Ewwww.. risotto more like rice a roni so not good I had better risotto from fresh and easy..
(1)
Keyla A.
Not only was the food great, but our server Monica was excellent. Customer service is definitely the way to make customers return, and Monica is attentive enough to make you feel valued.
(5)
Ulrike W.
Pasta Pomodoro used to be fun, reasonable and offered tasty food. This branch has gone downhill: I had spaghetti arrabbiata yesterday: there was barely any sauce and the sausages were grilled and stacked whole on top of the pasta. They were too lazy to cut them and mix them with the sauce. We weren't offered any Parmesan and only one of two water glasses were re-filled. $13 for pasta with sauce and sausages?! Really! Take that one of my list.
(1)
aoki l.
I used to love this place until my last visit. Came here with few friends for a late lunch and the food took about 35 mins to come out. My friend's meatballs was completely burned and still served it to us but we waited so long we didn't have time to return the plate so he just ate the spaghetti. Last night we came here and ordered the gemelli and portobello mushroom. I don't know what happened to the old recipe but I remember the sauce to be on a lighter side not looking like a diarrhea. The sauce was so bland and not as smooth as I remembered it. It almost feels like I'm eating raw flour in the sauce. I think I'll just come here for the bread and their mango iced tea that's about the only thing they have going for them.
(2)
Nate R.
A little bit expensive and the portions were smaller than I expected. It was worth a try though.
(3)
Shey P.
The food was okay. The service on the other hand is not okay. We went there for dinner. Our wait staff was really bad on attending to us. He keeps forgetting what we need. Our table was missing utensils and we had to ask him 6 times for it. We ask for round of water he brings 3 and there is 10 of us!, he then will come back 5 minutes later. Cmon' think!!! This will be the first and last we will be coming here.
(3)
Bo J.
Everyone likes to use Olive Garden as the benchmark for Italian-American restaurants. Well if OG is on one end of the spectrum (enough salt and butter to make you thirsty and your mouth greasy for the rest of the day) then PP is on the other. Its not as disgusting as OG usually is, but what it lacks is portion size, flavor, and good bread. Penne portobello - could be great if they added the ingredients in the right order. It seems like they put the mushrooms at the beginning of the cook, so they end up dissolving into the sauce. Overall it was edible but not very good. Conchiglie gamberi - same issue here, hard to taste any distinct flavors when they cook everything to homogeneity. It was still ok, but I think I've had one of them Bertolli 10 min pasta skillets with the same stuff and it was better.
(2)
Raylin V.
Two stars because it smells good. I came in and ordered take out 20 minutes ago and I am still waiting. How long does it take for a Salad and a soup. Just saying. Finally I stood up after sitting for a total of 30 minutes near the door and they had my food ready. I was baffled they didn't bother to come and ask if I was waiting for something. I could have left way earlier. Once I got home my soup was still hot however my salmon was cold maybe because I had a Salad but the meat shouldn't be cold. If I wasn't craving their tortellini I wouldn't have gone.
(2)
sharon c.
If there was a zero star, I definitely would choose that! The service is horrible! They give you 2 pieces of bread for 2 people dinning in! Seriously, I asked for bread and more like the middle part and not the sides because I hate crust but still this boy-server still gives us the sides. Is there a language barrier? Treat your customers equally! You'll find out one day when you get treated this way!...on top, it's soo rude to compete with your customer when they're already upset about how the dinner and service was going. You can be busy but it sure doesnt seem busy when you have time to compete or flip my complaint around. This boy-server needs more skills or training in customer service!!!! Def not a a recommended place. Go elsewhere or to a different Pasta Pomordoro location.
(1)
M T.
These people are straight-up thieves... I and my wife dined here last weekend... They give you $5 off if you show movie tickets. We ate $26 worth of food and showed our tickets... They still gave us $26 check so I called up server and pointed out to him and gave my credit card... He just ran back (No sorry!) and came back with $20 bill receipt.. there was no customer copy/merchant copy... just a receipt... I thought they charged me for $20 as I never signed a check for $26 and I just now verified, they have charged me for $26... Management is worst here!... You have to wait and ask to at least 4 people to get a complementary bread-sticks... I'm obviously not coming back and think of lodging a formal complaint to them.. how can they charge you of some arbitrary amount without you signing a check?
(1)
Nikki P.
Amazed to say the least. I read all the reviews downing the service but our server Mariel was considerate expediant and she loved her job anf coworkers which made me feel at ease. Mariel saw me up tight at first and told me to make myself comfortable. We were served fresh buttery toasted foccacia which came with a creamy pesto dip it was so good that we gobbled it up in minutes! Mariel hospitably served us more bread to accompany the meal, She was able to reccommend her favorite dishes Portobello Penne, Lasagna and cuchigatori gambezi . My younger kids had chicken alfredo and spaghetti which cost nothing because kids eat free on Tuesdays.,Everything we tried was to our delight the food was much more tasty and authentic than olive garden. I have not eaten at Pasta Pomadoro for 13yrs and that was because the food then was not unique or as developed in flavor as it was tonight. They have an open kitchen and you get to watch the chefs and smell the food as they make their magic! For dessert we had the cheesecake which I renamed" Yes Please-cake!" I am absolutely enamored by the tastes, textures and aromas we experienced tonight. We will be back ASAP!
(5)
Shaan G.
The food is pretty expensive for adults, but if you order the kids meal it is better since you get more food. I got the chicken tenders, lemonade, and a ice cream sundae. They gave me over well done on the chicken. They should ask how you want your food and should lower the price.
(4)
Angelica G.
Im giving 2stars because I liked the bread although when I asked for more it took forever and was given the excuse when I asked again thinking they forgot that they had to order?? The waitress seemed rushed when there really was not anyone eating and she was not very attentive... The worst part I order the traditional lasagna and it was burnt I could taste the charcoal, re - ordered in burnt but will now have to bake to go.... My mom said she can make better lasagna than this place! Luckily they discounted it 1/2 price... Pays to complain!
(2)
Claudia R.
Italian food is my favorite, but I am always skeptical of chain restaurants. Still, I've been to other Pasta Pomodoro's in the past, including the ones in Rockridge and Emeryville, and have had positive experiences. This Pomodoro, however, reestablished my skepticism of the chain. We arrived on the evening of boyfriend's mom's birthday; Outside it was hot, and inside the restaurant it was like a freezer. After being seated, we were given starter bread that was unusually cool and tough. I got so hungry waiting for our actual food that I ate some anyway without complaints (I'm a good sport). When I got my salmon salad, it was completely drenched in oil and vinegar; it was like the spinach leaves were in a kiddie pool. I picked at the salmon, barely consuming any of the actual salad. I had a stomach ache into the next day. To seal the deal, they had run out of candles, and didn't even bother to sing happy birthday, which is the norm there. Totally alright; I was just looking forward to getting out of there by then.
(1)
Cookie C.
First time coming in this afternoon and though you can't go wrong with the Fruti di'mare, this location missed the mark in terms of seafood quantity within the dish. The flavor was still really good, but the size for $16.50/plate per lunch was too $$$. Anyway, we complained to the server and management and they were cool about it and compensated our orders by subtracting a dish. My advice is if you want to get your money's worth, go when the place is less packed. All in all, really good food and service is, though sometimes slow, consistent and couteous.
(4)
Liv A.
It's pretty sad when I can cook better pasta dishes and create better salads at home than the ones that I ate at Pasta Pomodoro. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but there are a few basic things that I do know about Italian cooking such as preparing the pasta al dente! I know Pasta Pom is a chain restaurant and I usually stay away from these due to lack of authenticity among other reasons. However, I got sucked into attending a group lunch there during the week. Let's start with the good first. The waitress and waiter that served our group were accommodating and did a great job during the lunch service. The only other saving grace was the warm focaccia bread with pesto dipping sauce. Can't go wrong with warm bread period. My 2 star rating encompasses those two factors. Upon perusing the menu, I noticed that most of the pasta dishes had a few variations but mostly leaned towards cream sauces or tomato based sauces with different shapes of pastas. This was a bit of a bummer to me since I usually prefer my pasta simply tossed with EVOO. I don't like to drown my pasta in sauces. I decided to go with one of the lunch specials as everyone in the group also ordered off that menu. The specials consisted of your choice of pasta or panini served with minestrone soup or a side salad priced at $8.95 or $9.95. I went with one of the pasta and salad combos. -Insalata Mista (baby lettuces, tomatoes, shaved carrots, blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette): Boring salad. There was nothing great about it and the blue cheese didn't seem to compliment the salad at all. In fact, the blue cheese was almost glued to the diced tomatoes which was strange to me. -Pesce Sano (whole grain fusilli with select pieces of salmon, asparagus, tomato sauce and fresh basil): A huge disappointment. The pasta was over cooked and soggy. The bits of salmon were a little fishy even having being covered in the marinara sauce. The asparagus pieces were diced up but completely woody. They really did not need to put the asparagus grounds in the dish as those were just inedible. There was way too much sauce in the dish overall and it was a tad salty for my taste. Overall, there was a lot of pasta and very little of anything else. Also, there was no fresh basil added to the dish as advertised. I hate to say this but Pasta Pomodoro is just not for me. I think Giada de Laurentis has taught me well and I can have Everyday Italian in my very own kitchen!
(2)
Jiezell L.
4 stars for the penne portobello. My favorite pasta dish. The bread and pesto is addicting. Wish they would give more than 2 pieces of a bread. Service here is a hit or miss. Last time we went service was good.
(4)
Emily V.
Food here is alright. Service sucks. We come here because it's close to home when we want pasta. It took is forever to get seated when there was a lot of tables open. I even had to ask should we seat ourselves. No greeter and the waiters never check up on you. Pretty much, every time we come here, it takes forever to get seated, we order food, get our food really late, and leave.
(1)
Allie A.
My only complaint (which is a useless complaint) is that I wish the restaurant was bigger. Its such a lovely place, but it is SO CRAMPED. I feel suffocated. But there's nothing they can do about that, so whatever.
(3)
Sharon W.
Le Sigh. I've always been a super big fan of the gemelli and the bread and pesto dip, but today, the service here was just unsatisfactory! I used the online service yesterday to cater my office's Halloween party. I put the order in yesterday morning, for pickup at 12 pm today. I was called at 11:50am notifying me that they were out of one of the ingredients to make the Chicken Sausage potato pasta, so I asked him to sub it for the Chicken pesto pizza instead. I arrive at 12:15pm , so I could give them a little more time to make the pizza so the order would be completely ready when I arrived. When I walked in, There was some shuffle and the manager Israel came out. He was also the one who called me 10 minutes before my order was supposed to be ready. He explained to me that he just found out this morning they no longer carry pizza. Are you kidding me? I asked him why he didn't call me to ask If i wanted something else instead of just telling me when I arrived. He said, "well I called you 10 minutes before your order was supposed to be picked up." Ok, since you called late, why not call again? I ordered another portion of the Chicken Parm, and then he actually tries to charge me the difference. I asked him if he feels that he should cover the $6 difference for wasting my time and for the complications with my order. He looked really dumfounded and made no attempts to apologize for the mistakes, The next minute just consisted of him standing there blinking at me. I basically then told him he will pay the difference. The food 3/5 Overall service from restaurant 4/5 (Host, Phone) Management 1/5
(2)
Sean C.
Been here twice, I really like the bread with the dipping sauce, also the Caesar salad was very fresh and crisp and delicious. The last time I was there I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo and it came out nice and hot the fettuccine tasted fresh as if it was homemade and very very good. The service was good as well the gentleman who waited on me was attentive and nice.
(4)
Preeti K.
This place used to be good but I guess management changed. They served uncooked pasta and it was at the bottom of the plate. The server told us that they can only take a percentage off and took 3 bucks off a $15 dish!!! Well, how is that a customer's fault if you serve uncooked pasta and it's at the bottom of the plate! Very unprofessional! Will not be going back!
(1)
Eri H.
We usually order to go if we are craving pasta and usually we are happy with the food since we don't have high expectations that take out food will taste as good as dine in experiences thats why we decided to change our usual routine and have dinner @pasta pomodoro. Our waitress was attentive as she quickly greeted us and took our order on drinks and food and she made sure that everything was okay and that our drinks were refilled. BUT the food was not that great! Hubby had the chicken parmesan and the chicken was very dry (overcooked). The sauce on my pasta (marinara) was salty! Overall the food was average but the ambience was cozy and our waitress was attentive. Therefore 3 stars.
(3)
Simon A.
Changed from 1 star to 3 (see original post below) We found a way to handle the one problem staff member who caused our previous problems: If we come early enough she isn't working yet everything will go well, if she is working as hostess and there is even a small line we simply turn around and go somewhere else. I could not in good conscious leave only one star just because of one staff member. This person is always frowning (like she ate a sour grape just before you walked in) and never cheerful. The only explanation that I can think of as to why she still works there is that she either is the manager, or related to the manager. If I ran the place I would have fired her and let her be grouchy to my competitors customers. The rest of the staff are friendly and helpful. The food is great, and the bread is to die for! Original Post follows (slightly edited for clarity): I've been here before, and had decent service, but it appears if it gets just a little busy they can't handle it. Was told 8-10 minutes to wait (one couple ahead of us) and she even wrote us down (scribbled really). Then when it got busy she forgot about us and started seating other people. To make matters worse the woman (b!$&@) who was in front when we complained made a snarky (b!$&@y) remark that they were first. Funny since we were sitting next to the door when she walked in. The hostess who forgot about us tried to seat us next to the b!$&@ so we left and walked to Chili's and enjoyed great service!
I came here for lunch with my colleagues. I was really looking forward to the clam linguini because that is what i get every single time i come to Pasta Pomodoro. unfortunately, their whole menu changed and the clam linguini wasn't on there. =( The comp bread came non-stop! that was good though! The service was pretty slow -- our food came out pretty late. but they kept refilling my iced tea! i ordered the Pollo Panini from their lunch menu. I got the regular greens with insalata mista.i wished i got the csear. I didn't know that Panini was a sandwich! :( i wasn't that satisfy with my meal. i couldn't find anything on the menu with CLAM in it! =( i hope they put the clam linguini back on their menu.
(2)
Charlene S.
I think a huge plate of disappointment would have tasted better than what we ordered. We should have stopped at the complimentary bread, because after that, everything went downhill-fast. We ordered the bruschetta. Nondescript. I ordered the chicken marsala. Looked promising with all that sauce. But Tada! There was no flavor! I rarely salt my dishes, but I salted and peppered this thing and it didn't help. Prayer probably wouldn't help it either. My teen ordered the spinach ravioli. She commented "I've had much better from Costco." I tasted it and agreed. My little one ordered chicken strips with spaghetti. I tried it. Bland! There's more flavor in a 99 cent can of spaghetti-os. I am so ashamed that I spent almost 50 bucks on this meal. Not worth it at all! The one star is for the waiter and waitress. They were hustling and trying their best to do it all. The manager was practically absent the whole time. When she did show up, she just pointed to the incoming patrons at where to sit. She also walked by the tables and didn't acknowledge anyone. Horrible!! Please, do me and yourself a favor. If you are considering eating here, walk 2 more doors down to Togos.
(1)
Kristine L.
I have been coming here since I was in middle school. Not really a "real" Italian restaurant but for a chain, it is pretty good. I love how they offer you house bread with AMAZING pesto sauce! I would ask for refills on bread, but bread really does fill you up and I tend to get full before my meal comes out :( For pasta, I would recommend the conchiglie gamberi!
(3)
Monica R.
So my girlfriends and I had a hankering for Italian food and sadly decided on Pasta Pomodoro. The food was disappointing my two girlfriend's ordered some type of pasta which they thought was completely tasteless, and I ordered a Polenta appetizer which was mediocre, I could have cooked better at home, when dining out you expect the restaurant to have good service, better than home cooked, and nice ambiance the only thing we really got here was the decent ambiance. Our waiter was friendly, but it was close to impossible to get what we wanted nor a good description of dishes. The manager did redeem the restaurant to an extent by offering a 20% after we voiced our dissatisfaction, but regardless of service the food was not good at all. None of us want to return.
(2)
Rehnish P.
This place deserves no stars. We had to wait 45mins for our food which was cold. The service is horrible. They took a while to even take our order. I had been here before and the service was OK that time, but this time they just managed to top my chart for horrible service. I would not recommend this place.
(1)
Chad S.
I've been to several other Pasta Pomodoro's, but this was my first time visiting this one. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this one seemed more "modern" looking than the others, even though the other ones were far from unappealing. I ordered my usual: the Penne Pomodoro. It was very good. The penne was cooked just right and the sauce was tasty. The restaurant was clean and our Waitress was very nice. The only reason why I didn't give 5 out of 5 stars was because of something petty: I ordered a Shirley Temple (Sprite and Grenadine), which is a quite common drink that you can order at most restaurants. After receiving the check, I noticed that they charged 50 cents for the "shot" of Grenadine. For those of you who don't know what Grenadine is, it's a non-alcoholic cherry syrup. In no way, shape or form is 50 cents a lot of money, but it's an unnecessary charge.
(4)
Courtney O.
Very upset. I've been here a total of 3 times. First time was awesome. Staff was super friendly even though it was busy. Second time I feel like our server thought we were just little kids so she paid no attention. Third time was the worst. No one was even in the store and I asked for bread like 3 times. It took forever for our waiter to bring us anything. And we had like 3 different people bring us stuff. The waiter, Jenae, was very rude. She completely ignored us and when we asked her for the check she goes "yea I'll get to you" and turns to put napkins on an EMPTY table... Really? Was that necessary at that moment?
(2)
Michael B.
Me and my mother often come here for a nice meal to catch up or to grab a meal before/after a movie. They have the best bread of any Italian restaurant coupled with their dipping sauce and the food is delicious as well. We always order the Gimelli
(4)
Melissa M.
The food was really good but the service was super sloooooow! If you are in any type of a hurry this is not the place to go. We were waiting forever for things. Oddly, the food came quickly but everything else took way too long.
(3)
Jennifer L.
A little pricey but I love them for their steak salad and gnocchi. The bread they give you is DELICIOUS. Good place for a casual date night.
(3)
Danny F.
I LOVE pasta Pamardoro but HATE this one. Went here 2 weeks ago with my friend Melly on a Tuesday night. First off service. Food took way too long to come out. Server did not speak good english one bit. Now the food we both ordered pasta & it didn't live up yo the quality we usually get. More like it sucked. Wasted my money going here I will not be reterning.
(2)
Jason M.
A chain but a good one. As I always say in my reviews about Fremont - hey people, it's FREMONT, not San Francisco. Ok, this one is in Union City but you get my drift. It's a chain. But Pasta Pomodoro's is a really good chain. This one is particularly friendly, with good wait staff, and a nice relaxed atmosphere on weekdays. On weekends this gets a bit crazy as the guy who built the Union City parking lot system was... well 2nd to Jack in the Shining in terms of insanity. Parking is INSANELY difficult on weekends. But back to the food - * Appetizers - try the asparagus, which is low cal and very good. * Ravioli - try the butternut squash ravioli - excellent * Desserts - the chocolate cake trapipiosotootis (I am making that Italian word up) is very very good. Wine - good, great - whatever you can afford. Great for kids. Great for a weekday meal with a your family. I love this place. Yes, it's a chain. Yes it's not as good as the food up in snobbidibobby San Francisco, but if you are in Union City this is as good as it gets, and it's very good.
(4)
Brandon W.
I love Pasta Pomodoro and always go to the ones in SF, San Bruno and SJ. So I thought I'd try the Union City location since it's 10min from my place. We went on a Sunday night around 6pm. It wasn't too busy, no wait. We were seated quickly, but the service was terrible. They had only one girl serving everyone, while 3 waitresses were sitting at the counter talking the entire time we were there. I don't know if they were on break the whole time or off but they were just sitting there in their uniforms chatting in front of waiting customers so it was very unprofessional. I felt bad for the poor girl serving us because she was running all over the restaurant, but she kept forgetting us the whole time, because we were in the back corner. She forgot to take our order, forgot to bring our waters, I had to ask for my coffee 3 times, and our food sat ready on the counter for about 10min before someone brought it to us. The food was great as Pomodoro always is (the only reason for the star) but she forgot to bring our bill and forgot to take it to pay. I know it was all probably a management issue, but the whole service was just awful. To top it off, whenever we tried to flag down someone else to help, they would look in our direction and rudely turn away. We weren't even asking for anything else or making any stupid requests, the only interaction we even had was ordering our 2 dishes and drinks. My cousin I was with who lives in Union City said she hears a lot of people say the same thing about the service. No wonder there weren't that many people on a Sunday at 6. Management needs to take care of this because all the other Pasta Pomodoros have excellent service.
(1)
Frank S.
Was brought there by some friends whom at the end, were as disappointed as I was. They did had some good pasta, and despite what other reviews state, fast service as well. The 3 stars review comes from the BAD surprise at the end, discovering that they already added to the bill not less than 18% tips !! And we were only 3 adults with 2 kids in our party. Shame for them, because we were so pleased that we wanted to give some good tips at the end anyway. But after this, not only we just paid this 18% "fee" and nothing more, but now there will be some time we will consider coming there again. Really shame business practice. :( --- UPDATE: Returned with some friends who wanted to enjoy some pasta. The lasagna were cold in the middle, while hot on the side, which definitely means they were re-heated by microwave, no matter how fresh they claim their food is. Even the coffee we order at the end, had to be sent back because they arrived barely warm. And of course, we had their mandatory 18% tips applied to our bill at the end. Back to ONE star for now, and probably never go again in this place. FIVE stars goes to the poor waitress though, for her amazing service and smile, despite all the complain from our table.
(1)
Jason R.
I am not sure why this location has not gotten better reviews. I received excellent service from Barbara, who made a special plate to my order without hesitation. The food was great. This is the best service that I have received, en oar with La Folie and Campton Place... Imagine that from a chain restaurant!
(5)
Virginia B.
Went here for the first time last night. I had some reservations because of the many poor recent reviews. Perhaps they had an impact. For us, the experience was nearly perfect. The only downside was a mother and child seated next to us who were using a phone very noisily to keep the child entertained rather than with ear buds (I find this rude in a restaurant). We were seated, our order taken and food presented all with good timing. Our food was excellent. The portions were a good value (I brought some of mine home). We ordered bruscetta and the polenta (delish) as appetizers. Our entrees were the fettucine alfredo with sausage and chicken parmagiana. I always consider risotto and polenta a good sine of ability to prepare Italian foods. This place does both. So I don't know what all the recent complaints were about. Our dinner out was excellent and we will definitely be returning. A plus? Parking was easy and convenient. Here's a tip. It isn't one of the single standing restaurants. It is near Starbucks and the signage is dim. This was my second attempt to eat here. The first time I couldn't find it. This time I drove and he looked for the place.
(4)
Nathalie N.
Pasta is Pasta. Can't really expect much from a chain. The service is pretty fast though despite how chaotic the restaurant feels like. My favorite and probably least favorite is the fact that I can now see the calorie content of my dishes... EEK! Get the Gamberi appetizer.. its my favorite! Now if I can get that sauce on some pasta bowties that would be awesome!
(3)
A R.
My husband & I came here on Easter Sunday. It was busy and really low staffed. Despite this, each of the employees were extremely friendly and hardworking. We noticed them getting their fair share of beef from angry customers. They handled it all very professionally and respectfully. Keep up the great work, guys!
(5)
Lydia C.
I've been a fan of PP for a while, but our last dinner here was a bit of a disappointment. The food was good - pesto cappellini and gnocchi - and I always like their bread and pesto sauce. However, service has declined. Even though it wasn't busy on a weeknight, we stood by the door for several minutes before we were acknowledged. I'm sorry, but there is NO excuse for that! Then the woman who brought our salad (not our waiter) apparently couldn't be bothered to smile. Our waiter, although capable, didn't seem to be making any effort.
(2)
Vi T.
Frutti de mare! I'll be real, I don't eat anything else there, at least entree-wise. I figure why mess with a good thing? Bread and salsa verde are tasty, the minestrone is hearty, the caesar has a nice bite to it, and the few times I did try different dishes, they were pretty good too. This location is SOOO much better than Milpitas, FYI. Mmm, getting hungry.....
(4)
Clarissa Y.
When I was about middle school age, I used to come here all the time and I absolutely loved it. But then again, that was long before I started truly experiencing how delicious food can be. When I went there recently again, the food was alright... but just alright. And they say that you become less of a picky eater with age! I disagree! Ambiance: I have to admit, I really like how Pasta Pomodoro is designed. It's very spacious with lots of room and paintings on the wall. Classy dining - I like it! Customer Service: The customer service is consistently great. Every single time I've come here, the service has been friendly and food comes at respectable times. Food: Like I said, the food is alright but nothing special. They offer large portions, but the pasta sometimes can be a bit rough. The complimentary bread they bring out as an appetiser could do with a bit of work - the sauce is just oil with parsley... really cheap. The bread didn't taste that freshly made as well. But then again, I could be a bit picky because I subconsciously compare every complimentary bread I receive to the delicious Texas Roadhouse goodies. With the prices of Pasta Pomodoro, I feel like it's just not worth the quality. It is a bit on the expensive side but they didn't really make their food worth it. --- Overall, I like Pasta Pomodoro and would come here again. It's nothing really special, so don't get your hopes up. However, the food is decently tasty, the customer service is great, and the restaurant looks gorgeous. Looks good to me!
(3)
Mo O.
First time here and probably my last, unless I feel like having warm bread with a side of basil pesto sauce. Plenty of empty seats at 8:30 and more than 5 minutes passed before being acknowledged and seated. The simple no-meat angel hair pasta dish I ordered was bland and overcooked. It could have used more salt, better olive oil, and cheese. May be that cooked pasta is thrown into the saute pan with the vegetables, because there was fried noodle in my entree. The appetizer was OK but comes with a hard-cooked egg that was either hard-boiled or just not fresh.
(2)
Ron A.
Always order the Frutti di mare, you will never fail by ordering this dish. The bread is always fresh and warm. The place needs some updating and cleanliness is not the best. Overall it's still 4-stars for me.
(4)
Tom P.
This place is hit or miss on how packed it gets for lunch. What is never hit or miss is the great food and service. I enjoy Pasta Pomodoro even with my food allergies and special requests. They always accomodate me and I love it.
(4)
Orchid L.
Went there on a weekday evening for dinner with family around 7 pm, the crowd was optimal and we did not have to wait for a table. I LOVED the penne portobello :-) The service was also fast and effecient. Will definitely go again.
(4)
Chris C.
Clean and good staff. The Gemelli is a really good dish if you.go for the earthy flavors
(3)
Peter B.
Nice menu but very slow to be seated. Waitress was very good once seated. The gnocchi was very good and the pasta Siciliane as also very good.
(3)
Mike D.
We we're greeted quickly and sat down quickly but that was pretty much it. It was Thursday so we opted to try the new abbondanza menu which is 10.00 for a choice of 4 different pastas and five different sauces. The wife ordered fettuccine Alfredo and I ordered the rigatoni and bolognese. Now it took over 20 mins to get the first order. We forgot who out waiter was and what he looked like because he never checked back after we received our initial order. My pasta was hot and was decent but my wife's, while hot, was bland as hell. I mean it wasn't even close to Alfredo sauce should be. It wasn't cheesy or buttery. It was like cream and butter over noodles. It took me about 15 mins before the waiter came to check and I explained that my wife's pasta sauce was bland. We got a remake but this time she chose the creamy vodka sauce which was no different just in color. I asked for a to go box for my refill since it took so long to get it that I got full just waiting for it and to top it off they wouldn't give me a to go box because it was a refill.... I went to the rest room in the meanwhile and got nailed by a swinging door that leads to the kitchen that an employee decided to kick open while I was passing by. Smh. Won't be going back there anytime soon.
(1)
Walt M.
it deserves 0 Stars!!!! i was so mad i went here because i love italian food and have never been here before, i walk in and the place looks great, nice ambiance and lighting, but then im standing there in a half seat restaraunt waiting for 20min? i didnt see the traffic worthy of the wait, nevermind though because i was hungry. we sit down and its a pretty regular italian menu, nothing special, so i get the lasagna because i figure "you cant mess up lasagna right" boy was i wrong, it felt like they barely cooked it, there was no seasoning or flavor, and the texture was just off, soft everything everwhere... you know its a bad place if the best thing they have to offer is drinks and free bread... i wont be back here... Rigatonis is a much better option, and Buon Appetito in Hayward puts this place to SHAME
(1)
K C.
If I had known bringing in a coupon that was sent to me via email could only be redeemed by my party if we sat at two separate tables, well we would have still came. But maybe I'll read the restaurants policy before I dine in next time. It took our server 20 minutes after we were done eating to split our check and give us our buy one get one half coupon. She had to call the manager to tell us it wasn't working. Like we care? You sent us the coupon, we expect you to honor it. Not tell us we should have sat at separate tables.
(1)
Alice T.
I came here to eat for a Sunday birthday dinner. I had order the healthy chicken pasta. The portion of the dishes were a decent size. They also give you plenty of bread with pesto. However, I felt that the food was pretty bland and flavorless. The staff and the waitress was extremely nice, and very accommodating and refilled our water and drinks several times. The restaurant itself is pretty small. Not a bad place for something casual or a lunch time place. Price point of the food was a little above average. Around $12.00 to $14.00 per dish. Parking was not hard to find. Maybe I had to order something else and try it. But it was just okay for me.
(3)
Farrah F.
Pasta Pomodoro, you've made my bread list! My former roommate and I were in somewhat of a dilemma that involved either making flan in Davis and getting back to the bay area at around 9 p.m., or driving back, sticking it in the oven and getting to dinner at 8 p.m. We were celebrating my facebook wife's birthday with steak, because we love food, she loves meat, steak is awesome, and I dream about the wonder that is known as Texas Roadhouse's cinnamon butter and bread. We ended up choosing the latter option and got back to the bay area at 8 p.m. as planned. She'd had a granola bar and I'd had a burrito. Needless to say, we were starving. But due to a couple complications, we didn't make it to Texas Roadhouse until 9 p.m., where we were told that the wait would be approximately an hour and 10 minutes. S: Eff that. So we scoured Union Landing and came up with this place. I think they close at 10(:30?) on Saturday nights and we got there at 9:30 but they didn't give us a hard time about it. We were seated quickly and our waiter, bless his soul (I sound like an 80 y.o. woman), brought us our bread almost immediately. Warm focaccia bread + an amazing pesto dip...I think we powered through about 4 plates before we finally slowed down. He was a smart one, and kept em' comin', so we are all in agreement that he's full of awesome. I ordered the gnocchi because it's wonderfully filling and I was out for blood (well, food). It's an extra $1.75 to add broccoli, but it wouldn't have been as amazing without it. I also got to sample the meatballs from the spaghetti and the ravioli di zucca, which has this brown butter/sage sauce that I'd never tried before (it was good stuff). I think the bill came to around $62 (including tax and an 18% gratuity) for 4 dishes and an appetizer, so to me, slightly on the steeper end, but a small price to pay to alleviate our starvation throughout that day. (I'm such a budding poet.)
