Our server Emma was perfect! It was my wife and I's anniversary and first time in town. Emma gave great recommendations and even helped us find a wine that paired to pair with our dishes. The food was good and came fast. Would recommend and return. read more

The food is excellent, the ambiance is warm and inviting and the service has always been tops! Highly recommend! read more

Very bad experience for our group of 9 at dinner last night. It was the coldest night of the year and we we're seated close to the door. We all had to keep our jackets on because the cold air was very uncomfortable. We asked the manager if he could possibly keep the door closed, but he only offered to turn up the heat. After awhile we politely asked again if he could possibly do something about the cold and he said he had already turned up the heat. At that point I asked if there was a company policy to keep the door open when diners complained about the cold and he begrudgingly closed the door. It wasnt even 1 minute before the hostess reopened the door. Definitely not a customer service centric attitude. Then came the bill. My wife and I each ordered an Italian salad for $10 which didn't contain a protein, but they did offer the option to add chicken for $7, salmon for $10 or market fish, which was mahi. We both added the mahi. We were shocked when the bill came and saw that the simple salad with a piece of grilled mahi on top cost us $38!!! They charged us $28 each to add mahi to the salad, outrageous. We asked our server, who was excellent, that there must be a mistake on the bill and she said the bill was correct. I have to say that is the biggest ripoff dining experience I ever had. Definitely not coming back. read more

The service was excellent and it is truly a beautiful restaurant. However the chicken is actually terrible and inedible so maybe avoid eating that. read more

Amazon Italian restaurant in a shopping center next to the hotel I stayed at. I was able to make a reservation online for a party of 8! The restaurant was really pretty and had lots of seating. The service was great and our server was super friendly and very patient with our big group. They start with fresh Italian bread for the table and olive oil. Everything sounded so good so I decided to split the chicken parmigiana and the carne pizza so I could try both. They were both amazing. The chicken was thin and crispy and the sauce on top was very flavorful. The pizza had so many tasty and flavorful meats on top. I loved the presentation as well. My sister ordered the eggplant parmigiana and said it was amazing. Everyone enjoyed their food a lot! I would definitely come back here next time I'm in Wilmington! I would also love to try their desserts because they sound so good! read more

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Last time we came here was 2 years ago. It is still as good as we remembered! Delicious moscato, great salads, bread and pasta! I had the penne vodka with sausage. It was a bit on the salty side for me but still awesome! Service was great too! read more

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This review was not written haphazardly. We have dined here at least 4 times and it is the summation of experiences. The restaurant is impressively decorated and has taken great care to incorporate the look of an Italian trattoria. Massive solid doors, counters.... mixed tables and chairs all lend to a wonderful charm that says "trattoria" - and if you've traveled abroad can attest to a very charming ambiance. A lot of the food is very well presented and very well prepared. The menu is a bit limited though and could use another two dozen inspired dishes just to keep regular diners trying different meals. My real issue comes with the surprise of the spice. I ordered the chicken cutlet parmigiana and found the sauce to be spicy. Not at all what you expect with the dish. on the contrary you expect a wonderfully creamy, rich and almost sweet-from-tomato aftertaste. I was really put off with the dish. I have travelled extensively and never encountered this nuance. Last night I ordered the pork tenderloin and while the pork was delicious the fingerling potatoes were again unexpectantly spicy. We ordered the fried calamari and found them to be extremely oily. This is a rookie mistake. Leave the calamari too long in oil that is not hot enough and it ends up absorbing the oil. The Mrs. ordered the creamy pesto pasta and it tasted like the Knorr envelopes. We have ordered other plates before and, again, very well curated but always an unexpected twist to the traditional Italian recipes. For now, I think we are done. We have exhausted the available menu and will probably not return until we hear about a new chef in the kitchen. While I believe this current chef is experienced - he is not traveled and has a very limited and narrow understanding of what real Italian cooking is about. Traveling to Rome, Naples, Tuscany and Venice is where you get your education. This chef it seems may have never have left the South. True Italian cooking, whether northern or southern has developed from the many years of other nations invading Italy. The Germanic tribes in the central and northern and Moors, Arabs and Phoenicians in the south have contributed to what we Americans know as Italian food. This restaurant has not really accomplished this unique fusion, but has gravitated to a pre-conceived notion of their version of Italian. For foodies like us, we pass. If you think you wont be able to discern the difference - please by all means try Osteria Cicchetti and enjoy their atmosphere and food. read more

