Best Contemporary Italian Restaurants in Normal Heights

This place is a real gem! Our third time here and we loved it as much as the first two - something that doesn't often occur at least in our experiences! The service is fabulous - every single one of the staff are very friendly and kind. They are all smiling and welcoming! I had a really good Lemoncelli cocktail that was light and refreshing and the rest of my party enjoyed a glass of red wine. Their food is delicious - I selected the fettuccini alfredo with chicken and it was amazing. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauce was really good. My husband and both of our friends chose the pappardelle pasta with Italian sausage and Bolognese sauce and they all loved it. We will definitely take more friends to this place! It's truly a great Italian gem in Little Italy!

We went on a Tuesday evening and it was great. The same goes for the food!!

Love RustiCucina! The service is always excellent and so was the food.

Wonderful food and drinks, but I was especially impressed with the service. Everyone who serves there genuinely seems like they love their job—they are excited to share the history of Barbusa and to recommend their favorite items. My party and I felt well taken care of and wish we could give it 10 stars!

Very quaint and novel Italian restaurant. Really great service, perfect wine choices and fair prices. The food highlights were the Fried Smelts which were delicious and the bruschetta was different and tasty. The seafood carbonara eas good... wish it had more seafood. The lasagna was not as firm as I have had in Italy. The flavor was good but the texture needed to be more firm for me. Overall a good experience.