(4)
Vlad Z.
The food here was pretty lackluster. If you want good Italian food, go to Italy. If you can't afford to go that far, then try Olive Garden or Old Spaghetti Factory. Yes, they're chains but they do have decent Italian fare.
(2)
Sergio F.
I came by on a business lunch today and can say this place is very yummy comfort food. After not eating dinner because of my late flight last night, lunch here hit the spot! The menu is pretty extensive, with pasta dishes, paninis and salads. I started off with a minestrone. Good taste, and different presentation. The broth was clearer than I've usually had but the zucchini and beans were tasty and firm. Main course was a "Healthy Chicken Pasta". The dish had plenty of spicy marinara sauce, and the noodles were good quality. Certainly a tasty lunch! Bread service was prompt from us sitting down, and the pieces were warm. The sauce was an original touch, looked like Olive Oil mixed with basil. The espresso (we call it "colada" back east) was a pleasant reminder of home!
(4)
Doctor G.
I got there at 6:30pm and the place was absolutely deserted. By 7pm, Pasta Pomodoro was packed. Huh? Did the theater just let out? Nice that they gave you bread and pesto before dinner. Caesar salad was pretty good. However, I was not impressed with my spaghetti and meatballs. I didn't care for the sauce. Service was fine, parking tougher than you might imagine, but still available due to the size of the Union Landing lot.
(3)
Ellen C.
My supervisor and I came here after work and what made us want to try this place (besides the fact that I see it randomly in different places), was that they had pasta dishes that had less than 400 calories! Even though we had eaten a large breakfast and lunch, it was appealing to eat here because you can eat guilt free. I got the ravioli, which was light but fulfilling - portioned perfectly for a light dinner. My supervisor got something heavier, which was the special of the day (white sauce fetuccini). I thought the prices were reasonable for a quick dinner, and for the ambiance. Good place to meet for a quick dinner and if you're watching calories. However if you're looking for large portions or a special italian restaurant, probably not the place to be.
(3)
Nikki C.
This was my first time coming here and it exceeded my expectations. The first thing I was impressed with was being able to see my food being cooked. The second thing was the ambience of the whole restaurant. Service was great and the food was great. Will make this my go-to pasta spot. Quick tip- the tiramisu was great but recommend splitting it! Quite a good portion size!
(5)
Gg M.
We have been frequent customers for a long time, liking the fresh produce used in many dishes. Recently they have changed the menu-for the worse-eliminating the choice of half portions. The half portion option was always nice in that it gave the diner the opportunity to sample several starter/main course combos w/o over-ordering. We enjoy their price fix when offered, although in the current listing we did not find choices of appeal to us. Lunch has become pricier than it used to be.
(4)
Jackie D.
One of my favorite places to eat on a friday night. My husband and I usually go on date night because of their fast service and the great service. We always get greeted at the door and we've never had to wait for more that 5 min. And their food is so good!
(5)
Ella A.
I ordered the chicken fettuccine with creamy pesto and the noodles were undercooked. I sent it back so they can remake it for me. When it came around the second time around they over cooked it. Some parts of the pasta were stuck to each otger and those werent fully cooked. Very disappointed with the quality of the food and as far as the service...it was alright. She could've smiled more and when I sent the food back she appeared annoyed. I rather spend the money to cook it at home on my own.
(1)
Lisa C.
There was a ton of food on the antipasti platter. We should have stopped there and done without the pasta dishes.
(4)
Ava S.
Typical chain pasta joint. Honestly I wasn't expecting much, so I wasn't disappointed nor was I blown away. For appetizers, we ordered bruschetta. I don't remember what it was called, but it was not the typical one on the menu. The one we ordered only came with two and had squid among other things on it. It was good though there were hardly any tomatoes to be found. My sister ordered the Bolognese, which was alright. The meat sauce was very meaty, always a plus. I ordered the Gemelli, but I substituted the gemelli pasta for linguini pasta because I wanted noodles that I could twirl around my fork. They charged me an extra dollar though to substitute it out. RAWR. Oh well. The sundried tomatoes were good, but the chicken was a bit too smokey for my liking. We ordered my sister's husband a Marsala to-go. It came with two decent-sized pieces of tender chicken. I think that his dish had more worth than our two dishes simply because of the amount of food/meat he got. The free bread they give you with the pesto dipping sauce will probably be the only reason I come back. The pesto sauce is DE-Li-CIOUS. Omg. I wish they sold it so that I could bring some home to eat. Yum. The waitress we had irritated me because I felt like every time she came to our table, she tried to get away as quick as possible. She was always gone before I could ask her to bring us something. Other workers there were quick to refill our waters though. They were never empty They include the calorie count on each of their dishes, so I advise you to not come here unless you're prepared to indulge in ~1000 calories.
(3)
Robb J.
Love Pasta Pomodoro. After having authentic Italian food on our trips to Florence and Rome, this place is fairly close for a franchise. The staff are friendly and quick to serve and check on you during your dine in. The bread and dip to start your dine in is great!
(4)
Qui C.
Pasta Pomodoro is my favorite restaurant in Union City. The Gemelli is my favoooorite! Penne Portebello is a hearty, earthy dish. Fruitti de Mare has a good spicy sauce with lots of seafood. Good service. Delicious bread and pesto dip. However, the Pollo Parmigiana tasted so ordinary with no special flavors and the whole order is really small. Details of the review: My friend always takes us here when we visit her in town and we love it! It's one of my favorite chain Italian places with soft, candle-lit tables and nice workers. The prices are extremely fair and the bread with pesto dip they give out is simply a meal of its own! I always get the Gemelli, always. It has my favorite combo of ingredients: sun-dried tomatoes, chicken and mushrooms. Good, creamy sauce but not too heavy. 5 stars Penne Portebello - This dish is very hearty and earthy with a nice combo of ingredients too. The spinach gives us a fresh taste and the sauce is also creamy but not heavy. 5 stars Frutti di Mare - My second favorite dish of the restaurant. The big bang for your buck as they load this dish with a pile of seafood. Delicious spicy tomato sauce. Got some of that bread left over? Dip it in this sauce, you can't go wrong! 5 stars Pollo Parmigiana - This dish was so disappointing. I personally don't like chicken parmigian dishes but have tasted them, and this version from Pasta Pomodoro sucked. It seriously tasted and looked like a frozen entre. Also, we opted for the whole order so my friend could have left overs for lunch the next day but the portion on this was SO SMALL that she finished it in one sitting! 1 star
(4)
Vicente G.
Well........let me start by saying I was left standing to wait for service to even get seated in an almost empty restaruant! After waiting for 10 minuets to be seated, it took another ten minuets for us to decide that the service now is horrible and that was not worth waiting another second to get our food!!! Sad because I was really in the mood for their raviollis! =( I wont go back now for this, when the place is empty and the server would rather talk on her cell phone then ask if we wanted water, because we had a group of 6 and tip is automatic, just pissed me off!! Not at all ok!! The food here is good! Just will not put up with people like this!!
(2)
Jackie A.
Nice place to chill and have dinner after a long, hard day at work! :)
(4)
Noel P.
where do I start... from the beginning I suppose. Upon entering the restaurant we were unhappily greeted by the hostess and sat down immediately (just about the only thing that came in good timing). Mind you it was a Sunday afternoon and the place was not busy at all. We had to ask for bread after staring at numerous loaves just sitting on the counter waiting to be served. I do not believe we saw the waitresses smile once, which is pretty pathetic looking at it from a managerial point of view. My boyfriend and I both ordered the lasagna which looked liked it tasted, precooked and heated up. The one good thing about our experience was the Moscato wine we selected. To make matters worse when our meal was done they did not ask if we wanted more wine or even if we wanted desert, they just handed us the check. Who doesn't ask for more business! I have been to many restaurants and remember getting a second drink just because I was asked if I want more! I called the restaurant after we left to ask to speak to a manager and come to find out the girl who greeted us was actually the weekend manager! WTH!? She couldn't even take a complaint correctly, all that she had to say was, "Umm, well...thank you??? for letting me know." What kind of customer service is that? Unbelievable. I would never recommend anyone coming to this restaurant not at least until they get some new staff that looks like they actually give a damn about there jobs.
(1)
Tony H.
I used to love these guys, but lately i have had a lasagne served hot on the outside and frozen on the inside (implying not freshly made), cold for other sorts of meals and even cold coffee. will start avoiding this place.
(2)
Gregg C.
I just finished eating with friends at Pasta Pomodoro. As the restaurant was not busy late in the evening, we didn't wait long for any of our service. The hostess, waiter, and food runner were all courteous; the waiter offered suggestions, refilled beverages, and checked to see if our food was to our liking. He also offered a desert menu, but was never pushy during the entire meal. The bill was split on two credit cards without a problem. The experience was great. The food is just so-so; hence, the -1 star. Jennifer Z. would not give such an honest review. Jennifer: As a service to all real Yelpers, I've simply made people aware that your reviews are totally off base so they can consider the source. I'm surprised yelp hasn't screened your reviews and hidden most of them. Somebody isn't doing their job effectively. I hope this brings your reviews to their attention so they can be dealt with properly. Since it has gone on this long, I guess you are unimportant to them. It's sad when a person like you can't handle the truth, gets overly defensive, and still can't retort with a logical argument. Truth: keep living your life thinking people owe you something you haven't earned and you're going to wind up lonely and bitter (or more than you are currently).
(4)
Eric T.
Visited Pasta Pomodoro restaurant in Hayward for the first time last week. For some reason the food we ordered came out really late (those people who came in after us got their food first). The owner, Gary, came to our table soon after our food arrived to apologize. He later told us he would pick up the tab and gave us a few buy-one-get-one-free coupons. Gary cares about his customer satisfaction. We like his attitude.
(4)
Sunil R.
Went back after a long time and surprisingly enjoyed myself. This place is one of many options in Union Landing and definitely a good option if you want Italian. Service was great. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. The fresh bread and olive oil they brought out at the beginning was good. Bruschetta was unique and very tasty. The chicken parmigiana was very good. The butternut squash ravioli was good as well. The only flop was the cheese pizza. The bread was like cardboard. Another nit was that they had a drink on our bill that we did not order which I luckily caught.
(3)
H M.
As far as the food goes, it's not bad for a chain. It's a smaller chain, but there are bigger chains such as Macaroni Grill with more to offer. The selection is small enough that if you care about nutrition, want to stay away from refined carbs and added sugar, there's little to choose from. In fairness they do offer what they call whole wheat pasta with some dishes, but from the taste I doubt it's really whole wheat. Some people think that if you mix whole wheat flour with refined flour you end up with whole wheat flour. I beg to differ. The staff is often good, but occasionally slow. Prices are high enough, meaning tips are high enough, that I don't think it's asking too much for the staff to learn how to pronounce the name of the food they serve. I hate it when they "correct" me by calling something poyo grigglia, for example. It's an Italian restaurant. It's not as if the menu is too big for them to remember.
(3)
Tom T.
I've been to this Pasta Pomodoro for lunch before and found it reasonable enough. The last time the service was inexcusable. I waited to be seated, the place was not busy at all. I saw one person helping someone with a takeout order, and a second person who seemed dressed like the staff but thought he must not be because he was sitting at the counter playing with his cell phone. Five minutes later...a couple cuts in front of me (I'm the only one waiting!), the cellphone player seats them(!), then comes back and seats me. Ten minutes go by, nobody offers water, nobody tries to take an order, one staff person walks by and does nothing, nobody else comes around. I finally leave because...it's lunch time, I have to get back to work, I want food, and this place doesn't want to offer it to me. I then complain on their "Contact Me" website, get an auto-email telling me someone will respond "shortly". No response.
(1)
Sparkle S.
Appalling service. We had a terrible, super slow and oblivious server whom when asked to bring some olive oil and balsamic vinegar had poured half a table spoon of olive oil and couple of drops of balsamic vinegar for a party of 4 table! Then we asked for more than two slices of bread (since there were 4 people in our party), they came back with only ONE! Could they not count that there were 4 people at the table? Stingy with bread and olive oil? Are you kidding me? Then to top all that, they were super slow in serving, refilling drinks, bringing the check. Very disappointed in this Pasta Pomodoro in Union City.
(1)
Evelynn C.
I didn't know what to expect from Pasta Pomodoro, only that my boyfriend likes it enough to suggest going there a few times. We finally went one time and it was super crowded at about 6pm but we were still seated immediately! I love places with fast service, it's just professional that way. The tables were kind of close to each other though, I was less than a foot away from the next table over. Which I guess isn't really a bad thing. They were a little tipsy from the wine so we actually had a friendly conversation about the weird thing I found in my water (-1 star? I shouldn't be finding anything in my water except maybe ice cubes..) The pasta.. was not bad. But it wasn't OMG-AMAZING either. I would go again, but it's a little pricey for just average pasta, in my opinion anyway.
(4)
Tiffany T.
What I love about this place is the complimentary bread with olive oil/vinegar and the frutti di mare(get this if you love spaghetti and seafood!) (:
(3)
Julia F.
Honestly, I can never go wrong with Pasta Pomodoro. There's always seating available, good customer service, delicious food! Love the complimentary bread with pesto.. yumm. The only thing that sucks is finding parking!
(4)
Victoria M.
It was my 1st time there & I thoroughly enjoyed everything. I had pasta with prawns & asparagus, which a generous portion. You have to come and eat here!
(5)
Kevin L.
Came here for dinner. Service is pretty good here. They're usually pretty accommodating even if we only have 2 people they let us have a bigger table. Usually we order the frutti DI mare, salad and a tortellini soup. Food is consistent and a solid 4 stars. They also have all you can eat pasta, have not tried it but seems like a good deal.
(4)
mark d.
As 1 of the first generation wait staff and GMs of Pasta P all the way back when it first started in SF (Chestnut St.) service here was a poor representation of the success that Adriano put together. I can't speak for my past experiences here, but today was all bad. No one to seat us, food took extra long to come out, no management to check on current seated guest and it seemed like the only one server wasnt recieving any back up from management to expedite orders. Would I go back...yes of course! This rating goes towards my visit today.
(1)
Sherry Z.
Ordered take out tonight, got home to find the meat balls had been microwaved and burnt. The arrabiata sauce was just plain tomato sauce no seasoning or spice: Only raw slices of garlic. Gemelli sauce was mostly oil, hardly any cream, and the shrimp had clearly started to go bad. Garlic bread wasn't toasted and had no garlic, was covered in partially melted cheese that had hardened into something more resembling leather. We will never order from this pasta p again.
(1)
PJ E.
Went there for lunch and the service was very bad. Our waiter Francis basically forgot about us once a large lunch party showed up. No drink refill and our bread we asked for never showed up. We ended up asking for service from a different server. Food was ok at best.
(1)
Susan M.
My friends and I came here on a Friday night bc it was the place with the shortest wait time for dinner. We waited only 15mins which was not bad. The place has a nice ambiance. I ordered the penne pasta with chicken, sausages, portobello mushrooms and veggies. Overall I was not too impressed. The pasta was a bit overcooked so the noodles were too soft. Could have also used some more flavoring. The free bread they served with this green sauce was pretty good. Not sure what the green sauce was but I definitely wanted more of it! Service was pretty good too. Don't think I'd come back though as the prices are a bit expensive for the lack of quality.
(3)
Elisa L.
Eh, I've been to many pasta pomodoros and this one sucked. Service is nice. Flavor of the food is missing something. Maybe it's just me but I love italian food! So I'm picky. I do love the bread they serve while you wait for your entree!
(3)
Terrico S.
Had chicken Alfredo here today was awesome! Only bad part was that it was a bit expensive. Four of us ate and it came up to $75 without drinks. Overall the food was great but the price was iffy.
(4)
Michael D.
Pasta Pomodoro has embodied the obscure line dividing Chipotle-esk dining and a semi-fine Italian eat-in. Courtesy and joviality were splashed all over the 20s something staff faces and eagerly greeted us. Soft ambient lighting and the artisan use of track spotlighting over the nook galvanized the experience with a lounge-like overture that made the evening just work. The "side" Brussels sprouts (which are better classified as an appetizer) are superlatively prepared, cut in halves and seasoned perfectly. The Rigatoni pasta bathed in their house recipe sauce garnished with Italian sausage transmuted the love from Genoa. The warm starter bread (if you will) and the accompanying spread were rich and smooth. Unlike other themed chain restaurants featuring ethnic cuisines that sacrifice focus on taste in attempt to recreate the motherland with various artifacts and shadow boxes stapled to the walls, Pasta Pomodoro cancels such notions swimmingly and rights the stern back to palate satisfaction . Every plate and bowl of the course complemented it's predecessor fittingly. Everything worked well together; even the exaggerated restored mid-century food advertisements that dominated the walls yielded the mainstream authentic Italian diner feel so badly missing from other franchises like Olive Garden. Altogether, it was a regretless $32 and 70 minutes that I happily endorse to the casual diner or the Michelin mouth. I recommend this establishment.
(4)
Kristine F.
I haven't been here in at least a decade despite its residence at Union Landing. My friend and I couldn't decide where to eat so it was either IHOP or PP, with a pasta option winning us over. To my delight, both of us chose the penne portobello. I dined here on a Tuesday yet I was still surprised about how fast our food came out. We didn't even have time to request more warm focaccia bread with pesto olive oil. As soon as we finished the complimentary bread, our pastas were brought out. We were seated right next to the kitchen but somehow I didn't notice them cooking the meals. Superb al dente pasta supplied by Barilla, rich garlic cream sauce mixed with sausage crumbles, chicken, and slices of portobello mushrooms. They sprinkle your food with cheese if you wish. Their portion size is smaller than I expected for $13. No wonder others have said it's expensive here. It's Union Landing and along the strip right next to the theater. Go figure. Service was alright, nothing special from the waiter. He offered a soda refill but since we're in a drought I probably had to ask for a water refill. One thing that stood out to me was our entrance greeting. When I walked in and stopped to get seated, the tall blonde man I assume was the manager glanced over at us from in front of the kitchen area and nodded to me like he knew me. It made me feel welcome. Since I haven't been here in a while, it would've been nicer to sit in the middle of the place, possibly near the front and windows so I could see all the action. Alas, we sat in the back. More focaccia bread may have changed my mood.
(3)
Brent B.
Normally I love Pomodoro but this location has got to go. Waited 20 minutes to be seated when I could clearly see 4 spots big enough for our group only to be sat by the door. I mean literally by the door, basically where a waiting area should be. Ordered my usual and when it came it was probably the worst thing I've had at a restaurant. Runny, watered down, flavorless food. We won't be back.
(1)
Sowmya S.
We went here on a Saturday evening. It was easy to get a reservation and we had the table ready on time, as promised. I liked the decor. Loved the bread they gave. Unlike other Italian restaurants, they didn't just give olive oil; they had a green something made with olive oil which was pretty good! We had a chicken fettuccine pasta, roasted veggies capellini and grilled asparagus. Food was great. We had some Moscato and Pinot Noir. Great ambience. They were very attentive and pleasant to talk to. All in all, it was a good experience.
(4)
Joana G.
order Gemelli. just do it. its amazing.
(5)
Tara M.
Horrible. Quoted 30 min, I arrived after 50 min. My entree out of two was not started when I arrived. The order was wrong didn't make it with linguine, even though it was read back to me. After another 15 min he packed up everything & I asked is everything in here. Yes he replied, I checked and my bruschetta was missing. I spend alot of money on take out. I won't spend my money at this location. They obviously don't know how to plan properly. Ps it was 8:30 on Sunday
(1)
Rachel H.
I've been to Pasta Pomodoro a few times over the years and it has always been okay. It's not great, but it's also not bad. It's a step above Olive Garden, has great service, and a nice ambiance. The downside of this restaurant is the most important thing: the food. While the complimentary bread is delicious, all their dishes are just okay. None of them are amazingly delicious and they all could be made better and cheaper at home. I recommend the chicken panini if you're going for lunch! It's cheap, comes with soup/salad, and will still be good when you eat it as leftovers. I couldn't finish it while I was there because I had filled myself up on their bread. This isn't Union City's finest restaurant, but I would recommend it if you have somewhat of a special occasion and don't want to travel far for food.
(3)
Fiji K.
One of the worst experiences ever. As we walked in the server said they would be right back to seat us however we had to wait a while before the manager eventually came to seat us. After waiting 15 minutes we had to call for the manager so someone could serve us. The manager was also giving us attitude. We asked to move to a booth and the server said he would clean it up but instead started serving other guests. We weren't offered any drinks or bread which we later had to ask for and work of all my main meal (salmon) came out RAW (see pic)!!! Even my pasta was under-cooked! When I told the manager that my salmon was RAW she replied 'what do you want me to do about it'!!! Poor service, we'll never go back there again and do not recommend this place to anyone.
(1)
Amy S.
Not authentic, not satisfying I dislike it. I tried this place for the first and last time and ewwwwwwwwww.. I ordered the Chicken Pesto Fettuccine and it did not taste good at all. I feel as if I overpaid for a small amount of food who knows maybe the pick up orders are somehow smaller either way I'm not wasting my money and returning to this place to test that theory.... Nope nope nope.
(1)
Alyssa M.
Made a reservation for a party of 7. My party arrived late which I apologize because we were sitting there for 45 mins until everyone finally arrived. Our two servers were nice and brought bread out right away. I'm not a big fan of pasta pomodoro. I ordered the butternut squash ravioli and was surprised it came out sweet but I was more irritated because some ravioli wasn't stuffed with butternut squash. Total rip off. So I started getting frustrated. I was even more irritated because our waiter totally split the bill wrong. We divided the amount for the cards and wrote it at the top of the receipt. Well the lady subtracted all the cash and then oddly divided the cards of different amount. It would've made more sense if she spit the three cards evenly but she didn't. Definitely NOT returning here. Please hire smarter waitresses. No wonder this place never gets packed. Horrible.
(2)
chante q.
It's funny that despite my review on yelp and contacting Pasta Pomodoro directly on their website, I have not had a response from management or any staff to date. This reaffirms my position on their horrible standards.
(1)
Tracie A.
Had a little change of heart tonight and came here for dinner instead of backyard bayou. I can't help but think maybe we should have went to backyard bayou instead though. First off, the service here is good. We were seated immediately and our server was really friendly and attentive. She had her recommendations and seemed to know a lot about the menu and specials and stuff.. Ok on to the food... They have a nice selection of items to order plus a seasonal summer menu. I saw they offered a grilled opah dish and I got super excited because I haven't had opah since I lived in Hawaii.. Anyways I ended up ordering off the summer menu, got the grilled opah with arugula salad and herbed orzo. The salad and orzo were delicious. As far as the opah, not so good. It was terribly overlooked and was like biting into charred sawdust. Super dry and just bad. Talk about a letdown. I couldn't even finish the fish. The bf ordered the porcini risotto with shrimp. That was pretty good.. Nice and creamy and the shrimp were cooked perfectly. The complimentary bread and pesto type dipping sauce were tasty as well as the bottle of wine we got too. But sadly, my opah was terrible. Their butternut squash ravioli sounded good.. Maybe if I decide to go back I'll get that. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
(2)
Steve G.
Got here 30 minutes before closing on a Friday. Relatively easy parking in the big lot. A little confusion being seated - the manager was going to seat us then left. then we thought a waitress called us over but she said she was waving to someone else. Finally manager came back (from where?) and seated us. Different waitress came by with menus and bread and took drink orders. 3 of us split the chicken parm and portobello penne. Food was OK. Chicken parm was best flavored of the dishes, the pasta it came with and the penne were so-so. Towards the end of dinner I wanted a water refill but our waitress as busy wiping down tables and chairs for closing and inattentive. When I finally flagged her down, she was very nice and refilled water, gave us take-out boxes and brought the check. Maybe our service was a little better than other reviewers because it was closing time and they wanted us out of there. Overall, an OK experience, nothing great.
(3)
Janet K.
Extremely disappointing. First, my order was served cold (makes one wonder how 'fresh' it really was), then after having it heated, found the pasta overcooked, the sauce had zero taste (seemed like they opened a can of tomato sauce and poured it on), if I was blindfolded and asked what the salmon was, I wouldn't be able to identify it, leaving the only ingredient with any flavor at all being asparagus. Just a side note, the bathroom lacked soap which made me wonder how the cooks had been washing THEIR hands. Despite having the cost of my meal removed from the bill, I have absolutely no intention of returning. They've been going downhill for a while now and there are just too many other great places available to enjoy a really good meal. ps - they've removed the Italian ambience and replaced it with plastic greenery and to top it off, I had to request cheese (twice) as well as oil and vinegar dip for the bread. Just bad.
(1)
Najla N.
3 stars because the food and dessert are good. But service was really slow and bad on a slow day. The complimentary Bread and pesto with olive oil is amazing!
(3)
Jan P.
Their service is the BEST here. I cannot find any better service on a Thursday night when it's pretty packed. Here is what I recommend: -Mafaldine -Gemelli -Chicken Marsala -Bistecca -Pollo Griglia -Insalada Mista -Spinachi Salad -Fuittit de Mari Order all of this at once. It's really good. The server I had was the best.. she served my food with a smile and was very attentive!! I wish she was my server in every restaurant! They have free bread and pesto which is very good and will fulfill you if your meal doesn't. I wish that their bread taste more fresh.. it was hard as a rock.
(4)
Love J.
YUMM. Must try: - bruchetta - caesar salad - fettuccini alfredo Wine: pinot noir Dessert: tiramisu
(4)
Jade F.
Not many vegetarian options. Even the vege dishes have wine in it. Like really!? Food was not good anyway.
(2)
Andrew Y.
I highly highly recommend this place. Its a chain restaurant without the chain feel. The complimentary bread is whatever to me. Its not bad but its not great. Its just...there. This place gets its high ratings from their incredible entrees. I love love love the gemelli. Its my go to dish here. It contains those squiggly penne noodles, sun dried tomatos, chicken, and a light sauce. I could eat it forever! I also love the penne portabello. I always secretly hope that someone else orders it so I can pick off it. Eat here! Wayyyy better than olive garden!
(5)
Thanh N.
i LOVE this place. Why? Because their focaccia bread combined with their awesome pesto dipping sauce! DUH! Best complimentary bread at any restaurant HANDS DOWN. Their bread isn't as WOW as it used to be, I guess because of the economy they changed it. It's still delicious regardless though! I just miss the herbs that used to be in it :( I recommend the Gemelli with penne pasta! it is my favorite dish! They used to cook it with penne, but changed the noodles awhile back! I've been here enough times to see the changes they've made, and I still keep coming back! If you ever have a party, do talk to the manager! He was extremely nice when I came in. He even competed for our business! I came in with my boyfriend one day to get take out and he started a conversation with us trying to convince us to have our party there rather than at Macaroni Grill In Milpitas that Saturday. He offered us 15% off our total bill if we had it at Pasta Pomodoro! It was quite funny, but he was very personable and nice.
(4)
Kay F.
Typical PP. Perfect for a nice (not to mention very affordable) dinner date, then perhaps a movie. I try to get seated in the booths to the right when you enter. As for me, I always usually order the butternut squash pasta, caesar, or the healthy fish, along with a large bruschetta. If you want a seafood pasta and it's not on the menu, try the Frutti de Mare (just order it, used to be on the menu, it's simple spaghetti noodles with seafood). There is also WIFI here! Cheers.
(5)
Chet A.
Pretty good food here to night! The mista salad is pretty good!, The service was a little slow but it was because of how busy it was.
(3)
Mochi L.
hmph, I feel bad that I picked this restaurant to meet up with my friends. I didn't think anything could go with with a pasta place. Service was actually not bad. We had just sat down after hugging and talking so we weren't ready to order but our waiter kind of creepily popped up out of no where. So he was good but just kind of quiet. He also told us that their mussels were off the menu because of an off-season and also their fish was out (this was around 7:15 PM). So that scared us off the seafood completely, haha. I got the butternut squash ravioli. It came drenched in oil (or butter) so the presentation wasn't appetizing. The raviolis had a sweet ting of cinnamon so that was a little surprise for my tastebuds. My husbands dish was not so good. He got the "light tasting menu" with the chicken. It really reminded me of Chinese herbal medicine, which isn't a good thing. Of our party only one person was satisfied with her meal. I'm not a big fan and probably won't meet up here again.
(2)
Deborah M.
I have not been here for a few years because the last time we visited their San Ramon location, they burned the garlic in my simple pomodoro cappellini dish and that seemed to break a very basic rule of Italian cookery for me. Well, we tried it again at the Union City location and things are much improved. For a start the menu is actually informative. It displays a little green leaf next to vegetarian selections so that made my life immediately easier. There were more than a few things for me to eat as a vegetarian and that was nice. They also displayed calorie info too. Why don't all restaurants do this stuff? I really wanted a spinaci salad made without bacon and they did it, no problem. My cappellini pomodoro was just fine this time. My husband had some eggplant rotini that he liked. Staff were nice and the bill came to under $40 with drinks for dinner on a Saturday night. Good food, good service, good price. That's a winner.
(4)
Gena M.
This place is one of my favorite restaurants EVER-I know it's a chain-BUT I have been to others and they are not as attentive. I love trying new dishes every time I go! The put the calorie count on the menu (appreciated it!) The prices are cheap Lots of items can be served half portioned. I love their Brussels sprouts, asparagus, bread, pesto, and a ton on different Pasta, also the mango tea and cheese cake are to die for. Perfect for lunch, dates, friends, ect!
(5)
Karissa B.
Bad customer service...we came to eat dinner and waited for a booth. The lady sitting was not able to pay for her bill. We suggested they asked her to move so we can finally sit. So they asked her to leave after 15 minutes...gosh. The staff really needs to work on problem solving skills.
