Italian Restaurants in Appleton

Appleton, Wisconsin actually has decent and delicious restaurants. I am a snob when it comes to good restaurants due to the high standards of how my parents raised me in regard to food. In Appleton, I have been to Victorias, Katsuya of Japan, Wild Truffle Pizza , Sangria, Sal's Pizza and Carmellas.

Victorias, Wild Truffle Pizza and Carmellas are Italian. Victorias is really one of those family oriented, large-portion size restaurants. The food is okay. You get your money's worth, but the food really is catered towards Americans who do not know real Italian food. There is a ton of cheese on each of the portions. If you order the ravioli, they will put like at least 300 calories worth of cheese on the top.  The portion sizes could serve my whole entire family. They start you out with huge pieces of garlic bread that leaves you wanting more and more. By the time your food arrives, you will have eaten the whole bread basket. Trust me. Both times, I left with a huge belly ache because I ate so much at this restaurant. I went twice on one of my friend's birthday and on mine. If you say that it is your birthday, they will give you a free cheesecake, which is awesome.

Here is what I ordered at Victorias:

The huge pieces of garlic bread 

Fettucine with prosciutto, mozzarella with white wine and garlic sauce.

Linguini with pesto sauce

Free cheesecake!

I love Wild Truffle Pizza and Carmellas. They are my the most recommendable restaurants in Appleton and are truly my favorite. They are what many would call "fancy and expensive."

 At Carmellas, the service is very friendly and the noise level can get somewhat loud. My mother reached out to the owners, so they know here a little. The food is very authentic. The times where I've had the creamy pastas, I have left with a little bit of a stomach ache. I have ordered the spaghetti with meatballs, but I subbed in wheat noodles, lemon shrimp with linguini, the tomato and mozzarella caprese salad, the meats and cheese plate and the pappardelle with cream sauce and chicken. I am also big on the presentation of food. Carmella's does a great job with presenting the food in a unique way. In the caprese salad (pictured below), I love the oil and the balsamic vinegar and how it's circled around the main dish.  

Here is the caprese salad with mozzarella, prosciutto and tomatoes. Very filling and delicious! 

Grilled shrimp with toasts

Here are the desserts that I have eaten at Carmellas:

Tiramisu - so rich and I love the Italian cookie (pizzelle) featured at the top. 

The special sundae- ice-cream, caramel sauce and a large fancy cookie 

At Wild Truffle Pizza, my family and I ordered a pizza and a salad. The pizza had bacon, pear and goat cheese. It was very flavorful and the crust was so thick and chewy which is just what I love in a perfect, desirable pizza.  I cannot recall the salad that we had ordered but I remember it being very  small and savory. The atmosphere was fancy and the staff were very friendly. This restaurant also does a great job of presenting their food but I believe Carmella's is more artistic. In Minneapolis, we used to have a local Campiello restaurant, owned by the D'amico brothers. The restaurant served a variety of pizzas, pastas, salads and meats, but it closed about seven years ago.  It was one of my favorite restaurants that my family went to all the time and I miss it very much. Wild Truffle Pizza reminded me of this place. The moment you walk in the restaurant you can catch the smell of pizza in their wood-oven just like you could at Campiello. 

Sal's Pizza only serves Chicago style deep dish pizza. The pizza slices are huge and it comes with a piece of garlic bread! If you want to be unhealthy for a night, this is the place to go. No greens here! 

There are also a variety of other Italian places in Appleton. Fratellos serves a mixture of Italian, Mexican, Asian and American foods. Frank's Pizza Palace also serves Italian food. You also cannot miss Lawrence's staple food, Toppers. Thick greasy topper sticks that can be dipped in cheese, ranch or marinara sauce.