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Very average food at best. Felt like I was at Olive Garden but no bottomless salad and garlic bread. Service was attentive and friendly. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Ambiance was nothing special.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

I decided to treat myself for dinner. I ordered a meal through DoorDash. I ordered veal parmigiana with pappardelle pasta, mozzarella sticks, and a Coke. I didn't receive the drink (I checked the receipt and I did in fact pay for it), I got the wrong pasta (I received gluten free ziti that was totally tasteles), the veal was paper thin, had absolutely no breading and was extremely dry, and the mozzarella sticks were cold and had no flavor. The only positive was that the DoorDash driver was nice. read more

Cocktail, food and service. I ordered a Grey Goose Cosmo with just a little cranberry juice with a lime. It was perfect. For dinner we shared a caprese salad which came with three tomatoes, mozzarella, burata cheese over greens with balsamic. Delicious. Dinner for me was chicken parmigiana which came with 3 pieces of chicken and a generous portion of spaghetti with a fresh tomato sauce over all. My favorite. Husband had baked penne which was great too. Our server was Serena and she is the best server we've had at OC. read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]We had great service and the dinning area is quite nice.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]They also have a very nice bar.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Menu was a little limited when it comes to steak and chicken options. Salmon was a 3/5. Overall a nice place for dinner. read more

One of my favorite places both as a family dinner and a solo dining fun. Great food and I love their meatballs. Highly recommend this place. It has been outstanding for years. read more

Loved everything about this place, ambiance was fantastic. My penne alla vodka was great, boyfriend got the mahi mahi special and he loved it. Have 0 complaints! Our server was very attentive too! read more

Osteria Cicchetti - Penne Alla Vodka - Italian Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

We were very pleased with the food, service and ambiance. No complaints here. Give it s try! read more

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If you love Italian food then I would definitely give this place a try. I'm not the hugest Italian food fan so maybe that's why I wasn't very impressed. First of all though, this place blows it away with the decor. I was very impressed with how the restaurant looked inside. It felt like you were in Italy. I also loved that the kitchen was open and you could see the pizza oven. The music however was a little strange. I would have loved to hear something else besides the song from Beetlejuice. Our waitress, bless her heart, was sweet but very awkward. She repeated our order like she has no clue of the menu. She also did not mention the specials to us even though I heard every other waiter mention them to their tables. I also felt like the pacing of our food was too fast. We weren't even half way through our app before our entree hit the table. I then had to ask for the salad I ordered and it came about 10 minutes after my entree. Now the food was good. However, I can't honestly answer if it's any better than Olive Garden. We started with the meat and cheese board. It was very good and the items were varied. Next, I had the pappardelle Bolognese and my husband had the chicken Alfredo. They were decent. The chopped salad was decent as well. The stand out item was the peanut butter cake. It was so rich and decadent we could finish. I would return but not immediately. read more

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Returned for dinner after a work event luncheon. So glad I did! Fried Calamari appetizer was cooked perfectly so it was tender not chewy. I was craving a Parmigiana chicken, however, saw a veal option and couldn't resist. It is rare these days to find a true veal parmigiana and this did not disappoint. The pasta was cooked perfectly. My wife went with the chicken Marsala and was equally impressed. We shared a NY style cheesecake that was good but not outstanding. Our wine selection was a Spanish red that complemented our meal perfectly. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Certainly a place that reminded me of an old world Italian restaurant.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I would be remiss if I didn't complement our waitress Carly who was wonderful but should also point out that the entire staff that ran food and drinks were great. read more

Food was excellent and reasonably priced and service was excellent. SIXTEEN DOLLARS for a glass of Cabernet is unreasonable. Everyone at our table was shocked!! IF you are going to rip people off at least tell them in advance. What a SHAME!!! read more

