Vito’s By The Park

My favorite part about Vito’s is the happy hour! They have amazing specials for happy hour and you can pretty much count it as dinner. They have pizzas and other appetizers on special as well as great drinks. I can not comment on dinner or lunch, but it is definitely a home run for happy hour!

Just average. Been there many times over the years and it seems they are just not trying very hard.

Shocked by the low reviews that this place gets, the food is actually surprisingly good!
I ordered the ;
Antipasto misto– 5/​5, an assortment of items — olives, pickled garlic, cheese, cold cuts/​awesome flavor the garlic was amazing, the olive olive oil overtakes the garlic and is soaked in the fibers.
Veal Parm over the house made pasta; ⁵⁄₅ everything from the portion to the meat, to the sauce to the pasta was house made and fresh– the house made pasta has a different flavor vs the dry pasta– after a few bites you’ll get used to it.
Drinks–
Captain Morgan w/​Coke — this was kinda disappointing the rum wasn’t as strong as I expected it to be.
Service was fine, waitress was cordial — food was delicious, total damage was $ 50 which for the location and food quality is fine.

Great place to grab lunch to go with a wide variety of salads– sandwich’s and daily specials. Good place to grab a meal prior to an event at the XL center with a great Pizza and pasta menu.

We went to Vito’s by the park for an early mother’s day brunch. With all of the great reviews I have heard over the years I was disappointed in our experience.
Right from the start the level of service we received was far below what I expected. It took a while for anyone to come to our table. The server was sloppy and interrupted us several times. He also removed plates from the table as others were still eating making things a bit awkward.
The food was ok, but the waiter got my order wrong even after confirming it with me. The eggs in my omelet were also very undercooked. It took a very long time for our food to come out as we watched other tables seated after us received their food before us.
I would possibly try coming again in hopes of a better experience.

My boss likes coming here for post work happy hour get togethers. The parking situation is how you’d expect in downtown Hartford: you can hope to find street spots or park in a garage.
I shared a veggie pannini with a friend; it wasn’t flavorful and the bottom got soggy. Our servers didn’t take our order for awhile, I’m guessing since we arrived in staggered amounts. I think it’s good spot for a short visit with co-​workers but I don’t think they have anything special with their food menu.

4pm Sunday for dinner… (not a very busy time)… ordered a few pizzas (Plain Cheese, Margherita, Bacon) and they were all overcooked and dry… also got the pasta dish with pumpkin, and the fresh pasta was at least 2 minutes underdone… essentially raw. Even if the pasta was cooked al dente, it wasn’t a very tasty dish. The caesar salad was bland, and even roasted brussels sprouts were less than average. To boot, we waited quite a bit of time for food to show up even though the restaurant wasn’t busy. All in all, there really wasn’t anything I could give a good review, except for that our waitress was nice and understood about the food quality (and removed items form the bill). Totally unexpectedly poor dinner since I have much better experiences for lunch during the week.

Wonderful chef’s dinner with an amazing host! Vito’s is an old school authentic dining experience. We come here frequently for happy hour with the best bar staff ever. They make creative cocktails and enjoy their customers. You’ll be treated well to excellent service and homemade food.

Lunch with wife to celebrate Valentine’s Day on the day before «V» Day. Vito’s serves brunch through early afternoon on the weekends and that’s what we wanted so it was perfect. Seated promptly we order our drinks. A diet RC Cola and a Yuengling draft brew. The drinks are served and we order a prosciutto plate to share as an appetizer and a bacon/​cheese Frittata for her and a small Margarita «breakfast» Pizza for me.
The app is served. It comes with thinly sliced prosciutto, burrito cheese, fig preserves, and a few crosstini bread slices. Very nice. Perfect for the occasion and delish.
We finish the app, replenish the drinks and the main brunch plates are served.
A quick taste of my wife’s Frittata reveals nicely oven baked eggs mixed with bacon, onions, peppers and tomatos all covered in melted mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Yummy for sure. A good amount of sliced fruit is included to cleanse the pallet.
My pizza is covered with a good amount of melted mozzerella and ricotta cheese served on an interesting «puffy» bread (pizza?) crust. It comes with a nicely portioned dish of marinara sauce. Seasoned and baked just right this too tasted very good.
This restaurant is top notch. Everything is set just so. Atmosphere is perfect for a great dining experience. As expected, you do have to pay for this experience. For us, it was definitely worth it. Our server (Mike) was very attentive and had the answers for all of our questions.
If you are looking for a high level dining experience you should check this establishment out and enjoy. You will be glad you did.

