9 Restaurants in Minneapolis for Nonna-Worthy Italian Catering
- Sarah Gurr
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- 3 Min Read
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Any excuse to eat Italian at the office is a good one in our book, whether you need catering for a sales meeting or a department lunch. Italy has produced so much goodness—like lemony pastas, charred brick-oven pizzas, and crispy meatballs—that the cuisine garners a serious following. In fact, you probably almost always run into someone at the office who loves Italian food. Whether you want to tuck into pastas, sandwiches, pizzas, or creamy Italian desserts, we’ve got the best restaurants that cater deeply satisfying meals to offices in Minneapolis.
1. Villa Italian Kitchen Catering (Eagan Outlets Pkwy., Eagan)
Villa Italian Kitchen, located in the Minneapolis area, offers a small but tantalizing catering menu of pastas. People will be enamored of the restaurant’s showstoppers—rich meaty lasagna and baked ziti, a layered pasta dish that balances creamy ricotta, stringy mozzarella, and tangy tomato sauce. If you need catering suited to a formal meeting or a sales presentation, it’s not particularly hard to eat sauce-heavy Italian food when you order the pasta box lunches—the tidy boxed meals beg to be ordered with a tray of cookies.
Best Italian Catering in Minneapolis: Villa Italian Kitchen
2. Galactic Pizza Catering (Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis)
At Minneapolis’s Galactic Pizza you can enjoy creative Italian-ish dishes while sticking to your company’s feel-good food plan. The aromatic Thai peanut linguine is a lighter, brighter pasta dish with plenty of veggies. The “Rasta” pasta is not only delicious but it’ll set you right. The pesto sauce is made of hemp seeds, which enhances the nuttiness of the Parmesan (There’s no mind-altering experience but the seeds are high in protein).
Best Italian Catering in Minneapolis: Galactic Pizza
3. Gael’s Gourmet Catering (Minnetonka Blvd., St. Louis Park)
If you need lunch to come together in a delicious, handheld sandwich—less mouth-wiping during a department slideshow—try the flavorful sandwiches at Gael’s Gourmet. Their muffuletta is a beautiful sandwich, with so many layers of salty meats and a briny spread of olive salad to balance out the richness. Other “just right” sandwich combos include the Caprese (mozzarella, pesto, tomatoes, basil) and the porky Cuban, with slices of pickles and a smear of Dijon to cut into the salty ham and cheese.
4. Dulono’s Pizza Catering (N. 4th St., Minneapolis)
Dulono’s Pizza has an extensive menu of pizza combinations that spans the classic and global. So even if you’re feeding a team with specific dietary preferences, ordering catering doesn’t have to be an all-day project. Their meat lover’s pizza is the most popular, and they have pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches galore for some of the best Italian catering in Minneapolis.
5. Ginelli’s Pizza Catering (S. 8th St., Minneapolis)
Everything is fair game at breakfast, even breakfast pizza. At Ginelli’s Pizza, pies are topped with gravy, scrambled eggs, cheese, and breakfast meats for breakfast ready to go. Their caramel-rich apple pie pizza, made with crisp Granny Smith apples, is just as addictive.
6. Schlotzsky’s Catering (W. 66th St., Minneapolis)
Thanks to Schlotzsky’s you don’t have to lose hours planning a catering menu. Their box lunches and sandwich and salad trays make the ultimate shortcut to planning a last-minute event. Ordering is easy, too. Just do a quick headcount and order the same amount of box lunches. The Schlotzsky’s team is there to make sure that everyone gets a sandwich, chips, and a cookie.
Best Italian Catering in Minneapolis: Schlotzsky’s
7. Football Pizza Catering (Como Ave. SE, Minneapolis)
With Football Pizza’s deliciously global flavors, you can dole out pies to everyone, even those who are rigid in their tastes. The restaurant caters a range of global pies, including Mediterranean and Hawaiian. But they’ve got classic Italian combinations, too, if all you want is a lightly charred crust, bright tomato sauce, and cheese stretching out.
Best Italian Catering in Minneapolis: Football Pizza
8. Grand Ole Creamery & Grand Pizza Catering (Grand Ave., St. Paul)
The easiest way to fill up a team on a budget is through the huge hoagies at Grand Ole Creamery & Grand Pizza ($6-7 per person). You might even have enough in your budget for their homemade ice cream, too—and they’ve got everything, from the classic to the exotic, like chocolaty Grizzly Grumble and creamy taro.
9. Nonna Rosa’s Ristorante Italiano Catering (W. Broadway Ave., Robbinsdale)
For a fancy Italian-American catering, Nonna Rosa’s Ristorante Italiano crafts indulgent pasta dishes, entrées, and stunning desserts that’ll make even your own Nonna jealous. Choose a pan of meaty lasagna or mostaccioli, penne pasta baked in a bubbling tomato cream sauce. For an elaborate feast, add skewers of rosemary-chardonnay chicken or pork tenderloin sliders with mushrooms. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with ordering their light, fresh, and creamy Italian desserts.
Best-of lists identify ezCater-affiliated restaurants that cater to businesses.
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