(1)
Mendy _.
Pasta Pomodoro has become one of my favorite restaurants here in the plaza at Union Landing. First of all, I love the modern Italian decor along with the jazz/lounge/downtempo soundtrack they play. I asked the waiter once and he told me it was just a CD mix someone put together that he had no idea about. Bummer. Anyway, my dad and I come here a lot for lunch on the weekends. Once we came for brunch and it was very good. I forget the name of the dish but it was sunny-side up eggs on top of italian sausage, and a crusty seasoned baguette on the side. My favorite dish here, though, is the Penne Salsiccia. The way they make the sauce is amazing. The blend of italian sausage, spinach, tomato, and herb flavors go so well together. And I also love the Mango italian soda, I have that every time I come here. Their recent addition of the Caesar Salad with made-from-scratch croutons and dressing is good, gives you a choice between that and the Insalata Mista, which I'm not a very big fan of. The only other thing I miss is the old Focaccia they served with the Pesto. It's different now, but it's still good. Even though it's a chain, they know how to make their food here.
(4)
Leslie P.
this is one of the few decent places in Union Landing. i wouldn't suggest this place, but would come of the majority of my group wanted to. i've had the salmon here, and ravioli, fettucine, linguine, and some others. The food is good and its inexpensive. It's a good place to go to for a quick lunch. they give you free bread along with dipping sauce. Both are delish! the waitress/waiters are generous in refilling your bread! i haven't been here lately, so menu items might have changed. but i think if i came back here, i would still give it 3 stars.
(3)
Raymond T.
I've been to several Pasta P.'s and this one is no different than the others. It's not bad, it's not great, it' s just as the 3 stars denotes, it's "A-Ok". The wait staff is ok, and the food is all right. The facilities are well kept and the parking could be a pain. Other than that, this is a no frills Italian restaurant in Union City. Nuff said. Notable mention: I like that they now include the calorie count for each dish within their menus.
(3)
Kathy J.
After dropping major coin on appliances and lighting for our kitchen remodel, I decided to give the hubby a break and busted out a gift card we received over the holidays for Pasta Pomodoro. We arrived for an early dinner at 5:10 and we immediately seated and greeted by a friendly server who took our drink order. The kids ordered raspberry ice teas, my hubby a lemonade and me, a water. I was the only one of the 4 of us that got a grown up size glass. WTH? The server gave my family "shot size" drinks that he had to keeping refilling throughout our whole meal. Lol We started dinner with the clam appetizers. My favorite non-carb appetizer! I ordered the salmon salad. It was moist, tasty and loaded with veggies...just the way Iikey. The hubby gets the tortellini with cream sauce. I think it may have been a bit too rich for his tummy cause he was sick most of the night and the following morning. Our kids also enjoyed their pasta dishes they got to create themselves. All in all a decent dinner and made better with the gift card!
(3)
Robert E.
I'm not huge on chain restaurants, and this is a good reason why. The food is pretty bland and I still don't get why people line up to come here. Its a pretty tiny restaurant too (compared to the other around it). If I were going to eat chain italian, I'd rather go to Olive garden for their pasta faggioli (sp). Staff is nice and courteous, but I'll just head to the city for some real italian food.
(2)
Sandra H.
My babe and I were out and about shopping, and we noticed that we were getting grouchy - LOW BLOOD SUGAR! So we started to look around for somewhere to grab a bite to eat. My babe was craving lasagna, but he was going to settle on picking up a frozen one. ACK! We finally saw this place on the list, and since it was nearby, we decided to give it a try. I have to admit, I was not feeling pasta, but I was hoping they'd have something for me. This place did not disappoint! First off, the warm bread with the little bowl of olive oil with pesto is so good! Even their ice tea was delicious, not bitter, and they kept our glasses full. I ordered a spinach salad to start, and my babe ordered the tortellini soup. Both were awesome! I ordered the Pollo Griglia and my babe had the Pasta P Lasagna, and even though it took a while for our dishes, it was well worth the wait! This place has a nice romantic feel to it, and the staff is very friendly and attentive. I would come back for a special date night dinner with my babe again, we both love this place!
(5)
Raymond O.
one word, sucks!
(1)
Tiffany P.
You all are crazy if you gave this place anymore than one star!!! Worst chain italian restaurant that had ever set place on earth. I came here with a large party so maybe they were a little flustered but they're in the restaurant business so no excuses. We ordered and waited and waited and waited. Jesus almighty! It was the worst service you could ask for. When I actually did get me food it was cold as a rock. How are you goin take forever to serve me to only have me make you take it back!! It's impossible to mess up pastas and they were excellent at it.
(1)
g s.
Wow, another fantastic meal with the family. The Pollo Con Tartuffe which is short for Chicken with sauted mushrooms with truffle oil was out of this world. One of the best sauces I've had in a long time and as good if not better than a great marsala sauce. The shrimp Risotta was bomb and our fave Gemelli with pasta, chicken, with a fantastic marinara sauce. The service was excellent even on a crowded Friday night.
(5)
Paul B.
We had a great Italian dinner at Pasta Pomodoro in Union Landing tonight. Wonderful pesto and hot bread, polenta farcita for appetizer, penne portobello (with marinara sauce) and pollo parmargiana for entrees, topped with delicious chocolate dusted tiramisu. Hadn't been there in years, dinner was quite good.
(4)
Liana C.
Really good food, nice waiters, and it's decently priced. The food wait is about average. Every time I went, I was seated right away. Overall it's good food with a nice atmosphere. If you're not extremely impatient or short-tempered, it should be easy have a lovely meal here. (:
(4)
nanie c.
Can I put no stars at all??? I have always enjoyed Pasta Pomodoro but this location has such bad service! We had to walk out and eat elsewhere since we have been standing for over 10 minutes just to be asked how many was in our group.. Then made to wait some more like we did not exist at all....considering there were so many empty tables available.
(1)
Jason T.
One star, because i took the time to go on yelp, search the dam place, click WRITE A REVIEW, and conjure up the stars i will bestow. Two Stars, because the price is right with the not so affluent. Note; not that i use these standards presented here all the time. You basic yo, Two stars because it is cheap. two stars because the food sucks. Two stars because it is freaking food and it looks nice in there so you will feel good, A, about yourself, and B, if you have a date, about the date. peace be upon you, Jason.
(2)
Ann L.
I've eaten at Pasta Pomodoro before and thought it was just ok. Had a FREE coupon that a friend gave me so decided to eat here for dinner 7/21/07 after watching Hairspray (which is a cute, good musical). We had a late dinner at 8pm (we usually eat early!) but we weren't that hungry anyways. You can get Free focaccia bread (3 small slices) & olive oil w/ green stuff in it. Bread hubby thought was nasty, I thought it was ok. We had: Polenta farcita $5.95-3 circles of polenta that didn't taste very good, they must use the can parmesan cheese cuz it's tasted Nasty. Don't get this dish. With my coupon it was FREE, but still Nasty! Mafaldine $12.25-Mafaldine is some weird pasta that's like lasagna noodles w/ 7 large shrimp, the tiniest asparagus ever, some tomatoes, cream & shrimp stock reduction. Just ok, pasta could have been cooked longer in my opinion. Marsala-$12.95-2 chicken breast w/ cooked mushrooms and a side of spinach. Chicken is the frozen kind u find everywhere, mushrooms & spinach were ok. Total w/ tip & tax for 2 dishes was $31.83. Hate stupid coupons.
(2)
Davey M.
We have dined here from time to time over the past 5 or so years, and have never had an unpleasant experience. I almost always order the same dish, the Caprese salad and the tortellini soup, but have had other entrees and desserts as well, which have not disappointed. On our recent visit today for lunch, we were in a rush, and asked our waiter, Antonio if we could be in and out in 30 minutes even though the restaurant was quite busy. He gladly obliged and had our meals in front of us within 15 minutes (we had the soup and salad, so this was probably one of the easiest entrees to arrive within a 15 minute window). He was pleasant, thoughtful and hard working and we would definitely ask to have him as our waiter on a future visit! Thanks, Antonio (I think that is his name)!
(4)
Thuyvi M.
Tried this place for the first time today. Since it was a friday night there was a 15 minute wait which was fine. The restaurant is small and compacted. Once we were seated it was fine since we had a booth seating just us 3 girls in the back corner. Other then that seems crowded. Upon sitting down our waitress took our drink orders and brought back the pesto and bread which is to die for! I couldn't stop eating it it was so good. The bread was warm and fresh and the pesto oil was not overpowering and parred nice with the bread. For appetizers we had the bruschetta and fresh mozzarella. It was ok it was a little bland and the mozzarella was diced up instead of slices. For the main course I ordered the spaghetti pelotte. It was average spaghetti but the meat pork balls were HUGE! The meat balls were good but the spaghetti was ok. For dessert we had the tiramisu which was probably the best I have ever had. As for service it was ok. I understand fridays and weekends are busy but our waitress did not give us straws and she forgot to refill my drink after I had asked for it. She never came back to ask my friend either if she wanted a refill. By the time she came back we were ready to leave so I didnt bother to ask for a refill. We still gave her a decent tip. I would return but maybe during the week day or for lunch.
(3)
Dennis V.
I read a lot of negative reviews about the taste (being so so and not very special) and the dish size (too small, obviously). Let me comment on that a bit. I've been there several times now, and I must say that every time, I was surprised about the exceptional variety of the dishes. If you think real Italian food is pizza by the slice or spagetthi with loads of cheddar, this place is definitely not the restaurant to be. All the four dishes I've tried so far are the best and most authentic Italian dishes I have found in the Bay Area. Of all those complaining, I wonder how many have actually been to Italy. Come on, people; buy that ticket and explore other countries than the greatest in the world (no, visiting 8 capital cities in 7 days doesn't count). The bread (which most judge to be the best they've ever tasted) is rather typical Mediteranean, such as ciabatta or focaccia; yes, I'm tremendously happy to find this being served as an appetizer with the olive oil dipping (again, very authentic). Then the dish size. This is definitely not the style that fits "all you can eat" or "quantity is better than quality." No, the portions are perfect. If you want a lot of food for such low prices, go to the supermarket and pick a pack or two of Hungry Man meals. Anyone seen the documentary Supersize Me? Thumbs up for the cooks!
(5)
Agent S.
DONT EAT HERE. I am now consulting with an attorney to see if I have a case against this place and I will SUE. I went there to eat for a family birthday dinner for 7 on June 1 evening. I ordered the Fettuccine Rosa with creme sauce. It tasted good. However, an hour later I had a severe headache, 104 fever, and severe diarrhea. I went to the urgent care the next morning delirious out of my mind because of the fever. The hospital is doing a DNA test of the foreign bacteria or virus they found in my stool and blood samples and can place the exact time it entered my body. This place will be hearing from my lawyer and they will pay!
(1)
Ruben M.
Always good, reliable, friendly....
(4)
Sandra S.
Pretty impressed with this place being that I haven't been in one in years after I literally got food poisoning from the place. Went in for a light lunch and ordered soup and salad and it was excellent. The soup was bigger than I anticipated and was excellently seasoned. The salad was also great. Ohhh and who could forget about the bread and olive oil they bring to the table. Definitely will see me again :)
(3)
beck l.
Pros: Good service at this location. Food is consistantly ok. One of the few chain restaurants I allow myself to enter. Arnold Palmer would appreciate the fact his drink comes in a carafe. I like the Bolognase... for about $8. I think it's a filling meal and a steal. Picky eaters in our family can all find something they like. Cons: No backs on the long front bench. Pomodoro- please consider some pillows. Sunset sun hits your eye when you sit by the door... annoying!
(3)
Aniyah M.
Food good, service always bad - Staff gives you the impression you are bothering them. No matter what time I come, even if to go order they never smile and always make me wait. I will no longer go to this Pasta Pomodoro.
(2)
Neil R.
3 stars seems appropriate. I was here earlier... no wait. So we were seated pretty quickly, service was prompt, attentive waiters, great host. Lively location and atmosphere. However, and this is where you can MINUS 2 stars. The food... its soo blan... very generic and very plain. I mean id eat it for calorie reasons but def. not for the taste. Chicken parmesan was ok... but my company was better. Ha! I don't frequent here for above reasons... instead I'd rather try macaroni grill in milpitas. Better tasting food. Same Italian feeling.
(3)
Mike C.
Back when I used to live in the East Bay, I used to come here a lot. The food used to be really delicious and full of flavor. But now for some reason the taste has gone away and the dishes seemed to have changed a bit. This last time I had ordered the bruschetta with a Cesar salad. The bruschetta had an overload of tomatoes that we're overly salted and too much cheese. The bread was overdone and was way too hard. The Cesar salad did not have enough sauce and felt like it was soaked with more water than dressing. I can't account for the rest of the food there but from what I saw from those that I was with, it didn't look any better. Some may like the new additions but I don't. Definitely won't be coming back.
(2)
Lovefood H.
I love the soup and bread here! But main dishes had been very disappointed so far. The service is hit and miss. The first time we came here the waiter was nice and active. However, when we return there was a girl who would not get off the phone to serve us. When she saw us she glance at the older guy who look back at her with " why I have to do it look" I almost leave. Furthermore, she brought our order then check on us like 30 seconds later then spend the rest of the time BSing with the next table. Maybe she think we will not tip? I was so disapointed.
(2)
John N.
My gf and I went here for lunch after watching a movie...and I must say, their bread is THE best (unlimited) starter bread out of all restaurants. It beat's olive garden's breadsticks, outback's black bread, and this one other Italian restaurant at the Fremont Hub (forgot the name). Anyway, upon walking in, there were well over 10 tables available. The waitress (i think filipino) asked us if it was just us 2. I said "yes" and we still had to wait another 3 minutes just to be seated. She became our table waitress and asked us what we would like to start off with...yet she was STILL holding the menus. She quickly realized and placed them down for us and apologized. I ordered the Bruschetta and i forgot what my gf ordered, but I must warn you, their portions are VERY small (I guess the cheap prices compensate for that). My order turned out great and better than I expected except for the fact that I finished my glass of water even before my Bruschetta arrived and was never refilled so I had to drink out of my gf's glass. = D In all, their bread is delicious along with that tiny dish of olive oil. The food was good. Service, not so good. If i were to come back here, I'd probably just come for the bread.
(2)
Delya S.
We were recently lured out of Niles by the combined power of a Pasta Pomodoro eCoupon coupled with their Wednesday promotion involving half off for a bottle of wine. Perhaps that computer print out filed us under the category of 'cheap bastards' for our server? In a break from most of the other reviews here, our service was neglectful at best. Considering the overall positive tone on this subject, it was perhaps an 'off' night for her? To get the bad bits out of the way: water was never delivered (despite being requested), bread and sauce had to be begged to be refilled, and an item that arrived completely wrong was returned seconds later with the offending item only picked off (and not completely, at that). Had there been a food allergy involved, this would have been a grievous mistake. There comes a moment in a meal-gone-awry when the the server and customer become estranged, and we hit that point. I hate when a meal goes that way, because I'm a very friendly diner and I used to be a waitress. Had the meal ended here, I would probably leave Pasta Pomodoro with one star. However, our server brought her manager, Tony, into the picture. He was attentive to our concerns and (unsolicited) offered us a free meal on a repeat visit. He is the only reason that I've upped it to three stars, for the moment. We were impressed with his professionalism. In regards to the food, it's good, but not amazing. It's a chain, for better or (in my humble opinion) worse. I quite like their bread, dipping sauce and misto salad. I'll likely return in the future for those items. And perhaps the half off bottle of wine on Wednesdays. ;o)
(3)
Rosan D.
We felt like dining at a place after having a movie, BUT we couldn't figure out where, so we walked around and saw this place. Pasta is always a good choice. We got here around 7pm, so it was busy with the dinner rush, BUT we were seated within 5 minutes. The choices weren't that bad, there's plenty of choices for everyone if there are picky eaters. I had the CoNChIGLIe GaMBerI, which is pasta with asparagus, shrimp, tomato and a cream reduction. It tasted decent, BUT it was on the salty side. Service wasn't that bad, BUT it wasn't that great either.
(2)
Ariel L.
My wife had a gift card to Pasta Pomodoro so we went the other night. The attention we got from our server in the begining was slow to begin with. My wife and daughter were in the restroom so he came up and said welcome and he will be back to take drink orders when my wife and daughter come back. He zipped in then out like a one night stand. I sat and was thirsty as hell so that kinda sucked. when the rest of my family came he took our drink orders and got us bread. The bread was very good. My daughter who is a tiny little thing gobbled it up like there was no tomorrow. my wife orders raviolli, I got the gemeli and we got spaghetti for my daughter. my wife and daughter loved their food. I liked the gemeli, the sun dried tomatoes and chicken were very good. I thought the sauce was super rich and thick. It was good but I couldnt finish it. I am a big guy so when I don't finish something then it raises a flag for me. Overall it was a good dinner and i got 4 drink refill and my thirst was gone.
(4)
Robert H.
Gonna knock it down one star again. This place used to be great with good variety and priced just right. We went to eat there last night for the first time in ages and there was just something wrong (again). The server didn't seem that interested in us. When we were served ravioli it was actually cold in the middle -- not lukewarm but cold!! The fish was overcooked. Maybe it was just a bad day. They were much better a few years ago so I don't know what's wrong. The menu, too, seems to be lacking. It was also much much better in the past. I also put a negative reivew on their web site. They were a "4" a few years back but at this rate they're heading downward toward "one" territory. At this rate they'll be just as horrific as TGIF on the opposite side of the parking lot before too long.
(2)
Carole R.
I've been here a few times since I moved to the East Bay. it's your standard chain restaurant...except this place will have a ton of empty tables, yet they will tell you theres a 45 minute wait or whatever. either they are understaffed all the time or they have sh!tty workers that cant handle a full restaurant. last time they told us there was a wait we just left. there were literally 10 open tables. im never wasting my time by coming here again. if anyone knows of any good italian spots in Union City/Hayward please let me know!
(2)
Steve C.
Had the Frutti d' mare. Delicioso! Fish was perfectly cooked. Pasta was just the way I like it - al dente. Sauce was well prepared. Not too heavy. I ate the whole thing and did not feel overstuffed. I frankly did not expect much, and came away very pleasantly surprised!
(5)
Leo C.
Pasta P, this spot gets a solid 3 stars. Pros Good portion size (small) Good starter bread Fast service Cons Small restaurant Service This place is ok for a quick bite or maybe a fast date after or before catching a movie. I love the portion size it's small for most but I consider it to be a very proper amount. I wouldn't rave about the food but it's ok if all you want is a quick Italian fix.
(3)
Chi N.
I love eating here. LOVE LOVE. I'd come here for the bread and pesto dipping sauce alone. My sister and I could probably drink that oil.. plus each time I've gone, the bread is fresh from the oven and super soft. My usual dish here is the Conchiglie Gamberi (shells w/ shrimp, asparagus, tomato, cream and shrimp stock). I also love the steamed clams in white wine sauce (but I they should throw a few more clams in for the price). The often have season dishes here, and also a pre-fixed menu you can choose from.... I've had their carmalized onion and sausage risotto... and I was in utter heaven. I've never had a problem with the food,. or the wait staff. Always have a good time here. hmm.. Maybe I'll eat here tomorrow..
(4)
Dhar J.
Pomodoro is not as good as I remember. I hope they do something soon.
(3)
Tiffany W.
It's my go to pasta place in the UC. I always order the Frutti di Mare and it never disappoints. Same with the Panna Cotta for dessert. I wouldn't recommend this place for a big party because I feel that the seating is a bit tight, but definitely top of the list as a date place. =)
Very good ambience. Perfect for a relaxed dinner !!
(4)
Carolynne K.
A year or two back, I came here once with Kyle and we left thinking we would probably never come back. Sure, it's better than Olive Garden, but it wasn't that much better. Then, I (reluctantly) went to the Pasta Pomodoro at Santana Row with a friend for dinner and it was good! A lot better than I remembered. So Kyle and I came back the other day to eat lunch here in UC. Something must have happened because the food is a lot better, the service is a lot more attentive, and pesto oil dipping sauce thing that comes free with foccacia bread is AMAZING! The only thing that bugged me was that I got my main dish while I was still trying to finish up my salad. It's a nice date place, but I prefer to come during off-peak hours because it gets really loud when it's crowded.
(4)
IceSnow N.
I like Paste Pomodoro over Olive Garden by a lot... their service is fast, and price is more reasonable... and taste a lot better than Olive Garden... hey have this modern urban feel... for young professionals... makes you feel comfortable dining with friends... and the best part is, since it is not a family restaurant, so there is no annoying kids shouting, crying and running around... makes a good place to talk and chat... enjoy your meal...
(3)
Jennifer W.
The food is great, especially the foccacia bread & olive oil dip they offer for free. The only part I really don't like is that whenever we eat here, it feels like the servers are ALWAYS rushing. I don't blame the servers, I feel that they're purposely under-staffed, maybe because management keeps it that way to keep things under budget. It is obvious the waitresses we've had, are stressed, and it becomes uncomfortable for the patrons themselves, having to notice that. If they had enough waitress/waiter help, I would have gave this place another star. It is the server who makes a big impression on the restaurants character, and it would make a big difference if the servers are able to relax and mingle a little with their patrons, making the patrons feel very inviting and comfortable.
(3)
Rany M.
I love pasta pomdoro but when I went to this location.. I got my food not that warm and the service was ok.. The waitress prob checked on me and my friend probably once.. plus we got sat at this high tables which made it hard for me to seat on my chair since I'm short. My fav location is still at Santana Row.. I went here once.. first and last time..
(2)
James L.
Decent pasta, but overpriced for what they give you. Good atmosphere, clean.
(3)
Raymond W.
The service is great. They're attentive and do the standard "checking back with you to see if your food is good" thing. Food is mediocre. Not too much flavor in their dishes. Although, their desserts are quite tasty especially the panna cotta. I think their menu lacks variety and there isn't much to choose from.
(3)
Gopi V.
An ok italian place. No major fireworks, but perfectly fine for a quiet evening. Enjoyed the fresh house bread and vegetarian lasagna.
(3)
Tiara H.
I tried this place for the first time last week and it was awesome! As others have said, it's definitely better than Olive Garden. The food taste more authentic and flavorful. The staff seemed pretty friendly, the atmosphere is great, dim lit and nice choice of decor. The food is delicious! I had the chicken Alfredo, which is normally too plain for me but theirs is very flavorful. They serve unlimited fresh warm bread with an incredible oil/salsa verde dip. I recommend trying their Italian sodas but make it creative and mix it up! Peach & Vanilla was a great combo, very smooth and not too sweet. This location is great because it's in a large shopping center with plenty of places to go after/before your meal. I absolutely love it here and recommend it to any Italian food lover!
(5)
Manjesh G.
Like this one .. better than olive garden .. the free bread and pesto olive oil is great ... loved ravoilli ... priced right and small portions available for many dishes ... calorie count written for all dishes ... good service and fast ...
(4)
Joyce P.
I have to give it four stars on the basis that the food was good and the prices were good. I don't know how long this restaurant has been there, but it was our first time there and we impressed. We had the asparagus and polenta for starters and it was excellent. For dinner I had a straight vegetable plate with some sauce and my hubby had a pasta dish and like wow it was great. I expected a sbarro's and thank god it was no sbarro's. our favorite place is strizzi's and pasta pomodoro is now our second favorite place. What else. The waiter was pretty good. We initially got cold coffee and they made us some fresh coffee. He made recommendations and cleared the table efficiently. He also checked up on us a few times. Good stuff.
(4)
Christine M.
I would say that this place is OK for the price that you're paying. I've gone to this location a handful of times, mainly because it was really close to the place I used to live at and every time that I went, there wasn't that much of a wait to get a table (I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing...hmmm?) Every time I've gone, my food has been satisfying. I have had no complaints except that sometimes the dishes are served warm and lose the heat before you're done with it, so you end up with a cold dish. I like the bread they serve while you wait for you food...I would come here just for the bread, a glass of wine, and dessert. As far as service well, sometimes they would constantly ask if everything was ok and then there were times when it took forever just to get your check when the restaurant was only half full. It's not like it's a bad place and it's not like I would never go back, there's just better Italian restaurants out there.
(3)
Hong P.
When I was living in Oakland, I used to eat here all the time before I would meet up with friends for bike nights. The pasta here is actually pretty good. I'm a huge fan of their bruschetta! So after four long years of living in SoCal, I finally came back up to visit some friends and we decided to carb up here before our 10k run. I had their penne portobello which was amazing! How could you not like this place? Great ambience, free bread and reasonable prices!
(4)
Jonny B.
Came here for a quick bite, they literally took 45 minutes to get our food.
(2)
Mark K.
Good food. Good service. Great for lunch.
(4)
Antoinette V.
The Union City store two days ago had sticky floors and the table was less then desirable. I was tired and with a friend, and stayed anyway wiping off the table myself. The staff were friendly, the food typical for the franchise, but if it isn't clean, its pathetic. San Ramon PP is much nicer. I go there after my 25 mile bike ride on the weekends. Apparently the staff have a better sense of what constitutes as clean.
(2)
Steven W.
Worst service. Did not even get to comment on the food. Walked on Sunday evening, 7/29. Over 1/2 of the tables were empty. A group of four was ahead of us. After interceding with a sever and a bartender, the group was seated. We were still waiting. The hostess thanked two tables of six and they left. The place was now 3/4 empty with 1/2 tables ready to go. After ignoring us some more the hostess asked the bartender to take over. He asked for my name to put on a list --- with 3/4 of the place empty and 1/2 of the tables ready to go. When I gave him my name, but told him it was not necessary since we were the only ones waiting. The hostess turned and stated "we have a rush going". I was flabbergasted since I had just seen two tables for six leave and the hostess was busy setting the tables. She then snarled at us. I left.
(1)
Bob G.
Top notch service and good quality food. Maybe a bit pricey and louder than other restaurants of the same type, but that won't stop me for going again. Their bread & oil as starters is fantastic.
(4)
Sandy Y.
I'm a huge pasta fan. It has wide varieties of pasta and the price are decent and affordable for its food. Price range per dish range $10-17. The dish sizes are moderate, food is decent. However, the bread is nothing special. There is a nice wine selection too. I wouldn't recommend this place for Italian cuisine lovers. There are better places to eat and this is more of a food-chain restaurant. Price- 4 Decor- 4 Food- 3.5
(3)
Athens r.
Desperate for Umbrellas. I paid $6 for the seats actually. Baskin Robins was next to it so I got my desert from BR before I had my Raspberry tea and fetuccini. Pasta wasnt as salty as Emeryville's Pomodoro. But i liked emeryvilles setting over this one (ghetto version of Santana Row) or was it just too "home" for me. Prices are good, quick service and friendly staff. There are alot of Pasta places around but if youre kinda hectic and has a "get-out-of-here-coz-i-have-another-place-to-go-Âto" day, well this place could serve you well. Starbucks at the near corner has too many ppl so if youre like me who likes quiet and loves to be with a single or two company--- this will do. Just dont expect too much coz U.L. at Dyer street is a little bit public.
(3)
edlyn l.
I expected more from this place. We came in around lunch time. There was no wait for a table and for the waiter to get our order but there was a long wait to get our food. I felt sorry for the waiter because I think we was the only waiter for the whole place. But he was so nice. The bread and oil were delicsious. The serving was kind of small, I am not sure if its because of lunch. Will I come back? why not!! I have to support my city's establishments.
(3)
David H.
Decent Italian food for a chain. The price isn't bad and most of the dishes taste fresh and not like plastic (like you would get at Olive Garden). Service is generally good and I like how they change up the menu fairly often. For Union City this is probably one of the better choices for a decent meal that isn't of the Asian gastronomic variety.
(3)
Roy J.
Not too bad, but not awesome. I haven't been back here since they opened how many years ago, but I found myself here a couple nights ago with my partner in crime. I was ready for a disappointment as the first time I went here, my fettucini was completely limp and well... It flat-out sucked. Honestly, I forgot what we ordered as our entrees, but we were both satisfied. Then we got the tiramisu, and although it pales in comparison to the tiramisu at say, The Cakery, it was pretty good. So why the 3 stars? Maybe it's just me, but it seems that the portion size has gone down. Again, I haven't been there since I was in high school, so things may have changed. Also, the waitress said she'd be back with more bread, and never did. I might change my rating later on if we go back and have a better experience, but I'm firm on this review right now.
(3)
Michelle C.
I prefer Pasta Pomodoro to the olive garden. I love pasta and I love the feel of this chain resturant. To me its the anti- chain resturant in a way. It has a flair and flavor of an independent bistro. I think the food is delicious, much better than olive garden that food looks thrown on the plate, pasta pomodoro seems to take their time plating the meals. I went over the weekend for a date with the hubby I had a shrimp risotto that was delish! We also tried the delizia dessert was a delight. orange liquer sponge cake and marscapone w/ strawberries. It was good ... I think my husbands exact words were " thats hella good" when he bit into it. I would like to give this palce a higher review like i said I like the vibe .. the music, the lighting , the service but the parking at union landing sucks . It takes about 20 minutes at least no matter what time of day to find a parking spot. But as far eats goes I really like this place and look forward to going back soon.
(3)
Jon L.
Service was pretty good but my spaghetti and meatballs were just blah. I probably should reserve judgement because I did attend on a slow wednesday night.
(3)
Ash P.
This is a great place to go get a bite to eat before watching a movie. I love their food and the atmosphere.
(3)
Amber S.
This place is reasonably priced and the food is great! The bread pudding is to die for. We have been coming here for years and this place is always great.
(4)
Arlene M.
I think this place deserves more than 1-2 stars, even though it's a chain. It's nothing fancy, but the prices are very reasonable. I think I get a much better experience than most since I treat it more as a takeout place than an actual restaurant. It's not really a place I go to for "date night" w/ my husband, we usually go to non-chain, more authentic places when we feel like going out to eat Italian. What this place is perfect for though, is when we're too lazy to cook (which is most days), I call them on my way home from work and pick up a couple orders of penne portobello or mafaldine. It's done by the time I get there...throw in a cheap bottle of wine from Trader Joe's and we have a pretty nice at-home meal in front of the TV for ~$20. Btw, the cheap bottle of wine from TJ is still loads better and cheaper than their house wines. I recommend this place for takeout only...go check out their menu on the web.
