paso! Their caprese is to die for. They grow their own tomatoes and make their own cheese. The fresh baked bread and garlic butter is easy to get full on too. Save room for their pizza and lemon cheese cake. You won't be disappointed!! read more

I Was very disappointed, fellow yelpers let me down on this one. I was traveling through and spent the night in El Paso, Searched yelp for some good Italian in the area.I should have walked out when they brought me a bottle of simply lemonade and a separate glass, How cheesy...also the Menu is very limited, This place is overpriced and average at best, trust me i have had good Italian from San Francisco to New York City. Dont Eat Italian food in El Paso, Just dont.. read more

Excellent meals, great service. That is why you come here: food and service , atmosphere is large room with not much in it but tables and chairs - but not to worry - the place fills up and the food is worth it!! Brick oven pizza was great as was the many appetizers we have tried. We b visiting there often now that we found it!! read more

Everything was extremely well done. Roasted veggies, bread, gracie's pizza and Nutella dessert.

The pasta served here is easily some of the best pasta I've had ever. Pizza is small enough to order for yourself as a single entree without being shameful when it arrives, big enough that you're satisfied read more

Food is average but parking is miserable. You have to park across street or in place owned by other tenants of building. Best to ask permission to park avoid problems. Also if you have issues beware the owner isn't real accommodating. All about the money not service. read more

Great little place. The pizzas are DELICIOUS! and the pasta and cheese, we were told by the owners, are made in-house, which means is has to be more than good! Pastas, salads and sandwiches are finger-licking good as well. Next time you feel like having Italian go to this little place instead of going to the same old "Italian" restaurants in this city. Did i say they have a wood oven? yeap, WOOD oven yum yum! read more

We just left and the food was amazing. From the dinning area the kids were not only able to safely see they were encouraged to watch their pizza being made and placed in the wood fire oven, and for inquisitive elementary age children this was really exciting! Definitely​ a parenting win and the food was made from fresh ingredients including their homemade mozzarella. We will frequent in the future. read more

When we got there we were not greeted or taken to a table to be seated. We pretty much had to find a table and sit down, then shortly there after A waiter came to take care of us. They were quite busy for Thursday night. They had a Birthday party outside in their patio seating area. And the inside dining area was almost full. This was up our first time here. The ambience is nice and comfortable. There is some music but it's not overwhelmingly loud it complements the environment. Most of the seating is a combination of built-in bench seating against the wall with standard seats facing it-Kind of a quasi-booth style. As for the outside patio most of it is A combination of picnic table style seating with standard table and chair seating. They do have a row of comfortable cushioned chairs attached to the outer edge of the patio. We ordered two house salads and a chicken Alfredo plate and a shrimp Alfredo plate. The salad, served in a large bowl, is a combination of spring greens with cherry tomatoes, walnuts, Finley sliced pear, some onions, with a dressing of what tasted like a semi sweet white vinaigrette. We also were served some freshly baked bread which came with some homemade butter mixture. The salad and the bread was pretty good. After we finished our salad the entrée was promptly served. In both of the dishes the Alfredo sauce was creamy and thick with a very nice taste, it tasted freshly made and not from any premade container. It was well flavored with spices. The chicken was all white meat and surprisingly not dry, and the noodles which were linguine or cooked just right, aldante. Both of these dishes tasted very good. The service was good. Although the noise level was quite high. We brought our daughter with us who is four years old and she kept complaining about how loud it was. We agreed. The table next to us had two gentlemen who were discussing what seemed to be some business. And they had trouble carrying on a conversation. If it's busy like this it's definitely not a place to be if you intend to hold a conversation of any kind. Perhaps the outside patio. Otherwise it is definitely worth a visit. We plan to return. read more

