Italian Connection

A homey, quirky atmosphere– the «hole in the wall» that is typical of a long established one man show. The service was attentive. The portions were generous. The price of the entrees were appropriate. I found the lasagna to be a bit bland. The pasta had a great consistency and would have been an excellent dish with a bit more pepper and garlic.
The desserts were the strongest part of the meal. We tried three different dishes and they were all excellent.

Romantic setting. Delicious and decadent food. Engaging and entertaining chef (slash DJ/​singer). Extensive Wine List. Funky neighborhood. Great experience.
There is a lot of great food in Fort Wayne. I suppose it stems from the lack of anything better to do, but it is to the benefit of foodies in Northern Indiana. The Italian Connection was recommended by family and I was extremely happy that they did. This is the place that you want to go on an anniversary dinner. It’s intimate and it has great food.
Now, there is a single quirk about the Italian Connection that I should mention. The Chef. He is a great cook, but sometimes he feels the need to come out and chat, or sing karaōke for you, or play some music. It’s a great experience and it is really fun, but all of this shenanigans might get in the way of you getting your food. I recommend going while you’re not in a rush, and enjoy «Scenes from an Italian Restaurant» in an Italian Restaurant.

Went here for a first date and loved it! They have an amazing wine list and a great atmosphere. Very romantic but quilt and fun with the décor. We had excellent service and the food was fabulous. Looking to go back when the owner songs karaōke on Fridays and Saturdays. I have lived in FW for 5 years and never knew of this place. A hidden gem for sure. I will be back!!!

Two of my friends love this little hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant, so I was excited to finally try it! My, what a disappointment this establishment turned out to be. It took our waitress 45 minutes to take our dinner order. You read that right, forty-​five minutes! By the time we got our dinners, another table was already in and out! I ordered the spaghetti with meatballs, which came at a decent price since it includes the small salad that comes before it. The lighting is very dark, so come prepared to squint. Our waitress was not attentive or friendly. She actually gave us some sass when we informed her that she rang our checks up incorrectly, without apologizing or offering to correct the problem. We ended up being there for 2.5 hours for a simple dinner because of how slow the service was. As we were leaving the restaurant, a fight broke out in front of the house next to the restaurant. Yikes! I give Italian Connection two out of five stars for the average food and price, but horrible service and location.

I really wanted to place no stars but that isn’t allowed. However, this place is horrible. I ordered Flamingo Shrimp with portobello mushrooms. The suave is a cream sauce that was very soupy and I could not enjoy the meal. I should have asked if the meal will be soupy or creamy, but this dish supposed to be creamy. Ugh! Mercury must be on someone’s taste bud. I do not suggest this place if you really enjoy real Italian.

Ambiance! The location is deceiving… fantastic charm and décor on the inside.
Stay late to make sure you hear the chef do his Sinatra medley.

Great homade food, great coffee, great atmosphere. Been here several times and have always had those 3 items be constantly great. The service however. We have had the same waitress on 3 different occasions who has-​in no particlure order-​forgotten to put our order in, forgot to bring salads and had to remind her then the entrée arrives right after the salads placed on table, ordered a angel hair pasta dish and received a fettucine dish appearantly because she didn’t write it down and the walk to kitchen is too far for her memory. Seems like she always has just a few tables but notice that our table is not the only one expeiancing these issues and more, last night was strike 3 with her and I will continue to go there but will now request a table anywhere but in her section, if seated in her section I will definitely ask for different server. So make a reservation, enjoy some great food but hope that Nicole isn’t your server, if so ask to be moved, maybe this waitress is the same one other reviewers with bad service stories have had, hopefully it can get fixed but till then my reservations will be in a «No Nicole area»!

Wonderful homemade Italian food. The ambiance is very relaxing and quaint. The Shrimp Flamenco is my favorite. We had a rehearsal dinner there. Alex was very accommodating.

You have got to be kidding me. The absolute worst service and food I have had in Fort Wayne. Period…Hellooooooo.Salvatore’s.Now that’s Italian.

This is a favorite spot! My husband and I were engaged and had our rehearsal dinner here! Alex, the owner is so helpful and has amazing food! The atmosphere is so unique but cozy. We love this place! Especially when he starts singing!

Ignore the bad reviews. Where else in Fort Wayne can you get house made pasta, dessert, and espresso for two under $ 50?

Best in Ft. Wayne. Don’t pay attention to the bad review on here. If you’re not going here, you’re missing out.

