Valentino’s Eatery

Just like previously mentioned, I really wanted to like this place. We love supporting smaller mom and pop local businesses and on a trip into the San Tan Valley, decided to stop and have dinner here. We were seated fairly quickly but from that point on, the service left a little to be desired. Not sure who was who but most of the «front end» staff seemed more into standing and chatting. While we were eating, two different parties came in and it was the «back end» staff (possibly the chef/​cook) who had to signal numerous times with a code word before someone finally tended to them. When we arrived there were only 2 other tables (one table with 2 and one with 4) so it was not as if they were busy.
Service aside, the food was… okay. My husband had the salad. It was fresh, beautifully presented and tasty. I upgraded to the soup of the day which was Italian wedding. It was absolutely delicious. The accompanying bread basket left a little to be desired. Could have been just the types of bread but what appeared to be baguette or italian bread slices were tender inside but with a dried crust. I ordered the manicotti and my husband had the lasagna. Both were okay except for the primary ingredient, the sauce, which tasted a bit… sour or bitter. Definitely tasted location/​freshly made just perhaps a bit too acidic for our taste.
For the price point, which is a bit higher than most places for this area, it seemed a bit high. I am assuming that is because of the location. It is in a strip center just outside of the Anthem development so it is very convenient to those residents as witnessed by the numerous golf carts parked in the parking lot!
We may give them another chance in trying their pizza but when it comes to dinners, sadly we will have to pass.

We had a Pinal County Chamber Mixer at Valentino’s last night. There were about 40 people in attendance. The service was amazing. My husband and I were asked about drinks right away and ordered the fried calamari and cup of soup each.
The soup was yummy and the calamari was crispy and delicious. The bread that was brought to the table was really good and had a delicious red dipping sauce.
I really enjoyed our time at Valentino’s and was very impressed how they handled our large group of people.

We had a dinner party of 13 for my husband’s 70^th birthday. Rob was so helpful in helping us pick the wine and appetizers. Our guests then ordered off the menu. Kelly, our server was outstanding.
The next day, our friends called to rave about everything from the food to the service.
More importantly, my husband enjoyed celebrating his birthday with family, friends and a great dining experience.
Valentino’s is such a great addition to the neighborhood.

The hostess should really be fired. She makes fun of the servers while they explain the specials. The hostess is over there rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Same hostess as Florence café. Why? She must know the owners, since she isn’t the least be helpful or nice

This was our 2^nd visit as a trio. The food is really good –of 6 dishes we’ve had, nothing that wasn’t fresh and nicely prepared. Lasagna was deep dish and layers of meat and cheese. Both eggplant and chicken parmigiano gave portion enough for two. Giuseppe ravioli was oozing cheese and comes with either (2 huge!) Meatballs or Italian sausages. The pasta combo had enough food that my husband even had leftovers. As noted in other comments, the bread and tomato oil are wonderful! Add a fresh salad and awesome cannoli– can’t beat it anywhere near here. I also used the Unilocal link to make reservations! Genius!

Love this place. Hard to find a really nice restaurant in this area but now we have. Definitely will go back! I had the veal Parmesan and it was great. My husband had the linguine with red clam sauce and he couldn’t rave enough about the sauce ! All served with a house salad and bread with their tomato oil (yummy stuff). Very homemade. Will try the pizza next. AZ as a rule has terrible pizza so I can’t wait to try their pizza as they have wonderful pasta sauces so I hope the pizza will be good too. Love to patronage family owned businesses and this one should not be missed. Great business people!!!

We have eaten here many times and have always had consistently good meals. Lunch or diner, very good food, friendly staff and reasonably priced. This is becoming our favorite for the time being.

Ate here repeatedly while staying temporarily at Anthem. The broccoli parmigiana is super, super delicious, we’ll be trying to copy the recipe at home. Love their chicken parmigiana, and the pasta sauce and the tomato based dipping oil are wonderful. Tasty fresh bread, and every salad I’ve gotten has been fresh, cold and tasty. We’ve always gotten friendly and timely service.

This, my friends, is a diamond in the rough. The aesthetics lean a bit toward a high end restaurant, but it is anything but pretentious. The staff is very attentive and the food is fantastic, if a bit pricey. The lasagna is as authentic tasting as I’ve had since I was last in northern Italy. The desserts are freshly made and to die for. On your way out, pick up a bottle of the tomato oil that they serve with the bread… we keep a bottle on hand at home all the time now. For being tucked away out in Anthem (south), this place is an absolute jewel.

