My boyfriend & I visited Cipollina on a Saturday evening, expecting a cozy Italian restaurant with romantic ambience. It fell well short of that expectation. It was quite loud inside. The decor was plain tables with very little other decor of note & while the lighting was somewhat low, it gave off much more of a casual vibe than a place you'd go for a romantic meal. As for the food: I started off with the chopped salad, which was very tasty. It had a lovely Italian dressing & really fantastic marinated peppers. My boyfriend had the arugula salad with shrimp; he said it was good, with a great lemon dressing, but he felt it was overwhelmed by too much arugula & not balanced enough with other vegetables. For my main meal, I ordered the bolognese pasta; the sauce had a peculiar taste & the pasta itself was so overcooked & gummy as to be inedible. I ended up sending it back & we shared a pepperoni pizza instead. The pizza was yummy, but I didn't come to Cipollina wanting pizza for dinner. I wanted Italian food - pasta - which was extremely disappointing. Basically, Cipollina is a glorified pizza spot - based on the atmosphere, noise level, & the food. Definitely don't come here expecting a romantic Italian restaurant because you'll be disappointed. read more

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We came for a very low key birthday dinner. Its exactly what we got. The service isnt over the top. Its closer to a diner experience than fine dinning. The food though is delicious. We ate everything on our plates with nothing left over. I would definitely come here again. read more

Cipollina - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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I personally can't find many "great" Italian restaurants, but this one is a gem. A lovely classical layout, with the most friendliest staff. I started with a Cesar salad and a glass of Merlot. For my main entree I had the chicken Parmesan pasta. It was cooked to perfection, and had a great flavor. The serving was definitely more than enough to get you full. read more

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It's been years since I've been eaten here and I the food was great! We shared a large Cesar salad which was huge and really good. The complimentary bread and olive oil was really good. We chose the Classico pizza. Great pizza! Loved the crust! Will definitely return to try their pasta dishes! read more

Cipollina - Classico pizza - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Food was great, had the meatballs and they were amazing. Really nice ambiance for date night

Great service and food. We made a reservation on opentable the day of and they were prepared for us. The garlic knots were made with freshly rolled dough. They come with four. The marinara dipping sauce is fresh and delicious. You will want to get extra sauce! The sausage pizza is thin crust. The veggies on top were fresh. The meatball app comes with three. They are small size. The sauce is delicious! The chicken Parmesan is large and thick cut and had a bone in. It is served with spaghetti and fresh marinara. There is a small attached parking lot. The pricing is a little higher, but it is worth it for the quality and ambiance. read more

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I was surprised to see just 3.5 stars as Cipollina's rating given that we had a fabulous experience. I ordered a pizza that I cannot recall the name of but it was absolutely fabulous with multiple types of cheeses that really complemented each other and an unusual combination of toppings. The dough was divine. We also got the garlic knots, which I loved as a Italian from New York because it's hard to find moist saturated in oil garlic knots, so yes I will definitely be back. I know they haven't had happy hour since pre-Covid but I hope they bring it back because that would definitely bring me in more often for appetizers and drinks. read more

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I come to Austin it seems several times a year for concerts from south Houston/Galveston area. I planned on coming here based upon reviews etc., prior to concert. I was the first customer when I arrived but, by the time I left 1/2 full...which was still early. I got mussel app and bolognese w/ fresh pasta. Both, were excellent..had better mussels only because these were black and not green which are larger. But, pasta...never...had better. Amazing...and service was excellent. I look forward to visiting again...Well done... read more

Went for a family birthday and was very pleased. Super nice and efficient staff. Loved the neighborhood vibe. We had a appetizer, salads, a pasta dish and a pizza. All very good. A definite recommend to friends and we will go back. read more

Great food and service! Went last night for a friend's birthday dinner. I didn't catch our waitress's name, but she was wonderful. Gave us great recommendations and even let my friend pick what dessert she wanted for a complimentary birthday dessert. Usually restaurants will just give you a scoop of ice cream or something. haha I would definitely recommend the meatballs. Shrimp scampi was a favorite at the table as well. I got the pesto pizza and added pepperoni. It was delicious! Only con was parking, but not much the restaurant can do about that, so I won't ding them for it. ;) read more

Cute little Italian place in a nice neighborhood. Parking can be difficult but the food is great! I would definitely come back! read more

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The worst excuse for an Italian restaurant ever.......service was good snd nice wine list, but it stops there .......my guest ordered Shrimp Scsmpi......never ever put cheese on seafood.....very Italian knows that, but not on Y cheese but covered in it. I ordered Gnocci ......are you kidding ? Oil and garlic with lots of mushrooms snd a few gnocchi ........garlic is not Italian good, it is a small part of Italian food.......I was very disappointed. read more