(3)
Catalina C.
I love Pasta Pomodoro. The service provided is great. There is always a seat for you to be seated at, which is a great thing compared to olive garden. Here at Pasta Pomodoro, they don't serve food that looks & sounds good, IT IS GOOD. The setting is nice, there never are crazy kids yelling and screaming out of control. I recommend this place to anyone. oh, and the bread they serve you is not salty whatsoever; its sooooo yummy. The serving time for food is just about right not to long, and not too short. PLUS I actually had ordered something that I thought I would have liked, apparently not the waitress was very kind in asking me if i wanted anything else in exchange for it i said no. I received the bill and she didn't charge the food. Unlike Olive garden, they do charge for their nasty food that you don't like.
(5)
Leah P.
I went to the Pomodoro near where I work in San Jose--that location, I feel is better than this Union City one. Although the waitress was very friendly, I wasn't "blown away" by my pasta dish and the dessert was...eh...I had the panna cotta, a dessert I love....and this was bland. Trader Joe's sells them for 2.99 I think and they are MUCH BETTER. I will still go back though...I feel like this Pasta Pomodora has some redeeming qualities. :)
(3)
Jeremy K.
Came here the other night and had a pretty good experience. Decided to try something different than my normal and ordered the Gemelli. It was pretty good. Not really anything to write home to mom about, but I'd order it again. What made me give them the 4 stars is the service. More specifically our waitress, Molly. She was always really attentive and did everything she could to make sure we were taken care of. We had just come back from the beach and I was super dehydrated so I asked if she could just leave a pitcher of water with us but she sadly informed me that they only have a few pitchers on hand so they couldn't leave them at the tables. But she came back with 2 glasses of water for me and always made sure both were full at all times. Also I felt really cool because I asked her what sugo was and after she explained it she said it was a really good question and that most people just ask stupid questions that can be figured out if you read the menu. So point to me for asking awesome questions! hahahah. Also if you're wondering what it is, it's basically just a meat sauce. hahaha.
(4)
Esther A.
Edible enough Italian food and this is (sadly) one of the stronger local options if you're craving pasta when Olive Garden is too busy. They're inconsistant though. MOST of the time we'll get bread but there'll be times when we won't get it at all. Get with it servers! Funny incident one time they offered cheese on the free bread and we said "yes". The bread arrived lightly toasted and had a slice of cheese on top. When we looked at the bill, we noticed there was a 50 cent labeled 'cheese' (a one inch by one inch slice, I'm not kidding you!) which we thought was funny yet too small of an amount to argue over. I just thought it was ridiculous b/c it's kinda like asking if you want grated cheese on your pasta and then getting charged for it w/out being told it'll be an additional charge. Tricksy!
(2)
Anne A.
this place is literally 5 minutes away from my house, it's ok but you can find better places in union landing. nice service, look trendy inside but theirs something missing.
(2)
Nick M.
Not a bad spot to get a bite at. The food is fresh cooked and pretty tasty. Malfadina is my favorite here. Service is ok too. Will return.
(4)
Robin I.
I went here a couple of weeks ago for some good ol' pasta grubbing. I was thoroughly disappointed. The dish I ordered was very bland and not to the expectation I had for this restaurant. I've been to other locations before, so I had a realistic expectation for the quality of food I'd be getting, but this location did not meet it. The pasta I had was flavor-less, as was the dish by boyfriend got. We both added extra salt and pepper to make the dishes a bit more appetizing, but was just disappointed overall. I won't be returning and will get my pasta needs met elsewhere.
(2)
Cindy B.
I like the location. Great place to eat before catching a movie. I love the bread, the bruschetta and the gemelli. the only downfall was the lighting in the kitchen area. it's the darkest kitchen i've ever seen. my friends fish came out raw maybe because of the lighting? ;)
(4)
george s.
Had dinner with my family and i was impressed with the moderate pricing but very good food! The Pollo Con TarTucci. With Porcini mushrooms c grilled chicken and truffle oil was out of this world. We had our usual Gemelli with sundried tomato,curly pasta and chicken..yum! However the shrimp risotto was awesome. We love coming here. Good wine list as well.
(4)
Vikram C.
This food was very disappointing. We spent $145 on salmon pasta that smelled like fish, disgusting. Stale bread that they claimed they baked fresh every day, never do they, it was nasty. Salad was okay. The Ravioli (vegetarian) was so bland. You can go to Costco and get one of those freezer pouches and use their own sauce that comes in a packet and it tastes better than that shit! Overall I think this place was really bad. I actually went and returned the food because we ordered it for the office as takeout and no one liked it, they reimbursed us for the horrible salmon pasta dish and the bread. Woo Hoo! Never will order from there again. I could have gone to Target on got one of those to go mac and cheeses for 87 cents and been more satisfied!
(1)
Eegnam A.
I love the pasta here! The restaurant itself is small, but the service is good and the pasta is good! I've been here for a couple of lunch meetings and it is quiet enough to have discussions. The last time I was here I had the conchiglie gamberi (shrimp shells). It was sooo good! The shells were cooked perfectly and the sauce was amazing! I also like the gemelli. Lots of good flavor and a nice creamy sauce. Great place for some quick pasta!
(4)
Joanna P.
Service was just terrible. My cousins and I waited 15 mins for a table (which was fine) then when we sat down. It took another 10 mins for the waiter to come and take our order and to bring us our water. Then the appetizers came...and where's the bread? I had to ask them for bread 3 times and still didn't get any. Both tables on either side of us got bread and they were seated after us. I also had to flag them down a few times for refills on water. It took 15 mins for them to give us the check. The place wasn't even half full, maybe they were understaffed that night. I don't know. The only reason I'm giving it a 2-star is because the food was decent.
(2)
Janice F.
The Seafood Portofino (I think that's what it's called) is my favorite. One of the better restaurants to choose from in Union Landing. Service is good too. :)
(4)
H H.
If you can not manage to make a decent garlic bread (despite making us pay for it as an extra appetizer), then you are really in trouble as an Italian restaurant. Our meal was overpriced and totally dissapointing. Did not even want to take leftovers home. I could have done much better just cooking at home with safeway stuff. Service was friendly but can not make up for the poor food. will never try this place again.
(1)
Kaio T.
Wow Peg!! I would have to just copy and paste your review exactly with mine.. that is exactly how my Pasta Pomodoro experience occured. We were going to a bday party at roadhouse.. 1 hr wait.. and ended up at Pasta.. I guess this is how these places survive by accomodating the over flow. Anywho.. the lasagna sucked.. it was only noodles and cheese.. i got the specialty lamb.. and that had a lot of fat.. it was as if i was eating the leftover parts.. This place is very so so .. in fact i disagree with Peg... this place is worse than Olive Garden.. dude you get a bottemless bowl of salad at Olive Garden!!
(2)
Vicky T.
your average experience.. came here at 11.. obvious prompt seating and our server was very attentive-- constantly asking if we wanted more to drink, bread etc. Food was decent, nothing impressive
(3)
Sandra G.
Two lunch specials were ordered at a good price, and it was filling. A generous portion of bread and pesto dip is served before you order. The pesto dip is a nice touch from what other restaurants serve. If you like lemonade, you'll love how they serve it. It comes in a carafe per person and not too expensive. The decor is modern and has a nice atmosphere. Will definitely go back.
(4)
Paul K.
I love their fettucini alfredo with chicken! You can't find it anywhere else!
(5)
Alexa O.
Food was pretty good. It was pretty empty because of the simple fact that it was probably an hour before closing, but service was still great! Had the penne portebello and it was soooo yummy!.. will definitely be coming back to this location!
(4)
Harsh N.
Hi, I tried Pasta Pomodoro, with a date, thankfully it wasn't my recommendation, otherwise i would have been the one blowing up the date. I ordered Gemelli, and my date ordered Linguine (vegetarian). My gemelli was dry, the chicken was overdone, there wasn't any mushroom sauche in it, So i asked them for more, then, my date also wanted more sauce.. so we got some, my mushroom sauce didnt taste good, im guessing her tomato one too. she didn't even finish 25% of it, I was hungry so i gobbled up 70% of it, without taste.. but I wasnt satisfied paying 30$ including gratuity for this. i will stay away from Pomodoro's . There's better pasta to be bought from Farmer's market, and made even by a newbie. Thanks all for listening our sad story.. lol.. There was more bad things, like servers were pushing to order, I didn't feel i was in an italian joint, coz i think of Italians to be romantic. It was just some other mechanized fast food. which should be had for 10$ at most and not 30$.
(1)
Becky L.
First of all, I've been to other Pasta Pomodoros, but this one had the WORST service ever. My friends and I waited in the front for over 10 minutes for someone to seat us. Let me tell you, it was not busy AT ALL. there were like 2 or 3 tables filled. I saw a couple of servers walking around yet they paid no attention to us. After being pissed by the fact that we were being ignored yet still wanted to eat pasta, we just seated ourselves and waited. Someone eventually came to take our drink orders and gave us our menu. We had chosen what we wanted pretty fast and 15 minutes later, that server was still a no show. A different server walked by and we flagged him down and give him our order. The food was a little bland from the other Pasta Pomodoros I went to. We had the Portobello Pasta and Steak Salad, but both were a little disappointing as I had been craving them for a month. The bread is always wonderful though! the pesto dipping is awesomee But during the whole time we were eating, no one came to check up on us or anything. We saw the first server who took our drink orders when he gave us our check.. I was tempted to leave no tip but was generous and left a 10% tip. Too much for that kind of service.
(2)
John D.
This place has a pretty good types of pasta cusine. I went to dinner last night at this place at my third experience here it was very crowded alot peoples. This place is probably a step up from Olive garden.
(4)
Toni G.
This was the best pick for fresh food in this shopping center. I even went here 2 nights in a row and was met with happy servers and prompt service. One night I took out and the next I ate at the bar. The minestrone was just okay, but cool to have a vegetarian soup out. The caprese was better than expected, using fresh mozzerella. The heirloom tomato salad (sans onions) was tasty and the dressing was a good complement to the tomatoes. The side of spinach was prepared so it had just wilted, but was drenched in too much butter and salt. I was trying to be semi-healthy. I am glad I tried this place as it gives me an upscale alternative to La Salsa and In n out. I plan to spend more time in UC for work, so I will go here again.
(3)
Quintin D.
For my money, this restaurant is just great: more than plentiful portions, no frills, and fairly decent. Sure it's not an authentic eatery, but I've always been quite satisfied with this chain's offerings. I've recently had the chicken parm, and that was hit the spot. My family and I went on non-peak hours (around 2pm on a Friday afternoon), but business was still hopping, and the service was friendly and snappy enough for us.
(4)
Kae B.
this is a place i go to whenever i'm in need of a quick pasta fix. i always order their braised beef totellini soup and gemelli pasta. delish!
(4)
Samantha C.
Not what we were expecting at all. Everything on the menu looked delicious, but when we got our food, it was not we had thought. It looked cheap and sloppy, and tasted nasty. We will not be back.
(1)
Monte R.
this place never fails. penne portobello or the pasta gamberi is the one!!!!!
(4)
Anthony M.
ive always been a fan of Pasta P's. with pasta being my favorite food. this particular Pasta P's service use to FUCKING SUCK ASS. i even remember the dudes name it was Frederico. fuckin idiot never took out orders, didnt even give us our bread til like 15 minutes later, and our food took like a millennium to reach our fuckin table. you know service is bad when you sit down before another table, and the other table gets there food before you. yeah it sucked BUT NOW its fuckin tight and lives up to all the other Pasta P's. my Homie francis works there now, so my and my family or homies get treated right. all the new workers there are super nice, and of course their Gemellis and Penne Portebellos with Mango iced teas are ALWAYS on point. so i cant hate anymore. ive eaten here so many times, im really playing this spot out though.
(4)
Stephanie C.
This is a great chain Italian place. This particular location is very clean and open. Our waitress was very nice and attentive. I really like coming here because they have a lot of vegetarian options. This time I got the the Melanzane, which was penne noodles with eggplant and mozzarella. My husband got their lasagna. We definitely had no complaints, and my husband had his fair share of the bread asking for more twice! Our waitress was great and just kept it coming. We also started with the asparagi which was perfectly cooked and delicious. I ended with an espresso while my husband was still trying to fit more bread in his stomach. A wonderful evening, and we will be back.
(4)
Christina Y.
The food is mediocre and the cooking is always inconsistent. I've stuck to one entree & that's the Penne Portebello and on occasion, I find it to be perfect on some days and bland the next. I felt the same way about the polenta appetizer. I guess that's how it is with franchises. I have to say that the service is great; people are always checking up on your dining experience and I appreciate that kind of stuff. Plus their bread isn't too shabby.. on days when it isn't dry. :|
(2)
Rhea A.
Pasta pomodoro is consistently good. My favorites: Caprese- sliced fresh mozzarella with sun dried tomatoes, olive oil and slices of fresh tomato. I gave other restaurants a chance and ordered this dish, but no one does it quite like pasta pomodoro. Their cheese is the best quality- never tough. Penne portobella- love this dish because of the combination of the mushrooms and the sausage. The sauce is light (well, until you pile on the cheese) Panna cotta- top notch more expensive restaurants can serve this dish for ten bucks and it still would not come close to pasta pomodoro's rendition of this Italian classic. The strawberries compliment this vanilla bean infused custard. A lot of people I know don't know what this is or are afraid to try it when I offer to share, but believe me you will become a fan with just one spoonful!
(4)
Les K.
Overall Pasta Pomodoro (a 46 location chain based out of San Francisco, with restaurants in California and Arizona) is a great choice for when you want modest priced and usually fairly decent pasta and Italian dishes, but are not looking for a "memorable" experience. I have been to this location numerous times (as well as maybe a dozen of their other locations over the years), and my experience last week echoes the comments made by others about it being erratic. It was not too crowded on a weekday night, while we were seated immediately and the service was friendly, but it was lacking in attention to detail and attentiveness. For example, I had to grab silverware from another table. Our table was not setup for four and my kids did not have any silverware, and the server was nowhere to be found after dropping off the food. The server also brought the adults food first and there was a bit of a wait for my children's food to finally arrive. This is never a good thing (obviously the server did not have kids or would have known better). As is often the case for me with chain restaurants, I find that I seldom experiment with dishes I have not tried on their menu any more (to avoid disappointments), and end up going for what I know I like, which is what keeps me coming back. I don't have high expectations with a typical chain restaurant but I do look for consistency. In this particular case, while the service was lacking, the food was pretty good. In the end, they are still a great bargain. Sit down, full service, fresh prepared food for not a lot more than fast food prices.
(3)
Monique C.
Even though the food isn't bad here, I actually prefer Olive Garden. I wish they had a full bar, but other than that, not many complaints. The service is great and they are really good at explaining anything that you have questions about. I'm only giving it 3 stars because a few of their dishes are pretty bland and the location sucks, Union Landing is just too crazy for a little pasta place like this.
(3)
Jillian R.
aside from the fact that we had to push through the thick crowd on a saturday night JUST to get to the hostess to get the name of our party, everything else was great. olive garden beats them ONLY because of their breadsticks. but their pasta is the real thing, tastes like real italian pasta. i love their penne with sundried tomatoes thingy. thats my favorite. plus you cant really go wrong with their prices. theyre pretty good especially for the serving that you get. do i care much about the service? not really. its not great, its not bad. but i do care that their bathroom smells funky. minus one for that.
(4)
Carlos A.
This place has it's good things about it and bad. Mostly bad. Let start with the good; -Good Cesar Salad -Good Asparagus -Friendly Service -Some good Pasta dishes The Bad; -Tables are way way way too close to each other, so close you feel you are dining with other people you don't know. So close that you feel like you should start a conversation with them otherwise it's to uncomforable and feel like your ignoring them. -The Lasagna is the worst I ever had. It came in small caserole that just tasted like large noodles with a few pieses of ground beef and alfredo sauce. I was expecting a nice heaping square piece of layered pasta with meat layers and cheese and topped with a nice marinara sauce. Instead it was like nooodles with white sauce with no flavor. - The coffee is the worst I ever had. Supposedly it was Lavazza which is considered a good Italian brand. It was luke warm and tasted old. I asked for a refill hoping it would be a new brewed batch but same old luke warm and aweful tasting. - To expensive. Their entrees prices should include a soup or salad. Instead you have to order them at very expensive pricing as well. I doubt if I will ever return to eat there again. Just to many bad things about the place that your money is much better spent elsewhere.
(2)
Niki M.
i love pasta pomodoro for their simple, yet consistently tasty grub. it's nothin fancy pants, just semi-cheap italian-american eats. my faves are the rigatoni bolognese and gemelli. their caesar and spinach salads ain't too shabby either. my last visit to this particular location was this past mother's day weekend. they featured a special brunch menu, which they should consider making full-time. my baked eggs & asparagus really hit the spot. p.s. fellow yelper ruth r. just informed me that the irving st and noe valley locations in sf do have brunch every saturday and sunday for those who are interested!
(3)
Jen Jen W.
We came here long time ago to try it out and walked away thought the whole dining experience was just ok. It wasn't anything special and I think I could probably cook better Italian food than this place....not going back again...
(2)
J. R.
Who is the chef here? Boyardee?
(1)
kim w.
we came here to visit a friend in San Leandro, and ended up eating dinner here before watching Kung Fu Panda, GOOD movie btw. :D I am writing this review just before i head to bathroom to BLAHHh. I usually think Pasta P. is alright..well..... Tonight I had their special, the clam, mussel, shrimp, squid risotto cooked in lobster broth. yummmmmmm.....NO!! YUCK! first they brought me the wrong thing, some kind of sea food spaghetti, and after a while when they brought my dish, what a stinky disappointment! Rice was under-cooked, so it was hard, and 3 of my mussels reeked of dead! i ate one by accident, and had to spit it out. I couldnt finish the rest, even thought i hate hate HATE wasting food. Then when the check came, they charged me for things i didnt order, so they had to fix that....just horrible!!!!!!!! this is the worst review i have ever written im going to sit next to a toilet now, cos i feel the rice coming back up
(1)
Henry S.
I have never been a big fan of Pasta Pomodoro but my family and I decided to check it out because we got a coupon in the mail for a free entree with the purchase of another entree. I'm always looking for a good deal so we decided to check it out. Its been at least 4 years since I've been to Pasta Pomodoro and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I had the creamy mushroom penne, my wife had the chicken parmigiana and my mom had a vegetarian eggplant dish. All were very tasty especially my penne. Service on the other hand was a bit slow. It was at least 10 minutes before our waitress came to take or drink orders. Over all decent experience but not spectacular. With our coupon it would have been about $45 but with our coupon we got out of there for about $32. Although the food was ok I don't think I'll be coming back for about another 4 years. I don't know what it is but I just don't really care for this place.
(3)
Johnnie J.
Pasta Pomodoro is a nice chill place to eat before heading off to the movie theatre a few shops away. After being seated and ordering your food, the staff will bring you and your guests plenty of bread to start with olive oil to start off. There is a nice assortment of appetizers, soups, salads and pasta dishes to choose from. Is Pasta Pomodoro expensive for what it is? That would depend on your pocketbook. However, remember this... Movie food is really really expensive. $5 for a soda! $5 for a hotdog! $5 for a large popcorn! $5 for chips and cheese! Well, you get the point! You'll be spending much less here than at the movie theatre at Union Landing.
(3)
Pikachu P.
I was a big fan of pasta pomodoro. As usual, I ordered frutti de mare with extra sauce, but when the food came out, it was dry. Plus I was asking for tabasco and yikes..they don't have it. I was disappointed. If I want to eat at pasta pomodoro, will definitely not go to this location.
(3)
kris c.
The service is good, but the food is just normal...nothing extravagant, but not disgusting either. I've been here a few times too, and the service is always good. The bread is not bad either. But, what can you really expect from a chain?
(3)
C. L.
We were treated to their take-out lunch and it was pretty good. Lots of food and I loved the bread. Pasta, salad and bread, can't ask for more than that!
(3)
Brenda H.
It was nice to come and get some comfort food (pasta) after a nice movie. I took my best friend here after a day of hanging out and the staff was nice. I wouldn't say it was gourmet itallian food, but for a nice quick bite....it worked!
(3)
D B.
great pasta loved it!!!
(5)
Peg S.
I usually try to stay away from the chains prevalent in Union City & Fremont, but it was bday dinner and we had to go out. The bday boy, actually Momma, wanted to go the place where they have peanuts in bins (Texas Roadhouse, Momma). T'was a Monday night so we're thinkin' it's a semi-holiday, kids got school and people got to work the next day, so shouldn't be crowded. Wrong-o. It was packed inside with hungry people looking like a herd of cattle waiting to be branded. They said it would be an hour wait so we dejectedly left looking for what slim pickin's we could find around Union City Landing . . . we finally settled on Pasta Pomodoro. I've been to various branches in SF and the peninsula and think this one pales so in comparison. The focaccia bread was waaay too greasy even without dipping it in the oil. The mixed green salad (at least the portion that I got) was smothered in dressing. I was mildly satisfied with the Capellini Pomodoro with chicken - light tomato sauce, right amount of chicken pieces, soft pasta. The Gemelli with sundried tomatoes (my current obsession), chicken, mushrooms and cream sauce was good - altho' the pasta was a bit stiff. So, the good thing is it's never crowded (tells you something) and probably better than Olive Garden but that's not saying much. My theory is that no matter how good the chain is elsewhere, something happens on it's way to UC/Fremont . . . 2.5.
(2)
Billy S.
the food here probabloy isn't super authentic but it sure is tasty. my friend jeremy and i came here one night and ate hella bread, had some wine and some delicious pasta. i really can't complain about this place.
(4)
Joey N.
don't know how authentic or anything this place is but i like it alot. I have my fav's that we get alot - clams, seafood pasta, chicken something...lasagna, and the darn tiramisu(sp?) I used to love that one dish with mushrooms suasage and some cream sauch however recently it hasn't been that great.
(4)
J S.
food is so-so. i still don't understand why the bread is served cold. service is bad, bad, bad. one time we had to wait for almost an hour for our food. 2.5 stars
(2)
Vivian S.
Not as good as it used to be. The service one time really bad. Waited up to 30 mins for our pasta - turned out the order was never placed! And the place wasn't even that busy. But my hubby still loves the bisteca, which is one of their better dishes.
(2)
Mike P.
Went to this place after a movie. The food was ok. Nothing to get excited about. Its better Italian food than Olive Garden but not authentic family style. Its about average. The one thing I will have to warn you about is the service. After a movie the place can get crowded and this place was just not ready for a crowd. All I heard was "Sorry for the wait". It was during lunch but the place just could not handle a crowded dining room. If you are not in a hurry and don't mind waiting for your food this place is ok. If you prefer good attentive service go someplace else.
(3)
Cindy H.
Pasta Pomodoro has poor service from beginning to end. My sister and I had to wait for 5 minutes before someone noticed we needed to be seated. Actually, we had to make them notice us. If they were too busy serving other tables, then why would they have two people serving us. We had someone on the left and someone on the right taking our orders. My sister enjoyed the Caesar salad. She ordered pasta with Italian sausage and tomato sauce. There was nothing special about this dish. Tortellini soup was okay. The tortellini pasta didn't taste cheesy enough. I like the fresh spinach in my soup. They didn't tell me that it costs an additional $1 to get this soup until the bill came. I ordered a mozarella panini that had slices of tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, mozarella, and pesto. I tasted the nastiest olives ever. They tasted like black licorice or bitter medicine. The bread isn't your normal sandwich bread. It tasted the same as the bread they give you for free - fluffy and soft. Since it's a mozarella panini, I was disappointed that the mozarella slices weren't even melted. I basically had a cold sandwich with semi-warm bread. The bits of greens on the side was pointless. I'm giving this restuarant 2 stars instead of 1 because of the nice Italian interior design. I kind of like their napkins. If you like restaurants with nice restrooms, you'll be coming to the wrong place. It smells good, but it doesn't match up with the Italian feel outside.
(2)
Jenn T.
this place is yummy.. my food was great. the staff was friendly.. i even chit chatted with the owner! i love the bread with the dipping oil.. yum.. the best part was the dessert.. i was full already but i still managed to eat all of it up! my bill came out to be real cheap for all that food.. good stuff!
(5)
Monica W.
Went with a group of friends for dinner and wasn't all that good. We ordered fettucine, butternut squash ravioli, ravioli with tomato sauce and create your own bolognese with penne. the tomato sauce ravioli was okay, but the butternut squash ravioli was waaay too sweet. It was like eating dessert....the create your own bolognese with penne wasn't that great. It was simply meat sauce with penne. If you plan on going, just don't expect a lot el oh el
(2)
Nicole tracey S.
Good pasta spot in the landing! I love their sauce with the bread. Service is ok not bad, Def come over here instead of Tomatino.
(3)
Tiff P.
Walked in on a Thursday evening just before 6pm. There were maybe a dozen or so people in the restaurant, so it wasn't crowded by any means. You'd think that someone would be able and willing to seat our tiny party of two, but even with minimal customers mid-week, this was not the case. The staff seemed to hover around the bay area, 3 of them just glancing over at us a few times like they had already decided they didn't want to work for the rest of the evening. After waiting a few minutes, we had to ask to be seated, but the server we spoke to turned to her coworker and literally said "this table is yours." And so we were seated... this should have been our early warning, the prelude to what would be a meal lacking service and quality food. After finally being seated it took another 10 minutes to get a glass of water and even another 10 minutes after that to be served bread. I asked for the balsamic vinegar so that we could dip it with the olive oil already on the table, but that never came. We asked twice and it still never came. With that said though, the bread was good and what I remembered from PP. Entrees: - Chicken Fettucine... big flat noodles drowning in a white cream sauce, with just 3 strips of chicken. The sauce was milky instead of creamy and the flavor was lacking so much so that we wished we would've just made it at home. - Vegetable salad with grilled chicken... the saving grace was the load of grilled veggies. But for paying an extra $5 for grilled chicken breast, it would've been nice if they gave me more than 3 oz. of it. Overall, completely unsatisfying and overrated restaurant. If we didn't have a gift card I would've walked out after taking so long to be seated in the first place. For two people with 2 entrees, our total bill was just under $50. At about $20+ a plate, the portions, service and experience are not worth half of that.
(1)
K C.
Sigh... where to begin...lets keep it simple because this place was so bad I do not even want to spend too much time to write the review. The pasta was beyond soggy and overcooked. I think when I was a child, i tried better HOMETOWN BUFFET pasta than here. I dont know what part of authentic pasta p is claiming here... I had very small expectation for this place but not even worth your money. It used be little better but now its just beyond bad.
(1)
A H.
I would give them 1 star, but the food is decent. It's their phone etiquette that sucks. Last time they put me on hold for 10 minutes. This time..13 minutes. I get it...maybe you're busy. But still...there should be no reason anyone should have to wait that long for service. They literally could've made me a pasta dish in that amount of time. I asked my bf to call on his phone and try to order. Guess what? He called me right after I finally got my order taken (12 minutes into my wait time) and said that he ordered no problem. Next time I'll take my business elsewhere.
(2)
Drea H.
The service & management here is so bad, we thought they were a brand new restaurant still working out their kinks! Small Italian restaurant located inside a moderately sized shopping plaza next to the freeway. The inside is quite spacious, and looks like a nice place to dine in for a relaxing lunch or dinner - one side mainly consists of tables/chairs, while the other has booths. They have a small bar & offer nice alcoholic beverages. They are next to a couple other eateries - Sushi Boat, Starbucks, Tribu Grill. Parking lot is oddly configured so it can be busy during peak hours. The restaurant was cold, service was SUPER slow, and the food was mediocre at best. I got the pesto capellini & it was awful - super oily & tasted like straight up pesto from a jar. Husband's panini was bland. Our water was never refilled, and we never got our second order of bread, which we'd requested to the owner/manager. In addition to all of the above, the same owner/manager kept yelling at our poor waiter in front of everyone. We overheard her making numerous snide, negative remarks towards her employee. It was so disheartening to hear & made for a truly negative dining experience.
(2)
Hao H.
If I could give this place ZERO stars I would. We got seated and waited 10 mins and no one came by to take our drink orders and when someone did come by they asked us what we wanted to eat and didn't ask us what we wanted to drink. ...30 mins past by and no food on our table and we ordered the simple spaghetti and meatballs and people that got seated 5-10 mins after us got their food in front of them. Horrible service and horrible management. Won't be coming back here ever again and the spaghetti tasted a bit off. Two thumbs down for this pasta pomodoro, I'm surprised they are still open for business
(1)
Julie H.
I use a lot of different catering services for my lunch appointments at work. Pasta Pomodoro was by far one of the worst I've ever used. The food was delivered 45 minutes late because the Union City restaurant pretty much forgot about my order. It makes me look bad to my clients when lunch is so late & my clients have a very limited time to meet with me. For this reason, I use catering companies that are consistently on time. Would not recommend Pasta Pomodoro catering!
(1)
Marissa G.
I don't like to write reviews, especially negative ones but this was absolutely ridiculous. We came here for lunch and there were 5 of us. Our server was immediately rude to us. I believe her name was Janae, something like that. We sat down and told her that we needed separate checks. She came back with "well you need to understand that if you want separate checks you're going to have to realize that it takes me a while so I don't need you standing up and waiting for me at the table because it takes a while for me to separate the checks." Whoa. Slow down there. That was mistake number 1. I work in the restaurant industry and I would never EVER tell anyone that. I don't even know why she needed to tell us that we needed to wait, it was not busy. And if they were busy don't they have some regulations about a "lunch rush"? The food took forever, every time we asked about something it was like pulling teeth to get it. The pregnant chick was the last one to get her food. My water never got refilled. They overcharged my other friend for her pasta and instead of handing the check to her and taking her card our server dropped off the check and left KNOWING that we had to leave at that moment, making us stand by our table and wait for her to come back. I get it, you're busy. But there are certain rules that apply to restaurants during a lunch rush. This place definitely did not have a lunch rush. I have worked in restaurants where I've had over 10 tables at a time and was still able to get them out promptly and in a timely manner. There was absolutely no reason for her to be rude to us or to treat us like we didn't matter. Maybe this is why they only have 3 stars...? I don't want to see this girl get fired, not at all. She doesn't deserve that. Maybe training again? Maybe new rules about lunch rushes? Maybe don't be rude? I get it. Everyone has bad days but you have to remember that other people depend on you so you have to put your feelings aside at the moment. Every customer is ultimately paying your bills so you might want to be nice to them.
