Gino’s Vino Osteria offers fresh pasta, craft cocktails in Round Rock

Gino Catenacci said he started busing tables in the summer of 1966. Fifty-four years later, he has swept floors, bartended and owned restaurants in six states, he said.

Now he serves upscale Italian cuisine at two locations of Gino’s Vino Osteria: the original on 51st Street in Austin and at a location on Old Settlers Boulevard in Round Rock.

“I’ve been making homemade pasta since I was a little boy,” Catenacci said. “I’ve been at this my whole life.”

Gino’s Vino Osteria derives its name from three places: the owner’s first name followed by the Italian word for wine and finally a word meaning a small, family-owned tavern. For Catenacci, the vision of his restaurant is old-world Italian, a destination dining experience where customers can enjoy the food, craft cocktails, an extensive wine list and live music on select evenings.

A popular lunch item is the steak sandwich, which Catenacci claims is “the best in the world.”

For dinner, Catenacci suggests the bone-in ribeye, black linguine stuffed ravioli and four-cheese tortellini.

“I don’t dry my pasta,” Catenacci said. “It’s a different feel in your mouth when you eat it. It makes your mouth dance, come alive.”

The restaurant offers 30 wines by the glass, he said. The cocktail menu includes a selection of Catenacci’s original creations—from the Sparkling Blood Orange Martini to the Pineapple Jalapeño Tequila Rita.

“We put a lot of love into everything we do here,” Catenacci said. “We make everything from scratch so you can have something here you can’t get anywhere else.”