Nonna Rosa Italian Restaurant Bluffton

After living in Italy for 4 years, 32 years ago, I don't eat Italian in the USA. My wife wanted Italian and begged me to take her. I half-heartedly search the choices for Italian restaurants and this seemed to have the best chance of authenticity and taste. You all!!! This place was amazing. The atmosphere reminds me just of an Italian restaurant overseas. This is like the front part of a restaurant where the mafia brings their family for dinner and celebrations lol. The place is nice and cozy! The food choices are very similar to what you would see in Italy.... not like a lot of fakes with everything coming with some version of a tomato based sauce....or appetizers that don't have antipasti, calamari, bruschetta, etc. The owner is very active in the store, meaning he's seating folks, taking orders, and talking with guests, in between bites of food at the bar. This guy is from Naples, about 2 hours north of where I used to live. I mean, this guy is so authentic, you can barely understand his English if you're not used to foreign accents. The service was excellent.... the food is superb...I ate so fast, my 11 year old son made fun of me! I'll definitely be going back! **************************************************** After reading some other reviews, I felt it necessary to comment on the wait time to get your food. Our appetizer was a cold dish, so it arrived fast. Our meals were hot plates, so it took barely longer than expected of a typical wait time at other restaurants. Keep in mind, 1, we were seated about 15 minutes before it got a little crowded. 2, the food was freshly made, so it wasn't the reheated food you normally get.

We loved our dinner here! We started with the Calamari appetizer, perfectly fried! My husband had Veal Parmesean and I had Rigatoni Ala Vodka. Both were cooked perfectly and so delicious!! Our servers were Chris and Shannon. Both were working their tails off!! It was also nice to see the bartender help out refilling drinks since Chris and Shannon were busy. If/when we're in the area again we'll definitely be back.