Varano's Ristorante Italiano

Thoroughly enjoyed this place. The bread at the beginning of the meal was homemade, the fried mozzarella was extremely tasty and the penne with sausage was in the top for Italian places in the area. The homemade cannolis were decadent and I would order those by themselves. Highly recommend this place.

Varano’s has always been a great restaurant with a cozy atmosphere. Even when the restaurant was completely filled, we were waited on immediately and had our orders placed within 15 minutes. This was faster than some restaurants are when they’re empty. The menu is pricey but the food and drinks are worth it. After a dozen or so visits the quality has always been at the highest standards. Freshly baked bread is served for free along with an olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and red pepper dipping oil.

There are a couple tables that are positioned on a “highway” where every waiter walks through to get to the kitchen. This can be distracting at times but not enough to dock a star, as the rest of the experience makes up for it.

Varano's is always part of our annual pilgrimage to York and Wells Maine. The food is amazing, so this is a very busy place in season. You'll need to be patient because everything is cooked to order and they are serving a lot of people. No reservations, It's first come first serve. Expect up to 45 minutes wait on a busy night.

Delicious Italian restaurant with great menu and drink selections! The waitress was also very friendly and helpful. They start you with some great Italian bread with olive oil for dipping. My wife had a wonderful eggplant parm with pasta, large portion too ($23). I felt like a little seafood and had linguini with clam sauce. The tiramisu for dessert was excellent as well.

Went for my birthday, had a wonderful meal. The food was excellent, the service was great, would def go again.

The BEST Alfredo I have ever had. Our first time here, and my family and I will definitely be back. Leslie was an incredible server and I will ask for her specifically every time I come back.

MY- MY- MY! Took my 94-year young Mother, also celebrating her February birthday to Varano's Ristorante on Valentine's Day for evening dinner. Her Maniscalco Sicilian blood called for good Italian food. Surprised to see a crowd at 4:30 open and wait for seating, we decided to sit at the bar for appetizers. We ordered MUSSELS & CALAMARI, all delivered in good portion, the taste- INCREDIBLE! We so enjoyed the atmosphere at bar seating and interaction with Gordon who served and waited on us. Gordon went over the top at a very busy time with an aim-to-please attitude while maintaining a smile, sense-of-humor and professional demeanor. So impressed and comfortable we remained and ordered our meal, "Shrimp Scampi"! My gosh, the dish was filled with JUMBO Shrimp and all So-So DELICIOUS! Salad and bread with garlic dipping was an added bonus! Mom wanted a Cannoli for dessert, Gordon encouraged putting a candle on. It was an “Awestruck” moment to see Gordon walk toward us singing “Happy Birthday” to Mom as the crowd joined in. Now, we are original Massachusetts people and finding quality Italian pastry/Cannoli in Maine is almost non-existent. BUT, Varano’s made on-site Cannoli was FANTASTIC! The shell crispy, light with body and YUMMY taste. The Cannoli filling, "To Die For"; smooth, rich and creamy, not overly sweet, good quality. Now for the GRAND FINALE that was a shocker! As I awaited the bill to pay, I was informed by Gordon that 2 gentlemen sitting near us paid our bill as a Birthday gift to Mom. We were stunned and it took us a bit to absorb! My Mom said it will be a “Memory Forever” and a best moment! The whole packaged evening was a “SPECIAL BLESSING” to us. “GRAZIE” to Varano’s Ristorante, Staff, Gordon, and a special “Thank You” to the 2 Incognito Gentlemen that added their Gift of LOVE to us.

Delicious!!! Friendly service, lots of food! Definitely worth a try!

Great Italian food. Friendly and knowledgeable service by Jill. Excellent bread basket with cheese olive oil and garlic nice ambiance

A little expensive but good place for a family gathering or a company get together.
You get the ocean breeze ……don’t miss that

Food was delicious and drinks were DELICIOUS!Atmosphere was good, did not feel rushed and the location was great. Went with a large group, waitress was nice and made good recommendations and was friendly. The bartender, Ronnie, was hysterical and made excellent drinks, super fast. As opposed to some places (The Piano Bar) that took us a while to get all our drinks. Will definitely be back soon!

Great Food. Great Service. There was a little confusion in the beginning, so our server didn't come take our order right away. She greatly apologized, and even put a word into the chef to make sure our meals came out super quick. Both meals were delicious. On top of that I was dining with just my daughter, and when she went to the ladies room, she was having an issue locking the stall door. Of course I couldn't go in and help and she was afraid someone would open the stall door on her. Our server heard our conversation, went in, and told my daughter she would hold the door for her. Such a super nice thing to do, and something she didn't have to do. Nice People, Nice Place, Great Food.

I have been going to Varano's for years and have never, never, never been disappointed in a meal. The food melts in your mouth with a mix of authentic Italian flavors that I rarely have experienced elsewhere. Someone at our table ordered the chicken parmesan, and it was HUGE! I had a seafood dish that was loaded with multiple lobster claws, shrimp, and scallops. The price was $35, BUT I couldn't possibly finish it and ate it again the next day for dinner - two meals @ $17.50 each for all that food! Don't deny yourself the experience, GO!
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Maybe the best linguini and clams I've ever had. We came in for our anniversary and left beyond satisfied. We are usually people who go out to eat, enjoy most of their meal, and bring the rest home for the next day. We had no leftovers this time, everything was devoured. If a place makes me a member of the Clean Plate Club, they must be phenomenal! The bread is insanely good, it took all of my power not to order more bread when the meal came lmao. We also tried the cheesecake and gelato - both delicious. My glass of wine and mixed drink were also very good! We will definitely be back.

We were able to be seated at the bar with a full menu. The rum punch and salted Caramel we're drinks of choice. Highly recommend the chicken Parm but there is so so much food so plan on sharing or bringing some home! So delicious

We dined at Varano’s about 6 months ago and had a really nice meal. Last week we were passing through Wells, and remembered our great experience there. This time we dined outside in their covered dining area on the second floor. We enjoyed another very good meal, drinks and service. Our “go to” place in Wells!

Went here for dinner last night for the first time. Was more than impressed from the minute we walked in, until the minute we walked out. The hostess was friendly, our server Leslie was awesome. She was fun, attentive and pleasant. The food was on another level. I got the chicken braccioletine with Alfredo sauce (in addition) which is made to order and probably the best Alfredo I’ve ever had. All in all it was an amazing experience and we can’t wait to go back!

Food was great as always. If you can get there early season there is no wait to get in. I had the chicken parm and it was massive

I'm guessing those who didn't have good reviews had a bad day or unbelievably bad timing. Our waitress was Sam and with her guidance, I was able to find the perfect appetizer and entree. The meal for 2 was a reasonable $86 which included drinks, appetizers and dinner for each of us. The food was excellent and plentiful. We ended up having dessert to go as the canolli was irresistible but we had no room. I highly recommend this restaurant for quality dinning at a comparable price to others in the area.

We try going to a few different restaurants before we landed on this one. They all had really long wait times. We didn't have to wait and we're seated immediately. Our waitress was very helpful, quick and attentive. The food was great And I would definitely go back. Family was compromised of two adults and three children.