Cossetta Italian Market

I have never been disappointed with the quality of the food, whether eaten on site, take-out or from the Italian market. Well worth going out of the way to stop here. more

I stopped by Cossetta last night for dinner after Festa Italiana in St Paul (yes, I needed more food). I had the veal (AMAZING), pasta and 2 HUGE slices of pizza (1 sausage and 1 pep, onion and black olive). As usual, the food was unbelievably good! The veal was cooked to order (as it always is) and was light, crisp and tender. The pasta with it had the perfect balance of spicy tomato sauce and riccotta cheese. The garlic bread that came with it was hot and fresh and good! As for my pizza, OH MY GOD!!! It was AMAZING! Hot, cheesy, with a healthy portion of toppings. If you go there and miss the Italian sausage pizza, you have made a serious error! Great place, casual atmosphere, INSANELY GOOD FOOD, wine and beer available, reasonable prices - this is why I love coming here! more

parking can be a bit tricky during rush hours, and the line can be a bit long. but totally worth the wait. the pizza is delicious, and you get quite a large slice. the pastas down the other end are pretty good too. all the old photographs and little trinkets to look at make the experience more enjoyable. definitely a go to place when you're in the downtown area. more

Honest story: My eye Dr. is near Midway in St. Paul and EVERY time I get within 15 miles of Cosetta's I have to go! I was waiting in line 20 minutes before they started to serve and a woman joined me telling me she too does the exact same thing; making it a point to go to Cosetta's whenever possible. more

I don't get the obsession with this place. It's always crowded, you can't walk around the place. The worst part is, they don't separate two lines and you sit there waiting for your food, then they sit and yell ""hot food down here"" ""hot food down here don't wait in line."" Well, why not just put a sign up that says that? The pizza is average only. Also, the immigrant workers were real good at harrassing the workers. It's disgusting..this place is just trendy, people don't really like it more

Cossetta's off W. 7th in St Paul is a great place to stop in and grab a slice of pizza for lunch. It's fast and delicious. The pizza by the slice customers even get their own line! I always add a cannoli to my order because this sweet dessert can't be beat. more

I've been going here since I was a child. This place has been here for forever. It has great food. If you're looking for simple, delicious Italian...this is the place to get it. The only con is the wait. But it is worth it! Pros: Good food Cons: Sometimes a long wait more

cosettas is a tradition for friends and family for any event at the xcel center...i started it many years ago and have tons of ppl that continue that tradition-the food is so great and for the price, you get a hearty helping and i guess as i'm reading these reviews, i'm confused by the negative ones because i guess if a place is good, then of course there will be a line-i think thats a testament to its positives not negatives-i guess i just wanted to voice that i greatly enjoy the food. and the people who seem to have problems with the style or upstairs dining area or the lines, then perhaps a quieter less popular less crowded place would be in order? but don't knock the place because of those things. its what makes it stand out and/or how many people do love the food... Pros: great caf style and incredible pasta and pizza Cons: waiting because everyone else knows how good it is too.. more

This is... simply put... the best Italian in MN. Pros: Best Italian in MN. Cons: Tough to park, long lines (if you are OCD) more

Too bad I couldn't give it 0 stars, that is what they deserve. From the beginning: The parking attendant looked and smelled stoned; the employees were smoing right where we had to park and used foul language; the line was extremely long, and we were ridiculed for ordering our salads with our entree...who knew they had 4 different line for salads, hot ""food,"" pizza and desserts. The cashier challenged my partner as to how many meatballs she had, rang up the wrong number (at like $3 each) and then made us wait while she yelled for a manager to correct the error, explaining it was OUR FAULT!!! How rude. Then, we realized there is nowhere to sit downstairs, and with limited mobility, it really sux. We got him up the stairs and sat at a dirty table, and when I realized no one comes to clean, I went to ask someone to do it, and he pointed to a rag next to the water ""station"" - gross. It was one of the worst ""dining"" experiences we have ever had, and we dine out a lot. The kicker? We have a good friend who was good at his job that GOT FIRED BECAUSE HE IS GAY! (Incidentally, he told us about the cleaning procedures when they close every night and they have RODENT TRAPS where they store food and ""clean dishes."" I will never, ever spend another cent in that nasty place ever again! PS DON'T BE FOOLED BY 1 PAGE OF GOOD REVIEWS...check out the huge amount of 1-2 star ratings on the next pages, this place is NO GOOD! Pros: downtown Cons: Service, ambience, cleanliness, not handicap accessible... more

My mouth waters just THINKING about eating at Cossetta's! I have the veal entree every time. I could survive on Mostaccolli! What's IN that sauce? Family secret! Don't forget the cannolis! Pros: All the food is fantastic - and the Italian grocery is cool! Cons: Parking can be a trick - and when it's busy - it's BUSY! more

