Nonna's — Restaurant in Springfield

So I've been to this place twice now, on my first trip around August or September of 2019, me and my family decided to give it a try. I was less than impressed. The food took forever, and it seemed like everything we wanted they had just run out of. I understand this happens, although in this case it seemed a bit excessive. Service was okay and what food they did have was decent at best.

On my second trip to this place July 2020 we decided to give it another go, we had recently found out they are now offering a gluten free menu, and my wife who is a celiac was really looking forward to eating some pasta. The wait staff was friendly, however was not educated on what they were serving. A few times we asked about things on the menu the response differed from even the discription on the menu. Not being able to answer these questions left us simply not ordering these items, a lost sale for the business. When we placed our order, my wife got a "gluten free" dish. I place the words "gluten free" in quotations because what is considered gluten free to the rest of the world and what is considered gluten free to this restaurant are obviously 2 different things. My wife's pasta may have been of a gluten free brand. But at some point in the kitchen it was contaminated with the pasta containing gluten. Evidence of this was found near the end of her meal when we discovered a few spaghetti noodles in with her pasta. The problem with this is (if you are unfamiliar with a gluten allergy or Celiac Disease), is that even a tiny amount of contamination can cause trouble. Due to this restaurants poor practice, and cross contamination my wife spent the entire night in terrible pain. Which for a celiac is a best case scenario, as its very possible to have worse symptoms. If one is allergic they can go into anaphylactic shock for some people when exposed to gluten, which can cause a trip to the ER and possibly death.

Because of this I cannot recommend this place for any celiac. The entire staff should be better educated for the safety of it's patrons. Also with this if, they have unsafe practices with a allergen, which in some cases can be deadly for the customer. I can only assume other practices not as severe might also not be taken very seriously. It is my suggestion that you take your business elsewhere.

ETA: The owner did reach out on my wife's Facebook review, and though seemingly apologetic, he said they're "doing the best they can in a pasta kitchen" and offered to make it right. However, how do you make it right? I don't want a free meal, as my trust is gone and my wife is too scared it'll happen again. This is the same as if someone claimed they were peanut free, only to have a customer go into anaphylactic shock bc someone grabbed "the wrong strainer" as the owner claimed. While mistakes do happen, such as not getting all that ordered, or your drinks going empty due to a busy server, this is a life altering and highly painful mistake. As a spouse, to see your significant other over the toilet and crying for hours, simply because someone used "the wrong water" is not something you can ever make right. Bottom line, if you claim youre GF, make sure there are no mistakes that can't be easily corrected with a polite smile...

A Cozy, Quirky Italian Gem for Introverted Adventurers

As my favorite person and I wandered through downtown Springfield, Missouri during the First Friday Art Walk (a bold move for two self-proclaimed introverts), we decided to live a little. After the classic back-and-forth of “whatever you want” followed by “but not that”, we landed on Nonna’s Italian Restaurant — and what an adventure it turned out to be.

We stepped inside and immediately felt like we might have disrupted a cool kid’s party with our natural aura of avant-garde awkwardness (okay, maybe just me). But the host greeted us with a smile, and when offered a lively table near the door, I sheepishly asked, “Do you have anything… in the back?”

Without hesitation, she whisked us upstairs to the coziest little nook — complete with uneven floors, a charming skylight, and chairs that rocked not because they were rocking chairs, but because gravity just does what it wants here. It was perfect.

Our waiter was a total gem. We asked for his recommendations, and he slipped effortlessly into storyteller mode, describing his favorite dishes like a culinary bard. We played it safe with lasagna — one with classic marinara, one with a spicy kick — paired with a glass of house wine that tasted like a warm, boozy hug.

Now, honesty time: the salad was fine. It existed. It tried. It was the enthusiastic opening band before the headliner you actually came to see. Compared to the lasagna and that heavenly tiramisu, it just didn’t quite sing. But you know what? When the rest of the meal is this good, a mid-tier salad is easily forgiven.

Then came the extroverted birthday crew. Normally, my social battery would have drained faster than my wine glass, but their joy was genuinely infectious. For a moment, it felt like being part of a big Italian family dinner — the kind where you don’t mind the noise because it’s all wrapped in warmth.

And then… the tiramisu. Sweet, fluffy, and dangerously good. Each bite felt like a little love letter to my taste buds.

We left with full bellies, happy hearts, slightly wobbly chairs, and a twinge of sadness that our little adventure had ended.

Highly recommend Nonna’s — though selfishly, I hope you don’t fall in love with it too, because I’d like to keep my quirky little seat in the back open...

Soooooo good!!! My partner doesn't care for Italian so I order it in occasionally on evenings we don't have dinner together (big bummer since Italian is pretty romantic imo lol). I've ordered from multiple Italian restaurants in the Springfield area and it's always been meh at best. I just assumed ordering in must be the reason I've had average to less than experiences with this particular cuisine here in town. Nonna's put them all to shame tonight and showed me it's the individual restaurants and not my penchant for delivery that brings down the quality of the food. I ordered the fried ravioli with cheese filling and tricolored cheese stuffed tortellini in a red pepper cream sauce (what can I say, I'm a fan of pasta filled with cheeses lol). The app had warned me it might take a bit to get here before I ordered and it arrived right on target. Everything was bagged and separated neatly, a complimentary order of super soft and yummy bread with sides of olive oil, parmesan cheese and minced garlic was in a bag on top, a styrofoam container with my appetizer underneath and a plastic container with my entree on bottom. Everything arrived in perfect order, no spills and nothing smushed. I couldn't help myself and nibbled on some of the bread/parmesan/garlic while I was unboxing everything (so good), then moved on to the fried ravioli with marinara for dipping. The outside of the ravioli was fried to perfection, while the cheeses inside were soft, warm and delicious. The marinara for dipping had the perfect blend of seasonings and wasn't too smooth or too chunky. The tri-color tortellini in red pepper cream sauce....amazing. There was a sharpness to the sauce that complimented the richness of the cheese stuffed tortellini perfectly, it kept the dish from being too heavy as well. As delicious as everything was, I've decided to drag my partner to eat there in person at some point. If this is what their takeout is like, I can't imagine the experience...