I've traveled extensively including to Europe.. and nothing quite compares to Lino's. The food is incredible because it's homemade, it's tradition, it's from the heart. The quality is great. It's a nostalgic cozy atmosphere as well, that never goes out of style. The service is that old fashioned kind, and all of these things together bring you back to the good old days. It truly is unique, Lino's makes you feel taken care of on a soul level. Don't ever change, Lino's.. you've got a permanent place in my psyche and heart. read more

Restaurant was packed on a Saturday night, we didn't do a reservation because you have to physically call to get one-get with the times. So we waited 20 mins for a table. We got our own little room that was just big enough for our booth for 5. Complimentary Bread was delicious Special salad that came with the meals was good- the little pieces of Italian sausage & slices of egg made it better. I had 1/2 lasagna & 1/2 mostaccioli- lasagna was large & delicious. Mostaccioli was just cheap pasta with red sauce dumped on it. Wife had a nice steak w/ a side of fettuccine Alfredo instead of potato that looked very good. Son had just lasagna & his full large portion was enormous but he ate it all. Another son had a fish dinner w side of Alfredo. The last son just ordered the fettuccine Alfredo & added 2 meatballs that weirdly came in a red sauce, he didn't care just dumped it right on top of his Alfredo. A nice touch was-Everybody gets a scoops of ice cream after dinner, they had 5-6 choices. Everything was good-very good I'd recommend the lasagna or fettuccine Alfredo definitely the salad & bread. Negatives would be the only phone reservations & the price is high for just noodles & sauce. Bill was $160 for 5 dinners & 3 lemonades. So after tip around $200 read more

I went here after reading the reviews expecting a good meal. I simply got spagett and meatballs with meat sauce. What I got was underwhelming at best. Atmosphere 3.5 Cleanliness 4.75 Service 4.99 Menu 5.0 food Quality -1 Pasta: cooked perfectly Sauce: ZERO flavor, tastes like plane tomato sauce with sugar that's it! Meat sauce was the same non meat sauce with a meatball shredded and topping the plate of pasta Meatballs: nice texture again ZERO flavor Even the parmasian cheese was flavorless. I do not know how this place averages a 4 star rating on their food . There are Italian grandmothers doing summersaults in their graves. no garlic, no oregano, no basil, no bok pepper, salt???? Maybe, just dreadful read more

Huge line for curb side pick up on Sunday at 430 so we were really excited about going. Cool interior, very different and lots of different places for seating. They serve prisoner by the glass, which hubby loved. But we are just not a fan of the food. Just not our thing. Sauce/gravy was very sweet. Service was ok. read more

We decided to check out Lino's as out of state guests because my daughter's teammate's family wanted to try it out. We did arrive one hour before closing, and you could tell staff were...irked. Specifically our server. So that was a bummer and put a little damper on the mood. The inside of this restaurant is really neat. Love the decor and the immersive Italian experience. We ordered a cheesy bread, which I forgot to take a photo of and I didn't try, but my husband and daughter liked it. Everyone's meals came with a house salad that had an oil and vinegar dressing, seasoning, eggs, and sausage in it and that was a crowd favorite. My husband and I shared the pizza that had meatballs and banana peppers. The cheese was AMAZING and so were the toppings. The crust could have been a little crispier, but it was still good. The consensus of the table was that everyone's pasta dishes were okay. One person had the lasagna because it was highly recommended and they thought it was mid. Another's lasagna wasn't hot. Some people thought maybe they just ordered incorrectly. Another crowd favorite was the ice cream at the end. The majority of our group had the spumoni and they agreed it was delicious and different than anything they've ever had. read more

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I pick up Lino's for the family every Friday, and it's become a weekly staple. It has never disappointed. The food is consistently delicious, the quality is always great, and it's something we all look forward to every Friday! read more

Walk into a Tuscan village with homey frescoes and decor. Very popular restaurant and easy to see why with Italian setting, good prices and nice wine and cocktail list. Service speedy and accommodating. Wish my server would have made it clear about what pasta and salad came with my dinner. Got an unexpected upcharge to my salad order. Otherwise, generous meals of pasta, pizza, entrees which came with salads, bread, dessert! Nice choice for dinner. Made a reservation for our group. read more

Lino's - Eggplant parmigiana. - Pizza Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

