Restaurants in East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

28 results

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Angelo's Nido Italia

12020 Mayfield Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-421-0221

Italian, Menu

In a neighborhood where you can't swing a pizza box without hitting an Italian restaurant, this is one of the best, with generous servings of thoughtfully prepared foods, at reasonable prices. Specialties include angel-hair pasta loaded with plump, intensely flavored sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach, and chopped kalamata olives, tossed with garlic and olive oil.
Big Al's Diner

12600 Larchmere Blvd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-791-8550

Breakfast, Menu

If you miss Mom's cooking, this is the place to get your fix. Big Al's has all the comforting favorites, like thick, steaming soups, housemade mashed potatoes with gravy, open-faced roast beef sandwiches and chocolate cake for dessert. Breakfast is served until the diner's late-afternoon closing time.
Cedarland at the Clinic

9491 Euclid Ave. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-791-6606

American

A clean, casual Lebanese-American eatery across from the Cleveland Clinic, Cedarland has a large menu of Middle Eastern standards, including shishtawook, baked fish, and falafel. Lots of choices for vegetarians. There's a small imported-foods market too.
Club Isabella

2175 Cornell Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-229-1111

Eclectic

This new incarnation of Club Isabella sparkles in every way, from the gorgeous setting to the original and eclectic cuisine from chef-owner Fabio Mota. Among the seafood-centric options: buttery frogs legs, fried sweet and spicy cuttlefish, crab-rich pasta, monkfish in smoky bacon-studded cream sauce, and scallops with braised pork belly.
Corbo's Dolceria

12210 Mayfield Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-421-8181

Bakery

The city's ultimate Italian sweet shop, Corbo's bakes nearly two dozen different types of cookies every day. Seven-layer cookies, cookies coated with toasted pine nuts, cookies stuffed with apricot filling, cannoli and four or five types of biscotti are just a few of its delicious offerings. The bakery opens early and stays open late on Fridays and Saturdays, making this a sweet destination for coffee and cookies after a stroll through Little Italy.

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The Diner on 55th

1328 E. 55th St. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-361-0550

American, Menu

A visit to Jim Anagnostos's shiny silver diner is a nostalgic trip back through time, to the days of all-American meals like meatloaf and gravy, liver and onions, and classic chili.
Empress Taytu

6125 St. Clair Ave. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-391-9400

African/Ethiopian/Eritrean, Black-Owned Business

Behind the doors of Empress Taytu awaits an exotic culinary adventure of the first order. The restaurant serves authentic Ethiopian foods, including beef, lamb, chicken and vegetarian dishes cooked with a variety of spices and herbs.

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Falafel Café

11365 Euclid Ave. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-229-9540

Middle Eastern, Vegetarian, Menu

Every student body needs a place like this small Middle Eastern café near the CWRU campus, where the big menu ranges from fries and burgers to falafel and spinach pies, and the freshly made food is both satisfying and cheap.
Fire Food and Drink

13220 Shaker Square East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-921-3473

Brunch, Staff Pick, Menu

A cool vibe and a sizzling menu of attentively prepared American fare have turned Doug and Karen Katz's bistro into one of the city's top restaurants. "Classical simplicity" is the watchword here, and when those classical techniques are applied to first-rate ingredients, the results are often nothing less than astonishing. Interesting list of food-friendly wines.

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Gallucci's Italian Foods

6610 Euclid Ave. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-881-0045

Italian

The shelves of this fine Italian market groan beneath a vast collection of meats, cheeses, oils, sauces, breads, pastries and pastas. Meantime, customers’ waistbands groan beneath the delicious onslaught of Gallucci’s prepared carryout foods, including subs, salads, lasagna, eggplant Parmesan and — especially — authentic Italian-style pizza, available by the pie or by the giant rectangular slice.

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Guarino's

12309 Mayfield Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-231-3100

Italian, Menu

Established in 1918, Guarino's is one of Cleveland's oldest restaurants and is still a family operation. While the decor tends toward Victoriana, the kitchen's pasta, veal and seafood dishes are all Italian.
Gusto! Ristorante Italiano

12022 Mayfield Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-791-9900

Italian, Menu

Romantic and very Italian, this intimate little restaurant features an enticing menu of well-prepared regional specialties, mostly from the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Best of all, the hands-on owners make everyone feel like part of la famiglia.
Il Bacio

2181 Murray Hill Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-231-5977

Italian, Menu

If you doubt that polished service is the foundation of a fine meal, you haven’t been to Il Bacio, the cozy ristorante in Little Italy, where mellifluously accented host and owner Antonino Calandra heads up one of the most gracious teams in town. That, plus Calandra’s voluptuous take on tiramisu, go far toward making Il Bacio as sweet as its name’s translation: The Kiss.
Jezebel's Bayou

