Looking for great Italian Food in and around Columbia (Irmo: home, high school)

[BoundtoRetire]

Soon we'll be visiting your lovely city -- and we're wondering if there are some good locally owned Italian restaurants. No chains please. Our preference is for "classic" Italian fare -- Veal Parmigian, Lasagna, etc.

Y'all can feel free to suggest some great down home Southern-cooking restaurants too.

[Eescapes]

You might want to try Villa Tronco downtown. It's family owned an operated and has been around since WWII.

[waccamatt]

Villa Tronco, Divino, Garibaldi's, Dianne's on Devine for a nice dinner out and for inexpensive Italian, the Villa on Bush River Road.

[BoundtoRetire]

GReat! I appreciate your suggestions, Waccamatt & EEscapes. Thanks!

[jlboney]

Pasta Fresca on Forest Drive is really good as well.

[HowardRoarke]

Schiano's on Two Notch at Sparkleberry is pretty good, affordable, and they have some good wines and import beers.

If you're up for a drive, Enzo's in Winnsboro is owned by a professional Italian chef who has opened Italian restaurants up and down the East Coast. Enzo is from Italy and the food is authentic Italian.

[BoundtoRetire]

Thanks JL and Howard... we'll add these to our list. Of course, we'll probably only manage to try one of them, but at least we'll have a list of places to try should we end up moving here.

[burr]

Nickis, or Nicks, on 378 approaching Columbia is very good, although it may be Greek.

[LexingtonDad]

It will be worth the drive to try Travinia's in either the Northeast or Lexington. Great food and atmosphere and one of the better tiramisus in town.

[innovator82]

Originally Posted by BoundtoRetire

Soon we'll be visiting your lovely city -- and we're wondering if there are some good locally owned Italian restaurants. No chains please. Our preference is for "classic" Italian fare -- Veal Parmigian, Lasagna, etc.

Y'all can feel free to suggest some great down home Southern-cooking restaurants too.

I think I can guess where you're coming from...it has been a fun and never-ending challenge for me to find good Italian food and NY style pizza in South Carolina!

A couple of places which would probably be what you are looking for:

Gina's Pizza and Italian Gourmet off Royal Tower Drive in Irmo (kind of close to Harbison area)--owned by a family who was in the pizza business in Staten Island. They've got the classic fare you are talking about, plus good pizza and surprisingly excellent heroes. This is a small place tucked away in a small shopping center that is a real "find" but once I went there I was hooked.

Antonina's Italian Restaurant off of Hwy. 1 in Lexington near Lexington High School--it's both a classic pizza parlor and a nice-casual sit
-down restaurant in the back--great pizza and pasta dishes plus great heroes too. This is also owned and operated by a great Italian-American family who has been in the restaurant business.

And the best no-frills NY style pizza I have found is at Dano's on Rosewood Drive (closer to downtown Columbia). They have some of the other dishes you are talking about too but I go there for their pizza--reminds me of a Bronx pizza parlor for some reason.