Rusciano's Authentic Taste of Napoli — Restaurant in North Liberty

10/04/2020 Still a favorite place to enjoy amazing food. They offer call ahead for pick-up also during the pandemic. Don't pass up the appetizers as they are all delish! Keep an eye out for the weekly pizza and pasta specials, we did a couple risotto specials, meatballs, charcuterie board and extra half order of bread (last photo in take-out boxes). Yum!!

07/20 - Appetizer special was Coccoli Fiorentini - fried dough balls filled with stracchino cheese, wrapped with prosciutto di Parma...the first one was so good we had to order it again! The guys had the pasta special (risotto, house-made organic orange cream, locally farmed zucchini, goat cheese, gorgonzola, and pecorino Romano) and I opted for light with the Salsiccia pizza. Ohhh, the desert special, fried dough balls with cinnamon sugar, topped with Nutella, vanilla whip cream, and strawberry were still warm and a perfect end to dinner!

07/06 - Focaccia with fresh mozzarella & meatballs apps, 2 pasta specials (Paccheri with pistachio sauce, ricotta and eggplant cream, garlic scapes, and pecorino Romano cheese) plus Salsiccia and Salumi pizzas with 2 homemade desserts to go (Chocolate Caprese made with dark chocolate, almond, and hazelnut (gluten free). Served with house-made apricot jam and apricot mousse) WOW!

06/25/19 - Had to have the house made marinara focaccia with San Marzano tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, EVOO. Served with Rusciano’s marinara...YUM!! Margarita pizza for myself and the guys did the risotto special wtih Locally farmed asparagus, shiitake & oyster mushrooms, fresh parsley and garlic scapes, capers, crushed red pepper, served with locally grown micro greens, house made basil olive oil & pecorino Romano cheese.

06/01/19 - back again for anniversary treat...and was craving foccia again and meatballs again. Homemade saghetti with marinara and sausage, basal pesto gnocchi with sausage and a lasagna special and lemoncello. All great!

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! First visit this evening and will not be our last. We did the Neapolitan Street-Food Samplers x2 (6 pieces per order) so we could sample the Arancini, Frittatine, Montanare and Zeppoline options. All were amazing, my personal favorites were the montanare and frittatine but I ate all 4. Pizzas we chose the Salumi and Calabrese, I loved the Salumi! We did not need it, but we did indulge in sweets from Tip Top Cakes with tiramisu & lemon cheesecake..my favorite was the lemon cheesecake and I only eat a few bites of cheesecake every few years, so again I was just amazed. There are 3 other pizzas I want to try, the meatballs, the marinara after that pizza sauce and ohhh, forgot to ask Chef Rusciano if his past is fresh too but know that to be the case after watching the FB video...another must have on my list! Back for our second visit for our 30th anniversary. We were so excited with our food choices we almost forgot pictures again and the meatballs were amazing with a wonderful marinara vanished quickly. We also did the charcuterie and bruschette. Holy moly, the meats on the charcuterie were so much better than we have had locally. The guys really enjoyed the cheeses as I am not a big cheese fan. Do not forget to sample the jam...another shock at the taste difference and lack of sugar taste! Pizzas we went for the Margarita and the Iowan. Loved the Margarita, that was my heaven. The guys enjoyed the Iowan but both agreed they are enjoying tasting the authentic flavors more, but it captured everything Iowa in the ingredients. I still did not get my pasta, but after sampling the meatballs and marinara that is a must on our next trip! 3rd trip took Nana and grandson for another amazing meal! 4th tip Ordered the special of lasagna and a calzone...both were plenty for 2, especially with an appetizer of charcuterie! 02/03 - the pizza special this week rocks...the pasta special was also yummy! 03/09 - national meatball day, great reason to drop in....umm the foccicia bread rocked and a pizza was the perfect...

Excellent food, wine, and service!

This is the first restaurant review I’ve ever written - THAT’S how much I loved Rusciano’s!

My husband and I dined at Rusciano’s on Friday, September 11. We arrived around 7:30pm.

The seating area meets COVID-19 social distancing requirements. The simple decor is attractive, and the chairs are comfortable.

Our waiter was very pleasant and knowledgeable. He explained the structure of the menu well and answered questions thoroughly.

I had a glass of the Mastroberardino Aglianico “Campania” red wine, and it was delicious and smooth. I look forward to drinking it again!

We shared the meatballs and caprese as appetizers. The serving sizes were just right. The meatballs were perfectly cooked and had good texture and flavor. They were served in a thick, tasty marinara sauce, into which we dipped the accompanying bread. The caprese was beautifully presented and was very fresh and light. It included quartered cherry tomatoes, which I appreciated - it was easy to get a couple pieces of tomato and a piece of mozzarella in every forkful. The balsamic and pesto added tang and flavor.

We also shared homemade pasta as our entree. The pasta was fettuccini, the sauce was Rusciano’s three cheese moray with garlic, and we added Rusciano’s sausage as a meat. Everything was perfectly cooked and utterly delicious! The sausage was not very spicy, and it was crumbled into the sauce, which it complemented well. We got tastes of all three ingredients in every bite. Again, the serving size was just right - not the ridiculously large portions served in so many restaurants.

Finally, we shared the limoncello cheesecake for desert. Again, perfect serving size. The crust was moist but sturdy, and the cheesecake was exquisite! The strawberry purée (reduction?) decorating the cheesecake and plate was so good that I seriously considered...

Starting with the food, we ordered the Iowan Pizza from the menu and it was bland to say the least. The pizza was too thing that the toppings would not stay on the pizza. The toppings were not enough and the chicken was too dry.

We also ordered Vegetarian pizza from the menu. While the pizza was okay, we had swapped the tomato sauce from the pizza for a pesto sauce, which they were happy to substitute. However, when it came time to pay the bill, no in-fact when I was given my check to pay that is when the waitress informed me that " we have a $3.00 up charge for changing the sauce" ---this is informed to me when its time to pay. This is the kind of information you present to the customers so they can make a decision, but instead it was told at the end. Had I known it before I would have just gone with tomato sauce. Again, it's not about the additional money, it's an etiquette. I almost felt this information was intentionally kept from me.

Coming to the actual service. My guests and I felt like we were neglecting alot. We noticed that the server was not pleasant, and on top of it when we asked for the dessert menu she said "I shall let you know what we have left" which is fine, but she came to take our order after that where we reminded her again. Forgot again while she served us dinner. We had to call her the third time to get the information for desserts. And coming back to upcharging for the pizza sauce, she did not share what they called a "restaurant policy". So 0 STARTS for service.

The good part about the night was probably the atmosphere. The dessert was really good. We ordered Tiramisu and it was very moist and honestly best part of our dinner. Good vibes but overall very average food and poor service so either take-out or just go for...