Great antipasto plate! Wine per glass - a bit too skimpy, but the Pyramid Hef was great and on draft. Sat on the deck and loved the view!
(4)
Donald M.
One star at best. Service was indifferent and food was passable, but just barely. Stuffed flank steak really isn't, plus portion was tiny. Pasta was mediocre and sauce was bland. Better places nearby including Bobby's - this is overpriced for what little you get.
(1)
Kate A.
I visited Gambardella's with my family this past memorial day and wish I could give it a better rating. I absolutely love Italian food and the food here isn't horrible but it's extremely over-priced. The staff was friendly but the service was slow. It will be years again if I ever go back. :(
(2)
Mark E.
Decent food, terrible management. It seems that locally owned restaurants tend to have superior food and inferior service. Unfortunately for Gambardella's, even their food seems hit or miss. The atmosphere was pleasant--having a more authentic feel than many Italian restaurants. We waited fifteen minutes to be seated -- we were ignored for a full five minutes, before being told that it would be "just a minute or two while we clean off a table." I don't mind waiting for a table--but I do mind being ignored, and then having the wait time greatly underestimated. Once seated, our salads and appetizer (a marginally appetizing sauteed mushroom dish) arrived quickly. Our entrees, however, took 45 minutes from the time we ordered. The wait staff were nice, but poorly trained. The servers didn't know the wine list. The new guy pouring water touched the pitcher to the rim of every glass. The restaurant was too busy for the staff on hand. Our server's sense of urgency (bordering on panic) was apparent, making us feel uncomfortable and on edge, as well. In all, the food was fine (my date's was good, mine was not--avoid the Eggplant Parmesan!), but the management was terrible. If I lived in Fairbanks, I might give it another try. As it is, if I ever eat at another restaurant here, it won't be Gambardella's.
(2)
Alex W.
The place is really comfortable and quaint and the staff was friendly enough. The service was pretty slow though and the food was fairly expensive. However, the eggplant parmesan was amazing and my brother had a seafood pasta dish that he said was extremely fresh and flavorful. It wasn't the best of places but compared to the other restaurants in Fairbanks, it was definitely good.
(3)
Elisa H.
Now this is just a nice place - the colors are warm, the tables and cute, and the waitstaff is extremely friendly. It's one of the two nicest Italian restaurants in Fairbanks and I'm a bit partial to this one. The building burned a few years ago, so there is a nice addition with a patio that's open in the summer. The food, of course, is great, but a bit on the more expensive side. I suppose those kind of prices are common for Italian, but I try to wait til I have a gift certificate before I go:o) It's also located right next to historic downtown, so it's convenient if you want to walk around a bit.
(5)
Mandy R.
The restaurant itself is cute, and the staff is generally pretty friendly. However, for the prices and the food that comes out it is not a good place to go. When I went there with just myself and one other person the hostess tried to seatt us upstairs, after walking by numerous empty tables downstairs-upstairs there was a large roudy group and when we asked to be moved to a quieter location the hostess got annoyed. Not impressed.
(2)
Paul P.
We ate after a skipping lunch on the long drive up from Anchorage so we were ready to eat a Musk Ox. The food is just OK and not worth the price. I couldn't resist ordering their Seafood Cajun Pasta because it had both sausage & seafood. And as a bonus that staple of Italian peppers the chipotle (don't ask me). Anyway it had a mild heat and smokeness and the pasta was just a little overdone. The shrimps seemed like the precooked, frozen variety. The chunks of halibut were the highlight but it wasn't worth the $27 bucks. My associate had the highly touted "Mother of All Lasagnas" but said it was merely an adolescent at best. The house Chianti and Cab were not good either. If you go here maybe try the pizza or more economical choices. I think you'll be disappointed on the high end of the menu. Buon appetito.
(2)
Brent H.
I was seated promptly. Unfortunately I got stuck under a speaker that was blasting Italian opera music. I order the focaccia bread which was amazing and the fettuccine Alfredo with sausage, and a chicken and rice soup. I'm no expert but I'm 99% sure the soup was straight out of the can. After my soup I was brought a basket of Italian bread. There were four pieces which were cold and slightly damp to the touch. I got a cappuccino and ordered the tiramisu for desert. Unfortunately they were out of tiramisu so I ended up with some pre made frozen cheese cake. This place is WAY over priced for the quality of food served. I will not be going back here.
(2)
Annie C.
Have been a few times with friends when visiting Fairbanks. The ravioli with cream sauce is quite good, though nothing to write home about. However, the bread is always fresh, and we never have a problem getting a table. Wait staff is attentive and the decor is quaint. Not the best Italian you have ever had, but it's Fairbanks. Alaska. Not Venice, or a booming city elsewhere. For what it is, it serves its purpose - no reason not to go.
(3)
Amy L.
The food was good, but overpriced at $25 a plate average. Lovely service, good with our kids. Attire is "Fairbanks dressy-casual".
(3)
Tony D.
Used to eat there once a week. Have become less interested over the years. If food, ambiance and service are the hallmarks of a good restaurant then you'll have to settle for two out three on the Fairbanks adequacy scale. Occasionally you get an actual server, that bump it up a star. An upgrade on the fifty cent wine glasses might be another.
(2)
Amikam R.
Gambardella's is a large Italian restaurants with many rooms and outdoor and deck seating. We had dinner there on a Friday night. The menu is small and the wine list tiny. The food is standard old-fashioned "Italian". It's not very good. The fish are dry and the pasta overcooked. There's no veal on the menu.The tiramisu was inedible. Service was rude and impatient and the server not communicative. The entrees arrived before we finished the appetizers and the check was brought with the desserts. To top it all they added $30 to the bill and the credit card company is still sorting this out. The one star is given just because I can't rate it no stars.
(1)
chizzy t.
Me and my girlfriend where here in Fairbanks on vacation and it was my birthday and she wanted to take me out for a classy dinner. i knew it wouldn't be easy in Fairbanks but when we drove by Gambardella's it looked promising. i give it 2 stars for its beautiful view and atmosphere. we sat outside on the patio at about 11pm and the sun was still about to set and it was very warm out. other than that the service was horrible, they never gave us serviettes or silverware, the wine i ordered was about 80f and the waiter was a smart ass the whole time. i had the lasagna that supposedly won rave reviews, but it tasted like it was made earlier that week and kept in the fridge until i ordered it and simply microwaved. i recommend this restaurant for sun downers, skip dinner!
(2)
Trav S.
Went here with the Wife on a sunday afternoon for the all you can eat pasta. Only two choices and one was spaghetti. I had the other one which I think was something with linguine. Half the plate was slightly overcooked and the other was more overcooked! I finished my soda and put the glass at the edge of the table so the waitress would notice and get a refill. Waited for ten minutes as she walked around to the five other couples in the room ignoring us completely. When she finally did come by and got both of us a refill by that time I thanked her and she just walked off without a word. The only time she was nice was when she delivered the check and said to have a nice day! I'm sure just to try and get a good tip (didn't work though!). Also the building smelled like an old folks home, not very appetizing of an odor either. There's a place on College road with much better everything for italian food. Don't waste your time here for the pasta.
(1)
Joan D.
Amazingly good food! My husband had a Caesar salad that he said was one of the best. I had a special "California" sandwich that was soooo good! And Italian wedding soup - delicious! And they bake their own bread! We were here around 2 on a weekday, so the place wasn't busy, but a big group of about 10 came in & they seemed to do ok. Our waitress was Erika, and she was wonderful!
(5)
Candace N.
I have been to this restaurant one other time on a trip to Fairbanks and the food was good. The service was on the slow side, but the place was packed!! However, last night I went into the restaurant at 7 ish, and requested an order to go. I was told by the woman that she didn't know how long that would take, maybe 35-45 minutes. I thought wow that seemed a long time, especially since there were only 4 tables that had customers at them, but was willing to order anyway. Then she proceeded to belittle the rest of the staff and the owner for a variety of issues!! Including her being new. It was so unprofessional I was appalled and told her never mind I would go elsewhere. I ended up eating at the restaurant in my hotel instead.
Coming from Boston, and an Italian family, I can tell you this. This is not Italian food, the quality of the food here is horrible. The dishes are not even remotely close to being authentic in the slightest bit. The sauce taste horrible, tart and the pasta is not fresh at all. the prices are way to high for the food you get. There isn't one place in fairbanks, or Alaska at all that even comes close to making good Italian food. Someone needs to open an Italian restaurant that knows Italian food. WE NEED REAL ITALIAN FOOD
(1)
Amanda T.
Food was alright. Definitely not worth the price. My husband ordered ravioli and it was over $20 for about 5 raviolis that were not that large. I ended up having to share my dinner because his was more like a snack.
(2)
Joel S.
Wow. Friendly enough folks, but it took 20 minutes to get a waiter to the table. My soup was subbed with something else because they ran out... I was not consulted before they brought the substitution. I didn't order the minestrone, because I don't like minestrone. The pasta was ok, strands were stuck to the side of the bowl and dried out, was it nuked? Just got to fairbanks, this place sets the bar pretty low. And pizzas are 20 dollars or more? Holy smokes. Everything is expensive in Alaska, but it's pizza, how much does it cost to make dough?
(2)
Casey H.
People are a little too hard on this place. Yes, it's a little overpriced, and no, i did not almost think i was sitting in Rome, but the food tastes better than any overrated chain italian restaurants I have been to. For the haters, ummm, welcome to Alaska? I thought my Fettuccine Alfredo was delicious. The restaurant has a great family atmosphere and we all enjoyed it.
(3)
Michelle S.
Craving some pasta and recommended by a co-worker, we decided to give Gambardella's a try. Reading the reviews of the Seafood Alfredo, it gave us a hankering for some seafood pasta. We were greeted immediately and seated right away. Granted it was a Monday evening so I wasn't expecting hordes of people. It didn't take too long to be waited on even though we were seated at a somewhat dirty table. But it was rectified and we placed our order. Not starving, we chose to split the meal but we wanted something to break it up a bit so we got the Caesar Salad too. The salad had a good amount of parmesan cheese but it was swimming in dressing. The dressing was good, thankfully, but just too much to where the greens were limp from it. The pasta came out and we knew immediately that it wasn't going to be our ideal meal. The sauce was thin and runny. I'm pretty certain it consisted of garlic and milk. The fettucini was chewy, almost tough and the seafood was barely translucent. It was edible but barely. I topped it with more parmesan from the shaker and lots and lots of red pepper which gave it a bit more depth and covered up the milky texture a bit, actually giving it some texture. The shrimps were pretty good but the scallops were tiny with a mushy consistency like they weren't cooked thoroughly. Not wanting to give up, we decided to try the Tiramisu since we were told it was homemade. It was decent but with a tad too much almond extract. It was light and fluffy with a nice amount of espresso and fresh cake. The entire staff was pleasant, I just wish the food was better.
(2)
Dulcinea S.
I was quite surprised by the reviews but decided to try this place and I really enjoyed it. I got seafood Alfredo and my husband got stuffed flank steak...our dishes were night and day (my husband didn't his). I would come back and their pasta was really good. We also went when it wasn't busy and service was good.
(4)
Frannie R.
As we walked in, we were a little worried that the reviews we'd seen may have some truth. We waited for 10 minutes before we were seated BUT it was worth the wait!! We ordered ravioli and fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and split the meals. Not only was the fettuccine perfectly cooked, the sauce was superb! Kudos for the fresh ravioli and marinara sauce. We had excellent service and he was very attentive. Portions were generous, even split! Congrats, Gamberdella's! Well done :)
(4)
Debbie P.
Very disappointed. Believe all the bad reviews. The servers are friendly enough - whenever you can find one. Four of us are there - 2 were satisfied and 2 did not eat half of their food. We all got salads with our meals - 1 person did not get theirs til the rest were done with theirs. People were asking to get their food to go since service was taking so long. My chicken cannoli tasted like it was a frozen TV dinner - my husbands linguini was tough. Save your money and stress.
(1)
Dominique G.
This was prolly my worst experiance with gamberdellas, and I've eaten there and at their smaller restraunt Pazzo's before. We ordered a small Milano 10" pizza, a slice of lasagna, two drinks and two canolli's. As delicious as it was, it certainly wasn't 41 dollars delicious. Holy crap. However that's not my biggest gripe, my problem is that it took them 2 1/2 hours to deliver the food. The woman I spoke to told me it would be about and hour, but holy crap by the time the delivery dude showed up I was already pissed, then he told me the price and I was like ... Wut. I paid him gave him a dollar tip because well, what do you want me to do reward you? All being said and done it was delicious except the two Italian sodas looked like someone vomited in them, but whatever it's fine. Food was good but for 41 bucks we coulda fed a small army in Chinese or even dominos or papa johns. Lasagna was good as ever however. Please fix these problems with your service because the food is pretty good. But that's not enough. Oh and I forgot, they gave us some garlic bread, this was like someone took a bread stick and slices three peices and threw them In a plastic baggy. What am I supposed to do with that? The hell? I paid 41 bucks and I get that crap?
(2)
Lard Belly E.
I thought the first experience was fine. The service was decent and the patio a nice place to sit in the sun for lunch. Service during dinner was still good, and I liked the interior of the restaurant, but I thought the food was really poor. I ordered the seafood alfredo ($28) since I like cream sauce, and ordered a salad with blue cheese as the starter choice. When dinner arrived I was super excited as it looked creamily amazing. At the first bite my hopes were dashed upon the rocks and my stomach tightened queasily. My food was so incredibly buttery there was no other taste. There was plenty of scallops and shrimp, but the taste was overwhelming. I ate all the seafood as it was the most expensive in the dish, but it wasn't very enjoyable. When I returned to Anchorage I was talking to my dining companion about how excited I was about my meal but it was so buttery it was hard to eat. He was like, "I know, when I saw your plate I was sorry I ordered the prosciutto pizza because it was so buttery. But then I saw your meal congeal into a solid pasta ball and I thought better of it." I don't think I will return. Our server was a sweet treat though; she gets 4 stars.
(2)
Elzie M.
This was by far the worst place I have ever been to,PERIOD. My wife had the spinach and chicken. The spinach was watered down and the chicken was dry. The whole dish wasn't seasoned. I ordered lasagna which was $26.95. The picture was very deceiving as the lasagna looked like it came out of a can of Chef Boyardee. It was two layers of pasta, tiny sausages which were next to nothing and a whole bunch of sauce. The lemonade taste like lemon juice. I almost asked for my money back. It wasn't crowded and the service was slow. This is the first time I didn't leave a tip. I will never go back.
(1)
Ann M.
"Like a surrealist dream" is how my sister and I described our last experience at Gambardella's. Picture this: we walk in, we're greeted and we're told to take a seat and it will be about a 15 minute wait for tables. We sit, we tell the gentleman that if there's a four person table open, we'd be okay with that, we didn't need a two person table. He then tells us that there's a banquet upstairs that's ordering thousands of dollars worth of food, and that's their main focus. We then watch him stand at the bar and do nothing, and several other waiters and waitresses do the same thing. When they seat us they walk us through an EMPTY DINING ROOM, there were literally 4 other tables of people. So, dudebro could have seated us as soon as we walked in, THERE WAS NO WAIT. Instead of seating us in the dining room with everyone else they lead us down the hallway (filled with empty tables) and seat us next to the bathroom and the stairs leading up to where the party is. We watched as a waitress went over to a table that holds the rolled silverware and she stopped and looked at them and literally just touched them, she did not move them or organize them it was more like a "I need something to do but I don't know what to do so I'm going to fiddle with silverware for two minutes." We had to ask for water and when it was brought it was room temperature. Two party guests came down to use the restroom we were seated next to and we overheard them discussing that they had been waiting 45 minutes for food and the kitchen was backed up. So we left. In summation, they had seats, they could have seated us when we walked in, but instead had us sit and wait 10 minutes, then seated us in an extremely odd and loud area and then ignored us. On the 2 other occasions I've been to this establishment, the food was mediocre at best. One item that was extremely memorable was their Italian wedding soup, it was literally the same as Cambell's, the same teeny meatballs, the same slimy spinach. They serve canned soup. Everything tastes like it has been frozen. They serve Sam's Club cheesecake (pretty good, by the way). Just, no. Way past their hay day. I have to add that one one occasion the owner (I presume) was waitressing and when she was getting change for the cash we paid with she literally brought her wallet to the table to give us change.
(1)
Amanda T.
Service was slower than turtles going through peanut butter, but the food was delicious.
(3)
Sal V.
I have had food delivered from here twice now. I have had the same thing hoping for a better quality. I ordered the chicken/walnut/pear salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. While the servings are great for a $12.95 salad I was given maybe half of a chicken breast, the pear weren't cored and had seeds still in the slices, and the vinaigrette is HORRIBLE. While I am not impressed with the food the customer service was amazing and the delivery was on time. Overall it was ok, but I will not be ordering another anything from this restaurant.
(2)
Sunshine C.
Meh. I was really craving pasta and came here. The waitress stated that the minestrone was homemade... And since it's -33 out right now that sounded inviting... Yea, shouldn't have done that... It wasn't good, at all. I ordered spaghetti and the meatball... The marinara was good but the meatball was dry and mediocre. The bread that came with my meal was good. The ambiance is nice and was decorated in the Autumn theme. I overheard the table behind me telling their server that the chicken Marsala she ordered wasn't good but that she tried her friends Alfredo and it was good. He responded with "Did you want me to get you something else? We will have to charge you. Then said, well let me talk to the manager. He returned saying we will take care of you... " Uhmmm your customers should NEVER have to pay for something they didn't like and the server should have never said that outloud. If I ever return to Fairbanks I won't be coming back here.
(1)
Teresa R.
I'm surprised at the number of reviews here saying the service was bad but the food was delicious, because my husband and I experienced the opposite. The staff we encountered were attentive and friendly. The food was a little slow to come out, but not ludicrously so. However, it just wasn't very tasty. My pasta was slightly overcooked (a little mushy) and both our dishes were WAY over-salted (I had ravioli with cream sauce and he had gnocchi). Neither of us would come back here.
(2)
Kasandra M.
Best place I've been so far for Italian food, food was amazing, the bread is addictive, never had a bad experience here so far, we always sit at the same table so it's special for us. The service has always been great. Don't know why the ratings are so low , I have always had a good experience here. And the deserts are so delicious!!!
(5)
Renee F.
Our lunch was fantastic. Pasta with peas, prosciutto, and figs. California Dreamer Sandwich. Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad. Minestrone Soup. Spaghetti with meatballs. All great. The server was helpful and efficient while she handled the entire restaurant on her own. Had the upstairs patio been open, the review would be 5 stars.
(4)
Kelli L.
Food was neither exceptional or bad; what you would expect for cheese pizza and cheese ravioli. The house Pinot noir was acidic grape juice that was worse than Two Buck Chuck. Ordered a bread basket as an appetizer and it arrived after the meal, only after we said something. Server was a little... Abrupt, but nothing bad. Ambience was strange and disjointed and the place smelled like top soil. Having said all of this, nothing registered as 'bad' or 'good', thus the 3-star review.
(3)
Jason R.
Food - even the basics - not so good. Staff, rude. End of story.
(1)
Jelani A.
I imagine that a second trip here will be good. Came in for lunch and no one was manning the door. I walked around the corner and stood for five minutes while what looked like one of the chefs talked to someone at another table. Finally a server got my attention and then shrugged. She motions me to enter with her finger and I still sat to eat. After I told her that I was ready to order, she engaged in a discussion with another server who had been passed up twice for a table. There were three tables in the place. I ordered a bowl of soup and salad. The soup came out with another table's food and the promise that my salad was coming later. After my soup was finished my salad arrived. A pile of mixed greens, two olives and two tomatoes later, I finished my salad and asked for my check. That also took a while because my waitress was busy. The soup was decent and the salad was too simple to ruin, but my experience was lackluster at best. At least the price was worth it.
(3)
Eric G.
Geraldo's is the best Italian in Fairbanks. Try there instead of here. Visited July 2011
(2)
Julia T.
1 Star! Had to say how bad this place is. The service is really poor. It took about an hour and a half to get our food out. The chicken was black burnt. It was really the worst dinning experience I had in a while.
(1)
Angela M.
I love the pineapple/cream cheese/jalapeño/chicken pizza. I cannot remember the name, but it is amazing, even though it sounds strange. As for everything else, I haven't been too impressed. My husbands dish was very lemony, the rolled steak only comes well done, the other pizza I got had way too much bleu cheese, my kids pizza were nothing special, but a sub I got at lunch one day was good. The mussels in a wine sauce appetizer was good, but not enough bread. This place is a hit or miss with menu items, but the items that are good are really good.
(3)
Kelsey H.
The service was not great by any means. It took an hour and 15 minutes to get our food. The food was not that good. It tasted like something anyone could make in their own kitchen. It was very over priced for how under whelming it was.
(2)
Jeff B.
No clue what Al dente means, service was good,atmosphere was nice, food is horrible. must have a bunch of teenagers in the kitchen because anyone who can mess up an antipasto platter is not a professional. Its not even something they have to cook. What so called Italian restaurant doesn't serve espresso? Save your money and eat a tv dinner.at least that would be hot.
(1)
Douglas W.
If you are looking for good Italian food while you are in Fairbanks, this is your place. The food was fresh and delicious. The gnocchi was the best entree our table ordered. Our only challenge was the service, a little slow, but great personality.
(3)
Shannon A.
Boy oh boy has this place gone down hill. It is now a dirty and very slow place to eat. Average food and average service. Probably won't go back until I've heard it's been renovated.
(2)
Stacey L.
This restaurant was extremely over priced for the food. I ordered a steak dish and the waiter never brought me my salad until I asked when my dinner came. Didn't even apologize for not bringing it. Never asked if I wanted anything extra to drink. When I first arrived it took forever for hime to even ask if I wanted a menu? Many of the employees were standing around and I even heard some cursing from staff in my presence. I had to wait an extremely long time to even pay my bill. My food was tasty the side salad was very plain and nothing like an Italiano salad should be. Italians rarely use black canned olives in their salads. For me service is everything and I will never return to this establishment again. Service should be superb for a $30.00 plate.
(1)
Luis G.
I was there last night. Service was okay, mediocre at best. No real complaints. Except for the 18% tip included on my bill that was dinner for 2. Since when does a restaurant take away my choice of how much if any tip should be awarded. Not happy with that. Btw I'm an average 20% tipper..
(1)
David D.
I've been here three times now. Every time has been excellent. Had the lasagna this last time and it's the best I've ever had!
(5)
Ian H.
Hostess was rude and unprofessional. Table for 4 means 3 menus and 2 sets of silverware I guess. To make it worse she just dropped our menus on the table and kept walking. Waitress was nice and corrected the issue after we asked for more utensils , menus and water glasses. All in all a blah experience.
(2)
Judy S.
my gf loves this place. I think she's been in Fairbanks way too long. the mozzarella bread was ok but nothing to go running back for. I ordered the Chicken Cannelloni after the waiter recommended it. YUCK! The chicken was the consistency of baby food and the cream sauce the consistency of spackle. I couldn't eat it, I had 2 bites and had to stop! My daughter ordered the Ciopino which was ok but again nothing to run back for. Chicken parm was ok. The only thing that was good was the seafood special my gf ordered. I can't remember what it was called but it had a creamy marsala sauce. They seem way under staffed. Our waiter was running from one end of the restaurant to the other, got our orders wrong and was just lacking in service. I keep reminding myself that it is Fairbanks so I gave it 2 stars taking that into consideration.
(2)
T.L. T.
Good antipasti, but you really dont have to cook much with theirs. ceviche small unidentifiable fish parts, flavorless, and drenched in lemon juice mix, carrot cake was nasty, dry with buttercream frosting (cream cheese frosting might have made it better) dinner salad consisted of about 5 sad lettuce leaves. Word of warning: the menu states the lasagna is the "mother of all lasagnas." Might have been long ago, but it's not now. Good noodles, but chunky boring sauce, lacks mozzarella and garlic, ricotta was ok. The waitress was not with it, as I had to ask twice for silverware. Floor was dirty with butter pats. Find A decent pizza place, don't waste your money.
(1)
Jen P.
Won't be giving them my business again. I have been picking this pizza up for a colleague for an end of semester party at UAF each semester, and in spite of early orders for pick up with hours of advance notice, the pizza has never been ready on time. Not ten minutes after scheduled pick up, not twenty minutes after. So I thought, well maybe it's because he's ordering several pizzas, and perhaps they lack space? I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and I ordered on a evening when entertaining guests. It took two hours. I called four times and was assured each time that it was minutes away. I was told of the two deliveries that one was at a neighboring hotel. Said hotel is within four minutes, and barely that. Unfortunately it took another forty minutes. I understand things happen, but I am irritated at being passed off repeatedly. At long last the delivery arrived and for forty-one dollars I got a good salad, melted butter with the rolls and stone cold pizza. Honestly, I worked in customer service for years, and I know an apology or acknowledgement of a bad situation can go a long way, but I was totally dismissed by Gambardellas. Don't bother. The pizza is good when it's even moderately warm, but it's not worth dealing with the staff.
(1)
Jay C.
Tasty lunch & price is right!!! We were seated and served promptly. Server was very attentive with refills & seeing if we needed anything. The bread brought to the table was super good - hints of garlic! Our meals - pasta, salad, pizza - were all delicious. Love the lowfat pizza option!
