Bianchi's — Restaurant in Tucson

My son has been in grad school at The University of Arizona for the last several years and this is his "go to" restaurant at the end of a long day of campus work. So, needless to say, this was THE CHOICE for dinner while I was visiting him recently for the Festival of Books. We dined in Friday night, but ordered enough to take home and enjoy after the Festival on Saturday and Sunday. And, because I hadn't tried all my son's favorites, I returned Monday evening as he worked on his research, to pick up carry-out.

There isn't a bad thing to say about this place, except maybe that the food is addicting. I flew back home on Tuesday and I can still mentally savor the garlic bread, and I crave the flavor of the deep fried zucchini and mushrooms. The food is DELICIOUS!!!!

The restaurant atmosphere is welcoming, family friendly and very comfortable.

The staff...super pleasant, very helpful, and just as welcoming as the dining room atmosphere. Our server, on Friday, gave us recommendations, and we tried one of them. It was the spinach lasagna and it was SO GOOD. The garlic bread that came with it was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside with just the perfect amount of butter and garlic to make it "melt in your mouth tasty". We also ordered a hand tossed veggie pizza (a Lenten Friday treat) and enjoyed that as well.

Monday, I returned and ordered a carry-out at the counter, then ran to the grocery store as they prepared my meal. The meal was ready when I returned and was still hot when I got it home. The gentleman taking my order was very pleasant and helpful with choosing specifics for my sandwiches. He also offered a way for me to pick-up in the drive-through, should I ever do a carry-out in the future. We had a great conversation about where hometown was, noting that we had an Ohio connection in our pasts.

Monday's meal consisted of a chicken Alfredo pizza, 2 grilled chicken sandwiches, and (in spite of the fact that I knew it would be way too much food, but I just couldn't pass it up) the Sampler Platter. Each item was just as good as the Friday meal. I left plenty of food behind to feed my son all week.

I'm ready for a return to Bianchi's. It will be on my dining list every...

We chanced upon this place last night - a party of 6, all hungry, all irritated at a long wait at another (chain) restaurant. What a lucky find! We made a reservation by phone, and when we arrived we were shown to our table. A young man greeted us with menus and took our drink orders, and while we were waiting his father - the proprietor - came out to greet us and chat. It's a family business; his parents began it and the recipes are from his mother. Soon he had us laughing and had sold many of us on the lasagna special. Well, let me tell you: that lasagna was an eye-opener! It was a huge, thick, LUSCIOUS pillow of tender noodles sandwiching beef and cheeses and sauce, the whole of it garnished with flecks of very finely chopped parsley. The marinara sauce surrounding it filled the plate and demanded to be scooped up with their garlic bread or a spoon. There was also a salad, with our choice of dressing. I chose the House Dressing (Italian, of course) and it was absolutely not the standard bottled oil-and-vinegar dressing one might expect at a lesser place. This is made in house. It's his mother's recipe, and no, we couldn't have it. They should bottle and sell that stuff separately!

Others chose salads, or other pasta dishes. I can't go into detail because I was too busy with my own food to ask questions, but it got very quiet at our table as everyone enjoyed their choices. Diners at other tables seemed to be equally happy with their food.

Covid-19 precautions were in place, from what we saw. The place was clean; everyone wore masks except the diners when seated; tables were spaced far enough apart for comfort and safety.

My friends and I always prefer the one-off restaurants as opposed to chains, and this place is a gem. The staff are wonderful and the food is up to their personalities. I would come back here in a heartbeat to try more of their offerings - except that lasagna is so good, I might have to order it again! I'll be back, with or...

We called to order delivery and asked the young woman on the phone if they offered any vegan options & she said they had a gluten free penne dish and confirmed it would be vegan, then they called back to say they couldn't make that dish & instead offered a ravioli dish, I asked if it was vegan, & they said it was not so we declined, they then called back and said they would make the original penne dish for us and we accepted. When the order arrived it was very underwhelming, it was plain penne pasta with bland tomato paste plopped on top with no seasoning or parsley to garnish which can be overlooked but not for $12. So I called back to share my experience and spoke with "Vincent" the owner in hopes of making it right & offering an alternative or some sort of credit for a future order instead he told me a "driver" had taken my order & was sorry they had not offered the other alternative dishes they have on their vegan menu & he himself had went to the store to get the ingredients to make my penne dish, and would train his staff to be more knowledgeable of the menu. We then voiced our disappointment in that response, well we attempted to voice it as "Vincent" continued to talk over and demanded that we had to listen to him, I said we would no longer take our patronage to them as they had lost a loyal customer for many years. The owner "Vincent" then proceeded to vocalize "We will survive without your business." As we were spicing up the $12 dish with our own spices and toppings at home, the owner proceeds to call back and offer an apology which we accepted ( With the odd addition of letting us know that he had been scammed out of $200, not sure if he was looking for sympathy or accusing us of having the same intention, regardless.) but by then it was too late. Buyer beware when ordering from this establishment, your hard earned money will be appreciated with the many other amazing local restaurants in the area, Bianchi's will...