Trattoria Ragazzi

It was good. To bad it closed.

** CLOSED **
Sadly Italian food in Sierra Vista is now relegated to two other mediocre local restaurants and the Breadstick & Salad Chain. What was a good place to find authentic, tasty Italian food and good service, with a reason to eat out, is no longer. :-(

I ate here while getting my bike worked on next door. They have good food and outstanding service

Trattoria Ragazzi is closed. No word on someone new who might want to reopen/​rebrand it.

This place is ridiculous.
«Upscale» Italian restaurant in a run down strip mall.
Bread was good… Mainly bc it was the main course of the night.
$ 14 for 3 pieces of small shrimp and 2 scallops the size of a dime.
$ 22 for 4 raviolis full of imitation crab…
NO THANK YOU.
I felt dumb eating at this place. Kicked myself in the head for 2 weeks.
Finished my meal off w more bread.
Is it a sign when the people dinning in your restaurant are still eating bread after their main course? NOT RIGHT.

This restaurant was great! The food was amazing and they have a wonderful friendly staff offering great service.

Another perfect lunch at Trattoria Ragazzi!
The Ravens won me a bet against the Pats so lunch was on my coworker. We both arrived early — 11 — as soon as it opened. Water and bread and butter was quick to the table. There were a couple yummy, crusty little rolls and a pair of herb bread slices. The herbed one was a bit dry and crumbly but both were dipped in oil and vinegar that was on the table, so it was all good.
Our choice of fresh made minestrone soup or crisp side salad was first brought to our table. Everything really was fresh and tasty! Usually soup in this town is dumped out of a can — this certainly was not!
My lunch was pesto linguine. The sauce — comprised of basil, olive oil, pine nuts and parmesan — was perfect and the pasta was cooked to al dente. It was seriously, one of the best plates of pasta I’ve had in a while, served in a big twirl with shreds of basil and a handful of pine nuts as garnish.
My friend had the chicken picatta — unbreaded chicken breast in wine sauce with capers with a side of fettuccine alfredo. I’ve had the same dish before and it was heaven on a plate. The wine is very prevalent and it was tasty and tender; however, I feel that the chicken should be pounded flatter but that’s just matter of taste.
The service was quick and our drinks were refilled when empty.
With this place here, there’s really no reason to patronize Olive Garden and their ilk. There’s simply to comparison!

I was really excited to try this place. My dad and I showed up around 4pm on a Thursday and we walk up to the doors and they are locked. We kinda walk around the corner thinking we may be at the wrong entrance… No, no other door. We check their hours and they’re supposed to be open… Wait a few minutes to see if someone will come open the door. Nothing. So we had to leave. So disappointing.

Great service.
OK atmosphere for a stripmall Italian joint that used to be a Blimpee in Sierra Vista, AZ.
Phenomenal bread — really!
Food was 4 stars.
Great meal overall … prob the best Italian meal South of Tucson.
Well done!

Have had a variety of food here and have not been disapointed. Would definitely go here over the Olive Garden any day. Prices are a little up there (ok I’m cheap!) but the food makes up for it.
Nice folks, nice place.
You won’t be sorry.

One of the best places to eat in the Sierra Vista area. I am here often enough now that if I don’t sit at my «regular» table, the owners notice. I love the NY steak, with alfredo and extra asparagus. I also recommend all of the desserts. The starter bread with olive oil and vinegar, also very very good!!!