The Staff were very accommodating. The food was as expected. Hot and fresh. The drinks were plentiful. Our Server was great at recommending choices on the menu. Great experience!! read more

We enjoyed this place. It is loud and busy, so it's not conducive for chatting. The food is good, not great. The bread they serve is, however, delicious. read more

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This place feels like a chain, upscale chain, but a chain. Pepper grinders dont work. Parpadella bolognese was rich, not bad. Chop salad changed see picture. Fettuccine alfredo with chicken is a prepped sauce as see photo, chicken on the side had sauce on it. So while this is Italian food a good chef would be puzzled read more

Osteria Cicchetti - Chicken on the side from the fettuccine- pre cooked in the sauce, yuck. - Italian Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Food was great. Server was excellent. Restaurant was very noisy, loud but it was Saturday night. We will be back, for sure.

We made reservations a few hours ahead of time on a busy Saturday night and glad we did. It was pretty busy but we were seated immediately when we arrived. Our hotel was in walking distance to the shopping center and glad we walked as we needed to walk off the meal. I ordered the Tortellini Michael Angelo with a few modifications and since it's made from scratch, they had no problem accommodating. I switched out the peas for broccoli and omitted the evil shrooms. The food tasted fresh and very flavorful. It reheated 2 days later and tasted just as good. Bread served with olive oil was fresh and tasty and glass of Malbec was a bit pricey but went well with the dish. As we were on vacation, I didn't have dressy clothes with me but figured a beach town would be somewhat casual. And I was right. Everything from shorts to dressy fit right in. Service was great. Absolutely no complaints and would go here again when in town. read more

Osteria Cicchetti - Tortelloni Michelangelo - Italian Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

OC is a big, nicely designed Italian restaurant. It has a lot of seating in multiple rooms, and you can watch the kitchen prepare food right in front of you. Make a reservation because it fills up quickly with a lot of regular customers. Our server was polite and attentive to our needs. I started with warm bread they serve along with butter, balsamic vinegar, and EVOO. I ordered pasta with pomodoro sauce and my wife got a Caesar salad, which we both loved. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauce was thick and rich. The Mrs liked her salad which tasted fresh and the shaved cheese and croutons were delicious. My wife had the eggplant Parmesan with pasta and sauce on the side, which she loved, and I had the salmon entree with mushroom risotto on the side. I liked my Salmon portion which was cooked perfectly and the mushroom risotto, but I thought the quinoa with avocado on the side was an odd choice for an Italian restaurant to have. We both split the bread pudding dessert which was to die for! We finished it with two espressos. Total bill was less than $90. I was a little disappointed in the lack of small plate pasta dishes on the menu. But, overall we had a very nice experience, and we will be back. read more

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Incredible staff and delicious food!! This place has such a homey laid back vibe to it. Definitely definitely recommend!!! read more

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Recently had dinner at OC with my daughters when visiting NC. We randomly chose the restaurant, and had seen it reviewed in the local "places to eat" in Wilmington... it did not disappoint. The homemade bread and olive oil was delicious and the staff was very friendly and attentive. Our waiter said he lived there (they never let him leave?) and baked all the desserts himself... wish we'd have left room to try one! I had the margherita pizza which was light and delicious with a perfect crust and cheese-to-tomato and basil ratio. It was hot, so that was a double yes (NO COLD Pizza for me!). The star of the evening was a pappardelle bolognese that was superb (that my oldest daughter ordered). The pasta was homemade and very light and grabbed onto the yummy bolognese sauce that wasn't too light nor too heavy. The sauce was like nonna (if I had one) would make - so good, that we dipped the bread in it. Don't let the fact that it's in a mall hold you back - the food is great and we should've gone back. It was by far one of the best meals - seriously surpassing the overrated places such as Blue Water Grill, Ceviche's, Oceanic, etc. Osteria Cichetti is VERY GOOD! read more