Quality little italian joint, certainly for a small neighborhood like Clarksville. Garlic knots pizza combo is something every carb loving animal deserves to try. Beer options are poor (to be expected) but wine list ain't bad. Not a wino but they have options. read more

Cipollina is one of those hard restaurants to review. Obviously popular with the Clarksville crowd because of its tenure. A friend and arrived just after opening and left to a full dining room on a Thursday. This brings me to my first bullet point; restaurants that should have been dining royalty in Austin. Opened by one of the best restaurant teams (Weiss/Weinberger) Austin has ever seen. I'm actually a bit sad to have just discovered this place. That brings me to quick facts session. Old versus new Austin and the Yelp factor. As an aid I'm putting the number of Yelp reviews in parenthesis next to the name. I think Yelp started in Austin in 2007 if I'm not mistaken. I joined in 2008. Alot of folks recently mourned the loss of El Gallo (142) on South Congress. That's 60 years in ATX. The other side of that coin is recent powerhouse Hopdoddy (3721) which stole the top spot away from the Salt Lick (3164) a few years ago. Cippollina (201) has been around since the 90's and doesn't seem to have the success of the new start ups in town or even some of the old ones. No Food Network cameras buzzing about, or 6 month wait list to get in. Even Vespaio (429) and adjacent Enoteca Vespaio (639) have seen more action thanks to the SOCO location. They even mention on their website investors were quite worried about establishing a restaurant in that location. Writing this is making me crave the Maiale Saltimbocca. Anyway, enough statistics and onto my visit. My dining companion and I chose the calamari and opted to split the Caesar salad with roasted chicken as our starters. We liked the squid with some nicely fried bits of pepperoncini mixed in. The two provided dipping sauce (aioli and marinara) added to the flavor. Some might have an issue with the portion size compared to other options especially when comparing it to national chains for the price. The salad was of the only transgression of the meal. I had asked ahead of time for a small sample of the dressing to see if it met my stringent Caesar palate. WOW! Great dressing that unfortunately was so absent from our split that we had to ask for more. We also shared the spinach gnocchi alfredo. Then, I planned my next angioplasty. Really earthy flavors. Possibly the best mix of parmesan, butter, and mushrooms on earth! read more

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The review is from my 6 yo son: This is the best place ever. You guys make the the best food. It's just tasted amazing. That's all. read more

Being honest which is not to say I always am, I didn't eat a thing here. It wasn't that kind of event. If you're one of the many who've been following these reviews of mine and you get the suspicion that most really aren't about the place at all then congratulations on being a perceptive individual. Of course this is a travelogue, a diary almost, about... well, me of course. But to keep to the purpose here I add a few salient points of quality that you would want to know, and then again you might consider reading further a waste. If that's the case I won't be offended if you bail out now. Did you stay with me on this? OK so it's about the inside of this place. I've eaten in a great many Italian restaurants, mainly Manhattan, San Francisco and of course Italy. One thing about Texas, not many Italians (that is, Italo-Americans who had a Nonna) live there. But more than a few are transplanting themselves from high-tax blue states which, oddly enough, do have many Italians. I'm pretty apolitical so no reason to go further with why that might be because my point is if you've grown up eating bbq, chicken fried steak and okra what do you really know to expect from a simple plate of linguine with clams, or particularly bolognese? From the looks of the plates of food here I'd say there's a good wood fired pizza oven; go with it. For some reason a lot of the other stuff seemed to be swimming in sauce and crowned with a too generous pile of parmesan. Why the latter is on seafood really relates to what I said about expectations. Just say no, ok? Italians are inclined to be skimpy on parmesan anyway, not because they're frugal which they are; it's not supposed to be the main event. Back to the room itself. This is really pretty classic and for me the best part of the place. High ceiling, fans slowly turning the air, long woody bar with big mirrors behind the bottles, funky framed pictures all around the room. None of these seem to be about anything or anybody in particular, it's the dark woody frames actually that caught my eye. Room is underlit for its size and cast a bit of sepia on things at night. The floor and bartop aren't marble, but neither is this Brooklyn. So when you enter, look to the far left corner for a nice, quiet little table. That's where we sat for our reunion. Now this "we" is the real point of why I wrote this in the first place, but in my defense I first mentioned a few useful suggestions (pizza, hold the parmesan, drain the excess sauce, admire the Italiano classico sense of the place). She was the centerpiece for me in my last year here longago. Without her I wouldn't likely have made it where I am now, but at the time I had many painful things on my plate. So I left in the middle of the night and now was back to say what was really on my mind, in my heart at the time, and why it was better for her I left. If you have such a complex meeting someday in this town, forget the parvenu hipster joints in town and come out to this little place in the neighborhood where it seems somehow timeless. In the end I was so caught up by that moment with her I left my laptop behind. But 5 miles later the waiter called, which might not happen in certain parts of NY. read more