I'm more excited to write this 5-star review than any other I've done! Lino's has been a Rockford favorite for over 50 years -- I know because I worked there 53 years ago when I was 14, The family that owns Lino's is absolutely wonderful. They recently catered my grandson's wedding rehearsal dinner, and the food was amazing -- everyone loved it! I can also vouch for dining at Lino's over the years; the food, service, and atmosphere have always been top-notch. We've had nothing but great experiences there. read more

As a kid I loved this place. As a grown dairy free adult? Boy am I upset. Hard enough to attend a family event where now one understands the concept of an allergen, but have the restaurant prepare the one requested dairy free item with dairy is down right disrespectful. If you can't tell I am upset. I'm sorry Lino's, I'm giving you a thumbs down. read more

After trying two different tables, neither of which were suitable for people our size (large), our very patient waitress showed us to a booth that was just right. I started with creamy toasted ravioli and my wife got a salad as an appetizer. For the main course, I got very tender veal parmigiana with mostaccioli and red sauce and my wife went for cheese ravioli. both of us enjoyed everything. When we were done, we had wonderful spumoni. All in all, it was a great dining experience and we will be back. read more

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Used to go here regularly last couple times their pizza has been disappointing, the pizzas are sloppy looking and the ingredients I ordered aren't equally distributed on the pizza. That cheese tastes different too, it seems that they have changed recipes. Sad to have to post this but they have lost me read more

Chloe tried to rush us thru but we told her we wanted a relaxing dinner as she rolled her eyes. ordered the Graze Appetizer it was delicious however the Chicken wings were cold by the time they got to our table. Chloe rolled her eyes and acted bothered when I asked for extra napkins or a refill on our pepsi's. The world famous bread was terrible very hard and basically uneatable. The salads were warm and not chilled. They put cold sausage on it that tasted good but was overcooked. 2 of us ordered the Veal Franchisee it was awful the sauce was all butter and cornstarch. no lemon no seasoning no taste. The veal was very good but the sauce ruined it! Eggplant Parm had a very overcooked sauce even the color of the sauce was off which had probably been sitting on the stove top for a week. Nice touch with the included ice cream which was good. All and all I can't believe this restaurant has been in business for 50 years. We will never go back. I expect more. Maybe the pizza is better but with that overcooked sauce I doubt it. No calamari for appetizers and no Margarita Pizza. read more

Great food,service was very quick. Excellent service, super food. Love the salads. Nice atmosphere.

Nice family owned restaurant with good food and good atmosphere. Always nice and accommodating.

Always A+ What's not great to say, about Lino's!? Always, consistently great, satisfying Italian cuisine. Best for Me! read more

Service,Ambience and food were top notch.waiter was very good.Food was fresh and served nice and hot.

If you're going to Rockford, you know you're going to need to stop for pizza at the classic Lino's. They have two locations, and have great takeout service where they bring the food right to your car in the parking lot. We called to place our order over the phone, and the girl who answered it was extremely helpful in getting our questions answered by the chef in regards to what was gluten-free and cow-dairy-free. Updates: the meatballs do have gluten from the bread crumbs and they do not (yet) have goat cheese or vegan cheese, but maybe that will change sometime in the future. They do have gluten free crust available for the pizza and a gluten free pasta noodle available for any of their pasta sauces. They are famous for their pizza, and allow you to split a pizza in half so you can get different toppings on each side. For our group, we went with one half pepperoni and the other half sausage & mushroom. Their classic tomato salad is also delicious and filling, with hard boiled eggs, sausage slices, cherry tomatoes, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, and Italian dressing. For takeout, they ask how many people will be sharing the salad, and then they put all of your servings in one large catering tray. Full of flavor, I recommend always getting a side salad with your pizza for some balance. read more

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When I think of Lino's, I think of a Rockford staple. I think iconic. Lino's has been a restaurant that I tell everyone about if they want great Italian food. They have pizza, pasta, chicken parmigiana, etc... all delicious things Italian. The service was wonderful. Usually you would need a reservation since they do get busy but today my Fiance and I were lucky to get in right away without one. The service was great as usual. The wait staff is pretty nice. I've never had any complaints when I dine in. The ambiance is your typical Italian decor but it gives you that feel like you are in an Italian town. Especially when you walk in and see the beautiful water fountain. Overall, Lino's is a go to for great Italian food, great ambiance and service, and now a go to for great gelato as well. read more