(5)
Debbie S.
We had dinner here last night, and it was wonderful. The server was very helpful and courteous and told us which dishes were better than the others. It is kind of pricey for the portions, but it was a very pleasant dining experience and both of our dishes were delicious. I also liked the atmosphere, very relaxed with pleasant music in the background. Highly recommend.
(4)
Darci B.
Loved it!!! Food was excellent, atmosphere was nice, and service was exceptional. Will definitely return again.
(4)
Josephine O.
Unfortunately was not impress from the get-go... We walk in and waited a couple of minutes for someone to acknowledge us to be seated. It seems the hostess was talking a potential employee and a guy from OUT OF NOWHERE said to the hostess that she should stop talking to they guy and attend to us really loud.. I'm sure she was embarrassed about, but I can understand why he did that but it was unprofessional and should have been done in the back.. The guy himself ended up taking us to our table which was a hallway where there were no other people around.. I asked if we could see seated on the deck and he didn't seem to care to show is where it was so we ended up showing ourselves ... Long story short we waited for about 15 minutes hoping that someone realized that we were up there and no one did so we got up and left and went right across the street to Bobby's downtown and would recommend it to anyone coming here to Fairbanks... They had live music and a great crowd and the waitress were awesome... Don't even brother going to this place
(1)
Stephanie P.
When I walked in about two weeks ago, I wasn't impressed visually. There was this weird cafe feel to the entrance that clashed with the restaurant portion of the facility. Where we were seated had wires exposed hanging from the ceiling, and the decor wasn't really tied together with a theme. I love me some Italian restaurants, so stuff like this matters when to others it may not be as important. The prices for the food were quite high, so I had expectations that reflected the dollar signs presented to me. My mistake. I ordered the salmon, which came out in this weird parchment paper and was tough and flavorless. The pasta served in the side was buttered pasta for the most part, so I was less than impressed. We won't be going back again.
(2)
Richard E.
I see some less than rewarding reviews, but for me...I"ve never been disappointed here. We have not been here in a year, and after today's visit for lunch...I see we have been missing out on a great value and great food. The menu was in the inexpensive range and well stocked with plenty of selections for healthy fare, or rich fare, you're choice. The atmosphere is great, just what you would expect for a non-chain, Alaskan restaurant.
(5)
Sarah C.
Table wasn't sturdy, utensils were dirty, food wasn't good, and poor German lady was doing all the work so it made it alil slow for her to get us out the door. Never going again ever.
(1)
Sherman W.
If this restaurant was in a bigger city like Seattle, I would give it a 2 stars. But since it's in Fairbanks, AK... Hmmmm.. I had to give it a 3. The menu is okay, but the food is always 'diner' quality. Poor management, but one reasons that we liked to go there once a while was because they used to have a very good looking waiter. Other than we were being greeted by a nice handsome man, the service was just so so. Well, welcome to fairbanks, alaska. and you are going to pay a lot for some so-so service and OK food.
(3)
Allison G.
We ordered food to be delivered to our hotel room. We ordered the 10' Roma pizza without mushrooms and the spaghetti with sausage. They told me it would be 45 minutes until delivery. When it was finally delivered an HOUR AND A HALF later the food was not even close to warm, the pizza had mushrooms, and the spaghetti had a half of sausage. It is located two blocks from our hotel so I wished they would have informed me of the delay and I could have walked to pick it up. Even if the delivery time was not an issue they still got a simple order wrong. I would never ever recommend this place to anyone.
(1)
Tracy B.
Chef salad tasted moldy and my friends lasagna was burned on the bottom. When we brought it to the waitresses attention she offered us a free dessert. We paid the entire bill even through the food was inedible. Unacceptable!! Now hours later I'm exhibiting signs of food poisoning! I will not go back!! Disgusting!!!
(1)
Michael B.
D- terrible service bad oily pizza. Never written a review but felt compelled to do so after last night. It was good at one time but is no longer avoid! No napkins we given to us slow to order slow to cook. I'm mean supper slow like almost 45 to order and 1 hour to cook a pizza. No mention on the menus that $19 gets you 10" pizza and waiter did not advise. Overpriced cruddy food.
(1)
Ches W.
Was ok. Had the salmon. Expected a better cut and a better preparation (overdone). There should be legislation that no restaurant in Alaska be allowed to overcook fresh salmon (well, they claimed it was "fresh" anyway). :)
(2)
Suzy G.
More than 1 star?! You're kidding, right? This is straight up barilla pasta and prego type food. Nothing special. Dining area was dirty and drafty, questionable service. I do like the catchy radio jingles, though...so sing the song but bypass having to actually eat there.
(1)
Karen S.
The wonderful aroma of italian food hit us all as we entered the premises for our first visit....ended up getting a delicious warm bread covered in pesto topped with artichokes & red peppers and cheese. I had the stuffed flank steak and my daughter had a large portion of chicken marsala, my grand kids had a bowl of angel hair and a pizza. We all enjoyed our salads that were topped with freshly grated/shaved cheese and our entrees as well as cheesecakes. Will be back : )
(4)
Lisa A.
We came here on Sunday night and waited about 5 minutes to be seated even as waiters walked by. When we were finally seated we took a look around and noticed how much the place was falling apart walls are peeling and everything had a nice coating of dust. About 10 minutes after being seated our waitress came over and took our order I will say she was very kind! It took what seemed like forever to get our food I had ordered the chicken Marsala which was luke warm and basically normal spaghetti swimming in cheesy water the chicken was slimy and inedible. My boyfriend got seafood Alfredo he was not impressed. We skipped dessert as to not be disappointed further.def not returning to this place which I'm surprised isn't shut down. Go to geraldos instead.
(1)
Jim J.
This place is better than the average review. We had a nice flight of red wines and the Amore pasta special. They were quite good. Much better value than the "fine dining" at Lavalle's nearby. The service was excellent and the manager came to our table at the end of our meal, sat down, and asked for our opinions of the dishes. Overall a good experience.
(4)
Aileen W.
We don't even give them 1 star. Foods was not hot, everything taste like out of cans and poor management & services. They charge thin 5 piece of bread like $5, no free refill! If they want to charge, they should bake fresh bread at least, then we don't complain. We would not recommend to go there. Don't waste money, just go to MacDonald.
(1)
Melissa K.
Have always enjoyed dinner at Gambardella's. I used to order the "famous" lasagna then converted to the spicy cajun seafood in 2007. Returned for a dinner in July 2009 expecting the same wonderful service and delicious food that I'd become accustomed to. Nope. It was so-so. The waitress was nice but spoke EXTREMELY limited English to the point where she had difficulty answering basic questions about the entrees and trouble understanding our requests. I ordered the spicy cajun seafood again. Unfortunately it wasn't as great as I remembered. The seafood was ok ... though I enjoyed the halibut. We had a party of 7+ and the general consensus was that our overall experience was simply unremarkably ok. The menu prices were definitely exorbitant for the taste and quality of the food we received. Instead of being $27-8, my dish should be at the most, $12. The restroom was very clean and pleasant. I also enjoy the quaint atmosphere and outdoor deck seating. If only the food matched the interior. Overall, pretty lackluster.
(2)
Jennifer C.
I keep wanting this place to be good. But it disappoints every time. I met a friend for lunch there and had a catered lunch at a company function. The pasta is really bland, the salad mediocre and the price pretty expensive for something that I can make better myself. The decor in the restaurant was also really cheesy.
(2)
Sarah R.
Went to lunch here with a couple friends today and it was probably the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant. The server was rushing us to order so she could pay attention to a larger group. She hardly helped us and seemed annoyed by having to deal with us. The food was mediocre. I will never be returning here again. If you get a server who says she's been there for 16-years - RUN AWAY!
(1)
George C.
A great deck downtown next to the Chena River. We enjoyed the Antipasto plate with a glass of wine. Service was great, the wine by the glass selection interesting, and the Anti pasta tasty. A number of local and out of town folks showed up for dinner while were there and the meals we saw served looked good. Prices were expensive but what do you expect given the location and it was still the tourist season. Normally would have given them 4 stars but they lost a star for the stingy serving of wine they delivered and charged us $7 a glass.... not even close to the standard 6 ounces.
(3)
Candace N.
I have been to this restaurant one other time on a trip to Fairbanks and the food was good. The service was on the slow side, but the place was packed!! However, last night I went into the restaurant at 7 ish, and requested an order to go. I was told by the woman that she didn't know how long that would take, maybe 35-45 minutes. I thought wow that seemed a long time, especially since there were only 4 tables that had customers at them, but was willing to order anyway. Then she proceeded to belittle the rest of the staff and the owner for a variety of issues!! Including her being new. It was so unprofessional I was appalled and told her never mind I would go elsewhere. I ended up eating at the restaurant in my hotel instead.
Coming from Boston, and an Italian family, I can tell you this. This is not Italian food, the quality of the food here is horrible. The dishes are not even remotely close to being authentic in the slightest bit. The sauce taste horrible, tart and the pasta is not fresh at all. the prices are way to high for the food you get. There isn't one place in fairbanks, or Alaska at all that even comes close to making good Italian food. Someone needs to open an Italian restaurant that knows Italian food. WE NEED REAL ITALIAN FOOD
(1)
Michelle S.
Craving some pasta and recommended by a co-worker, we decided to give Gambardella's a try. Reading the reviews of the Seafood Alfredo, it gave us a hankering for some seafood pasta. We were greeted immediately and seated right away. Granted it was a Monday evening so I wasn't expecting hordes of people. It didn't take too long to be waited on even though we were seated at a somewhat dirty table. But it was rectified and we placed our order. Not starving, we chose to split the meal but we wanted something to break it up a bit so we got the Caesar Salad too. The salad had a good amount of parmesan cheese but it was swimming in dressing. The dressing was good, thankfully, but just too much to where the greens were limp from it. The pasta came out and we knew immediately that it wasn't going to be our ideal meal. The sauce was thin and runny. I'm pretty certain it consisted of garlic and milk. The fettucini was chewy, almost tough and the seafood was barely translucent. It was edible but barely. I topped it with more parmesan from the shaker and lots and lots of red pepper which gave it a bit more depth and covered up the milky texture a bit, actually giving it some texture. The shrimps were pretty good but the scallops were tiny with a mushy consistency like they weren't cooked thoroughly. Not wanting to give up, we decided to try the Tiramisu since we were told it was homemade. It was decent but with a tad too much almond extract. It was light and fluffy with a nice amount of espresso and fresh cake. The entire staff was pleasant, I just wish the food was better.
(2)
Dulcinea S.
I was quite surprised by the reviews but decided to try this place and I really enjoyed it. I got seafood Alfredo and my husband got stuffed flank steak...our dishes were night and day (my husband didn't his). I would come back and their pasta was really good. We also went when it wasn't busy and service was good.
(4)
Joan D.
Amazingly good food! My husband had a Caesar salad that he said was one of the best. I had a special "California" sandwich that was soooo good! And Italian wedding soup - delicious! And they bake their own bread! We were here around 2 on a weekday, so the place wasn't busy, but a big group of about 10 came in & they seemed to do ok. Our waitress was Erika, and she was wonderful!
(5)
Amanda T.
Food was alright. Definitely not worth the price. My husband ordered ravioli and it was over $20 for about 5 raviolis that were not that large. I ended up having to share my dinner because his was more like a snack.
(2)
Frannie R.
As we walked in, we were a little worried that the reviews we'd seen may have some truth. We waited for 10 minutes before we were seated BUT it was worth the wait!! We ordered ravioli and fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and split the meals. Not only was the fettuccine perfectly cooked, the sauce was superb! Kudos for the fresh ravioli and marinara sauce. We had excellent service and he was very attentive. Portions were generous, even split! Congrats, Gamberdella's! Well done :)
(4)
Debbie P.
Very disappointed. Believe all the bad reviews. The servers are friendly enough - whenever you can find one. Four of us are there - 2 were satisfied and 2 did not eat half of their food. We all got salads with our meals - 1 person did not get theirs til the rest were done with theirs. People were asking to get their food to go since service was taking so long. My chicken cannoli tasted like it was a frozen TV dinner - my husbands linguini was tough. Save your money and stress.
(1)
Joel S.
Wow. Friendly enough folks, but it took 20 minutes to get a waiter to the table. My soup was subbed with something else because they ran out... I was not consulted before they brought the substitution. I didn't order the minestrone, because I don't like minestrone. The pasta was ok, strands were stuck to the side of the bowl and dried out, was it nuked? Just got to fairbanks, this place sets the bar pretty low. And pizzas are 20 dollars or more? Holy smokes. Everything is expensive in Alaska, but it's pizza, how much does it cost to make dough?
(2)
Dominique G.
This was prolly my worst experiance with gamberdellas, and I've eaten there and at their smaller restraunt Pazzo's before. We ordered a small Milano 10" pizza, a slice of lasagna, two drinks and two canolli's. As delicious as it was, it certainly wasn't 41 dollars delicious. Holy crap. However that's not my biggest gripe, my problem is that it took them 2 1/2 hours to deliver the food. The woman I spoke to told me it would be about and hour, but holy crap by the time the delivery dude showed up I was already pissed, then he told me the price and I was like ... Wut. I paid him gave him a dollar tip because well, what do you want me to do reward you? All being said and done it was delicious except the two Italian sodas looked like someone vomited in them, but whatever it's fine. Food was good but for 41 bucks we coulda fed a small army in Chinese or even dominos or papa johns. Lasagna was good as ever however. Please fix these problems with your service because the food is pretty good. But that's not enough. Oh and I forgot, they gave us some garlic bread, this was like someone took a bread stick and slices three peices and threw them In a plastic baggy. What am I supposed to do with that? The hell? I paid 41 bucks and I get that crap?
(2)
Lard Belly E.
I thought the first experience was fine. The service was decent and the patio a nice place to sit in the sun for lunch. Service during dinner was still good, and I liked the interior of the restaurant, but I thought the food was really poor. I ordered the seafood alfredo ($28) since I like cream sauce, and ordered a salad with blue cheese as the starter choice. When dinner arrived I was super excited as it looked creamily amazing. At the first bite my hopes were dashed upon the rocks and my stomach tightened queasily. My food was so incredibly buttery there was no other taste. There was plenty of scallops and shrimp, but the taste was overwhelming. I ate all the seafood as it was the most expensive in the dish, but it wasn't very enjoyable. When I returned to Anchorage I was talking to my dining companion about how excited I was about my meal but it was so buttery it was hard to eat. He was like, "I know, when I saw your plate I was sorry I ordered the prosciutto pizza because it was so buttery. But then I saw your meal congeal into a solid pasta ball and I thought better of it." I don't think I will return. Our server was a sweet treat though; she gets 4 stars.
(2)
Elzie M.
This was by far the worst place I have ever been to,PERIOD. My wife had the spinach and chicken. The spinach was watered down and the chicken was dry. The whole dish wasn't seasoned. I ordered lasagna which was $26.95. The picture was very deceiving as the lasagna looked like it came out of a can of Chef Boyardee. It was two layers of pasta, tiny sausages which were next to nothing and a whole bunch of sauce. The lemonade taste like lemon juice. I almost asked for my money back. It wasn't crowded and the service was slow. This is the first time I didn't leave a tip. I will never go back.
(1)
Sunshine C.
Meh. I was really craving pasta and came here. The waitress stated that the minestrone was homemade... And since it's -33 out right now that sounded inviting... Yea, shouldn't have done that... It wasn't good, at all. I ordered spaghetti and the meatball... The marinara was good but the meatball was dry and mediocre. The bread that came with my meal was good. The ambiance is nice and was decorated in the Autumn theme. I overheard the table behind me telling their server that the chicken Marsala she ordered wasn't good but that she tried her friends Alfredo and it was good. He responded with "Did you want me to get you something else? We will have to charge you. Then said, well let me talk to the manager. He returned saying we will take care of you... " Uhmmm your customers should NEVER have to pay for something they didn't like and the server should have never said that outloud. If I ever return to Fairbanks I won't be coming back here.
(1)
Teresa R.
I'm surprised at the number of reviews here saying the service was bad but the food was delicious, because my husband and I experienced the opposite. The staff we encountered were attentive and friendly. The food was a little slow to come out, but not ludicrously so. However, it just wasn't very tasty. My pasta was slightly overcooked (a little mushy) and both our dishes were WAY over-salted (I had ravioli with cream sauce and he had gnocchi). Neither of us would come back here.
(2)
Kasandra M.
Best place I've been so far for Italian food, food was amazing, the bread is addictive, never had a bad experience here so far, we always sit at the same table so it's special for us. The service has always been great. Don't know why the ratings are so low , I have always had a good experience here. And the deserts are so delicious!!!
(5)
Renee F.
Our lunch was fantastic. Pasta with peas, prosciutto, and figs. California Dreamer Sandwich. Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad. Minestrone Soup. Spaghetti with meatballs. All great. The server was helpful and efficient while she handled the entire restaurant on her own. Had the upstairs patio been open, the review would be 5 stars.
(4)
Kelli L.
Food was neither exceptional or bad; what you would expect for cheese pizza and cheese ravioli. The house Pinot noir was acidic grape juice that was worse than Two Buck Chuck. Ordered a bread basket as an appetizer and it arrived after the meal, only after we said something. Server was a little... Abrupt, but nothing bad. Ambience was strange and disjointed and the place smelled like top soil. Having said all of this, nothing registered as 'bad' or 'good', thus the 3-star review.
(3)
Jelani A.
I imagine that a second trip here will be good. Came in for lunch and no one was manning the door. I walked around the corner and stood for five minutes while what looked like one of the chefs talked to someone at another table. Finally a server got my attention and then shrugged. She motions me to enter with her finger and I still sat to eat. After I told her that I was ready to order, she engaged in a discussion with another server who had been passed up twice for a table. There were three tables in the place. I ordered a bowl of soup and salad. The soup came out with another table's food and the promise that my salad was coming later. After my soup was finished my salad arrived. A pile of mixed greens, two olives and two tomatoes later, I finished my salad and asked for my check. That also took a while because my waitress was busy. The soup was decent and the salad was too simple to ruin, but my experience was lackluster at best. At least the price was worth it.
(3)
Eric G.
Geraldo's is the best Italian in Fairbanks. Try there instead of here. Visited July 2011
(2)
Julia T.
1 Star! Had to say how bad this place is. The service is really poor. It took about an hour and a half to get our food out. The chicken was black burnt. It was really the worst dinning experience I had in a while.
(1)
Angela M.
I love the pineapple/cream cheese/jalapeño/chicken pizza. I cannot remember the name, but it is amazing, even though it sounds strange. As for everything else, I haven't been too impressed. My husbands dish was very lemony, the rolled steak only comes well done, the other pizza I got had way too much bleu cheese, my kids pizza were nothing special, but a sub I got at lunch one day was good. The mussels in a wine sauce appetizer was good, but not enough bread. This place is a hit or miss with menu items, but the items that are good are really good.
(3)
Kelsey H.
The service was not great by any means. It took an hour and 15 minutes to get our food. The food was not that good. It tasted like something anyone could make in their own kitchen. It was very over priced for how under whelming it was.
(2)
Jeff B.
No clue what Al dente means, service was good,atmosphere was nice, food is horrible. must have a bunch of teenagers in the kitchen because anyone who can mess up an antipasto platter is not a professional. Its not even something they have to cook. What so called Italian restaurant doesn't serve espresso? Save your money and eat a tv dinner.at least that would be hot.
(1)
Douglas W.
If you are looking for good Italian food while you are in Fairbanks, this is your place. The food was fresh and delicious. The gnocchi was the best entree our table ordered. Our only challenge was the service, a little slow, but great personality.
(3)
Shannon A.
Boy oh boy has this place gone down hill. It is now a dirty and very slow place to eat. Average food and average service. Probably won't go back until I've heard it's been renovated.
(2)
Stacey L.
This restaurant was extremely over priced for the food. I ordered a steak dish and the waiter never brought me my salad until I asked when my dinner came. Didn't even apologize for not bringing it. Never asked if I wanted anything extra to drink. When I first arrived it took forever for hime to even ask if I wanted a menu? Many of the employees were standing around and I even heard some cursing from staff in my presence. I had to wait an extremely long time to even pay my bill. My food was tasty the side salad was very plain and nothing like an Italiano salad should be. Italians rarely use black canned olives in their salads. For me service is everything and I will never return to this establishment again. Service should be superb for a $30.00 plate.
(1)
Luis G.
I was there last night. Service was okay, mediocre at best. No real complaints. Except for the 18% tip included on my bill that was dinner for 2. Since when does a restaurant take away my choice of how much if any tip should be awarded. Not happy with that. Btw I'm an average 20% tipper..
(1)
David D.
I've been here three times now. Every time has been excellent. Had the lasagna this last time and it's the best I've ever had!
(5)
Ian H.
Hostess was rude and unprofessional. Table for 4 means 3 menus and 2 sets of silverware I guess. To make it worse she just dropped our menus on the table and kept walking. Waitress was nice and corrected the issue after we asked for more utensils , menus and water glasses. All in all a blah experience.
(2)
Judy S.
my gf loves this place. I think she's been in Fairbanks way too long. the mozzarella bread was ok but nothing to go running back for. I ordered the Chicken Cannelloni after the waiter recommended it. YUCK! The chicken was the consistency of baby food and the cream sauce the consistency of spackle. I couldn't eat it, I had 2 bites and had to stop! My daughter ordered the Ciopino which was ok but again nothing to run back for. Chicken parm was ok. The only thing that was good was the seafood special my gf ordered. I can't remember what it was called but it had a creamy marsala sauce. They seem way under staffed. Our waiter was running from one end of the restaurant to the other, got our orders wrong and was just lacking in service. I keep reminding myself that it is Fairbanks so I gave it 2 stars taking that into consideration.
(2)
T.L. T.
Good antipasti, but you really dont have to cook much with theirs. ceviche small unidentifiable fish parts, flavorless, and drenched in lemon juice mix, carrot cake was nasty, dry with buttercream frosting (cream cheese frosting might have made it better) dinner salad consisted of about 5 sad lettuce leaves. Word of warning: the menu states the lasagna is the "mother of all lasagnas." Might have been long ago, but it's not now. Good noodles, but chunky boring sauce, lacks mozzarella and garlic, ricotta was ok. The waitress was not with it, as I had to ask twice for silverware. Floor was dirty with butter pats. Find A decent pizza place, don't waste your money.
(1)
Ann M.
"Like a surrealist dream" is how my sister and I described our last experience at Gambardella's. Picture this: we walk in, we're greeted and we're told to take a seat and it will be about a 15 minute wait for tables. We sit, we tell the gentleman that if there's a four person table open, we'd be okay with that, we didn't need a two person table. He then tells us that there's a banquet upstairs that's ordering thousands of dollars worth of food, and that's their main focus. We then watch him stand at the bar and do nothing, and several other waiters and waitresses do the same thing. When they seat us they walk us through an EMPTY DINING ROOM, there were literally 4 other tables of people. So, dudebro could have seated us as soon as we walked in, THERE WAS NO WAIT. Instead of seating us in the dining room with everyone else they lead us down the hallway (filled with empty tables) and seat us next to the bathroom and the stairs leading up to where the party is. We watched as a waitress went over to a table that holds the rolled silverware and she stopped and looked at them and literally just touched them, she did not move them or organize them it was more like a "I need something to do but I don't know what to do so I'm going to fiddle with silverware for two minutes." We had to ask for water and when it was brought it was room temperature. Two party guests came down to use the restroom we were seated next to and we overheard them discussing that they had been waiting 45 minutes for food and the kitchen was backed up. So we left. In summation, they had seats, they could have seated us when we walked in, but instead had us sit and wait 10 minutes, then seated us in an extremely odd and loud area and then ignored us. On the 2 other occasions I've been to this establishment, the food was mediocre at best. One item that was extremely memorable was their Italian wedding soup, it was literally the same as Cambell's, the same teeny meatballs, the same slimy spinach. They serve canned soup. Everything tastes like it has been frozen. They serve Sam's Club cheesecake (pretty good, by the way). Just, no. Way past their hay day. I have to add that one one occasion the owner (I presume) was waitressing and when she was getting change for the cash we paid with she literally brought her wallet to the table to give us change.
(1)
Sal V.
I have had food delivered from here twice now. I have had the same thing hoping for a better quality. I ordered the chicken/walnut/pear salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. While the servings are great for a $12.95 salad I was given maybe half of a chicken breast, the pear weren't cored and had seeds still in the slices, and the vinaigrette is HORRIBLE. While I am not impressed with the food the customer service was amazing and the delivery was on time. Overall it was ok, but I will not be ordering another anything from this restaurant.
(2)
Amanda T.
Service was slower than turtles going through peanut butter, but the food was delicious.
(3)
Jen P.
