Italian Garden

This place CONSISTENTLY serves good food and offers great service. I just discovered it and have already been 4 times in one month. Don’t miss this gem! Try the chocolate cannolis. Also, the Lobster Ravioli is good. The pink sauce is amazing.

Probably the best Italian food in town. Had Chicken Cremora, and wife had Penne Vodka. Bread was excellent. Good service, comfortable seating and atmosphere. Will definitely be returning.

We went here for my birthday, which made me resent my birthday even more. We went because so many people that know I know good Italian told me I wouldn’t be disappointed. Hate being lied to. Service was a catastrophe. Our server ran around like the place was swamped when we were one of three tables there. I’m thinkin’ maybe he was waiting as well as cooking, but no… he’s over there chatting to some girl. Sigh… hey look! That’s Mr. Rizzo (Stella’s) & his momma (?) sitting across from us! If he’s here, the food must be alright, right? Yeah. No.
If there’s calamari on menu, me & the Hubster are down. I know, I know. Expect pre-​breaded, drop in the fryer fare. But if they’re so big on touting home-​cooked Italian, the question begs, «Why?» Stupid undercooked fried calamari. I hate you.
I ordered the Caesar salad — who screws that up? And Hubs got a Garden. They came after our entrees, and only because we asked. Drinks never refilled. Entrees were Pasta Arabiata for me, and a Seafood Combo for him. Prior to writing this I looked at other reviews and wonder why our food looked nothing like the pics posted. My pasta was meh. Just meh. I didn’t bother taking the half I didn’t suffer though home. Hubster liked his well enough, but he isn’t as picky as me.
We also ordered a pizza. A lovely cheese pizza, just for me. It’s my birthday & when we go out, we like to try a bunch of things, sampling here and there, so we know what’s worth coming back for. The pizza was alright. That went home with us.
We eventually got the waiter’s attention and asked for dessert. Let’s see what they do with tiramisu here. I swear to whatever Entity you go by, that stuff comes pre-​packaged from Sysco or something. I recognize the stuff from my years in the industry. Not that it’s awful or anything, it was as good as expected. But not homemade.
Overall, disappointing. Enough so that I would tell y’all about it, but wouldn’t go out of my way to say, «Dude. Don’t waste your time.» Maybe we caught them on a bad day. It happens.

Italian garden is ranked one of the best restaurants in Lubbock for a reason. Starting from great bread, the BYOB option, to the fantastic menu. I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t liked what they’ve gotten here. I’ve had the chicken parm, seafood combo 2, & tortellini with pink sauce & then «pink parm.» The Pink Parm is a game changer it’s the tortellini with pink sauce with chicken parm. It’s fantastic. The pink sauce is something you’ll dream about. GO HERE.

By far my favorite Italian restaurant in Lubbock. I love the byob and relaxed atmosphere. My favorite thing is the pink sauce and the stuffed mushrooms were amazing! I have been at least ten times and it is always consistently really great. I love the customer service and the prices are perfect.

I have been to this family owned restaurant many times. Each time I observe the wait staff interact and care for the customers as if it were their own family. Many dishes are excellent. I love the manicotti and eggplant Parmesan. Don’t forget to try their Italian tomato vinaigrette. The atmosphere and food keep me coming back here.

The Italian Garden is located conveniently too close to my vicinity! I’m always craving their Tortellini a La Rosa. A dish which I think puts many other Italian franchises to the test. From what I know, the restaurant is family owned. By itself the ambiance of the place is rather awkward, the seating is a little misplaced with far too much spacing on some sides, but honestly– I’m not sure if that matters when you’re here to eat delicious pasta and sauce. Italian Garden is the Anti-​Olive Garden experience. Everything Olive Garden did wrong, Italian Garden will alleviate with their food and amazing service. Go! Be healed from every bad sudo Italian place you’ve ever been to.

It’s not very fancy, and was a little dirty for my tastes, but service was ok.
The food, however, was very good. Tasty marinara with eggplant Parmesan for me, Chicken Marsala for my coworker. Everything was seasoned well.
One note — no alcohol, but you can bring your own bottle for no additional fees.

Not sure why the high reviews… I am giving this place only two stars because the food was just okay. I ordered the Pasta-​trio (lasagna, ravioli & pasta shells). Still trying to figure out what I was served. It was a small plate of pasta, nothing else. I was with people who kept telling me this place was very good, I didn’t want to tell them any different. Would I come back, no. Server were okay too, they were more busy with another table that was having a company party.

You know if a place can swing a busy and boisterous crowd in the part of town that Italian Garden is in on a weekday evening, then it is on to something real. Such is the case with Italian Garden, who makes a phenomenal Chicken Parmagiana. Before I lead anyone astray, it should be noted that Italian Garden is not to be confused with a place that could naturally sit on the Boston North End. This is firmly what I consider Italian comfort food, and it should be judged relative to its American peers such as Cast Iron Grill on a set of axes of feel good price and a feel good, postprandial contentedly patting the belly level of satisfaction. That is with which I derive the 4 stars.
It helps the appeal factor that Italian Garden seems fully run and staffed by one family. Their service is top-​notch and fast. Their story is one I can’t help but idealistically fall in love with: we in Lubbock benefit from Italian Garden due to the pluck and initiative of refugees from the Kosovo War. An Albanian family fled from Kosovo in 1999 in the height of Serbian attacks and pogroms. The family initially settled in Dallas, but ultimately a family member attended Texas Tech, stayed in Lubbock, and the rest of the family followed — sensing opportunity in a smaller place. They eventually opened this fantastic Italian food place that is constantly busy and brings a bit of international authenticity to this corner of Texas. Not to get overly political here on Unilocal,but these are the great stories that make one pause and think both in gratitude for a life of relative ease and leisure as well as the symbiotic relationship between a free land and those that come from afar to adopt and improve it. Italian Garden in its own way is a manifestation of that story of this relationship and this improvement.

