The food was really good. My fiancée and I both had the lasagna which came with a house salad and their home made creamy Italian dressing. It also came with a side of cheese bread that looked like a small sauce less cheese pizza. There was only one person out front doing everything and we ran out of drinks and never got refills. He was overwhelmed with the number of people who were in the restaurant. read more

Specialty Italian Bistro - Lasagna with cheese bread. - Italian Near Me - Gretna, Louisiana

This is one of our go-to spots near the house. They have great lunch specials, the best house salad dressing (which you can purchase by the bottle), generally really good food, nice vegetarian options, and good desserts. Top choices: spinach lasagna, club salad (I sub the ham with pepperoni), and the French onion soup. Also love the cheese bread you get with entrees! read more

If you want good food and to support a family owned business, this is the place! Fast, consistent service- with great specials! read more

Specialty Italian Bistro - Italian Near Me - Gretna, Louisiana

Food was horrible. My cousin ordered fettuccine and it was sour. Sent it back idk if waitress was just overwhelmed but she disappeared. We had a question about the Clipp coupon she answered incorrectly and the manager must have given her a hard time because she was obviously trying not to cry. It wasn't that serious. The manager came to table and instead of apologizing for the misunderstanding he came ready for a fight. Nobody was arguing and his hostility was very misplaced. Food was horrible but waitress was trying her best. Manager a bully. Sad really. Our fault we should have read recent reviews before we went. read more

Specialty Italian Bistro is located on the Westbank of the Greater New Orleans area in Gretna, LA and this area has a lot of restaurants to choose from. They have done a great job updating and upgrading this location which used to be a Kentucky Fried Chicken. This New Orleans Italian Creole restaurant is noted for their great lunch and wine specials which makes it stand out from the many other restaurants in this area. They have a great selection of affordable lunch options in here and unlike many other spots their "specials" are not smaller portions as the serving size here remain VERY generous. They have a lot of traditional Italian options, sandwiches, calzones and salads along with decent pizza. Since this is Louisiana they also have a seafood gumbo on the menu. They also have a decent selection of desserts in here. Overall this is a great value lunch spot to grab an affordable meal and they also are a good dinner location as well. My video review of Specialty Italian Bistro is here: https://youtu.be/MB2XBKiZ7r4 read more

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Hadn't been here in quite a while so we decided to stop in for lunch. Started with the spinach and artichoke dip which came out piping hot. I love the puffy pita that it comes with and the dip was creamy and delicious. The spaghetti and meatballs were a perfect lunch portion size. The meatballs were very tasty and the marinara was good although a little sweet for my taste. Hubby got the eggplant Parmesan and said it was delicious. A nice little Italian gem on the Westbank! Everyone is short staffed so be patient!! read more

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I love Specialty Italian Bistro. It's one of my favorite restraunts. The atmosphere is warm and cozy. The pizza is absolutely delicious and the service is wonderful. read more

ordered an combo pizza that was OK. But the crust was very thin and TASTELESS. Never had pizza with tasteless crust..Unremarkable

Wow everything here smells great I'm so hungry Nice selection Pizzas to dinner Soups Salad Calzones and more I had the Spinach Lasagna last time Delicious and filling Had leftovers for lunch the next day I couldn't finish it all Today I'm gonna try the meat Lasagna There is wine available Very decorative Very clean Really nice dining atmosphere The dining room is limited seating with social distancing Servers wear masks Family owned and operated read more

Specialty Italian Bistro - Dinning - Italian Near Me - Gretna, Louisiana

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Love the atmosphere.. Everything we have tried so far is delicious! Service is great too!

We have driven by this place many times over the years and decided to give it a try. Well it was wonderful experience. The services was awesome and the food was hot and tasty. We had a pizza which was cooked perfect. Crust was cooked just right. The spinach salad with added grilled shrimp was awesome. The dressing is a pepper jelly vinaigrette which was great. Overall we had a great meal with great service. Give them a try, you know won't be disappointed. We will definitely be back. read more

Specialty Italian Bistro - a dining area with tables and chairs - Italian Near Me - Gretna, Louisiana

The atmosphere was nice and everyone was very friendly but the food was just meh. The mozzarella cheese sticks were definitely frozen. The chicken Parmesan was so dry I could barely chew it up. Nothing was very flavorful or fresh. read more

