GINO's Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Temple Terrace

It is with a heavy heart I write this review. My mom and I came in here two weekends in a row and both times were left disappointed. First weekend we ordered and split the Caesar salad, which was a good portion size but I wasn’t the biggest fan of the dressing as it was more of a vinaigrette. Then our entrees came out, my mom got the eggplant Parmesan, which she thought was good! My dish however, the chicken sorrentino, was lackluster at best. First the presentation was not appetizing, but more important was the lack of flavor. The dish was about half breading and took over all of the flavor. The Demi glacé, which always makes me very excited, was flavorless, and not even the mozzarella was enough to add other elements to the dish. My angel hair pasta was over cooked to the point of being soggy and was drenched in olive oil and garlic. I couldn’t eat it. There was no salt, and it was so greasy. I will admit that my leftovers tasted much better the next day (excluding pasta), as it seemed they had marinated a little more. Considering I had never heard of this dish, I had hoped it was a house specialty. We decided to try it again the next weekend because hey, one bad dish doesn’t ruin the whole experience and we were craving a local made pizza. This is what made us decide we will mot be going back. We ordered a margarita pizza. It came out and looked nothing like a regular margarita pizza. There was way too much cheese and it had already hardened to the crust. The 9 huge sliced tomatoes on it were what you would find on a burger, not the plump acidic kind that you expect from real Italian food. The water from them was making the crust soggy, which only added to how gross it tasted. Even the basil was wilted because it had been cooked on top instead of being placed on after to get the full fragrant flavor you expect from this kind of pizza. We took two bites and had to flag down our server for a replacement, as it was simply inedible. We instead got a split chicken piccata because that is a known favorite between us and even that was unimpressive. I was happy with the Alfredo sauce on the pasta it came with but the actual piccata sauce itself was thick with flour, not really buttery or creamy and again not really appetizing. It was heavily acidic and considering I love acidic food, was too much even for me, but at least this dish was edible. The staff seemed disorganized as a team and our servers got the job done each time but did not give us the care that a mom and pop place should provide. I do really like the atmosphere as it gives local Italian eatery but other than the garlic bread it has no redeeming qualities for me. I am sad to have to write such a negative review for a locally owned restaurant in my hometown. I can only hope that management sees this and works on improving the flavor and...

I have been hearing great things about this place for a while now, but had never made it in. First off let me start with our server, Carry. He was great! He was so sweet & funny, and super attentive to our table. I am sure the other servers there are great also, but when we go back I will be requesting him again.

I think that I liked more than anything is that this place isn't your average cookie cutter Italian restaurant. They have many of the typical items you would expect to see on an Italian restaurant menu however the do a good job of making it their own.

We started off with the bruschetta as an appetizer. I'm not going to lie, when it came out it looked a little weird. For sure not your traditional bruschetta, but weird looking or not it was good.

For our main dishes we ordered the chicken parmesan, the cheese ravioli, and a kids pasta with grilled chicken. All of our orders came with a salad. The salad were big and really good. The house dressing was incredibly flavorful.

When our food first came I at first thought they were bringing me a cheese pizza instead of the intended cheese ravioli. The ravioli comes served with a thick layer of melted cheese on top. I am a huuuuuge fan of cheese (who isn't?!), it was delicious.

I did not order this myself, but did try some. The size of the chicken parmesan was massive. It is for sure a plate that is meant to be split. The chicken was very thin and super tender. The amount of food that came out for the pasta and grilled chicken was really big having been for a kids meal. As an adult I probably would have been full from it. The pasta itself wasn't anything too fancy looking, but the chicken that topped it was plentiful and really tender and flavorful.

For dessert we tried the zeppole. I had never heard of them before but our server swore they were delicious, and they were, maybe my favorite past of dinner!! If you're like me and have no idea what those are, imagine a combination between a funnel cake, a beignet, and a hush puppy all in one, served with 3 homemade amazing dipping sauces (strawberry, warm chocolate, and...

First time visited. On a Friday evening none the less. It was crowded but had tables available. The waitress was rude, not customer friendly, mask-less, made me wait for over twenty (20) minutes before acknowledging me as I sat at my table and she probably figured since I was dining alone the bill would not add up to much of a worthy tip as far as she was concerned. This is just to give her the benefit of the doubt! Let's talk food. The initial bread served was over the top delicious. I knew I could eat a second round. Upon requesting and being served it was not as good as the first. Guess the waitress has a signal for the kitchen when it's a round two being served so they don't serve their best. Matter of fact the first one was served on a plate and the second one was served in a plastic basket. I ordered Veal Marsala. I asked other diners for recommendations. Everyone had something different to suggest. It came with a House, Cesar Salad or cup of soup. I chose the House Salad. It was fresh, seasoned to perfection and very, very yummy. My entree followed and it was served with butter & herb pasta. The Marsala sauce was very tasty but, the Veal was very bland. I had to smother each bite with the sauce in order to eat and savor. The pasta was nothing to shout out about. It was a basic, plain, butter and "little" herb flavoring. It was drowning in butter. Wish I would have known or been told by the server I could get the Veal with mashed potatoes or other choice. No wine for me this evening. Had a Coke instead! No straws available at this establishment. If you decide to visit and drink anything here remember to bring your own. No rating on dessert available. My bill was US$28.00 including the tip for just myself. Wanted to prove to the waitress that friendliness matters even if you are dining alone. Not sure if I'll be back but if I do I will be...