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We moved from the Chicago area about a year prior over to Rock Falls Il. We have been looking for a pizza that compares. We ventured into Rockford in search of a simple, thin, tavern style pizza. We found Lino's. Damn good in comparison to what we came from. Thabk you for the great service Kelsea. We enjoyed sitting at your bar having good conversation. read more

We had a welcome dinner for our son's wedding guests - 75 people. We couldn't have asked for a better experience! The atmosphere, food, SERVICE was perfect! We had a family-style pasta dinner and pizza - salad was incredible! Thanks to everyone at Lino's for a perfect evening!!! read more

Have been going to Lino's for many years. We now enjoy the new location as well. Never had a bad meal. Mostly pizza but everything is yips. Special salad to die for oh and great service. read more

Very nice wait staff. The water tastes horrible, and that was the first bad sign. SpaghettiO's tastes better than the chicken parmesan. I've never had chicken parmesan without a coating on it. I don't even think it was pan fried. The house salad was wilted and warm. Terrible food. read more

Stopped by Lino's when going to an ice hogs game. They did not disappoint. We ordered chicken Parmesan, veal Parmesan, pizza, a glass of wine, and spumoni ice cream, and Keylime gelato. I would say I'm an incredibly picky eater, and all plates were cleaned. Price was beautifully cheap compared to what I'm used to and the food was amazing, would be back great job Leno's. On top of that, we had not only a manager, but a chef, and our server come to check on us And they were packed. read more

Haven't had Lino's since college 25+ years ago...but it did not disappoint! Great crust and awesome sauce...the slight browning on the mozzarella was awesome too! topping were fresh with great flavor. And service was top notch. read more

Ok... I have been putting this one off for quite some time. I am biased due to the astronomical amount of memories and experiences in this business. Full transparency, over the years I have had birthdays, anniversaries, group parties, and my own wedding reception here. That being said, here is my (not really) short, sweet, and honest review of Lino's (on E. State). Sat at the bar on a weeknight with live music. I love the vibe and comfort level. Ordered the festa meal for one and wine. I know I'm fat and I won't apologize! Soup was minestrone and not really worth the stomach space. Next was special salad, pizza and garlic bread. All were fantastic! Next was the pasta plate of mostaccioli, tortellini, and ravioli. Pure starchy heaven on a plater. Sauce is very good. Next was the main course of chicken parm. Here is my only issue of the evening. If you order the meal only, you get a choice of potato or pasta. With the festa meal, they will only give you the potato. I BEGGED for spaghetti because the baked potato is gonna get tossed. I know some are thinking I'm weird but ain't no room for a baked potato when eating parm with red sauce. They gave me the spaghetti in the end because I must have looked like I needed more PASTA! Love you bartender I won't name. After all this comes spumoni ice cream and a coffee. All in all I love this place! The prices have come up significantly but most places have. As always, form your own opinion and try Lino's yourself and EAT LOCAL. read more

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Ordered take out. Picked up, had the. Place in back of SUV. Get home and discovered they gave us the wrong soda. Not really a big deal, but it was diet. Don't like diet soda. Called the restaurant, manager said we could come back and exchange it. Seriously? Like we want our food to get cold. Then she asked why we didn't say anything when we picked up. Told her that we had it placed in the back. Silence. Then she said well, I guess I could give you a refund of $2.50. Which is nice but damn, how unprofessional to make it sound line it was our fault. read more

We love dining in. The waitresses are pleasant and enjoy all the pasta and the fish fry. My favorite lasagna in the world is at Lino's. We love ordering online and picking it up in the drive thru. It's so quick and easy. read more

Went New Years eve, people standing outside waiting for opening. We got right in and were seated. Our waitress was very attentive and brought the food right out. The meal was very good, based on past reviews saying portions were quite large, we found them to be ok size not large. We would go back and try other items on the menu read more

Took our family here for our annual Christmas visit to Rockford. We had five of us and we all ordered either the tortellini with meatballs, spaghetti with meatballs or Lasagna along with the house salad with dressing and blue cheese on the side. The bread they served is really good. We were seated in a very nice little alcove room, very private. Our waitress was good but she forgot to mention if we wanted the blue cheese for the salad....we had to go out and flag her down to ask her to bring us the cheese. Not a problem, but with the enclosed room you're not really noticed. A couple of our group thought the salad needed a bit more dressing. The sausage on the salad is always great. I called to verify our reservations about 35 minutes before our reservation time just tp]o make sure they had it. Good thing I did as they did not have it down(I had made reservations about a month ago by calling in from SC). They put us down for 6:30PM and we were really surprised that we were seated immediately upon entering! Had a great meal and rook home tortellini and spaghetti leftovers. Even had several Spumoni ice creams for dessert . read more