(1)
Mystery M.
This is my second time here at Pasta Pomodoro in Union Landing. My experience here the first time wasn't really that good at all, and to be honest, my second time here wasn't any better sadly. Honestly, the kicker and problem here at Pasta Pomodoro, is really the Customer Service. Both times we had encountered not so good Customer Service, and you know Customer Service is key at any business not just a restaurant. The first time I came with my mom and we had a coupon that they sent us in the mail and so we thought why not come by here for a little lunch because the coupon was a pretty good deal. So we ordered off the lunch menu, however NO where on the Coupon did it say NOT Valid with Lunch Specials!!! After we asked for our check we presented our coupon and the waitress said it wasn't valid because we ordered off the lunch specials...the waitress was well it's not valid. My mom told her that she needs to tell the corporate that it does not say that it is NOT valid with the lunch specials on the coupon. We argued with the waitress for a while and it really wasn't that good even though she did give us like $3.50 off or something because that's all she could give. Still, that's not really acceptable. Today, I dined here to give them a second chance and let me tell you they didn't really do anything to make me come back for a third time. I wasn't really all that impressed with this visit either. We entered the restaurant and was seated right away which was good but they took forever to come take out orders. Like we were sitting there for at least 10 minutes before we were acknowledged. Finally when the waitress came, she apologized for making us wait, she said something like they were confused with the tables and had a little mishap... They usually bring us waters right away at most restaurants but here they didn't. They just took forever and to took our drinks orders while we were ordering our entrees. You kept us waiting for 10 minutes and we had no water to drink...yikes! Our waitress never came to refill our waters either... The waitress brought us complimentary bread but we had to ask for small plates to eat the bread with. Like did they expect us to eat the bread without plates? Once our meals came and she noticed we finished our bread she did offer to get us more bread but we declined since our meals were here. The first time I wanted something with Pesto Sauce and I saw an entree with Pesto Sauce and it ended up being a Sandwich and I had no clue until it arrived...that already got me meh. I was hoping it would have been a Pesto Type Pasta nope...the menu didn't say sandwich or to me it didn't sound like one... Anyways as for today's meal I went with friends and we each ordered an entree. I ordered the Bolognese which was $14.50 and dang the portion was pretty small. I mean it was alright, but like honestly for the price it's not worth it at all. It's not something I'd crave again or anything. My best friend ordered the Parmigiana which was Pasta and Chicken Breast. He said that he wasn't really that disappointed with the dish but I could tell he was. The Chicken for him was a bit to Crispy for him and the pasta didn't taste that great. I could tell really he was being a little nice when I asked him if he enjoyed his entree because he really only ate the Chicken and left most of the pasta on the plate and didn't even want to take it home...He thought it was a bit overpriced for what he received. My other good close friend ordered the Classic Lasagna and said it was really good. He seemed to enjoy it, I mean he ate the whole thing so it must be pretty food right? He ate it pretty quickly too. My other friend ordered the basic Italian dish, Chicken Alfredo Pasta. It costs $3.50 for the Chicken which to him wasn't bad because they gave a reasonable amount of it which was a bit surprising to him. His complaint was that the portion size is small. Oh and if you join their e-club they send you a coupon for a FREE Entree which expires in a month upon receiving it. That's a nice little added bonus. Although you can't combine offers either. If you watch a movie on the day you dine here and you show your ticket stub, you get $5 off. but we couldn't use it b/c we had the e-club coupon. Furthermore, in my opinion, I'm not sure if I would return. Especially when there are much better places out there such as Bucca Di Beppo and heck even Olive Garden. The Customer Service could definitely use some improvements and the portion size for what you pay for isn't worth it. Too expensive for what you receive. If it wasn't for the FREE Entree Coupon for joining their e-club, I would've rated this place a 1.
(2)
Melanie V.
Where do I start. I finally make time to meet up with my friends/coworkers for their belated birthday lunch and bring my toddler along for our lunch date. They are on a strict one hour lunch time period. I hardly ever dine at this restaurant, I mean, it's probably only my 2nd or 3rd time ever in my life, but it was what one of the birthday girls wanted so I said sure why not. So. Getting seated. Not a problem. Getting order taken quickly - not a problem. I could tell we had a waiter in training - but that was not explained to us. I ordered the '$10 all you can eat' pasta.. I got the rigatoni with bolognese sauce and paid the $4 extra for chicken (which is more like a few bites per bowl) to be added to it and a Diet Coke for $3. Already I'm at a $17 lunch before tax. Mind you -- the waiter brings out the check shortly after he brings our meals knowing we are on our lunch break and will have to return to work shortly. What I was happy about - was there was not any problem in getting the check to be split 4 ways. What I was unhappy about - I was never offered a refill on my "all you can eat pasta" but instead I had to make it a point to ask. so here's where I get pissed. after my refill is delivered, my toddler wakes up from her nap in the stroller, I'm sharing with her and the waiter/waitress are nowhere to be found. I see a different waitress and ask her for a to-go box. she says - sure. uhm. 2-3 minutes later with no to-go box delivered and no waitress in sight - I figure i'll just get up and go to the counter because now I've really got to go because my coworker, who I picked up from work and drove to this place - needs to get back to clock in and I figure - let me take the rest of this to go so I can finish feeding my toddler the pasta back at the work location. so, I get up, with my toddler in my arms/on my hip to walk up to the counter to ask for a to-go box.. 1st, the waitress says sorry she forgot about my to-go box. THEN. here's the kicker. as the woman next to her (later I find out this is the manager) hands me a regular size to-go box and I'm heading back to the table, she says "oh! because you got the bolognese, you can't take the food to-go". I'm sorry. what? are you SERIOUS right now? and they both say yes that because I had purchased the 'all you can eat' that they view it like going to a buffet in which you can't have a to-go box. I completely admit I lost my cool at this very moment, changed my tone and was livid. I totally said you're freaking kidding me right. And why did i lose my cool? because of b.s. pettiness! I just paid a $20 lunch and you're going to throw my food out anyways because I just was eating from the plate, but yet, I can't take it to go!??? And even after my waiter/waitress didn't even offer a refill?! but could sure as hell give the check real fast?! 1st of all - learn some customer service!!!! you can clearly hear in my tone I'm now upset. you could have kept me as a customer if you would have simply said - oh, you know, our policy is not to give out to-go containers on that specific menu item, however, since you were not told this information, here you go, but please remember for next time. If THAT would have been told to me, then I'd probably be returning as a customer, because then I'd know if I ever return to not order the all you can eat during a timed lunch hour and especially with my toddler in tow. However, since both the waitress AND The manager wanted to be petty (which the manager took back the regular to-go container and gave me a small one instead - which is ALL i needed anyways!!) and the waitress was continuing to argue with me and try and prove her point.. I mean.. seriously!? I didn't walk into a buffet..i walked into a sit down restaurant and it's not like I was being a fat ass and ordering 5 refills and still trying to take one to go. I had already signed my bill with a 15% tip and I sooo contemplated saying re-run my slip so I can tip ZERO or even rip up my check and walk out! Learn something from your competitors.. Olive Garden and Maggianos - have NO problem with a buy one take one home or taking your leftovers!
(1)
Julius P.
First impressions: the smell was welcoming. As we took our seats, the seats felt plushed and too soft. The waiter was friendly, and the service was decent. Food came, and it was good at first. I orders the lasagna, which looked good, but didn't really taste that good. My parents oredered the penne portobello and the seafood pasta. The latter was mediocre at best, while the former was delicious. Overall, it was alright. Mostly a hit/miss experience.
(3)
David K.
Stopped in here for a quick lunch. Since I love Italian food - this place is OK food - wise. nothing I had 'wow'ed me. It was a little more on the bland side (soup, pasta sauce, etc). My pasta was over cooked - but the kitchen hustles. I got my order in under 10 minutes. If you are looking for 'real' Italian - you may not like this place. But if you like Olive Garden, you just might like it.
(3)
Kathryn B.
In my last review I gave one star too many. The food has gone incredibly downhill, at least given today's experience. You might be okay with dinner. Called in for a to-go order for lunch. They told me it would be ready in 15 minutes. I got there at least 30 minutes later and it still was not ready. Once we got home we were extremely disappointed. Bruschetta appetizer did not even come with the toasted bread. Instead, we were only given 2 pieces of the free focaccia bread. Bolognese was BROWN and extremely unappetizing. Considering I wasted part of my lunch hour waiting for my order to be ready, I really had no other option but to pick it at. The minestrone soup that came with it was bland and bright orange with grease. Chicken parm -- BURNT! Totally unacceptable to make me wait for my order then give it to me burnt. While I was waiting, a man at a table behind me got up to tell the waitress that he was leaving because he had been waiting for his food as well. Having worked in a restaurant, I know that there are good days and bad days but it's not okay to charge customers for burnt, off-color, half-assed prepared food.
(1)
JT B.
Service is a little slow if your in a hurry!! The food is good and Sara rocked it at the bar. I come here four times a year with business and have never had a bad meal.
(5)
Kunjal P.
Completely opposite food vs. Their branch on Santana Row. Pathetic food. We ordered Veggie Pasta Pomodoro and Ravioli. The sauce was artificially flavored. Won't recommend.
(1)
Mimi T.
This is by far the worst pasta pomodoro I've been to, and i love pasta pomodoro.I called in for an pick up and as I arrived I stood there in the front and the waitress sees me yet she ignores me and goes back to talking to her coworker. I finally walked by the bar and told her I ordered to go and she looks at me like I'm crazy and says " please stand in the front" excuse meeeeeeeee? That's where I stood in the beginning and I was ignored! Yeah...this will be the first and last time I'm coming to this location.
(1)
Helen T.
Pasta Pomodoro has really gone downhill. When it first opened, it was my family's go-to place for Italian food. The servers were great; they even remembered our names and regular orders. However, in the past year or so, the service has been horrendous. After ordering our beverages, we saw that one of our cups were grimy and dirty. We politely asked the waitress to replace the cup, but she ended up arguing with us and saying it was just a stain. Stain or not, restaurants shouldn't even have dishes or cups that appear dirty. Additionally, the beverages we ordered were hot waters, so they were free anyways. The Fettucine Alfredo I ordered was delicious, but the two Penne Portobellos were another story. They probably didn't wash the mushrooms out properly or something, but there was a sandy feel and taste them both. Gross! Although the provided bread and pesto are delightful, the free appetizer is definitely not enough to compensate for the unsanitary environment and horrendous service.
(2)
William B.
I'll start with the service here.. Our waiter was inattentive, and very slow. He only brought us bread after we requested. He didn't check up on us before our food came out and let us sit for quite a long time with no service. Next the food. My food came out and was cold, you can imagine after waiting 20 minutes after ordering you'd hope your plate would be warm but all the pasta was cold. The pasta itself tasted terrible, I didn't like it at all. The chicken was warm, and actually did taste pretty decent. The worst part about this experience, was the food poisoning. I was up all night in the rest room after eating here. I know it was their food because I had no ate since 11am and we ate here around 9pm. We will not be going back here, just about every part of the experience was bad. If you like Pasta Pomodoro make the trip up to Emeryville, that is the only decent one around here.
(1)
joel k.
If you give a place 1 or 2 stars because the service sucks, then you're as dumb as the people serving you. I use yelp for the reviews of the FOOD. Service is really secondary unless your on a date trying to get a nut, or trying to impress someone. I live down the street from this location and eat here several times a month. The pasta is flavorful and pairs well with the bread and the numerous selections offered on the menu. As much as I love my unlimited breadsticks and salad at Olive Garden, pasta pomodoro is in a different league. This is real pasta, not reheated Olive Garden cafeteria food. In closing I have only had one bad service experience here and that was due to the restaurant being understaffed. If you waknt to be treated like royalty in regards to service, then go to Massimo's in Newark which is 3 times as expensive.
(4)
Zohal S.
The only good part of the meal was the bread in the beginning. Service was slow, we had to wait until the ladies were done chit-chatting to get seated.The food was not fresh, it gave us food poisoning. If you're thinking about going here, save yourself the trouble and just go to Olive Garden.
(1)
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Address :Union Landing Shopping Ctr,32216 Dyer St
Union City, CA, 94587
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
joseph g.
Ewwww.. risotto more like rice a roni so not good I had better risotto from fresh and easy..
(1)Keyla A.
Not only was the food great, but our server Monica was excellent. Customer service is definitely the way to make customers return, and Monica is attentive enough to make you feel valued.
(5)Ulrike W.
Pasta Pomodoro used to be fun, reasonable and offered tasty food. This branch has gone downhill: I had spaghetti arrabbiata yesterday: there was barely any sauce and the sausages were grilled and stacked whole on top of the pasta. They were too lazy to cut them and mix them with the sauce. We weren't offered any Parmesan and only one of two water glasses were re-filled. $13 for pasta with sauce and sausages?! Really! Take that one of my list.
(1)aoki l.
I used to love this place until my last visit. Came here with few friends for a late lunch and the food took about 35 mins to come out. My friend's meatballs was completely burned and still served it to us but we waited so long we didn't have time to return the plate so he just ate the spaghetti. Last night we came here and ordered the gemelli and portobello mushroom. I don't know what happened to the old recipe but I remember the sauce to be on a lighter side not looking like a diarrhea. The sauce was so bland and not as smooth as I remembered it. It almost feels like I'm eating raw flour in the sauce. I think I'll just come here for the bread and their mango iced tea that's about the only thing they have going for them.
(2)Nate R.
A little bit expensive and the portions were smaller than I expected. It was worth a try though.
(3)Shey P.
The food was okay. The service on the other hand is not okay. We went there for dinner. Our wait staff was really bad on attending to us. He keeps forgetting what we need. Our table was missing utensils and we had to ask him 6 times for it. We ask for round of water he brings 3 and there is 10 of us!, he then will come back 5 minutes later. Cmon' think!!! This will be the first and last we will be coming here.
(3)Bo J.
Everyone likes to use Olive Garden as the benchmark for Italian-American restaurants. Well if OG is on one end of the spectrum (enough salt and butter to make you thirsty and your mouth greasy for the rest of the day) then PP is on the other. Its not as disgusting as OG usually is, but what it lacks is portion size, flavor, and good bread. Penne portobello - could be great if they added the ingredients in the right order. It seems like they put the mushrooms at the beginning of the cook, so they end up dissolving into the sauce. Overall it was edible but not very good. Conchiglie gamberi - same issue here, hard to taste any distinct flavors when they cook everything to homogeneity. It was still ok, but I think I've had one of them Bertolli 10 min pasta skillets with the same stuff and it was better.
(2)Raylin V.
Two stars because it smells good. I came in and ordered take out 20 minutes ago and I am still waiting. How long does it take for a Salad and a soup. Just saying. Finally I stood up after sitting for a total of 30 minutes near the door and they had my food ready. I was baffled they didn't bother to come and ask if I was waiting for something. I could have left way earlier. Once I got home my soup was still hot however my salmon was cold maybe because I had a Salad but the meat shouldn't be cold. If I wasn't craving their tortellini I wouldn't have gone.
(2)sharon c.
If there was a zero star, I definitely would choose that! The service is horrible! They give you 2 pieces of bread for 2 people dinning in! Seriously, I asked for bread and more like the middle part and not the sides because I hate crust but still this boy-server still gives us the sides. Is there a language barrier? Treat your customers equally! You'll find out one day when you get treated this way!...on top, it's soo rude to compete with your customer when they're already upset about how the dinner and service was going. You can be busy but it sure doesnt seem busy when you have time to compete or flip my complaint around. This boy-server needs more skills or training in customer service!!!! Def not a a recommended place. Go elsewhere or to a different Pasta Pomordoro location.
(1)M T.
These people are straight-up thieves... I and my wife dined here last weekend... They give you $5 off if you show movie tickets. We ate $26 worth of food and showed our tickets... They still gave us $26 check so I called up server and pointed out to him and gave my credit card... He just ran back (No sorry!) and came back with $20 bill receipt.. there was no customer copy/merchant copy... just a receipt... I thought they charged me for $20 as I never signed a check for $26 and I just now verified, they have charged me for $26... Management is worst here!... You have to wait and ask to at least 4 people to get a complementary bread-sticks... I'm obviously not coming back and think of lodging a formal complaint to them.. how can they charge you of some arbitrary amount without you signing a check?
(1)Nikki P.
Amazed to say the least. I read all the reviews downing the service but our server Mariel was considerate expediant and she loved her job anf coworkers which made me feel at ease. Mariel saw me up tight at first and told me to make myself comfortable. We were served fresh buttery toasted foccacia which came with a creamy pesto dip it was so good that we gobbled it up in minutes! Mariel hospitably served us more bread to accompany the meal, She was able to reccommend her favorite dishes Portobello Penne, Lasagna and cuchigatori gambezi . My younger kids had chicken alfredo and spaghetti which cost nothing because kids eat free on Tuesdays.,Everything we tried was to our delight the food was much more tasty and authentic than olive garden. I have not eaten at Pasta Pomadoro for 13yrs and that was because the food then was not unique or as developed in flavor as it was tonight. They have an open kitchen and you get to watch the chefs and smell the food as they make their magic! For dessert we had the cheesecake which I renamed" Yes Please-cake!" I am absolutely enamored by the tastes, textures and aromas we experienced tonight. We will be back ASAP!
(5)Shaan G.
The food is pretty expensive for adults, but if you order the kids meal it is better since you get more food. I got the chicken tenders, lemonade, and a ice cream sundae. They gave me over well done on the chicken. They should ask how you want your food and should lower the price.
(4)Angelica G.
Im giving 2stars because I liked the bread although when I asked for more it took forever and was given the excuse when I asked again thinking they forgot that they had to order?? The waitress seemed rushed when there really was not anyone eating and she was not very attentive... The worst part I order the traditional lasagna and it was burnt I could taste the charcoal, re - ordered in burnt but will now have to bake to go.... My mom said she can make better lasagna than this place! Luckily they discounted it 1/2 price... Pays to complain!
(2)Claudia R.
Italian food is my favorite, but I am always skeptical of chain restaurants. Still, I've been to other Pasta Pomodoro's in the past, including the ones in Rockridge and Emeryville, and have had positive experiences. This Pomodoro, however, reestablished my skepticism of the chain. We arrived on the evening of boyfriend's mom's birthday; Outside it was hot, and inside the restaurant it was like a freezer. After being seated, we were given starter bread that was unusually cool and tough. I got so hungry waiting for our actual food that I ate some anyway without complaints (I'm a good sport). When I got my salmon salad, it was completely drenched in oil and vinegar; it was like the spinach leaves were in a kiddie pool. I picked at the salmon, barely consuming any of the actual salad. I had a stomach ache into the next day. To seal the deal, they had run out of candles, and didn't even bother to sing happy birthday, which is the norm there. Totally alright; I was just looking forward to getting out of there by then.
(1)Cookie C.
First time coming in this afternoon and though you can't go wrong with the Fruti di'mare, this location missed the mark in terms of seafood quantity within the dish. The flavor was still really good, but the size for $16.50/plate per lunch was too $$$. Anyway, we complained to the server and management and they were cool about it and compensated our orders by subtracting a dish. My advice is if you want to get your money's worth, go when the place is less packed. All in all, really good food and service is, though sometimes slow, consistent and couteous.
(4)Liv A.
It's pretty sad when I can cook better pasta dishes and create better salads at home than the ones that I ate at Pasta Pomodoro. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but there are a few basic things that I do know about Italian cooking such as preparing the pasta al dente! I know Pasta Pom is a chain restaurant and I usually stay away from these due to lack of authenticity among other reasons. However, I got sucked into attending a group lunch there during the week. Let's start with the good first. The waitress and waiter that served our group were accommodating and did a great job during the lunch service. The only other saving grace was the warm focaccia bread with pesto dipping sauce. Can't go wrong with warm bread period. My 2 star rating encompasses those two factors. Upon perusing the menu, I noticed that most of the pasta dishes had a few variations but mostly leaned towards cream sauces or tomato based sauces with different shapes of pastas. This was a bit of a bummer to me since I usually prefer my pasta simply tossed with EVOO. I don't like to drown my pasta in sauces. I decided to go with one of the lunch specials as everyone in the group also ordered off that menu. The specials consisted of your choice of pasta or panini served with minestrone soup or a side salad priced at $8.95 or $9.95. I went with one of the pasta and salad combos. -Insalata Mista (baby lettuces, tomatoes, shaved carrots, blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette): Boring salad. There was nothing great about it and the blue cheese didn't seem to compliment the salad at all. In fact, the blue cheese was almost glued to the diced tomatoes which was strange to me. -Pesce Sano (whole grain fusilli with select pieces of salmon, asparagus, tomato sauce and fresh basil): A huge disappointment. The pasta was over cooked and soggy. The bits of salmon were a little fishy even having being covered in the marinara sauce. The asparagus pieces were diced up but completely woody. They really did not need to put the asparagus grounds in the dish as those were just inedible. There was way too much sauce in the dish overall and it was a tad salty for my taste. Overall, there was a lot of pasta and very little of anything else. Also, there was no fresh basil added to the dish as advertised. I hate to say this but Pasta Pomodoro is just not for me. I think Giada de Laurentis has taught me well and I can have Everyday Italian in my very own kitchen!
(2)Jiezell L.
4 stars for the penne portobello. My favorite pasta dish. The bread and pesto is addicting. Wish they would give more than 2 pieces of a bread. Service here is a hit or miss. Last time we went service was good.
(4)Emily V.
Food here is alright. Service sucks. We come here because it's close to home when we want pasta. It took is forever to get seated when there was a lot of tables open. I even had to ask should we seat ourselves. No greeter and the waiters never check up on you. Pretty much, every time we come here, it takes forever to get seated, we order food, get our food really late, and leave.
(1)Allie A.
My only complaint (which is a useless complaint) is that I wish the restaurant was bigger. Its such a lovely place, but it is SO CRAMPED. I feel suffocated. But there's nothing they can do about that, so whatever.
(3)Sharon W.
Le Sigh. I've always been a super big fan of the gemelli and the bread and pesto dip, but today, the service here was just unsatisfactory! I used the online service yesterday to cater my office's Halloween party. I put the order in yesterday morning, for pickup at 12 pm today. I was called at 11:50am notifying me that they were out of one of the ingredients to make the Chicken Sausage potato pasta, so I asked him to sub it for the Chicken pesto pizza instead. I arrive at 12:15pm , so I could give them a little more time to make the pizza so the order would be completely ready when I arrived. When I walked in, There was some shuffle and the manager Israel came out. He was also the one who called me 10 minutes before my order was supposed to be ready. He explained to me that he just found out this morning they no longer carry pizza. Are you kidding me? I asked him why he didn't call me to ask If i wanted something else instead of just telling me when I arrived. He said, "well I called you 10 minutes before your order was supposed to be picked up." Ok, since you called late, why not call again? I ordered another portion of the Chicken Parm, and then he actually tries to charge me the difference. I asked him if he feels that he should cover the $6 difference for wasting my time and for the complications with my order. He looked really dumfounded and made no attempts to apologize for the mistakes, The next minute just consisted of him standing there blinking at me. I basically then told him he will pay the difference. The food 3/5 Overall service from restaurant 4/5 (Host, Phone) Management 1/5
(2)Sean C.
Been here twice, I really like the bread with the dipping sauce, also the Caesar salad was very fresh and crisp and delicious. The last time I was there I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo and it came out nice and hot the fettuccine tasted fresh as if it was homemade and very very good. The service was good as well the gentleman who waited on me was attentive and nice.
(4)Preeti K.
This place used to be good but I guess management changed. They served uncooked pasta and it was at the bottom of the plate. The server told us that they can only take a percentage off and took 3 bucks off a $15 dish!!! Well, how is that a customer's fault if you serve uncooked pasta and it's at the bottom of the plate! Very unprofessional! Will not be going back!
(1)Eri H.
We usually order to go if we are craving pasta and usually we are happy with the food since we don't have high expectations that take out food will taste as good as dine in experiences thats why we decided to change our usual routine and have dinner @pasta pomodoro. Our waitress was attentive as she quickly greeted us and took our order on drinks and food and she made sure that everything was okay and that our drinks were refilled. BUT the food was not that great! Hubby had the chicken parmesan and the chicken was very dry (overcooked). The sauce on my pasta (marinara) was salty! Overall the food was average but the ambience was cozy and our waitress was attentive. Therefore 3 stars.
(3)Simon A.
Changed from 1 star to 3 (see original post below) We found a way to handle the one problem staff member who caused our previous problems: If we come early enough she isn't working yet everything will go well, if she is working as hostess and there is even a small line we simply turn around and go somewhere else. I could not in good conscious leave only one star just because of one staff member. This person is always frowning (like she ate a sour grape just before you walked in) and never cheerful. The only explanation that I can think of as to why she still works there is that she either is the manager, or related to the manager. If I ran the place I would have fired her and let her be grouchy to my competitors customers. The rest of the staff are friendly and helpful. The food is great, and the bread is to die for! Original Post follows (slightly edited for clarity): I've been here before, and had decent service, but it appears if it gets just a little busy they can't handle it. Was told 8-10 minutes to wait (one couple ahead of us) and she even wrote us down (scribbled really). Then when it got busy she forgot about us and started seating other people. To make matters worse the woman (b!$&@) who was in front when we complained made a snarky (b!$&@y) remark that they were first. Funny since we were sitting next to the door when she walked in. The hostess who forgot about us tried to seat us next to the b!$&@ so we left and walked to Chili's and enjoyed great service!
(3)Catrina R.
Best Italian food I have ever had. Better than the imitation of Olive Garden and way better priced. They give you your money's worth. Their deserts are just as great as the entrées. I love the bread pudding and the tiramisu. If you want Italian food I highly recommend this place before others. Don't believe it's that good than go see for yourself.
(5)Jennifer W.
I came here for lunch with my colleagues. I was really looking forward to the clam linguini because that is what i get every single time i come to Pasta Pomodoro. unfortunately, their whole menu changed and the clam linguini wasn't on there. =( The comp bread came non-stop! that was good though! The service was pretty slow -- our food came out pretty late. but they kept refilling my iced tea! i ordered the Pollo Panini from their lunch menu. I got the regular greens with insalata mista.i wished i got the csear. I didn't know that Panini was a sandwich! :( i wasn't that satisfy with my meal. i couldn't find anything on the menu with CLAM in it! =( i hope they put the clam linguini back on their menu.
(2)Charlene S.
I think a huge plate of disappointment would have tasted better than what we ordered. We should have stopped at the complimentary bread, because after that, everything went downhill-fast. We ordered the bruschetta. Nondescript. I ordered the chicken marsala. Looked promising with all that sauce. But Tada! There was no flavor! I rarely salt my dishes, but I salted and peppered this thing and it didn't help. Prayer probably wouldn't help it either. My teen ordered the spinach ravioli. She commented "I've had much better from Costco." I tasted it and agreed. My little one ordered chicken strips with spaghetti. I tried it. Bland! There's more flavor in a 99 cent can of spaghetti-os. I am so ashamed that I spent almost 50 bucks on this meal. Not worth it at all! The one star is for the waiter and waitress. They were hustling and trying their best to do it all. The manager was practically absent the whole time. When she did show up, she just pointed to the incoming patrons at where to sit. She also walked by the tables and didn't acknowledge anyone. Horrible!! Please, do me and yourself a favor. If you are considering eating here, walk 2 more doors down to Togos.
(1)Kristine L.
I have been coming here since I was in middle school. Not really a "real" Italian restaurant but for a chain, it is pretty good. I love how they offer you house bread with AMAZING pesto sauce! I would ask for refills on bread, but bread really does fill you up and I tend to get full before my meal comes out :( For pasta, I would recommend the conchiglie gamberi!
(3)Monica R.
So my girlfriends and I had a hankering for Italian food and sadly decided on Pasta Pomodoro. The food was disappointing my two girlfriend's ordered some type of pasta which they thought was completely tasteless, and I ordered a Polenta appetizer which was mediocre, I could have cooked better at home, when dining out you expect the restaurant to have good service, better than home cooked, and nice ambiance the only thing we really got here was the decent ambiance. Our waiter was friendly, but it was close to impossible to get what we wanted nor a good description of dishes. The manager did redeem the restaurant to an extent by offering a 20% after we voiced our dissatisfaction, but regardless of service the food was not good at all. None of us want to return.
(2)Rehnish P.
This place deserves no stars. We had to wait 45mins for our food which was cold. The service is horrible. They took a while to even take our order. I had been here before and the service was OK that time, but this time they just managed to top my chart for horrible service. I would not recommend this place.
(1)Chad S.
I've been to several other Pasta Pomodoro's, but this was my first time visiting this one. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this one seemed more "modern" looking than the others, even though the other ones were far from unappealing. I ordered my usual: the Penne Pomodoro. It was very good. The penne was cooked just right and the sauce was tasty. The restaurant was clean and our Waitress was very nice. The only reason why I didn't give 5 out of 5 stars was because of something petty: I ordered a Shirley Temple (Sprite and Grenadine), which is a quite common drink that you can order at most restaurants. After receiving the check, I noticed that they charged 50 cents for the "shot" of Grenadine. For those of you who don't know what Grenadine is, it's a non-alcoholic cherry syrup. In no way, shape or form is 50 cents a lot of money, but it's an unnecessary charge.
(4)Courtney O.
Very upset. I've been here a total of 3 times. First time was awesome. Staff was super friendly even though it was busy. Second time I feel like our server thought we were just little kids so she paid no attention. Third time was the worst. No one was even in the store and I asked for bread like 3 times. It took forever for our waiter to bring us anything. And we had like 3 different people bring us stuff. The waiter, Jenae, was very rude. She completely ignored us and when we asked her for the check she goes "yea I'll get to you" and turns to put napkins on an EMPTY table... Really? Was that necessary at that moment?
(2)Michael B.
Me and my mother often come here for a nice meal to catch up or to grab a meal before/after a movie. They have the best bread of any Italian restaurant coupled with their dipping sauce and the food is delicious as well. We always order the Gimelli
(4)Melissa M.
The food was really good but the service was super sloooooow! If you are in any type of a hurry this is not the place to go. We were waiting forever for things. Oddly, the food came quickly but everything else took way too long.