Being able to sit down to a nice meal that you didn't have to cook after a long hard day is bliss. Cafe Italia is perfect. I sat outside on the patio and enjoyed a wonderful glass of fresh brewed tea and music piped from outdoor speakers. It was followed by a Caprese salad with the most delicious mozzarella I have had since Europe. Then a pizza that was delicious. Perfect Italian thin crunchy crust. And I didn't have to wait forever. The server was very attentive. My only drawback on the meal was that we had the world's dullest knives. Naturally when I have just relaxed the 6 year old needs to go to the bathroom. So I am happy to report they have wonderful restrooms. At this point I am also able to scope out the inside which is perfectly lit for an Italian restaurant. The ambiance is relaxing and feels very casual. We arrived a little after 6 and this place got busy fast. So if you are planning dinner here I recommend coming close to 6. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. read more

A friend of ours had never been to Café Italia, so last Saturday seeing that two of our friends were at a loose end due to their husbands being out of town for a football game, we all decided to treat ourselves to Café Italia. This is a tiny little café on the Westside of town in a former TCBY location in front of Savers OR Discount Tires however you decide the front. This place since its opening has been a favorite of ours. This is a classic example of a place which has a small menu but does everything on the menu well. There may have been one time in our umpteen visits, when the pizza may have been slightly soft in the middle...but hey the odds of getting a just okay pizza are pretty slim. This place has a small wood-fired oven and churns out super thin crust pizzas (reminds one of pizzas in Rome and strangely enough Lombardi's on Spring Street in NYC), a few pasta dishes, outstanding appetizers and salads and three desserts. All cooked excellently. One quibble I have, that I will get done with early on so I can wax rhapsodic about the food, is that this place has started nickel-and-diming you nowadays. They are a BYOB establishment and used to have no corkage fee. Now they have corkage fee, which is fair given that they do provide glasses, but they charge the fee is per bottle! The fee is reasonable, and again, not that big a deal considering that you can bring a wine you like and want to drink. The other quibble is that none of the appetizers come with bread anymore. The bread is made from the same dough as the pizza and is fabulously light and crispy...and immensely desirable. A few slices of this heavenly bread used to be complimentary and then if you wanted a bit more bread, there might be a small charge for more. (Actually in the very beginning not only was the bread complimentary, but we were plied with bread any time we needed more). Again, this is a part of the small irritation that adds up. We certainly have no issue with having to pay for stuff this good, though. Anyway, we started with the roasted vegetable antipasti. This is a substantial appetizer for sharing with a beautifully roasted medley of green and red bell peppers, purple onions, zucchini , yellow squash and some absolutely fantastic eggplant. This eggplant was the star of the show: very meaty, with small tender seeds and a fantastic smoky flavor from being in the wood-fired oven, no doubt. We had a pleasant wait for our main course with good conversation and a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Our Gracie's pizza showed up (along with the other pizzas ordered by our friends, a Yukon gold pizza and a margarita pizza with sausage. These pizzas were great smelling too and our friends loved them, but I don't have room for descriptions of stuff I did not eat!). The Gracie's arrived looking crispy and smelling wonderfully of the flavorful elements that were spread on it. This pizza, in my humble opinion, is the best pizza in this place. Gracie's is a bianco pizza (no tomato sauce) with homemade fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced fennel, roasted mushrooms and fresh rosemary. All these flavorful components are highly enhanced by being roasted in the wood-fired oven resulting in a beautifully thin, crispy crust with charred bits acting as flavor enhancers and the wonderful sweet crunchiness of the fennel, enhanced by the earthiness of the mushrooms and rosemary mellowed by the soft creamy melted mozzarella. Needless to say, a fabulous pizza! Even though we were full, I ordered the pumpkin mousse that they make in-house. This is served in a martini glass with a good dollop of whipped cream. The desserts at Café Italia have always been phenomenal (though I think they have upped the sweetness lately...but that could be an El Paso demand) and this one is no exception. It is not piped in fancy swirls or anything, but the flavors are completely redolent of fall flavors. You get a gentle flavor of pumpkin with nutmeg and cinnamon floating through each spoonful. The four of us shared the dessert, which was an ample and perfect end to the meal. Run don't walk to Café Italia. If you want to go for dinner, get there early since there can be a wait at times. I have pretty much eaten my way through the entire menu and have not found anything that is not good. read more