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So this restaurant came up in conversation when I was complaining about lack of pizza options in the area. We decided to try it tonight after it was highly recommended. Let me just say I strongly recommend it. We had a pizza, cheese bread and baked cheese. Well nothing disappointed and it will now become our go to pizza location. Can't wait to try some other dishes as well. Who would have know that it's been here all these years Thanks Greg I will listen to you more often. read more

By far the most flavorful meat lasagna I've ever tasted! It's made with Italian sausage and ground beef which brings out the herbs and spices. I had the Pecan encrusted Catfish and the sweetness compliments this tender fluffy fish with every bite. It's the kind of fish that melts in your mouth with brown sugar flavor. read more

Specialty Italian Bistro - Pecan Crusted Catfish - Italian Near Me - Gretna, Louisiana

All my life, I've lived on the Westbank and have never been in this place until tonight. I can kick myself in the behind for not having tried it sooner! It's fantastic! I got the Chicken Piccata and my wife got the Veal Parmesan. Both were really good. We were both envious of each other's dishes, I was in awe at how much toasted, melted mozzarella they put on her Veal. Kiddo got the cheese pizza and really enjoyed it. Most of the folks around us were getting pizzas, so I can see it's pretty popular for that. They serve an insane portion of food for extremely reasonable prices. And the wine list, while small, is perfect - and they're practically giving it away at the prices. If you go on Tuesday or Wednesday, they actually do! Buy one get one free on select bottles. We'll be back to get blotto on wine and sop it up with that artichoke bread! read more

Specialty is one of the best Italian food restaurants on the west bank. Located in what I believe was an old fast food restaurant (KFC maybe?), I had never thought about dining here till a friend suggested it. I am glad I listed to the recommendation because this place is great. We arrived at an odd time due to scheduling issues so the restaurant was mostly empty. The hostess immediately greeted us, and was very friendly. She even tolerated my silly jokes about the westbank. I started with french onion soup in their "mini" size. The mini is a coffee cup which made drinking all of the tasty broth much easier than if it had been in a traditional bowl. I realize french onion soup is not traditional Italian fare, but their version was very good. My friend and I split an order of manicotti that was wonderful. This was among the best versions of manicotti I have ever tried. I highly recommend splitting an entree unless you want leftovers. Each entree comes with a salad and small cheese pizza (cheese bread) and portions are quite large. I really enjoyed this restaurant. If you're on the west bank and want great Italian food coupled with friendly service, I recommend you give Specialty a try. read more

Specialty Italian Bistro - Italian Near Me - Gretna, Louisiana

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I've only ordered sandwiches for lunch at work from them but they were delicious and hot. The staff is very friendly and helpful. I haven't yet eaten in but do plan on it soon and will report back on the experience. read more

We would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who comes to New Orleans. We thoroughly enjoyed the Specialty all meat pizza, Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Triple Chocolate Dessert and Coconut Bread Pudding!!!! Most importantly our waitress Haley B was fabulous Thank you Haley B for the great service and recommendations!!! The Laird's read more

Sweet marinara sauce. Mini cheese pizza served with meal. Alfredo thin but a bit lumpy. Baked cheese appetizer was quite tasty and creamy. Pecan catfish had a praline brown gravy over it which was sweet. Fish was fried brown and crispy. Kitchen staff and my server had no mask on but hostess and other servers did. Unsure why my server was without one when the others had them. Server lacked friendliness and seemed put out. Hostess was very polite and took drink order for us. Companion had chicken Parmesan and said was it a 5 star but I didn't taste it. Was a large portion also. read more

Well with me not reading the whole offer on Localflavors.com I assumed that it was one $40.00 certificate that you use on one visit, but no they have a scam that you can only use one per visit. Meaning that they got an extra $20.00 out of us and the next time they will get more money out of us. We will not be going back there after this last certificate. It only has a 3-1/2 Star rating, and I can see why the food is bland, chicken was tough, and my wife's lasagna had so much basil in it, that it was disgusting, the food looks good but that's it. read more

Have had lunch here 4-5 times now . Have not been disappointed with anything from pizza,Italian dishes and their Caesar salad pretty good also. Service ok too. Well cared for restaurant when the owner is serving food out the kitchen , bussing tables and talking with customers. read more

One of the best authentic Italian Restaurants in the New Orleans Area.....all food is fresh and flavorful....waitress service was perfect...making sure we were pleased with everything....waitress made sure to keep the drinks topped off read more

