Cafe Formaggio

It pains me to only give this place 3 stars. So many good things about this place. The service was just so off that it warranted the lower rating.
The food alone is worth 4 stars for sure. My mom has celiac disease and this place is heaven for her. So many gluten free options she didnt know what to get.
We got a few appetizers — gluten free mozz sticks, meatball sliders, and baked clams. The baked clams came out 10 minutes after the other two apps.
Our entrees all looked and tasted great. My wife and I shared ravioli and chicken frances, The ravioli was great. My dad ordered chicken primavera and got chicken parm. His dinner arrived when we were finishing ours. Nobody came by to check to see how our food was or refill anyones drink.
I really like the gluten free options and I am happy to bring my mom here, it was my parents 44^th anniversary but the lack of service was truly disappointing.

After a long day of spending money at Roosevelt Field Mall, my girlfriend and I both wanted a hearty meal, so Unilocal led us to Café Formaggio, which is apparently known for their food and for their extensive gluten free menu. I say extensive because they literally have a gluten free version of their standard menu – not a gluten free section, or a handful of gluten free options, but an actual, separate version of their standard menu. Sure, you pay a couple of more dollars, but you have to love and appreciate their offerings.
We started off with a bread basket (OMGTHEBREADBASKET), and I say «we,» even though I demolished the entire basket as she can’t have gluten. The manager was very thoughtful and quick, and immediately brought her some gluten free garlic bread when she asked for the gluten free menu. The gluten free garlic bread ended up being half of a gluten free pizza crust with garlic oil on top. Oh well!
She opted for the gluten free eggplant parm, and I the Gnocchi Cotti (Gnocchi smothered in their signature creamy roasted pepper pesto with breaded chicken and sundried tomatoes.)
Portion size is quite generous. Not exactly Carmine’s Family style, but not exactly for one person. We absolutely loved our dishes, but were unable to finish them, so we ended up having to take the leftovers home for a midnight meal. I don’t know whether I’m just not the great eating machine I used to be, or if it’s because I had about a loaf’s worth of garlicky bread to myself before the entrees came out.
The gnocchi was fantastic. Gnocchi are always hit-​or-​miss as they take more care to prepare and cook properly. Café Formaggio’s gnocchi were some of the best I’ve ever had. Really. I have no complaints. The roasted pepper pesto had the right amount of everything, and the breaded chicken cutlet was generous. I vehemently oppose the use of sundried tomatoes in anything, but that’s a personal problem.
And apparently the gluten free tiramisu was «bomb.» I think that’s a good thing.
I knocked off a star because as good as the food was, service was quite slow especially when it came time to pay the bill. I acknowledge the restaurant was filled with the dinner crowd, but I observed at least a couple of parties all looking around quizzically and filled with annoyance at being forgotten.
A $ 70 tab for two entrees, one dessert, taxes and tip isn’t really a deal for the ages, but you know, you won’t be eating here every day.
We’ll definitely be back!

HEY GLUTEN-​CAUSES-​US-​AGONY-​MISERY-​AND-​WOE-​PEEPS. ESPECIALLY MY FELLOW ITALIANS/​SICILIANS. THEY TAKE US SERIOUSLY.
AND WE GET OUR OWN MENU.
AND GARLIC BREAD WITH DIPPING SAUCE.
AND GOOD GOOD PASTA SAUCE WE CAN DRAG THAT WONDERFUL BREAD THROUGH AND EAT.
It absolutely warrants the all-​caps. It was just that dang good!
WE GET EGGPLANT PARMESAN. I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT. EGGPLANT. PARM. MELANZANE A’ PARMIGIANA. AND IT TASTES GOOD.
It’s pretty expensive though… dinner’s around $ 30 per meal before tax and gratuity. However, the servers are great, sangria’s tasty, and the food is really quite good.
God, it’s just so nice to not get interrogated about having a disease while going out to eat at a place that advertises itself as friendly to people like us. No questions asked. No spiel about how «severe» we have it because if we have it, we have it, and they’re ready to accommodate us for it. Because… well, you know, it gets pretty tiring having to explain myself every time I go out to eat? And I’m sure, if you’re GF for any reason other than it’s Edgy™ and Rad™ to be GF, you’re sick of explaining yourself, too.
Oh. My. God. You guys. Garlic bread. GARLIC. BREAD. Let’s all get together and do cartwheels. One long parade of Celiac cartwheels all the way down the island until we get to Formaggio’s.
Seriously, being the Sicilian Celiac blows most of the time, and not being able to participate in most family food-​related functions also blows, but this is a restaurant where we can participate fully and it’s totally family friendly. Bring Nonna!

