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

In business since 1953, Cafe Pizzaria was not only the first pizzeria in Bloomington but, according to store legend, the first restaurant to serve the Midwestern version of the Stromboli sandwich (with ground sausage, onion, cheese, and sauce on a sub bun). The original recipes are still in use, and owner Larry Webb purchases local Indiana beef from Fischer Farms. Daily specials, seating for 100. Prices: Appetizers $1.25-3.50, entrées $3.50-22.70 Hours: Mon-Th 11 am-11:30 pm Fri-Sat 11 am-midnight Sun 5-11:30 pm Bar: No Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc. 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

Home of the Bloomington Brewing Co., Lennie’s offers its own award-winning ales. Chef Fred Manion, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, creates eclectic dishes—main-course salads, gourmet pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, and daily dinner and soup specials. Try the oven-roasted vegetables with tarragon mayonnaise on the appetizer menu, or the Schwandt Plate (savory sausage with Vermont cheddar, apple slices, and brown mustard). Prices: Appetizers $5-9, entrées $8.50-23, desserts $2.75-7.25 Hours: Sun-Th 11 am-11 pm Fri-Sat 11 am-midnight (Pub closes nightly one hour after the restaurant.) Bar: Beer, wine Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX Outdoor Seating: No
Read our review of Lennie’s here! 

Mad Mushroom delivers pizza at all hours, for all price points. The menu spans from bargain one-topping pizzas to specialty pies topped and sauced with gourmet ingredients like roasted red potatoes and gyros meat. And there’s more than pizza on the menu. Fill late night pasta cravings with baked ziti or spaghetti with basil pesto chicken. Check the website for daily specials. Prices: Appetizers and salads $3.99-6.99, grinders and pasta $4.49-8.99, pizza from $6.99, gourmet and specialty pizzas $10.99-22.99 Hours: Closed for remodeling until August 2013 Bar: No Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc., Campus Access Outdoor Seating: No

This pizza place and live-music venue has moved to the downtown Square and doubled in size, making room for a bar that offers beer and wine. An expanded menu features items including grilled panini sandwiches and dinner salads. Keep an eye out for new specialty toppings for pizza, including goat cheese, prosciutto, and barbeque buffalo. Prices: Appetizers $2-9.95; pizza $5.95-23.95; salads $3.95-9.95; sandwiches, paninis, and calzones $4.95-9.95 Hours: Open Mon-Fri 11 am Sat noon Sun 3 pm, closing times vary from 11 pm-2 am depending on events Bar: Beer, wine Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc. Outdoor Seating: No
Read our review of Max's Place here!

This casual restaurant features wing specials on Mondays and pasta discounts on Tuesdays. Wednesday is Sweetheart Night, when a heart-shaped pizza and dinner for two are the specials. For dessert, there are homemade brownies. Prices: Appetizers $2.95-7.95, pastas $9.25-11.25, pizzas $3.95-21.95, brownies $1.95 for 2 Hours: Daily 11 am-1 am (Th-Sat delivery continues until 3 am) Bar: Beer, wine Credit Cards: Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc., Campus Access Outdoor Seating: No

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