This is one of Bloomington's newer restaurants- it is a great Italian restaurant- food freshly made, with amazing dishes- and I love the Tiramisu-the best in Bloomington.  I love the Lasagna and their wine selection-the wines pair well with the food they serve. We go there frequently. Their wines are good enough that I have gone to Big Red and purchased the same particular wine I had at the restaurant for home parties. Critics should note that is an "Osteria "(Tavern in Italian)- in grades- it goes Ristorante-Trattoria- then Osteria.  This restaurant is the best bar food you can get. This restaurant rivals the other Italian restaurants- but in my estimation it is better than any others in Bloomington.  It is owned by Mike Rago who also owns Nick's Bar and Grill (oldest bar in Bloomington-1927) around the corner. I love this restaurant for lunch or dinner or carryout. The wait staff are friendly and the managers are attentive. read more

Phenomenal place! Visited on Sunday for brunch. The fluffy pancakes were quite a treat! Someone knows what they're doing in that kitchen! My husband and I tried 4 different meals. They were all prepared quickly, served hot and were very tasty! I'll be back! Very happy to see fresh veggies here! read more

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The waitress took all of my mushrooms off of my pizza and ate them; she didn't even know I didn't like mushrooms!!! How does she do it? Excellent! read more

Took our IU Student there for her birthday. Very delicious! Suzanne was a wonderful waitress. The whole staff was very welcoming and all worked very well together. The FOOD! Oh my! Delicious! Will definitely be back! read more

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super poor service ! sat for 20 minutes before our server came to greet us - and we were greeted with "what are we eating". no welcome in, how was your day, anything to drink (this was mind boggling, for a place with an extensive wine list) and she helped tables that were sat after us, with no apology to us for the wait. pretty bummed since this was our first time dining here - will not return and do not recommend. maybe we ordered the wrong things but food was just ok read more

We try to visit OR every trip to B-town. The food and service has been outstanding every time.

The best Italian food I have had in along time.everything was excellent. Will definitely be taking all my company there..

Great food, service, and ambiance. Really nice meal. I would recommend a visit here for lunch or dinner.

Amazing food, lowkey vibes in the restaurant and would recommend for a date night. Always ask about the pizza of the month!!

Love this place. Please make a reservation, it's a bit small, if you don't, plan on a wait, but it's worth it.

This spot is good, but nothing special. The food was good and the service had nothing wrong with it. The staff kept dropping plates which was hilarious, but if I experienced that a second time it probably wouldn't be as funny. Nothing about the place "wowed" me. read more

In the area for work and took 11 coworkers here. EVERY meal was fabulous! Lauren was on point and one of the best waitresses I have ever had. Off the beaten path but definitely worth it! If I'm ever in the area again I will definitely return!! read more

The food was very delicious and the waiting staff was very nice. However, we were told there would be a 30 minute wait and waited for an hour... when I go again I will definitely be making a reservation in advance, even for a Tuesday night. Our waitress was very helpful picking out wine and made our experience worth the wait! Will definitely be coming here again! read more

I love this place! So cute inside and I've been several times this year trying something different every time... and it's all amazing! One of my favorite restaurants in bloomington read more

Osteria Rago - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

Such great service, beautiful quiet restaurant. Food is so amazing and a glass of red wine one of the best Italian wines I've had. Can't wait to go back! read more

I am hesitant to write this review because I do not want to have to wait to get a table at this restaurant. I have been for several meals at this point, and every experience has been excellent. Bloomington has never had good Italian food, at least not in the nine years I have lived here. Every dish I have had, from the pasta to the pizza to the salmon to the eggs, has been delicious and well-prepared. To top off the excellent food, the service has been superb. Every server I have dealt with has been congenial, pleasant, accommodating, and knowledgeable. Recently, Valerie and Christina have both done excellent jobs and made me feel welcome. Delicious food, excellent prices, and great service: what more could you ask for? read more