I really enjoy the food and ambience of this restaurant. I usually order the breast of chicken alla Francais. It comes with the special salad, a side of pasta or potato, then a scoop of ice cream and a cup of coffee for dessert. I suggest like the spumoni. read more

Exploring food in the area on a business trip and ran across this spot. Good food, great service, and a nicely decorated restaurant. Server was very helpful and gave us suggestions. Price point was good. Food tasted good and came out quickly. I had the New York strip with Alfredo fettuccini. It was well made and tasted good. We tried the rainbow sherbet for desert as it's an illinois staple and it was good as well. The house salad was different it came with sausage, egg, and balsamic, but didn't disappoint. read more

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Great ambiance. Megan T was my server and she was great! Friendly and attentive. The pizza bread and fettuccine alfredo with chicken were delicious and good-sized portions. You'll definitely be able to take leftovers home! read more

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I had the worst platebof food i can remember at Linos. I ordered veal piccata. The veal ( not sure if it actually was veal) came literally floating in some yellowish liquid that had a skin on top. I asked the waitress to take it back and pour off the liquid. She removed some. The meat had been cooked in the liquid which had no seasoning at all. Veal piccata typically has lemon juice, capers, and white wine. This had none of any ingredients. Only good point was the service. read more

The restaurant gets very busy on weekends so definitely make a reservation. The inside is casual and inviting. Our server was swamped but provided great service and was very attentive. The menu has a good variety of entrees and everything is reasonably priced. The pizza was excellent with homemade sausage and fresh mozzarella cheese. We will be back to try more of the menu. read more

Lino's - a menu for a restaurant - Pizza Near Me - Rockford, Illinois

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First off told great Italian restaurant, food decent, but server smelled like she bathed in perfume. Got our salads, not even halfway done, here comes the meals, no plates for bread, never checked if we needed water, seemed annoyed when asked to take meals back till we were done. Lotsa busboys standing around, doing not to much, but standing. As far as I'm concerned never go back, service not good. read more

Server had heavy cologne. No plates for rolls. Is this a rockford thing? There are many restaurants in this area do not provide them. What? Putting my bread on a table?? No! Server brought dinner, even though I wasn't finished with my salad. I told her to take it back until I was done with my salad. Where was the waitress to check on this? No one checked on my husband's water. There were at least 3 bus boys. Is this not their job. We received a gift card for 75.00. Nice person didn't want to take it for payment. But I asked her to take. Because we will never be back. Food was adequate. Nothing special. I don't like chain restaurants. This one is just the same as them. I'm happy to get rid of the gift card... never again. Sad. read more

Everything the atmosphere, the food, the people. they have music is lovely, the decorations, a place to go to.

Was in Rockford over the weekend. Stopped at Lino's. Half pepperoni, half sausage. Well done. This is "Rockford style", the first time I've had it. Pretty similar to Chicago style and I imagine thats what its inspired by. What supposedly distinguishes this style is a thicker thin crust and a lot of cheese. Place was packed on a Sunday night and we had to wait 20 minutes for a table. So seemingly a popular joint. The crust was thicker than the ideal cracker thin crust of Chicago style. However, it was no thicker than a lot of North Side thin crust, which is often too thick IMO. The flavor of the crust was good and buttery. Sometimes thin crust this thick has a bready or flour flavor. There definitely was a lot of cheese. The make it inhouse and it was excellent, but I think there was too much. Although the crust was crunchy at first, after about 5 minutes it began to get soggy and soft because of all of the moisture of the toppings. Sausage was fine. Nothing special but not bland at all. read more

Best pizza and salad around. We love this place. We are in Wisconsin but we make sure to visit when we can. You will not be disappointed.

50 years of excellence! Beautiful dining room, not overdone. Here's what we enjoyed Chianti Sausage and peppers Toasted ravioli_amazing House tossed salad Chicken Marsala Veal parmigiana Combo plates of two pasta, lasagna, fettuccine Electric atmosphere the Friday night we were there. Loud of local regulars and large holiday parties. Server was busy busy but efficient Solid 5! read more