12718 Larchmere Blvd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-721-3877

American, Cajun/Creole

This attractive Larchmere Boulevard space is operated by the folks behind Angie's Soul Café and Zanzibar Soul Fusion. Here, the focus is on Cajun and Creole dishes inspired by the Big Easy: Think authentically prepared gumbo, jambalaya, BBQ shrimp, and étouffée. The seafood is fresh, the sauces vivacious, the portions robust, and the prices right where they should be.
Mama Santa's

12305 Mayfield Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-421-2159

Italian, Menu

Every college campus needs a nearby spot like Mama Santa's, with its retro vibe, cheap wine, and stunningly inexpensive Italian eats. Thin, greaseless, crisp-crusted pizza is the specialty of the casa; when you and the gang can score a 15-incher for less than 10 bucks, who cares if there's a wait for a table?
Michaelangelo's

2198 Murray Hill Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-721-0300

Italian, Staff Pick

Trained in Italy’s Piedmont region, talented chef-owner Michael Annandono tackles an ambitious repertoire of mostly northern Italian fare with consistently delicious results. We can rarely resist the delicate homemade pastas, served in a room that is as elegantly understated as the food itself. Italian and Californian wine list.
Miega Korean BBQ

3820 Superior Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-432-9200

Asian/Indian/Middle Eastern

Located on the second floor of Asian Town Center, this Korean restaurant is bright, modern, and roomy. Meals begin with cups of nutty barley tea and a huge spread of panchan: pungent side dishes that range from fiery kimchi to steamed broccoli. Miega prepares its flavorful kalbi and bulgogi atop a tabletop hot plate. The galbi dolsot bibimbap — rice, beef, veggies, and a fried egg served in a sizzling earthenware bowl — is one of the best in the city.
Muldoon's Saloon & Eatery

1020 E. 185th St. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-531-3130

Eclectic, Menu

Owner Billy Dagg is a retired Cleveland firefighter, and his cheerful Irish pub is a second home for many of the city's finest, who flock here for the shepherd's pie, big slabs of char-broiled prime rib and the expansive international beer collection. Happily, even those of us who don't carry a badge are made to feel welcome, and if you don't leave here well-fed, that's no one's fault but your own.
Munch

11075 East Blvd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-231-0922

Deli, Menu

Long known as Shticks, this East Side bastion of healthy eating has stepped ever so slightly away from exclusively vegetarian offerings. Its falafel sandwiches, pita melts, veggie wraps, turkey bacon BLTs, and soups are tasty and nutritious, and you don’t have to be a member of the university community to feel welcome.
Presti's Café and Deli

12101 Mayfield Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-421-3060

Bakery, Menu

Presti’s is bright, contemporary, and inviting, and, with two walls of tall windows, it offers some of the best people-watching in Little Italy. Fresh foods include bruschetta, stromboli, pepperoni bread, and frittatas, as well as sweets like cannoli, pignoli, biscotti, and strudel. After your meal, pick up a loaf of warm Italian bread to take home.
Primo Vino

12511 Mayfield Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-229-3334

Italian

Don’t let the subterranean location fool you: This Little Italy mainstay, settled at the bottom of a long flight of stairs, is as warm and welcoming as nonna’s kitchen, with a neighborly vibe and the wallet-friendly prices to match. Offerings are mostly traditional Italian — pastas, polenta, eggplant parmesan — with a few stylish twists. And to drink, check out the short but interesting list of wines-by-the-glass.
SaSa Matsu

13120 Shaker Square East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-767-1111

Japanese/Sushi

Like a Japanese take on tapas, this izakaya-style restaurant on Shaker Square combines an enticing menu of creative, contemporary small plates and sushi with a big collection of cocktails, sake, and imported beer. Don’t miss the Sasa fries, an Asian-accented riff on twice-fried frites that just may be the most addictive bar nosh in town.
Sterle's Country House

1401 East 55th St. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-881-4181

Central European, Menu

For almost 50 years, this Central European polka palace has been dishing out family-style fare at wallet-friendly prices. The all-inclusive dinners include chicken soup, salad, bread and butter, Wiener schnitzel, roast pork, smoked kielbasa, sauerkraut, potatoes, veggies, coffee and dessert. Or, order from the menu's listing of numerous veal, pork and chicken dishes. Live music and dancing on Friday and Saturday nights.
Table 45

9801 Carnegie Ave. (Intercontinental Hotel) East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-707-4045

Contemporary

A happy alliance of modern architecture and contemporary cuisine, Table 45 offers an enticing collection of global fare that blends sophistication with unpretentious appeal. The kitchen may borrow freely from Indian, Mediterranean, and South American pantries, but the clear, focused flavors are all its own.

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The Coffee House on University Circle

11300 Juniper Rd. East Side/University Circle/Little Italy

216-791-0300

Coffeehouse/Cafe, Music Venues

College students and folk fans flock here for hot mocha latte and live music from one-man bands to acoustic jams and unplugged hams.