The 10 Old-School Italian Spots In Eastern Wisconsin That Still Pile The Plates High
One Kenosha kitchen puts a pizza called the Gutbomb right on its menu.
My first reaction was simple: that’s a funny name for a pie, and that’s the whole story.
I could leave it at that, but I’d be missing the point.
Across eastern Wisconsin, old-school Italian kitchens keep showing up with the same habit.
Pasta bowls heavy enough to become tomorrow’s lunch. Meatballs described as the biggest anyone has seen.
Now I like that pizza name even more. It isn’t a joke at all. It’s a warning label, printed with total honesty.
I went looking for the places that still cook like the leftover containers are part of the meal.
1. Victoria’s Italian Cuisine
Fine art murals cover the walls here, so your lasagna gets a gallery view. Not bad for a casual spot on College Avenue in Appleton.
Victoria’s serves Italian-American favorites alongside Sicilian-inspired dishes, with pasta taking up much of the menu.
A plate of lasagna layers pasta with ricotta, beef, meat sauce, and mozzarella, while Quattro Cheese Rigatoni combines several cheeses with creamy Alfredo sauce.
There’s more choice than a simple red-sauce lineup. Gnocchi Pistachio features potato dumplings, pistachios, and Gorgonzola in cream.
Tortellini Conpazze combines cheese-filled pasta with nuts, broccoli, and a rich sauce. Seafood Alfredo brings shrimp and scallops over fettuccine.
Its menu also offers calzones and pizzas, handy when someone at the table wants something besides pasta. Vegetable-based dishes are given real space, too.
Broccoli and Cream and a zucchini-filled Sicilian sauce offer different directions for a meat-free meal. Ask about ingredients when planning around dietary restrictions.
The restaurant’s dining room is at 503 W College Ave, Appleton. Murals depicting Italian scenery give the casual space an old-world atmosphere. A private room can accommodate gatherings of roughly 30 to 60 people.
The doors open at 11 AM daily for lunch and dinner. Carryout and delivery are available, including family-style pasta platters for sharing at home. Chocolate cake, carrot cake, and cannoli offer a sweet finish, if there’s still room after the pasta.
2. Infusino’s Restaurant & Pizzeria
Since 1971, this Racine restaurant family has been feeding neighbors like it’s a holiday. That’s more than five decades of Italian food, though the Rapids Drive dining room came along in 1980.
Infusino’s is family-owned, with a menu stretching from pizza to substantial pasta combinations.
The Italian Combination brings meat and cheese ravioli, mostaccioli, lasagna, and gnocchi together. The Tour of Italy adds manicotti, tortellini, and fettuccine to its selection of baked favorites.
Pizza comes in several crust styles, including a thicker pan crust, a thin crust, and a middle-ground option called Virgin Crust. It’s worth choosing your style before considering the toppings.
The kitchen also serves rotisserie chicken, chicken saltimbocca, and Sicilian-style steak.
Homemade potato gnocchi is paired with sauce and a choice of meatballs or sausage. Italian bread and traditional sauces help round out these substantial family meals.
For your visit, head to 3225 Rapids Dr, Racine. Wisconsin families can also arrange catered meals and larger events through the associated banquet facility nearby.
Here’s one scheduling detail that matters. Pickup and delivery begin at 11 AM daily, but the dining room currently opens at 3 PM and closes at 9 PM.
Reservations are suggested for groups. From pizza night to a full family dinner, the menu has plenty of ways to turn an ordinary evening into a lengthy meal.
3. Luigi’s Italian Restaurant
Party trays are on the menu here, which tells you how this Sheboygan kitchen thinks about quantity. Even a regular dinner plate seems to remember that.
Luigi’s serves pasta, pizzas, sandwiches, and substantial Italian-style dinners in a casual family setting. Its pizzas come in traditional, pan, and Chicago-style stuffed versions.
The largest traditional pie measures 30 inches across, giving a group something substantial to share.
The pasta menu includes lasagna, gnocchi, ravioli, and fettuccine, with multiple sauces and combinations. If you’re dining with children, the smaller menu includes spaghetti or penne, chicken tenders, and a personal cheese pizza.
Chicken parmigiana, eggplant parmigiana, and meatballs with sauce appear among the main courses. Dinner plates include salad and garlic bread, plus soup or a side of pasta, depending on the selection.
You’ll find the restaurant at 2910 Kohler Memorial Dr, Sheboygan. Fried ravioli, bruschetta, and mozzarella sticks make easy starters when everyone wants a little something before the main plates.
Tiramisu, cannoli, and gelato-based desserts round out the meal. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday, opening at 10:30 AM, with Monday reserved as its weekly closing day.
Reservations can be arranged ahead. Carryout, local delivery, and catering are offered, so the generous menu isn’t limited to a table in the dining room. A pizza for sharing could be the simplest approach.