(This review is from a meal in June) The spaghetti carbonara I ordered was closer to spaghetti with scrambled eggs, and the pork was mostly gristle. The tiramisu was, wet? Like not very flavorful at all it was mostly wet. The garlic bread tasted great but it was the length and width of two fingers. Of the two servers who helped me, one was rude and the other was apologetic. I totally get that everyone is stressed right now. I was mostly upset by the quality of the food. I didn't like having to wait in line behind everyone waiting for tables just to pick up my order. I had to wait 10 minutes for a table to free up for the people in front of me just so I could approach and grab my food. Maybe a different system? read more

Excellent food we will return. The pizza and pasta were both so good. Cute atmosphere

Always great food. Service is good. Can be hard to get a table. Suggest making a reservation well in advance.

Delightful surprise. Great suggestions from our server, who was excellent! I look forward to our next visit.

The location is tucked behind a few other stores, and there's a sign to point patrons in the right direction. Accessible on ground-level so no stairs though there is a lip, two push/pull doors. The food is delicious & the presentation is immaculate. Coffee is outstanding & a nice size. Staff is very polite & knowledgeable! They offer to-go meals at a local market, too! read more

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Very good food. If friends or family are in town definitely go here. Make a reservation because it is a small restaurant. Best Italian food around here. read more

Came in for some time with family. Great experience. Food was similar to a high-class Fazoli's.

Here visiting my sister from western NY where we have great, authentic Italian readily available, so this review may be a little harsh. The short version: Calamari came out cold, main entrees also came out cold all around for a table of 8. Asked for Parmesan 3 times from different servers. Asked for bread multiple times and it was NEVER served or addressed when we got the bill. Our server did apologize. Overall the table reviews were "good" to "below average." Can't advertise as an authentic Italian restaurant and not have Parmesan readily available... read more

This is the best legit italian restaurant in Bloomington. The ambience is very casual... and they had Italian music when we visited, which most "italian" restaurants do not have. Love the idea that they deliver through Btownmenus. We had the bruschetta as an appetizer... delicious! The pappardelle could have used a tiny bit more salt... but it was a delightful dish, it comes with a piece of bread to soak up the leftover sauce... genius! The Grand Marnier cake was dense and flavorful! It was a great overall experience... will come back for sure! read more

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I was hovering between 3 and 4 stars, but the food was so good that I had to give 4. The problem was that when we went in (on a Tuesday night), we were told that there was a 30 minute wait. We decided to walk around a little and came back about 20 minutes later, where we had to wait over 40 minutes longer. The staff was extremely nice otherwise, but that was incredibly inconvenient and we definitely would have made reservations to come back another time if we had known we would have to wait over an hour to be seated. All of our food was absolutely amazing, and my friends got a good wine recommendation. I had the eggplant rollatini and LOVED it! Wonderfully creamy but not too heavy cheese and a crisp exterior. The four of us shared an order of tiramisu for dessert, which I recommend if you're already full but want a little something sweet. The atmosphere was classy but chill. Loved it besides the wait, definitely consider making a reservation and take the wait estimate with a grain of salt. read more

We went to brunch here and it was great! Cute little place and a nice atmosphere! We tried the bruschetta pizza, breakfast pizza, and the frittata, all were delicious! We also tried some of the coffee, it's from brown county so it was superb! read more

Osteria Rago - Frittata with whole wheat toast and home fries - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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Staff were very friendly, and service was very fast. The only thing I didn't like was too much cheese on lasagna! read more

Osteria Rago - Vegetarian lasagna - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

It's my favorite place!! Absolutely amazing service and super good food and not too expensive