Love this place. I always get the shrimp penne alla vodka. One of my favorite dishes. The only thing I dislike about this place is how small it is. I wished the place would be a little more roomier. It is too tight to move.
Other than that they are great. Service is always on point and the food is always good. I love their bread basket as well. They give you a few different pieces from garlic bread to pizza cut into bread. They also give you a little dish with olives, cheese and dressing.
One must thing to get is the apps as well. We always get the fried zucchini sticks and I ask for them to be a little more burnt then usual because when they are crispy it just taste that much better.
I usually like to get a salad before my meal but the pasta is just so much that you have to get wrapped and bring it home. They are a bit pricey just so you know but it is in garden city. Definitely worth every second. Give them a try if you are in the area.

My family and I have been customers since they opened, had them cater on holidays, ate there on occassions, brought in take out almost weekly. Had reservations for 13 on Mothers day, made reservations 3 weeks in advance requesting a certain waiter+upper level seating area. Was assured then it waS no problem, was re-​assured a week later when they called me for a deposit on large party reservation, and a;so 3 days before mothers day when they called to confirm we would be there. When we got there was told by mgr. they were having a very busy day and could not honor our requested seating
apology, just take it or leave it. Had dinner was never approached by mgr offering apology or perhaps a courtesy bottle of wine or dessert. VERY POOR PUBLIC RELATIONS. I and my family will NEVER dine or bring in or cater from there again, and have advised everyone I know of this!!!

Love going here for dinner. Food is always good and always have very large portions. Service is excellent.

Great food, great hostesses, but service was very rushed and claustrophobic. It felt like the waiters were on top of us the entire time.

Outstanding. Mark and his team are wonderful. Ask for Walter. He is a sweetheart. Nicole is just the right amount of sass and class. Came here two nights in a row. Food is the best (and I’m Italian) and had great home cooked meals both nights. Love it. Will be back TOMORROW. Great family place, birthdays, BUT THE FOOD is awesome.

Hmm, where to begin.
I called the restaurant a day before to make reservations for 4 people. They don’t take reservations for parties less than 5, but assured me the restaurant would not be busy at 7:15 on a Saturday night.
Really?
So we get there, and the place is packed.
Informed it would be a 35 minute wait, turned out to be over an hour wait.
The staff was nice and apologetic and offered everyone pizza bites to nibble on.
Starving, we head for the table.
I found the price was high for pasta and vegetarian food.
In fact, my eggplant parmigiana was more expensive than my friends seafood dish.
Whatever.
Food was very bland, but when your starving, what the heck?
My husband’s lasagna was tasteless and it contained meat. How can that be? And there was no ricotta. That is very un-​Italian in my book.
My friends did not get the vegetable side dish that came with their seafood.
Our waitress was nice, but overwhelmed and MIA.
I would not recommend this place, it’s not worth the aggravation.
How they are this busy is beyond me.