(3)Jennifer L.
A little pricey but I love them for their steak salad and gnocchi. The bread they give you is DELICIOUS. Good place for a casual date night.
(3)Danny F.
I LOVE pasta Pamardoro but HATE this one. Went here 2 weeks ago with my friend Melly on a Tuesday night. First off service. Food took way too long to come out. Server did not speak good english one bit. Now the food we both ordered pasta & it didn't live up yo the quality we usually get. More like it sucked. Wasted my money going here I will not be reterning.
(2)Jason M.
A chain but a good one. As I always say in my reviews about Fremont - hey people, it's FREMONT, not San Francisco. Ok, this one is in Union City but you get my drift. It's a chain. But Pasta Pomodoro's is a really good chain. This one is particularly friendly, with good wait staff, and a nice relaxed atmosphere on weekdays. On weekends this gets a bit crazy as the guy who built the Union City parking lot system was... well 2nd to Jack in the Shining in terms of insanity. Parking is INSANELY difficult on weekends. But back to the food - * Appetizers - try the asparagus, which is low cal and very good. * Ravioli - try the butternut squash ravioli - excellent * Desserts - the chocolate cake trapipiosotootis (I am making that Italian word up) is very very good. Wine - good, great - whatever you can afford. Great for kids. Great for a weekday meal with a your family. I love this place. Yes, it's a chain. Yes it's not as good as the food up in snobbidibobby San Francisco, but if you are in Union City this is as good as it gets, and it's very good.
(4)Brandon W.
I love Pasta Pomodoro and always go to the ones in SF, San Bruno and SJ. So I thought I'd try the Union City location since it's 10min from my place. We went on a Sunday night around 6pm. It wasn't too busy, no wait. We were seated quickly, but the service was terrible. They had only one girl serving everyone, while 3 waitresses were sitting at the counter talking the entire time we were there. I don't know if they were on break the whole time or off but they were just sitting there in their uniforms chatting in front of waiting customers so it was very unprofessional. I felt bad for the poor girl serving us because she was running all over the restaurant, but she kept forgetting us the whole time, because we were in the back corner. She forgot to take our order, forgot to bring our waters, I had to ask for my coffee 3 times, and our food sat ready on the counter for about 10min before someone brought it to us. The food was great as Pomodoro always is (the only reason for the star) but she forgot to bring our bill and forgot to take it to pay. I know it was all probably a management issue, but the whole service was just awful. To top it off, whenever we tried to flag down someone else to help, they would look in our direction and rudely turn away. We weren't even asking for anything else or making any stupid requests, the only interaction we even had was ordering our 2 dishes and drinks. My cousin I was with who lives in Union City said she hears a lot of people say the same thing about the service. No wonder there weren't that many people on a Sunday at 6. Management needs to take care of this because all the other Pasta Pomodoros have excellent service.
(1)Frank S.
Was brought there by some friends whom at the end, were as disappointed as I was. They did had some good pasta, and despite what other reviews state, fast service as well. The 3 stars review comes from the BAD surprise at the end, discovering that they already added to the bill not less than 18% tips !! And we were only 3 adults with 2 kids in our party. Shame for them, because we were so pleased that we wanted to give some good tips at the end anyway. But after this, not only we just paid this 18% "fee" and nothing more, but now there will be some time we will consider coming there again. Really shame business practice. :( --- UPDATE: Returned with some friends who wanted to enjoy some pasta. The lasagna were cold in the middle, while hot on the side, which definitely means they were re-heated by microwave, no matter how fresh they claim their food is. Even the coffee we order at the end, had to be sent back because they arrived barely warm. And of course, we had their mandatory 18% tips applied to our bill at the end. Back to ONE star for now, and probably never go again in this place. FIVE stars goes to the poor waitress though, for her amazing service and smile, despite all the complain from our table.
(1)Jason R.
I am not sure why this location has not gotten better reviews. I received excellent service from Barbara, who made a special plate to my order without hesitation. The food was great. This is the best service that I have received, en oar with La Folie and Campton Place... Imagine that from a chain restaurant!
(5)Virginia B.
Went here for the first time last night. I had some reservations because of the many poor recent reviews. Perhaps they had an impact. For us, the experience was nearly perfect. The only downside was a mother and child seated next to us who were using a phone very noisily to keep the child entertained rather than with ear buds (I find this rude in a restaurant). We were seated, our order taken and food presented all with good timing. Our food was excellent. The portions were a good value (I brought some of mine home). We ordered bruscetta and the polenta (delish) as appetizers. Our entrees were the fettucine alfredo with sausage and chicken parmagiana. I always consider risotto and polenta a good sine of ability to prepare Italian foods. This place does both. So I don't know what all the recent complaints were about. Our dinner out was excellent and we will definitely be returning. A plus? Parking was easy and convenient. Here's a tip. It isn't one of the single standing restaurants. It is near Starbucks and the signage is dim. This was my second attempt to eat here. The first time I couldn't find it. This time I drove and he looked for the place.
(4)Nathalie N.
Pasta is Pasta. Can't really expect much from a chain. The service is pretty fast though despite how chaotic the restaurant feels like. My favorite and probably least favorite is the fact that I can now see the calorie content of my dishes... EEK! Get the Gamberi appetizer.. its my favorite! Now if I can get that sauce on some pasta bowties that would be awesome!
(3)A R.
My husband & I came here on Easter Sunday. It was busy and really low staffed. Despite this, each of the employees were extremely friendly and hardworking. We noticed them getting their fair share of beef from angry customers. They handled it all very professionally and respectfully. Keep up the great work, guys!
(5)Lydia C.
I've been a fan of PP for a while, but our last dinner here was a bit of a disappointment. The food was good - pesto cappellini and gnocchi - and I always like their bread and pesto sauce. However, service has declined. Even though it wasn't busy on a weeknight, we stood by the door for several minutes before we were acknowledged. I'm sorry, but there is NO excuse for that! Then the woman who brought our salad (not our waiter) apparently couldn't be bothered to smile. Our waiter, although capable, didn't seem to be making any effort.
(2)Vi T.
Frutti de mare! I'll be real, I don't eat anything else there, at least entree-wise. I figure why mess with a good thing? Bread and salsa verde are tasty, the minestrone is hearty, the caesar has a nice bite to it, and the few times I did try different dishes, they were pretty good too. This location is SOOO much better than Milpitas, FYI. Mmm, getting hungry.....
(4)Clarissa Y.
When I was about middle school age, I used to come here all the time and I absolutely loved it. But then again, that was long before I started truly experiencing how delicious food can be. When I went there recently again, the food was alright... but just alright. And they say that you become less of a picky eater with age! I disagree! Ambiance: I have to admit, I really like how Pasta Pomodoro is designed. It's very spacious with lots of room and paintings on the wall. Classy dining - I like it! Customer Service: The customer service is consistently great. Every single time I've come here, the service has been friendly and food comes at respectable times. Food: Like I said, the food is alright but nothing special. They offer large portions, but the pasta sometimes can be a bit rough. The complimentary bread they bring out as an appetiser could do with a bit of work - the sauce is just oil with parsley... really cheap. The bread didn't taste that freshly made as well. But then again, I could be a bit picky because I subconsciously compare every complimentary bread I receive to the delicious Texas Roadhouse goodies. With the prices of Pasta Pomodoro, I feel like it's just not worth the quality. It is a bit on the expensive side but they didn't really make their food worth it. --- Overall, I like Pasta Pomodoro and would come here again. It's nothing really special, so don't get your hopes up. However, the food is decently tasty, the customer service is great, and the restaurant looks gorgeous. Looks good to me!
(3)Mo O.
First time here and probably my last, unless I feel like having warm bread with a side of basil pesto sauce. Plenty of empty seats at 8:30 and more than 5 minutes passed before being acknowledged and seated. The simple no-meat angel hair pasta dish I ordered was bland and overcooked. It could have used more salt, better olive oil, and cheese. May be that cooked pasta is thrown into the saute pan with the vegetables, because there was fried noodle in my entree. The appetizer was OK but comes with a hard-cooked egg that was either hard-boiled or just not fresh.
(2)Ron A.
Always order the Frutti di mare, you will never fail by ordering this dish. The bread is always fresh and warm. The place needs some updating and cleanliness is not the best. Overall it's still 4-stars for me.
(4)Tom P.
This place is hit or miss on how packed it gets for lunch. What is never hit or miss is the great food and service. I enjoy Pasta Pomodoro even with my food allergies and special requests. They always accomodate me and I love it.
(4)Orchid L.
Went there on a weekday evening for dinner with family around 7 pm, the crowd was optimal and we did not have to wait for a table. I LOVED the penne portobello :-) The service was also fast and effecient. Will definitely go again.
(4)Chris C.
Clean and good staff. The Gemelli is a really good dish if you.go for the earthy flavors
(3)Peter B.
Nice menu but very slow to be seated. Waitress was very good once seated. The gnocchi was very good and the pasta Siciliane as also very good.
(3)Mike D.
We we're greeted quickly and sat down quickly but that was pretty much it. It was Thursday so we opted to try the new abbondanza menu which is 10.00 for a choice of 4 different pastas and five different sauces. The wife ordered fettuccine Alfredo and I ordered the rigatoni and bolognese. Now it took over 20 mins to get the first order. We forgot who out waiter was and what he looked like because he never checked back after we received our initial order. My pasta was hot and was decent but my wife's, while hot, was bland as hell. I mean it wasn't even close to Alfredo sauce should be. It wasn't cheesy or buttery. It was like cream and butter over noodles. It took me about 15 mins before the waiter came to check and I explained that my wife's pasta sauce was bland. We got a remake but this time she chose the creamy vodka sauce which was no different just in color. I asked for a to go box for my refill since it took so long to get it that I got full just waiting for it and to top it off they wouldn't give me a to go box because it was a refill.... I went to the rest room in the meanwhile and got nailed by a swinging door that leads to the kitchen that an employee decided to kick open while I was passing by. Smh. Won't be going back there anytime soon.
(1)Walt M.
it deserves 0 Stars!!!! i was so mad i went here because i love italian food and have never been here before, i walk in and the place looks great, nice ambiance and lighting, but then im standing there in a half seat restaraunt waiting for 20min? i didnt see the traffic worthy of the wait, nevermind though because i was hungry. we sit down and its a pretty regular italian menu, nothing special, so i get the lasagna because i figure "you cant mess up lasagna right" boy was i wrong, it felt like they barely cooked it, there was no seasoning or flavor, and the texture was just off, soft everything everwhere... you know its a bad place if the best thing they have to offer is drinks and free bread... i wont be back here... Rigatonis is a much better option, and Buon Appetito in Hayward puts this place to SHAME
(1)K C.
If I had known bringing in a coupon that was sent to me via email could only be redeemed by my party if we sat at two separate tables, well we would have still came. But maybe I'll read the restaurants policy before I dine in next time. It took our server 20 minutes after we were done eating to split our check and give us our buy one get one half coupon. She had to call the manager to tell us it wasn't working. Like we care? You sent us the coupon, we expect you to honor it. Not tell us we should have sat at separate tables.
(1)Alice T.
I came here to eat for a Sunday birthday dinner. I had order the healthy chicken pasta. The portion of the dishes were a decent size. They also give you plenty of bread with pesto. However, I felt that the food was pretty bland and flavorless. The staff and the waitress was extremely nice, and very accommodating and refilled our water and drinks several times. The restaurant itself is pretty small. Not a bad place for something casual or a lunch time place. Price point of the food was a little above average. Around $12.00 to $14.00 per dish. Parking was not hard to find. Maybe I had to order something else and try it. But it was just okay for me.
(3)Farrah F.
Pasta Pomodoro, you've made my bread list! My former roommate and I were in somewhat of a dilemma that involved either making flan in Davis and getting back to the bay area at around 9 p.m., or driving back, sticking it in the oven and getting to dinner at 8 p.m. We were celebrating my facebook wife's birthday with steak, because we love food, she loves meat, steak is awesome, and I dream about the wonder that is known as Texas Roadhouse's cinnamon butter and bread. We ended up choosing the latter option and got back to the bay area at 8 p.m. as planned. She'd had a granola bar and I'd had a burrito. Needless to say, we were starving. But due to a couple complications, we didn't make it to Texas Roadhouse until 9 p.m., where we were told that the wait would be approximately an hour and 10 minutes. S: Eff that. So we scoured Union Landing and came up with this place. I think they close at 10(:30?) on Saturday nights and we got there at 9:30 but they didn't give us a hard time about it. We were seated quickly and our waiter, bless his soul (I sound like an 80 y.o. woman), brought us our bread almost immediately. Warm focaccia bread + an amazing pesto dip...I think we powered through about 4 plates before we finally slowed down. He was a smart one, and kept em' comin', so we are all in agreement that he's full of awesome. I ordered the gnocchi because it's wonderfully filling and I was out for blood (well, food). It's an extra $1.75 to add broccoli, but it wouldn't have been as amazing without it. I also got to sample the meatballs from the spaghetti and the ravioli di zucca, which has this brown butter/sage sauce that I'd never tried before (it was good stuff). I think the bill came to around $62 (including tax and an 18% gratuity) for 4 dishes and an appetizer, so to me, slightly on the steeper end, but a small price to pay to alleviate our starvation throughout that day. (I'm such a budding poet.)
(4)Vlad Z.
The food here was pretty lackluster. If you want good Italian food, go to Italy. If you can't afford to go that far, then try Olive Garden or Old Spaghetti Factory. Yes, they're chains but they do have decent Italian fare.
(2)Sergio F.
I came by on a business lunch today and can say this place is very yummy comfort food. After not eating dinner because of my late flight last night, lunch here hit the spot! The menu is pretty extensive, with pasta dishes, paninis and salads. I started off with a minestrone. Good taste, and different presentation. The broth was clearer than I've usually had but the zucchini and beans were tasty and firm. Main course was a "Healthy Chicken Pasta". The dish had plenty of spicy marinara sauce, and the noodles were good quality. Certainly a tasty lunch! Bread service was prompt from us sitting down, and the pieces were warm. The sauce was an original touch, looked like Olive Oil mixed with basil. The espresso (we call it "colada" back east) was a pleasant reminder of home!
(4)Doctor G.
I got there at 6:30pm and the place was absolutely deserted. By 7pm, Pasta Pomodoro was packed. Huh? Did the theater just let out? Nice that they gave you bread and pesto before dinner. Caesar salad was pretty good. However, I was not impressed with my spaghetti and meatballs. I didn't care for the sauce. Service was fine, parking tougher than you might imagine, but still available due to the size of the Union Landing lot.
(3)Ellen C.
My supervisor and I came here after work and what made us want to try this place (besides the fact that I see it randomly in different places), was that they had pasta dishes that had less than 400 calories! Even though we had eaten a large breakfast and lunch, it was appealing to eat here because you can eat guilt free. I got the ravioli, which was light but fulfilling - portioned perfectly for a light dinner. My supervisor got something heavier, which was the special of the day (white sauce fetuccini). I thought the prices were reasonable for a quick dinner, and for the ambiance. Good place to meet for a quick dinner and if you're watching calories. However if you're looking for large portions or a special italian restaurant, probably not the place to be.
(3)Nikki C.
This was my first time coming here and it exceeded my expectations. The first thing I was impressed with was being able to see my food being cooked. The second thing was the ambience of the whole restaurant. Service was great and the food was great. Will make this my go-to pasta spot. Quick tip- the tiramisu was great but recommend splitting it! Quite a good portion size!
(5)Gg M.
We have been frequent customers for a long time, liking the fresh produce used in many dishes. Recently they have changed the menu-for the worse-eliminating the choice of half portions. The half portion option was always nice in that it gave the diner the opportunity to sample several starter/main course combos w/o over-ordering. We enjoy their price fix when offered, although in the current listing we did not find choices of appeal to us. Lunch has become pricier than it used to be.
(4)Jackie D.
One of my favorite places to eat on a friday night. My husband and I usually go on date night because of their fast service and the great service. We always get greeted at the door and we've never had to wait for more that 5 min. And their food is so good!
(5)Ella A.
I ordered the chicken fettuccine with creamy pesto and the noodles were undercooked. I sent it back so they can remake it for me. When it came around the second time around they over cooked it. Some parts of the pasta were stuck to each otger and those werent fully cooked. Very disappointed with the quality of the food and as far as the service...it was alright. She could've smiled more and when I sent the food back she appeared annoyed. I rather spend the money to cook it at home on my own.
(1)Lisa C.
There was a ton of food on the antipasti platter. We should have stopped there and done without the pasta dishes.
(4)Ava S.
Typical chain pasta joint. Honestly I wasn't expecting much, so I wasn't disappointed nor was I blown away. For appetizers, we ordered bruschetta. I don't remember what it was called, but it was not the typical one on the menu. The one we ordered only came with two and had squid among other things on it. It was good though there were hardly any tomatoes to be found. My sister ordered the Bolognese, which was alright. The meat sauce was very meaty, always a plus. I ordered the Gemelli, but I substituted the gemelli pasta for linguini pasta because I wanted noodles that I could twirl around my fork. They charged me an extra dollar though to substitute it out. RAWR. Oh well. The sundried tomatoes were good, but the chicken was a bit too smokey for my liking. We ordered my sister's husband a Marsala to-go. It came with two decent-sized pieces of tender chicken. I think that his dish had more worth than our two dishes simply because of the amount of food/meat he got. The free bread they give you with the pesto dipping sauce will probably be the only reason I come back. The pesto sauce is DE-Li-CIOUS. Omg. I wish they sold it so that I could bring some home to eat. Yum. The waitress we had irritated me because I felt like every time she came to our table, she tried to get away as quick as possible. She was always gone before I could ask her to bring us something. Other workers there were quick to refill our waters though. They were never empty They include the calorie count on each of their dishes, so I advise you to not come here unless you're prepared to indulge in ~1000 calories.
(3)Robb J.
Love Pasta Pomodoro. After having authentic Italian food on our trips to Florence and Rome, this place is fairly close for a franchise. The staff are friendly and quick to serve and check on you during your dine in. The bread and dip to start your dine in is great!
(4)Qui C.
Pasta Pomodoro is my favorite restaurant in Union City. The Gemelli is my favoooorite! Penne Portebello is a hearty, earthy dish. Fruitti de Mare has a good spicy sauce with lots of seafood. Good service. Delicious bread and pesto dip. However, the Pollo Parmigiana tasted so ordinary with no special flavors and the whole order is really small. Details of the review: My friend always takes us here when we visit her in town and we love it! It's one of my favorite chain Italian places with soft, candle-lit tables and nice workers. The prices are extremely fair and the bread with pesto dip they give out is simply a meal of its own! I always get the Gemelli, always. It has my favorite combo of ingredients: sun-dried tomatoes, chicken and mushrooms. Good, creamy sauce but not too heavy. 5 stars Penne Portebello - This dish is very hearty and earthy with a nice combo of ingredients too. The spinach gives us a fresh taste and the sauce is also creamy but not heavy. 5 stars Frutti di Mare - My second favorite dish of the restaurant. The big bang for your buck as they load this dish with a pile of seafood. Delicious spicy tomato sauce. Got some of that bread left over? Dip it in this sauce, you can't go wrong! 5 stars Pollo Parmigiana - This dish was so disappointing. I personally don't like chicken parmigian dishes but have tasted them, and this version from Pasta Pomodoro sucked. It seriously tasted and looked like a frozen entre. Also, we opted for the whole order so my friend could have left overs for lunch the next day but the portion on this was SO SMALL that she finished it in one sitting! 1 star
(4)Vicente G.
Well........let me start by saying I was left standing to wait for service to even get seated in an almost empty restaruant! After waiting for 10 minuets to be seated, it took another ten minuets for us to decide that the service now is horrible and that was not worth waiting another second to get our food!!! Sad because I was really in the mood for their raviollis! =( I wont go back now for this, when the place is empty and the server would rather talk on her cell phone then ask if we wanted water, because we had a group of 6 and tip is automatic, just pissed me off!! Not at all ok!! The food here is good! Just will not put up with people like this!!
(2)Jackie A.
Nice place to chill and have dinner after a long, hard day at work! :)
(4)Noel P.
where do I start... from the beginning I suppose. Upon entering the restaurant we were unhappily greeted by the hostess and sat down immediately (just about the only thing that came in good timing). Mind you it was a Sunday afternoon and the place was not busy at all. We had to ask for bread after staring at numerous loaves just sitting on the counter waiting to be served. I do not believe we saw the waitresses smile once, which is pretty pathetic looking at it from a managerial point of view. My boyfriend and I both ordered the lasagna which looked liked it tasted, precooked and heated up. The one good thing about our experience was the Moscato wine we selected. To make matters worse when our meal was done they did not ask if we wanted more wine or even if we wanted desert, they just handed us the check. Who doesn't ask for more business! I have been to many restaurants and remember getting a second drink just because I was asked if I want more! I called the restaurant after we left to ask to speak to a manager and come to find out the girl who greeted us was actually the weekend manager! WTH!? She couldn't even take a complaint correctly, all that she had to say was, "Umm, well...thank you??? for letting me know." What kind of customer service is that? Unbelievable. I would never recommend anyone coming to this restaurant not at least until they get some new staff that looks like they actually give a damn about there jobs.
(1)Tony H.
I used to love these guys, but lately i have had a lasagne served hot on the outside and frozen on the inside (implying not freshly made), cold for other sorts of meals and even cold coffee. will start avoiding this place.
(2)Gregg C.
I just finished eating with friends at Pasta Pomodoro. As the restaurant was not busy late in the evening, we didn't wait long for any of our service. The hostess, waiter, and food runner were all courteous; the waiter offered suggestions, refilled beverages, and checked to see if our food was to our liking. He also offered a desert menu, but was never pushy during the entire meal. The bill was split on two credit cards without a problem. The experience was great. The food is just so-so; hence, the -1 star. Jennifer Z. would not give such an honest review. Jennifer: As a service to all real Yelpers, I've simply made people aware that your reviews are totally off base so they can consider the source. I'm surprised yelp hasn't screened your reviews and hidden most of them. Somebody isn't doing their job effectively. I hope this brings your reviews to their attention so they can be dealt with properly. Since it has gone on this long, I guess you are unimportant to them. It's sad when a person like you can't handle the truth, gets overly defensive, and still can't retort with a logical argument. Truth: keep living your life thinking people owe you something you haven't earned and you're going to wind up lonely and bitter (or more than you are currently).
(4)Eric T.
Visited Pasta Pomodoro restaurant in Hayward for the first time last week. For some reason the food we ordered came out really late (those people who came in after us got their food first). The owner, Gary, came to our table soon after our food arrived to apologize. He later told us he would pick up the tab and gave us a few buy-one-get-one-free coupons. Gary cares about his customer satisfaction. We like his attitude.
(4)Sunil R.
Went back after a long time and surprisingly enjoyed myself. This place is one of many options in Union Landing and definitely a good option if you want Italian. Service was great. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. The fresh bread and olive oil they brought out at the beginning was good. Bruschetta was unique and very tasty. The chicken parmigiana was very good. The butternut squash ravioli was good as well. The only flop was the cheese pizza. The bread was like cardboard. Another nit was that they had a drink on our bill that we did not order which I luckily caught.
(3)H M.
As far as the food goes, it's not bad for a chain. It's a smaller chain, but there are bigger chains such as Macaroni Grill with more to offer. The selection is small enough that if you care about nutrition, want to stay away from refined carbs and added sugar, there's little to choose from. In fairness they do offer what they call whole wheat pasta with some dishes, but from the taste I doubt it's really whole wheat. Some people think that if you mix whole wheat flour with refined flour you end up with whole wheat flour. I beg to differ. The staff is often good, but occasionally slow. Prices are high enough, meaning tips are high enough, that I don't think it's asking too much for the staff to learn how to pronounce the name of the food they serve. I hate it when they "correct" me by calling something poyo grigglia, for example. It's an Italian restaurant. It's not as if the menu is too big for them to remember.
(3)Tom T.
I've been to this Pasta Pomodoro for lunch before and found it reasonable enough. The last time the service was inexcusable. I waited to be seated, the place was not busy at all. I saw one person helping someone with a takeout order, and a second person who seemed dressed like the staff but thought he must not be because he was sitting at the counter playing with his cell phone. Five minutes later...a couple cuts in front of me (I'm the only one waiting!), the cellphone player seats them(!), then comes back and seats me. Ten minutes go by, nobody offers water, nobody tries to take an order, one staff person walks by and does nothing, nobody else comes around. I finally leave because...it's lunch time, I have to get back to work, I want food, and this place doesn't want to offer it to me. I then complain on their "Contact Me" website, get an auto-email telling me someone will respond "shortly". No response.
(1)Sparkle S.
Appalling service. We had a terrible, super slow and oblivious server whom when asked to bring some olive oil and balsamic vinegar had poured half a table spoon of olive oil and couple of drops of balsamic vinegar for a party of 4 table! Then we asked for more than two slices of bread (since there were 4 people in our party), they came back with only ONE! Could they not count that there were 4 people at the table? Stingy with bread and olive oil? Are you kidding me? Then to top all that, they were super slow in serving, refilling drinks, bringing the check. Very disappointed in this Pasta Pomodoro in Union City.
(1)Evelynn C.
I didn't know what to expect from Pasta Pomodoro, only that my boyfriend likes it enough to suggest going there a few times. We finally went one time and it was super crowded at about 6pm but we were still seated immediately! I love places with fast service, it's just professional that way. The tables were kind of close to each other though, I was less than a foot away from the next table over. Which I guess isn't really a bad thing. They were a little tipsy from the wine so we actually had a friendly conversation about the weird thing I found in my water (-1 star? I shouldn't be finding anything in my water except maybe ice cubes..) The pasta.. was not bad. But it wasn't OMG-AMAZING either. I would go again, but it's a little pricey for just average pasta, in my opinion anyway.
(4)Tiffany T.
What I love about this place is the complimentary bread with olive oil/vinegar and the frutti di mare(get this if you love spaghetti and seafood!) (:
(3)Julia F.
Honestly, I can never go wrong with Pasta Pomodoro. There's always seating available, good customer service, delicious food! Love the complimentary bread with pesto.. yumm. The only thing that sucks is finding parking!
(4)Victoria M.
It was my 1st time there & I thoroughly enjoyed everything. I had pasta with prawns & asparagus, which a generous portion. You have to come and eat here!
(5)Kevin L.
Came here for dinner. Service is pretty good here. They're usually pretty accommodating even if we only have 2 people they let us have a bigger table. Usually we order the frutti DI mare, salad and a tortellini soup. Food is consistent and a solid 4 stars. They also have all you can eat pasta, have not tried it but seems like a good deal.
(4)mark d.
As 1 of the first generation wait staff and GMs of Pasta P all the way back when it first started in SF (Chestnut St.) service here was a poor representation of the success that Adriano put together. I can't speak for my past experiences here, but today was all bad. No one to seat us, food took extra long to come out, no management to check on current seated guest and it seemed like the only one server wasnt recieving any back up from management to expedite orders. Would I go back...yes of course! This rating goes towards my visit today.
(1)Sherry Z.
Ordered take out tonight, got home to find the meat balls had been microwaved and burnt. The arrabiata sauce was just plain tomato sauce no seasoning or spice: Only raw slices of garlic. Gemelli sauce was mostly oil, hardly any cream, and the shrimp had clearly started to go bad. Garlic bread wasn't toasted and had no garlic, was covered in partially melted cheese that had hardened into something more resembling leather. We will never order from this pasta p again.
(1)PJ E.
Went there for lunch and the service was very bad. Our waiter Francis basically forgot about us once a large lunch party showed up. No drink refill and our bread we asked for never showed up. We ended up asking for service from a different server. Food was ok at best.
(1)Susan M.
My friends and I came here on a Friday night bc it was the place with the shortest wait time for dinner. We waited only 15mins which was not bad. The place has a nice ambiance. I ordered the penne pasta with chicken, sausages, portobello mushrooms and veggies. Overall I was not too impressed. The pasta was a bit overcooked so the noodles were too soft. Could have also used some more flavoring. The free bread they served with this green sauce was pretty good. Not sure what the green sauce was but I definitely wanted more of it! Service was pretty good too. Don't think I'd come back though as the prices are a bit expensive for the lack of quality.
(3)Elisa L.
Eh, I've been to many pasta pomodoros and this one sucked. Service is nice. Flavor of the food is missing something. Maybe it's just me but I love italian food! So I'm picky. I do love the bread they serve while you wait for your entree!
(3)Terrico S.
Had chicken Alfredo here today was awesome! Only bad part was that it was a bit expensive. Four of us ate and it came up to $75 without drinks. Overall the food was great but the price was iffy.
(4)Michael D.
Pasta Pomodoro has embodied the obscure line dividing Chipotle-esk dining and a semi-fine Italian eat-in. Courtesy and joviality were splashed all over the 20s something staff faces and eagerly greeted us. Soft ambient lighting and the artisan use of track spotlighting over the nook galvanized the experience with a lounge-like overture that made the evening just work. The "side" Brussels sprouts (which are better classified as an appetizer) are superlatively prepared, cut in halves and seasoned perfectly. The Rigatoni pasta bathed in their house recipe sauce garnished with Italian sausage transmuted the love from Genoa. The warm starter bread (if you will) and the accompanying spread were rich and smooth. Unlike other themed chain restaurants featuring ethnic cuisines that sacrifice focus on taste in attempt to recreate the motherland with various artifacts and shadow boxes stapled to the walls, Pasta Pomodoro cancels such notions swimmingly and rights the stern back to palate satisfaction . Every plate and bowl of the course complemented it's predecessor fittingly. Everything worked well together; even the exaggerated restored mid-century food advertisements that dominated the walls yielded the mainstream authentic Italian diner feel so badly missing from other franchises like Olive Garden. Altogether, it was a regretless $32 and 70 minutes that I happily endorse to the casual diner or the Michelin mouth. I recommend this establishment.
(4)Kristine F.