Won't be giving them my business again. I have been picking this pizza up for a colleague for an end of semester party at UAF each semester, and in spite of early orders for pick up with hours of advance notice, the pizza has never been ready on time. Not ten minutes after scheduled pick up, not twenty minutes after. So I thought, well maybe it's because he's ordering several pizzas, and perhaps they lack space? I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and I ordered on a evening when entertaining guests. It took two hours. I called four times and was assured each time that it was minutes away. I was told of the two deliveries that one was at a neighboring hotel. Said hotel is within four minutes, and barely that. Unfortunately it took another forty minutes. I understand things happen, but I am irritated at being passed off repeatedly. At long last the delivery arrived and for forty-one dollars I got a good salad, melted butter with the rolls and stone cold pizza. Honestly, I worked in customer service for years, and I know an apology or acknowledgement of a bad situation can go a long way, but I was totally dismissed by Gambardellas. Don't bother. The pizza is good when it's even moderately warm, but it's not worth dealing with the staff.
(1)
Jay C.
Tasty lunch & price is right!!! We were seated and served promptly. Server was very attentive with refills & seeing if we needed anything. The bread brought to the table was super good - hints of garlic! Our meals - pasta, salad, pizza - were all delicious. Love the lowfat pizza option!
(5)
Debbie S.
We had dinner here last night, and it was wonderful. The server was very helpful and courteous and told us which dishes were better than the others. It is kind of pricey for the portions, but it was a very pleasant dining experience and both of our dishes were delicious. I also liked the atmosphere, very relaxed with pleasant music in the background. Highly recommend.
(4)
Darci B.
Loved it!!! Food was excellent, atmosphere was nice, and service was exceptional. Will definitely return again.
(4)
Josephine O.
Unfortunately was not impress from the get-go... We walk in and waited a couple of minutes for someone to acknowledge us to be seated. It seems the hostess was talking a potential employee and a guy from OUT OF NOWHERE said to the hostess that she should stop talking to they guy and attend to us really loud.. I'm sure she was embarrassed about, but I can understand why he did that but it was unprofessional and should have been done in the back.. The guy himself ended up taking us to our table which was a hallway where there were no other people around.. I asked if we could see seated on the deck and he didn't seem to care to show is where it was so we ended up showing ourselves ... Long story short we waited for about 15 minutes hoping that someone realized that we were up there and no one did so we got up and left and went right across the street to Bobby's downtown and would recommend it to anyone coming here to Fairbanks... They had live music and a great crowd and the waitress were awesome... Don't even brother going to this place
(1)
Casey H.
People are a little too hard on this place. Yes, it's a little overpriced, and no, i did not almost think i was sitting in Rome, but the food tastes better than any overrated chain italian restaurants I have been to. For the haters, ummm, welcome to Alaska? I thought my Fettuccine Alfredo was delicious. The restaurant has a great family atmosphere and we all enjoyed it.
(3)
Stephanie P.
When I walked in about two weeks ago, I wasn't impressed visually. There was this weird cafe feel to the entrance that clashed with the restaurant portion of the facility. Where we were seated had wires exposed hanging from the ceiling, and the decor wasn't really tied together with a theme. I love me some Italian restaurants, so stuff like this matters when to others it may not be as important. The prices for the food were quite high, so I had expectations that reflected the dollar signs presented to me. My mistake. I ordered the salmon, which came out in this weird parchment paper and was tough and flavorless. The pasta served in the side was buttered pasta for the most part, so I was less than impressed. We won't be going back again.
(2)
Richard E.
I see some less than rewarding reviews, but for me...I"ve never been disappointed here. We have not been here in a year, and after today's visit for lunch...I see we have been missing out on a great value and great food. The menu was in the inexpensive range and well stocked with plenty of selections for healthy fare, or rich fare, you're choice. The atmosphere is great, just what you would expect for a non-chain, Alaskan restaurant.
(5)
Sarah C.
Table wasn't sturdy, utensils were dirty, food wasn't good, and poor German lady was doing all the work so it made it alil slow for her to get us out the door. Never going again ever.
(1)
Sherman W.
If this restaurant was in a bigger city like Seattle, I would give it a 2 stars. But since it's in Fairbanks, AK... Hmmmm.. I had to give it a 3. The menu is okay, but the food is always 'diner' quality. Poor management, but one reasons that we liked to go there once a while was because they used to have a very good looking waiter. Other than we were being greeted by a nice handsome man, the service was just so so. Well, welcome to fairbanks, alaska. and you are going to pay a lot for some so-so service and OK food.
(3)
Allison G.
We ordered food to be delivered to our hotel room. We ordered the 10' Roma pizza without mushrooms and the spaghetti with sausage. They told me it would be 45 minutes until delivery. When it was finally delivered an HOUR AND A HALF later the food was not even close to warm, the pizza had mushrooms, and the spaghetti had a half of sausage. It is located two blocks from our hotel so I wished they would have informed me of the delay and I could have walked to pick it up. Even if the delivery time was not an issue they still got a simple order wrong. I would never ever recommend this place to anyone.
(1)
Tracy B.
Chef salad tasted moldy and my friends lasagna was burned on the bottom. When we brought it to the waitresses attention she offered us a free dessert. We paid the entire bill even through the food was inedible. Unacceptable!! Now hours later I'm exhibiting signs of food poisoning! I will not go back!! Disgusting!!!
(1)
Michael B.
D- terrible service bad oily pizza. Never written a review but felt compelled to do so after last night. It was good at one time but is no longer avoid! No napkins we given to us slow to order slow to cook. I'm mean supper slow like almost 45 to order and 1 hour to cook a pizza. No mention on the menus that $19 gets you 10" pizza and waiter did not advise. Overpriced cruddy food.
(1)
Ches W.
Was ok. Had the salmon. Expected a better cut and a better preparation (overdone). There should be legislation that no restaurant in Alaska be allowed to overcook fresh salmon (well, they claimed it was "fresh" anyway). :)
(2)
Suzy G.
More than 1 star?! You're kidding, right? This is straight up barilla pasta and prego type food. Nothing special. Dining area was dirty and drafty, questionable service. I do like the catchy radio jingles, though...so sing the song but bypass having to actually eat there.
(1)
Jim J.
This place is better than the average review. We had a nice flight of red wines and the Amore pasta special. They were quite good. Much better value than the "fine dining" at Lavalle's nearby. The service was excellent and the manager came to our table at the end of our meal, sat down, and asked for our opinions of the dishes. Overall a good experience.
(4)
Lisa A.
We came here on Sunday night and waited about 5 minutes to be seated even as waiters walked by. When we were finally seated we took a look around and noticed how much the place was falling apart walls are peeling and everything had a nice coating of dust. About 10 minutes after being seated our waitress came over and took our order I will say she was very kind! It took what seemed like forever to get our food I had ordered the chicken Marsala which was luke warm and basically normal spaghetti swimming in cheesy water the chicken was slimy and inedible. My boyfriend got seafood Alfredo he was not impressed. We skipped dessert as to not be disappointed further.def not returning to this place which I'm surprised isn't shut down. Go to geraldos instead.
(1)
Karen S.
The wonderful aroma of italian food hit us all as we entered the premises for our first visit....ended up getting a delicious warm bread covered in pesto topped with artichokes & red peppers and cheese. I had the stuffed flank steak and my daughter had a large portion of chicken marsala, my grand kids had a bowl of angel hair and a pizza. We all enjoyed our salads that were topped with freshly grated/shaved cheese and our entrees as well as cheesecakes. Will be back : )
(4)
Aileen W.
We don't even give them 1 star. Foods was not hot, everything taste like out of cans and poor management & services. They charge thin 5 piece of bread like $5, no free refill! If they want to charge, they should bake fresh bread at least, then we don't complain. We would not recommend to go there. Don't waste money, just go to MacDonald.
(1)
Melissa K.
Have always enjoyed dinner at Gambardella's. I used to order the "famous" lasagna then converted to the spicy cajun seafood in 2007. Returned for a dinner in July 2009 expecting the same wonderful service and delicious food that I'd become accustomed to. Nope. It was so-so. The waitress was nice but spoke EXTREMELY limited English to the point where she had difficulty answering basic questions about the entrees and trouble understanding our requests. I ordered the spicy cajun seafood again. Unfortunately it wasn't as great as I remembered. The seafood was ok ... though I enjoyed the halibut. We had a party of 7+ and the general consensus was that our overall experience was simply unremarkably ok. The menu prices were definitely exorbitant for the taste and quality of the food we received. Instead of being $27-8, my dish should be at the most, $12. The restroom was very clean and pleasant. I also enjoy the quaint atmosphere and outdoor deck seating. If only the food matched the interior. Overall, pretty lackluster.
(2)
Jennifer C.
I keep wanting this place to be good. But it disappoints every time. I met a friend for lunch there and had a catered lunch at a company function. The pasta is really bland, the salad mediocre and the price pretty expensive for something that I can make better myself. The decor in the restaurant was also really cheesy.
(2)
Sarah R.
Went to lunch here with a couple friends today and it was probably the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant. The server was rushing us to order so she could pay attention to a larger group. She hardly helped us and seemed annoyed by having to deal with us. The food was mediocre. I will never be returning here again. If you get a server who says she's been there for 16-years - RUN AWAY!
(1)
George C.
A great deck downtown next to the Chena River. We enjoyed the Antipasto plate with a glass of wine. Service was great, the wine by the glass selection interesting, and the Anti pasta tasty. A number of local and out of town folks showed up for dinner while were there and the meals we saw served looked good. Prices were expensive but what do you expect given the location and it was still the tourist season. Normally would have given them 4 stars but they lost a star for the stingy serving of wine they delivered and charged us $7 a glass.... not even close to the standard 6 ounces.
(3)
Mark E.
Decent food, terrible management. It seems that locally owned restaurants tend to have superior food and inferior service. Unfortunately for Gambardella's, even their food seems hit or miss. The atmosphere was pleasant--having a more authentic feel than many Italian restaurants. We waited fifteen minutes to be seated -- we were ignored for a full five minutes, before being told that it would be "just a minute or two while we clean off a table." I don't mind waiting for a table--but I do mind being ignored, and then having the wait time greatly underestimated. Once seated, our salads and appetizer (a marginally appetizing sauteed mushroom dish) arrived quickly. Our entrees, however, took 45 minutes from the time we ordered. The wait staff were nice, but poorly trained. The servers didn't know the wine list. The new guy pouring water touched the pitcher to the rim of every glass. The restaurant was too busy for the staff on hand. Our server's sense of urgency (bordering on panic) was apparent, making us feel uncomfortable and on edge, as well. In all, the food was fine (my date's was good, mine was not--avoid the Eggplant Parmesan!), but the management was terrible. If I lived in Fairbanks, I might give it another try. As it is, if I ever eat at another restaurant here, it won't be Gambardella's.
(2)
Alex W.
The place is really comfortable and quaint and the staff was friendly enough. The service was pretty slow though and the food was fairly expensive. However, the eggplant parmesan was amazing and my brother had a seafood pasta dish that he said was extremely fresh and flavorful. It wasn't the best of places but compared to the other restaurants in Fairbanks, it was definitely good.
(3)
Mandy R.
The restaurant itself is cute, and the staff is generally pretty friendly. However, for the prices and the food that comes out it is not a good place to go. When I went there with just myself and one other person the hostess tried to seatt us upstairs, after walking by numerous empty tables downstairs-upstairs there was a large roudy group and when we asked to be moved to a quieter location the hostess got annoyed. Not impressed.
(2)
Flor C.
Great antipasto plate! Wine per glass - a bit too skimpy, but the Pyramid Hef was great and on draft. Sat on the deck and loved the view!
(4)
Donald M.
One star at best. Service was indifferent and food was passable, but just barely. Stuffed flank steak really isn't, plus portion was tiny. Pasta was mediocre and sauce was bland. Better places nearby including Bobby's - this is overpriced for what little you get.
(1)
Paul P.
We ate after a skipping lunch on the long drive up from Anchorage so we were ready to eat a Musk Ox. The food is just OK and not worth the price. I couldn't resist ordering their Seafood Cajun Pasta because it had both sausage & seafood. And as a bonus that staple of Italian peppers the chipotle (don't ask me). Anyway it had a mild heat and smokeness and the pasta was just a little overdone. The shrimps seemed like the precooked, frozen variety. The chunks of halibut were the highlight but it wasn't worth the $27 bucks. My associate had the highly touted "Mother of All Lasagnas" but said it was merely an adolescent at best. The house Chianti and Cab were not good either. If you go here maybe try the pizza or more economical choices. I think you'll be disappointed on the high end of the menu. Buon appetito.
(2)
Brent H.
I was seated promptly. Unfortunately I got stuck under a speaker that was blasting Italian opera music. I order the focaccia bread which was amazing and the fettuccine Alfredo with sausage, and a chicken and rice soup. I'm no expert but I'm 99% sure the soup was straight out of the can. After my soup I was brought a basket of Italian bread. There were four pieces which were cold and slightly damp to the touch. I got a cappuccino and ordered the tiramisu for desert. Unfortunately they were out of tiramisu so I ended up with some pre made frozen cheese cake. This place is WAY over priced for the quality of food served. I will not be going back here.
(2)
Annie C.
Have been a few times with friends when visiting Fairbanks. The ravioli with cream sauce is quite good, though nothing to write home about. However, the bread is always fresh, and we never have a problem getting a table. Wait staff is attentive and the decor is quaint. Not the best Italian you have ever had, but it's Fairbanks. Alaska. Not Venice, or a booming city elsewhere. For what it is, it serves its purpose - no reason not to go.
(3)
Amy L.
The food was good, but overpriced at $25 a plate average. Lovely service, good with our kids. Attire is "Fairbanks dressy-casual".
(3)
Tony D.
Used to eat there once a week. Have become less interested over the years. If food, ambiance and service are the hallmarks of a good restaurant then you'll have to settle for two out three on the Fairbanks adequacy scale. Occasionally you get an actual server, that bump it up a star. An upgrade on the fifty cent wine glasses might be another.
(2)
Amikam R.
Gambardella's is a large Italian restaurants with many rooms and outdoor and deck seating. We had dinner there on a Friday night. The menu is small and the wine list tiny. The food is standard old-fashioned "Italian". It's not very good. The fish are dry and the pasta overcooked. There's no veal on the menu.The tiramisu was inedible. Service was rude and impatient and the server not communicative. The entrees arrived before we finished the appetizers and the check was brought with the desserts. To top it all they added $30 to the bill and the credit card company is still sorting this out. The one star is given just because I can't rate it no stars.
(1)
Dick H.
Enjoyable meal in comfortable Italian setting. Great marinara sauce.
(4)
Kate A.
I visited Gambardella's with my family this past memorial day and wish I could give it a better rating. I absolutely love Italian food and the food here isn't horrible but it's extremely over-priced. The staff was friendly but the service was slow. It will be years again if I ever go back. :(
(2)
Elisa H.
Now this is just a nice place - the colors are warm, the tables and cute, and the waitstaff is extremely friendly. It's one of the two nicest Italian restaurants in Fairbanks and I'm a bit partial to this one. The building burned a few years ago, so there is a nice addition with a patio that's open in the summer. The food, of course, is great, but a bit on the more expensive side. I suppose those kind of prices are common for Italian, but I try to wait til I have a gift certificate before I go:o) It's also located right next to historic downtown, so it's convenient if you want to walk around a bit.
(5)
chizzy t.
Me and my girlfriend where here in Fairbanks on vacation and it was my birthday and she wanted to take me out for a classy dinner. i knew it wouldn't be easy in Fairbanks but when we drove by Gambardella's it looked promising. i give it 2 stars for its beautiful view and atmosphere. we sat outside on the patio at about 11pm and the sun was still about to set and it was very warm out. other than that the service was horrible, they never gave us serviettes or silverware, the wine i ordered was about 80f and the waiter was a smart ass the whole time. i had the lasagna that supposedly won rave reviews, but it tasted like it was made earlier that week and kept in the fridge until i ordered it and simply microwaved. i recommend this restaurant for sun downers, skip dinner!
(2)
Trav S.
Went here with the Wife on a sunday afternoon for the all you can eat pasta. Only two choices and one was spaghetti. I had the other one which I think was something with linguine. Half the plate was slightly overcooked and the other was more overcooked! I finished my soda and put the glass at the edge of the table so the waitress would notice and get a refill. Waited for ten minutes as she walked around to the five other couples in the room ignoring us completely. When she finally did come by and got both of us a refill by that time I thanked her and she just walked off without a word. The only time she was nice was when she delivered the check and said to have a nice day! I'm sure just to try and get a good tip (didn't work though!). Also the building smelled like an old folks home, not very appetizing of an odor either. There's a place on College road with much better everything for italian food. Don't waste your time here for the pasta.
(1)
Dick H.
Enjoyable meal in comfortable Italian setting. Great marinara sauce.
(4)
Candace N.
I have been to this restaurant one other time on a trip to Fairbanks and the food was good. The service was on the slow side, but the place was packed!! However, last night I went into the restaurant at 7 ish, and requested an order to go. I was told by the woman that she didn't know how long that would take, maybe 35-45 minutes. I thought wow that seemed a long time, especially since there were only 4 tables that had customers at them, but was willing to order anyway. Then she proceeded to belittle the rest of the staff and the owner for a variety of issues!! Including her being new. It was so unprofessional I was appalled and told her never mind I would go elsewhere. I ended up eating at the restaurant in my hotel instead.
Coming from Boston, and an Italian family, I can tell you this. This is not Italian food, the quality of the food here is horrible. The dishes are not even remotely close to being authentic in the slightest bit. The sauce taste horrible, tart and the pasta is not fresh at all. the prices are way to high for the food you get. There isn't one place in fairbanks, or Alaska at all that even comes close to making good Italian food. Someone needs to open an Italian restaurant that knows Italian food. WE NEED REAL ITALIAN FOOD
(1)
Joan D.
Amazingly good food! My husband had a Caesar salad that he said was one of the best. I had a special "California" sandwich that was soooo good! And Italian wedding soup - delicious! And they bake their own bread! We were here around 2 on a weekday, so the place wasn't busy, but a big group of about 10 came in & they seemed to do ok. Our waitress was Erika, and she was wonderful!
(5)
Amanda T.
Food was alright. Definitely not worth the price. My husband ordered ravioli and it was over $20 for about 5 raviolis that were not that large. I ended up having to share my dinner because his was more like a snack.
(2)
Michelle S.
Craving some pasta and recommended by a co-worker, we decided to give Gambardella's a try. Reading the reviews of the Seafood Alfredo, it gave us a hankering for some seafood pasta. We were greeted immediately and seated right away. Granted it was a Monday evening so I wasn't expecting hordes of people. It didn't take too long to be waited on even though we were seated at a somewhat dirty table. But it was rectified and we placed our order. Not starving, we chose to split the meal but we wanted something to break it up a bit so we got the Caesar Salad too. The salad had a good amount of parmesan cheese but it was swimming in dressing. The dressing was good, thankfully, but just too much to where the greens were limp from it. The pasta came out and we knew immediately that it wasn't going to be our ideal meal. The sauce was thin and runny. I'm pretty certain it consisted of garlic and milk. The fettucini was chewy, almost tough and the seafood was barely translucent. It was edible but barely. I topped it with more parmesan from the shaker and lots and lots of red pepper which gave it a bit more depth and covered up the milky texture a bit, actually giving it some texture. The shrimps were pretty good but the scallops were tiny with a mushy consistency like they weren't cooked thoroughly. Not wanting to give up, we decided to try the Tiramisu since we were told it was homemade. It was decent but with a tad too much almond extract. It was light and fluffy with a nice amount of espresso and fresh cake. The entire staff was pleasant, I just wish the food was better.
(2)
Dulcinea S.
I was quite surprised by the reviews but decided to try this place and I really enjoyed it. I got seafood Alfredo and my husband got stuffed flank steak...our dishes were night and day (my husband didn't his). I would come back and their pasta was really good. We also went when it wasn't busy and service was good.
(4)
Frannie R.
As we walked in, we were a little worried that the reviews we'd seen may have some truth. We waited for 10 minutes before we were seated BUT it was worth the wait!! We ordered ravioli and fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and split the meals. Not only was the fettuccine perfectly cooked, the sauce was superb! Kudos for the fresh ravioli and marinara sauce. We had excellent service and he was very attentive. Portions were generous, even split! Congrats, Gamberdella's! Well done :)
(4)
Debbie P.
Very disappointed. Believe all the bad reviews. The servers are friendly enough - whenever you can find one. Four of us are there - 2 were satisfied and 2 did not eat half of their food. We all got salads with our meals - 1 person did not get theirs til the rest were done with theirs. People were asking to get their food to go since service was taking so long. My chicken cannoli tasted like it was a frozen TV dinner - my husbands linguini was tough. Save your money and stress.
(1)
Lisa A.
We came here on Sunday night and waited about 5 minutes to be seated even as waiters walked by. When we were finally seated we took a look around and noticed how much the place was falling apart walls are peeling and everything had a nice coating of dust. About 10 minutes after being seated our waitress came over and took our order I will say she was very kind! It took what seemed like forever to get our food I had ordered the chicken Marsala which was luke warm and basically normal spaghetti swimming in cheesy water the chicken was slimy and inedible. My boyfriend got seafood Alfredo he was not impressed. We skipped dessert as to not be disappointed further.def not returning to this place which I'm surprised isn't shut down. Go to geraldos instead.
(1)
Jim J.
This place is better than the average review. We had a nice flight of red wines and the Amore pasta special. They were quite good. Much better value than the "fine dining" at Lavalle's nearby. The service was excellent and the manager came to our table at the end of our meal, sat down, and asked for our opinions of the dishes. Overall a good experience.
(4)
Aileen W.
We don't even give them 1 star. Foods was not hot, everything taste like out of cans and poor management & services. They charge thin 5 piece of bread like $5, no free refill! If they want to charge, they should bake fresh bread at least, then we don't complain. We would not recommend to go there. Don't waste money, just go to MacDonald.
(1)
Melissa K.
Have always enjoyed dinner at Gambardella's. I used to order the "famous" lasagna then converted to the spicy cajun seafood in 2007. Returned for a dinner in July 2009 expecting the same wonderful service and delicious food that I'd become accustomed to. Nope. It was so-so. The waitress was nice but spoke EXTREMELY limited English to the point where she had difficulty answering basic questions about the entrees and trouble understanding our requests. I ordered the spicy cajun seafood again. Unfortunately it wasn't as great as I remembered. The seafood was ok ... though I enjoyed the halibut. We had a party of 7+ and the general consensus was that our overall experience was simply unremarkably ok. The menu prices were definitely exorbitant for the taste and quality of the food we received. Instead of being $27-8, my dish should be at the most, $12. The restroom was very clean and pleasant. I also enjoy the quaint atmosphere and outdoor deck seating. If only the food matched the interior. Overall, pretty lackluster.
(2)
Jennifer C.
I keep wanting this place to be good. But it disappoints every time. I met a friend for lunch there and had a catered lunch at a company function. The pasta is really bland, the salad mediocre and the price pretty expensive for something that I can make better myself. The decor in the restaurant was also really cheesy.
(2)
Trav S.
Went here with the Wife on a sunday afternoon for the all you can eat pasta. Only two choices and one was spaghetti. I had the other one which I think was something with linguine. Half the plate was slightly overcooked and the other was more overcooked! I finished my soda and put the glass at the edge of the table so the waitress would notice and get a refill. Waited for ten minutes as she walked around to the five other couples in the room ignoring us completely. When she finally did come by and got both of us a refill by that time I thanked her and she just walked off without a word. The only time she was nice was when she delivered the check and said to have a nice day! I'm sure just to try and get a good tip (didn't work though!). Also the building smelled like an old folks home, not very appetizing of an odor either. There's a place on College road with much better everything for italian food. Don't waste your time here for the pasta.
(1)
Elzie M.
This was by far the worst place I have ever been to,PERIOD. My wife had the spinach and chicken. The spinach was watered down and the chicken was dry. The whole dish wasn't seasoned. I ordered lasagna which was $26.95. The picture was very deceiving as the lasagna looked like it came out of a can of Chef Boyardee. It was two layers of pasta, tiny sausages which were next to nothing and a whole bunch of sauce. The lemonade taste like lemon juice. I almost asked for my money back. It wasn't crowded and the service was slow. This is the first time I didn't leave a tip. I will never go back.
(1)
Joel S.
Wow. Friendly enough folks, but it took 20 minutes to get a waiter to the table. My soup was subbed with something else because they ran out... I was not consulted before they brought the substitution. I didn't order the minestrone, because I don't like minestrone. The pasta was ok, strands were stuck to the side of the bowl and dried out, was it nuked? Just got to fairbanks, this place sets the bar pretty low. And pizzas are 20 dollars or more? Holy smokes. Everything is expensive in Alaska, but it's pizza, how much does it cost to make dough?
(2)
Dominique G.
This was prolly my worst experiance with gamberdellas, and I've eaten there and at their smaller restraunt Pazzo's before. We ordered a small Milano 10" pizza, a slice of lasagna, two drinks and two canolli's. As delicious as it was, it certainly wasn't 41 dollars delicious. Holy crap. However that's not my biggest gripe, my problem is that it took them 2 1/2 hours to deliver the food. The woman I spoke to told me it would be about and hour, but holy crap by the time the delivery dude showed up I was already pissed, then he told me the price and I was like ... Wut. I paid him gave him a dollar tip because well, what do you want me to do reward you? All being said and done it was delicious except the two Italian sodas looked like someone vomited in them, but whatever it's fine. Food was good but for 41 bucks we coulda fed a small army in Chinese or even dominos or papa johns. Lasagna was good as ever however. Please fix these problems with your service because the food is pretty good. But that's not enough. Oh and I forgot, they gave us some garlic bread, this was like someone took a bread stick and slices three peices and threw them In a plastic baggy. What am I supposed to do with that? The hell? I paid 41 bucks and I get that crap?
