In my search of good pasta in Wichita, I’m starting to feel lost and hopeless. Are there really no gold standard restaurants in Wichita for what good Italian food tastes like? As a continuation of my exploration of some of the most popular Italian food in Wichita, I went to four new restaurants, some of which you readers recommended to me.

In case you missed the first part of this series, I’m an Italian-American who grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. I have been to Italy and have tasted the authentic food of my people. In my last story, some ignored the fact that I said Kansas City has good Italian restaurants and made the obvious point that Italian food in Italy is better than it is here.

Every Sunday until I started playing sports on the weekends, everyone in my family would go over to my grandma’s house, and we’d eat pasta.

I know what good Italian food tastes like, and my opinion is valid because I grew up eating this shit. It’s not Italian food to me; it’s just food.

One more thing before I get into the restaurant reviews. In Kansas City, when I go to an Italian restaurant, usually my family and I aren’t the only Italian people there. In Wichita, I’m almost always the only Italian person there. There are very few Italian people in town, so it makes sense to me why Italian food here isn’t that good.

Albero Bistro

This time I visited Albero Bistro, the sister restaurant to Albero Cafe. I was initially very impressed while reading the menu. It had traditional Italian dishes and seemed legit. I got the steak ravioli with a side of meatballs. The ravioli was decent enough to finish, but the meatballs I was disappointed with. They tasted like they were frozen before they served it to me, which really sucked because the texture and taste were good. I really wish I could have tried them fresh. They had other items on the menu that I would like to try, like some of their sandwiches, but I probably wouldn’t come back here.

For dessert, I ordered the limoncello cheesecake. I got to say I don’t know where they got that cheesecake or who made it, but that was probably the best cheesecake I’ve ever had in Wichita. This place is worth going to just for the cheesecake. But cheesecake isn’t pasta, so if you want pasta, maybe try somewhere else.

Savute’s Italian Ristorante

A lot of the people who read my last story recommended the oldest Italian restaurant in Wichita: Savute’s. I got there and was pretty interested in the menu because it presented the restaurant’s story, and I was like, “Damn, this place must be good then.” I was wrong. All I had to do was turn the page to the actual food part of the menu. This menu was very Wichita, which isn’t a good thing if you didn’t know.

I ordered the spaghetti with sausage, and following the theme in my last story, this pasta was overcooked and oversauced. It was also super watery.

That’s not all that was wrong with this restaurant. I went with my girlfriend, and she ordered a steak fillet because they had steak on the menu, and it wasn’t very expensive, so I was like, go for it. This steak was so rare it was disgusting. I felt bad for her for getting it because I suggested it. I don’t know why this place has been open for so long, or why they have such a big fanbase, but please don’t go there.

FioRito Ristorante

Last time, I said Napoli Italian Eatery was the saving grace of Italian food here. This time, I bring you FioRito, which is owned by the same people. I personally like FioRito more than Napoli’s, but one thing that threw me off about this place is that the menu was very out there. None of the dishes were traditional at all, so I was very worried about that, but I gotta say that it was pretty good. I would go back if I wanted some Italian food, but I probably wouldn’t go because it is a little pricey for the value of food.

Something this place buys into is the stereotype that Italian restaurants are supposed to be fancy. I hate this so much. I used to take pasta in a thermos to school everyday for lunch and it was better than most places I have been to. Nothing fancy about eating pasta out of a thermos in a high school cafeteria.

Luciano’s

This next restaurant is hands down the best Italian restaurant in Kansas. This restaurant is in Mulvane and it’s called Luciano’s. This place is phenomenal.

I got the seasonal course special and it was amazing. Every course was phenomenal. My girlfriend got my favorite dish, which is lobster ravioli, and you have to try it, because it was probably the best I’ve had since it became my favorite dish.

Everything about this place was amazing, except for one thing, it’s in crusty old Mulvane.

If this restaurant were in Wichita, it would be the hot commodity of popular restaurants there. And that leads me to my conclusion that, since this place is in Mulvane, I can still say Italian food in Wichita city limits sucks.

Please go to Luciano’s; it’ll change your life, especially if you think restaurants like Angelo’s and Savute’s are your taste in Italian restaurants.