I haven't been here in at least a decade despite its residence at Union Landing. My friend and I couldn't decide where to eat so it was either IHOP or PP, with a pasta option winning us over. To my delight, both of us chose the penne portobello. I dined here on a Tuesday yet I was still surprised about how fast our food came out. We didn't even have time to request more warm focaccia bread with pesto olive oil. As soon as we finished the complimentary bread, our pastas were brought out. We were seated right next to the kitchen but somehow I didn't notice them cooking the meals. Superb al dente pasta supplied by Barilla, rich garlic cream sauce mixed with sausage crumbles, chicken, and slices of portobello mushrooms. They sprinkle your food with cheese if you wish. Their portion size is smaller than I expected for $13. No wonder others have said it's expensive here. It's Union Landing and along the strip right next to the theater. Go figure. Service was alright, nothing special from the waiter. He offered a soda refill but since we're in a drought I probably had to ask for a water refill. One thing that stood out to me was our entrance greeting. When I walked in and stopped to get seated, the tall blonde man I assume was the manager glanced over at us from in front of the kitchen area and nodded to me like he knew me. It made me feel welcome. Since I haven't been here in a while, it would've been nicer to sit in the middle of the place, possibly near the front and windows so I could see all the action. Alas, we sat in the back. More focaccia bread may have changed my mood.
(3)Brent B.
Normally I love Pomodoro but this location has got to go. Waited 20 minutes to be seated when I could clearly see 4 spots big enough for our group only to be sat by the door. I mean literally by the door, basically where a waiting area should be. Ordered my usual and when it came it was probably the worst thing I've had at a restaurant. Runny, watered down, flavorless food. We won't be back.
(1)Sowmya S.
We went here on a Saturday evening. It was easy to get a reservation and we had the table ready on time, as promised. I liked the decor. Loved the bread they gave. Unlike other Italian restaurants, they didn't just give olive oil; they had a green something made with olive oil which was pretty good! We had a chicken fettuccine pasta, roasted veggies capellini and grilled asparagus. Food was great. We had some Moscato and Pinot Noir. Great ambience. They were very attentive and pleasant to talk to. All in all, it was a good experience.
(4)Joana G.
order Gemelli. just do it. its amazing.
(5)Tara M.
Horrible. Quoted 30 min, I arrived after 50 min. My entree out of two was not started when I arrived. The order was wrong didn't make it with linguine, even though it was read back to me. After another 15 min he packed up everything & I asked is everything in here. Yes he replied, I checked and my bruschetta was missing. I spend alot of money on take out. I won't spend my money at this location. They obviously don't know how to plan properly. Ps it was 8:30 on Sunday
(1)Rachel H.
I've been to Pasta Pomodoro a few times over the years and it has always been okay. It's not great, but it's also not bad. It's a step above Olive Garden, has great service, and a nice ambiance. The downside of this restaurant is the most important thing: the food. While the complimentary bread is delicious, all their dishes are just okay. None of them are amazingly delicious and they all could be made better and cheaper at home. I recommend the chicken panini if you're going for lunch! It's cheap, comes with soup/salad, and will still be good when you eat it as leftovers. I couldn't finish it while I was there because I had filled myself up on their bread. This isn't Union City's finest restaurant, but I would recommend it if you have somewhat of a special occasion and don't want to travel far for food.
(3)Fiji K.
One of the worst experiences ever. As we walked in the server said they would be right back to seat us however we had to wait a while before the manager eventually came to seat us. After waiting 15 minutes we had to call for the manager so someone could serve us. The manager was also giving us attitude. We asked to move to a booth and the server said he would clean it up but instead started serving other guests. We weren't offered any drinks or bread which we later had to ask for and work of all my main meal (salmon) came out RAW (see pic)!!! Even my pasta was under-cooked! When I told the manager that my salmon was RAW she replied 'what do you want me to do about it'!!! Poor service, we'll never go back there again and do not recommend this place to anyone.
(1)Amy S.
Not authentic, not satisfying I dislike it. I tried this place for the first and last time and ewwwwwwwwww.. I ordered the Chicken Pesto Fettuccine and it did not taste good at all. I feel as if I overpaid for a small amount of food who knows maybe the pick up orders are somehow smaller either way I'm not wasting my money and returning to this place to test that theory.... Nope nope nope.
(1)Alyssa M.
Made a reservation for a party of 7. My party arrived late which I apologize because we were sitting there for 45 mins until everyone finally arrived. Our two servers were nice and brought bread out right away. I'm not a big fan of pasta pomodoro. I ordered the butternut squash ravioli and was surprised it came out sweet but I was more irritated because some ravioli wasn't stuffed with butternut squash. Total rip off. So I started getting frustrated. I was even more irritated because our waiter totally split the bill wrong. We divided the amount for the cards and wrote it at the top of the receipt. Well the lady subtracted all the cash and then oddly divided the cards of different amount. It would've made more sense if she spit the three cards evenly but she didn't. Definitely NOT returning here. Please hire smarter waitresses. No wonder this place never gets packed. Horrible.
(2)chante q.
It's funny that despite my review on yelp and contacting Pasta Pomodoro directly on their website, I have not had a response from management or any staff to date. This reaffirms my position on their horrible standards.
(1)Tracie A.
Had a little change of heart tonight and came here for dinner instead of backyard bayou. I can't help but think maybe we should have went to backyard bayou instead though. First off, the service here is good. We were seated immediately and our server was really friendly and attentive. She had her recommendations and seemed to know a lot about the menu and specials and stuff.. Ok on to the food... They have a nice selection of items to order plus a seasonal summer menu. I saw they offered a grilled opah dish and I got super excited because I haven't had opah since I lived in Hawaii.. Anyways I ended up ordering off the summer menu, got the grilled opah with arugula salad and herbed orzo. The salad and orzo were delicious. As far as the opah, not so good. It was terribly overlooked and was like biting into charred sawdust. Super dry and just bad. Talk about a letdown. I couldn't even finish the fish. The bf ordered the porcini risotto with shrimp. That was pretty good.. Nice and creamy and the shrimp were cooked perfectly. The complimentary bread and pesto type dipping sauce were tasty as well as the bottle of wine we got too. But sadly, my opah was terrible. Their butternut squash ravioli sounded good.. Maybe if I decide to go back I'll get that. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
(2)Steve G.
Got here 30 minutes before closing on a Friday. Relatively easy parking in the big lot. A little confusion being seated - the manager was going to seat us then left. then we thought a waitress called us over but she said she was waving to someone else. Finally manager came back (from where?) and seated us. Different waitress came by with menus and bread and took drink orders. 3 of us split the chicken parm and portobello penne. Food was OK. Chicken parm was best flavored of the dishes, the pasta it came with and the penne were so-so. Towards the end of dinner I wanted a water refill but our waitress as busy wiping down tables and chairs for closing and inattentive. When I finally flagged her down, she was very nice and refilled water, gave us take-out boxes and brought the check. Maybe our service was a little better than other reviewers because it was closing time and they wanted us out of there. Overall, an OK experience, nothing great.
(3)Janet K.
Extremely disappointing. First, my order was served cold (makes one wonder how 'fresh' it really was), then after having it heated, found the pasta overcooked, the sauce had zero taste (seemed like they opened a can of tomato sauce and poured it on), if I was blindfolded and asked what the salmon was, I wouldn't be able to identify it, leaving the only ingredient with any flavor at all being asparagus. Just a side note, the bathroom lacked soap which made me wonder how the cooks had been washing THEIR hands. Despite having the cost of my meal removed from the bill, I have absolutely no intention of returning. They've been going downhill for a while now and there are just too many other great places available to enjoy a really good meal. ps - they've removed the Italian ambience and replaced it with plastic greenery and to top it off, I had to request cheese (twice) as well as oil and vinegar dip for the bread. Just bad.
(1)Najla N.
3 stars because the food and dessert are good. But service was really slow and bad on a slow day. The complimentary Bread and pesto with olive oil is amazing!
(3)Jan P.
Their service is the BEST here. I cannot find any better service on a Thursday night when it's pretty packed. Here is what I recommend: -Mafaldine -Gemelli -Chicken Marsala -Bistecca -Pollo Griglia -Insalada Mista -Spinachi Salad -Fuittit de Mari Order all of this at once. It's really good. The server I had was the best.. she served my food with a smile and was very attentive!! I wish she was my server in every restaurant! They have free bread and pesto which is very good and will fulfill you if your meal doesn't. I wish that their bread taste more fresh.. it was hard as a rock.
(4)Love J.
YUMM. Must try: - bruchetta - caesar salad - fettuccini alfredo Wine: pinot noir Dessert: tiramisu
(4)Jade F.
Not many vegetarian options. Even the vege dishes have wine in it. Like really!? Food was not good anyway.
(2)Andrew Y.
I highly highly recommend this place. Its a chain restaurant without the chain feel. The complimentary bread is whatever to me. Its not bad but its not great. Its just...there. This place gets its high ratings from their incredible entrees. I love love love the gemelli. Its my go to dish here. It contains those squiggly penne noodles, sun dried tomatos, chicken, and a light sauce. I could eat it forever! I also love the penne portabello. I always secretly hope that someone else orders it so I can pick off it. Eat here! Wayyyy better than olive garden!
(5)Thanh N.
i LOVE this place. Why? Because their focaccia bread combined with their awesome pesto dipping sauce! DUH! Best complimentary bread at any restaurant HANDS DOWN. Their bread isn't as WOW as it used to be, I guess because of the economy they changed it. It's still delicious regardless though! I just miss the herbs that used to be in it :( I recommend the Gemelli with penne pasta! it is my favorite dish! They used to cook it with penne, but changed the noodles awhile back! I've been here enough times to see the changes they've made, and I still keep coming back! If you ever have a party, do talk to the manager! He was extremely nice when I came in. He even competed for our business! I came in with my boyfriend one day to get take out and he started a conversation with us trying to convince us to have our party there rather than at Macaroni Grill In Milpitas that Saturday. He offered us 15% off our total bill if we had it at Pasta Pomodoro! It was quite funny, but he was very personable and nice.
(4)Kay F.
Typical PP. Perfect for a nice (not to mention very affordable) dinner date, then perhaps a movie. I try to get seated in the booths to the right when you enter. As for me, I always usually order the butternut squash pasta, caesar, or the healthy fish, along with a large bruschetta. If you want a seafood pasta and it's not on the menu, try the Frutti de Mare (just order it, used to be on the menu, it's simple spaghetti noodles with seafood). There is also WIFI here! Cheers.
(5)Chet A.
Pretty good food here to night! The mista salad is pretty good!, The service was a little slow but it was because of how busy it was.
(3)Mochi L.
hmph, I feel bad that I picked this restaurant to meet up with my friends. I didn't think anything could go with with a pasta place. Service was actually not bad. We had just sat down after hugging and talking so we weren't ready to order but our waiter kind of creepily popped up out of no where. So he was good but just kind of quiet. He also told us that their mussels were off the menu because of an off-season and also their fish was out (this was around 7:15 PM). So that scared us off the seafood completely, haha. I got the butternut squash ravioli. It came drenched in oil (or butter) so the presentation wasn't appetizing. The raviolis had a sweet ting of cinnamon so that was a little surprise for my tastebuds. My husbands dish was not so good. He got the "light tasting menu" with the chicken. It really reminded me of Chinese herbal medicine, which isn't a good thing. Of our party only one person was satisfied with her meal. I'm not a big fan and probably won't meet up here again.
(2)Deborah M.
I have not been here for a few years because the last time we visited their San Ramon location, they burned the garlic in my simple pomodoro cappellini dish and that seemed to break a very basic rule of Italian cookery for me. Well, we tried it again at the Union City location and things are much improved. For a start the menu is actually informative. It displays a little green leaf next to vegetarian selections so that made my life immediately easier. There were more than a few things for me to eat as a vegetarian and that was nice. They also displayed calorie info too. Why don't all restaurants do this stuff? I really wanted a spinaci salad made without bacon and they did it, no problem. My cappellini pomodoro was just fine this time. My husband had some eggplant rotini that he liked. Staff were nice and the bill came to under $40 with drinks for dinner on a Saturday night. Good food, good service, good price. That's a winner.
(4)Gena M.
This place is one of my favorite restaurants EVER-I know it's a chain-BUT I have been to others and they are not as attentive. I love trying new dishes every time I go! The put the calorie count on the menu (appreciated it!) The prices are cheap Lots of items can be served half portioned. I love their Brussels sprouts, asparagus, bread, pesto, and a ton on different Pasta, also the mango tea and cheese cake are to die for. Perfect for lunch, dates, friends, ect!
(5)Karissa B.
Bad customer service...we came to eat dinner and waited for a booth. The lady sitting was not able to pay for her bill. We suggested they asked her to move so we can finally sit. So they asked her to leave after 15 minutes...gosh. The staff really needs to work on problem solving skills.
(1)Mendy _.
Pasta Pomodoro has become one of my favorite restaurants here in the plaza at Union Landing. First of all, I love the modern Italian decor along with the jazz/lounge/downtempo soundtrack they play. I asked the waiter once and he told me it was just a CD mix someone put together that he had no idea about. Bummer. Anyway, my dad and I come here a lot for lunch on the weekends. Once we came for brunch and it was very good. I forget the name of the dish but it was sunny-side up eggs on top of italian sausage, and a crusty seasoned baguette on the side. My favorite dish here, though, is the Penne Salsiccia. The way they make the sauce is amazing. The blend of italian sausage, spinach, tomato, and herb flavors go so well together. And I also love the Mango italian soda, I have that every time I come here. Their recent addition of the Caesar Salad with made-from-scratch croutons and dressing is good, gives you a choice between that and the Insalata Mista, which I'm not a very big fan of. The only other thing I miss is the old Focaccia they served with the Pesto. It's different now, but it's still good. Even though it's a chain, they know how to make their food here.
(4)Leslie P.
this is one of the few decent places in Union Landing. i wouldn't suggest this place, but would come of the majority of my group wanted to. i've had the salmon here, and ravioli, fettucine, linguine, and some others. The food is good and its inexpensive. It's a good place to go to for a quick lunch. they give you free bread along with dipping sauce. Both are delish! the waitress/waiters are generous in refilling your bread! i haven't been here lately, so menu items might have changed. but i think if i came back here, i would still give it 3 stars.
(3)Raymond T.
I've been to several Pasta P.'s and this one is no different than the others. It's not bad, it's not great, it' s just as the 3 stars denotes, it's "A-Ok". The wait staff is ok, and the food is all right. The facilities are well kept and the parking could be a pain. Other than that, this is a no frills Italian restaurant in Union City. Nuff said. Notable mention: I like that they now include the calorie count for each dish within their menus.
(3)Kathy J.
After dropping major coin on appliances and lighting for our kitchen remodel, I decided to give the hubby a break and busted out a gift card we received over the holidays for Pasta Pomodoro. We arrived for an early dinner at 5:10 and we immediately seated and greeted by a friendly server who took our drink order. The kids ordered raspberry ice teas, my hubby a lemonade and me, a water. I was the only one of the 4 of us that got a grown up size glass. WTH? The server gave my family "shot size" drinks that he had to keeping refilling throughout our whole meal. Lol We started dinner with the clam appetizers. My favorite non-carb appetizer! I ordered the salmon salad. It was moist, tasty and loaded with veggies...just the way Iikey. The hubby gets the tortellini with cream sauce. I think it may have been a bit too rich for his tummy cause he was sick most of the night and the following morning. Our kids also enjoyed their pasta dishes they got to create themselves. All in all a decent dinner and made better with the gift card!
(3)Robert E.
I'm not huge on chain restaurants, and this is a good reason why. The food is pretty bland and I still don't get why people line up to come here. Its a pretty tiny restaurant too (compared to the other around it). If I were going to eat chain italian, I'd rather go to Olive garden for their pasta faggioli (sp). Staff is nice and courteous, but I'll just head to the city for some real italian food.
(2)Sandra H.
My babe and I were out and about shopping, and we noticed that we were getting grouchy - LOW BLOOD SUGAR! So we started to look around for somewhere to grab a bite to eat. My babe was craving lasagna, but he was going to settle on picking up a frozen one. ACK! We finally saw this place on the list, and since it was nearby, we decided to give it a try. I have to admit, I was not feeling pasta, but I was hoping they'd have something for me. This place did not disappoint! First off, the warm bread with the little bowl of olive oil with pesto is so good! Even their ice tea was delicious, not bitter, and they kept our glasses full. I ordered a spinach salad to start, and my babe ordered the tortellini soup. Both were awesome! I ordered the Pollo Griglia and my babe had the Pasta P Lasagna, and even though it took a while for our dishes, it was well worth the wait! This place has a nice romantic feel to it, and the staff is very friendly and attentive. I would come back for a special date night dinner with my babe again, we both love this place!
(5)Raymond O.
one word, sucks!
(1)Tiffany P.
You all are crazy if you gave this place anymore than one star!!! Worst chain italian restaurant that had ever set place on earth. I came here with a large party so maybe they were a little flustered but they're in the restaurant business so no excuses. We ordered and waited and waited and waited. Jesus almighty! It was the worst service you could ask for. When I actually did get me food it was cold as a rock. How are you goin take forever to serve me to only have me make you take it back!! It's impossible to mess up pastas and they were excellent at it.
(1)g s.
Wow, another fantastic meal with the family. The Pollo Con Tartuffe which is short for Chicken with sauted mushrooms with truffle oil was out of this world. One of the best sauces I've had in a long time and as good if not better than a great marsala sauce. The shrimp Risotta was bomb and our fave Gemelli with pasta, chicken, with a fantastic marinara sauce. The service was excellent even on a crowded Friday night.
(5)Paul B.
We had a great Italian dinner at Pasta Pomodoro in Union Landing tonight. Wonderful pesto and hot bread, polenta farcita for appetizer, penne portobello (with marinara sauce) and pollo parmargiana for entrees, topped with delicious chocolate dusted tiramisu. Hadn't been there in years, dinner was quite good.
(4)Liana C.
Really good food, nice waiters, and it's decently priced. The food wait is about average. Every time I went, I was seated right away. Overall it's good food with a nice atmosphere. If you're not extremely impatient or short-tempered, it should be easy have a lovely meal here. (:
(4)nanie c.
Can I put no stars at all??? I have always enjoyed Pasta Pomodoro but this location has such bad service! We had to walk out and eat elsewhere since we have been standing for over 10 minutes just to be asked how many was in our group.. Then made to wait some more like we did not exist at all....considering there were so many empty tables available.
(1)Jason T.
One star, because i took the time to go on yelp, search the dam place, click WRITE A REVIEW, and conjure up the stars i will bestow. Two Stars, because the price is right with the not so affluent. Note; not that i use these standards presented here all the time. You basic yo, Two stars because it is cheap. two stars because the food sucks. Two stars because it is freaking food and it looks nice in there so you will feel good, A, about yourself, and B, if you have a date, about the date. peace be upon you, Jason.
(2)Ann L.
I've eaten at Pasta Pomodoro before and thought it was just ok. Had a FREE coupon that a friend gave me so decided to eat here for dinner 7/21/07 after watching Hairspray (which is a cute, good musical). We had a late dinner at 8pm (we usually eat early!) but we weren't that hungry anyways. You can get Free focaccia bread (3 small slices) & olive oil w/ green stuff in it. Bread hubby thought was nasty, I thought it was ok. We had: Polenta farcita $5.95-3 circles of polenta that didn't taste very good, they must use the can parmesan cheese cuz it's tasted Nasty. Don't get this dish. With my coupon it was FREE, but still Nasty! Mafaldine $12.25-Mafaldine is some weird pasta that's like lasagna noodles w/ 7 large shrimp, the tiniest asparagus ever, some tomatoes, cream & shrimp stock reduction. Just ok, pasta could have been cooked longer in my opinion. Marsala-$12.95-2 chicken breast w/ cooked mushrooms and a side of spinach. Chicken is the frozen kind u find everywhere, mushrooms & spinach were ok. Total w/ tip & tax for 2 dishes was $31.83. Hate stupid coupons.
(2)Davey M.
We have dined here from time to time over the past 5 or so years, and have never had an unpleasant experience. I almost always order the same dish, the Caprese salad and the tortellini soup, but have had other entrees and desserts as well, which have not disappointed. On our recent visit today for lunch, we were in a rush, and asked our waiter, Antonio if we could be in and out in 30 minutes even though the restaurant was quite busy. He gladly obliged and had our meals in front of us within 15 minutes (we had the soup and salad, so this was probably one of the easiest entrees to arrive within a 15 minute window). He was pleasant, thoughtful and hard working and we would definitely ask to have him as our waiter on a future visit! Thanks, Antonio (I think that is his name)!
(4)Thuyvi M.
Tried this place for the first time today. Since it was a friday night there was a 15 minute wait which was fine. The restaurant is small and compacted. Once we were seated it was fine since we had a booth seating just us 3 girls in the back corner. Other then that seems crowded. Upon sitting down our waitress took our drink orders and brought back the pesto and bread which is to die for! I couldn't stop eating it it was so good. The bread was warm and fresh and the pesto oil was not overpowering and parred nice with the bread. For appetizers we had the bruschetta and fresh mozzarella. It was ok it was a little bland and the mozzarella was diced up instead of slices. For the main course I ordered the spaghetti pelotte. It was average spaghetti but the meat pork balls were HUGE! The meat balls were good but the spaghetti was ok. For dessert we had the tiramisu which was probably the best I have ever had. As for service it was ok. I understand fridays and weekends are busy but our waitress did not give us straws and she forgot to refill my drink after I had asked for it. She never came back to ask my friend either if she wanted a refill. By the time she came back we were ready to leave so I didnt bother to ask for a refill. We still gave her a decent tip. I would return but maybe during the week day or for lunch.
(3)Dennis V.
I read a lot of negative reviews about the taste (being so so and not very special) and the dish size (too small, obviously). Let me comment on that a bit. I've been there several times now, and I must say that every time, I was surprised about the exceptional variety of the dishes. If you think real Italian food is pizza by the slice or spagetthi with loads of cheddar, this place is definitely not the restaurant to be. All the four dishes I've tried so far are the best and most authentic Italian dishes I have found in the Bay Area. Of all those complaining, I wonder how many have actually been to Italy. Come on, people; buy that ticket and explore other countries than the greatest in the world (no, visiting 8 capital cities in 7 days doesn't count). The bread (which most judge to be the best they've ever tasted) is rather typical Mediteranean, such as ciabatta or focaccia; yes, I'm tremendously happy to find this being served as an appetizer with the olive oil dipping (again, very authentic). Then the dish size. This is definitely not the style that fits "all you can eat" or "quantity is better than quality." No, the portions are perfect. If you want a lot of food for such low prices, go to the supermarket and pick a pack or two of Hungry Man meals. Anyone seen the documentary Supersize Me? Thumbs up for the cooks!
(5)Agent S.
DONT EAT HERE. I am now consulting with an attorney to see if I have a case against this place and I will SUE. I went there to eat for a family birthday dinner for 7 on June 1 evening. I ordered the Fettuccine Rosa with creme sauce. It tasted good. However, an hour later I had a severe headache, 104 fever, and severe diarrhea. I went to the urgent care the next morning delirious out of my mind because of the fever. The hospital is doing a DNA test of the foreign bacteria or virus they found in my stool and blood samples and can place the exact time it entered my body. This place will be hearing from my lawyer and they will pay!
(1)Ruben M.
Always good, reliable, friendly....
(4)Sandra S.
Pretty impressed with this place being that I haven't been in one in years after I literally got food poisoning from the place. Went in for a light lunch and ordered soup and salad and it was excellent. The soup was bigger than I anticipated and was excellently seasoned. The salad was also great. Ohhh and who could forget about the bread and olive oil they bring to the table. Definitely will see me again :)
(3)beck l.
Pros: Good service at this location. Food is consistantly ok. One of the few chain restaurants I allow myself to enter. Arnold Palmer would appreciate the fact his drink comes in a carafe. I like the Bolognase... for about $8. I think it's a filling meal and a steal. Picky eaters in our family can all find something they like. Cons: No backs on the long front bench. Pomodoro- please consider some pillows. Sunset sun hits your eye when you sit by the door... annoying!
(3)Aniyah M.
Food good, service always bad - Staff gives you the impression you are bothering them. No matter what time I come, even if to go order they never smile and always make me wait. I will no longer go to this Pasta Pomodoro.
(2)Neil R.
3 stars seems appropriate. I was here earlier... no wait. So we were seated pretty quickly, service was prompt, attentive waiters, great host. Lively location and atmosphere. However, and this is where you can MINUS 2 stars. The food... its soo blan... very generic and very plain. I mean id eat it for calorie reasons but def. not for the taste. Chicken parmesan was ok... but my company was better. Ha! I don't frequent here for above reasons... instead I'd rather try macaroni grill in milpitas. Better tasting food. Same Italian feeling.
(3)Mike C.
Back when I used to live in the East Bay, I used to come here a lot. The food used to be really delicious and full of flavor. But now for some reason the taste has gone away and the dishes seemed to have changed a bit. This last time I had ordered the bruschetta with a Cesar salad. The bruschetta had an overload of tomatoes that we're overly salted and too much cheese. The bread was overdone and was way too hard. The Cesar salad did not have enough sauce and felt like it was soaked with more water than dressing. I can't account for the rest of the food there but from what I saw from those that I was with, it didn't look any better. Some may like the new additions but I don't. Definitely won't be coming back.
(2)Lovefood H.
I love the soup and bread here! But main dishes had been very disappointed so far. The service is hit and miss. The first time we came here the waiter was nice and active. However, when we return there was a girl who would not get off the phone to serve us. When she saw us she glance at the older guy who look back at her with " why I have to do it look" I almost leave. Furthermore, she brought our order then check on us like 30 seconds later then spend the rest of the time BSing with the next table. Maybe she think we will not tip? I was so disapointed.
(2)John N.
My gf and I went here for lunch after watching a movie...and I must say, their bread is THE best (unlimited) starter bread out of all restaurants. It beat's olive garden's breadsticks, outback's black bread, and this one other Italian restaurant at the Fremont Hub (forgot the name). Anyway, upon walking in, there were well over 10 tables available. The waitress (i think filipino) asked us if it was just us 2. I said "yes" and we still had to wait another 3 minutes just to be seated. She became our table waitress and asked us what we would like to start off with...yet she was STILL holding the menus. She quickly realized and placed them down for us and apologized. I ordered the Bruschetta and i forgot what my gf ordered, but I must warn you, their portions are VERY small (I guess the cheap prices compensate for that). My order turned out great and better than I expected except for the fact that I finished my glass of water even before my Bruschetta arrived and was never refilled so I had to drink out of my gf's glass. = D In all, their bread is delicious along with that tiny dish of olive oil. The food was good. Service, not so good. If i were to come back here, I'd probably just come for the bread.
(2)Delya S.
We were recently lured out of Niles by the combined power of a Pasta Pomodoro eCoupon coupled with their Wednesday promotion involving half off for a bottle of wine. Perhaps that computer print out filed us under the category of 'cheap bastards' for our server? In a break from most of the other reviews here, our service was neglectful at best. Considering the overall positive tone on this subject, it was perhaps an 'off' night for her? To get the bad bits out of the way: water was never delivered (despite being requested), bread and sauce had to be begged to be refilled, and an item that arrived completely wrong was returned seconds later with the offending item only picked off (and not completely, at that). Had there been a food allergy involved, this would have been a grievous mistake. There comes a moment in a meal-gone-awry when the the server and customer become estranged, and we hit that point. I hate when a meal goes that way, because I'm a very friendly diner and I used to be a waitress. Had the meal ended here, I would probably leave Pasta Pomodoro with one star. However, our server brought her manager, Tony, into the picture. He was attentive to our concerns and (unsolicited) offered us a free meal on a repeat visit. He is the only reason that I've upped it to three stars, for the moment. We were impressed with his professionalism. In regards to the food, it's good, but not amazing. It's a chain, for better or (in my humble opinion) worse. I quite like their bread, dipping sauce and misto salad. I'll likely return in the future for those items. And perhaps the half off bottle of wine on Wednesdays. ;o)
(3)Rosan D.
We felt like dining at a place after having a movie, BUT we couldn't figure out where, so we walked around and saw this place. Pasta is always a good choice. We got here around 7pm, so it was busy with the dinner rush, BUT we were seated within 5 minutes. The choices weren't that bad, there's plenty of choices for everyone if there are picky eaters. I had the CoNChIGLIe GaMBerI, which is pasta with asparagus, shrimp, tomato and a cream reduction. It tasted decent, BUT it was on the salty side. Service wasn't that bad, BUT it wasn't that great either.
(2)Ariel L.
My wife had a gift card to Pasta Pomodoro so we went the other night. The attention we got from our server in the begining was slow to begin with. My wife and daughter were in the restroom so he came up and said welcome and he will be back to take drink orders when my wife and daughter come back. He zipped in then out like a one night stand. I sat and was thirsty as hell so that kinda sucked. when the rest of my family came he took our drink orders and got us bread. The bread was very good. My daughter who is a tiny little thing gobbled it up like there was no tomorrow. my wife orders raviolli, I got the gemeli and we got spaghetti for my daughter. my wife and daughter loved their food. I liked the gemeli, the sun dried tomatoes and chicken were very good. I thought the sauce was super rich and thick. It was good but I couldnt finish it. I am a big guy so when I don't finish something then it raises a flag for me. Overall it was a good dinner and i got 4 drink refill and my thirst was gone.
(4)Robert H.
Gonna knock it down one star again. This place used to be great with good variety and priced just right. We went to eat there last night for the first time in ages and there was just something wrong (again). The server didn't seem that interested in us. When we were served ravioli it was actually cold in the middle -- not lukewarm but cold!! The fish was overcooked. Maybe it was just a bad day. They were much better a few years ago so I don't know what's wrong. The menu, too, seems to be lacking. It was also much much better in the past. I also put a negative reivew on their web site. They were a "4" a few years back but at this rate they're heading downward toward "one" territory. At this rate they'll be just as horrific as TGIF on the opposite side of the parking lot before too long.
(2)Carole R.
I've been here a few times since I moved to the East Bay. it's your standard chain restaurant...except this place will have a ton of empty tables, yet they will tell you theres a 45 minute wait or whatever. either they are understaffed all the time or they have sh!tty workers that cant handle a full restaurant. last time they told us there was a wait we just left. there were literally 10 open tables. im never wasting my time by coming here again. if anyone knows of any good italian spots in Union City/Hayward please let me know!
(2)Steve C.
Had the Frutti d' mare. Delicioso! Fish was perfectly cooked. Pasta was just the way I like it - al dente. Sauce was well prepared. Not too heavy. I ate the whole thing and did not feel overstuffed. I frankly did not expect much, and came away very pleasantly surprised!
