Li'l Rizzo's Italian Restaurant

DID YOU KNOW... that there are hundreds of different types of pasta? Here at Li'l Rizzo's , we don't serve quite that many but our Lake of the Ozarks Italian restaurant does offer an extremely wide variety of different pasta dishes to choose from. More than enough to let you visit us quite a few times and taste a new one each visit. If you need some incentive to eat more pasta (besides the fact that it's so very satisfying and delicious), eat it because it makes you feel good! Turns out, that good mood isn't just from the flavor. Science has proven that the carbohydrates in pasta increase your body's production of serotonin, which triggers feelings of happiness. (Bonus!)  So, get ready to get hungry read all about the many different pasta dishes we have waiting here for you at Li'l Rizzo's Italian Restaurant.    ( *Disclaimer: Li'l Rizzo's food and beverage items are subject to change at any time and may not be available at both location...

Memorial Day Weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks is always an exciting time. The lake area is a gorgeous setting to spend a holiday weekend and our Lake of the Ozarks Italian restaurant is open and ready to feed you a meal worth celebrating. (Maybe even more than one meal over the 3-day weekend!)  Both Li'l Rizzo's locations are open for in-house dining with social distancing procedures in place and for curbside pickup orders to-go. Feel free to swing by for a quick bite or grab dinner for the entire gang while you're in town.  Why Choose Li'l Rizzo's? Well... The truth is, you can get pizza and pasta lots of places these days. For that very reason, we've made it our mission to become the premier restaurant and bar at the Lake of the Ozarks serving authentic Italian cuisine, gourmet pizza, and a world-famous house salad with friendly and attentive service.  We strive to give our guests a great dining experience in a unique Italian atmosphere. You...

When you hear the name Li'l Rizzo's Italian Restaurant , more than likely pasta is the first food that comes to mind. Well sure, we've got a wonderful variety of mouthwatering pasta dishes on the menu, but we're also experts at cooking up the best pizza at the Lake of the Ozarks !  We've come up with our own special ways over the years to create a pizza that people simply can't get enough of. Before we get into the many delicious varieties that each of our Lake of the Ozarks Italian restaurants has to offer, let's first take a quick look at where this wonderful dish started out.  A Short History of Pizza Pizza has been around for practically forever, as far as we know, in some shape or form.  Ancient Romans used focaccia, a flatbread, and then added toppings to that.  The word "pizza" was first documented in A.D. 997 in Gaeta and then began making its way to different parts of Central and Southern Italy. Long before that, other foods...

Our Li'l Rizzo's family is extremely grateful that so many of you continued to order to-go from our Lake of the Ozarks Italian restaurant while we were not able to have the dining room open. Thank you for your patience, patronage, and continued support. We are happy to announce that the long wait is over and our dining rooms are now open once again!  Dine-In at Li'l Rizzo's Yes, you may once again dine-in at Li'l Rizzo's, both in Osage Beach and in Lake Ozark,  beginning on Monday, May 4, 2020. Special precautions have been put into place to make sure social distancing is possible and everyone is able to stay healthy and feel safe. We have established the following procedures to ensure an efficient flow through the restaurants while adhering to the required social distancing guidelines.  Dine-in customers must join the waitlist for the location they would like to visit. Once you arrive, we ask you to wait in your vehicle or stay outside while also m...

Home-cooked meals are great, but making sure you have the right ingredients, getting them all ready, cooking the meal, and then cleaning up all those dishes when you're done can get tiresome.  Give yourself a break tonight & let Li'l Rizzo's take care of the hassle for you. (It's truly no hassle to us at all, but rather our pleasure!)  Need some extra incentive to convince yourself and the family that enjoying the best Italian food at the Lake of the Ozarks is a good idea? Here are 3 terrific excuses for you.  There's No Messy Clean-Up While some people may enjoy cooking, does anyone actually like doing dishes? The worst part about preparing a home-cooked meal is the clean-up afterward. Not only do you have the dishes you ate off to take care of but also the pots and pans that you used to cook everything.  After you've slaved away creating a great meal for the family to enjoy, the last thing you want to do is spend more time in the kitchen cle...

The definition of the word appetizer is " a small portion of a food or drink served before or at the beginning of a meal to stimulate the desire to eat; any small portion that stimulates a desire for more or that indicates more is to come ."  Well, here at Li'l Rizzo's our appetizers can fit that description if you're sharing a plate with the table before your main meal. Of course, the appetizers you'll get at our Lake of the Ozarks Italian restaurant are anything but "small" and they are hearty enough to enjoy as a main dish if you don't feel like sharing!  If you've already dined with us, you know exactly what we're talking about, and if you haven't had our appetizers yet, here's a look at what you've been missing!   Spinach, Green Chili, & Jalapeno Dip A creamy, cheese dip with spinach, green chilies, and jalapenos served with nacho chips Garlic Cheese Bread Sliced French bread topped with butter ...

We're hearing a lot of reports about people getting really bored after spending so much time cooped up inside their homes. This is the perfect opportunity to pick up a new skill or learn something new you've always wondered about.  To help with that,  Li'l Rizzo's has some very interesting fun facts about pasta (our favorite subject) for you to learn in today's blog. We're willing to bet that you don't know at least half of these already. Read on and expand your knowledge about this versatile and amazing food!  #1) Pasta = Paste? Traditionally, many dried pastas are made of only two ingredients - flour and water. When combined they form a paste and the word "pasta" comes from the Italian word for paste.  #2) Only one... Spaghetti actually means more than one strand of this delicious pasta. If you ever need to refer to only one strand, the singular word for it is spaghetto. #3) Hundreds of choices There are approximately 350 different t...