(2)
Lard Belly E.
I thought the first experience was fine. The service was decent and the patio a nice place to sit in the sun for lunch. Service during dinner was still good, and I liked the interior of the restaurant, but I thought the food was really poor. I ordered the seafood alfredo ($28) since I like cream sauce, and ordered a salad with blue cheese as the starter choice. When dinner arrived I was super excited as it looked creamily amazing. At the first bite my hopes were dashed upon the rocks and my stomach tightened queasily. My food was so incredibly buttery there was no other taste. There was plenty of scallops and shrimp, but the taste was overwhelming. I ate all the seafood as it was the most expensive in the dish, but it wasn't very enjoyable. When I returned to Anchorage I was talking to my dining companion about how excited I was about my meal but it was so buttery it was hard to eat. He was like, "I know, when I saw your plate I was sorry I ordered the prosciutto pizza because it was so buttery. But then I saw your meal congeal into a solid pasta ball and I thought better of it." I don't think I will return. Our server was a sweet treat though; she gets 4 stars.
(2)
Ann M.
"Like a surrealist dream" is how my sister and I described our last experience at Gambardella's. Picture this: we walk in, we're greeted and we're told to take a seat and it will be about a 15 minute wait for tables. We sit, we tell the gentleman that if there's a four person table open, we'd be okay with that, we didn't need a two person table. He then tells us that there's a banquet upstairs that's ordering thousands of dollars worth of food, and that's their main focus. We then watch him stand at the bar and do nothing, and several other waiters and waitresses do the same thing. When they seat us they walk us through an EMPTY DINING ROOM, there were literally 4 other tables of people. So, dudebro could have seated us as soon as we walked in, THERE WAS NO WAIT. Instead of seating us in the dining room with everyone else they lead us down the hallway (filled with empty tables) and seat us next to the bathroom and the stairs leading up to where the party is. We watched as a waitress went over to a table that holds the rolled silverware and she stopped and looked at them and literally just touched them, she did not move them or organize them it was more like a "I need something to do but I don't know what to do so I'm going to fiddle with silverware for two minutes." We had to ask for water and when it was brought it was room temperature. Two party guests came down to use the restroom we were seated next to and we overheard them discussing that they had been waiting 45 minutes for food and the kitchen was backed up. So we left. In summation, they had seats, they could have seated us when we walked in, but instead had us sit and wait 10 minutes, then seated us in an extremely odd and loud area and then ignored us. On the 2 other occasions I've been to this establishment, the food was mediocre at best. One item that was extremely memorable was their Italian wedding soup, it was literally the same as Cambell's, the same teeny meatballs, the same slimy spinach. They serve canned soup. Everything tastes like it has been frozen. They serve Sam's Club cheesecake (pretty good, by the way). Just, no. Way past their hay day. I have to add that one one occasion the owner (I presume) was waitressing and when she was getting change for the cash we paid with she literally brought her wallet to the table to give us change.
(1)
Amanda T.
Service was slower than turtles going through peanut butter, but the food was delicious.
(3)
Sal V.
I have had food delivered from here twice now. I have had the same thing hoping for a better quality. I ordered the chicken/walnut/pear salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. While the servings are great for a $12.95 salad I was given maybe half of a chicken breast, the pear weren't cored and had seeds still in the slices, and the vinaigrette is HORRIBLE. While I am not impressed with the food the customer service was amazing and the delivery was on time. Overall it was ok, but I will not be ordering another anything from this restaurant.
(2)
Sunshine C.
Meh. I was really craving pasta and came here. The waitress stated that the minestrone was homemade... And since it's -33 out right now that sounded inviting... Yea, shouldn't have done that... It wasn't good, at all. I ordered spaghetti and the meatball... The marinara was good but the meatball was dry and mediocre. The bread that came with my meal was good. The ambiance is nice and was decorated in the Autumn theme. I overheard the table behind me telling their server that the chicken Marsala she ordered wasn't good but that she tried her friends Alfredo and it was good. He responded with "Did you want me to get you something else? We will have to charge you. Then said, well let me talk to the manager. He returned saying we will take care of you... " Uhmmm your customers should NEVER have to pay for something they didn't like and the server should have never said that outloud. If I ever return to Fairbanks I won't be coming back here.
(1)
Teresa R.
I'm surprised at the number of reviews here saying the service was bad but the food was delicious, because my husband and I experienced the opposite. The staff we encountered were attentive and friendly. The food was a little slow to come out, but not ludicrously so. However, it just wasn't very tasty. My pasta was slightly overcooked (a little mushy) and both our dishes were WAY over-salted (I had ravioli with cream sauce and he had gnocchi). Neither of us would come back here.
(2)
Kasandra M.
Best place I've been so far for Italian food, food was amazing, the bread is addictive, never had a bad experience here so far, we always sit at the same table so it's special for us. The service has always been great. Don't know why the ratings are so low , I have always had a good experience here. And the deserts are so delicious!!!
(5)
Renee F.
Our lunch was fantastic. Pasta with peas, prosciutto, and figs. California Dreamer Sandwich. Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad. Minestrone Soup. Spaghetti with meatballs. All great. The server was helpful and efficient while she handled the entire restaurant on her own. Had the upstairs patio been open, the review would be 5 stars.
(4)
Kelli L.
Food was neither exceptional or bad; what you would expect for cheese pizza and cheese ravioli. The house Pinot noir was acidic grape juice that was worse than Two Buck Chuck. Ordered a bread basket as an appetizer and it arrived after the meal, only after we said something. Server was a little... Abrupt, but nothing bad. Ambience was strange and disjointed and the place smelled like top soil. Having said all of this, nothing registered as 'bad' or 'good', thus the 3-star review.
(3)
Jason R.
Food - even the basics - not so good. Staff, rude. End of story.
(1)
Jelani A.
I imagine that a second trip here will be good. Came in for lunch and no one was manning the door. I walked around the corner and stood for five minutes while what looked like one of the chefs talked to someone at another table. Finally a server got my attention and then shrugged. She motions me to enter with her finger and I still sat to eat. After I told her that I was ready to order, she engaged in a discussion with another server who had been passed up twice for a table. There were three tables in the place. I ordered a bowl of soup and salad. The soup came out with another table's food and the promise that my salad was coming later. After my soup was finished my salad arrived. A pile of mixed greens, two olives and two tomatoes later, I finished my salad and asked for my check. That also took a while because my waitress was busy. The soup was decent and the salad was too simple to ruin, but my experience was lackluster at best. At least the price was worth it.
(3)
Eric G.
Geraldo's is the best Italian in Fairbanks. Try there instead of here. Visited July 2011
(2)
Julia T.
1 Star! Had to say how bad this place is. The service is really poor. It took about an hour and a half to get our food out. The chicken was black burnt. It was really the worst dinning experience I had in a while.
(1)
Angela M.
I love the pineapple/cream cheese/jalapeño/chicken pizza. I cannot remember the name, but it is amazing, even though it sounds strange. As for everything else, I haven't been too impressed. My husbands dish was very lemony, the rolled steak only comes well done, the other pizza I got had way too much bleu cheese, my kids pizza were nothing special, but a sub I got at lunch one day was good. The mussels in a wine sauce appetizer was good, but not enough bread. This place is a hit or miss with menu items, but the items that are good are really good.
(3)
Kelsey H.
The service was not great by any means. It took an hour and 15 minutes to get our food. The food was not that good. It tasted like something anyone could make in their own kitchen. It was very over priced for how under whelming it was.
(2)
Jeff B.
No clue what Al dente means, service was good,atmosphere was nice, food is horrible. must have a bunch of teenagers in the kitchen because anyone who can mess up an antipasto platter is not a professional. Its not even something they have to cook. What so called Italian restaurant doesn't serve espresso? Save your money and eat a tv dinner.at least that would be hot.
(1)
Douglas W.
If you are looking for good Italian food while you are in Fairbanks, this is your place. The food was fresh and delicious. The gnocchi was the best entree our table ordered. Our only challenge was the service, a little slow, but great personality.
(3)
Shannon A.
Boy oh boy has this place gone down hill. It is now a dirty and very slow place to eat. Average food and average service. Probably won't go back until I've heard it's been renovated.
(2)
Stacey L.
This restaurant was extremely over priced for the food. I ordered a steak dish and the waiter never brought me my salad until I asked when my dinner came. Didn't even apologize for not bringing it. Never asked if I wanted anything extra to drink. When I first arrived it took forever for hime to even ask if I wanted a menu? Many of the employees were standing around and I even heard some cursing from staff in my presence. I had to wait an extremely long time to even pay my bill. My food was tasty the side salad was very plain and nothing like an Italiano salad should be. Italians rarely use black canned olives in their salads. For me service is everything and I will never return to this establishment again. Service should be superb for a $30.00 plate.
(1)
Luis G.
I was there last night. Service was okay, mediocre at best. No real complaints. Except for the 18% tip included on my bill that was dinner for 2. Since when does a restaurant take away my choice of how much if any tip should be awarded. Not happy with that. Btw I'm an average 20% tipper..
(1)
David D.
I've been here three times now. Every time has been excellent. Had the lasagna this last time and it's the best I've ever had!
(5)
Ian H.
Hostess was rude and unprofessional. Table for 4 means 3 menus and 2 sets of silverware I guess. To make it worse she just dropped our menus on the table and kept walking. Waitress was nice and corrected the issue after we asked for more utensils , menus and water glasses. All in all a blah experience.
(2)
Judy S.
my gf loves this place. I think she's been in Fairbanks way too long. the mozzarella bread was ok but nothing to go running back for. I ordered the Chicken Cannelloni after the waiter recommended it. YUCK! The chicken was the consistency of baby food and the cream sauce the consistency of spackle. I couldn't eat it, I had 2 bites and had to stop! My daughter ordered the Ciopino which was ok but again nothing to run back for. Chicken parm was ok. The only thing that was good was the seafood special my gf ordered. I can't remember what it was called but it had a creamy marsala sauce. They seem way under staffed. Our waiter was running from one end of the restaurant to the other, got our orders wrong and was just lacking in service. I keep reminding myself that it is Fairbanks so I gave it 2 stars taking that into consideration.
(2)
Jen P.
Won't be giving them my business again. I have been picking this pizza up for a colleague for an end of semester party at UAF each semester, and in spite of early orders for pick up with hours of advance notice, the pizza has never been ready on time. Not ten minutes after scheduled pick up, not twenty minutes after. So I thought, well maybe it's because he's ordering several pizzas, and perhaps they lack space? I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and I ordered on a evening when entertaining guests. It took two hours. I called four times and was assured each time that it was minutes away. I was told of the two deliveries that one was at a neighboring hotel. Said hotel is within four minutes, and barely that. Unfortunately it took another forty minutes. I understand things happen, but I am irritated at being passed off repeatedly. At long last the delivery arrived and for forty-one dollars I got a good salad, melted butter with the rolls and stone cold pizza. Honestly, I worked in customer service for years, and I know an apology or acknowledgement of a bad situation can go a long way, but I was totally dismissed by Gambardellas. Don't bother. The pizza is good when it's even moderately warm, but it's not worth dealing with the staff.
(1)
Jay C.
Tasty lunch & price is right!!! We were seated and served promptly. Server was very attentive with refills & seeing if we needed anything. The bread brought to the table was super good - hints of garlic! Our meals - pasta, salad, pizza - were all delicious. Love the lowfat pizza option!
(5)
Debbie S.
We had dinner here last night, and it was wonderful. The server was very helpful and courteous and told us which dishes were better than the others. It is kind of pricey for the portions, but it was a very pleasant dining experience and both of our dishes were delicious. I also liked the atmosphere, very relaxed with pleasant music in the background. Highly recommend.
(4)
Darci B.
Loved it!!! Food was excellent, atmosphere was nice, and service was exceptional. Will definitely return again.
(4)
Josephine O.
Unfortunately was not impress from the get-go... We walk in and waited a couple of minutes for someone to acknowledge us to be seated. It seems the hostess was talking a potential employee and a guy from OUT OF NOWHERE said to the hostess that she should stop talking to they guy and attend to us really loud.. I'm sure she was embarrassed about, but I can understand why he did that but it was unprofessional and should have been done in the back.. The guy himself ended up taking us to our table which was a hallway where there were no other people around.. I asked if we could see seated on the deck and he didn't seem to care to show is where it was so we ended up showing ourselves ... Long story short we waited for about 15 minutes hoping that someone realized that we were up there and no one did so we got up and left and went right across the street to Bobby's downtown and would recommend it to anyone coming here to Fairbanks... They had live music and a great crowd and the waitress were awesome... Don't even brother going to this place
(1)
T.L. T.
Good antipasti, but you really dont have to cook much with theirs. ceviche small unidentifiable fish parts, flavorless, and drenched in lemon juice mix, carrot cake was nasty, dry with buttercream frosting (cream cheese frosting might have made it better) dinner salad consisted of about 5 sad lettuce leaves. Word of warning: the menu states the lasagna is the "mother of all lasagnas." Might have been long ago, but it's not now. Good noodles, but chunky boring sauce, lacks mozzarella and garlic, ricotta was ok. The waitress was not with it, as I had to ask twice for silverware. Floor was dirty with butter pats. Find A decent pizza place, don't waste your money.
(1)
Casey H.
People are a little too hard on this place. Yes, it's a little overpriced, and no, i did not almost think i was sitting in Rome, but the food tastes better than any overrated chain italian restaurants I have been to. For the haters, ummm, welcome to Alaska? I thought my Fettuccine Alfredo was delicious. The restaurant has a great family atmosphere and we all enjoyed it.
(3)
Stephanie P.
When I walked in about two weeks ago, I wasn't impressed visually. There was this weird cafe feel to the entrance that clashed with the restaurant portion of the facility. Where we were seated had wires exposed hanging from the ceiling, and the decor wasn't really tied together with a theme. I love me some Italian restaurants, so stuff like this matters when to others it may not be as important. The prices for the food were quite high, so I had expectations that reflected the dollar signs presented to me. My mistake. I ordered the salmon, which came out in this weird parchment paper and was tough and flavorless. The pasta served in the side was buttered pasta for the most part, so I was less than impressed. We won't be going back again.
(2)
Richard E.
I see some less than rewarding reviews, but for me...I"ve never been disappointed here. We have not been here in a year, and after today's visit for lunch...I see we have been missing out on a great value and great food. The menu was in the inexpensive range and well stocked with plenty of selections for healthy fare, or rich fare, you're choice. The atmosphere is great, just what you would expect for a non-chain, Alaskan restaurant.
(5)
Sarah C.
Table wasn't sturdy, utensils were dirty, food wasn't good, and poor German lady was doing all the work so it made it alil slow for her to get us out the door. Never going again ever.
(1)
Sherman W.
If this restaurant was in a bigger city like Seattle, I would give it a 2 stars. But since it's in Fairbanks, AK... Hmmmm.. I had to give it a 3. The menu is okay, but the food is always 'diner' quality. Poor management, but one reasons that we liked to go there once a while was because they used to have a very good looking waiter. Other than we were being greeted by a nice handsome man, the service was just so so. Well, welcome to fairbanks, alaska. and you are going to pay a lot for some so-so service and OK food.
(3)
Allison G.
We ordered food to be delivered to our hotel room. We ordered the 10' Roma pizza without mushrooms and the spaghetti with sausage. They told me it would be 45 minutes until delivery. When it was finally delivered an HOUR AND A HALF later the food was not even close to warm, the pizza had mushrooms, and the spaghetti had a half of sausage. It is located two blocks from our hotel so I wished they would have informed me of the delay and I could have walked to pick it up. Even if the delivery time was not an issue they still got a simple order wrong. I would never ever recommend this place to anyone.
(1)
Tracy B.
Chef salad tasted moldy and my friends lasagna was burned on the bottom. When we brought it to the waitresses attention she offered us a free dessert. We paid the entire bill even through the food was inedible. Unacceptable!! Now hours later I'm exhibiting signs of food poisoning! I will not go back!! Disgusting!!!
(1)
Michael B.
D- terrible service bad oily pizza. Never written a review but felt compelled to do so after last night. It was good at one time but is no longer avoid! No napkins we given to us slow to order slow to cook. I'm mean supper slow like almost 45 to order and 1 hour to cook a pizza. No mention on the menus that $19 gets you 10" pizza and waiter did not advise. Overpriced cruddy food.
(1)
Ches W.
Was ok. Had the salmon. Expected a better cut and a better preparation (overdone). There should be legislation that no restaurant in Alaska be allowed to overcook fresh salmon (well, they claimed it was "fresh" anyway). :)
(2)
Suzy G.
More than 1 star?! You're kidding, right? This is straight up barilla pasta and prego type food. Nothing special. Dining area was dirty and drafty, questionable service. I do like the catchy radio jingles, though...so sing the song but bypass having to actually eat there.
(1)
Karen S.
The wonderful aroma of italian food hit us all as we entered the premises for our first visit....ended up getting a delicious warm bread covered in pesto topped with artichokes & red peppers and cheese. I had the stuffed flank steak and my daughter had a large portion of chicken marsala, my grand kids had a bowl of angel hair and a pizza. We all enjoyed our salads that were topped with freshly grated/shaved cheese and our entrees as well as cheesecakes. Will be back : )
(4)
Sarah R.
Went to lunch here with a couple friends today and it was probably the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant. The server was rushing us to order so she could pay attention to a larger group. She hardly helped us and seemed annoyed by having to deal with us. The food was mediocre. I will never be returning here again. If you get a server who says she's been there for 16-years - RUN AWAY!
(1)
George C.
A great deck downtown next to the Chena River. We enjoyed the Antipasto plate with a glass of wine. Service was great, the wine by the glass selection interesting, and the Anti pasta tasty. A number of local and out of town folks showed up for dinner while were there and the meals we saw served looked good. Prices were expensive but what do you expect given the location and it was still the tourist season. Normally would have given them 4 stars but they lost a star for the stingy serving of wine they delivered and charged us $7 a glass.... not even close to the standard 6 ounces.
(3)
Mark E.
Decent food, terrible management. It seems that locally owned restaurants tend to have superior food and inferior service. Unfortunately for Gambardella's, even their food seems hit or miss. The atmosphere was pleasant--having a more authentic feel than many Italian restaurants. We waited fifteen minutes to be seated -- we were ignored for a full five minutes, before being told that it would be "just a minute or two while we clean off a table." I don't mind waiting for a table--but I do mind being ignored, and then having the wait time greatly underestimated. Once seated, our salads and appetizer (a marginally appetizing sauteed mushroom dish) arrived quickly. Our entrees, however, took 45 minutes from the time we ordered. The wait staff were nice, but poorly trained. The servers didn't know the wine list. The new guy pouring water touched the pitcher to the rim of every glass. The restaurant was too busy for the staff on hand. Our server's sense of urgency (bordering on panic) was apparent, making us feel uncomfortable and on edge, as well. In all, the food was fine (my date's was good, mine was not--avoid the Eggplant Parmesan!), but the management was terrible. If I lived in Fairbanks, I might give it another try. As it is, if I ever eat at another restaurant here, it won't be Gambardella's.
(2)
Alex W.
The place is really comfortable and quaint and the staff was friendly enough. The service was pretty slow though and the food was fairly expensive. However, the eggplant parmesan was amazing and my brother had a seafood pasta dish that he said was extremely fresh and flavorful. It wasn't the best of places but compared to the other restaurants in Fairbanks, it was definitely good.
(3)
Mandy R.
The restaurant itself is cute, and the staff is generally pretty friendly. However, for the prices and the food that comes out it is not a good place to go. When I went there with just myself and one other person the hostess tried to seatt us upstairs, after walking by numerous empty tables downstairs-upstairs there was a large roudy group and when we asked to be moved to a quieter location the hostess got annoyed. Not impressed.
(2)
Paul P.
We ate after a skipping lunch on the long drive up from Anchorage so we were ready to eat a Musk Ox. The food is just OK and not worth the price. I couldn't resist ordering their Seafood Cajun Pasta because it had both sausage & seafood. And as a bonus that staple of Italian peppers the chipotle (don't ask me). Anyway it had a mild heat and smokeness and the pasta was just a little overdone. The shrimps seemed like the precooked, frozen variety. The chunks of halibut were the highlight but it wasn't worth the $27 bucks. My associate had the highly touted "Mother of All Lasagnas" but said it was merely an adolescent at best. The house Chianti and Cab were not good either. If you go here maybe try the pizza or more economical choices. I think you'll be disappointed on the high end of the menu. Buon appetito.
(2)
Brent H.
I was seated promptly. Unfortunately I got stuck under a speaker that was blasting Italian opera music. I order the focaccia bread which was amazing and the fettuccine Alfredo with sausage, and a chicken and rice soup. I'm no expert but I'm 99% sure the soup was straight out of the can. After my soup I was brought a basket of Italian bread. There were four pieces which were cold and slightly damp to the touch. I got a cappuccino and ordered the tiramisu for desert. Unfortunately they were out of tiramisu so I ended up with some pre made frozen cheese cake. This place is WAY over priced for the quality of food served. I will not be going back here.
(2)
Annie C.
Have been a few times with friends when visiting Fairbanks. The ravioli with cream sauce is quite good, though nothing to write home about. However, the bread is always fresh, and we never have a problem getting a table. Wait staff is attentive and the decor is quaint. Not the best Italian you have ever had, but it's Fairbanks. Alaska. Not Venice, or a booming city elsewhere. For what it is, it serves its purpose - no reason not to go.
(3)
Amy L.
The food was good, but overpriced at $25 a plate average. Lovely service, good with our kids. Attire is "Fairbanks dressy-casual".
(3)
Tony D.
Used to eat there once a week. Have become less interested over the years. If food, ambiance and service are the hallmarks of a good restaurant then you'll have to settle for two out three on the Fairbanks adequacy scale. Occasionally you get an actual server, that bump it up a star. An upgrade on the fifty cent wine glasses might be another.
(2)
Amikam R.
Gambardella's is a large Italian restaurants with many rooms and outdoor and deck seating. We had dinner there on a Friday night. The menu is small and the wine list tiny. The food is standard old-fashioned "Italian". It's not very good. The fish are dry and the pasta overcooked. There's no veal on the menu.The tiramisu was inedible. Service was rude and impatient and the server not communicative. The entrees arrived before we finished the appetizers and the check was brought with the desserts. To top it all they added $30 to the bill and the credit card company is still sorting this out. The one star is given just because I can't rate it no stars.
(1)
Dick H.
Enjoyable meal in comfortable Italian setting. Great marinara sauce.
(4)
Jason R.
Food - even the basics - not so good. Staff, rude. End of story.
(1)
Flor C.
Great antipasto plate! Wine per glass - a bit too skimpy, but the Pyramid Hef was great and on draft. Sat on the deck and loved the view!
(4)
Donald M.
One star at best. Service was indifferent and food was passable, but just barely. Stuffed flank steak really isn't, plus portion was tiny. Pasta was mediocre and sauce was bland. Better places nearby including Bobby's - this is overpriced for what little you get.
(1)
Kate A.
I visited Gambardella's with my family this past memorial day and wish I could give it a better rating. I absolutely love Italian food and the food here isn't horrible but it's extremely over-priced. The staff was friendly but the service was slow. It will be years again if I ever go back. :(
(2)
Elisa H.
Now this is just a nice place - the colors are warm, the tables and cute, and the waitstaff is extremely friendly. It's one of the two nicest Italian restaurants in Fairbanks and I'm a bit partial to this one. The building burned a few years ago, so there is a nice addition with a patio that's open in the summer. The food, of course, is great, but a bit on the more expensive side. I suppose those kind of prices are common for Italian, but I try to wait til I have a gift certificate before I go:o) It's also located right next to historic downtown, so it's convenient if you want to walk around a bit.
(5)
chizzy t.
Me and my girlfriend where here in Fairbanks on vacation and it was my birthday and she wanted to take me out for a classy dinner. i knew it wouldn't be easy in Fairbanks but when we drove by Gambardella's it looked promising. i give it 2 stars for its beautiful view and atmosphere. we sat outside on the patio at about 11pm and the sun was still about to set and it was very warm out. other than that the service was horrible, they never gave us serviettes or silverware, the wine i ordered was about 80f and the waiter was a smart ass the whole time. i had the lasagna that supposedly won rave reviews, but it tasted like it was made earlier that week and kept in the fridge until i ordered it and simply microwaved. i recommend this restaurant for sun downers, skip dinner!
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Parking : Street, Private Lot Wheelchair Accessible : No Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Divey Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : Yes Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
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Flor C.
Great antipasto plate! Wine per glass - a bit too skimpy, but the Pyramid Hef was great and on draft. Sat on the deck and loved the view!
(4)Donald M.
One star at best. Service was indifferent and food was passable, but just barely. Stuffed flank steak really isn't, plus portion was tiny. Pasta was mediocre and sauce was bland. Better places nearby including Bobby's - this is overpriced for what little you get.
(1)Kate A.