I started catering from formaggios on Hicksville rd.
I loved everything I ordered plus my family and friends loved the food.
Tonight my family and I were on old country rd and we were going to go to Olive Garden for dinner. On the way we passed Formaggio. I said to my kids, that’s where I catered the food from for the holidays.
We wound up going to Formaggios to eat. I’m not sure if these two Italian restaurants are the same owners.
The baked clams I ordered from Hicksville rd were delicious. My kids love them.
In this restaurant, we ordered baked clams and they were very different. They were excellent but different
Our food was delicious. The service was excellent.
I’d definitely go there again
The formaggios on Hicksville rd, I have to say their food is delicious. I have not eaten there.
I love both places. I’m pretty sure they are not owned by the same people. It’s nice to know that there’s two excellent Italian places to eat

I was brought here with a few friends because it near a club we go to. The place looked clean but the bathrooms looked like they weren’t cleaned in weeks. I ordered a fish dish which stunk like it went bad. I told the waiter and he treated me like an idiot. I told him take a bite but he refused. The service, the food, and the mess in the bathrooms would review this as a 0 star restaurant. I am calling the health dept and hopefully they will get this place to clean up there act or they will close. Stay Away it is scary inside!

Awesome food, great service.
The only downside is that it is extremely busy on weekends, which is just a testament to how good it is. Nice décor as well.
For whatever reason, I prefer Café Baci, which is just down the road. More of a simple, laid back vibe. This place is a little more expensive and fancy-​shmancy.
Even though I prefer something simpler, this place still gets 5 stars.

Love this place! Been here several times to eat and order delivery from them often as well. Everything is very fresh and very delicious. They have excellent GF menu, which is what drew me in bc my brother is gluten intoletant. Free valet parking offered when you arrive, and their drinks are great too. Highly reccomended!

The food was great. Well prepared to your request. I had the ravioli verde. I did not expect it to be all green but it was delicious. The soups were also great. I really enjoyed the bread, cheese, and olives on the table before our meal was a pleasant surprise. The bread was fresh. I throughly enjoyed my entire experience. I would like to commend the waiter, Lenny, on his excellent manners and respect, knowledge of the food, and his lively personality. He made us feel welcomed. I would come back to this place.

The absolute best place to eat a gluten free meal! How can you go wrong with such great tasting gluten free calamari! Even my mom said it tasted better than the regular calamari.
The dishes are always superbly made and taste great. We are dying to come back just for some pizza next time.

My boyfriend and I have been here numerous times and we are always happy. The food and service is always consistently great and we especially love Giovani as our server, he is informative and always recommends the best dishes. Today my boyfriend had the chicken Malanese it was tender and the mushroom sauce was out of this world. I had the ravioli verde which is raviolis in a spinach cream sauce the ricotta is so fresh and delicious, I loved it. We will definitely be back and I highly recommend this restaurant if you are in the area!

This is one of my favorite places to go with my wife on a rare moment we do not have the kids with us. First, they have such an extensive gluten free menu that my celiac suffering wife can enjoy the experience of having to actually look over the menu due to the large amount of choices.
For us non gluten-​free people, the free bread is so good that you can hardly wait to see how good the food you actually order is.
The pasta dishes are awesome. I now avoid the ravioli though as i am often still hungry after this. I prefer the more noodle based dishes where you get more to eat. I also love their calamari and their fried mozzerella.
Even when crowded, the service is professional and you will not wait forever for your food. This is an absolute gem.

Stopped here for lunch today and had a delightful lunch at a reasonable price. Our waiter Lenny brought us some great breads, olives and cheese to whet our appetites. I had the Capellini pasta with scallops, shrimp and calamari in marinara sauce and my spouse had the fennel sausage and braciole pizza. Our entrees were delivered promptly, and steaming hot. My pasta was so hot I had to be careful not to burn my tongue.
Everything had wonderful flavor, and the servings were very generous. I’m a big eater and could barely finish my pasta, though I had a few pieces of the pizza.
For dessert we split a piece of the italian cheesecake, great stuff.
The décor was tasteful and clean, as were the restrooms.
Overall, I’d definitely recommend this place for lunch. They have a big parking lot, so that makes getting there easy.
I wish we had a restaurant like this close to our home in Tucson :-(

