Arrabiata's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Mayfield Heights

I recently had a great tasting lunch at Arrabiata's Italian Restaurant on the north side of Mayfield Road in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. There is free off-street parking in front of the restaurant. Arrabiata's Italian Restaurant is located at the east end of a strip mall. Besides the free off-street parking in front of the restaurant, there is additional free parking behind the western half of the strip mall too.

The inside of Arrabiata's Italian Restaurant, the restaurant has a modern look. I asked my server, Andrea, if the restaurant was recently renovated. She told me that during Covid-19, the owner's completely remodeled the dining area. They did a great job refreshing the interior including a modern paint color pallete. The restaurant and the men's washroom are clean. There is wheelchair access to the restaurant and seating to accommodate wheelchairs. I do not believe the men's washroom is ADA accessible. I did not look in the commode area. The sink has a traditional vanity with no room to get a wheelchair chair under the sink.

Andrea is very nice with a great personality. She truly makes you feel comfortable and at ease. She is knowledgeable on the menu items. The food and service is great at Arrabiata's Italian Restaurant.

They offer a lunch service then they close the doors for a few hours and reopen for dinner service. A nice casual dining experience with class. Each table has a fresh white sheet of butcher paper which is replaced between sittings. Cloth napkins and real cutlery to dine with. There is a patio for dining outdoors.

I arrived shortly after the restaurant opened for lunch that day. Shortly after I sat down another diner came in - a regular. By the time I finished my lunch the restaurant's tables were over half occupied with more folks coming in for lunch. Many are regulars by their relationship with the two servers covering the lunch service. Plus, several folks came in for take-away meals. Some of the diners were having business lunches.

As I mentioned at the top of this commentary, I enjoyed a great tasting lunch that was satisfying and not too heavy. Sometimes restaurant lunches are too heavy and make afternoon activities sluggish. Not at Arrabiata's Italian Restaurant, my lunch on my first visit energized and refreshed me for the rest of the afternoon.

I started with the Italian Wedding Soup. Plenty of tasty ingredients in a light broth. When you are first seated, they bring a basket of warm bread to the table with a scoop of butter infused with garlic and a smokey paprika. Yummy! My entree is the Veal D'Agnese to which I selected to add capers to the sauce for a small additional fee. I enjoy the salty, briney flavor that capers add. The Veal D'Agnese consists of two thin Veal pieces served with an excellent lemon butter sauce plus the capers. The meal comes with a side of linguini marinara. All the portions are sized just right for lunch. The Veal D'Agnese has excellent flavor. I am looking forward to returning to Arrabiata's Italian Restaurant for another tasty meal with...

A couple of days ago, me and my mom had dinner here after seeing a Bollywood movie at the nearby Eastgate 10. The place was packed to the gills, so we waited about five minutes for a table. No big deal imo, besides, a lot of people were at the bar (maybe Ohio State was playing Michigan? I don't pay much attention to sports tbh). Anyway, our waitress was super nice and very attentive to our needs, especially for more bread and herb butter. Us ladies love some Italian bread and butter! My mom ordered spaghetti with meatballs and meat sauce alongside a small side salad. The salad itself was decent, but nothing more, nothing less than a standard pasta salad with olives. Next, my mom's spaghetti and meatballs were quite mixed imo. I mean, the meatballs were phenomenal! Very flavorful mixture of spices as well as tender, but not overly so, when upon biting into the ball. Unfortunately, however, the same could not be the same for the meat sauce on the spaghetti pasta. The taste was unusually sweet with a thin, almost watery, consistency. Quite disappointing to say the least. Meanwhile, I ordered a bowl of Italian wedding soup. I ate a bit more snacks at the theater than my mom, so that's why I ordered something on the lighter side. Like with my mom's meatballs in her spaghetti and meatballs meal, the meatballs in my soup had a wonderful texture as well as blend of spices despite their miniature size. The shredded chicken accompanying the meatballs was also equally rich in flavor. Although, the broth was a touch on the salty side, the chopped celery, onion, and carrot fortunately helped bolster the flavor of the soup. In fact, the vegetables tasted quite fresh imo! Overall, the experience was good for a nice dinner out, but the food could have been improved upon within various aspects such as pasta sauce...

For a 5-star, homecooked meal from a real Italian menu in a relaxed atmosphere the only choice in the area is Arrabiatas. Many of the Italian restaurants in this area are…well, just plain lacking authenticity as well as a full menu of choices. But Arrabiatas delivers with fresh ingredients, great portions and great service.

For starters – the pasta is fresh, not dried. My Cavatelli had some loose strands from the cutter – a testament to its freshness - and the taste and texture was amazing. Fresh pasta is a big deal and an indication of quality that many of the restaurants in the area skip on.

The meatballs are traditional, visually inviting, and taste incredible. Cutting one in half you see the mixture is finely ground and compacted making a dense, solid sphere that is baked uniformly all the way through but not dried out. The rich taste permeates in every bite no matter where you are in your journey of carving through it. Without a doubt one of the best meatballs I’ve had.

Even the house Chianti is much more than one would expect from a house wine – it’s light, flavorful, and complements any of the selections on the menu. No need to upscale your wine selection!

The atmosphere is indeed casual and it seems to be a solid choice for the locals in the area, which makes sense given the modest price and excellent food. In a nod to its authenticity we sat next to what could only be described as a boy’s night out with a handful of true Italian gentleman that were telling stories, laughing, and having a great time.

If you want to pay more for fine linens and valet parking there are plenty of other choices in the area, but for fresh, quality food and great service Arrabiatas should be your...