I love this place! My husband and I discovered it a few years ago and we have visited many times. They have never disappointed us. The mussels in white wine sauce is our favorite appetizer. It comes with their signature sour dough bread for dipping in the sauce - so delicious! The oven fired pizza is so good! , We usually get the Italian sausage pizza. You can also add toppings if you want a more customized pizza. The wait staff are always friendly and give good service. For dessert, you can't beat their crème brûlée. read more

Service Tip Top. Great Acknowledgment of Customers. Food Delicious. Nice Wine Variety. The only complaint is the unaware patrons of this fine neighborhood restaurant. Always tip service industry well and heavy. Pretty sure many of the patrons here have never worked in a restaurant before. Appreciate! read more

I wasn't so sure about making a reservation at this place after reading some reviews, but I'm so glad I did! I wish I remembered our server's name, because she was so wonderful -- even let me taste 2-3 different wines before I ordered a bottle because I wasn't too certain on what we wanted. She didn't rush us to order our entrees, and came by enough to make sure we had everything we needed but not so often that we felt bothered. It is kind of dark inside, which we appreciated for a more intimate meal, and the food was exceptional too. We had a burrata for an appetizer, which was served with shishito peppers (perfect, not too filling, with good flavor), and split the shrimp scampi and a pizza. Admittedly, I've never had shrimp scampi before, but whatever they served me was -insert chef kiss emoji here-, and the pizza was a thin-crust pie that paired great with our wine. Even if the reviews make you wonder if this place lives up to the rest of the amazing restaurants Austin has to offer, I highly recommend giving it a try. We certainly did not regret it. I'll note, however, that if dark atmospheres or louder settings, are not your things, maybe stay away or go during an earlier dinner hour when there's more light and a smaller crowd read more

Amazing find!!! I passed this place while driving and thought it looked so cute I needed to try it. Went that night and was beyond impressed! My friend and I got there around 8:45pm on a Saturday, and it was still bustling but they sat us right away. The waitress didn't give as much information as I might've wanted, but did check in as frequently as needed and was helpful when asked. We ordered the garlic knots, spinach gnocchi Alfredo and a pizza. Everything was DELICIOUS! I have never tasted something like the gnocchi- and it might be the best dish I've had all year! Will be back and bringing visitors :) read more

Cipollina - Garlic knots - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

My young daughter and I went to Cipollina for the first time and we didn't have a reservation. Even though the restaurant was booked pretty full that Saturday night, the team was welcoming and so patient with us. We were initially sat outside, on their sidewalk patio. When bar space opened up, the host proactively moved us indoors. I was so impressed. Food: we ordered the Chopped salad, Spaghetti and Meatballs. The Chopped salad was fresh and delicious. The spaghetti was homemade and absolutely delicious. The lovely al dente chew in the pasta was out of this world. I have been wanting to try this Clarksville gem for a long time. I'm thrilled we had such a positive experience on a Saturday night. Thank you to the Cipollina team. We will definitely be back. read more

This place is absolutely great. It isn't 5 stars, but it is completely worth it. Been here a few times and it has always been good. Such a good mix of healthy cool options w the solid Italian twists. Saw some reviews hating on service that's BS. Everyone has an off day. As far as food use the Parmesan to salt. That's the point to all you dummies that said was under seasoned. It's not bbq. Kids love meatballs and pizza. Also, shout out for solid wines. read more

Cipollina - Shrimp Scampi - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Such an amazing Clarksville staple! Yum! Get the meatballs! The staff is so nice and acknowledges regulars!