I have always craved the homestyle cooking of a mom-​and-​pop Italian restaurant and never been able to find that in Lubbock…
But then Italian garden came along! I have a problem where I continue to order the exact same dish every time I go to a restaurant if I find something I love and that is exactly what has happened at Italian garden. So you might say that I’m not the best reviewer because I will be reviewing one dish but it’s the best dish of all time so boo on you for saying that!
The tortellini a la rosa pink sauce is HEAVEN. that’s all you need to know.
This is also the only restaurant in the surrounding Lubbock area that I have found a tomato vinaigrette dressing at which is incredibly important to me.
Eat here.

This place is awesome and very consistent, everything I’ve had on the menu has been delicious, every time. I usually get take out, but the vibe in the restaurant is relaxed and the service is great.

Enjoyed a great dinner on a busy Saturday night. Place was packed but service was exceptional. Loved that we could bring in our own wine and they’ll open and provided wine glasses for no corkage fee. Our group of ladies enjoyed the fresh, hot and very tasty calamari served with a real yummy calamari along with the most delectable homemade rolls that were to die for… seriously so yummy. Two of us split chicken aristocrat with pink sauce, two of us split chicken a la something (can’t remember) with creamy Alfredo sauce, spinach, mushrooms and yummy goodness. The portions were very generous and we were all over stuffed with happy tummies. We would definitely go back if in the area

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While Visiting Friends in Lubbock for a Charity Event they Recommended Italian Garden…
I Really wanted to like this place… This is a No Frills Restaurant… Service was Friendly and Fine but other than that there is No Reason to go… :(
The Eggplant Parmagiana was a Mushy Mass of Soggy Breadcrumbs in a Very Bland Tomato Sauce with a Thick Chunk of Semi Heated Tasteless Mozzarella :(
The Pasta was Dressed in the Same Sauce… Very Mediocre…
I Guess People are Drawn there because of the Friendly Atmosphere and Reasonable Prices…
*They Do Not Serve Alcohol but You Can Bring Your Own in

I really enjoyed this place. It’s a sort of non-​descript part of town and doesn’t stick out much. The ambience inside is nothing special but it’s clean. I had the chicken cremora and the sauce was incredible. It was served with large pieces of mushrooms with great mushroom flavor. The friend I was with had tortellini with pink sauce and loved it. I just wasn’t impressed with the salad. It really was nothing special. I look forward to going back and trying more delicious menu items!

My favorite restaurant in Lubbock. Located in downtown. Family owned. Quirky décor. The food makes up for the atmosphere. So many choices. Fresh bread. Friendly staff. The chicken albanies with tortellini is life changing. I could eat it every other day. It’s that good. GO HERE NOW! You won’t regret it!

This has been a favorite of mine for a long time, because it has tons of great choices, you have to try the pizzas there, they are amazing. The service is really fast and very friendly.
It’s usually not a very long wait and also does delivery. You can bring your own drinks and they’ll serve it with glasses for you, it’s great for date night and big parties.

Oh. My. Gosh. I brought my wife here for her birthday after reading many, many good reviews on this site and others, and was not disappointed!
We started with the fried ravioli as an appetizer — this was probably the only dish that was just «OK,» but the included marinara sauce more than made up for the minimal amount of cheese inside of each little pocket. There were quite a few included with the dish and it is still a million times better than Sysco stuffed «peppers.»
Our party ordered four different main courses so as to try each. Lobster ravioli, chicken a la casa, chicken primavera, and chicken picatta. Every dish was stunning — the lobster ravioli in pink sauce actually *had* lobster in it. Four large raviolis were included in the dish for $ 10.99, and I challenge anyone to not drink and/​or sop up the rest of that pink sauce. Wow, it was wonderful. The parmigana and a la casa dishes were just as great, but everyone agreed that the fresh, lemony zest included in the picatta was just wonderful.
For dessert we had tiramisu and chocolate cannoli. Again, both were stunningly delicious. Stunningly.
I have eaten Italian food on three different continents, including in Italy, and I can tell you all that this is the best Italian food I have ever had outside of Rome. It is that good.
As far as the mediocre reviews go, I agree that the ambiance is nothing stellar — but our check was under $ 40 for appetizer, entrée, and dessert. I challenge anyone to find that and food of this quality anywhere else on the planet. I got over the ambiance right quick since it is BYOB, and they will provide wine glasses and open your wine for you!
Finally, the owners are from Kosovo, Albania, and are using recipes from their Italian grandmother, who has successfully run a restaurant in DFW for the last 30 years. That pink sauce can hold up a business!
Go here now. That is all.

Wow! Truly a delicious restaurant in Lubbock. Came here with a large group for dinner on a Friday night and was extremely impressed. Everyone in my party loved their food and prices are reasonable. Big basket of garlic rolls are served with the meals. I got the ziti which was probably some of the tastiest baked ziti I’ve ever had. I would rate this as the best Italian restaurant in Lubbock. Best part is BYOB with no corkage fee-​YES please! This place is NOT fancy and located in a somewhat desolate part of downtown, however the food, the prices, and the service are what make this place awesome.
TIPS: They DO take reservations and remember to bring your wine!