I’m not sure how this place got such a good reputation. Before I talk about the negatives, let me admit that the ambiance of this place is wonderful, and the singing is great!
However, the food at the Italian Connection was the worst I had ever had. I ordered the ravioli and was regretting my decision as soon as I took the first bite. The meat inside of the ravioli was sour and tasted like it was 10 years old. The ravioli itself is so thin I could practically see through it. I have had $ 1.00 cans of Chef Boyardee that were 10x more tasty than is food. It was the most over priced, small-​portioned, nasty-​tasting food I had ever had.
I was willing to take one for the team, however, and not complain about the food because we were there for a friend’s birthday. However, I was taken aback by what happened at the end of the evening.
As we were sitting around the table chatting, finishing up our evening and watching our friend open up gifts, we were listening to the owner sing karaōke. All of the sudden we realize that the owner is singing the national anthem on karaōke and one of the tables next to us (who were friends with the owner I believe) stood up during the singing. By the time we realized what was going on, the song was about over so some of us were standing up but a few remained seated. All of the sudden, the owner’s friend starts grabbing our arms and yelling at us to stand up and practically forcing us out of our seats.
Let me tell you, I’m one of the most patriotic people you will meet and I didn’t mean any disrespect by not standing up. But to sing the national anthem while people are eating and not really paying attention to what was going on is just very strange. I believe the guy who forced us out of our chairs was friends with the owner because they were singing numerous karaōke songs together throughout the night.
All in all, it was a very weird and unsatisfactory experience for me. I feel bad saying this because the owner seemed like a great guy. I was just so perplexed by the bad tasting food with all of the hype, and the fact that I thought I was going to be stabbed over not standing for a karaōke song just wasn’t what I needed after a long day at work.

4 stars — intimate setting. Food was pretty good

I was not impressed. I made reservations and found a place to park in the virtually non-​existent parking area, only to have the waiter take an eternity to serve us and forget to bring our drinks. The food was good, but it was not good enough to justify terrible service. I probably won’t go back.

I first dined at this establishment back around 1990. We were here twice, although I cannot remember the specifics, both times left me with the desire to return for the wonderful service, atmosphere, and food.
Well, 20 yrs later the atmosphere is still wonderful, service is average, and the food quite poor. The House salads were premade, only consisted of shredded iceberg, and the dressing atrocious (some sort of thousand island/​italian blend I think). The wine list was slim. I ordered the clam linguine and while the pasta was cooked very nicely the sauce was unremarkable. Our party also had the chicken parm and it appeared to be breaded and fried chicken fingers served with a bowl of pasta.. . again purely unremarkable.

Just returned from a lovely evening at The Italian Connection. My husband and I celebrated our anniversary and had a terrific meal. For an app we shared the antipasti plate, my husband had the special — spinach ravioli with bay scallops, portabella mushrooms and shrimp in a cream sauce and I had the chicken manicotti with red sauce. Both entrees were just delicious and the sauces were so fresh and tasty! The house salad and dressing were great as was the yummy bread and herb garlic butter. Everything that was served was WONDERFUL and we were served very nice sized portions. We had spumoni and zabaglione for dessert and both were out of this world… I have dined in different Italian restaurants in New York City & Chicago and I must say that your restaurant was head and shoulders above the rest. Our waitress was wonderful and very attentive, the ambiance was great and overall we had a fabulous time! We will definitely be back !

This place is a Ft. Wayne gem. A great family restaurant with a warm, homey atmosphere and ultra-​friendly staff, there’s no better place in town for a homemade Italian meal.
The pasta is fresh, and there’s a decent little wine list with a good variety of Italian wines. The desserts are variable, but the gelato is a consistent winner.
The gem that sets this place apart from all the rest is the Frank Sinatra karaōke performance put on by Alex, the chef and owner, toward the end of the evening after he’s finished in the kitchen. After the show, Alex walks around to talk with the diners. Nary a more fun eating experience!

Great Italian American. Wonderful family atmoshpere – family photos are plastering the walls. Wine bottles from patrons’ special events commemorate countless special evenings. Everywhere you look is an interesting story waiting to be told.
And the food is amazing – fresh, hand-​made noodles and made-​to-​order sauces will knock your socks off. The home made gelati are outstanding as well. Everything has a very mediterranian feel, look, and taste.
One of a kind, hard to find, and memorable. This is a great first date place (or anniversary, or birthday).
Tell them Dave and Keri from Warsaw sent you.
****UPDATE****
Alex has updated his Fettuccini Antonio. It now has italian bacon in it in addition to the proscuitto. It is very good. A little more salty now, but I like it a little better.