I came here for a birthday lunch with co-​workers. One of them was disappointed that they would not do the cheese bowl for lunch even asking management. It’s the entire reason she picked the place and was informed she would have to return in the evening for dinner to get it. They said they could possibly do it in the kitchen but it takes away from the whole experience. The part I don’t get about that is the restaurant was honestly half empty. They could have easily done it. Aside from that it’s not surprising that the service was inattentive. If they didn’t go the extra mile to make our birthday lunch special why would they for any other part of our dining experience. Once we received our food we were not checked on at all. I sat with am empty glass for quite a while until we flagged someone down. We had to ask for our water to be refilled and when I asked for a refill of iced tea I was told there are no refills but they could bring me another. He was polite about it just not very accommodating in general.
I ordered the cavatelli tre funghi. There wasn’t much chicken in it. May be half a small chicken breast. The chicken was however good and nice and tender. The sauce was also tasty and they were generous with the Parmesan cheese even if it did get scattered all over the table.
The cavatelli was the very epitome of al dente, nothing more nothing less. They definitely have the timing right on the nose with that. The pasta they use is also larger than the average cavatelli. My friend ordered the chicken Florentine and said her chicken tasted rubbery. After we were done with our food our plates were cleared quickly by the waitstaff but our server was no where to be found. We had to flag him down yet again. He didn’t even have that many tables he just seemed generally preoccupied. We asked for the dessert menu. The mocha latte looked delicious but I had to go back to work so I may try it on a future visit. My friend got the tiramisu to go the rest of us were pretty disinterested by the desserts and the prices.
The décor and the ambiance was nice and a little after 1pm it was not as loud as some of the other reviews mention. I don’t recall any music being played either or it may have been so subtle I tuned it out. The bathroom is clean but the door to enter is really loose so be careful. If you push it too hard the door goes flying straight into the wall. The toilet seat cover dispenser was empty. There’s a warning posted that the hand dryer gets very hot. They don’t have valet during lunch and I was a bit confused that the parking lot was full, we barely found a spot yet the restaurant was half empty. People must be parking here and going to the diner next door.
Overall the food was good but just good not spectacular. This could have been a 4 star experience if we felt our server was paying more attention to us.

What a wonderful Wednesday night!!! We were out celebrating the birthday of one of my best friends wife, Rada. They chose this place because they dined here a few days prior and knew they had to come back and share it with friends n family. Enter June 10^th, we were all gathered and the table was filled with Italian favorites. Appetizers such as Grilled calamari, meatballs marinara, Caesar salad with feta cheese were distributed evenly throughout the table, which went well the red wine. The atmosphere was very friendly and our Server, George, made the experience dining here really pleasant with his humor and recommendations off the menu. The popular entrees ordered were as follows
My wifey: the salmon crusted with walnuts and veggies,
Rada: shrimp scampi (the birthday girls go to dish)
Michael K.: skirt steak with veggies n potatoes
My dish: monstrous veal shank, medium, w walnuts, string beans n potatoes
Leo: linguine pesto pasta, which had an awesome taste to it. Leo is a pasta aficionado.
Albina: the gnocchi with chicken strips, I personally did not try it but the portion was sizable and looked tasty.
Inna: a vegetable medley with chicken and the last person to get mashed potatoes which wifey and I picked at. The mashed potatoes were definitely on point.
And what dinner is complete without dessert … That’s right, no dinner at all. Dessert was the cherry on top to an already carb laden, heavenly meal from above or from the kitchen of Formaggio. They can really cook over there. The desserts consisted of an assortment of fruits (bananas, pineapple, strawberries). Bread pudding w vanilla ice cream, PB and J mini cakes and cheese cake slices. The desserts were splendid and simultaneously stimulate all your taste buds. A good find from Leo n Rada. Another great night spent with an awesome group of friends and family. Will definitely be back.