Campanello's Italian Restaurant 414 Central Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45202

"Went here for my birthday today. 7/30/18. Walked in and stood around for roughly 25 minutes before we were seated at which point we waited another 20 minutes before I had to go to the bar and ask the waitress for menus! I wasnt rude, impatient, or even slightly aggravated at this time, just figured she was busy. So after waiting for another 10-15 for just a drink, we just got up and left. The place wasn't busy. In fact there was only 3 tables with people and 2 of them were waiting for their checks so they could leave. Very unwelcoming atmosphere."

"We came here on a Friday afternoon about 11:30. As others have mentioned, it does have a very "old" Mom and pop "hole in the wall" look to it so if it not being a "current" atmosphere matters to you, this is probably not a place that would appeal to you. I disagree with those calling it "dirty". The restaurant was a bit on the dark side if you like super bright eateries. Those things matter less to me than quality of the food. I ordered the Italian sausage hoagie, my son had the manicotti and chicken noodle soup and my wife had the manicotti as well. I did not encounter any of the issues with long waits others have complained about and it didn't appear to happen to anyone after us even though it would have been their lunch rush. Our waitress (who was older..i.e. my age rather than teens/20s) I am guessing was the proprietor. It was quite obvious from her interactions with customers that a lot of them are regulars. (Greeted by name, asking about missing friends of the customer, etc.) I was told the sausage was "a bit spicy" which made me eager to check it out. Unfortunately, it was not. The tomato sauce also was lacking in spice in my opinion. Chips that accompanied were store bought. Bread was obviously homemade and was good..not fantastic..but good. My son's chicken noodle soup was also obviously homemade (very wide flat noodles and not perfectly machine uniform). He rated it excellent for what it's worth. I will however agree with those praising the cannoli. Quite crispy, a nice dusting of powdered sugar and generous amount of sweet cheese/walnut filling. Our bill was just under $41 for our family of three. Discussed my review with wife who strongly disagreed. Wife said she would prefer slightly sweeter sauce but loves the manicotti. TLDR: Cannoli is recommended. Pasta is probably also a good bet but I'd skip the hoagies."

"Oh my, this was our first time there, but totally NOT the last. The atmosphere was lovely, the service impeccable, the staff friend and warm, and the food devine!!! It was in every way like having dinner with family and Mom wouldn't sit and eat herself because she was making sure everyone else was fed and happy. As if that whole experience wasn't already perfect, the homemade Tiramisu for desert was heavenly!!! We will so be back!!!"

"I want to warn everyone this restaurant should be shuttered! I travel all over the world and like "old world" family run restaurants but this place is disfunctuinal and creepy. We cam in and wanted to sit at the bar and it was so cluttered with indescribable miscellaneous junk that it was hard to find a place. Restaurant is extremely dark and dirty. Pretty sure the health department would have a filed day. On my way to the restroom I could not see the stairs and tripped. One of the workers took down the nastily light fixture and changed the bulb after I tripped and then went right back to working behind the bar without washing his hands. I'm telling you there was 50 years on filth on the fixture. Service was awful and I wanted to leave but my son was starving so we ordered. Waited forever and the food finally arrived. Chicken parmigiana was a big lump of a breast- was never flattened even a little and floating in a soupy sauce. Veal Marsala was the same! My son cut open his chicken and it was raw! We left immediately. This is not a place to go! The people and place are very strange and it's filthy and unhealthy. I haven't been in a place like this maybe ever."

"Nice selection of Italian food, including spumoni. Good tasting and inexpensive lunch portions. I had the lasagna and it was good. The restaurant itself definitely has that old school look. Could benefit the restaurant to update the inside a bit, but it's not a deal breaker. Will try again."