Beautiful restaurant, great service & good food. This was our first visit & I had the eggplant lasagna. It was delicious. The eggplant so nice & tender & I love the marinara sauce. A bit unusual that the dinner didn't include a salad or any pasta. But that's ok. Add a salad for $4 is reasonable. Although, my house salad with house dressing was um, weird because the dressing seems to have tarragon which did Not work for me. I'll try the caesar next time. My date had a meat lovers pizza, which he enjoyed. But I have to say I wouldn't like it at all because to me, it's burnt. I'm accustomed to a firewood oven, and there's always some char, bu this was too much for me. The bottom was black, for example, but I'm sure each pizza comes out a bit differently. I'm not opposed to trying one; I'll just mention too not burn mine. I was pleased that a glass of house wine was only $8. We will definitely go back. read more

I was there for a second time the first time was great with Alissa. However we went again last Friday had the Bruschetta again and it was off. The bread wasn't the same and the diced tomatoes were not seasoned correctly. I also ordered the meat Lasagna and that too was off the flavors of the meat sauce which was on the side again No Flavor. The pasta was overcooked. I guess we won't be going there again. The service was Amazing and I should have said something but they were busy. The Ambiance is great not much has changed from FornoBello. read more

Grotta Azzurra - Lasagna. - Italian Near Me - DeLand, Florida

I'm giving them a 5 right off the bat. If you only knew what it takes to open a restaurant, you wouldn't make rude comments. Give the restaurant a chance to get their people in rhythm and the kitchen a chance to handle the barrage of people. Maybe a special occasion would have called for an established favorite instead of a new restaurant. I'm planning on the Eggplant Lasagna, Cesar salad, and if they have it, pasta fagoili. Maybe calamari too!! I can't wait!! 4/26/2026. Had to go tonight to see this new Gem. By the way, I forgot to mention all my grandparents were off the boat from Italy. I grew up eating homemade Italian food, married a full blooded Italian whose mother was a cook. My best friend is from Italy and she owns restaurants, as do a good portion of her family all over Long Island, where I grew up and all over NJ & Staten Island. I am very well acquainted with Italian food of all types. No there is not just 1 kind of Italian food!! We were welcomed by the very polite Hostess, the place was packed at 7pm Sunday night. Yes the big dinning area was a bit noisy, so we chose to sit in the smaller area where you first walk in. Our server showed up about 10 minutes after we were seated. Alissa. Extremely friendly and she gave us great service all night. Both she and the hostess repeatedly checked on us throughout the evening. Was everything as expected, YES. The Calamari was the softest I have ever had. We both enjoyed it along with the dipping sauce. My Eggplant Lasagna was excellent. Cooked perfectly, not still raw like a lot of other restaurants. That is a pet peeve of mine. My husband had the Fettuccine Alfredo which he enjoyed also. We has our cannolis at home. I really think the cannoli cream was fresh made. I will ask next time. All in all we had a wonderful dinner. Zuppa de Pesca is next, along with the Cauliflower pizza, and regular Lasagna. I doubt you'll find a better pizza. Luigi makes fresh mozzarella a few times a week. We will be going back for that next round soon. Buon appetito! read more

Waited an hour and half after we ordered and only one of our meals was served. They could only say that they were sorry that they couldn't find our order. The server was very nice but the kitchen needs some time management and some order to their chaos. read more

Update: Came back about a month later and I'm glad I did -- much better experience this time around! The Caesar salad was fresh and perfectly dressed (not swimming in dressing like before), and the Margherita pizza was beautifully made with a great char on the crust. The staff here has always been a highlight -- consistently warm and welcoming every visit. If you had a mixed experience before, give them another shot. They seem to have really hit their stride! read more

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I had such a great experience at Grotta Azzurra in downtown DeLand. The fettuccine Alfredo was absolutely delicious...rich, creamy, and a very generous portion. The eggplant lasagna was just as impressive, with the perfect combination of flavors and a ricotta that really stood out. Big fan. The service was excellent from start to finish, and the restaurant itself felt very clean and welcoming. I also loved the music...it really added to the overall atmosphere. We'll definitely be back! Can't wait to try the pizza. read more

Grotta Azzurra - Bar at entrance - Italian Near Me - DeLand, Florida

Food is great! It was still soft opening so working through some kinks but overall we really enjoyed the atmosphere and meals! read more

Grotta Azzurra - Eggplant Sub - Italian Near Me - DeLand, Florida

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We celebrated a birthday there last night, Brin was our server. It was one of the best experiences we have ever had. The food was reasonably priced and delicious. Brin did not miss a beat. The restaurant had a great ambiance as well. I would HIGHLY recommend Grotta Azzurra to anyone. read more

It was OK Italian for Deland service was good however at check-out time had to look for my service so I could pay the bill