So I’m back in SV for one week for work. I’m from the National Capital Region, and since living out there, have become more discerning with the food I eat. Since I was out here 4 years ago, I remember SV having good Mexican food, but not much else. When I checked in to my hotel room, the woman checking me in gave me a good run down of the local food. She emphasized Trattoria Ragazzi, saying it was good, authentic Italian food. I am Italian, I can cook good Italian food, and you can throw a rock in Georgetown, DC, and hit an Italian joint. So I wasn’t too expecting much.
The first positive thing I noticed was the small menu. I LOVE THAT! A small menu usually means they do everything good, versus a 6-​page menu, where you’re trying with a hit and miss to find the few things that are tasty. For starters, I had a ½ carafe of the house Chianti. I was pretty happy with that! It ended up being about 2 ½ glasses. Perfect end to my ½ day of work.
As for the food, I started out with a Caesar salad. I liked the dressing, and the addition of chickpeas, but I guess I didn’t read the menu where it said it had black olives in it. I’m not a fan of black olives but they were big enough so I could pick them out. I was brought a roll and a piece of garlic bread. The garlic bread was a little dry, but served well enough to sopping up the sauce of my main meal, the Penne Pasta with Bolognese. It was pretty good! I needed to add a little salt, but that was it. The Bolognese was thick, like it’s supposed to be, which is great because you could eat it all with a fork. It had sprinklings of parsley around the bowl, but I didn’t taste a lot in the sauce. It is definitely a healthy sized lunch portion, and I had to take ½ my pasta home. It was great reheated the next day.
The only negative I saw was the décor. It could use a «Restaurant: Impossible”-style makeover. Not the food, mind you, just the décor. It was very outdated, with paint peeling, 1980s-​style tables and booths, and the floor tiles have seen better days. But, that being said, I imagine it is really expensive to re-​do a restaurant, and it had no effect on the taste of my food.
Bottom line — I’d recommend anyone to go here if you’re in town. It was well worth the money spent!

I was here a couple of weeks ago for a business dinner with my boss. I was a little skeptical at first; the outside looks very plain and mom-​and-​pop. But, as soon as you walk in, there is an air of the authentic.
We were promptly greeted, seated, watered, and received the appropriate attention. The service was impeccable. The food was fresh, the ravioli hand made, the sauces seasoned perfectly, and the bread — oh joy! I broke my 1-​piece-​of-​bread rule and had 3 pieces of the most lovely, tasty bread I’ve had in a restaurant in a while. Even the dipping olive oil was high quality and delicious.
I had the chicken Marsala, and yes, they used *real* Marsala and the chicken was cooked perfectly and lightly breaded, which is, in my opinion, the best way to have it.
When asked, the waiter revealed that they are a family business. He and his brother studied in Italy for six months before they opened the restaurant. Now, that’s dedication to the craft. The kitchen was spotless and the room sparsely but tastefully decorated.
The next time I am in Sierra Vista, I am definitely coming to this place. And, no offense, boss, but next time I’m ditching you so I can try something on their wine list! … and maybe on the dessert menu, too.

Alright, there just isn’t much in SV that compares to the quality of food here. I had Veal Parmigiana at lunch, and it was simply mouthwatering. I don’t normally care for pasta and marinara, but the angel hair was cooked perfectly and the marinara was extremely flavorful. Don’t believe me? See the photo I posted! Fresh bread, yep… we saw a loaf rising in the kitchen-​What a gem of a restaurant!- I warmed up left overs at work the day after, and half the break room asked what I was eating because it smelled amazing.

Since early in the year, I have eaten here three times — twice with large groups of 12 to 15 people. On both the «group» occasions, the service and the food was excellent. I had the veal marsala on the first visit, followed by shrimp, scallops and asparagus, with pasta on the second visit. Both dishes were excellent and the flavors of the various parts of the entrees were superb. I also believe the pasta was cooked just right and was not overly smothered with alfredo sauce. The most recent visit –a week ago — with my daughter, who was visiting from California — also provided a wonderful dining experience. We each had the Lasagna and found it to be outstanding — and a substantial portion.
My daughter, who dines out in California often, remarked that it seemed that they might need one additional wait staff person — just to keep the dinners organized and ensure possibly even better service. We both, however, thought the service was attentive and had no complaints about our evening at Trattoria Ragazzi. For a high quality restaurant operating in a former «Blimpies», these guys are clearly succeeding — with good food, good service, a good selection of entrees and other items — a clear winner in Sierra Vista. Most certainly worth a visit — expect to pay about $ 20 per person for your evening meal — without many adders. The prices are assuredly on a par with the value of the meal and the dining experience.