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We live right down the road from this little joint and never stopped in. I saw they had a Groupon while I was cruising the app and decided this may have been a sign I needed to try them out. We started with the house salads which were romaine lettuce finely shredded moist mozzarella and a homemade creamy Italian dressing. The dressing was sooo good. I WISH IT HAD GARLIC CROUTONS... that would have been the bomb.com but since it didn't have croutons it was just a meh, a plain side salad, good but nothing to write home about. Tonight has been one of the chillier nights New Orleans has had in a while and I saw they had Shrimp and Artichoke bisque on the menu. I had all intentions of getting a pasta dish but as soon as I saw the soup I had to have it. It was tasty and warm and creamy but not cream heavy if that makes since. I really liked t. It was not a chunky soup either which I found appealing. Boyfriend got the lasagne and e said it was good, he wished it had more cheese but it looked plenty cheesy to me! I tried some and the sauce was good. It came with a personal pan pizza sized cheesy bread which was very good. I think for what you get the prices are reasonable. Its decent italian on the west bank and and we will come again for pizza because the people next to us ordered a large pie and it looked so amazing~ read more

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The other night we decided to watch "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs" on Netflix. Super cute little movie that gave me a big craving for spaghetti! I had heard this place delivers so checked out the menu and ordered delivery. We ordered the chicken Parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs which came with cheese bread and side salads. Also ordered the cheesecake because why the heck not. Meatballs were great and chicken parm was super tender. Next time I'll ask for a side or red sauce as both were on the dry side and I love a lot of red sauce. Cheesebread was ok it was basically a small cheese pizza I would've loved more garlic. Didn't have room for the side salad but tasted the creamy Italian dressing and it was amazing. Cheese cake was great too! All in all a good meal and love that they delivered! read more

Amazing. I've passed this place hundreds of times, but had never tried it until recently! The food here was great. For a starter, I got a "mini" French onion soup. It came served in what was basically a coffee cup and was a perfect appetizer. The soup wasn't anything fancy, but it was hot and cheesy and I really liked it. My friend and I decided to split an entree. We got the manicotti, which came with a salad and cheese bread. It was delicious. Splitting the entree was a really good idea, because coupled with the bread, it was the perfect amount of food, since we were going somewhere and didn't want to have to deal with leftovers. They had an assorted sandwich menu and I really want to go back and try some of the other food they have. Their menu is well priced and you definitely get your money's worth, when you get dinner here. read more

This is THE place to go for some good food especially Italian food. We discovered this place while visiting New Orleans. The service was top notch and it was an intimate setting and not very busy. Food wise, it has been a challenge to find food that does not contain red meat while in NO. I had the Chicken Parmesan at this restaurant. It was AMAZING!!! I didn't realize it came with a side salad AND cheese bread which was fantastic!!! I had more than enough food because I decided to try the Mediterranean waffle fries. I am in love with this place. If I return to New Orleans this will be on the list of places to try. read more

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I have ordered takeout from here twice! Both meals were good and tasty homemade. It even pleased my picky pizza eater.I had a club salad that was very good and it was fresh. I will return. read more

If you're looking for great Italian food, this is THE PLACE to be! The servers are very acknowledgeable. The managers are very well known and absolutely welcoming. They do anything possible to insure you've had a great time! Also, the hostess is very welcoming and the food itself is delicious. The atmosphere is nice. The decorations and music fits very well to the whole "Italian" theme. All entrees come with a house salad (mixed lettuce topped with moz cheese) and a mini garlic cheese bread (six slices.) I've tried every single one of their salads, which all tasted absolutely wonderful. There's such a big selection to choose from. All of the dressings are made in the restaurant by the managers. There's pepper jelly vingerette, caesar, parmesan peppercorn, honey mustard, and the house dressing- creamy italian. Another great thing is that the pizza and sandwich dough are made fresh daily! My favorites would be: BLT PIZZA: cheese pizza with bacon bites, then topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo. At first I was a little iffy about ordering it, but once my boyfriend and I tried it, it became our favorite! SMOKED TURKEY SANDWICH: handmade dough, moz cheese, smoked turkey and dressed (only if you want). I usually get my sandwich dressed with lettuce and light mayo. I also get light cheese. SEAFOOD GUMBO: Rice with seafood gumbo. Their gumbo is absolutely delicious, although a little overpriced. The gumbo is literally made from scratch! PLAIN CANOLI: the plain canoli is a MUST try! I've pretty much had everything on the menu. The best thing about Specialty is that everything is AUTHENTIC Italian! They also sell Gumbo, Seafood Platters, and chicken tenders. read more