Though our meals were subpar, I still enjoyed coming here. The service is wonderful, attentive and consistent. I like the ambience the restaurant has, it's a lot larger then you would think by first glance from the outside. Plus there is outside seating right at the front. My Bolognese lacked so much flavor I was so disappointed, the sauce was a little watery and just bland. My boyfriend ordered (if I remember correctly...) a meat dish that was spinach and mushrooms. I want to say it was a Marsala because we all were confused why there was no pasta but instead spinach and mushrooms. He said it was fine besides tasting bland too. I can't wait to come back and try something else, the atmosphere is too good not to come back and try the other delicious sounding menu items! read more

Osteria Cicchetti - Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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Best Italian food in Wilmington hands down! The calamari was fresh and came out hot and ready! The al pesto is my favorite pasta dish they have, but all of it is good! My go to for whenever I'm in town and craving Italian food! read more

Osteria Cicchetti - Calamari - Italian Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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I ate here for the first time tonight. Its a cute restaurant with a nice rustic setting. We had a reservation so I feel like we were given a better seating area near the fireplace. I saw that some bread baskets came with the crisp giant crackers. Ours did not. Not sure why. Also, the bread is not served with butter but there is oil on the table. I asked for balsamic vinegar to go with mine because I am not a fan of simply oil and bread. I had the Quatro pizza. I've had better for less at fast pizza shops. It wasn't terrible but it was nothing special either. My daughter had steak. It was over cooked and tasted more like charcoal. The best thing we ate here were the Meatballs. They were packed with flavor and cooked perfectly. What kind of bugged me the most is a woman who I assumed was an owner or manager walked around to everyone's table in my section to see how everything was going except ours. As the restaurant got more busy, our server forgot about us or just focused on the new diners. We went without a refill on our drinks including water until we decided lets just get the bill. We're big dessert getters so I was kind of bummed we didn't get much attention at the end. Needless to say we left our food without asking for to-go boxes that really should of been offered. read more

Osteria Cicchetti - Italian Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

My husband and I met another couple for dinner last weekend. We had early reservation and it's a good thing we did. By the time we finished the place was packed! Our server, Kinsley, was fantastic! She was very attentive and anticipated our needs. We all agreed that our meal selections were delicious and moderately priced. The atmosphere was warm and cozy. We all were completely satisfied with our choice for a dinner date. We will be a larger party next month and we will be reserving our table in advance. If we can request to be seated in Kinsley's section, we will! Thank you OC for a great time! read more

I don't often write reviews, but I feel compelled to provide a warning to other potential diners. A few weeks ago, my mom and I were excited for our reservation on the outdoor patio ofOsteria Cicchetti. When we sat down, and noticed that were wasps buzzing around the patio, we pointed this out to the waitress, thinking it would raise concern and someone could bring over repellent, or take some other (any other!) appropriate safety precaution. The waitress was not concerned, and basically dismissed the safety concern. About mid-meal, a wasp landed on my mom and stung her. My poor mom was wincing, almost crying in pain -- and I immediately alerted the waitstaff nearby on the patio and also inside, asking for any type of first aid kit or help. My mom has severe allergies, and most people know that a severe allergic reaction to wasps is very common. Her entire hand, wrist, and arm started to visibly blow up. We found the waiter, hostess, and management and told them immediately that a wasp had stung her at the table -- AND THEY DID NOT CARE, nor react at all. If anything, they seemed to be bothered by my poor mom, tearing up in pain, asking for any first aide kit or ice because she was afraid she'd go into anaphylaxis due to the sting at any moment. I had to go inside and get her ice for her swollen arm, because no one who worked there cared enough to do so. I asked for a first aid kit -- they did not have one. They simply did....not...care. There was a massive wasp nest that was obviously visible (see photo) on the roof of the patio area, directly over the tables. I of course understand that no establishment can control nature. However, they could have controlled their gross negligence of the massive wasp nest in roof over the patio. We stood there, icing her hand, making a plan of how to either get to the hospital, or if we should go to a nearby CVS first to get an antihistamine, and heard a waiter tell a tall man who was either the owner or in management, and they both stood there and looked up at the wasps nest above us. I expected him to ask if my mom was okay, but he completely ignored us as we stood directly next to us, my mom almost in tears. I am not one to complain, and I typically wouldn't share a bad dining experience publicly. However, this was not just a 'bad dining experience.' This was a DANGEROUS dining experience, due to this establishment' severe negligence, lack of adherence to food safety code requiring first aide materials and knowledge, and most disappointingly, blatant lack of care for their customers. read more