I have been here a number of times for happy hour and dinner. But even on our most recent visit, where they advertised 50% off the entire menu (01÷23÷16 Winter Storm Jonas), the service was fine but the food was just meh.
Appetizers and salads are light and tasty. Opt for the roasted beet salad, garlic bread, and broccoli rabe. Pizzas aren’t bad but dinners tend to be overcooked or overpriced.
Some of the weekly specials are make Vito’s more accessible. Half-​priced wine list on Mondays, Thursday is $ 1 oysters and clams and Fridays is $ 1 shrimp. I like the Happy Hour too, Monday-​Friday from 4−8pm (bar only) These specials make having a good time at Vito’s by the Park totally doable and affordable.

This is a great spot for a nice dinner right in the heart of downtown Hartford. It has beautiful décor and a small cozy fireplace, so it definitely feels like a step up from your everyday dinner spot.
We had the chopped salad and garlic bread as an appetizer. The salad was good, but the garlic bread was definitely my favorite part of dinner. I’m not usually a fan of cheesy bread, but it’s made with olive oil, garlic, and topped with mozzarella cheese and tastes amazing.
For dinner, I ordered the beef short rib, but was pretty disappointed. It looked amazing, but tasted a bit gritty. Not the tender short rib that I would have wanted or expected from such a lovely restaurant.
Dessert was home-​made tiramisu. It was flavorful for sure, but a little bit dry.
The service was great! Our waiter was friendly, helpful, and went out of his way to suggest dishes or specials for us. They do have half priced bottles of wine on Mondays, and you can get a decent bottle for the table for under $ 20.
I would return for their Monday night specials, and hopefully have better luck with one of their other entrees.

This review is way overdue, but it must be done! I stopped into Vito’s with my family pretty late for dinner on Black Friday (9:30) and the place was absolutely dead in the dining room, but had a decent crowd for a trivia night going on over at the other side of the restaurant.
Our waiter was super nice, speedy, helpful, on point — we were a party of 7 that kept him way past 10 which is what should have been the end of his shift, and he was super patient and nice to us. The food here has always been pretty solid for me, and what I generally crave when I crave classic Italian food, though truth be told I think its a touch overpriced for the quality.
Ultimately I think this place needs a bit of a facelift. Theres a lack of youth and vibrancy here and that’s reflected in the cocktail offerings, wine list, menu, and overall vibe of this place. Spruce up the interior, modernize the menu, get a craft cocktail program going — do something different.

We have visited a couple of times and unfortunately the food and service continue to be an issue.
On our last visit we were served an appetizer of bruschetta, in which the bread was rock solid and the tomatoes topping had no flavor. There was a special drink but it was drastically over sweetened.
The main course was pizza and unfortunately it got worse. Frozen pizza from your local grocery or even gas station would taste better. Every flavor from cheese, to the meat to the vegetables had a flavor profile of still being frozen with no flavor. The crust was like cardboard and we had trouble cutting it with a knife.
We tried many times to get drinks from the bar area but could not get any attention from the bar tenders.
When we did place our order, wine was served in small plastic cup. Not sure what happened to the wine glasses and the beer was room temperature, not served in a chilled glass. The portion sizes are very small especially for the price.
I don’t think we will be returning.

Three stars because they made our new year’s eve a really fun time & gave us service worth coming back.
There was a live band, free champagne toasts, attentive (but slow) service, & just the best setup for such a celebration. The atmosphere they created alone is worth another shot. But ultimately, we’re here to talk about the food that fell very short.
Both my husband & I had lukewarm meals that made us feel like popping our plates in a microwave for a few minutes. Not only that they were only okay tasting. I’ve made better chicken parmesan at home.
We ordered dessert hoping for a better ending since we weren’t ready to leave but poor decision. My crème brûlée was runny & his birthday gelato was half melted by the time it arrived. I couldn’t even finish my drinks & my husband had to ask for a new, off-​brand cola since one tasted off. All for prices that were justifiable due to an old Groupon we have.
We’re really hoping that the holiday is the reason for the less than average food & are willing to give it another shot.

Great happy hour and great service staff. They really know their drinks and can mix almost anything!

