07/03/08

Amazing pizza!

by BabyWaves

I adore going to the Italian Spaghetti House, particularly on weeknights when it's not as crowded. I've never had anything there besides the pizza, but I've seen no reason to - it's AMAZING. By far the best pizza I've ever had - give it a try, it's worth it!

• Pros: Amazing pizza!

06/22/08

This place is a cultural icon. Best family Italian in town.

by MattRidge

The late owner started this shortly after the war, and it has been a cultural icon since. Several generations of families have gronw up with this place. To my kids (and all of thier buds, and thier folks) up here in NE it is thier requested treat. Sure, some folks may scoff at "Americanized Italian" but everyone needs to drop the Seattle elitist foody schtick once in a while and join together as a familal unit or group of good friends and enjoy a big pile of cheese/tomato/basil. Always friendly, always consistent. If you are looking for filo, or tahini, or truffle oil, or sun-dried whatever then look elsewhere... Just lighten up and order a #14 and find real peace and harmony watching the kids smiles...

• Pros: Just darn good family Italian with a smile
• Cons: Ok, it's in Lake City...

05/31/08

Bad food, bad service

by seneffe2002

Unfriendly service, bland pasta. I had not been there for 10 years after being disappointed then. I'll try again in 15 years.

• Pros: Parking, easy access
• Cons: Food

03/14/08

Best Pizza and Italian food

by ashleem

You have to try the veal marsala it can't be beat, be sure to get the full meal it comes with soup and salad. My partner and I have been going here for years.

• Pros: parking
• Cons: none that I can think of

03/08/08

Avoid this restaurant.

by myprice

Just went early on a Friday evening. Not much friendliness to speak of. Food tasted good. The most cordial the waitress got was when I left. Her service was one of the poorest experiences I have ever had, right down to her top rolled black stockings showing below her hemline. My husband and grand daughter went out to the car after we had all finished eating. I waited and waited and waited for the waitress to acknowlege this, to no avail. Finally (after about 8 minutes) as she wisked past me I asked for a to-go box. When she brought this she did ask if there would be anything else, I said, no just the check. Took at least another 5 minutes for this to come. Almost immediately she came back and asked if I needed her to take it up front for change. Fortunately, I had the exact amount for the check, right down to the forty-four cents, Which is all I left. No Tip was left, which is not like me at all, having been a waitress years ago. She did manage to say goodbye as I was walking out the door, I didn't reply.

• Pros: Expensive for pasta.
• Cons: Expensive for pasta.

12/12/07

School cafeteria-quality pasta. Friendly waitress. Unfriendly hostess.

by usda_prime

We visited the restaurant on a weekday evening when it wasn't very busy. Our first impression wasn't a good one. Upon entering the restaurant there were four employees in immediate view, but nobody greeted us. We stood there for a while wondering whether we should seat ourselves when one of the women behind the counter finally asked us if we were there for dinner. She brought us to our table without a word, put two menus on the table, and walked away. No "hello" or "enjoy your dinner" or anything. It isn't something I typically think about or even notice until it's missing.

Our waitress, on the other hand was very friendly and provided great service. She was the best part of the evening. She checked back often and was fun to interact with. Kudos to her. Ambiance-wise the place looks dated, with yellowish lights and smoked-brown glasses and condiment containers. The doors on the front foyer don't quite close all the way. Overall it wasn't dirty or anything but there wasn't anything that made the place particularly interesting or comforatble. We ordered two pasta dishes and unfortunately they were very unimpressive. The pasta was soggy, and the sauces were very bland and generic as one would expect in a school cafeteria or a highway-side service area. I can't remember the last time I've been so disappointed with an Italian restaurant's pasta. I've seen positive reviews for their pizza but we didn't try it. Perhaps that accounts for the difference in ratings?

The price for our two-person dinner came to over $30 with tax and tip. We didn't even order alcohol or any beverages. Given that you can get a much better italian meal at Il Fornaio downtown or Palermo on Capitol Hill, I can't recommend this place. Heck, the pasta at Sbarro is better. I wish I had something better to say since it's a family-run local restaurant, but I wanted to provide my impressions to people here to balance out the extreme claims in some of the other reviews.

• Pros: Friendly waitress. Free parking.
• Cons: Very bland and disappointing pasta. Pricey for such plain food. Unfriendly hostess.

06/17/07

Go if you want to get sick after eating!

by rookie_food_critic

I pass by this place all the time and the parking lot is always full. i decided to go in there with my friend one night. First of all, their bread is dry and the butter solid... I ordered their sphagetti with sausage.. the service was relatively quick.. but the sausage was horrible... it was undercooked and tasteless (not like an italian sausage should be). My friend had ordered chicken parmiagana... he got a really small helping of spaghetti on the side and a thick layer of tasteless cheese floating on the chicken. As if the food itself was not bad enough, I got sick within an hour of eating there! I don't know why so many people trash chains like Olive Garden, atleast for the money you pay, I have never been disappointed with their food/service or gotten sick from eating there.

• Pros: Parking, relatively quick service
• Cons: dry bread, tasteless food that makes you sick

05/22/07

Best Pizza around. Busy on Friday and Saturday nights after 5pm. Order takeout instead. It only takes 20 minutes

by johns2use

All dough is made fresh on premise. Good sauce and the toppings are all of the highest quality. Family owned since 1957 and still going strong. Busy on weekend nights. Try the takeout, only 20 minutes and your pie is ready. Friendly people and locally owned.

• Pros: Greatest pizza around.
• Cons: Very busy on weekends after 5pm. Try the takeout if you do not want to wait.

04/22/07

Bleah

by somebozo

So I've been seeing their full parking lot for years and finally got around to trying it. I wish I hadn't bothered. The bread they served hadn't even been fully defrosted when it landed on the table, the butter was too cold to spread and the breadsticks are like you'd expect at a Denny's-class cheap diner.

If you do go, order ala carte. The meal which comes with soup and a salad costs far more than its worth. The reason is that the salad is the cheap one from costco (you know -- the one with all of the purple cabbage in it as filler?). They made a nod to making the salad "italian" by putting a single olive in it and topping it with processed cheeze-food fake provolone. The minestrone is quite obviously canned -- and on top of that tasted like it had been re-heated twice already.

My lasagne came out and it was just awful -- the sauce was hideously acidic, and the cheese was scorched to the pan. My wife's dish had the same awful sauce coupled with inedible sausage.

The restaraunt could have been romantic if it hadn't been filled with the sound of the waitstaff arguing with the kitchen staff ("I said one ravioli, one rigatoni!") and the tacky-as-hell decorations detracted further.

Overall: when I saw the rusting appliances they'd piled up at the back of their parking lot I should have realized that this place was trash.

• Pros: decent parking
• Cons: Overpriced, bad sauces, rude waitstaff, slow service

04/11/07

It's not like Italy, it's like home!

by colleend55

I love this place. First of all it's not a chain like Olive Garden. I know it's not the absolute best Italian food you can get but it's darn close. The atmosphere almost reminds me of being a great Greek Restaurant. Instead of a miniature of the Greek ruins it muraled and decorated with Chianti bottles and palstic grapes. I know some people would call it tacky but I call it great and comforatable. The service is always great. I love that fact that the waitresses have been there for a while and I like that you can eat for one or a large group at reasonsable prices. Yes, I do miss the glamor of having a dish of olive oil with balsamic vinegar but at least there is bread and if you ask they will bring you the oil. I know there are mixe reviews on this but over all it's a great ole' place.

• Pros: Decor, Wait Staff, Lots of room
• Cons: Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar not servied with bread