4. Calderone Club – Downtown Milwaukee
Old World Third Street is a fitting home for a restaurant with an old-world setting. The address practically wrote its own job description.
Calderone Club combines a classic, checkered-tablecloth dining room with handmade pasta and Milwaukee-style thin-crust pizza.
The pizza recipe draws on the original Caradaro Club tradition dating to 1945, a notable piece of the city’s Italian restaurant history.
Pasta is made using durum wheat semolina and eggs. Chicken parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, and veal piccata share the menu with cheese ravioli and traditional baked dishes.
There’s plenty to choose from even before you reach the pizza selection.
Start with bruschetta al pomodoro, thick-cut mozzarella marinara, or crispy eggplant. Handmade rice balls filled with mozzarella offer another appetizer with Roman roots.
Dinner happens at 842 N Old World 3rd St, Milwaukee, not far from downtown entertainment venues. The smaller dining room makes reservations useful, particularly when a concert or game is happening nearby. The atmosphere stays traditional.
The restaurant serves Tuesday through Thursday from 4:30 to 10 PM and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 11 PM. Sunday and Monday are closing days.
Curbside pickup is available for anyone who prefers to enjoy their pasta at home. Cannoli, tiramisu, and carrot cake appear among the desserts. For a classic Milwaukee Italian dinner, this place gives you several reasons to order another course.
5. Balistreri’s Italian-American Ristorante
Fried eggplant strips might be the sneakiest star in Wauwatosa. They come with marinara sauce and sit beside some seriously thin-crust pizza on the menu.
Balistreri’s has served the Milwaukee area for more than five decades, focusing on classic Italian-American dishes.
The pizza comes in round and rectangular sizes, with combinations ranging from sausage and mozzarella to The Works, loaded with mushrooms, olives, onions, peppers, and pepperoni.
The pasta selection includes lasagna layered with three Italian cheeses, beef, and mushrooms.
Baked mostaccioli adds mozzarella and Parmesan, while chicken parmesan comes with a side of spaghetti. Meatballs in sauce make another simple, satisfying choice. Half orders of selected pasta dishes also appear on the menu.
The dinner menu also offers salads, soup, and assorted Italian starters. Fried eggplant strips aren’t served on Fridays, so choose another day if that particular appetizer is on your mind.
For the 68th Street restaurant, use 812 N 68th St, Wauwatosa. Limited street parking is available, and the building is not wheelchair accessible, so plan accordingly.
Tuesday is the weekly day off. Sunday service begins at 2 PM, with lunch and dinner on Monday and Wednesday through Saturday. Carryout and reservations are offered, although seating can be limited during peak periods.
A thin-crust pizza alongside a plate of fried eggplant is a particularly fitting way to explore this long-running neighborhood kitchen.
6. Luigi’s Pizza Kitchen
Any menu with a Gutbomb Pizza deserves your respect. Kenosha’s Luigi’s Pizza Kitchen isn’t shy about what it’s here to do.
The family business opened in 1963, beginning in a compact storefront and growing into a restaurant known for handmade Italian specialties.
Pizza comes in sizes up to a 20-inch party pie, with the Gutbomb occupying its own place among the specialty selections.
Pasta choices include homemade spaghetti, rigatoni, ravioli, gnocchi, lasagna, and stuffed shells.
Some dishes come in half or full portions, giving you room to choose how hearty dinner should be. The familiar menu has endured. Most Italian dinners include salad, bread, and cheese.
The menu also includes Henny Penny chicken with coleslaw, bread, and mojos. Those seasoned potato slices can be ordered separately, making them a natural side when someone else at the table wants pizza.
Luigi’s occupies 7531 39th Ave, Kenosha, a familiar destination for families in southeastern Wisconsin. You can order a pizza turnover with selected fillings if a full pie feels like too much.
Monday is the weekly closing day, and Saturday service begins at 4 PM. Carryout, delivery, and catering trays are available, with advance notice required for large catering orders.
This is exactly the kind of menu where choosing between pasta and pizza is a genuinely difficult decision. The Gutbomb certainly doesn’t make it easier.
7. Ala Roma Pizzeria & Pub
A Chicago-style stuffed pizza at a scratch-made Italian kitchen? Fond du Lac has one, and it’s a clever move for anyone who thinks a regular pie needs more filling.
Ala Roma makes pizza, pasta, panini, and panzerotti, all within an extensive Italian-American menu. The Ala Roma Supreme Pizza combines sausage, ham, pepperoni, bacon, vegetables, and olives.
Other pies include a classic caprese and a hot-honey pepperoni combination. A cauliflower crust option is available for selected pizzas, too.