Authentic Italian food at a reasonable price. Our server, Isabella (aka the Rebel) was fantastic! We had antipasto salad, and it was delicious. My husband had chicken Florentino, and I had the eggplant lasagna. Both were really good. We ended with freshly made Tiramisu, and it was a real treat. We will definitely be coming back soon. read more

service & ambiance great. the beef in meat lasagna was low quality & no flavor. Sauce needed a bit more seasoning & flavor too. My friend ordered egg plant lasagna & no flavor there either. Noodles cooked perfectly, too much dry Parmesan cheese inside the meat lasagna dish. Would not order these again. may try different dish at some point read more

Went on a sunday and they were pretty busy. Would definitely give it more time so they can be staffed better. Bartender was our server and service wasn't great at all since he was handling various things at once. Food was okay, fettuccine alfredo was missing some flavor. The other lemon based plate was great and flavored. Would definitely come back and give the pizza a try! read more

Grotta Azzurra - Italian Near Me - DeLand, Florida

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We went last nite- was super busy but very good food and great drinks. My husband had shrimp scampi and I had chicken piccata. It was really really good. Just be prepared to wait right now. They just opened a few short weeks ago so it is very busy but take it as an opportunity to enjoy a leisurely dinner. I went back today to get margarita pizza and OMG it was incredible. Highly recommend.! I'm so happy to finally found an excellent woodfired pizza- so good! read more

Cauliflower crust pizza was amazing!! it was honestly the best that I've ever had. The service staff was extremely nice and friendly. I would definitely recommend eating here. read more

Grotta Azzurra - White fig pizza with cauliflower crust - Italian Near Me - DeLand, Florida

I went in for dinner last night before browsing the Friday night artisan alley market. I ordered a pizza. I never got my pizza and left hungry and had to watch the rest of the table eat while sitting there drinking water. Those that did get to eat mentioned it tasted like pre-packaged and canned goods served on big plates. The service was fine. Waitress was really apologetic but i don't think I've ever in my life sat down at a restaurant and legit did not even get to eat a single thing. I am gluten free so that pizza was the only thing on the menu appropriate for me. I couldn't event enjoy the bread and they had zero accommodations on the rest of the menu. read more

Just left this place and I can honestly say it's the worst food I've ever had. The service is somehow even worse. We had a tall guy with some triangle tattoo on his arm. That was just insanely rude. The other servers were great but he made the experience horrible don't waste your time. Go to Olive Garden. read more

Food: For Italian, it's a meh for me. I didn't try the pizza, but the penne ala vodka was sub par. Lacked flavor & was more red sauce than a cream sauce. If you want an amazing vodka sauce, try Blue Springs Pizza in Orange City. Service: As a new restaurant, I expect slower service, while they work out the kinks, but the server never brought the things we asked for. The manager- super nice- had to do her job. We asked for bread, & while we watched other tables get fresh bread delivered, we never did. She served other tables first, & then we asked for parmesan cheese, & again the sweet manager just checking on people, had to bring it. Ambiance: just okay! Not much to write home about. read more

I have mixed thoughts about giving this new restaurant 4 stars vs 3 stars. Its somewhere in between. I've eaten there 2x, once for lunch and once for dinner. I ordered soup and an appetizer (meatball on a roll, enough for 4). My soup needed more seasoning, pasta fagioli, and it was Luke warm at best. The' meatball on a roll' turned out to be a meatball sub cut into 4 pieces as an appetizer. That was very good. my 3 other friends liked their food, but sent it all back to be heated up as it was also lukewarm or less. The service at lunch was excellent. At dinner, 4 people, started off great with prompt delivery of bread and dipping oil, drinks and water. Very friendly staff. The dinners came out. I had spaghetti and olive oil and lots of parsley and 1 friend had spaghetti and meatballs. His was lukewarm and he was very unhappy but did not ask for it to be reheated. He said it was good though. My spaghetti was not hot but I was fine with it. My husband got Chicken Marsala. I took 1 bite and did not like the chicken and he didn't like the sauce. The salad he ordered never came out. My other friend ordered Italian wedding soup, came out cool in temperature and a salad with grilled shrimp. The service and our server was very good at first but tapered off as the restaurant got busier. We all felt the kitchen was the real problem...food coming out cold on two separate visits? Order issues and towards the end, failing to come back to fill water glasses. We felt bad for our server as most of the issues were not her fault. The restaurant is new and maybe trying to get off the ground with new staff is not that easy but management needs to get it together quickly. With food being returned for reheating? multiple times? Seems that would be a Big issue to resolve quickly but it happened to me 2 separate times, 2 days apart. I hope they get it together because there is potential and we need another restaurant in Deland to serve the large growth in this city read more

Wow cannot believe how bad this experience was!!! We had 2 birthday people with 8 in all. 2 never got their food after an hour and a half. The bartender made sure we knew he was not a server and was busy!!! But he was our server! He never apologized. Didn't even care! Wow owner of this place needs to really know his staff and how they are representing the business. And get the service up to par before opening! read more

I had great expectations. I ordered a Margarita pizza to go. I made a mistake not opening to box before I left. I was very disappointed when I got home. It was just an ordinary cheese pizza, no basil, no premium mozzarella on the pizza like described in the online menu. I should have taken a photo. read more