My boyfriend and I went to Vito’s Happy Hour a little over a month ago. We are frequent diners at the surround restaurants and opted for a different choice. I have heard good and bad things about Vito’s over the years. From my standpoint, either you love it or hate it, there is no in between.
My service was okay, I have had better. The main reason why we stopped by was due to the fact that they have raw bar deals during happy hour. I enjoyed watching our oysters be shuck right in front of us. I am huge on correctly shucked oyster. I have a hard time dealing with shards of shell in my oyster, let alone in my mouth.
I ordered a cocktail and my boyfriend ordered a beer. My cocktail was very good and well, the quality of his beer was standard (like it should be when ordering a beer).
I am sure we will give Vito’s another shot, but not in the near future. I feel like there is a lot of hype behind the name due to the large amount of advertising the owner/​chef does. You would think he would want to step it up. I really hope the owner beats Bobby Flay in the Food Network Challenge.

I came here with my parents on a Sunday morning. (It’s one of the few places open for lunch downtown!) My parents definitely liked the vibe and menu.
Our waitress was nice and sweet without being overly oozing with attentiveness. My mom’s osso bucco was really stellar, right on point. We had both types of calamari at the table but, when in doubt, always go for the fried calamari. (It tastes better!)
Solid experience, and I wouldn’t hesitate to come back to this location.

Stopped by for lunch with several co-​workers and I was amazed that Vito’s was practically empty.
The Good:
I saw a huge array of different meals ordered among my co-​workers; most of it looked excellent. The paninis were huge and amply filled with meat and cheese. Someone ordered a lunch special of squash ravioli which looked amazing. As for myself, I had the arancini appetizer as a meal. I love a good rice ball, and these did not disappoint. Creamy, slightly salty risotto with sun-​dried tomatoes and sweet peas was fried up into three delicious balls and topped with a gorgonzola-​truffle sauce. The sauce was outstanding, though very rich, and so flavorful. The arancini themselves were good, though some bits of rice seemed under-​cooked and the sun-​dried tomato kind of tough — really only a minor complaint, since overall it was great.
Service was excellent. Our waiter was thoughtful and attentive, conversational without being annoying. Food came out quickly and there were no errors. The restaurant itself was clean and spacious.
The Bad:
Parking was horrible, but it’s downtown Hartford so it was not unexpected.
The Ugly:
Everything on the lunch menu except for the paninis seemed a little overpriced for what you got. I can only imagine how pricey the dinner menu must be.
Really, I did not mind coming along to Vito’s. While it definitely was not my choice of where to eat, I was pleased with the experience. My food was good and the time spent was well worth it. However, because of the location and the price, I don’t think I would take Vito’s as a first choice for going back for a return visit. Although, if someone else recommended it, I would not be averse to the idea, either.

Love Vito’s. They have great happy hour specials at the bar. The food is consistently good and the wait staff is very knowledgeable on the menu and specials. I live near by and come here often. The ambiance is dressy/​casual with limited noise level so great for conversations. Great bar drinks w

We were taking my stepson to see Wicked for the first time, so the 3 of us decided to have dinner at Vito’s first. It was a Friday night, so we had made a reservation, and were seated right away when we arrived. It was very busy, but our waiter came over immediately to take our drink orders. It took a while to get our salads, and I was getting a little annoyed that they had not even brought bread over to keep us busy, but when my salad did come I was so happy! The beet, orange and goat cheese salad was fabulous. My husband got the caesar and my stepson got the garlic bread with cheese. The waiter did bring a regular bread basket after he dropped off our salads. Everyone was happy!
When our entrees arrived, they looked fabulous! I ordered the pappardelle carbonara and it came covered in an extra layer of parmesan cheese — I like that, but may be a bit much for some, as it is already in a heavy cream sauce. My husband got chicken saltimbocca, which he has been craving for some time. It was not exactly what he was looking for. It was in an unidentifiable sauce, that, while somewhat tasty on its own, did not seem characteristic of saltimbocca. It tasted like a cross between a marsala sauce and a marinara sauce. I took a bite and was unable to taste any sage, which is typically found in a saltimbocca preparation. My stepson was over the moon with his enormous «personal» stuffed meat pizza (meatball, sausage, pepperoni, bacon and mozzarella). He was only able to eat 2 slices and took the rest home.
It may not be on our regular rotation, but Vito’s is a good solid choice for a nice dinner when you’re in Hartford.