Valentino's Eatery: Read reviews about the best Italian restaurant in Florence, AZ.

Reviews From Our Wonderful Guests

Rhonda November 11, 2017

Best place in Florence! Rob is always welcoming and friendly and willing to accommodate. Everything I've ever had here has been delicious, fresh, and some of the best! I'm especially a fan of the mussels! Rob is probably gonna get tired of always preparing that dish for me!!!

Jenni - October, 2017

My family & I were vacationing in AZ, and stopped in for an Italian dinner.... and I am so glad we did! The food was simply amazing, the service was excellent, & price was reasonable. As we left, the owner greeted us, & thanked us for coming by. We plan on going back again before we head home! Jenni 10-2017

Joan - September 2017

Great place to eat. Delicious Italian food and wonderful ambiance

Keith & Lois - August, 2017

Keith and I just love Valentino's. A great place to dine.
We have never been disappointed with the selection of food.
The salmon special was just delicious. Friendly people to take care of you. So glad we have this special place.

Rory - June, 2017

My wife and I are originally from the east coast, We're delighted that we found Valentino's Eatery.
Service was excellent,servers were attentive to are needs.The Chicken Piccata I would highly recommend. We finally found an Italian restaurant that we will frequent. Thank you.

Jon Anderson

My wife and I had dinner at your place last night. I had the chicken special, just wanted to let you know that our meals were blue ribbon winners , terrific!!! The changes you have made in staff , menu are right on !

Keep up the good work , you have got another loyal customer.

Jon Anderson -- Anthem

Judy Grove

We've been four times and each time it seems to get better, how can that be? The food is outstanding, the portions generous, the price reasonable, and the owners and staff excellent. We are happy to have such a wonderful fine restaurant in our community. Thanks for giving us such a great dining option right here at home.

Dwight McCutchan

We were invited to Valentino's by friends. We did not even know it existed,, Our dining experience was incredible. We found all the staff to be very friendly and efficient, and the prime rib special was amazing. We will be going back there often, We were invited to Valentino's by friends. We did not even know it existed,, Our dining experience was incredible. We found all the staff to be very freindly and efficient, and the prime rib special was amazing. We will be going back there often.

Markie Cluff

Valentino's is a welcome addition to our small town! This Italian cuisine is excellent as is the service. We're very pleased to have Valentino's!

In Anthem, just off Hunt Highway and to the left of Safeway is a fabulous Italian restaurant I discovered thanks to Jeffrey Kramer, Food Connoisseur and Reviewer from Kahuna Cafe www.kahunacafe.blogspot.com.

When I walked in I saw a beautifully decorated dining room with 2 and 4 top tables with classy glass place settings and white table clothes. About 9 of the 15 or so tables were full of people talking and laughing and they all looked like they were really enjoying their food. It's a place where you can wear casual clothes or dress up, it all depends on how you feel. You'll fit in either way.

There was a short wait because when you first walk in, if the greeter is seating folks, there is no way for them or the servers to see you right away because the wall into the dining room is jutted out a little and there is no clear view from the dining room to the door or vice versa. I took a quick step to the left and one of the staff saw me right away and came to seat me.

My server, Rebecca, arrived within a minute or so, and took my drink order. I asked for the sweetest white wine they had and a coke.

Jen Barker, one of the owners (Rob Barker, her husband, is the other owner and chef) brought me my wine and introduced herself (she was tending bar). Jen is very pleasant and was really interested in knowing what I thought after I told her that Jeffrey recommended I stop in.

Rebecca arrived with my coke and for an appetizer, I ordered the Muscles Valentino in the wine and garlic sauce. It arrived a little while later and the sauce had a saltiness from the coarse salt on the mussels that was perfectly matched with a little hint of brininess from the mussels. I squeezed the fresh lemon slice over all the mussels and that added another level of flavor to the dish. Half way through them, I noticed that 4 of the 16 mussels didn't open. Rebecca took them back to the kitchen and Chef Rob quickly re-fired 4 fresh ones for me. When they arrived I choose not to use the lemon and found that I actually liked them better without it.

