Dining Out

Bucceto’s Smiling Teeth offers an array of innovative and tasty pizzas, calzones, entrées, and a generous house salad with homemade dressings in a family-friendly atmosphere. Monday through Friday, Bucceto’s offers a lunch special till 4 pm which features a meat or veggie pizza slice with a salad and a drink for $6.40. Bucceto’s offers dine-in, carryout, and delivery. Party trays and catering available. Prices: Appetizers $1.25-4.95, entrées $8.50-11.25 with garlic bread and salad, pizzas starting at $4.70, desserts $3.95 Hours: Sun-Th 11 am-10 pm Fri-Sat 11 am-11 pm Bar: Beer, wine Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc., Campus Access Outdoor Seating: No

This Tuscan-themed restaurant specializes in New York-style pizzas, pastas, calzones, lasagnas, and spaghettis. Soups and salads are served in family-size portions. Wine is half off on Wednesday. Prices: Appetizers $7.25-13.95, entrées $6.95-16.95, desserts $4.95-5.99 Hours: Mon-Sat 11 am-10 pm Sun 11 am-9 pm Bar: Beer, wine Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc. Outdoor Seating: No

This quaint deli and market, tucked away on the south side of Bloomington, holds treasures for anyone who loves Eastern European food—delicacies from Ukraine, Poland, and Russia are made right in the store. Owner Lesya Romanyshak is proud to serve dishes from her Ukrainian homeland, such as creamy cucumber and tomato salad and stuffed cabbage. Dress your sandwich with a variety of meats and cheeses. Be sure to pick up some imported groceries or smoked fish from the large display case while you’re there. They have a couple tables if you choose to eat in. Prices: $5-10 Hours: Mon-Fri 10 am-7 pm Sat 10 am-6 pm Closed Sun Bar: No Credit Cards: Visa, MC, Disc. Outdoor Seating: Yes

Step into Ireland when you enter this pub with its gorgeous 1860s bar and good food. Specialties include oysters, lamb, corned beef and cabbage, and Irish stews. Nightly specials. Full array of Irish and European imported beers; 57 single-malt scotches. Prices: Appetizers $4.75-10.95, entrées $12.85-34.95, pub grub $5.95-6.95, desserts $3.75-5.80 Hours: Mon-Sat 11 am-3 am Sun 11 am-midnight Bar: Full Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc., DC Outdoor Seating: Yes
Read our review of The Irish Lion here!

A Bloomington favorite, with its checked tablecloths and IU-decked walls, Janko’s is one block west of the downtown Square. Lamb and pork chop specials are featured regularly, and the menu offers Eastern European specialties like fiery Bucharest meatballs, but fabulous steaks are the reason most people line up to get in. Prices: Appetizers $2-24.90, entrées $9.90-40.90 (includes salad and potato), desserts $3 Hours: Mon-Th 5-9:30 pm Fri-Sat 4:30-10 pm. Closed Sun. Reservations recommended. Bar: Beer, wine Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, DC Outdoor Seating: No
Read our review of Janko's Little Zagreb here!

“I cook foods I like to eat,” says Marina Fiore, chef of this quaint, family-oriented restaurant. Her tastes run to French classics—rabbit dishes, cream sauces, crème brûlée, and chocolate mousse. Vegetarian options are always available. Prices: Appetizers $4.25, dinners $14-20 (including soup or salad, a vegetable, and potatoes), desserts around $3.25 Hours: Lunch Th and Sun only 11:30 am-1:30 pm, dinner Tu-Sun 5:30-9 pm. Closed Mon. Reservations are required for large parties. Bar: Beer, wine Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc. Outdoor Seating: Open-air dining room

Specialties at this 200-seat restaurant include pasta, seafood, filets, and lamb; there is also a tapas bar. Prices: Appetizers from $3, entrées $10-26, desserts $5-7 Hours: Sun-Th 5-10 pm Fri-Sat 5-11 pm. Reservations are required on weekends and for large groups anytime. Bar: Full Credit Cards: Visa, MC, Disc. Outdoor Seating: Yes

Bloomingtonian lovers of bánh mì, those luscious French-Vietnamese fusion sandwiches of grilled meat, vegetables, and pâté layered on French bread, are in luck.  This tiny strip mall shop produces delicious sandwiches (available also as wraps or sans bread, as a salad) of beef, pork, tofu, or vegetables. Choose from Lemongrass (yum!), Teriyaki, Sweet Soy, Korean, or Rush Hour Sauce, all made according to the Vietnamese owners’ secret recipes. Prices: Sandwiches $4.25-5, burgers $5.25-5.75, soup and salad $3.15-6.75 Hours: Tu-Sun 11:15 am-8 pm Bar: No Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc. Outdoor Seating: No

This upscale Greek restaurant, located in the stately Topolgus Building, is a welcome addition to the Bloomington restaurant scene. The avgolemono soup, a cut way above the usual Greek taverna standby, is a delicate, lemony chicken broth, with crispy risotto balls lending a crackle of texture and fried chicken goodness. For mains, meaty Greek spaghetti is fragrant with cinnamon and shredded myzithra cheese. A huge lamb chop from Viking Farms is sauced with roasted artichokes and served on some amazing braised greens. And the Hawaiian swordfish is wonderful, served on a bed of orzo studded with caramelized fennel, olive, and other Mediterranean flavors. There is also a daily vegetarian preparation of pasticcio, a custardy Greek pasta casserole that is comfort food at its best. For dessert, the Loukoumades—fried balls of yeasty sweetness, drizzled with oregano-scented honey and dunked into salty caramel sauce—will weaken your knees. The bar is gorgeous and the outdoor patio is a lovely option on a warm evening. Prices: Appetizers $5-13, entrées $15-33 Hours: Tu-Sat 5-10 pm Bar: Full Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc. Outdoor Seating: Yes
Read our review of Topo's 403 here!

Casual and family-friendly, the Trojan Horse has been a Bloomington fixture since 1978. Just off the southeast corner of the downtown Square, it serves great Greek food—gyros and falafel sandwiches, but also saganaki (flaming cheese), spanikopita (spinach pies), dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), moussaka, and other Mediterranean treats. Drink specials are offered every night. Prices: Appetizers $3.75-7.75, sandwiches $5.75-8.25, entrées $5.50-19.50, desserts $4-5.25 Hours: Mon-Th 11 am-11 pm Fri-Sat 11 am-midnight Sun 11:30 am-10 pm Bar: Full Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc. Outdoor Seating: No
Read our review of Trojan Horse here!