I visited Gambardella's with my family this past memorial day and wish I could give it a better rating. I absolutely love Italian food and the food here isn't horrible but it's extremely over-priced. The staff was friendly but the service was slow. It will be years again if I ever go back. :(
(2)Mark E.
Decent food, terrible management. It seems that locally owned restaurants tend to have superior food and inferior service. Unfortunately for Gambardella's, even their food seems hit or miss. The atmosphere was pleasant--having a more authentic feel than many Italian restaurants. We waited fifteen minutes to be seated -- we were ignored for a full five minutes, before being told that it would be "just a minute or two while we clean off a table." I don't mind waiting for a table--but I do mind being ignored, and then having the wait time greatly underestimated. Once seated, our salads and appetizer (a marginally appetizing sauteed mushroom dish) arrived quickly. Our entrees, however, took 45 minutes from the time we ordered. The wait staff were nice, but poorly trained. The servers didn't know the wine list. The new guy pouring water touched the pitcher to the rim of every glass. The restaurant was too busy for the staff on hand. Our server's sense of urgency (bordering on panic) was apparent, making us feel uncomfortable and on edge, as well. In all, the food was fine (my date's was good, mine was not--avoid the Eggplant Parmesan!), but the management was terrible. If I lived in Fairbanks, I might give it another try. As it is, if I ever eat at another restaurant here, it won't be Gambardella's.
(2)Alex W.
The place is really comfortable and quaint and the staff was friendly enough. The service was pretty slow though and the food was fairly expensive. However, the eggplant parmesan was amazing and my brother had a seafood pasta dish that he said was extremely fresh and flavorful. It wasn't the best of places but compared to the other restaurants in Fairbanks, it was definitely good.
(3)Elisa H.
Now this is just a nice place - the colors are warm, the tables and cute, and the waitstaff is extremely friendly. It's one of the two nicest Italian restaurants in Fairbanks and I'm a bit partial to this one. The building burned a few years ago, so there is a nice addition with a patio that's open in the summer. The food, of course, is great, but a bit on the more expensive side. I suppose those kind of prices are common for Italian, but I try to wait til I have a gift certificate before I go:o) It's also located right next to historic downtown, so it's convenient if you want to walk around a bit.
(5)Mandy R.
The restaurant itself is cute, and the staff is generally pretty friendly. However, for the prices and the food that comes out it is not a good place to go. When I went there with just myself and one other person the hostess tried to seatt us upstairs, after walking by numerous empty tables downstairs-upstairs there was a large roudy group and when we asked to be moved to a quieter location the hostess got annoyed. Not impressed.
(2)Paul P.
We ate after a skipping lunch on the long drive up from Anchorage so we were ready to eat a Musk Ox. The food is just OK and not worth the price. I couldn't resist ordering their Seafood Cajun Pasta because it had both sausage & seafood. And as a bonus that staple of Italian peppers the chipotle (don't ask me). Anyway it had a mild heat and smokeness and the pasta was just a little overdone. The shrimps seemed like the precooked, frozen variety. The chunks of halibut were the highlight but it wasn't worth the $27 bucks. My associate had the highly touted "Mother of All Lasagnas" but said it was merely an adolescent at best. The house Chianti and Cab were not good either. If you go here maybe try the pizza or more economical choices. I think you'll be disappointed on the high end of the menu. Buon appetito.
(2)Brent H.
I was seated promptly. Unfortunately I got stuck under a speaker that was blasting Italian opera music. I order the focaccia bread which was amazing and the fettuccine Alfredo with sausage, and a chicken and rice soup. I'm no expert but I'm 99% sure the soup was straight out of the can. After my soup I was brought a basket of Italian bread. There were four pieces which were cold and slightly damp to the touch. I got a cappuccino and ordered the tiramisu for desert. Unfortunately they were out of tiramisu so I ended up with some pre made frozen cheese cake. This place is WAY over priced for the quality of food served. I will not be going back here.
(2)Annie C.
Have been a few times with friends when visiting Fairbanks. The ravioli with cream sauce is quite good, though nothing to write home about. However, the bread is always fresh, and we never have a problem getting a table. Wait staff is attentive and the decor is quaint. Not the best Italian you have ever had, but it's Fairbanks. Alaska. Not Venice, or a booming city elsewhere. For what it is, it serves its purpose - no reason not to go.
(3)Amy L.
The food was good, but overpriced at $25 a plate average. Lovely service, good with our kids. Attire is "Fairbanks dressy-casual".
(3)Tony D.
Used to eat there once a week. Have become less interested over the years. If food, ambiance and service are the hallmarks of a good restaurant then you'll have to settle for two out three on the Fairbanks adequacy scale. Occasionally you get an actual server, that bump it up a star. An upgrade on the fifty cent wine glasses might be another.
(2)Amikam R.
Gambardella's is a large Italian restaurants with many rooms and outdoor and deck seating. We had dinner there on a Friday night. The menu is small and the wine list tiny. The food is standard old-fashioned "Italian". It's not very good. The fish are dry and the pasta overcooked. There's no veal on the menu.The tiramisu was inedible. Service was rude and impatient and the server not communicative. The entrees arrived before we finished the appetizers and the check was brought with the desserts. To top it all they added $30 to the bill and the credit card company is still sorting this out. The one star is given just because I can't rate it no stars.
(1)chizzy t.
Me and my girlfriend where here in Fairbanks on vacation and it was my birthday and she wanted to take me out for a classy dinner. i knew it wouldn't be easy in Fairbanks but when we drove by Gambardella's it looked promising. i give it 2 stars for its beautiful view and atmosphere. we sat outside on the patio at about 11pm and the sun was still about to set and it was very warm out. other than that the service was horrible, they never gave us serviettes or silverware, the wine i ordered was about 80f and the waiter was a smart ass the whole time. i had the lasagna that supposedly won rave reviews, but it tasted like it was made earlier that week and kept in the fridge until i ordered it and simply microwaved. i recommend this restaurant for sun downers, skip dinner!
(2)Trav S.
Went here with the Wife on a sunday afternoon for the all you can eat pasta. Only two choices and one was spaghetti. I had the other one which I think was something with linguine. Half the plate was slightly overcooked and the other was more overcooked! I finished my soda and put the glass at the edge of the table so the waitress would notice and get a refill. Waited for ten minutes as she walked around to the five other couples in the room ignoring us completely. When she finally did come by and got both of us a refill by that time I thanked her and she just walked off without a word. The only time she was nice was when she delivered the check and said to have a nice day! I'm sure just to try and get a good tip (didn't work though!). Also the building smelled like an old folks home, not very appetizing of an odor either. There's a place on College road with much better everything for italian food. Don't waste your time here for the pasta.
(1)Joan D.
Amazingly good food! My husband had a Caesar salad that he said was one of the best. I had a special "California" sandwich that was soooo good! And Italian wedding soup - delicious! And they bake their own bread! We were here around 2 on a weekday, so the place wasn't busy, but a big group of about 10 came in & they seemed to do ok. Our waitress was Erika, and she was wonderful!
(5)Candace N.
I have been to this restaurant one other time on a trip to Fairbanks and the food was good. The service was on the slow side, but the place was packed!! However, last night I went into the restaurant at 7 ish, and requested an order to go. I was told by the woman that she didn't know how long that would take, maybe 35-45 minutes. I thought wow that seemed a long time, especially since there were only 4 tables that had customers at them, but was willing to order anyway. Then she proceeded to belittle the rest of the staff and the owner for a variety of issues!! Including her being new. It was so unprofessional I was appalled and told her never mind I would go elsewhere. I ended up eating at the restaurant in my hotel instead.
(2)Cathy P.
The extremely slow service is the number one reason I won't be going back. My dinner was just ok. I ordered a pizza, it came out with spinach that had been previously frozen. It's not hard to substitute that with fresh spinach and it would have made such a big improvement. Apps (sautéed mushrooms) had to be sent back because they were way over salted and to compensate they added way to much pepper and used canned mushrooms. When it came back out they had replaced them with fresh ones but the consistency of the sauce was totally different. My husband enjoyed his meal, so for that reason I'm giving two stars instead of one.
(2)Jimmy W.
Coming from Boston, and an Italian family, I can tell you this. This is not Italian food, the quality of the food here is horrible. The dishes are not even remotely close to being authentic in the slightest bit. The sauce taste horrible, tart and the pasta is not fresh at all. the prices are way to high for the food you get. There isn't one place in fairbanks, or Alaska at all that even comes close to making good Italian food. Someone needs to open an Italian restaurant that knows Italian food. WE NEED REAL ITALIAN FOOD
(1)Amanda T.
Food was alright. Definitely not worth the price. My husband ordered ravioli and it was over $20 for about 5 raviolis that were not that large. I ended up having to share my dinner because his was more like a snack.
(2)Joel S.
Wow. Friendly enough folks, but it took 20 minutes to get a waiter to the table. My soup was subbed with something else because they ran out... I was not consulted before they brought the substitution. I didn't order the minestrone, because I don't like minestrone. The pasta was ok, strands were stuck to the side of the bowl and dried out, was it nuked? Just got to fairbanks, this place sets the bar pretty low. And pizzas are 20 dollars or more? Holy smokes. Everything is expensive in Alaska, but it's pizza, how much does it cost to make dough?
(2)Casey H.
People are a little too hard on this place. Yes, it's a little overpriced, and no, i did not almost think i was sitting in Rome, but the food tastes better than any overrated chain italian restaurants I have been to. For the haters, ummm, welcome to Alaska? I thought my Fettuccine Alfredo was delicious. The restaurant has a great family atmosphere and we all enjoyed it.
(3)Michelle S.
Craving some pasta and recommended by a co-worker, we decided to give Gambardella's a try. Reading the reviews of the Seafood Alfredo, it gave us a hankering for some seafood pasta. We were greeted immediately and seated right away. Granted it was a Monday evening so I wasn't expecting hordes of people. It didn't take too long to be waited on even though we were seated at a somewhat dirty table. But it was rectified and we placed our order. Not starving, we chose to split the meal but we wanted something to break it up a bit so we got the Caesar Salad too. The salad had a good amount of parmesan cheese but it was swimming in dressing. The dressing was good, thankfully, but just too much to where the greens were limp from it. The pasta came out and we knew immediately that it wasn't going to be our ideal meal. The sauce was thin and runny. I'm pretty certain it consisted of garlic and milk. The fettucini was chewy, almost tough and the seafood was barely translucent. It was edible but barely. I topped it with more parmesan from the shaker and lots and lots of red pepper which gave it a bit more depth and covered up the milky texture a bit, actually giving it some texture. The shrimps were pretty good but the scallops were tiny with a mushy consistency like they weren't cooked thoroughly. Not wanting to give up, we decided to try the Tiramisu since we were told it was homemade. It was decent but with a tad too much almond extract. It was light and fluffy with a nice amount of espresso and fresh cake. The entire staff was pleasant, I just wish the food was better.
(2)Dulcinea S.
I was quite surprised by the reviews but decided to try this place and I really enjoyed it. I got seafood Alfredo and my husband got stuffed flank steak...our dishes were night and day (my husband didn't his). I would come back and their pasta was really good. We also went when it wasn't busy and service was good.
(4)Frannie R.
As we walked in, we were a little worried that the reviews we'd seen may have some truth. We waited for 10 minutes before we were seated BUT it was worth the wait!! We ordered ravioli and fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and split the meals. Not only was the fettuccine perfectly cooked, the sauce was superb! Kudos for the fresh ravioli and marinara sauce. We had excellent service and he was very attentive. Portions were generous, even split! Congrats, Gamberdella's! Well done :)
(4)Debbie P.
Very disappointed. Believe all the bad reviews. The servers are friendly enough - whenever you can find one. Four of us are there - 2 were satisfied and 2 did not eat half of their food. We all got salads with our meals - 1 person did not get theirs til the rest were done with theirs. People were asking to get their food to go since service was taking so long. My chicken cannoli tasted like it was a frozen TV dinner - my husbands linguini was tough. Save your money and stress.
(1)Dominique G.
This was prolly my worst experiance with gamberdellas, and I've eaten there and at their smaller restraunt Pazzo's before. We ordered a small Milano 10" pizza, a slice of lasagna, two drinks and two canolli's. As delicious as it was, it certainly wasn't 41 dollars delicious. Holy crap. However that's not my biggest gripe, my problem is that it took them 2 1/2 hours to deliver the food. The woman I spoke to told me it would be about and hour, but holy crap by the time the delivery dude showed up I was already pissed, then he told me the price and I was like ... Wut. I paid him gave him a dollar tip because well, what do you want me to do reward you? All being said and done it was delicious except the two Italian sodas looked like someone vomited in them, but whatever it's fine. Food was good but for 41 bucks we coulda fed a small army in Chinese or even dominos or papa johns. Lasagna was good as ever however. Please fix these problems with your service because the food is pretty good. But that's not enough. Oh and I forgot, they gave us some garlic bread, this was like someone took a bread stick and slices three peices and threw them In a plastic baggy. What am I supposed to do with that? The hell? I paid 41 bucks and I get that crap?
(2)Lard Belly E.
I thought the first experience was fine. The service was decent and the patio a nice place to sit in the sun for lunch. Service during dinner was still good, and I liked the interior of the restaurant, but I thought the food was really poor. I ordered the seafood alfredo ($28) since I like cream sauce, and ordered a salad with blue cheese as the starter choice. When dinner arrived I was super excited as it looked creamily amazing. At the first bite my hopes were dashed upon the rocks and my stomach tightened queasily. My food was so incredibly buttery there was no other taste. There was plenty of scallops and shrimp, but the taste was overwhelming. I ate all the seafood as it was the most expensive in the dish, but it wasn't very enjoyable. When I returned to Anchorage I was talking to my dining companion about how excited I was about my meal but it was so buttery it was hard to eat. He was like, "I know, when I saw your plate I was sorry I ordered the prosciutto pizza because it was so buttery. But then I saw your meal congeal into a solid pasta ball and I thought better of it." I don't think I will return. Our server was a sweet treat though; she gets 4 stars.
(2)Elzie M.
This was by far the worst place I have ever been to,PERIOD. My wife had the spinach and chicken. The spinach was watered down and the chicken was dry. The whole dish wasn't seasoned. I ordered lasagna which was $26.95. The picture was very deceiving as the lasagna looked like it came out of a can of Chef Boyardee. It was two layers of pasta, tiny sausages which were next to nothing and a whole bunch of sauce. The lemonade taste like lemon juice. I almost asked for my money back. It wasn't crowded and the service was slow. This is the first time I didn't leave a tip. I will never go back.
(1)Ann M.
"Like a surrealist dream" is how my sister and I described our last experience at Gambardella's. Picture this: we walk in, we're greeted and we're told to take a seat and it will be about a 15 minute wait for tables. We sit, we tell the gentleman that if there's a four person table open, we'd be okay with that, we didn't need a two person table. He then tells us that there's a banquet upstairs that's ordering thousands of dollars worth of food, and that's their main focus. We then watch him stand at the bar and do nothing, and several other waiters and waitresses do the same thing. When they seat us they walk us through an EMPTY DINING ROOM, there were literally 4 other tables of people. So, dudebro could have seated us as soon as we walked in, THERE WAS NO WAIT. Instead of seating us in the dining room with everyone else they lead us down the hallway (filled with empty tables) and seat us next to the bathroom and the stairs leading up to where the party is. We watched as a waitress went over to a table that holds the rolled silverware and she stopped and looked at them and literally just touched them, she did not move them or organize them it was more like a "I need something to do but I don't know what to do so I'm going to fiddle with silverware for two minutes." We had to ask for water and when it was brought it was room temperature. Two party guests came down to use the restroom we were seated next to and we overheard them discussing that they had been waiting 45 minutes for food and the kitchen was backed up. So we left. In summation, they had seats, they could have seated us when we walked in, but instead had us sit and wait 10 minutes, then seated us in an extremely odd and loud area and then ignored us. On the 2 other occasions I've been to this establishment, the food was mediocre at best. One item that was extremely memorable was their Italian wedding soup, it was literally the same as Cambell's, the same teeny meatballs, the same slimy spinach. They serve canned soup. Everything tastes like it has been frozen. They serve Sam's Club cheesecake (pretty good, by the way). Just, no. Way past their hay day. I have to add that one one occasion the owner (I presume) was waitressing and when she was getting change for the cash we paid with she literally brought her wallet to the table to give us change.
(1)Amanda T.
Service was slower than turtles going through peanut butter, but the food was delicious.
(3)Sal V.
I have had food delivered from here twice now. I have had the same thing hoping for a better quality. I ordered the chicken/walnut/pear salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. While the servings are great for a $12.95 salad I was given maybe half of a chicken breast, the pear weren't cored and had seeds still in the slices, and the vinaigrette is HORRIBLE. While I am not impressed with the food the customer service was amazing and the delivery was on time. Overall it was ok, but I will not be ordering another anything from this restaurant.
(2)Sunshine C.
Meh. I was really craving pasta and came here. The waitress stated that the minestrone was homemade... And since it's -33 out right now that sounded inviting... Yea, shouldn't have done that... It wasn't good, at all. I ordered spaghetti and the meatball... The marinara was good but the meatball was dry and mediocre. The bread that came with my meal was good. The ambiance is nice and was decorated in the Autumn theme. I overheard the table behind me telling their server that the chicken Marsala she ordered wasn't good but that she tried her friends Alfredo and it was good. He responded with "Did you want me to get you something else? We will have to charge you. Then said, well let me talk to the manager. He returned saying we will take care of you... " Uhmmm your customers should NEVER have to pay for something they didn't like and the server should have never said that outloud. If I ever return to Fairbanks I won't be coming back here.
(1)Teresa R.
I'm surprised at the number of reviews here saying the service was bad but the food was delicious, because my husband and I experienced the opposite. The staff we encountered were attentive and friendly. The food was a little slow to come out, but not ludicrously so. However, it just wasn't very tasty. My pasta was slightly overcooked (a little mushy) and both our dishes were WAY over-salted (I had ravioli with cream sauce and he had gnocchi). Neither of us would come back here.
(2)Kasandra M.
Best place I've been so far for Italian food, food was amazing, the bread is addictive, never had a bad experience here so far, we always sit at the same table so it's special for us. The service has always been great. Don't know why the ratings are so low , I have always had a good experience here. And the deserts are so delicious!!!
(5)Renee F.
Our lunch was fantastic. Pasta with peas, prosciutto, and figs. California Dreamer Sandwich. Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad. Minestrone Soup. Spaghetti with meatballs. All great. The server was helpful and efficient while she handled the entire restaurant on her own. Had the upstairs patio been open, the review would be 5 stars.
(4)Kelli L.
Food was neither exceptional or bad; what you would expect for cheese pizza and cheese ravioli. The house Pinot noir was acidic grape juice that was worse than Two Buck Chuck. Ordered a bread basket as an appetizer and it arrived after the meal, only after we said something. Server was a little... Abrupt, but nothing bad. Ambience was strange and disjointed and the place smelled like top soil. Having said all of this, nothing registered as 'bad' or 'good', thus the 3-star review.
(3)Jason R.
Food - even the basics - not so good. Staff, rude. End of story.
(1)Jelani A.
I imagine that a second trip here will be good. Came in for lunch and no one was manning the door. I walked around the corner and stood for five minutes while what looked like one of the chefs talked to someone at another table. Finally a server got my attention and then shrugged. She motions me to enter with her finger and I still sat to eat. After I told her that I was ready to order, she engaged in a discussion with another server who had been passed up twice for a table. There were three tables in the place. I ordered a bowl of soup and salad. The soup came out with another table's food and the promise that my salad was coming later. After my soup was finished my salad arrived. A pile of mixed greens, two olives and two tomatoes later, I finished my salad and asked for my check. That also took a while because my waitress was busy. The soup was decent and the salad was too simple to ruin, but my experience was lackluster at best. At least the price was worth it.
(3)Eric G.
Geraldo's is the best Italian in Fairbanks. Try there instead of here. Visited July 2011
(2)Julia T.
1 Star! Had to say how bad this place is. The service is really poor. It took about an hour and a half to get our food out. The chicken was black burnt. It was really the worst dinning experience I had in a while.
(1)Angela M.
I love the pineapple/cream cheese/jalapeño/chicken pizza. I cannot remember the name, but it is amazing, even though it sounds strange. As for everything else, I haven't been too impressed. My husbands dish was very lemony, the rolled steak only comes well done, the other pizza I got had way too much bleu cheese, my kids pizza were nothing special, but a sub I got at lunch one day was good. The mussels in a wine sauce appetizer was good, but not enough bread. This place is a hit or miss with menu items, but the items that are good are really good.
(3)Kelsey H.
The service was not great by any means. It took an hour and 15 minutes to get our food. The food was not that good. It tasted like something anyone could make in their own kitchen. It was very over priced for how under whelming it was.
(2)Jeff B.
No clue what Al dente means, service was good,atmosphere was nice, food is horrible. must have a bunch of teenagers in the kitchen because anyone who can mess up an antipasto platter is not a professional. Its not even something they have to cook. What so called Italian restaurant doesn't serve espresso? Save your money and eat a tv dinner.at least that would be hot.
(1)Douglas W.
If you are looking for good Italian food while you are in Fairbanks, this is your place. The food was fresh and delicious. The gnocchi was the best entree our table ordered. Our only challenge was the service, a little slow, but great personality.
(3)Shannon A.
Boy oh boy has this place gone down hill. It is now a dirty and very slow place to eat. Average food and average service. Probably won't go back until I've heard it's been renovated.
(2)Stacey L.
This restaurant was extremely over priced for the food. I ordered a steak dish and the waiter never brought me my salad until I asked when my dinner came. Didn't even apologize for not bringing it. Never asked if I wanted anything extra to drink. When I first arrived it took forever for hime to even ask if I wanted a menu? Many of the employees were standing around and I even heard some cursing from staff in my presence. I had to wait an extremely long time to even pay my bill. My food was tasty the side salad was very plain and nothing like an Italiano salad should be. Italians rarely use black canned olives in their salads. For me service is everything and I will never return to this establishment again. Service should be superb for a $30.00 plate.
(1)Luis G.
I was there last night. Service was okay, mediocre at best. No real complaints. Except for the 18% tip included on my bill that was dinner for 2. Since when does a restaurant take away my choice of how much if any tip should be awarded. Not happy with that. Btw I'm an average 20% tipper..
(1)David D.
I've been here three times now. Every time has been excellent. Had the lasagna this last time and it's the best I've ever had!
(5)Ian H.
Hostess was rude and unprofessional. Table for 4 means 3 menus and 2 sets of silverware I guess. To make it worse she just dropped our menus on the table and kept walking. Waitress was nice and corrected the issue after we asked for more utensils , menus and water glasses. All in all a blah experience.
(2)Judy S.
my gf loves this place. I think she's been in Fairbanks way too long. the mozzarella bread was ok but nothing to go running back for. I ordered the Chicken Cannelloni after the waiter recommended it. YUCK! The chicken was the consistency of baby food and the cream sauce the consistency of spackle. I couldn't eat it, I had 2 bites and had to stop! My daughter ordered the Ciopino which was ok but again nothing to run back for. Chicken parm was ok. The only thing that was good was the seafood special my gf ordered. I can't remember what it was called but it had a creamy marsala sauce. They seem way under staffed. Our waiter was running from one end of the restaurant to the other, got our orders wrong and was just lacking in service. I keep reminding myself that it is Fairbanks so I gave it 2 stars taking that into consideration.
(2)T.L. T.
Good antipasti, but you really dont have to cook much with theirs. ceviche small unidentifiable fish parts, flavorless, and drenched in lemon juice mix, carrot cake was nasty, dry with buttercream frosting (cream cheese frosting might have made it better) dinner salad consisted of about 5 sad lettuce leaves. Word of warning: the menu states the lasagna is the "mother of all lasagnas." Might have been long ago, but it's not now. Good noodles, but chunky boring sauce, lacks mozzarella and garlic, ricotta was ok. The waitress was not with it, as I had to ask twice for silverware. Floor was dirty with butter pats. Find A decent pizza place, don't waste your money.
(1)Jen P.
Won't be giving them my business again. I have been picking this pizza up for a colleague for an end of semester party at UAF each semester, and in spite of early orders for pick up with hours of advance notice, the pizza has never been ready on time. Not ten minutes after scheduled pick up, not twenty minutes after. So I thought, well maybe it's because he's ordering several pizzas, and perhaps they lack space? I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and I ordered on a evening when entertaining guests. It took two hours. I called four times and was assured each time that it was minutes away. I was told of the two deliveries that one was at a neighboring hotel. Said hotel is within four minutes, and barely that. Unfortunately it took another forty minutes. I understand things happen, but I am irritated at being passed off repeatedly. At long last the delivery arrived and for forty-one dollars I got a good salad, melted butter with the rolls and stone cold pizza. Honestly, I worked in customer service for years, and I know an apology or acknowledgement of a bad situation can go a long way, but I was totally dismissed by Gambardellas. Don't bother. The pizza is good when it's even moderately warm, but it's not worth dealing with the staff.
(1)Jay C.
Tasty lunch & price is right!!! We were seated and served promptly. Server was very attentive with refills & seeing if we needed anything. The bread brought to the table was super good - hints of garlic! Our meals - pasta, salad, pizza - were all delicious. Love the lowfat pizza option!