I just moved down the street from Cipollina and after my first experience there, I feel I'm in dangerous proximity to some really tasty comfort food. Cipollina has the rare quality of feeling upscale and cozy at the same time. I think it has something to do with the open kitchen and the crackling of the wood-fire oven. I went for dinner with my boyfriend and we started with the cheese plate appetizer. I was impressed with the portion size compared to other places I've been in Austin. For $12 you get a good amount of 4 different cheeses, bread, and nuts. Our waitress was very attentive and brought extra bread before we ran out so we never had to fight over the last piece. The waitress also took the time to tell us about each cheese. Next we shared the Oyster Mushroom pizza and it had the best crust I've ever eaten. Not lying. It was salty, buttery, deliciousness and it was perfect with the balsamic. I dare you to find a better gourmet pizza for $14. Cipollina really does feel like part of the neighborhood. I look forward to trying their Sunday brunch. read more

Had a great experience and wonderful food here! We got pasta and pizza and it was beyond expectations. The staff was super friendly and accommodating. There was a long wait when we arrived, but luckily two seats at the bar were open. I do wish they had a bigger bar, but what can ya do. Will definitely be back! read more

Delicious, reasonably priced, & great service! Our pizza and pasta dishes were delicious. We love the ease of parking and accessible to downtown Austin. read more

I've been enjoying Cipollna's for years! My most recent lunch visit reminded me why I keep returning. I was nowhere near this restaurant and nothing else seemed like it would hit the spot. I made the drive and enjoyed half a cheese pizza with prosciutto and half a chicken parm sandwich with freshly made chips. The cheese on the pizza was buttery and delicious, with just the right amount of tangy sauce. The crust was light and crispy with the prefect hint of char. Service and atmosphere make the best toppings, and I love the swanky music. You get me every time, Cipollina! read more

I really liked the ambiance -- neighborhood Italian restaurant. The food is yummy, but the service is very slow.

Got the meatball appetizer and they were burnt. Got the chicken parm and the chicken was burnt. Marinara was fairly bland. The service and the ambiance were great. Server was super attentive and nice and the whole place had a good, fun vibe. The food however was strictly mediocre at best. Maybe it was an off night but the fact that two different meats came out burnt doesn't fill me with confidence read more

We had a decent experience. Their food tasted great. We had trouble finding parking. It had a cozy, warm ambiance to their restaurant

Delicious Italian spot - the pizzas and gnocchi were so flavorful! Love the area it's in (Clarksville). The service was wonderful but I think they could update the place a bit. Interior is a bit sad and too dark - they just need to do something to liven the place up to attract more groups. Big space and lots of potential with the most important things checked off - great food and staff! Was a really delicious and convenient (yay parking) spot for a work lunch. read more

Cipollina - The pizzas and gnocchi were so bomb - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Excellent! The best restaurant in Austin! Everthing made from scratch, everyday! Chicken Parmesan is one of my favorites! When you walk in Cipollina it reminds you of little Italy in New York! Wonderful atmosphere; great service! read more

One of our favorite restaurants, and continues to be a favorite takeout spot during quarantine. Their food is always phenomenal and tastes just as good at home as it does in the restaurant. Would highly recommend this spot if you haven't tried it! Our top favorites are the Cipollina pizza and bolognese. read more

Cipollina - Cipollina Pizza, Pappardelle Alla Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

I do not like to give low ratings but this is not a great Italian restaurant. The location and atmosphere is good. The wait staff is good as well. The 2 stars is for the food. I had the bolognese and it was terrible. No flavor just blah. Others did not seem too thrilled except one person said the pizza was ok. If you're looking for good Italian I'd go somewhere else. Sorry read more

We came to celebrate our friendship anniversary. From the moment we sat down, our waitress Brooke was phenomenal! She made the whole evening so much better for us. We loved her service, her humor, her attention to detail, and her recommendations were all spot on. The food was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend your gnocchi and the spaghetti and meatballs. Definitely will be back and definitely will be asking for Brooke to be our waitress again. read more

Haven't been in awhile but we went for my sons bday and loved it here. Definitely deserves a better rating. Great atmosphere that reminds me of the Italian restaurants at my hometown. Apps, wine, desserts, pasta were top notch. We got the tiramisu read more

Very close to our house and a great little Italian restaurant. Quality food, always good service, fun vibe.

Food was great! Good pizza! Our waitress was a queen. The host was a little bitch though.

Had a reservation they wouldn't honor, the restaurant was also less than 50% capacity and said he wasn't able to accommodate. They also don't advertise on any of their platforms they don't have a full bar. Happy to spend my money at a much better Italian place in Austin who wasn't rude to their patrons with a reservation. Definitely never recommending or spending any money here. read more

Food was incredible! Server was very friendly & it's a cute place. We went at night & it's pretty dark inside but not sure how it is during the day. Definitely make reservations, we were seated right on time. Everyone enjoyed their food & it was fairly priced for the amount & quality of food you get & compared to other places in the area. I think it was about $35 per person with appetizers & entrees read more