Osteria Cicchetti - Italian Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

So I spent just a few days in Wilmington on the beach and the town is small and quaint! Much needed some good ol' Italian food and that is definitely what we got ! 1. Thank you for seating and serving us when we got there 1/2 hr before closing (it was a Sunday and Miamians are used to late hours- our bad)! 2. The bread is divine! Super fluffy inside and crunchy on the outside. Dunk it in some balsamic! 3. I ordered the papardelle bolognese ... Yum yum yum ... the meat is perfectly seasoned and the pasta was delicious. The portion was big but soooo good! read more

Osteria Cicchetti - Pappardelle, Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

For a restaurant that claims to be authentic Italian, I was extremely disappointed. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in Chicago and the food served here was nothing like the italian I've ever had. The Marcela was very watery and the veal was chewy. Veal should be tender and this was far from tender, and the calamari was over salted and the red sauce they give you to dip it in tasted like tomatoe soup. And worst part was my granddaughter got a huge sliver in her had from the wood tables. The waitress was perfect, very nice and attentive. Would we go again, no there are many other italian restaurants in Wilmington that are much better. read more

It was good. The server recommended to favor dishes, the chicken Marcella, and the tortellini. We got a bottle of wine house red pretty good for house wine, tortellini was a little bland chicken Marcella was pretty good, but the mushroom was a little overpowering. I ain't gonna hold you. At least the ambience was great. The arch were beautiful. The food got better though after I went home and microwaved it six hours later the flavors really blended together overall good experience! Chatted with the bartender after the fact, she was she was awesome. Will definitely be coming back to get a drink from her! read more

Food, drinks and staff were all top tier! Great place in Wilmington and will definitely be back! read more

Osteria Cicchetti - Penne Alla Vodka with chicken - Italian Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

excellent service from the pastry chef himself. Good dinner overall. Nice ambiance and enjoyed it. Will return.

Great food, great service and reasonably priced! We had a good app, soup, salad and entree! Everything was delicious!

Excellent service. John who works at the bar is a pleasure and always greets us with a smile. Food is always delicious and the staff are always attentive and friendly. read more

Delicious food and great atmosphere. Excellent server who came to the table the exact right amount. Good value too. It's a really really nice date night for $50-ish if not drinking and $80-ish with a few cocktails or glasses of wine. A nice night out. read more

Stopped in with my family while on vacation in Summer 2022. To say we were disappointed is an understatement. Ordered the calamari appetizer, sea scallop risotto, and sage, squash, and apple ravioli. Complimentary bread was provided. The bread was definitely not fresh and not made in-house. The crust was chewy and it tasted old. No herbs for dipping and no butter (typically, we find one of those two is offered). The Calamari was fried in oil that can only be described as "not fresh". There was a flavor of meals past lingering in the coating of the squid, which was extremely chewy. Bad prep = bad product. The Scallop risotto was actually pretty decent, until I ate a scallop. Some of the grittiest scallops I've ever had, and right on the coast with loads of local producers around. A real shame as the risotto itself was quite nice. The raviolis were good, but had roughly a half cup of olive oil in the bottom of the dish. My wife thought at first it was perhaps a brothy sauce; a rather unpleasant awakening upon taking a bite of pasta drenched in enough oil to garner the attention of the US Military. Overall, the meal was about $80 for what turned out to be mediocre at best food and staff that was very inattentive. Our waiter never asked how the meal was, only brought the check toward the end of the meal. read more

Amazing service. Staff is nice and will work with make suggestions based on preferences. Chicken parm was dry and disappointing. Tasted as if they forgot basic salt and pepper, so it was very bland from the chicken to the sauce. However some of the other dishes are a bit better. Overall, I really love this restaurant, I love the food besides the one hiccup, and will return here for celebrations! read more