(5)Debbie S.
We had dinner here last night, and it was wonderful. The server was very helpful and courteous and told us which dishes were better than the others. It is kind of pricey for the portions, but it was a very pleasant dining experience and both of our dishes were delicious. I also liked the atmosphere, very relaxed with pleasant music in the background. Highly recommend.
(4)Darci B.
Loved it!!! Food was excellent, atmosphere was nice, and service was exceptional. Will definitely return again.
(4)Josephine O.
Unfortunately was not impress from the get-go... We walk in and waited a couple of minutes for someone to acknowledge us to be seated. It seems the hostess was talking a potential employee and a guy from OUT OF NOWHERE said to the hostess that she should stop talking to they guy and attend to us really loud.. I'm sure she was embarrassed about, but I can understand why he did that but it was unprofessional and should have been done in the back.. The guy himself ended up taking us to our table which was a hallway where there were no other people around.. I asked if we could see seated on the deck and he didn't seem to care to show is where it was so we ended up showing ourselves ... Long story short we waited for about 15 minutes hoping that someone realized that we were up there and no one did so we got up and left and went right across the street to Bobby's downtown and would recommend it to anyone coming here to Fairbanks... They had live music and a great crowd and the waitress were awesome... Don't even brother going to this place
(1)Stephanie P.
When I walked in about two weeks ago, I wasn't impressed visually. There was this weird cafe feel to the entrance that clashed with the restaurant portion of the facility. Where we were seated had wires exposed hanging from the ceiling, and the decor wasn't really tied together with a theme. I love me some Italian restaurants, so stuff like this matters when to others it may not be as important. The prices for the food were quite high, so I had expectations that reflected the dollar signs presented to me. My mistake. I ordered the salmon, which came out in this weird parchment paper and was tough and flavorless. The pasta served in the side was buttered pasta for the most part, so I was less than impressed. We won't be going back again.
(2)Richard E.
I see some less than rewarding reviews, but for me...I"ve never been disappointed here. We have not been here in a year, and after today's visit for lunch...I see we have been missing out on a great value and great food. The menu was in the inexpensive range and well stocked with plenty of selections for healthy fare, or rich fare, you're choice. The atmosphere is great, just what you would expect for a non-chain, Alaskan restaurant.
(5)Sarah C.
Table wasn't sturdy, utensils were dirty, food wasn't good, and poor German lady was doing all the work so it made it alil slow for her to get us out the door. Never going again ever.
(1)Sherman W.
If this restaurant was in a bigger city like Seattle, I would give it a 2 stars. But since it's in Fairbanks, AK... Hmmmm.. I had to give it a 3. The menu is okay, but the food is always 'diner' quality. Poor management, but one reasons that we liked to go there once a while was because they used to have a very good looking waiter. Other than we were being greeted by a nice handsome man, the service was just so so. Well, welcome to fairbanks, alaska. and you are going to pay a lot for some so-so service and OK food.
(3)Allison G.
We ordered food to be delivered to our hotel room. We ordered the 10' Roma pizza without mushrooms and the spaghetti with sausage. They told me it would be 45 minutes until delivery. When it was finally delivered an HOUR AND A HALF later the food was not even close to warm, the pizza had mushrooms, and the spaghetti had a half of sausage. It is located two blocks from our hotel so I wished they would have informed me of the delay and I could have walked to pick it up. Even if the delivery time was not an issue they still got a simple order wrong. I would never ever recommend this place to anyone.
(1)Tracy B.
Chef salad tasted moldy and my friends lasagna was burned on the bottom. When we brought it to the waitresses attention she offered us a free dessert. We paid the entire bill even through the food was inedible. Unacceptable!! Now hours later I'm exhibiting signs of food poisoning! I will not go back!! Disgusting!!!
(1)Michael B.
D- terrible service bad oily pizza. Never written a review but felt compelled to do so after last night. It was good at one time but is no longer avoid! No napkins we given to us slow to order slow to cook. I'm mean supper slow like almost 45 to order and 1 hour to cook a pizza. No mention on the menus that $19 gets you 10" pizza and waiter did not advise. Overpriced cruddy food.
(1)Ches W.
Was ok. Had the salmon. Expected a better cut and a better preparation (overdone). There should be legislation that no restaurant in Alaska be allowed to overcook fresh salmon (well, they claimed it was "fresh" anyway). :)
(2)Suzy G.
More than 1 star?! You're kidding, right? This is straight up barilla pasta and prego type food. Nothing special. Dining area was dirty and drafty, questionable service. I do like the catchy radio jingles, though...so sing the song but bypass having to actually eat there.
(1)Karen S.
The wonderful aroma of italian food hit us all as we entered the premises for our first visit....ended up getting a delicious warm bread covered in pesto topped with artichokes & red peppers and cheese. I had the stuffed flank steak and my daughter had a large portion of chicken marsala, my grand kids had a bowl of angel hair and a pizza. We all enjoyed our salads that were topped with freshly grated/shaved cheese and our entrees as well as cheesecakes. Will be back : )
(4)Lisa A.
We came here on Sunday night and waited about 5 minutes to be seated even as waiters walked by. When we were finally seated we took a look around and noticed how much the place was falling apart walls are peeling and everything had a nice coating of dust. About 10 minutes after being seated our waitress came over and took our order I will say she was very kind! It took what seemed like forever to get our food I had ordered the chicken Marsala which was luke warm and basically normal spaghetti swimming in cheesy water the chicken was slimy and inedible. My boyfriend got seafood Alfredo he was not impressed. We skipped dessert as to not be disappointed further.def not returning to this place which I'm surprised isn't shut down. Go to geraldos instead.
(1)Jim J.
This place is better than the average review. We had a nice flight of red wines and the Amore pasta special. They were quite good. Much better value than the "fine dining" at Lavalle's nearby. The service was excellent and the manager came to our table at the end of our meal, sat down, and asked for our opinions of the dishes. Overall a good experience.
(4)Aileen W.
We don't even give them 1 star. Foods was not hot, everything taste like out of cans and poor management & services. They charge thin 5 piece of bread like $5, no free refill! If they want to charge, they should bake fresh bread at least, then we don't complain. We would not recommend to go there. Don't waste money, just go to MacDonald.
(1)Melissa K.
Have always enjoyed dinner at Gambardella's. I used to order the "famous" lasagna then converted to the spicy cajun seafood in 2007. Returned for a dinner in July 2009 expecting the same wonderful service and delicious food that I'd become accustomed to. Nope. It was so-so. The waitress was nice but spoke EXTREMELY limited English to the point where she had difficulty answering basic questions about the entrees and trouble understanding our requests. I ordered the spicy cajun seafood again. Unfortunately it wasn't as great as I remembered. The seafood was ok ... though I enjoyed the halibut. We had a party of 7+ and the general consensus was that our overall experience was simply unremarkably ok. The menu prices were definitely exorbitant for the taste and quality of the food we received. Instead of being $27-8, my dish should be at the most, $12. The restroom was very clean and pleasant. I also enjoy the quaint atmosphere and outdoor deck seating. If only the food matched the interior. Overall, pretty lackluster.
(2)Jennifer C.
I keep wanting this place to be good. But it disappoints every time. I met a friend for lunch there and had a catered lunch at a company function. The pasta is really bland, the salad mediocre and the price pretty expensive for something that I can make better myself. The decor in the restaurant was also really cheesy.
(2)Sarah R.
Went to lunch here with a couple friends today and it was probably the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant. The server was rushing us to order so she could pay attention to a larger group. She hardly helped us and seemed annoyed by having to deal with us. The food was mediocre. I will never be returning here again. If you get a server who says she's been there for 16-years - RUN AWAY!
(1)George C.
A great deck downtown next to the Chena River. We enjoyed the Antipasto plate with a glass of wine. Service was great, the wine by the glass selection interesting, and the Anti pasta tasty. A number of local and out of town folks showed up for dinner while were there and the meals we saw served looked good. Prices were expensive but what do you expect given the location and it was still the tourist season. Normally would have given them 4 stars but they lost a star for the stingy serving of wine they delivered and charged us $7 a glass.... not even close to the standard 6 ounces.
(3)Candace N.
I have been to this restaurant one other time on a trip to Fairbanks and the food was good. The service was on the slow side, but the place was packed!! However, last night I went into the restaurant at 7 ish, and requested an order to go. I was told by the woman that she didn't know how long that would take, maybe 35-45 minutes. I thought wow that seemed a long time, especially since there were only 4 tables that had customers at them, but was willing to order anyway. Then she proceeded to belittle the rest of the staff and the owner for a variety of issues!! Including her being new. It was so unprofessional I was appalled and told her never mind I would go elsewhere. I ended up eating at the restaurant in my hotel instead.
(2)Cathy P.
The extremely slow service is the number one reason I won't be going back. My dinner was just ok. I ordered a pizza, it came out with spinach that had been previously frozen. It's not hard to substitute that with fresh spinach and it would have made such a big improvement. Apps (sautéed mushrooms) had to be sent back because they were way over salted and to compensate they added way to much pepper and used canned mushrooms. When it came back out they had replaced them with fresh ones but the consistency of the sauce was totally different. My husband enjoyed his meal, so for that reason I'm giving two stars instead of one.
(2)Jimmy W.
Coming from Boston, and an Italian family, I can tell you this. This is not Italian food, the quality of the food here is horrible. The dishes are not even remotely close to being authentic in the slightest bit. The sauce taste horrible, tart and the pasta is not fresh at all. the prices are way to high for the food you get. There isn't one place in fairbanks, or Alaska at all that even comes close to making good Italian food. Someone needs to open an Italian restaurant that knows Italian food. WE NEED REAL ITALIAN FOOD
(1)Michelle S.
Craving some pasta and recommended by a co-worker, we decided to give Gambardella's a try. Reading the reviews of the Seafood Alfredo, it gave us a hankering for some seafood pasta. We were greeted immediately and seated right away. Granted it was a Monday evening so I wasn't expecting hordes of people. It didn't take too long to be waited on even though we were seated at a somewhat dirty table. But it was rectified and we placed our order. Not starving, we chose to split the meal but we wanted something to break it up a bit so we got the Caesar Salad too. The salad had a good amount of parmesan cheese but it was swimming in dressing. The dressing was good, thankfully, but just too much to where the greens were limp from it. The pasta came out and we knew immediately that it wasn't going to be our ideal meal. The sauce was thin and runny. I'm pretty certain it consisted of garlic and milk. The fettucini was chewy, almost tough and the seafood was barely translucent. It was edible but barely. I topped it with more parmesan from the shaker and lots and lots of red pepper which gave it a bit more depth and covered up the milky texture a bit, actually giving it some texture. The shrimps were pretty good but the scallops were tiny with a mushy consistency like they weren't cooked thoroughly. Not wanting to give up, we decided to try the Tiramisu since we were told it was homemade. It was decent but with a tad too much almond extract. It was light and fluffy with a nice amount of espresso and fresh cake. The entire staff was pleasant, I just wish the food was better.
(2)Dulcinea S.
I was quite surprised by the reviews but decided to try this place and I really enjoyed it. I got seafood Alfredo and my husband got stuffed flank steak...our dishes were night and day (my husband didn't his). I would come back and their pasta was really good. We also went when it wasn't busy and service was good.
(4)Joan D.
Amazingly good food! My husband had a Caesar salad that he said was one of the best. I had a special "California" sandwich that was soooo good! And Italian wedding soup - delicious! And they bake their own bread! We were here around 2 on a weekday, so the place wasn't busy, but a big group of about 10 came in & they seemed to do ok. Our waitress was Erika, and she was wonderful!
(5)Amanda T.
Food was alright. Definitely not worth the price. My husband ordered ravioli and it was over $20 for about 5 raviolis that were not that large. I ended up having to share my dinner because his was more like a snack.
(2)Frannie R.
As we walked in, we were a little worried that the reviews we'd seen may have some truth. We waited for 10 minutes before we were seated BUT it was worth the wait!! We ordered ravioli and fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and split the meals. Not only was the fettuccine perfectly cooked, the sauce was superb! Kudos for the fresh ravioli and marinara sauce. We had excellent service and he was very attentive. Portions were generous, even split! Congrats, Gamberdella's! Well done :)
(4)Debbie P.
Very disappointed. Believe all the bad reviews. The servers are friendly enough - whenever you can find one. Four of us are there - 2 were satisfied and 2 did not eat half of their food. We all got salads with our meals - 1 person did not get theirs til the rest were done with theirs. People were asking to get their food to go since service was taking so long. My chicken cannoli tasted like it was a frozen TV dinner - my husbands linguini was tough. Save your money and stress.
(1)Joel S.
Wow. Friendly enough folks, but it took 20 minutes to get a waiter to the table. My soup was subbed with something else because they ran out... I was not consulted before they brought the substitution. I didn't order the minestrone, because I don't like minestrone. The pasta was ok, strands were stuck to the side of the bowl and dried out, was it nuked? Just got to fairbanks, this place sets the bar pretty low. And pizzas are 20 dollars or more? Holy smokes. Everything is expensive in Alaska, but it's pizza, how much does it cost to make dough?
(2)Dominique G.
This was prolly my worst experiance with gamberdellas, and I've eaten there and at their smaller restraunt Pazzo's before. We ordered a small Milano 10" pizza, a slice of lasagna, two drinks and two canolli's. As delicious as it was, it certainly wasn't 41 dollars delicious. Holy crap. However that's not my biggest gripe, my problem is that it took them 2 1/2 hours to deliver the food. The woman I spoke to told me it would be about and hour, but holy crap by the time the delivery dude showed up I was already pissed, then he told me the price and I was like ... Wut. I paid him gave him a dollar tip because well, what do you want me to do reward you? All being said and done it was delicious except the two Italian sodas looked like someone vomited in them, but whatever it's fine. Food was good but for 41 bucks we coulda fed a small army in Chinese or even dominos or papa johns. Lasagna was good as ever however. Please fix these problems with your service because the food is pretty good. But that's not enough. Oh and I forgot, they gave us some garlic bread, this was like someone took a bread stick and slices three peices and threw them In a plastic baggy. What am I supposed to do with that? The hell? I paid 41 bucks and I get that crap?
(2)Lard Belly E.
I thought the first experience was fine. The service was decent and the patio a nice place to sit in the sun for lunch. Service during dinner was still good, and I liked the interior of the restaurant, but I thought the food was really poor. I ordered the seafood alfredo ($28) since I like cream sauce, and ordered a salad with blue cheese as the starter choice. When dinner arrived I was super excited as it looked creamily amazing. At the first bite my hopes were dashed upon the rocks and my stomach tightened queasily. My food was so incredibly buttery there was no other taste. There was plenty of scallops and shrimp, but the taste was overwhelming. I ate all the seafood as it was the most expensive in the dish, but it wasn't very enjoyable. When I returned to Anchorage I was talking to my dining companion about how excited I was about my meal but it was so buttery it was hard to eat. He was like, "I know, when I saw your plate I was sorry I ordered the prosciutto pizza because it was so buttery. But then I saw your meal congeal into a solid pasta ball and I thought better of it." I don't think I will return. Our server was a sweet treat though; she gets 4 stars.
(2)Elzie M.
This was by far the worst place I have ever been to,PERIOD. My wife had the spinach and chicken. The spinach was watered down and the chicken was dry. The whole dish wasn't seasoned. I ordered lasagna which was $26.95. The picture was very deceiving as the lasagna looked like it came out of a can of Chef Boyardee. It was two layers of pasta, tiny sausages which were next to nothing and a whole bunch of sauce. The lemonade taste like lemon juice. I almost asked for my money back. It wasn't crowded and the service was slow. This is the first time I didn't leave a tip. I will never go back.
(1)Sunshine C.
Meh. I was really craving pasta and came here. The waitress stated that the minestrone was homemade... And since it's -33 out right now that sounded inviting... Yea, shouldn't have done that... It wasn't good, at all. I ordered spaghetti and the meatball... The marinara was good but the meatball was dry and mediocre. The bread that came with my meal was good. The ambiance is nice and was decorated in the Autumn theme. I overheard the table behind me telling their server that the chicken Marsala she ordered wasn't good but that she tried her friends Alfredo and it was good. He responded with "Did you want me to get you something else? We will have to charge you. Then said, well let me talk to the manager. He returned saying we will take care of you... " Uhmmm your customers should NEVER have to pay for something they didn't like and the server should have never said that outloud. If I ever return to Fairbanks I won't be coming back here.
(1)Teresa R.
I'm surprised at the number of reviews here saying the service was bad but the food was delicious, because my husband and I experienced the opposite. The staff we encountered were attentive and friendly. The food was a little slow to come out, but not ludicrously so. However, it just wasn't very tasty. My pasta was slightly overcooked (a little mushy) and both our dishes were WAY over-salted (I had ravioli with cream sauce and he had gnocchi). Neither of us would come back here.
(2)Kasandra M.
Best place I've been so far for Italian food, food was amazing, the bread is addictive, never had a bad experience here so far, we always sit at the same table so it's special for us. The service has always been great. Don't know why the ratings are so low , I have always had a good experience here. And the deserts are so delicious!!!
(5)Renee F.
Our lunch was fantastic. Pasta with peas, prosciutto, and figs. California Dreamer Sandwich. Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad. Minestrone Soup. Spaghetti with meatballs. All great. The server was helpful and efficient while she handled the entire restaurant on her own. Had the upstairs patio been open, the review would be 5 stars.
(4)Kelli L.
Food was neither exceptional or bad; what you would expect for cheese pizza and cheese ravioli. The house Pinot noir was acidic grape juice that was worse than Two Buck Chuck. Ordered a bread basket as an appetizer and it arrived after the meal, only after we said something. Server was a little... Abrupt, but nothing bad. Ambience was strange and disjointed and the place smelled like top soil. Having said all of this, nothing registered as 'bad' or 'good', thus the 3-star review.
(3)Jelani A.
I imagine that a second trip here will be good. Came in for lunch and no one was manning the door. I walked around the corner and stood for five minutes while what looked like one of the chefs talked to someone at another table. Finally a server got my attention and then shrugged. She motions me to enter with her finger and I still sat to eat. After I told her that I was ready to order, she engaged in a discussion with another server who had been passed up twice for a table. There were three tables in the place. I ordered a bowl of soup and salad. The soup came out with another table's food and the promise that my salad was coming later. After my soup was finished my salad arrived. A pile of mixed greens, two olives and two tomatoes later, I finished my salad and asked for my check. That also took a while because my waitress was busy. The soup was decent and the salad was too simple to ruin, but my experience was lackluster at best. At least the price was worth it.
(3)Eric G.
Geraldo's is the best Italian in Fairbanks. Try there instead of here. Visited July 2011
(2)Julia T.
1 Star! Had to say how bad this place is. The service is really poor. It took about an hour and a half to get our food out. The chicken was black burnt. It was really the worst dinning experience I had in a while.
(1)Angela M.
I love the pineapple/cream cheese/jalapeño/chicken pizza. I cannot remember the name, but it is amazing, even though it sounds strange. As for everything else, I haven't been too impressed. My husbands dish was very lemony, the rolled steak only comes well done, the other pizza I got had way too much bleu cheese, my kids pizza were nothing special, but a sub I got at lunch one day was good. The mussels in a wine sauce appetizer was good, but not enough bread. This place is a hit or miss with menu items, but the items that are good are really good.
(3)Kelsey H.
The service was not great by any means. It took an hour and 15 minutes to get our food. The food was not that good. It tasted like something anyone could make in their own kitchen. It was very over priced for how under whelming it was.
(2)Jeff B.
No clue what Al dente means, service was good,atmosphere was nice, food is horrible. must have a bunch of teenagers in the kitchen because anyone who can mess up an antipasto platter is not a professional. Its not even something they have to cook. What so called Italian restaurant doesn't serve espresso? Save your money and eat a tv dinner.at least that would be hot.
(1)Douglas W.
If you are looking for good Italian food while you are in Fairbanks, this is your place. The food was fresh and delicious. The gnocchi was the best entree our table ordered. Our only challenge was the service, a little slow, but great personality.
(3)Shannon A.
Boy oh boy has this place gone down hill. It is now a dirty and very slow place to eat. Average food and average service. Probably won't go back until I've heard it's been renovated.
(2)Stacey L.
This restaurant was extremely over priced for the food. I ordered a steak dish and the waiter never brought me my salad until I asked when my dinner came. Didn't even apologize for not bringing it. Never asked if I wanted anything extra to drink. When I first arrived it took forever for hime to even ask if I wanted a menu? Many of the employees were standing around and I even heard some cursing from staff in my presence. I had to wait an extremely long time to even pay my bill. My food was tasty the side salad was very plain and nothing like an Italiano salad should be. Italians rarely use black canned olives in their salads. For me service is everything and I will never return to this establishment again. Service should be superb for a $30.00 plate.
(1)Luis G.
I was there last night. Service was okay, mediocre at best. No real complaints. Except for the 18% tip included on my bill that was dinner for 2. Since when does a restaurant take away my choice of how much if any tip should be awarded. Not happy with that. Btw I'm an average 20% tipper..
(1)David D.
I've been here three times now. Every time has been excellent. Had the lasagna this last time and it's the best I've ever had!
(5)Ian H.
Hostess was rude and unprofessional. Table for 4 means 3 menus and 2 sets of silverware I guess. To make it worse she just dropped our menus on the table and kept walking. Waitress was nice and corrected the issue after we asked for more utensils , menus and water glasses. All in all a blah experience.
(2)Judy S.
my gf loves this place. I think she's been in Fairbanks way too long. the mozzarella bread was ok but nothing to go running back for. I ordered the Chicken Cannelloni after the waiter recommended it. YUCK! The chicken was the consistency of baby food and the cream sauce the consistency of spackle. I couldn't eat it, I had 2 bites and had to stop! My daughter ordered the Ciopino which was ok but again nothing to run back for. Chicken parm was ok. The only thing that was good was the seafood special my gf ordered. I can't remember what it was called but it had a creamy marsala sauce. They seem way under staffed. Our waiter was running from one end of the restaurant to the other, got our orders wrong and was just lacking in service. I keep reminding myself that it is Fairbanks so I gave it 2 stars taking that into consideration.
(2)T.L. T.
Good antipasti, but you really dont have to cook much with theirs. ceviche small unidentifiable fish parts, flavorless, and drenched in lemon juice mix, carrot cake was nasty, dry with buttercream frosting (cream cheese frosting might have made it better) dinner salad consisted of about 5 sad lettuce leaves. Word of warning: the menu states the lasagna is the "mother of all lasagnas." Might have been long ago, but it's not now. Good noodles, but chunky boring sauce, lacks mozzarella and garlic, ricotta was ok. The waitress was not with it, as I had to ask twice for silverware. Floor was dirty with butter pats. Find A decent pizza place, don't waste your money.
(1)Ann M.
"Like a surrealist dream" is how my sister and I described our last experience at Gambardella's. Picture this: we walk in, we're greeted and we're told to take a seat and it will be about a 15 minute wait for tables. We sit, we tell the gentleman that if there's a four person table open, we'd be okay with that, we didn't need a two person table. He then tells us that there's a banquet upstairs that's ordering thousands of dollars worth of food, and that's their main focus. We then watch him stand at the bar and do nothing, and several other waiters and waitresses do the same thing. When they seat us they walk us through an EMPTY DINING ROOM, there were literally 4 other tables of people. So, dudebro could have seated us as soon as we walked in, THERE WAS NO WAIT. Instead of seating us in the dining room with everyone else they lead us down the hallway (filled with empty tables) and seat us next to the bathroom and the stairs leading up to where the party is. We watched as a waitress went over to a table that holds the rolled silverware and she stopped and looked at them and literally just touched them, she did not move them or organize them it was more like a "I need something to do but I don't know what to do so I'm going to fiddle with silverware for two minutes." We had to ask for water and when it was brought it was room temperature. Two party guests came down to use the restroom we were seated next to and we overheard them discussing that they had been waiting 45 minutes for food and the kitchen was backed up. So we left. In summation, they had seats, they could have seated us when we walked in, but instead had us sit and wait 10 minutes, then seated us in an extremely odd and loud area and then ignored us. On the 2 other occasions I've been to this establishment, the food was mediocre at best. One item that was extremely memorable was their Italian wedding soup, it was literally the same as Cambell's, the same teeny meatballs, the same slimy spinach. They serve canned soup. Everything tastes like it has been frozen. They serve Sam's Club cheesecake (pretty good, by the way). Just, no. Way past their hay day. I have to add that one one occasion the owner (I presume) was waitressing and when she was getting change for the cash we paid with she literally brought her wallet to the table to give us change.
(1)Sal V.
I have had food delivered from here twice now. I have had the same thing hoping for a better quality. I ordered the chicken/walnut/pear salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. While the servings are great for a $12.95 salad I was given maybe half of a chicken breast, the pear weren't cored and had seeds still in the slices, and the vinaigrette is HORRIBLE. While I am not impressed with the food the customer service was amazing and the delivery was on time. Overall it was ok, but I will not be ordering another anything from this restaurant.
(2)Amanda T.
Service was slower than turtles going through peanut butter, but the food was delicious.
(3)Jen P.