I have eaten here about four times and my biggest silent complaint has always been, despite ordering the same thing, the dish NEVER come out tasting the same. Although not bad, it’s basically chef’s surprise which for a creature of habit like myself, doesn’t work. Why do we keep coming back? The service has always been impeccable until our last visit.
Friday night my wife and I made our way over to Ragazzi for dinner. The restaurant was less than half full so I asked if they were about to close. We were told they were closing in 30 minutes but there was plenty of time to eat. Maybe after work all the staff made plans to play naked twister because our service was indicative of a restaurant closing in 30 mins! Our drinks were never filled, no one stopped by to check on us… the entire experience felt rush rush. To make matters worse, a couple came in about 10 minutes after we did but yet they receive much quicker service. They received their salad and drinks BEFORE we did and it seemed the waiter stayed somewhere in close vicinity of their table while sat on a deserted island wishing full drink refills. The service was absolutely HORRIBLE!
A 15% tip is for average service but I usually provide a 20%+ tip for outstanding service. Nevertheless, I have NEVER left a 0% tip until Friday night. I guess what they say is true… there’s a first time for everything! Oh and a last time for everything because we will NEVER return.

Short-​N-​Sweet /​BLUF: Eat here-​STOP-​You will not be disappointed-​END
Have eaten here four times and that’s three times more than any other chain place in this town that the rest of the sheep that go for diners in these parts bleat about. Wake up ya buncha reeds-​in-​the-​wind, this place has staying power and a menu to put he rest to shame.
’nuff said…

My wife and I ate at Trattoria Ragazzi again this week, and afterward I just felt that I couldn’t justify a 4-​star rating for this place. The food here is so incredible, I have to give it my highest recommendation. The service is still a bit slow, but the quality of the food makes up for it. Sophia’s may be the better «dinner date» restaurant, but if you only care about getting the best food, Trattoria Ragazzi is the best Italian food in town, hands down.

Divine.
If food were a deity, Trattoria Ragazzi would be an elegant Italian goddess, and I’d be her prophetess!
My husband and I went on a Wednesday evening, and not only was there no wait, we were seated instantly and presented with two cups of real butter balls to complement the basket with two types of warm bread and two glasses of ice water.
The atmosphere was great! The ristorante is done in simple black and whites, glass topped tables over tablecloths. The windows are frosted most of the way up, so you could enjoy the natural lighting from outside but not be in a fish bowl to passersby. They have what appeared to be a full bar (I’m pregnant right now, so I didn’t try it out ;-)), too.
The food was melt in your mouth perfection. My husband had their Lasagna al Forno, lightest lasagna I’ve ever tasted! He absolutely loved every bite of it! I had their Gamberi e Cape Sante: a shrimp/​scallop/​asparagus over the creamiest fettucini alfredo I’ve ever had. It was so delightful that I overate without regret! Well, one regret: I had no room for dessert, and when a table near ours was served the most decadent piece of tiramisu, I pouted!
The staff was attentive – I never had an empty glass and not a single empty dish sat on my table for more than two minutes – and very polite. I like that they also have a takeout option (two people came in to pick up food), so we took a menu home with us.
Definitely recommend it over every Italian place we currently have in town. (see menu here:

I don’t know what we, citizens of fair Sierra Vista, did to deserve Trattoria Ragazzi, but I’m not asking questions… I’m just grateful, thankful, borderline ecstatic to have them.
So wonderful. Primo, primo! And someone is going to come along on Unilocal and tell you that it’s not. Because someone always does. They’re going to tell you that they’ve toured the old country and this just can’t compare. That they’ve had better. That they’re the end all be all authority on things Italian and things good. But they’re lying, or mistaken, or just not taking their meds this week, because the food is as fab as fab gets — without Jesus in the back kitchen miracling it to be better!
And the fact that they set up shop in a what was formerly a BLIMPIES, and you can’t tell, and it’s fancy-ish…that alone is amazing.
If the following, printed on their menu, doesn’t leave you with warm fuzzies, or convince you Sierra Vista has finally been blessed by God, then certainly nothing I say ever will:
«From our deepest thoughts to you…
I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells.
I honor the place in you, which is Love, Truth, Light and Peace.
When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, We are one.»
Now THAT’S sayin’ grace!