Panzerotti get their own section. These folded pockets of dough contain mozzarella, sauce, and chosen fillings, with options ranging from Alfredo chicken to a meat-heavy version. The extra baking time is worth considering when ordering.
Pasta lovers can choose Lasagna alla Bolognese, layered with meat sauce and several cheeses. Minestrone soup, bruschetta, and an antipasto salad offer additional Italian staples.
The restaurant sits at 171 N Pioneer Rd, Fond du Lac, close to the Highway 23 interchange. It’s an easy place to reach during a drive through this part of Wisconsin.
Hours begin at 11 AM daily, with evening service extending later Tuesday through Saturday than on Sunday and Monday. Dine-in, carryout, delivery, and catering provide options for different occasions.
If the group cannot decide between pizza and pasta, ordering a panzerotti to share might settle the argument. Just make sure someone saves room for cannoli.
8. Angelina Restaurant | Italian
A heated patio with a retractable roof turns pasta night in downtown Green Bay into a small occasion. Angelina leans into that charm.
The restaurant opened in 1998, with a kitchen focused on fresh Italian dishes made from scratch. The dining room has an intimate atmosphere, while upper-level seating provides another place for a leisurely dinner.
Spaghetti e polpette brings house-made meatballs simmered in tomato sauce. Carbonara combines pasta with guanciale, egg, Parmesan, and black pepper. Cheese-filled tortellacci with Alfredo sauce and grilled chicken offers a richer alternative.
Start with bruschetta made from toasted bread, tomatoes, garlic, and basil. A cheese platter brings several Italian varieties together with figs, fruit, and bread.
For dessert, the menu includes tiramisu, cannoli, and locally made gelato. A cheese platter also works especially well before the pasta arrives.
Angelina occupies 117 N Adams St, Green Bay, in the downtown district. The enclosed patio can be warmed during cooler weather, and its movable roof offers flexibility when the forecast changes.
Dinner service runs Monday through Saturday from 5 to 10 PM. Sunday is the weekly closing day, so reservations are best arranged for another evening.
It’s a different kind of generous from an overflowing pasta platter: time to enjoy several courses in a comfortable setting. Choose a patio table for the distinctive atmosphere, then let the pasta take center stage.
9. Gino’s Italian Restaurant
Baked spaghetti and meatballs is the kind of dish that sounds like a hug. Gino’s in Fond du Lac puts it right on the menu.
The restaurant’s Italian-American selection includes lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo, ravioli, and pizza, with dough and sauces prepared from scratch.
Baked spaghetti comes topped with mozzarella, while chicken diavola brings peppers, herbs, vegetables, and a garlic tomato sauce over fettuccine.
Gino’s also makes Chicago-style stuffed pizza, which needs about 30 minutes in the oven. The thick pie can be customized with vegetables, sausage, chicken, or other toppings.
A thin-crust version provides an alternative for anyone who prefers a lighter base.
Dinner comes with a relaxed atmosphere, and the menu stretches into Italian sandwiches, salads, and baked pasta.
Children have their own choices, including ravioli, spaghetti, and cheese pizza. Guests who prefer something smaller can request a lighter pasta portion instead.
Make your way to 584 W Johnson St, Fond du Lac. From that address, Wisconsin diners can choose dine-in or carryout, while catering trays bring pasta and breadsticks to larger gatherings.
Service runs from 4 to 8:30 PM on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday through Sunday. Wednesday is the regular closing day.
Seafood Alfredo adds shrimp, scallops, and crab blend to the creamy pasta options. Just remember the stuffed pizza’s extra baking time when planning dinner with a hungry group.
10. Sturino’s
A stone pizza oven from the family’s original restaurant is still part of the cooking story at Sturino’s in Kenosha. That’s an unusually tangible connection to the past.
The first Sturino’s operated from 1968 to 1988, specializing in pizza and Italian dishes with roots in Calabria. A later reopening brought the family recipes back, with pizza again baked in the original stone oven.
That pizza comes in thin, Virgin, and deep-dish crust styles. A gluten-free personal pizza crust is also offered for certain orders.
The pasta list includes handmade meat, cheese, or mushroom ravioli, potato gnocchi, and lasagna made with three meats and six cheeses.
For a shared dinner, the Tour of Italy for Two includes lasagna, ravioli, gnocchi, and a choice of meatballs or sausage. A soup or salad and cheesy toast complete the spread.
The restaurant is at 1543 22nd Ave, Kenosha. Homemade Italian fries with dipping sauce make a distinctive starter, while the hand-breaded chicken parmesan is a straightforward comfort-food option.
Dinner service runs Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to 8 PM and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10 PM. Takeout and delivery are available alongside dine-in meals.
You can also take home frozen ravioli, gnocchi, or lasagna for a future dinner. With so many scratch-made staples, it’s easy to understand why the old stone oven still matters here.