The homemade loaf of bread was a little hard on the outside (like a good French bread should be) yet soft and pillowy on the inside. It made the perfect dipping bread in the garlic sauce on the mussels.

Just as I finished the appetizer, Rebecca, my very attentive server, arrived with my salad. The salad was fresh and beautiful to look at. The bright and deep greens, dark red and orange were just gorgeous. And it had just the right combination of lettuce and spinach with plum tomatoes, carrots, red onion and a delicious house Italian dressing with just the right touch of tanginess.

Within a few minutes of finishing my salad my entrée was delivered with a smile. The special for the night, Cajun Broiled Fish on a bed of fettuccine with green peas, apple bacon and mushrooms. I've eaten some great Cajun fish in New Orleans and I have to tell you this was better than some of those. Nearly the best I've eaten. It really was mouthwatering.

The heat from the spicy Cajun seasoning was spot on. Not enough to burn your mouth, but just enough to let you know it's there. And the crispy outside of the fish had a light crunch that I heard when I bit into the first bite. The fettuccine was al dente as were the mushrooms, just the way I like them, and the taste was truly savory and delicious. I added a little squeeze of lemon juice to the fish and "Bam", as one of my favorite chefs says from time to time, it kicked the whole meal up a notch.

The prices are very reasonable so you won't break the bank on a very upscale and fabulous meal. And if your server is as good as Rebecca was, I highly recommend you tip accordingly.

This is a dining experience I will treasure for a long time... as least until I return to this little gem in the desert. So, if you're thinking about having a night out, in a nice setting and wonderful atmosphere, with phenomenal food, a friendly staff and owners that pay attention to their guests that won't put you in the poor house... then take that short 12 minute drive south (past Bella Vista on Hunt Hwy) and I promise you... you will not be disappointed.

We went in and had dinner in the restaurant. Between the 3 of us we ordered Pasta Combo, Fettuccini Alfredo, Shrimp Scampi and the Calamari appetizer. Everything was delicious, fresh and perfect! We also found out that the owner makes his own Ravioli in house and it was obvious. Still TEN STARS!

Sherrie Peacher

Completely addicted!!!

This was quite a surprise, a very pleasant surprise. Restaurants are scarce out here in this area. This was recommended by neighbors and we decided to try it.

1) Staff was pleasant and helpful.
2) Food was near excellent. Entree came with soup or salad, bread. Salad was very good portion, soup was very good. Bread was crusty and pretty good for out here.
3) Entree was excellent, pasta cooked perfectly, sauce very good.

We will definitely be back. This place could easily stand up to a good neighborhood restaurant in my home town in NYC. High five and a fist bump! Go and enjoy, you won't be disappointed.

Russ Wald San Tan Valley, AZ June 12, 2015

Awesome dining experience and the food was fantastic. I would recommend it to anyone. Worth the drive.

Eddie Edwards, AZ May 27, 2015

Great food, relaxing atmosphere, truly a gem of San Tan Valley. My wife and I love the food and the service, it is our little treat once a week to get out and feel like it's a date night. Food taste great, and my wife loves the wine choices and recommendations. If you haven't tried this place yet, what are you waiting for? You won't be disappointed! Thank you for your services!

Finally! We have a fine dinning establishment. I have eaten here now 3 times and perfect every time. The pizza is great and of course the pasta is superb. The wait staff is very friendly. The food comes at a decent pace. Just can't say enough good things about this place. Please stop by and enjoy this restaurant. Support your local owners.

From a fellow New Yorker we have to stick together.... What great people Rob / Jen / Staff are.. How did Florence Arizona get so lucky to get a family restaurant to this town? Any way I am not much into writing reviews so I thought I would share what I know about this new restaurant.

The restaurant is a complete turnaround from what it was in the past. The décor, the tables, the ambiance is tastefully done. Speaking of tasty let's get down to the facts, Chicken Parmigiana is awesome great portions and tasty, Sausage, Peppers & Onions is also one of my favorites, Pizzas are just like back home, the sauce is incredible you will not find another tasty pizza and the real mozzarella that is being used has a stretch from head to toe.