I hate to have to write this update of my previous 5 star rating but I suspect they lost their cook over the summer because the food quality has gone downhill. I ate there in spring (all great), again in August (terrible) and again yesterday (terrible). Even the previously stellar house salad (which shouldn't depend on a chef) isn't of the same quality! Yesterday it was primarily lettuce alone! My go-to dish there was cacio e pepe which I ordered in August and it was sooo different than the several times I'd had it before. The taste was just not right and there appeared to be a funky yellow color sauce on it without a trace of the cheese that is supposed to be part of this dish. Also it was overly peppered. I chalked it up to being the weekend of IU move-in so the place was packed with parents and I thought maybe the kitchen was struggling, yet yesterday I ordered the carbonara which had the same weird/fake color yellow sauce on it!!! The sauce is essentially tasteless which neither dish should be - ever, and there was no evidence of the egg or the cheese, both required for carbonara. I really hope the owner reads this and takes it seriously because I suspect I won't be back for another bad meal and I'm sure there are more like me (people with tastebuds who've eaten in Italy) read more

This is one of the best Italian places I've ever been to. The pizza and pasta we had were amazing! The tiramisu was great. I really wish they offered bread like many places do but that's not a deal breaker. Will definitely be back and highly recommend this place to everyone I know. read more

So happy we tried this new addition to Bloomington's culinary offerings. Great fresh food, charming ambiance and great service from Anna! We'll certainly be back. read more

Osteria Rago - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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Bloomington has an excellent Italian restaurant again. My family dined here on a week night at 6:30pm. The restaurant was busy, but the service was great. The atmosphere was very nice and we could hear each other even though practically every table was occupied. We ordered the entree size caprese for an appetizer. The portion was huge and it was delicious. For our entrees, I had lasagna, my wife had egg plant rollatini, my daughters had margherita pizza, and fettuccini alfredo. The portions were large and we all loved our food. For dessert, my daughters had cannoli and gelato. I had a macchiato and my wife had a cappuccino. All were excellent. We highly recommend this restaurant. We will be back. read more

Used to be good food but service is really bad now. Two of us went to pick up order. Took roughly an hour for 6 pizzas but they came out one pizza at a time. Made us wait outside while last one was prepped. They never came out to say order was complete. Went in to check after 20 min. Asked for pizza and server didn't say a word. Picked up a half-cold pizza that had been under heat lamp for awhile, turned and handed it without a word. read more

Excellent food, vegetarian friendly. Would highly recommend. Staff is very friendly. Hidden away location!

I've been living in Bloomington for 9ish years now and I hear great things about Osteria Rago from my clients. And I've been in the restaurant industry my whole life. I understand it's short staff, but that doesn't mean be rude. I have tried calling and making reservations and everyone I've talked to is very rude or hangs up. They literally said "I doubt you can get in" ?? Ok? What if I wanted to make a reservation for another weekend? Or I call, they pick up and hang up. This has happened 3-4 times now. I always want to try local restaurants being a local business owner myself, but after the rudeness and negativity, i will most likely not be trying anytime soon. read more

Just found my favorite Italian place in Bloomington. Definitely recommend reservations for the weekends. We just got in ahead of the evening rush and were definitely not disappointed. Food is all hand-made and fresh. I thought the prices were reasonable and great service as well. We will definitely be coming back! read more

We were in Bloomington for my partner's brother's IU graduation. Everywhere in town was packed, and this was the only place we could get seven people in. I heard this place was new, so that's why it was a bit less crowded... Holy moly, it was so good! Everyone in our group enjoyed the food here. Their vegetable lasagna, eggplant with ricotta, and more was absolutely delicious and fresh. The pasta is all handmade, too. Our waiter was very energetic and friendly, and we really enjoyed the experience. Hopefully I'll be in Bloomington at another point to come back (if it's not packed next year)! read more

Phe-nom-enal!! As close to authentic Italian cuisine as we can wannabe without visiting Italy! Would recommend to ANYONE looking for something that reminds your of real European food, while simultaneously curing the trauma of Olive Garden experiences (though I love OG Too). This place is next level; come see for yourself! read more

We've been twice for take our - both since covid- and the food has been spectacular! Their fettuccine, pizzas and raviolis have all been top notch! I look forward to trying more of their dishes. read more