Lagondola Spaghetti House

We were treated very poorly by the manager here. We ordered a garlic bread with cheese one night and it was very burnt. We didn’t say anything so we ordered another one a couple weeks later and asked them to be careful not to burn it again. Well, they burnt it again, so I called the manager the following day to tell him and ask for a credit for another garlic bread. He refused to do it unless I could produce a receipt. I explained to him that we had already thrown the receipt away with the food and I was very polite about it. He refused to listen and would not give us any credit for another garlic bread. Since it was not feasible to empty a large garbage dumpster all over this jerk’s restaurant floor, I did the next best thing and wrote this negative review. We haven’t been back since and probably never will.

A great spaghetti house and the spaghetti tasted better than what I could easily cook up in my kitchen. mi have never really seen a fast food spaghetti house outside of this college town. The place is a dump next to an aging bridge but it does give a nice view and is a view I have to seen much growing up in Chicago area. The bread is fantastic but spaghetti just tasted like pasta with cheap sauce. The sandwich choices look better

Gross. Ordered their special pizza. It came with no sauce! We asked for marinara to dip, we figured it was like thick round cheesy bread. The sauce tasted awful as well, like dirt. The owner? Manager? Came and apologized, told us «that’s how its served» and didn’t offer to make us something else or refund any money.

La Gondola is NOT a fancy spot but the food it good. It’s basic standard American-​Italian food. I usually order the Torpedo, spaghetti or pizza bread. The bread is a bit sweeter which I love and is my main reason when picking La Gondola. Again, don’t expect anything fancy, it’s not a «foodie» place by any means but it is good a cheap!

good carryout italian & cheap: This place is easy for me because its on my way home. You can dine in at this place but it only has 6 tables and is kind of small. Most people get carryout and they get it made pretty fast. I enjoy there lasagna as its really rich tasting and they give you a decent portion. My girlfriend likes the spaghetti with marianna sauce and enjoys eating it. We both like the garlic bread with cheese and they ought to patent it because its so good.

Ugh, worse than Avanti’s (and that’s saying something).
Not sure how these awful fast food Italian places are so popular in BloNo, but that doesn’t make them edible. Next time you eat here take a look at the «cheese» on your sandwich. Cheese isn’t supposed to look like plastic.

Four stars for their torpedo’s only. I would give the other items one star or less, the pasta is over done, sauce is terrible. It’s shameful to be considered Italian.

This is one of those places that people like for nostalgic reasons, despite food quality that just does not measure up. Yes, its cheap and you grew up eating it, but if you take a step back and assess the restaurant for what it actually is, you will realize that mediocre is three steps better than this joint.
The food is low-​quality Italian. Old-​school bland red sauce, french bread garlic bread and slightly too-​done spaghetti. Their food all seems to be sweetened with extra sugar (though in this town, I think high fructose corn syrup is a better guess).
The restaurant itself is an eyesore. I dont think it was ever an attractive location, but it is currently very run down. I would call the interior spartan, however, I think Spartans had too much self-​respect to tolerate this. Nothing about the inside of this restaurant affects my appetite in anything but a negative way.
The prices are low, but when you measure them against the quality of the food, the presentation, and the establishment itself, you realize that there really is no value here.

In Bloomington-​Normal you have two real options for «quick» Italian (Fazoli’s does NOT count!!!). In the war between Avanti’s and La Gondola, Avanti’s will win on sheer scale and amount of food sold but La Gondola is the hands down winner for quality and what you get for the money. My usual order is the hot ham and cheese (way bigger and MUCH better than the Avanti’s version) and the tortellini which is also much better than the Avanti’s version. I will always feel I got much more for my dollar at La Gondola than I ever do at Avanti’s.
The Main Street location is… umm…charming…but the staff is great and you can see the entire food prep area so any concerns about cleanliness are pretty unfounded. The parking lot can be a bit tricky when it’s snowy or the restaurant is busy but it’s usually not tough and a quick drive around the block will get you going in any direction you want to head. La Gondola is certainly not haute cuisine, but it beats the hell out of Avanti’s anyday.

Very unassuming no-​frills dining. The food is good, but not great. However, it is an excellent deal. The dinners easily feed two for $ 8, with a half loaf of french garlic bread, sizeable salad, and at least a pound of pasta. The garlic bread is perfectly seasoned, not to salty or garlicky, and nice and chewy. The lasagna was no where near as good as Beningo’s, but still decent if you are looking for cheap carry out. Thee don’t accept Amex. Rumors of cleanliness are just that according to
. Lagondola has an average inspection rating of 92/​100, whereas Beningo’s and Biaggi’s both average 89.

I love La Gondola!!! Love it I tell you!!! Each time I come to visit this is one of my stops, no question about it. Their garlic cheese bread is beyond awesome. Yes, you have to wait for your food but that is because it’s made when you order not sitting in a heater waiting to be ordered. I have to be honest, all I can comment on is the garlic bread and torpedo sandwich. I just love them both so much that I have never tried anything else on the menu.

Everything seems to get over-​cooked here, and it is certainly not «fast» food. Rumors about cleanliness (or lack thereof). I still enjoy their cinnamon and garlic bread, though, as long as they do not burn either.