I really wanted to like this place. But unfortunately it’s not good.
We ordered two chicken piccata’s and a kids burger. The waitress said the piccata comes with spaghetti noodles and the menu said it was chicken medallions. Both were incorrect. They arrived with angel hair and they were breast cut in thin halves. This would have been okay but the sauce was mainly butter and didn’t have a wine or lemon taste. It was hard to eat even half.
The kids burger came out black and charred. I would have left it like hat but my daughter complained that she could taste the burnt flavor. When I picked it up with my hand to look at it, it turned my hand black.
Service was very slow. It took almost 45 mins for the food to come out and there were only two servers working so we did not get any drink refills.
The restaurant is extremely hot inside. There were only two other tables at the time but it still felt like it was packed. The thermostat on their wall says 81.
Ordered a dessert came that looked wonderful but tasted stale and from a freezer.
Waited about 20 mins for the bill because the waitress disappeared.
I have to say the servers were very friendly and smiled and the children at nearby tables. They just need to step it up on the service and the food. We will not be back. Next time I’ll drive to Carrabas for a lot cheaper! Our bill was $ 58!

Valentinos is an excellent place to go for delicious Italian food… Florence is lucky to have such a place! I didn’t care for the pizza, but have only had the pepperoni.

My daughters wedding party went here for dinner the night before the wedding. My daughter and I both ended up with food poising the day of the wedding. Thanks so much for that. Food was atrocious. Service sucked. They brought out the kids pizza after all the adults were served. Who does that? Worst chicken Caesar salad I have ever had. Pizza was lackluster. Worst experience. Thanks for ruining my daughters day and mine. The rest of the bridal party is getting ill now. You guys suck

Went for couples nite out last night. We thought it would be better to head away from town being a holiday weekend. Easy drive from San Tan to the out skirts of Florence. We made a reservation although it didn’t seem necessary. Its a nice little place with maybe 15 or so tables and a little bar. Service was fast and friendly. We all had something different.
I had the shrimp and scallop special which was ok but the scallops were very small and I think the peas were frozen. For me the flavors just didn’t stand out and I had to add salt. My Cesar salad was just ok as well, I admit, I require anchovies to rate a Cesar good. There was a Chicken Roasted Garlic dish and a Pasta Giovanni dish ordered along with Chicken Parmigiana. Anyway, everyone’s plate had a puddle of oil or butter after eating down a bit so there was some frowning at the table. Dinner for 2 with tax & tip was $ 75 which included 1 glass of wine and two beers, so spendy.

We moved to Florence almost 3 years ago, and this is by far my favorite restaurant in town.
The previous owners had just a typical «pizza joint», which was okay, but really wasn’t anything special and closed down within a few months of us moving here. When we heard Valentino’s was opening up, we decided to give it a shot. We were extremely happy with what we now have just a block away.
It isn’t just high quality food, or the relaxing atmosphere (although those don’t hurt one bit). It is the attention to detail. The meticulous detail that goes in to every plate, every table setup, and even in to every employee. It all shows. The way the staff handles the restaurant’s guests is highly professional and courteous. It is a place you want to take your significant other or your friends, and go relax the night away.
The food is great for both lunch (try the Chicken Vermont!) and dinner (everything has been spectacular), and we have met both Jen and Rob on a number of occasions, and they are some of the sweetest, most genuine people you will ever meet.
We look forward to having Valentino’s around for many years to come!

Had dinner with the hubby here on a Saturday. Nice little restaurant in Florence near Merrill Ranch. I ordered spaghetti and meatballs and the hubby had the special (halibut I think). My spaghetti was good and I loved the meatballs. Hubby liked his fish. The sauce is simple but very tasty. Will definitely return!

Fine dining in florence? We went here after a grade school event and were suprised at what we found. A small restautant but with a fine dining environment. Food was pretty good, I thought the pizza was better than the pasta. They have artisan pizza that was excellent and the menu was well balanced and had a little of everything. I thought it was expensive considering the location but had it not been in Florence by the Safeway I dont think the price would have suprised me. Great for adults, not all that kid freindly.