Won't be giving them my business again. I have been picking this pizza up for a colleague for an end of semester party at UAF each semester, and in spite of early orders for pick up with hours of advance notice, the pizza has never been ready on time. Not ten minutes after scheduled pick up, not twenty minutes after. So I thought, well maybe it's because he's ordering several pizzas, and perhaps they lack space? I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and I ordered on a evening when entertaining guests. It took two hours. I called four times and was assured each time that it was minutes away. I was told of the two deliveries that one was at a neighboring hotel. Said hotel is within four minutes, and barely that. Unfortunately it took another forty minutes. I understand things happen, but I am irritated at being passed off repeatedly. At long last the delivery arrived and for forty-one dollars I got a good salad, melted butter with the rolls and stone cold pizza. Honestly, I worked in customer service for years, and I know an apology or acknowledgement of a bad situation can go a long way, but I was totally dismissed by Gambardellas. Don't bother. The pizza is good when it's even moderately warm, but it's not worth dealing with the staff.
(1)Jay C.
Tasty lunch & price is right!!! We were seated and served promptly. Server was very attentive with refills & seeing if we needed anything. The bread brought to the table was super good - hints of garlic! Our meals - pasta, salad, pizza - were all delicious. Love the lowfat pizza option!
(5)Debbie S.
We had dinner here last night, and it was wonderful. The server was very helpful and courteous and told us which dishes were better than the others. It is kind of pricey for the portions, but it was a very pleasant dining experience and both of our dishes were delicious. I also liked the atmosphere, very relaxed with pleasant music in the background. Highly recommend.
(4)Darci B.
Loved it!!! Food was excellent, atmosphere was nice, and service was exceptional. Will definitely return again.
(4)Josephine O.
Unfortunately was not impress from the get-go... We walk in and waited a couple of minutes for someone to acknowledge us to be seated. It seems the hostess was talking a potential employee and a guy from OUT OF NOWHERE said to the hostess that she should stop talking to they guy and attend to us really loud.. I'm sure she was embarrassed about, but I can understand why he did that but it was unprofessional and should have been done in the back.. The guy himself ended up taking us to our table which was a hallway where there were no other people around.. I asked if we could see seated on the deck and he didn't seem to care to show is where it was so we ended up showing ourselves ... Long story short we waited for about 15 minutes hoping that someone realized that we were up there and no one did so we got up and left and went right across the street to Bobby's downtown and would recommend it to anyone coming here to Fairbanks... They had live music and a great crowd and the waitress were awesome... Don't even brother going to this place
(1)Casey H.
People are a little too hard on this place. Yes, it's a little overpriced, and no, i did not almost think i was sitting in Rome, but the food tastes better than any overrated chain italian restaurants I have been to. For the haters, ummm, welcome to Alaska? I thought my Fettuccine Alfredo was delicious. The restaurant has a great family atmosphere and we all enjoyed it.
(3)Stephanie P.
When I walked in about two weeks ago, I wasn't impressed visually. There was this weird cafe feel to the entrance that clashed with the restaurant portion of the facility. Where we were seated had wires exposed hanging from the ceiling, and the decor wasn't really tied together with a theme. I love me some Italian restaurants, so stuff like this matters when to others it may not be as important. The prices for the food were quite high, so I had expectations that reflected the dollar signs presented to me. My mistake. I ordered the salmon, which came out in this weird parchment paper and was tough and flavorless. The pasta served in the side was buttered pasta for the most part, so I was less than impressed. We won't be going back again.
(2)Richard E.
I see some less than rewarding reviews, but for me...I"ve never been disappointed here. We have not been here in a year, and after today's visit for lunch...I see we have been missing out on a great value and great food. The menu was in the inexpensive range and well stocked with plenty of selections for healthy fare, or rich fare, you're choice. The atmosphere is great, just what you would expect for a non-chain, Alaskan restaurant.
(5)Sarah C.
Table wasn't sturdy, utensils were dirty, food wasn't good, and poor German lady was doing all the work so it made it alil slow for her to get us out the door. Never going again ever.
(1)Sherman W.
If this restaurant was in a bigger city like Seattle, I would give it a 2 stars. But since it's in Fairbanks, AK... Hmmmm.. I had to give it a 3. The menu is okay, but the food is always 'diner' quality. Poor management, but one reasons that we liked to go there once a while was because they used to have a very good looking waiter. Other than we were being greeted by a nice handsome man, the service was just so so. Well, welcome to fairbanks, alaska. and you are going to pay a lot for some so-so service and OK food.
(3)Allison G.
We ordered food to be delivered to our hotel room. We ordered the 10' Roma pizza without mushrooms and the spaghetti with sausage. They told me it would be 45 minutes until delivery. When it was finally delivered an HOUR AND A HALF later the food was not even close to warm, the pizza had mushrooms, and the spaghetti had a half of sausage. It is located two blocks from our hotel so I wished they would have informed me of the delay and I could have walked to pick it up. Even if the delivery time was not an issue they still got a simple order wrong. I would never ever recommend this place to anyone.
(1)Tracy B.
Chef salad tasted moldy and my friends lasagna was burned on the bottom. When we brought it to the waitresses attention she offered us a free dessert. We paid the entire bill even through the food was inedible. Unacceptable!! Now hours later I'm exhibiting signs of food poisoning! I will not go back!! Disgusting!!!
(1)Michael B.
D- terrible service bad oily pizza. Never written a review but felt compelled to do so after last night. It was good at one time but is no longer avoid! No napkins we given to us slow to order slow to cook. I'm mean supper slow like almost 45 to order and 1 hour to cook a pizza. No mention on the menus that $19 gets you 10" pizza and waiter did not advise. Overpriced cruddy food.
(1)Ches W.
Was ok. Had the salmon. Expected a better cut and a better preparation (overdone). There should be legislation that no restaurant in Alaska be allowed to overcook fresh salmon (well, they claimed it was "fresh" anyway). :)
(2)Suzy G.
More than 1 star?! You're kidding, right? This is straight up barilla pasta and prego type food. Nothing special. Dining area was dirty and drafty, questionable service. I do like the catchy radio jingles, though...so sing the song but bypass having to actually eat there.
(1)Jim J.
This place is better than the average review. We had a nice flight of red wines and the Amore pasta special. They were quite good. Much better value than the "fine dining" at Lavalle's nearby. The service was excellent and the manager came to our table at the end of our meal, sat down, and asked for our opinions of the dishes. Overall a good experience.
(4)Lisa A.
We came here on Sunday night and waited about 5 minutes to be seated even as waiters walked by. When we were finally seated we took a look around and noticed how much the place was falling apart walls are peeling and everything had a nice coating of dust. About 10 minutes after being seated our waitress came over and took our order I will say she was very kind! It took what seemed like forever to get our food I had ordered the chicken Marsala which was luke warm and basically normal spaghetti swimming in cheesy water the chicken was slimy and inedible. My boyfriend got seafood Alfredo he was not impressed. We skipped dessert as to not be disappointed further.def not returning to this place which I'm surprised isn't shut down. Go to geraldos instead.
(1)Karen S.
The wonderful aroma of italian food hit us all as we entered the premises for our first visit....ended up getting a delicious warm bread covered in pesto topped with artichokes & red peppers and cheese. I had the stuffed flank steak and my daughter had a large portion of chicken marsala, my grand kids had a bowl of angel hair and a pizza. We all enjoyed our salads that were topped with freshly grated/shaved cheese and our entrees as well as cheesecakes. Will be back : )
(4)Aileen W.
We don't even give them 1 star. Foods was not hot, everything taste like out of cans and poor management & services. They charge thin 5 piece of bread like $5, no free refill! If they want to charge, they should bake fresh bread at least, then we don't complain. We would not recommend to go there. Don't waste money, just go to MacDonald.
(1)Melissa K.
Have always enjoyed dinner at Gambardella's. I used to order the "famous" lasagna then converted to the spicy cajun seafood in 2007. Returned for a dinner in July 2009 expecting the same wonderful service and delicious food that I'd become accustomed to. Nope. It was so-so. The waitress was nice but spoke EXTREMELY limited English to the point where she had difficulty answering basic questions about the entrees and trouble understanding our requests. I ordered the spicy cajun seafood again. Unfortunately it wasn't as great as I remembered. The seafood was ok ... though I enjoyed the halibut. We had a party of 7+ and the general consensus was that our overall experience was simply unremarkably ok. The menu prices were definitely exorbitant for the taste and quality of the food we received. Instead of being $27-8, my dish should be at the most, $12. The restroom was very clean and pleasant. I also enjoy the quaint atmosphere and outdoor deck seating. If only the food matched the interior. Overall, pretty lackluster.
(2)Jennifer C.
I keep wanting this place to be good. But it disappoints every time. I met a friend for lunch there and had a catered lunch at a company function. The pasta is really bland, the salad mediocre and the price pretty expensive for something that I can make better myself. The decor in the restaurant was also really cheesy.
(2)Sarah R.
Went to lunch here with a couple friends today and it was probably the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant. The server was rushing us to order so she could pay attention to a larger group. She hardly helped us and seemed annoyed by having to deal with us. The food was mediocre. I will never be returning here again. If you get a server who says she's been there for 16-years - RUN AWAY!
(1)George C.
A great deck downtown next to the Chena River. We enjoyed the Antipasto plate with a glass of wine. Service was great, the wine by the glass selection interesting, and the Anti pasta tasty. A number of local and out of town folks showed up for dinner while were there and the meals we saw served looked good. Prices were expensive but what do you expect given the location and it was still the tourist season. Normally would have given them 4 stars but they lost a star for the stingy serving of wine they delivered and charged us $7 a glass.... not even close to the standard 6 ounces.
(3)Mark E.
Decent food, terrible management. It seems that locally owned restaurants tend to have superior food and inferior service. Unfortunately for Gambardella's, even their food seems hit or miss. The atmosphere was pleasant--having a more authentic feel than many Italian restaurants. We waited fifteen minutes to be seated -- we were ignored for a full five minutes, before being told that it would be "just a minute or two while we clean off a table." I don't mind waiting for a table--but I do mind being ignored, and then having the wait time greatly underestimated. Once seated, our salads and appetizer (a marginally appetizing sauteed mushroom dish) arrived quickly. Our entrees, however, took 45 minutes from the time we ordered. The wait staff were nice, but poorly trained. The servers didn't know the wine list. The new guy pouring water touched the pitcher to the rim of every glass. The restaurant was too busy for the staff on hand. Our server's sense of urgency (bordering on panic) was apparent, making us feel uncomfortable and on edge, as well. In all, the food was fine (my date's was good, mine was not--avoid the Eggplant Parmesan!), but the management was terrible. If I lived in Fairbanks, I might give it another try. As it is, if I ever eat at another restaurant here, it won't be Gambardella's.
(2)Alex W.
The place is really comfortable and quaint and the staff was friendly enough. The service was pretty slow though and the food was fairly expensive. However, the eggplant parmesan was amazing and my brother had a seafood pasta dish that he said was extremely fresh and flavorful. It wasn't the best of places but compared to the other restaurants in Fairbanks, it was definitely good.
(3)Mandy R.
The restaurant itself is cute, and the staff is generally pretty friendly. However, for the prices and the food that comes out it is not a good place to go. When I went there with just myself and one other person the hostess tried to seatt us upstairs, after walking by numerous empty tables downstairs-upstairs there was a large roudy group and when we asked to be moved to a quieter location the hostess got annoyed. Not impressed.
(2)Flor C.
Great antipasto plate! Wine per glass - a bit too skimpy, but the Pyramid Hef was great and on draft. Sat on the deck and loved the view!
(4)Donald M.
One star at best. Service was indifferent and food was passable, but just barely. Stuffed flank steak really isn't, plus portion was tiny. Pasta was mediocre and sauce was bland. Better places nearby including Bobby's - this is overpriced for what little you get.
(1)Paul P.
We ate after a skipping lunch on the long drive up from Anchorage so we were ready to eat a Musk Ox. The food is just OK and not worth the price. I couldn't resist ordering their Seafood Cajun Pasta because it had both sausage & seafood. And as a bonus that staple of Italian peppers the chipotle (don't ask me). Anyway it had a mild heat and smokeness and the pasta was just a little overdone. The shrimps seemed like the precooked, frozen variety. The chunks of halibut were the highlight but it wasn't worth the $27 bucks. My associate had the highly touted "Mother of All Lasagnas" but said it was merely an adolescent at best. The house Chianti and Cab were not good either. If you go here maybe try the pizza or more economical choices. I think you'll be disappointed on the high end of the menu. Buon appetito.
(2)Brent H.
I was seated promptly. Unfortunately I got stuck under a speaker that was blasting Italian opera music. I order the focaccia bread which was amazing and the fettuccine Alfredo with sausage, and a chicken and rice soup. I'm no expert but I'm 99% sure the soup was straight out of the can. After my soup I was brought a basket of Italian bread. There were four pieces which were cold and slightly damp to the touch. I got a cappuccino and ordered the tiramisu for desert. Unfortunately they were out of tiramisu so I ended up with some pre made frozen cheese cake. This place is WAY over priced for the quality of food served. I will not be going back here.
(2)Annie C.
Have been a few times with friends when visiting Fairbanks. The ravioli with cream sauce is quite good, though nothing to write home about. However, the bread is always fresh, and we never have a problem getting a table. Wait staff is attentive and the decor is quaint. Not the best Italian you have ever had, but it's Fairbanks. Alaska. Not Venice, or a booming city elsewhere. For what it is, it serves its purpose - no reason not to go.
(3)Amy L.
The food was good, but overpriced at $25 a plate average. Lovely service, good with our kids. Attire is "Fairbanks dressy-casual".
(3)Tony D.
Used to eat there once a week. Have become less interested over the years. If food, ambiance and service are the hallmarks of a good restaurant then you'll have to settle for two out three on the Fairbanks adequacy scale. Occasionally you get an actual server, that bump it up a star. An upgrade on the fifty cent wine glasses might be another.
(2)Amikam R.
Gambardella's is a large Italian restaurants with many rooms and outdoor and deck seating. We had dinner there on a Friday night. The menu is small and the wine list tiny. The food is standard old-fashioned "Italian". It's not very good. The fish are dry and the pasta overcooked. There's no veal on the menu.The tiramisu was inedible. Service was rude and impatient and the server not communicative. The entrees arrived before we finished the appetizers and the check was brought with the desserts. To top it all they added $30 to the bill and the credit card company is still sorting this out. The one star is given just because I can't rate it no stars.
(1)Dick H.
Enjoyable meal in comfortable Italian setting. Great marinara sauce.
(4)Kate A.
I visited Gambardella's with my family this past memorial day and wish I could give it a better rating. I absolutely love Italian food and the food here isn't horrible but it's extremely over-priced. The staff was friendly but the service was slow. It will be years again if I ever go back. :(
(2)Elisa H.
Now this is just a nice place - the colors are warm, the tables and cute, and the waitstaff is extremely friendly. It's one of the two nicest Italian restaurants in Fairbanks and I'm a bit partial to this one. The building burned a few years ago, so there is a nice addition with a patio that's open in the summer. The food, of course, is great, but a bit on the more expensive side. I suppose those kind of prices are common for Italian, but I try to wait til I have a gift certificate before I go:o) It's also located right next to historic downtown, so it's convenient if you want to walk around a bit.
(5)chizzy t.
Me and my girlfriend where here in Fairbanks on vacation and it was my birthday and she wanted to take me out for a classy dinner. i knew it wouldn't be easy in Fairbanks but when we drove by Gambardella's it looked promising. i give it 2 stars for its beautiful view and atmosphere. we sat outside on the patio at about 11pm and the sun was still about to set and it was very warm out. other than that the service was horrible, they never gave us serviettes or silverware, the wine i ordered was about 80f and the waiter was a smart ass the whole time. i had the lasagna that supposedly won rave reviews, but it tasted like it was made earlier that week and kept in the fridge until i ordered it and simply microwaved. i recommend this restaurant for sun downers, skip dinner!
(2)Trav S.
Went here with the Wife on a sunday afternoon for the all you can eat pasta. Only two choices and one was spaghetti. I had the other one which I think was something with linguine. Half the plate was slightly overcooked and the other was more overcooked! I finished my soda and put the glass at the edge of the table so the waitress would notice and get a refill. Waited for ten minutes as she walked around to the five other couples in the room ignoring us completely. When she finally did come by and got both of us a refill by that time I thanked her and she just walked off without a word. The only time she was nice was when she delivered the check and said to have a nice day! I'm sure just to try and get a good tip (didn't work though!). Also the building smelled like an old folks home, not very appetizing of an odor either. There's a place on College road with much better everything for italian food. Don't waste your time here for the pasta.
(1)Dick H.
Enjoyable meal in comfortable Italian setting. Great marinara sauce.
(4)Candace N.
I have been to this restaurant one other time on a trip to Fairbanks and the food was good. The service was on the slow side, but the place was packed!! However, last night I went into the restaurant at 7 ish, and requested an order to go. I was told by the woman that she didn't know how long that would take, maybe 35-45 minutes. I thought wow that seemed a long time, especially since there were only 4 tables that had customers at them, but was willing to order anyway. Then she proceeded to belittle the rest of the staff and the owner for a variety of issues!! Including her being new. It was so unprofessional I was appalled and told her never mind I would go elsewhere. I ended up eating at the restaurant in my hotel instead.
(2)Cathy P.
The extremely slow service is the number one reason I won't be going back. My dinner was just ok. I ordered a pizza, it came out with spinach that had been previously frozen. It's not hard to substitute that with fresh spinach and it would have made such a big improvement. Apps (sautéed mushrooms) had to be sent back because they were way over salted and to compensate they added way to much pepper and used canned mushrooms. When it came back out they had replaced them with fresh ones but the consistency of the sauce was totally different. My husband enjoyed his meal, so for that reason I'm giving two stars instead of one.
(2)Jimmy W.
Coming from Boston, and an Italian family, I can tell you this. This is not Italian food, the quality of the food here is horrible. The dishes are not even remotely close to being authentic in the slightest bit. The sauce taste horrible, tart and the pasta is not fresh at all. the prices are way to high for the food you get. There isn't one place in fairbanks, or Alaska at all that even comes close to making good Italian food. Someone needs to open an Italian restaurant that knows Italian food. WE NEED REAL ITALIAN FOOD
(1)Joan D.
Amazingly good food! My husband had a Caesar salad that he said was one of the best. I had a special "California" sandwich that was soooo good! And Italian wedding soup - delicious! And they bake their own bread! We were here around 2 on a weekday, so the place wasn't busy, but a big group of about 10 came in & they seemed to do ok. Our waitress was Erika, and she was wonderful!
(5)Amanda T.
Food was alright. Definitely not worth the price. My husband ordered ravioli and it was over $20 for about 5 raviolis that were not that large. I ended up having to share my dinner because his was more like a snack.
(2)Michelle S.
Craving some pasta and recommended by a co-worker, we decided to give Gambardella's a try. Reading the reviews of the Seafood Alfredo, it gave us a hankering for some seafood pasta. We were greeted immediately and seated right away. Granted it was a Monday evening so I wasn't expecting hordes of people. It didn't take too long to be waited on even though we were seated at a somewhat dirty table. But it was rectified and we placed our order. Not starving, we chose to split the meal but we wanted something to break it up a bit so we got the Caesar Salad too. The salad had a good amount of parmesan cheese but it was swimming in dressing. The dressing was good, thankfully, but just too much to where the greens were limp from it. The pasta came out and we knew immediately that it wasn't going to be our ideal meal. The sauce was thin and runny. I'm pretty certain it consisted of garlic and milk. The fettucini was chewy, almost tough and the seafood was barely translucent. It was edible but barely. I topped it with more parmesan from the shaker and lots and lots of red pepper which gave it a bit more depth and covered up the milky texture a bit, actually giving it some texture. The shrimps were pretty good but the scallops were tiny with a mushy consistency like they weren't cooked thoroughly. Not wanting to give up, we decided to try the Tiramisu since we were told it was homemade. It was decent but with a tad too much almond extract. It was light and fluffy with a nice amount of espresso and fresh cake. The entire staff was pleasant, I just wish the food was better.
(2)Dulcinea S.
I was quite surprised by the reviews but decided to try this place and I really enjoyed it. I got seafood Alfredo and my husband got stuffed flank steak...our dishes were night and day (my husband didn't his). I would come back and their pasta was really good. We also went when it wasn't busy and service was good.
(4)Frannie R.
As we walked in, we were a little worried that the reviews we'd seen may have some truth. We waited for 10 minutes before we were seated BUT it was worth the wait!! We ordered ravioli and fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and split the meals. Not only was the fettuccine perfectly cooked, the sauce was superb! Kudos for the fresh ravioli and marinara sauce. We had excellent service and he was very attentive. Portions were generous, even split! Congrats, Gamberdella's! Well done :)
(4)Debbie P.
Very disappointed. Believe all the bad reviews. The servers are friendly enough - whenever you can find one. Four of us are there - 2 were satisfied and 2 did not eat half of their food. We all got salads with our meals - 1 person did not get theirs til the rest were done with theirs. People were asking to get their food to go since service was taking so long. My chicken cannoli tasted like it was a frozen TV dinner - my husbands linguini was tough. Save your money and stress.
(1)Lisa A.
We came here on Sunday night and waited about 5 minutes to be seated even as waiters walked by. When we were finally seated we took a look around and noticed how much the place was falling apart walls are peeling and everything had a nice coating of dust. About 10 minutes after being seated our waitress came over and took our order I will say she was very kind! It took what seemed like forever to get our food I had ordered the chicken Marsala which was luke warm and basically normal spaghetti swimming in cheesy water the chicken was slimy and inedible. My boyfriend got seafood Alfredo he was not impressed. We skipped dessert as to not be disappointed further.def not returning to this place which I'm surprised isn't shut down. Go to geraldos instead.
(1)Jim J.
This place is better than the average review. We had a nice flight of red wines and the Amore pasta special. They were quite good. Much better value than the "fine dining" at Lavalle's nearby. The service was excellent and the manager came to our table at the end of our meal, sat down, and asked for our opinions of the dishes. Overall a good experience.
(4)Aileen W.
We don't even give them 1 star. Foods was not hot, everything taste like out of cans and poor management & services. They charge thin 5 piece of bread like $5, no free refill! If they want to charge, they should bake fresh bread at least, then we don't complain. We would not recommend to go there. Don't waste money, just go to MacDonald.
(1)Melissa K.
Have always enjoyed dinner at Gambardella's. I used to order the "famous" lasagna then converted to the spicy cajun seafood in 2007. Returned for a dinner in July 2009 expecting the same wonderful service and delicious food that I'd become accustomed to. Nope. It was so-so. The waitress was nice but spoke EXTREMELY limited English to the point where she had difficulty answering basic questions about the entrees and trouble understanding our requests. I ordered the spicy cajun seafood again. Unfortunately it wasn't as great as I remembered. The seafood was ok ... though I enjoyed the halibut. We had a party of 7+ and the general consensus was that our overall experience was simply unremarkably ok. The menu prices were definitely exorbitant for the taste and quality of the food we received. Instead of being $27-8, my dish should be at the most, $12. The restroom was very clean and pleasant. I also enjoy the quaint atmosphere and outdoor deck seating. If only the food matched the interior. Overall, pretty lackluster.
(2)Jennifer C.
I keep wanting this place to be good. But it disappoints every time. I met a friend for lunch there and had a catered lunch at a company function. The pasta is really bland, the salad mediocre and the price pretty expensive for something that I can make better myself. The decor in the restaurant was also really cheesy.
(2)Trav S.
Went here with the Wife on a sunday afternoon for the all you can eat pasta. Only two choices and one was spaghetti. I had the other one which I think was something with linguine. Half the plate was slightly overcooked and the other was more overcooked! I finished my soda and put the glass at the edge of the table so the waitress would notice and get a refill. Waited for ten minutes as she walked around to the five other couples in the room ignoring us completely. When she finally did come by and got both of us a refill by that time I thanked her and she just walked off without a word. The only time she was nice was when she delivered the check and said to have a nice day! I'm sure just to try and get a good tip (didn't work though!). Also the building smelled like an old folks home, not very appetizing of an odor either. There's a place on College road with much better everything for italian food. Don't waste your time here for the pasta.
(1)Elzie M.
This was by far the worst place I have ever been to,PERIOD. My wife had the spinach and chicken. The spinach was watered down and the chicken was dry. The whole dish wasn't seasoned. I ordered lasagna which was $26.95. The picture was very deceiving as the lasagna looked like it came out of a can of Chef Boyardee. It was two layers of pasta, tiny sausages which were next to nothing and a whole bunch of sauce. The lemonade taste like lemon juice. I almost asked for my money back. It wasn't crowded and the service was slow. This is the first time I didn't leave a tip. I will never go back.
(1)Joel S.
Wow. Friendly enough folks, but it took 20 minutes to get a waiter to the table. My soup was subbed with something else because they ran out... I was not consulted before they brought the substitution. I didn't order the minestrone, because I don't like minestrone. The pasta was ok, strands were stuck to the side of the bowl and dried out, was it nuked? Just got to fairbanks, this place sets the bar pretty low. And pizzas are 20 dollars or more? Holy smokes. Everything is expensive in Alaska, but it's pizza, how much does it cost to make dough?
(2)Dominique G.