Mediocre food across the board. Service is usually pretty bad. For some reason I like this place more than I should. I think it's to neat atmosphere as well as the cafeteria style. Can be confusing here. Line starts at the salad, skip if you want to the hot courses. Pizza is on the other side of the cash registers. The pizza is VERY good and offered by the slice. more

A few times a month, I work about 2 blocks from Cassetta's. Because of that, I've gotten a chance to sample many items. Pros: Closest thing to New York pizza in MN; Great nostalgic ambience Cons: Not quite as good as NY; The rest of the menu is average more

While all of their food is very good, the Pizza stands out the most! Each time I visit the Twin Cities I try my hardest to stop in for a slice and side of pasta salad! I recommend it to anyone who enjoys Italian cuisine or just lives their pizza! Pros: Parking Cons: Beer is expensive (although you dont NEED beer with your food here.) more

I would like to say to everyone whose reviews I read that gave 2 stars or less then you have no idea what Cossettas Restaurant truely is! Yeah you have to wait in line, DEAL WITH IT! I know alot of places you have to wait in line to get your food. This is truely authentic Italian my family goes NO WHERE ELSE! Reminder this is a family owned business! There are not many places in Minnesota that are family owned anymore. When you have a history as deep as Cossetta's has done not only in the Restaurant industry but also for the Twin Cities in the community then you have no idea what your talking about. People need to do their research! If you dont mind standing in line for a few minutes longer than you normally would to have for beyond delicious food, TRUST ME ITS WORTH THE WAIT! Its a little spendier than most people would expect to spend but its filling and you can take leftovers home to enjoy later. There is minimal seating on the main floor so it isnt really handicap accesible, and be prepared on nights where there are events going on at the XCEL CENTER, it will be crowded. That just means to me that Cossetta's must be doing alot better of a job than alot of people who have no idea what they are talking about are making comments on. This is the heart of downtown St. Paul, it moves with the bussel of the city, its busy and crowded, but in the end its definitly worth the trip! Pros: Great Mosticcoli and GREAT PIZZA! Cons: THERE ARE NONE! more

My husband had the pizza and my daughter and I had the daily special of portebella mushroom ravioli. It was delicious! I had a sample of some tortellini from Europe and experienced flavors that I didn't know existed on this earth! Blew my mind! This is my favorite Italian place! Pros: Good food Cons: tight seating, hard to get around for eating in, and so-so atmosphere more

One of my favorite places to eat when I go the Cities. Food is always fresh, good and fun. The cannolis are to die for. If you have never tried one, it's worth the cost. Yes, a bit pricy, but good. Pizzas are a tad oily but you can dab with napkins. I do wish they had better silverware (plastic) and heftier napkins because the food is sure good. Grocery items next door are a bit pricy. The dining style is cafeteria: line for entrees and salads and another line for pizzas. I wish the experience could me more traditional, but I enjoy the food so much that I put up with the busy lines just so I can enjoy the good food. more

That's the best part of my first experience with Cossetta's restaurant - free parking. I was looking for a great lunch place that's close to my house and found this site with tons of great reviews on Cossettas. Following the advice of other favorable reviews, we went there and I ordered the Cossetta hero Sandwich, she ordered the Cossetta salad. We both hated the food. For my sandwich, it was covered with red sauce so I had to eat it with knife and fork. But all they have there is plasticware. The bread was too tough to cut and my fork broke halfway through the meal (I'm not kidding!). It was served in a paper tray with a piece of parchment paper which turned soggy and was occasionally getting cut and incorporated into my sandwich (if it had tasted fabulous I might tolerate the above but the ""sandwich"" was very mediocre). Her salad was too oily and totally not worth it. She ate about 4 bites and threw out the rest. The whole lunch set me back $20 which is not a bargain for cafeteria style, wait in longs lines with paper and plastic average food. At least I didn't have to pay for parking. So, you're probably asking why I rated this place with 5 stars? Because I noticed that when I was reading the reviews, I only read the positive ones. I don't know why I ignored the negatives but In case you do the same, I thought I would get my first, and unfortunately my last experience of Cossetta's into your consideration. I was really hoping this would be a great restaurant. more

I enjoyed eating at this restaurant. The food was terrific and the look and feel of the place was really cool. The place was packed, but the line moved fast and the people were friendly. Parking was a little tricky, but they have a lot for the patrons only. more

Cossetta Inc. is an excellent place to visit for pizza, pasta and groceries. I've tried the frozen pizza that they sell and it is exquisite! Really, I could not believe that it was a frozen pizza. The market has a nice variety of meats to choose from, with turkey, salami and cheeses that cannot be found anywhere else with comparable quality and taste. I must say that the breads they sell are fresh baked daily and you will taste the difference. They use this bread to make their sandwiches. Ah, to die for. My only wish is that I lived next door and they sold smaller loaves so that I could buy and eat one a day. If you enjoy olives and olive oil you can really get a lesson from their staff. Pros: Consistent High Quality Cons: Menu selections make some patrons dizzy trying to decide, that is why the lines can be so slow!! more