Any way the desserts I have to speak of I am thinking besides Chef Rob in the kitchen I think they may have a bakery chef back there as well. The Cannoli's are to die for, this reminds of Little Italy in NYC. I have also tried the Tiramisu and that's another favorite of mine...

Pricing overall is very fair and reasonable especially for the portions you get.

I wish the Barker family the best of luck and a continued success in there new restaurant in Florence Arizona

I will be back

Roger

What a wonderful and refreshing change, from a fast food pizza and wing joint. The food was great, service was superb. The quality and taste brought back memories of Little Italy in NYS. If I had read the reviews before I went there I would not have gone. what a big, big mistake. I did notice that the negative reviews was for the pizza. I asked many of my neighbors regarding the pizza, and they stated it was great, so I do not know what the other reviewers where tasting.
All in all, keep up the good work, great remodel job, excellent food, service and atmosphere.

Wow. It's the only word that can come out of my mouth right now. We decided to give this place a try tonight. My husband went in and ordered 2 pizzas. Words can't describe how good their food is. If their PIZZA is this good I can only imagine with their other dishes are like.

This place is the real deal, people! Amazing flavor. You can taste the freshness of it all. Their pizza crust is by far, the best I've ever had. In fact, we all held a vote and hands down it's the best pizza we've ever had. Ever. And trust me. We're a picky crowd.

Would rate this 10 stars if I could. I can assure you, I feel so lucky to have this new place just down the street from me and we will be back. On a regular basis.

Sarah Stein

Love having a close to home amazing restaurant to eat at. Small, comfortable and classy. The food is really fresh and tasty! The staff is friendly, personable, and genuine. I love it!!!!

Nick Tsalikis

I grew up with good Italian food back east these guys are the real deal! And they have veal!!

Christi Perryman

Wonderful place. Every dish I had was fantastic. The service was also excellent!

My wife and I stopped by at 5pm on a Wednesday. We were the 5th table, by the time we finished eating 17 out of the 20 tables were in service. We found out that it was Wine Down Wednesday where the $15 house wine (Coastal Vine) is reduced to $12 (We enjoyed a bottle of chardonnay) . Also on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday they have Happy Hour drink reductions
This family restaurant has friendly service and were very prompt.
Our meal consisted of the Clam & Mussel appetizer (a daily appetizer special), the past combo, a shrimp-chicken-lobster on bowtie special and cannolo dessert. Our entrees included a house salad (which my wife enjoyed very much) and fresh baked bread. The bread was put to good advantage finishing off the sauce from our appetizer. The tastes were exquisite.
Their website is http://www.valentinoseateryaz.com/

Terri Pappas

We live in Colorado and were in town visiting friends and family.
I am from Italian heritage, I have never found Italian food that was as good as my families until now.
I wish your restaurant was here in Colorado!
Fabulous meal and our waitress Keri was fantastic!
Look forward to returning soon!

For 90 minutes we "left" Anthem. This is truly a restaurant...white table cloths, fine food, good service and optional outdoor seating.
Portioning was very generous so we had to take over half of our order home. Everything is fresh.

On the down side though greeted promptly, the hostess did not not look us in the eye. The wine list is adequate but not extensive.

Our waiter agreed that portions we so large that they don't serve many desserts.

I had spaghetti but it was really spagatini. Sauce and sausage were excellent. My wife had veal masala with four medallions of veal...very good.
I will return many times and bring my friends!

Sandi Smith, January 24, 2016

My husband and I were in last night for the first time and it couldn't have been more wonderful! Dee was our server and she always had a smile and happily answered all of our questions. Rob made stuffed blue cheese olives for my martini and they were the best! The salad and bread with tomato oil were great! I had the Pasta Giovanni and Jeff had the Lasagna. Both were hot and served in a timely manner. Absolutely delicious! We had cheesecake for dessert and that was also fabulous! Such a comfortable feeling and very clean as well. We are very picky about going out to eat and I almost cried at the joyful experience. We most certainly will pass along a good word and we will be back. I wish you continued success! Thank you! Sandi and Jeff!
P.S. - And it was nice that we didn't have to drive far as we live in Johnson Ranch.

Reviews From Our Wonderful Guests﻿