Yummy, I had the chicken parm and husband had the manicotti. Sauce was simple yet so tasty. The bread they serve is soft along with the tomato, olive oil sauce that is served with it. I just can not say enough about how tasty it all was.
When we first got there we were told on Sunday they only serve a brunch for the day. We were going to leave but the server said they would make something for us depending on what we wanted.
I want to come again and try a few other dishes.

Great staff. The server was amazing as was the cooking. The food delicious. We found this place on Unilocal and I am making it my first review ever on the service.
Great people, great atmosphere, and great food! Highly recommended!

Very Upscale Dining
Finally! We have a fine dining establishment in the STV area. I have eaten here now and perfect. The Veal is great and of course the pasta is superb. The portions are over generous. The wait staff is very friendly and spot on. The food comes at a decent pace. Just can’t say enough good things about this place. Please stop by and enjoy this restaurant. Support your local owners.
BTW dessert was excellent.
Food — Excellent *****
Service — Good ****
Price — Low to Moderate $$

In Anthem, just off Hunt Highway and to the left of Safeway is a fabulous Italian restaurant I discovered thanks to Jeffrey Kramer, Food Connoisseur and Reviewer from Kahuna Café —
.
When I walked in I saw a beautifully decorated dining room with 2 and 4 top tables with classy glass place settings and white table clothes. About 9 of the 15 or so tables were full of people talking and laughing and they all looked like they were really enjoying their food. It’s a place where you can wear casual clothes or dress up, it all depends on how you feel. You’ll fit in either way.
There was a short wait because when you first walk in, if the greeter is seating folks, there is no way for them or the servers to see you right away because the wall into the dining room is jutted out a little and there is no clear view from the dining room to the door or vice versa. I took a quick step to the left and one of the staff saw me right away and came to seat me.
My server, Rebecca, arrived within a minute or so, and took my drink order. I asked for the sweetest white wine they had and a coke.
Jen Barker, one of the owners (Rob Barker, her husband, is the other owner and chef) brought me my wine and introduced herself (she was tending bar). Jen is very pleasant and was really interested in knowing what I thought after I told her that Jeffrey recommended I stop in.
Rebecca arrived with my coke and for an appetizer, I ordered the Muscles Valentino in the wine and garlic sauce. It arrived a little while later and the sauce had a saltiness from the coarse salt on the mussels that was perfectly matched with a little hint of brininess from the mussels. I squeezed the fresh lemon slice over all the mussels and that added another level of flavor to the dish. Half way through them, I noticed that 4 of the 16 mussels didn’t open. Rebecca took them back to the kitchen and Chef Rob quickly re-​fired 4 fresh ones for me. When they arrived I choose not to use the lemon and found that I actually liked them better without it.
The homemade loaf of bread was a little hard on the outside (like a good French bread should be) yet soft and pillowy on the inside. It made the perfect dipping bread in the garlic sauce on the mussels.
Just as I finished the appetizer, Rebecca, my very attentive server, arrived with my salad. The salad was fresh and beautiful to look at. The bright and deep greens, dark red and orange were just gorgeous. And it had just the right combination of lettuce and spinach with plum tomatoes, carrots, red onion and a delicious house Italian dressing with just the right touch of tanginess.
Within a few minutes of finishing my salad my entrée was delivered with a smile. The special for the night, Cajun Broiled Fish on a bed of fettuccine with green peas, apple bacon and mushrooms. I’ve eaten some great Cajun fish in New Orleans and I have to tell you this was better than some of those. Nearly the best I’ve eaten. It really was mouthwatering.
The heat from the spicy Cajun seasoning was spot on. Not enough to burn your mouth, but just enough to let you know it’s there. And the crispy outside of the fish had a light crunch that I heard when I bit into the first bite. The fettuccine was al dente as were the mushrooms, just the way I like them, and the taste was truly savory and delicious. I added a little squeeze of lemon juice to the fish and «Bam», as one of my favorite chefs says from time to time, it kicked the whole meal up a notch.
The prices are very reasonable so you won’t break the bank on a very upscale and fabulous meal. And if your server is as good as Rebecca was, I highly recommend you tip accordingly.
This is a dining experience I will treasure for a long time… as least until I return to this little gem in the desert. So, if you’re thinking about having a night out, in a nice setting and wonderful atmosphere, with phenomenal food, a friendly staff and owners that pay attention to their guests that won’t put you in the poor house… then take that short 12 minute drive south (past Bella Vista on Hunt Hwy) and I promise you… you will not be disappointed.