This was prolly my worst experiance with gamberdellas, and I've eaten there and at their smaller restraunt Pazzo's before. We ordered a small Milano 10" pizza, a slice of lasagna, two drinks and two canolli's. As delicious as it was, it certainly wasn't 41 dollars delicious. Holy crap. However that's not my biggest gripe, my problem is that it took them 2 1/2 hours to deliver the food. The woman I spoke to told me it would be about and hour, but holy crap by the time the delivery dude showed up I was already pissed, then he told me the price and I was like ... Wut. I paid him gave him a dollar tip because well, what do you want me to do reward you? All being said and done it was delicious except the two Italian sodas looked like someone vomited in them, but whatever it's fine. Food was good but for 41 bucks we coulda fed a small army in Chinese or even dominos or papa johns. Lasagna was good as ever however. Please fix these problems with your service because the food is pretty good. But that's not enough. Oh and I forgot, they gave us some garlic bread, this was like someone took a bread stick and slices three peices and threw them In a plastic baggy. What am I supposed to do with that? The hell? I paid 41 bucks and I get that crap?
(2)Lard Belly E.
I thought the first experience was fine. The service was decent and the patio a nice place to sit in the sun for lunch. Service during dinner was still good, and I liked the interior of the restaurant, but I thought the food was really poor. I ordered the seafood alfredo ($28) since I like cream sauce, and ordered a salad with blue cheese as the starter choice. When dinner arrived I was super excited as it looked creamily amazing. At the first bite my hopes were dashed upon the rocks and my stomach tightened queasily. My food was so incredibly buttery there was no other taste. There was plenty of scallops and shrimp, but the taste was overwhelming. I ate all the seafood as it was the most expensive in the dish, but it wasn't very enjoyable. When I returned to Anchorage I was talking to my dining companion about how excited I was about my meal but it was so buttery it was hard to eat. He was like, "I know, when I saw your plate I was sorry I ordered the prosciutto pizza because it was so buttery. But then I saw your meal congeal into a solid pasta ball and I thought better of it." I don't think I will return. Our server was a sweet treat though; she gets 4 stars.
(2)Ann M.
"Like a surrealist dream" is how my sister and I described our last experience at Gambardella's. Picture this: we walk in, we're greeted and we're told to take a seat and it will be about a 15 minute wait for tables. We sit, we tell the gentleman that if there's a four person table open, we'd be okay with that, we didn't need a two person table. He then tells us that there's a banquet upstairs that's ordering thousands of dollars worth of food, and that's their main focus. We then watch him stand at the bar and do nothing, and several other waiters and waitresses do the same thing. When they seat us they walk us through an EMPTY DINING ROOM, there were literally 4 other tables of people. So, dudebro could have seated us as soon as we walked in, THERE WAS NO WAIT. Instead of seating us in the dining room with everyone else they lead us down the hallway (filled with empty tables) and seat us next to the bathroom and the stairs leading up to where the party is. We watched as a waitress went over to a table that holds the rolled silverware and she stopped and looked at them and literally just touched them, she did not move them or organize them it was more like a "I need something to do but I don't know what to do so I'm going to fiddle with silverware for two minutes." We had to ask for water and when it was brought it was room temperature. Two party guests came down to use the restroom we were seated next to and we overheard them discussing that they had been waiting 45 minutes for food and the kitchen was backed up. So we left. In summation, they had seats, they could have seated us when we walked in, but instead had us sit and wait 10 minutes, then seated us in an extremely odd and loud area and then ignored us. On the 2 other occasions I've been to this establishment, the food was mediocre at best. One item that was extremely memorable was their Italian wedding soup, it was literally the same as Cambell's, the same teeny meatballs, the same slimy spinach. They serve canned soup. Everything tastes like it has been frozen. They serve Sam's Club cheesecake (pretty good, by the way). Just, no. Way past their hay day. I have to add that one one occasion the owner (I presume) was waitressing and when she was getting change for the cash we paid with she literally brought her wallet to the table to give us change.
(1)Amanda T.
Service was slower than turtles going through peanut butter, but the food was delicious.
(3)Sal V.
I have had food delivered from here twice now. I have had the same thing hoping for a better quality. I ordered the chicken/walnut/pear salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. While the servings are great for a $12.95 salad I was given maybe half of a chicken breast, the pear weren't cored and had seeds still in the slices, and the vinaigrette is HORRIBLE. While I am not impressed with the food the customer service was amazing and the delivery was on time. Overall it was ok, but I will not be ordering another anything from this restaurant.
(2)Sunshine C.
Meh. I was really craving pasta and came here. The waitress stated that the minestrone was homemade... And since it's -33 out right now that sounded inviting... Yea, shouldn't have done that... It wasn't good, at all. I ordered spaghetti and the meatball... The marinara was good but the meatball was dry and mediocre. The bread that came with my meal was good. The ambiance is nice and was decorated in the Autumn theme. I overheard the table behind me telling their server that the chicken Marsala she ordered wasn't good but that she tried her friends Alfredo and it was good. He responded with "Did you want me to get you something else? We will have to charge you. Then said, well let me talk to the manager. He returned saying we will take care of you... " Uhmmm your customers should NEVER have to pay for something they didn't like and the server should have never said that outloud. If I ever return to Fairbanks I won't be coming back here.
(1)Teresa R.
I'm surprised at the number of reviews here saying the service was bad but the food was delicious, because my husband and I experienced the opposite. The staff we encountered were attentive and friendly. The food was a little slow to come out, but not ludicrously so. However, it just wasn't very tasty. My pasta was slightly overcooked (a little mushy) and both our dishes were WAY over-salted (I had ravioli with cream sauce and he had gnocchi). Neither of us would come back here.
(2)Kasandra M.
Best place I've been so far for Italian food, food was amazing, the bread is addictive, never had a bad experience here so far, we always sit at the same table so it's special for us. The service has always been great. Don't know why the ratings are so low , I have always had a good experience here. And the deserts are so delicious!!!
(5)Renee F.
Our lunch was fantastic. Pasta with peas, prosciutto, and figs. California Dreamer Sandwich. Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad. Minestrone Soup. Spaghetti with meatballs. All great. The server was helpful and efficient while she handled the entire restaurant on her own. Had the upstairs patio been open, the review would be 5 stars.
(4)Kelli L.
Food was neither exceptional or bad; what you would expect for cheese pizza and cheese ravioli. The house Pinot noir was acidic grape juice that was worse than Two Buck Chuck. Ordered a bread basket as an appetizer and it arrived after the meal, only after we said something. Server was a little... Abrupt, but nothing bad. Ambience was strange and disjointed and the place smelled like top soil. Having said all of this, nothing registered as 'bad' or 'good', thus the 3-star review.
(3)Jason R.
Food - even the basics - not so good. Staff, rude. End of story.
(1)Jelani A.
I imagine that a second trip here will be good. Came in for lunch and no one was manning the door. I walked around the corner and stood for five minutes while what looked like one of the chefs talked to someone at another table. Finally a server got my attention and then shrugged. She motions me to enter with her finger and I still sat to eat. After I told her that I was ready to order, she engaged in a discussion with another server who had been passed up twice for a table. There were three tables in the place. I ordered a bowl of soup and salad. The soup came out with another table's food and the promise that my salad was coming later. After my soup was finished my salad arrived. A pile of mixed greens, two olives and two tomatoes later, I finished my salad and asked for my check. That also took a while because my waitress was busy. The soup was decent and the salad was too simple to ruin, but my experience was lackluster at best. At least the price was worth it.
(3)Eric G.
Geraldo's is the best Italian in Fairbanks. Try there instead of here. Visited July 2011
(2)Julia T.
1 Star! Had to say how bad this place is. The service is really poor. It took about an hour and a half to get our food out. The chicken was black burnt. It was really the worst dinning experience I had in a while.
(1)Angela M.
I love the pineapple/cream cheese/jalapeño/chicken pizza. I cannot remember the name, but it is amazing, even though it sounds strange. As for everything else, I haven't been too impressed. My husbands dish was very lemony, the rolled steak only comes well done, the other pizza I got had way too much bleu cheese, my kids pizza were nothing special, but a sub I got at lunch one day was good. The mussels in a wine sauce appetizer was good, but not enough bread. This place is a hit or miss with menu items, but the items that are good are really good.
(3)Kelsey H.
The service was not great by any means. It took an hour and 15 minutes to get our food. The food was not that good. It tasted like something anyone could make in their own kitchen. It was very over priced for how under whelming it was.
(2)Jeff B.
No clue what Al dente means, service was good,atmosphere was nice, food is horrible. must have a bunch of teenagers in the kitchen because anyone who can mess up an antipasto platter is not a professional. Its not even something they have to cook. What so called Italian restaurant doesn't serve espresso? Save your money and eat a tv dinner.at least that would be hot.
(1)Douglas W.
If you are looking for good Italian food while you are in Fairbanks, this is your place. The food was fresh and delicious. The gnocchi was the best entree our table ordered. Our only challenge was the service, a little slow, but great personality.
(3)Shannon A.
Boy oh boy has this place gone down hill. It is now a dirty and very slow place to eat. Average food and average service. Probably won't go back until I've heard it's been renovated.
(2)Stacey L.
This restaurant was extremely over priced for the food. I ordered a steak dish and the waiter never brought me my salad until I asked when my dinner came. Didn't even apologize for not bringing it. Never asked if I wanted anything extra to drink. When I first arrived it took forever for hime to even ask if I wanted a menu? Many of the employees were standing around and I even heard some cursing from staff in my presence. I had to wait an extremely long time to even pay my bill. My food was tasty the side salad was very plain and nothing like an Italiano salad should be. Italians rarely use black canned olives in their salads. For me service is everything and I will never return to this establishment again. Service should be superb for a $30.00 plate.
(1)Luis G.
I was there last night. Service was okay, mediocre at best. No real complaints. Except for the 18% tip included on my bill that was dinner for 2. Since when does a restaurant take away my choice of how much if any tip should be awarded. Not happy with that. Btw I'm an average 20% tipper..
(1)David D.
I've been here three times now. Every time has been excellent. Had the lasagna this last time and it's the best I've ever had!
(5)Ian H.
Hostess was rude and unprofessional. Table for 4 means 3 menus and 2 sets of silverware I guess. To make it worse she just dropped our menus on the table and kept walking. Waitress was nice and corrected the issue after we asked for more utensils , menus and water glasses. All in all a blah experience.
(2)Judy S.
my gf loves this place. I think she's been in Fairbanks way too long. the mozzarella bread was ok but nothing to go running back for. I ordered the Chicken Cannelloni after the waiter recommended it. YUCK! The chicken was the consistency of baby food and the cream sauce the consistency of spackle. I couldn't eat it, I had 2 bites and had to stop! My daughter ordered the Ciopino which was ok but again nothing to run back for. Chicken parm was ok. The only thing that was good was the seafood special my gf ordered. I can't remember what it was called but it had a creamy marsala sauce. They seem way under staffed. Our waiter was running from one end of the restaurant to the other, got our orders wrong and was just lacking in service. I keep reminding myself that it is Fairbanks so I gave it 2 stars taking that into consideration.
(2)Jen P.
Won't be giving them my business again. I have been picking this pizza up for a colleague for an end of semester party at UAF each semester, and in spite of early orders for pick up with hours of advance notice, the pizza has never been ready on time. Not ten minutes after scheduled pick up, not twenty minutes after. So I thought, well maybe it's because he's ordering several pizzas, and perhaps they lack space? I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and I ordered on a evening when entertaining guests. It took two hours. I called four times and was assured each time that it was minutes away. I was told of the two deliveries that one was at a neighboring hotel. Said hotel is within four minutes, and barely that. Unfortunately it took another forty minutes. I understand things happen, but I am irritated at being passed off repeatedly. At long last the delivery arrived and for forty-one dollars I got a good salad, melted butter with the rolls and stone cold pizza. Honestly, I worked in customer service for years, and I know an apology or acknowledgement of a bad situation can go a long way, but I was totally dismissed by Gambardellas. Don't bother. The pizza is good when it's even moderately warm, but it's not worth dealing with the staff.
(1)Jay C.
Tasty lunch & price is right!!! We were seated and served promptly. Server was very attentive with refills & seeing if we needed anything. The bread brought to the table was super good - hints of garlic! Our meals - pasta, salad, pizza - were all delicious. Love the lowfat pizza option!
(5)Debbie S.
We had dinner here last night, and it was wonderful. The server was very helpful and courteous and told us which dishes were better than the others. It is kind of pricey for the portions, but it was a very pleasant dining experience and both of our dishes were delicious. I also liked the atmosphere, very relaxed with pleasant music in the background. Highly recommend.
(4)Darci B.
Loved it!!! Food was excellent, atmosphere was nice, and service was exceptional. Will definitely return again.
(4)Josephine O.
Unfortunately was not impress from the get-go... We walk in and waited a couple of minutes for someone to acknowledge us to be seated. It seems the hostess was talking a potential employee and a guy from OUT OF NOWHERE said to the hostess that she should stop talking to they guy and attend to us really loud.. I'm sure she was embarrassed about, but I can understand why he did that but it was unprofessional and should have been done in the back.. The guy himself ended up taking us to our table which was a hallway where there were no other people around.. I asked if we could see seated on the deck and he didn't seem to care to show is where it was so we ended up showing ourselves ... Long story short we waited for about 15 minutes hoping that someone realized that we were up there and no one did so we got up and left and went right across the street to Bobby's downtown and would recommend it to anyone coming here to Fairbanks... They had live music and a great crowd and the waitress were awesome... Don't even brother going to this place
(1)T.L. T.
Good antipasti, but you really dont have to cook much with theirs. ceviche small unidentifiable fish parts, flavorless, and drenched in lemon juice mix, carrot cake was nasty, dry with buttercream frosting (cream cheese frosting might have made it better) dinner salad consisted of about 5 sad lettuce leaves. Word of warning: the menu states the lasagna is the "mother of all lasagnas." Might have been long ago, but it's not now. Good noodles, but chunky boring sauce, lacks mozzarella and garlic, ricotta was ok. The waitress was not with it, as I had to ask twice for silverware. Floor was dirty with butter pats. Find A decent pizza place, don't waste your money.
(1)Casey H.
People are a little too hard on this place. Yes, it's a little overpriced, and no, i did not almost think i was sitting in Rome, but the food tastes better than any overrated chain italian restaurants I have been to. For the haters, ummm, welcome to Alaska? I thought my Fettuccine Alfredo was delicious. The restaurant has a great family atmosphere and we all enjoyed it.
(3)Stephanie P.
When I walked in about two weeks ago, I wasn't impressed visually. There was this weird cafe feel to the entrance that clashed with the restaurant portion of the facility. Where we were seated had wires exposed hanging from the ceiling, and the decor wasn't really tied together with a theme. I love me some Italian restaurants, so stuff like this matters when to others it may not be as important. The prices for the food were quite high, so I had expectations that reflected the dollar signs presented to me. My mistake. I ordered the salmon, which came out in this weird parchment paper and was tough and flavorless. The pasta served in the side was buttered pasta for the most part, so I was less than impressed. We won't be going back again.
(2)Richard E.
I see some less than rewarding reviews, but for me...I"ve never been disappointed here. We have not been here in a year, and after today's visit for lunch...I see we have been missing out on a great value and great food. The menu was in the inexpensive range and well stocked with plenty of selections for healthy fare, or rich fare, you're choice. The atmosphere is great, just what you would expect for a non-chain, Alaskan restaurant.
(5)Sarah C.
Table wasn't sturdy, utensils were dirty, food wasn't good, and poor German lady was doing all the work so it made it alil slow for her to get us out the door. Never going again ever.
(1)Sherman W.
If this restaurant was in a bigger city like Seattle, I would give it a 2 stars. But since it's in Fairbanks, AK... Hmmmm.. I had to give it a 3. The menu is okay, but the food is always 'diner' quality. Poor management, but one reasons that we liked to go there once a while was because they used to have a very good looking waiter. Other than we were being greeted by a nice handsome man, the service was just so so. Well, welcome to fairbanks, alaska. and you are going to pay a lot for some so-so service and OK food.
(3)Allison G.
We ordered food to be delivered to our hotel room. We ordered the 10' Roma pizza without mushrooms and the spaghetti with sausage. They told me it would be 45 minutes until delivery. When it was finally delivered an HOUR AND A HALF later the food was not even close to warm, the pizza had mushrooms, and the spaghetti had a half of sausage. It is located two blocks from our hotel so I wished they would have informed me of the delay and I could have walked to pick it up. Even if the delivery time was not an issue they still got a simple order wrong. I would never ever recommend this place to anyone.
(1)Tracy B.
Chef salad tasted moldy and my friends lasagna was burned on the bottom. When we brought it to the waitresses attention she offered us a free dessert. We paid the entire bill even through the food was inedible. Unacceptable!! Now hours later I'm exhibiting signs of food poisoning! I will not go back!! Disgusting!!!
(1)Michael B.
D- terrible service bad oily pizza. Never written a review but felt compelled to do so after last night. It was good at one time but is no longer avoid! No napkins we given to us slow to order slow to cook. I'm mean supper slow like almost 45 to order and 1 hour to cook a pizza. No mention on the menus that $19 gets you 10" pizza and waiter did not advise. Overpriced cruddy food.
(1)Ches W.
Was ok. Had the salmon. Expected a better cut and a better preparation (overdone). There should be legislation that no restaurant in Alaska be allowed to overcook fresh salmon (well, they claimed it was "fresh" anyway). :)
(2)Suzy G.
More than 1 star?! You're kidding, right? This is straight up barilla pasta and prego type food. Nothing special. Dining area was dirty and drafty, questionable service. I do like the catchy radio jingles, though...so sing the song but bypass having to actually eat there.
(1)Karen S.
The wonderful aroma of italian food hit us all as we entered the premises for our first visit....ended up getting a delicious warm bread covered in pesto topped with artichokes & red peppers and cheese. I had the stuffed flank steak and my daughter had a large portion of chicken marsala, my grand kids had a bowl of angel hair and a pizza. We all enjoyed our salads that were topped with freshly grated/shaved cheese and our entrees as well as cheesecakes. Will be back : )
(4)Sarah R.
Went to lunch here with a couple friends today and it was probably the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant. The server was rushing us to order so she could pay attention to a larger group. She hardly helped us and seemed annoyed by having to deal with us. The food was mediocre. I will never be returning here again. If you get a server who says she's been there for 16-years - RUN AWAY!
(1)George C.
A great deck downtown next to the Chena River. We enjoyed the Antipasto plate with a glass of wine. Service was great, the wine by the glass selection interesting, and the Anti pasta tasty. A number of local and out of town folks showed up for dinner while were there and the meals we saw served looked good. Prices were expensive but what do you expect given the location and it was still the tourist season. Normally would have given them 4 stars but they lost a star for the stingy serving of wine they delivered and charged us $7 a glass.... not even close to the standard 6 ounces.
(3)Mark E.
Decent food, terrible management. It seems that locally owned restaurants tend to have superior food and inferior service. Unfortunately for Gambardella's, even their food seems hit or miss. The atmosphere was pleasant--having a more authentic feel than many Italian restaurants. We waited fifteen minutes to be seated -- we were ignored for a full five minutes, before being told that it would be "just a minute or two while we clean off a table." I don't mind waiting for a table--but I do mind being ignored, and then having the wait time greatly underestimated. Once seated, our salads and appetizer (a marginally appetizing sauteed mushroom dish) arrived quickly. Our entrees, however, took 45 minutes from the time we ordered. The wait staff were nice, but poorly trained. The servers didn't know the wine list. The new guy pouring water touched the pitcher to the rim of every glass. The restaurant was too busy for the staff on hand. Our server's sense of urgency (bordering on panic) was apparent, making us feel uncomfortable and on edge, as well. In all, the food was fine (my date's was good, mine was not--avoid the Eggplant Parmesan!), but the management was terrible. If I lived in Fairbanks, I might give it another try. As it is, if I ever eat at another restaurant here, it won't be Gambardella's.
(2)Alex W.
The place is really comfortable and quaint and the staff was friendly enough. The service was pretty slow though and the food was fairly expensive. However, the eggplant parmesan was amazing and my brother had a seafood pasta dish that he said was extremely fresh and flavorful. It wasn't the best of places but compared to the other restaurants in Fairbanks, it was definitely good.
(3)Mandy R.
The restaurant itself is cute, and the staff is generally pretty friendly. However, for the prices and the food that comes out it is not a good place to go. When I went there with just myself and one other person the hostess tried to seatt us upstairs, after walking by numerous empty tables downstairs-upstairs there was a large roudy group and when we asked to be moved to a quieter location the hostess got annoyed. Not impressed.
(2)Paul P.
We ate after a skipping lunch on the long drive up from Anchorage so we were ready to eat a Musk Ox. The food is just OK and not worth the price. I couldn't resist ordering their Seafood Cajun Pasta because it had both sausage & seafood. And as a bonus that staple of Italian peppers the chipotle (don't ask me). Anyway it had a mild heat and smokeness and the pasta was just a little overdone. The shrimps seemed like the precooked, frozen variety. The chunks of halibut were the highlight but it wasn't worth the $27 bucks. My associate had the highly touted "Mother of All Lasagnas" but said it was merely an adolescent at best. The house Chianti and Cab were not good either. If you go here maybe try the pizza or more economical choices. I think you'll be disappointed on the high end of the menu. Buon appetito.
(2)Brent H.
I was seated promptly. Unfortunately I got stuck under a speaker that was blasting Italian opera music. I order the focaccia bread which was amazing and the fettuccine Alfredo with sausage, and a chicken and rice soup. I'm no expert but I'm 99% sure the soup was straight out of the can. After my soup I was brought a basket of Italian bread. There were four pieces which were cold and slightly damp to the touch. I got a cappuccino and ordered the tiramisu for desert. Unfortunately they were out of tiramisu so I ended up with some pre made frozen cheese cake. This place is WAY over priced for the quality of food served. I will not be going back here.
(2)Annie C.
Have been a few times with friends when visiting Fairbanks. The ravioli with cream sauce is quite good, though nothing to write home about. However, the bread is always fresh, and we never have a problem getting a table. Wait staff is attentive and the decor is quaint. Not the best Italian you have ever had, but it's Fairbanks. Alaska. Not Venice, or a booming city elsewhere. For what it is, it serves its purpose - no reason not to go.
(3)Amy L.
The food was good, but overpriced at $25 a plate average. Lovely service, good with our kids. Attire is "Fairbanks dressy-casual".
(3)Tony D.
Used to eat there once a week. Have become less interested over the years. If food, ambiance and service are the hallmarks of a good restaurant then you'll have to settle for two out three on the Fairbanks adequacy scale. Occasionally you get an actual server, that bump it up a star. An upgrade on the fifty cent wine glasses might be another.
(2)Amikam R.
Gambardella's is a large Italian restaurants with many rooms and outdoor and deck seating. We had dinner there on a Friday night. The menu is small and the wine list tiny. The food is standard old-fashioned "Italian". It's not very good. The fish are dry and the pasta overcooked. There's no veal on the menu.The tiramisu was inedible. Service was rude and impatient and the server not communicative. The entrees arrived before we finished the appetizers and the check was brought with the desserts. To top it all they added $30 to the bill and the credit card company is still sorting this out. The one star is given just because I can't rate it no stars.
(1)Dick H.
Enjoyable meal in comfortable Italian setting. Great marinara sauce.
(4)Jason R.
Food - even the basics - not so good. Staff, rude. End of story.
(1)Flor C.
Great antipasto plate! Wine per glass - a bit too skimpy, but the Pyramid Hef was great and on draft. Sat on the deck and loved the view!
(4)Donald M.
One star at best. Service was indifferent and food was passable, but just barely. Stuffed flank steak really isn't, plus portion was tiny. Pasta was mediocre and sauce was bland. Better places nearby including Bobby's - this is overpriced for what little you get.
(1)Kate A.
I visited Gambardella's with my family this past memorial day and wish I could give it a better rating. I absolutely love Italian food and the food here isn't horrible but it's extremely over-priced. The staff was friendly but the service was slow. It will be years again if I ever go back. :(
(2)Elisa H.
Now this is just a nice place - the colors are warm, the tables and cute, and the waitstaff is extremely friendly. It's one of the two nicest Italian restaurants in Fairbanks and I'm a bit partial to this one. The building burned a few years ago, so there is a nice addition with a patio that's open in the summer. The food, of course, is great, but a bit on the more expensive side. I suppose those kind of prices are common for Italian, but I try to wait til I have a gift certificate before I go:o) It's also located right next to historic downtown, so it's convenient if you want to walk around a bit.
(5)chizzy t.
Me and my girlfriend where here in Fairbanks on vacation and it was my birthday and she wanted to take me out for a classy dinner. i knew it wouldn't be easy in Fairbanks but when we drove by Gambardella's it looked promising. i give it 2 stars for its beautiful view and atmosphere. we sat outside on the patio at about 11pm and the sun was still about to set and it was very warm out. other than that the service was horrible, they never gave us serviettes or silverware, the wine i ordered was about 80f and the waiter was a smart ass the whole time. i had the lasagna that supposedly won rave reviews, but it tasted like it was made earlier that week and kept in the fridge until i ordered it and simply microwaved. i recommend this restaurant for sun downers, skip dinner!
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