Specialty Italian Bistro - Himel's fried shrimp salad - Italian Near Me - Gretna, Louisiana

Stopped in with the family after not having been to the place since they were located near the old Schwinn bicycle and mower shop a few minutes away. The turkey club sandwich turned out exactly like I remember it, with generous amounts of turkey to go along with luscious mozzarella cheese. Our waiter recommended the appetizer, called simply the Sicilian cheese (a smooth marinara with a mix of mozzarella and ricotta cheeses) with small pita slices. Our pizzas were also excellent, one a broccoli/mushroom/feta job and the other a classic pepperoni with jalapeño peppers. We'll be back soon enough to sample the rest of the menu! read more

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After reading such rave review about this place I decided to stop in. Like most users that rated this place I pass this location hundreds of times and never noticed it. The decor is very homey like with lovely soft music playing. Both times I went I had amazing service, so compliments to the waitress there. They were around when you need refills and left you long enough to enjoy your meal without interrupting. I give the food 3 stars. The extra star was for their service. You can't beat the price of an entree when it comes with free cheese bread + salad for under $20. I really like the sauce they use on their pasta dishes, but there wasn't really any WOW factor. All together I enjoy this place. It's better than most restaurants around the area and I see myself coming back here again in the future. read more

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Love the fried eggplant bites. So far tried the Alfredo and chicken Parmesan (they said on the phone the chicken would be fried but it wasn't) and couldn't say I was a fan. But the fried eggplant bites were amazing. read more

Specialty Italian Bistro - Fried eggplant bites. - Italian Near Me - Gretna, Louisiana

Yum! The combo pizza was a delight in this little one off Italian Bistro. A nice clean place with good service and even though I've only been here once I like it a lot. The combo pizza says it comes with anchovies but I cannot find any on pizza. You may have to ask for them specially. No matter as the flavors are classic, crust perfect, and not very greasy. I've been in NOLA 6 months and this is the best pizza I've had. The house salad was also classic with one of the best creamy Italian dressings I've ever had. They have a full Italian menu here and it's now on the list for a dinner and more meal. Good job SIB! I wrote this review mid meal and when asked about desert I got the chocolate cannoli which was a bit of a let down as it tasted like it had been in a refrigerator a long time. It was ok but for $5.50 it was just ok. read more

I used to live in Sicily, and one of our favorite foods to get was a regular cheese pizza with fries on top. It is difficult to find a place that will make it. This restaurant does, and it is delicious! The BLT pizza is also one of my favorites! read more

I stopped in for a late dinner 50 min before closing knowing I could get in, ordered and out before I overstayed the welcome however it was met with poor attitude by the wait staff on duty that night. I actually overheard a female and male go back and forth about who was going to serve me and both saying, "Well it's not going to be me." Finally, a male waiter took my order but not using the friendliest of tones. I nearly got up and left but decided to stay anyway. While there may have been cleaning tasks to complete I see no reason as to why 1 single customer was such a big deal to this staff especially given that I was the only customer in the restaurant. The unwelcome feelings felt give me no desire to want to return. read more

We went here to celebrate my husband's birthday. The environment and atmosphere was welcoming. read more

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The atmosphere was nice. The service was friendly. The food....not so much. we had "fried mozzarella fritta" for our appetizer, which is just mozzarella sticks. I'm cool with that. But they tasted like they came out of a box from the store. Hubby's Alfredo came out cold and was very bland. I had chicken Parmesan. Tasted like boxed spaghetti and the chicken was tough and rubbery. I was very disappointed. Maybe their pizza is better? read more

Good service, food, and reasonable prices. Service was nothing short of outstanding. They were personable, well spoken, friendly, and professional. They worked together to ensure we had a good dining experience. We had the large specialty pizza and it was great! The price was also good. read more

Went there for lunch today for the first time. The hostess told us there was going to be a 10-15 minute wait, so we sat down and waited. I asked the hostess after a long wait how much longer and she answered me that she will get to me when she has a minute. It was the rudest response. Observing her attitude throughout my lunch, I am astounded she has a job there as she treated every customer as a burden and their presence bothered her. Food was ok. read more

Great place--good food, good service, and 2 for 1 wine on Tuesdays and Wednesday's. The only drawback was our waitress forgot our appetizer. Dessert was delicious. read more

Music was not only bad, but deafeningly loud. Management refused to lower it when asked. Great waitress but sucky management. Would be 1 star, but the amazing waitress *Shannon* deserves a star herself. read more