Formaggio’s Bistro & Wine

This was a beautiful find in Gainesville! Absolutely delicious food and wine. We had the cheese plate for two and the antipasto for one. Three of us were barely able to finish! The cheeses were incredible. I had two half salads because I couldn’t decide between the Gorgonzola/​pear salad or the crab/​avocado. So happy I had both because they were amazing and filling! My daughter ate the meatballs and spaghetti and loved them! Amy and Paul were wonderful. Eat there!!!

Delicious shrimp scampi. The chocolate mousse is addictive. The outdoor seating is really nice and fun.
I recently had the philly cheese steak. Outstanding.

I ordered a pastrami Reuben but it clearly looks like a corn beef Ruben altogether. It was very tasty everything was melted nicely but I did not see a speck of pepper as if it was pastrami. I think for $ 12 it’s a very small sandwich it comes with a pickle and a napkin. I personally think that unless you are a glutton for punishment you might want to consider eating at Subway or Publix however much I hate Publix.

The place was fairly empty on a Thursday evening at 6:30. My wife and I shared the antipasto platter for two. She also had one of their salads. This place is very small inside. Thankfully, they also have patio seating.
PROS: The food was fairly good and prices were reasonable.
CONS: Pretty limited menu — not much more than sandwiches and a few salads. They were out of the first beer I ordered and both of my wife’s first two wine selections. Portions were on the small side. After our meal, we went next door to Chopstix Bistro and got sushi to fill us up.

The best Italian in Gainesville!
I ordered the shrimp fra diavolo and it was an exceptionally balanced dish topped with fresh basil.
We also ordered a nice South American red and the cheese plate.
The location is charming, romantic, and cozy. Don’t be fooled into going to Francesca’s across the way… this is where the real Italian food and feel is!

Overall, I was impressed. Formaggio’s is small and in a space that hardly lends itself to being large enough for a restaurant of any sort but they’ve made it work with good interior design and quite a bit of outdoor patio seating for nice weather. The waitress today, Gracie, was very sweet and attentive despite having a number of customers both inside and on the patio. Formaggio’s mainly carries sandwiches, salads, and does a daily dinner special of two or three different main dishes – all with an Italian flair. I believe the main course dishes tonight were a pork medallion dish and a linguini with clam sauce dish – both sounded pretty good.
I had the antipasto plate however which came with a more than ample selection of Italian cured meats – all of very good quality – plus cheese, olives, and artichokes. It was also served with fresh, hot, apparently home-​made bread. The waitress refilled the bread when we’d gobbled through it though I’m not sure if that’s standard practice or she was just being extra nice. The sandwiches sounded very good, too, as did most of the salads. It is obvious a lot of care and fresh, highest-​quality, ingredients go into the food here. Therefore, I don’t find their prices steep at all considering the quality. I’ve not tried their wine selections so I can’t speak of that, but they could expand their choices of beer, honestly. Stella is about the only beer really appropriate for their European theme they have – I’d like to see some more esoteric Euro selections. All in all however, very good food and a nice setting providing it’s not too crowded.

