Necces Italiano Restaurante — Restaurant in Park Rapids

This review has been a long time in the making. I took my entire family for dinner on our third visit. My mother in law, brother and sister in law with their baby, my son, his wife and baby. For the record, the staff that works there is great. They are very nice and caring people, and I feel bad for them. There were 10 of us. Three very small children . We ordered dinner. TWO HOURS LATER I asked for the bill for appetizers which I was willing to pay for, and I told them we were leaving. The other two tables next to use I could tell were perplexed why we had not been served since we arrived before them with small children. The owner came to our table and told us about how our meals were nearly ready and they were 'hand made'. Because I was a new physician in the community at the time, my wife handled the discussion. My wife never raised her voice or said anything remotely inappropriate. My wife stated that we would be willing to pay for the appetizers and drinks we received, but due to the time taken we were leaving and wanted to pay for what we had received. The owner said the meals were nearly ready and 'hand made'. My wife again calmly stated we had been waiting two hours and we had small children and were going to leave. The owner started yelling at us and could not understand how we could possibly be upset. THE OWNER SAID 'GOOD RIDDANCE AND DON'T EVERY COME HERE AGAIN.' We paid THE FULL AMOUNT FOR TEN AND DIDN'T EAT A SINGLE ENTREE, I didn't dispute the charge because I started my new job that month in a very small community. There was never an apology at any time. My hospital had many functions and interviews at this establishment. EACH TIME I HAD TO TELL MY EMPLOYER I WAS NOT WELCOME. I feel badly for the employees that work there. They are great people who were very kind and caring. That being said, please to not give this establishment your business. I HAVE NEVER, EVER, BEEN TREATED MORE POORLY at any other establishment in my lifetime. I believe most situations can be resolved in an amicable manner if both parties are mature and amicable. Everyone can have a bad day, and I can appreciate that in my profession. I care for people every day that are hurting. I cannot understand why we were treated in such a manner in...

Y’all. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND EAT HERE. We stopped in on a whim and it is now going to be a mandatory stop anytime we are in Park Rapids. FRESH food (very “farm to table”), hot (it’s not sitting under a warming lamp, you know it just came out of the oven) and talk about DELICIOUS! Oh, and huge portions too, be sure to bring your appetite! Both my husband and I agreed that we have NEVER had better Italian food than we did just a few minutes ago (and we have traveled). Started the meal with homemade, fresh focaccia bread (YUM) that came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I ordered “The Hill” spaghetti and meatball dish, my husband had one of their (4 or 5) offered daily specials, Sausage Alla Tuscany. As mentioned before, both were phenomenal but the Sausage Alla Tuscany was out of this world. Talk about amazing flavors! Rounding off the meal, we split one of their (again, 4 or 5 made fresh daily) deserts; flourless chocolate cake with salted caramel ice cream. And we didn’t even intend to have desert; the food was just that good! We cannot rave enough about the food and our experience. Our waitress, Jackie was very attentive, made awesome suggestions and was all around excellent! We also got to meet Chef and Owner, Necce. She was an absolute delight. I overheard her telling another table that she is a sommelier when they requested a wine recommendation, so rest assured that you not only will get an amazing meal, but will not be disappointed in their wine selections either. I can’t sing high enough praises for the place and the people running it. So please, do not short change yourself by not enjoying at least one meal here. Necce and Jackie- we will be back again and hope to...

I rarely give 5 stars. Necce's is special, and it is certainly above 4 stars. Though admitted not a full 5. Most notably, understand that everything is handmade; the chef pays attention to details, and she really cares. I'll close with more on that.

For starters, we had the crab cakes. They are as good or better than cakes in Maryland, and I had traveled to Baltimore every month for a good year.

My son and I had Caesar salads. Though not tableside, they were light and fresh. Crispy lettuce, fresh Parmigiano, handmade croutons, and white anchovies.

For entrées, my wife had the lasagna, my son the chicke Alfredo, his girlfriend the spaghetti and meatball, and I had a T-bone. The waitress gave us extra plates so we could share. The meatball was the size of a baseball! Seasoned with lots of black pepper, parsley, oregano and fennel seed. My steak came with creamed spinach made with Marscapone cheese seasoned with nutmeg. I could go on.

I found it easy to pair good wines off their list by the glass with the courses.

While not Italian, for dessert we has Bananas Foster. Again, not tableside, but faithful to New Orleans with one twist - roasted pecans.

As we were getting ready to pay, Necce came out to ask about my steak. I ordered it rare, but the cut was quite thin (which I didn't know about) and she tried to sear it and keep the center rare. Based on the cut, I think that would have been impossible. Though it was medium rare, it was really quite good.

If you're in the Minnesota north woods, consider swinging by Park Rapids and have...