Vino Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Lower Paxton Township

As most of the comments were excellent, we were confident of having a good meal. But what a disappointment...I'm not in the habit of writing bad reviews, but this time I think it's important to do so, in the hope that it will be constructive for the administration and kitchen staff. My shrimps/scampis dish with butter and herb sauce served on spaghetti looked interesting. However, the shrimp didn't seem fresh and tasted very strong of iodine, the sauce resembled half a pound of butter diluted with water to which was added 2 pieces of parsley. My partner ordered the pasta carbonara. Overcooked pasta, but if that's all it was. The sauce seemed to have been made with a powder in a shell. It was lumpy and really MUCH too salty. Believe me, we're notorious for eating salty food and this sauce was disgusting. The pancetta (theoretically imported) looked like slices of cooked ham for a sandwich. I wouldn't recommend either of these 2 dishes. Considering the previous good reviews and the busy tables on this Saturday evening, I'm thinking that maybe we just chose the wrong dishes... I'll let you be the judge, but I'm not going back. However, as I also like to point out the positives of each place. The bread and Caesar salad were excellent. The service and wine were very good. And the prices were really low. It's up to you to make up...

*DISAPPOINTED * My wife and I use to stop in here quite a bit for dinner. We live a little farther away and have not been there for a while. Wow has this place changed. We were greeted by the hostess who looked like a war protester off the street. She wore a large bandana over her head, baggy sweat pants, black combat boots and the finishing touch was a scowl face. She pointed to two tables and said pick one. I ordered a crab cake and my wife had a steak. The steak was not as we remembered it had a good taste but a little tough, I had the crab cake that I always got here. I could not even eat it I left 3/4 of it on the plate to throw away. They apparently have decided to use the cheapest canned pasteurized crab meat they could find(no fresh meat) and tried to doctor it up but no taste and texture was like shredded garbage. We both had the spaghetti which is always good. The whole place has changed from staff to atmosphere. The new staff is not near as friendly as the old staff and they really rush you to turn the tables I think because of how small the place is . We will not be back. If any manager from Vinos is reading this either have your hostess dress appropriately and have her take off her scowl or get rid of her. Also, check the quality of food the cook is ordering. Buying cheap is not always...

Restaurant owners take note, this is how you run a restaurant. The owner, Joe, greets just about every diner at the door. The menu had plenty of selection for me but is not overly large. I ordered the Chicken Cardinale. Joe recommended a dish for my wife but then when we ordered with the waiter he informed us they were out of that dish. When the waiter told Joe, he came over and he and my wife discussed the menu and he convinced her to order the gnocchi. My wife is second generation Italian and won't even try restaurant gnocchi (no one knows hot to make gnocchi like here deceased grandmother, an Italian immigrant) but made an exception this time.

The meals showed up, looked awesome and did not disappoint. She loved it and said it was as good as her grandmother's and was the best she had ever had at a restaurant. Both meals were fantastic authentic Italian. The desert's were also excellent. I can't say enough about this place. If you plan on going on a Friday night, you better get a reservation, we tried twice previously and couldn't get a table. I learned my lesson and got a reservation three days in advance. I can tell the owner loves running a restaurant and this is our new favorite Italian Restaurant...