Just found this place by accident when we were headed out for an early dinner. The wife, kid, and I were on our way to the thornbrook chopstix and stumbled over to this restaurant instead. I can’t tell you how happy we were that we found it.
When I find a new place in Gville that seems promising I tend to over order so I can try different items on the menu. We ordered the tomato soup, small cheese plate, caprese salad, Parma sandwich, and a chocolate mousse for dessert. All of the food was impeccably fresh and presented. Not only that, it was very apparent that the person in the kitchen is very meticulous about what gets put on your plate.
The small cheese dish, for example, was perfect. There were about 8 strawberries on the plate, a small pile of green grapes, and some red grapes. Every single grape and strawberry was perfectly ripe. You know how you buy a box of strawberries from the supermarket and most will be good, but like a handful will be outstanding with a perfectly blood red cross section? Yeah, well this chef sorted through his berry pile and made sure he only plated those perfect fruits. And they are a SIDE attraction on the plate to the cheeses. I think the cheese was mascarpone, a blue cheese, a brie, some sort of dill based cheese (havarti?) and cheddar and the plate came with a huge basket of fresh baked bread and an assortment of crackers. My 3 year old thought she was in heaven.
The soup was wonderful. I’d say best tomato soup in town and obviously freshly made daily. It was a creamy tomato soup that tasted like the tomatoes were roasted over a wood fire before they were pureed.
The Parma sandwich was outstanding. Lots of fresh milky mozzarella with fantastic prosciutto, fresh tomatoes, basil, and balsamic on fresh hot french bread. It was heaven, and I usually hate sandwiches. This was very close to the quality you get in italy. I am also impressed with how ripe the tomatoes were, the same careful hand that picked the strawberries obviously sought these babies out because there was no unripe, pink-​ish flesh anywhere on the tomato. These things were red through and through and SWEET.
The caprese salad was delicious and again filled with the same high quality cheese and tomatoes on my sandwich. A nice surprise as well was the assortment of olives piled high on the side with roasted red peppers.
In all, the food was outstanding. The portions were plentiful and I honestly cannot imagine how these folks turn a profit considering the modestly low prices for the portion size and quality. This place is a gem.
I applaud the owners for doing something simple and different from anything else in Gainesville and for doing it so well.
Oh, and I almost forgot, the mousse was fantastic and made with high end cocoa.
Lastly as a parting note, though we had no problems with service (and I rarely let service get in the way of great food), there was only one waitress working the whole restaurant. We were the first table there so everything was prompt, but I can see that maybe during a lunch or dinner rush that things might get backed up. If you’re the type that let’s service ruin a meal then I suggest you might want to try going at a slightly off-​peak meal time. Otherwise have a glass of wine on the patio and chill out.
**UPDATE 9−01−14**
I’ve been back about 8 times since my first review above. Twice for lunch and about half a dozen times for dinner. Just wanted to follow up to say that EVERY single visit was as my first visit, consistent and excellent. I’ve had a handful of the dinner specials including the shrimp fra diavolo which is the best I’ve ever had. I’ve had it a few times actually because I can’t bring myself to order something else when this is offered. Tonight I gave the chicken parm a try and was so happy to find that it was every bit as good as anything you’d find in Boston’s north end. My wife makes fun of me because I tend to fall silent when my food arrives here. I guess it’s a mix of being in a state of happiness and also trying to dissect via taste how the chef prepared the food so I can attempt to recreate some of this awesomeness at home.
This is officially the new go-​to restaurant for my family.

We loved it. I got the chicken pesto sandwich and my boyfriend got the half Italian sandwich with mushroom soup. I haven’t tasted mushroom soup like that since I was in Italy. The best Canoli I’ve ever had also. Highly recommended

Service is good. Food is delicious. There were items on the menu that were not available. It’s not a place I would come to regularly. The waiter was very nice and attentive. We enjoyed the meal and experience.

Tomato soup, yum. French baguette and the portobello mushroom with arugula and artichoke sandwich was delicious. Service was great. You must save room to enjoy the chocolate mousse dessert in the end!
The down side: I went for dinner with a friend around 6:30pm on Monday. The dinner menu was the same as the lunch menu.

This place is more than «just a sandwich shop». The baguette bread itself is worth the trip! Apparently the dough is imported from Europe and baked fresh. Fresh, warm, crusty on the outside, nice and chewy on the inside. Had the tomato soup and turkey/​Brie lunch combo. It was all very rustic and homemade — so good! Reasonably priced for a sandwich that tastes 10x better than a regular ‘sandwich shop’. Service was great. Sandwiches and soup came within 10 minutes. Hubby had some kind of grilled chicken, tomato and pesto sandwich that was Delish! We will definitely be coming back. This place reminds me of the Wine and Cheese Gallery but in a better location (and a little cleaner). We didn’t try any of the wines because it was lunch, but we will surely be back for an evening trip.

This place just opened so I am happy to give a little leeway. The food was great. I got the Reuben and it was delicious. My wife got the porchetta which was similarly great. Sandwiches come with a pickle or coleslaw and a small bowl of olives.
The only issue was the service. It was good and the young man working at the counter was very productive, but the place was slammed and they were understaffed. If that is adjusted it will be an outstanding new joint in Northwest Gainesville. The owner was cognizant of the delays and offered a free drink to offset the wait.