(5)Leo C.
Pasta P, this spot gets a solid 3 stars. Pros Good portion size (small) Good starter bread Fast service Cons Small restaurant Service This place is ok for a quick bite or maybe a fast date after or before catching a movie. I love the portion size it's small for most but I consider it to be a very proper amount. I wouldn't rave about the food but it's ok if all you want is a quick Italian fix.
(3)Chi N.
I love eating here. LOVE LOVE. I'd come here for the bread and pesto dipping sauce alone. My sister and I could probably drink that oil.. plus each time I've gone, the bread is fresh from the oven and super soft. My usual dish here is the Conchiglie Gamberi (shells w/ shrimp, asparagus, tomato, cream and shrimp stock). I also love the steamed clams in white wine sauce (but I they should throw a few more clams in for the price). The often have season dishes here, and also a pre-fixed menu you can choose from.... I've had their carmalized onion and sausage risotto... and I was in utter heaven. I've never had a problem with the food,. or the wait staff. Always have a good time here. hmm.. Maybe I'll eat here tomorrow..
(4)Dhar J.
Pomodoro is not as good as I remember. I hope they do something soon.
(3)Tiffany W.
It's my go to pasta place in the UC. I always order the Frutti di Mare and it never disappoints. Same with the Panna Cotta for dessert. I wouldn't recommend this place for a big party because I feel that the seating is a bit tight, but definitely top of the list as a date place. =)
(4)Lisa M.
Three stars Here's why Complimentary bread with pesto sauce was delicious Cauliflower soup was delicious We ordered wine the server (Ramona) brought us beer I ordered an Italian soda the server slammed it down on the table & turned around with out a word. I couldn't even taste the flavor in the soda. The entrée I ordered ( butternut squash ravioli) was over cooked in some parts My husbands entrée was the house special it would of been good if it wasn't so salty. The wait time was moderate but the server seemed like she was upset. So... Some stuff was good other stuff wasn't that's why they get 3 stars I don't think I'll go back
(3)Ronak S.
Very good ambience. Perfect for a relaxed dinner !!
(4)Carolynne K.
A year or two back, I came here once with Kyle and we left thinking we would probably never come back. Sure, it's better than Olive Garden, but it wasn't that much better. Then, I (reluctantly) went to the Pasta Pomodoro at Santana Row with a friend for dinner and it was good! A lot better than I remembered. So Kyle and I came back the other day to eat lunch here in UC. Something must have happened because the food is a lot better, the service is a lot more attentive, and pesto oil dipping sauce thing that comes free with foccacia bread is AMAZING! The only thing that bugged me was that I got my main dish while I was still trying to finish up my salad. It's a nice date place, but I prefer to come during off-peak hours because it gets really loud when it's crowded.
(4)IceSnow N.
I like Paste Pomodoro over Olive Garden by a lot... their service is fast, and price is more reasonable... and taste a lot better than Olive Garden... hey have this modern urban feel... for young professionals... makes you feel comfortable dining with friends... and the best part is, since it is not a family restaurant, so there is no annoying kids shouting, crying and running around... makes a good place to talk and chat... enjoy your meal...
(3)Jennifer W.
The food is great, especially the foccacia bread & olive oil dip they offer for free. The only part I really don't like is that whenever we eat here, it feels like the servers are ALWAYS rushing. I don't blame the servers, I feel that they're purposely under-staffed, maybe because management keeps it that way to keep things under budget. It is obvious the waitresses we've had, are stressed, and it becomes uncomfortable for the patrons themselves, having to notice that. If they had enough waitress/waiter help, I would have gave this place another star. It is the server who makes a big impression on the restaurants character, and it would make a big difference if the servers are able to relax and mingle a little with their patrons, making the patrons feel very inviting and comfortable.
(3)Rany M.
I love pasta pomdoro but when I went to this location.. I got my food not that warm and the service was ok.. The waitress prob checked on me and my friend probably once.. plus we got sat at this high tables which made it hard for me to seat on my chair since I'm short. My fav location is still at Santana Row.. I went here once.. first and last time..
(2)James L.
Decent pasta, but overpriced for what they give you. Good atmosphere, clean.
(3)Raymond W.
The service is great. They're attentive and do the standard "checking back with you to see if your food is good" thing. Food is mediocre. Not too much flavor in their dishes. Although, their desserts are quite tasty especially the panna cotta. I think their menu lacks variety and there isn't much to choose from.
(3)Gopi V.
An ok italian place. No major fireworks, but perfectly fine for a quiet evening. Enjoyed the fresh house bread and vegetarian lasagna.
(3)Tiara H.
I tried this place for the first time last week and it was awesome! As others have said, it's definitely better than Olive Garden. The food taste more authentic and flavorful. The staff seemed pretty friendly, the atmosphere is great, dim lit and nice choice of decor. The food is delicious! I had the chicken Alfredo, which is normally too plain for me but theirs is very flavorful. They serve unlimited fresh warm bread with an incredible oil/salsa verde dip. I recommend trying their Italian sodas but make it creative and mix it up! Peach & Vanilla was a great combo, very smooth and not too sweet. This location is great because it's in a large shopping center with plenty of places to go after/before your meal. I absolutely love it here and recommend it to any Italian food lover!
(5)Manjesh G.
Like this one .. better than olive garden .. the free bread and pesto olive oil is great ... loved ravoilli ... priced right and small portions available for many dishes ... calorie count written for all dishes ... good service and fast ...
(4)Joyce P.
I have to give it four stars on the basis that the food was good and the prices were good. I don't know how long this restaurant has been there, but it was our first time there and we impressed. We had the asparagus and polenta for starters and it was excellent. For dinner I had a straight vegetable plate with some sauce and my hubby had a pasta dish and like wow it was great. I expected a sbarro's and thank god it was no sbarro's. our favorite place is strizzi's and pasta pomodoro is now our second favorite place. What else. The waiter was pretty good. We initially got cold coffee and they made us some fresh coffee. He made recommendations and cleared the table efficiently. He also checked up on us a few times. Good stuff.
(4)Christine M.
I would say that this place is OK for the price that you're paying. I've gone to this location a handful of times, mainly because it was really close to the place I used to live at and every time that I went, there wasn't that much of a wait to get a table (I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing...hmmm?) Every time I've gone, my food has been satisfying. I have had no complaints except that sometimes the dishes are served warm and lose the heat before you're done with it, so you end up with a cold dish. I like the bread they serve while you wait for you food...I would come here just for the bread, a glass of wine, and dessert. As far as service well, sometimes they would constantly ask if everything was ok and then there were times when it took forever just to get your check when the restaurant was only half full. It's not like it's a bad place and it's not like I would never go back, there's just better Italian restaurants out there.
(3)Hong P.
When I was living in Oakland, I used to eat here all the time before I would meet up with friends for bike nights. The pasta here is actually pretty good. I'm a huge fan of their bruschetta! So after four long years of living in SoCal, I finally came back up to visit some friends and we decided to carb up here before our 10k run. I had their penne portobello which was amazing! How could you not like this place? Great ambience, free bread and reasonable prices!
(4)Jonny B.
Came here for a quick bite, they literally took 45 minutes to get our food.
(2)Mark K.
Good food. Good service. Great for lunch.
(4)Antoinette V.
The Union City store two days ago had sticky floors and the table was less then desirable. I was tired and with a friend, and stayed anyway wiping off the table myself. The staff were friendly, the food typical for the franchise, but if it isn't clean, its pathetic. San Ramon PP is much nicer. I go there after my 25 mile bike ride on the weekends. Apparently the staff have a better sense of what constitutes as clean.
(2)Steven W.
Worst service. Did not even get to comment on the food. Walked on Sunday evening, 7/29. Over 1/2 of the tables were empty. A group of four was ahead of us. After interceding with a sever and a bartender, the group was seated. We were still waiting. The hostess thanked two tables of six and they left. The place was now 3/4 empty with 1/2 tables ready to go. After ignoring us some more the hostess asked the bartender to take over. He asked for my name to put on a list --- with 3/4 of the place empty and 1/2 of the tables ready to go. When I gave him my name, but told him it was not necessary since we were the only ones waiting. The hostess turned and stated "we have a rush going". I was flabbergasted since I had just seen two tables for six leave and the hostess was busy setting the tables. She then snarled at us. I left.
(1)Bob G.
Top notch service and good quality food. Maybe a bit pricey and louder than other restaurants of the same type, but that won't stop me for going again. Their bread & oil as starters is fantastic.
(4)Sandy Y.
I'm a huge pasta fan. It has wide varieties of pasta and the price are decent and affordable for its food. Price range per dish range $10-17. The dish sizes are moderate, food is decent. However, the bread is nothing special. There is a nice wine selection too. I wouldn't recommend this place for Italian cuisine lovers. There are better places to eat and this is more of a food-chain restaurant. Price- 4 Decor- 4 Food- 3.5
(3)Athens r.
Desperate for Umbrellas. I paid $6 for the seats actually. Baskin Robins was next to it so I got my desert from BR before I had my Raspberry tea and fetuccini. Pasta wasnt as salty as Emeryville's Pomodoro. But i liked emeryvilles setting over this one (ghetto version of Santana Row) or was it just too "home" for me. Prices are good, quick service and friendly staff. There are alot of Pasta places around but if youre kinda hectic and has a "get-out-of-here-coz-i-have-another-place-to-go-Âto" day, well this place could serve you well. Starbucks at the near corner has too many ppl so if youre like me who likes quiet and loves to be with a single or two company--- this will do. Just dont expect too much coz U.L. at Dyer street is a little bit public.
(3)edlyn l.
I expected more from this place. We came in around lunch time. There was no wait for a table and for the waiter to get our order but there was a long wait to get our food. I felt sorry for the waiter because I think we was the only waiter for the whole place. But he was so nice. The bread and oil were delicsious. The serving was kind of small, I am not sure if its because of lunch. Will I come back? why not!! I have to support my city's establishments.
(3)David H.
Decent Italian food for a chain. The price isn't bad and most of the dishes taste fresh and not like plastic (like you would get at Olive Garden). Service is generally good and I like how they change up the menu fairly often. For Union City this is probably one of the better choices for a decent meal that isn't of the Asian gastronomic variety.
(3)Roy J.
Not too bad, but not awesome. I haven't been back here since they opened how many years ago, but I found myself here a couple nights ago with my partner in crime. I was ready for a disappointment as the first time I went here, my fettucini was completely limp and well... It flat-out sucked. Honestly, I forgot what we ordered as our entrees, but we were both satisfied. Then we got the tiramisu, and although it pales in comparison to the tiramisu at say, The Cakery, it was pretty good. So why the 3 stars? Maybe it's just me, but it seems that the portion size has gone down. Again, I haven't been there since I was in high school, so things may have changed. Also, the waitress said she'd be back with more bread, and never did. I might change my rating later on if we go back and have a better experience, but I'm firm on this review right now.
(3)Michelle C.
I prefer Pasta Pomodoro to the olive garden. I love pasta and I love the feel of this chain resturant. To me its the anti- chain resturant in a way. It has a flair and flavor of an independent bistro. I think the food is delicious, much better than olive garden that food looks thrown on the plate, pasta pomodoro seems to take their time plating the meals. I went over the weekend for a date with the hubby I had a shrimp risotto that was delish! We also tried the delizia dessert was a delight. orange liquer sponge cake and marscapone w/ strawberries. It was good ... I think my husbands exact words were " thats hella good" when he bit into it. I would like to give this palce a higher review like i said I like the vibe .. the music, the lighting , the service but the parking at union landing sucks . It takes about 20 minutes at least no matter what time of day to find a parking spot. But as far eats goes I really like this place and look forward to going back soon.
(3)Jon L.
Service was pretty good but my spaghetti and meatballs were just blah. I probably should reserve judgement because I did attend on a slow wednesday night.
(3)Ash P.
This is a great place to go get a bite to eat before watching a movie. I love their food and the atmosphere.
(3)Amber S.
This place is reasonably priced and the food is great! The bread pudding is to die for. We have been coming here for years and this place is always great.
(4)Arlene M.
I think this place deserves more than 1-2 stars, even though it's a chain. It's nothing fancy, but the prices are very reasonable. I think I get a much better experience than most since I treat it more as a takeout place than an actual restaurant. It's not really a place I go to for "date night" w/ my husband, we usually go to non-chain, more authentic places when we feel like going out to eat Italian. What this place is perfect for though, is when we're too lazy to cook (which is most days), I call them on my way home from work and pick up a couple orders of penne portobello or mafaldine. It's done by the time I get there...throw in a cheap bottle of wine from Trader Joe's and we have a pretty nice at-home meal in front of the TV for ~$20. Btw, the cheap bottle of wine from TJ is still loads better and cheaper than their house wines. I recommend this place for takeout only...go check out their menu on the web.
(3)Catalina C.
I love Pasta Pomodoro. The service provided is great. There is always a seat for you to be seated at, which is a great thing compared to olive garden. Here at Pasta Pomodoro, they don't serve food that looks & sounds good, IT IS GOOD. The setting is nice, there never are crazy kids yelling and screaming out of control. I recommend this place to anyone. oh, and the bread they serve you is not salty whatsoever; its sooooo yummy. The serving time for food is just about right not to long, and not too short. PLUS I actually had ordered something that I thought I would have liked, apparently not the waitress was very kind in asking me if i wanted anything else in exchange for it i said no. I received the bill and she didn't charge the food. Unlike Olive garden, they do charge for their nasty food that you don't like.
(5)Leah P.
I went to the Pomodoro near where I work in San Jose--that location, I feel is better than this Union City one. Although the waitress was very friendly, I wasn't "blown away" by my pasta dish and the dessert was...eh...I had the panna cotta, a dessert I love....and this was bland. Trader Joe's sells them for 2.99 I think and they are MUCH BETTER. I will still go back though...I feel like this Pasta Pomodora has some redeeming qualities. :)
(3)Jeremy K.
Came here the other night and had a pretty good experience. Decided to try something different than my normal and ordered the Gemelli. It was pretty good. Not really anything to write home to mom about, but I'd order it again. What made me give them the 4 stars is the service. More specifically our waitress, Molly. She was always really attentive and did everything she could to make sure we were taken care of. We had just come back from the beach and I was super dehydrated so I asked if she could just leave a pitcher of water with us but she sadly informed me that they only have a few pitchers on hand so they couldn't leave them at the tables. But she came back with 2 glasses of water for me and always made sure both were full at all times. Also I felt really cool because I asked her what sugo was and after she explained it she said it was a really good question and that most people just ask stupid questions that can be figured out if you read the menu. So point to me for asking awesome questions! hahahah. Also if you're wondering what it is, it's basically just a meat sauce. hahaha.
(4)Esther A.
Edible enough Italian food and this is (sadly) one of the stronger local options if you're craving pasta when Olive Garden is too busy. They're inconsistant though. MOST of the time we'll get bread but there'll be times when we won't get it at all. Get with it servers! Funny incident one time they offered cheese on the free bread and we said "yes". The bread arrived lightly toasted and had a slice of cheese on top. When we looked at the bill, we noticed there was a 50 cent labeled 'cheese' (a one inch by one inch slice, I'm not kidding you!) which we thought was funny yet too small of an amount to argue over. I just thought it was ridiculous b/c it's kinda like asking if you want grated cheese on your pasta and then getting charged for it w/out being told it'll be an additional charge. Tricksy!
(2)Anne A.
this place is literally 5 minutes away from my house, it's ok but you can find better places in union landing. nice service, look trendy inside but theirs something missing.
(2)Nick M.
Not a bad spot to get a bite at. The food is fresh cooked and pretty tasty. Malfadina is my favorite here. Service is ok too. Will return.
(4)Robin I.
I went here a couple of weeks ago for some good ol' pasta grubbing. I was thoroughly disappointed. The dish I ordered was very bland and not to the expectation I had for this restaurant. I've been to other locations before, so I had a realistic expectation for the quality of food I'd be getting, but this location did not meet it. The pasta I had was flavor-less, as was the dish by boyfriend got. We both added extra salt and pepper to make the dishes a bit more appetizing, but was just disappointed overall. I won't be returning and will get my pasta needs met elsewhere.
(2)Cindy B.
I like the location. Great place to eat before catching a movie. I love the bread, the bruschetta and the gemelli. the only downfall was the lighting in the kitchen area. it's the darkest kitchen i've ever seen. my friends fish came out raw maybe because of the lighting? ;)
(4)george s.
Had dinner with my family and i was impressed with the moderate pricing but very good food! The Pollo Con TarTucci. With Porcini mushrooms c grilled chicken and truffle oil was out of this world. We had our usual Gemelli with sundried tomato,curly pasta and chicken..yum! However the shrimp risotto was awesome. We love coming here. Good wine list as well.
(4)Vikram C.
This food was very disappointing. We spent $145 on salmon pasta that smelled like fish, disgusting. Stale bread that they claimed they baked fresh every day, never do they, it was nasty. Salad was okay. The Ravioli (vegetarian) was so bland. You can go to Costco and get one of those freezer pouches and use their own sauce that comes in a packet and it tastes better than that shit! Overall I think this place was really bad. I actually went and returned the food because we ordered it for the office as takeout and no one liked it, they reimbursed us for the horrible salmon pasta dish and the bread. Woo Hoo! Never will order from there again. I could have gone to Target on got one of those to go mac and cheeses for 87 cents and been more satisfied!
(1)Eegnam A.
I love the pasta here! The restaurant itself is small, but the service is good and the pasta is good! I've been here for a couple of lunch meetings and it is quiet enough to have discussions. The last time I was here I had the conchiglie gamberi (shrimp shells). It was sooo good! The shells were cooked perfectly and the sauce was amazing! I also like the gemelli. Lots of good flavor and a nice creamy sauce. Great place for some quick pasta!
(4)Joanna P.
Service was just terrible. My cousins and I waited 15 mins for a table (which was fine) then when we sat down. It took another 10 mins for the waiter to come and take our order and to bring us our water. Then the appetizers came...and where's the bread? I had to ask them for bread 3 times and still didn't get any. Both tables on either side of us got bread and they were seated after us. I also had to flag them down a few times for refills on water. It took 15 mins for them to give us the check. The place wasn't even half full, maybe they were understaffed that night. I don't know. The only reason I'm giving it a 2-star is because the food was decent.
(2)Janice F.
The Seafood Portofino (I think that's what it's called) is my favorite. One of the better restaurants to choose from in Union Landing. Service is good too. :)
(4)H H.
If you can not manage to make a decent garlic bread (despite making us pay for it as an extra appetizer), then you are really in trouble as an Italian restaurant. Our meal was overpriced and totally dissapointing. Did not even want to take leftovers home. I could have done much better just cooking at home with safeway stuff. Service was friendly but can not make up for the poor food. will never try this place again.
(1)Kaio T.
Wow Peg!! I would have to just copy and paste your review exactly with mine.. that is exactly how my Pasta Pomodoro experience occured. We were going to a bday party at roadhouse.. 1 hr wait.. and ended up at Pasta.. I guess this is how these places survive by accomodating the over flow. Anywho.. the lasagna sucked.. it was only noodles and cheese.. i got the specialty lamb.. and that had a lot of fat.. it was as if i was eating the leftover parts.. This place is very so so .. in fact i disagree with Peg... this place is worse than Olive Garden.. dude you get a bottemless bowl of salad at Olive Garden!!
(2)Vicky T.
your average experience.. came here at 11.. obvious prompt seating and our server was very attentive-- constantly asking if we wanted more to drink, bread etc. Food was decent, nothing impressive
(3)Sandra G.
Two lunch specials were ordered at a good price, and it was filling. A generous portion of bread and pesto dip is served before you order. The pesto dip is a nice touch from what other restaurants serve. If you like lemonade, you'll love how they serve it. It comes in a carafe per person and not too expensive. The decor is modern and has a nice atmosphere. Will definitely go back.
(4)Paul K.
I love their fettucini alfredo with chicken! You can't find it anywhere else!
(5)Alexa O.
Food was pretty good. It was pretty empty because of the simple fact that it was probably an hour before closing, but service was still great! Had the penne portebello and it was soooo yummy!.. will definitely be coming back to this location!
(4)Harsh N.
Hi, I tried Pasta Pomodoro, with a date, thankfully it wasn't my recommendation, otherwise i would have been the one blowing up the date. I ordered Gemelli, and my date ordered Linguine (vegetarian). My gemelli was dry, the chicken was overdone, there wasn't any mushroom sauche in it, So i asked them for more, then, my date also wanted more sauce.. so we got some, my mushroom sauce didnt taste good, im guessing her tomato one too. she didn't even finish 25% of it, I was hungry so i gobbled up 70% of it, without taste.. but I wasnt satisfied paying 30$ including gratuity for this. i will stay away from Pomodoro's . There's better pasta to be bought from Farmer's market, and made even by a newbie. Thanks all for listening our sad story.. lol.. There was more bad things, like servers were pushing to order, I didn't feel i was in an italian joint, coz i think of Italians to be romantic. It was just some other mechanized fast food. which should be had for 10$ at most and not 30$.
(1)Becky L.
First of all, I've been to other Pasta Pomodoros, but this one had the WORST service ever. My friends and I waited in the front for over 10 minutes for someone to seat us. Let me tell you, it was not busy AT ALL. there were like 2 or 3 tables filled. I saw a couple of servers walking around yet they paid no attention to us. After being pissed by the fact that we were being ignored yet still wanted to eat pasta, we just seated ourselves and waited. Someone eventually came to take our drink orders and gave us our menu. We had chosen what we wanted pretty fast and 15 minutes later, that server was still a no show. A different server walked by and we flagged him down and give him our order. The food was a little bland from the other Pasta Pomodoros I went to. We had the Portobello Pasta and Steak Salad, but both were a little disappointing as I had been craving them for a month. The bread is always wonderful though! the pesto dipping is awesomee But during the whole time we were eating, no one came to check up on us or anything. We saw the first server who took our drink orders when he gave us our check.. I was tempted to leave no tip but was generous and left a 10% tip. Too much for that kind of service.
(2)John D.
This place has a pretty good types of pasta cusine. I went to dinner last night at this place at my third experience here it was very crowded alot peoples. This place is probably a step up from Olive garden.
(4)Toni G.
This was the best pick for fresh food in this shopping center. I even went here 2 nights in a row and was met with happy servers and prompt service. One night I took out and the next I ate at the bar. The minestrone was just okay, but cool to have a vegetarian soup out. The caprese was better than expected, using fresh mozzerella. The heirloom tomato salad (sans onions) was tasty and the dressing was a good complement to the tomatoes. The side of spinach was prepared so it had just wilted, but was drenched in too much butter and salt. I was trying to be semi-healthy. I am glad I tried this place as it gives me an upscale alternative to La Salsa and In n out. I plan to spend more time in UC for work, so I will go here again.
(3)Quintin D.
For my money, this restaurant is just great: more than plentiful portions, no frills, and fairly decent. Sure it's not an authentic eatery, but I've always been quite satisfied with this chain's offerings. I've recently had the chicken parm, and that was hit the spot. My family and I went on non-peak hours (around 2pm on a Friday afternoon), but business was still hopping, and the service was friendly and snappy enough for us.
(4)Kae B.
this is a place i go to whenever i'm in need of a quick pasta fix. i always order their braised beef totellini soup and gemelli pasta. delish!
(4)Samantha C.
Not what we were expecting at all. Everything on the menu looked delicious, but when we got our food, it was not we had thought. It looked cheap and sloppy, and tasted nasty. We will not be back.
(1)Monte R.
this place never fails. penne portobello or the pasta gamberi is the one!!!!!
(4)Anthony M.
ive always been a fan of Pasta P's. with pasta being my favorite food. this particular Pasta P's service use to FUCKING SUCK ASS. i even remember the dudes name it was Frederico. fuckin idiot never took out orders, didnt even give us our bread til like 15 minutes later, and our food took like a millennium to reach our fuckin table. you know service is bad when you sit down before another table, and the other table gets there food before you. yeah it sucked BUT NOW its fuckin tight and lives up to all the other Pasta P's. my Homie francis works there now, so my and my family or homies get treated right. all the new workers there are super nice, and of course their Gemellis and Penne Portebellos with Mango iced teas are ALWAYS on point. so i cant hate anymore. ive eaten here so many times, im really playing this spot out though.
(4)Stephanie C.
This is a great chain Italian place. This particular location is very clean and open. Our waitress was very nice and attentive. I really like coming here because they have a lot of vegetarian options. This time I got the the Melanzane, which was penne noodles with eggplant and mozzarella. My husband got their lasagna. We definitely had no complaints, and my husband had his fair share of the bread asking for more twice! Our waitress was great and just kept it coming. We also started with the asparagi which was perfectly cooked and delicious. I ended with an espresso while my husband was still trying to fit more bread in his stomach. A wonderful evening, and we will be back.
(4)Christina Y.
The food is mediocre and the cooking is always inconsistent. I've stuck to one entree & that's the Penne Portebello and on occasion, I find it to be perfect on some days and bland the next. I felt the same way about the polenta appetizer. I guess that's how it is with franchises. I have to say that the service is great; people are always checking up on your dining experience and I appreciate that kind of stuff. Plus their bread isn't too shabby.. on days when it isn't dry. :|
(2)Rhea A.
Pasta pomodoro is consistently good. My favorites: Caprese- sliced fresh mozzarella with sun dried tomatoes, olive oil and slices of fresh tomato. I gave other restaurants a chance and ordered this dish, but no one does it quite like pasta pomodoro. Their cheese is the best quality- never tough. Penne portobella- love this dish because of the combination of the mushrooms and the sausage. The sauce is light (well, until you pile on the cheese) Panna cotta- top notch more expensive restaurants can serve this dish for ten bucks and it still would not come close to pasta pomodoro's rendition of this Italian classic. The strawberries compliment this vanilla bean infused custard. A lot of people I know don't know what this is or are afraid to try it when I offer to share, but believe me you will become a fan with just one spoonful!
(4)Les K.
Overall Pasta Pomodoro (a 46 location chain based out of San Francisco, with restaurants in California and Arizona) is a great choice for when you want modest priced and usually fairly decent pasta and Italian dishes, but are not looking for a "memorable" experience. I have been to this location numerous times (as well as maybe a dozen of their other locations over the years), and my experience last week echoes the comments made by others about it being erratic. It was not too crowded on a weekday night, while we were seated immediately and the service was friendly, but it was lacking in attention to detail and attentiveness. For example, I had to grab silverware from another table. Our table was not setup for four and my kids did not have any silverware, and the server was nowhere to be found after dropping off the food. The server also brought the adults food first and there was a bit of a wait for my children's food to finally arrive. This is never a good thing (obviously the server did not have kids or would have known better). As is often the case for me with chain restaurants, I find that I seldom experiment with dishes I have not tried on their menu any more (to avoid disappointments), and end up going for what I know I like, which is what keeps me coming back. I don't have high expectations with a typical chain restaurant but I do look for consistency. In this particular case, while the service was lacking, the food was pretty good. In the end, they are still a great bargain. Sit down, full service, fresh prepared food for not a lot more than fast food prices.
(3)Monique C.
Even though the food isn't bad here, I actually prefer Olive Garden. I wish they had a full bar, but other than that, not many complaints. The service is great and they are really good at explaining anything that you have questions about. I'm only giving it 3 stars because a few of their dishes are pretty bland and the location sucks, Union Landing is just too crazy for a little pasta place like this.
(3)Jillian R.
aside from the fact that we had to push through the thick crowd on a saturday night JUST to get to the hostess to get the name of our party, everything else was great. olive garden beats them ONLY because of their breadsticks. but their pasta is the real thing, tastes like real italian pasta. i love their penne with sundried tomatoes thingy. thats my favorite. plus you cant really go wrong with their prices. theyre pretty good especially for the serving that you get. do i care much about the service? not really. its not great, its not bad. but i do care that their bathroom smells funky. minus one for that.
(4)Carlos A.
This place has it's good things about it and bad. Mostly bad. Let start with the good; -Good Cesar Salad -Good Asparagus -Friendly Service -Some good Pasta dishes The Bad; -Tables are way way way too close to each other, so close you feel you are dining with other people you don't know. So close that you feel like you should start a conversation with them otherwise it's to uncomforable and feel like your ignoring them. -The Lasagna is the worst I ever had. It came in small caserole that just tasted like large noodles with a few pieses of ground beef and alfredo sauce. I was expecting a nice heaping square piece of layered pasta with meat layers and cheese and topped with a nice marinara sauce. Instead it was like nooodles with white sauce with no flavor. - The coffee is the worst I ever had. Supposedly it was Lavazza which is considered a good Italian brand. It was luke warm and tasted old. I asked for a refill hoping it would be a new brewed batch but same old luke warm and aweful tasting. - To expensive. Their entrees prices should include a soup or salad. Instead you have to order them at very expensive pricing as well. I doubt if I will ever return to eat there again. Just to many bad things about the place that your money is much better spent elsewhere.
(2)Niki M.
i love pasta pomodoro for their simple, yet consistently tasty grub. it's nothin fancy pants, just semi-cheap italian-american eats. my faves are the rigatoni bolognese and gemelli. their caesar and spinach salads ain't too shabby either. my last visit to this particular location was this past mother's day weekend. they featured a special brunch menu, which they should consider making full-time. my baked eggs & asparagus really hit the spot. p.s. fellow yelper ruth r. just informed me that the irving st and noe valley locations in sf do have brunch every saturday and sunday for those who are interested!
(3)Jen Jen W.
We came here long time ago to try it out and walked away thought the whole dining experience was just ok. It wasn't anything special and I think I could probably cook better Italian food than this place....not going back again...
(2)J. R.
Who is the chef here? Boyardee?
(1)kim w.
we came here to visit a friend in San Leandro, and ended up eating dinner here before watching Kung Fu Panda, GOOD movie btw. :D I am writing this review just before i head to bathroom to BLAHHh. I usually think Pasta P. is alright..well..... Tonight I had their special, the clam, mussel, shrimp, squid risotto cooked in lobster broth. yummmmmmm.....NO!! YUCK! first they brought me the wrong thing, some kind of sea food spaghetti, and after a while when they brought my dish, what a stinky disappointment! Rice was under-cooked, so it was hard, and 3 of my mussels reeked of dead! i ate one by accident, and had to spit it out. I couldnt finish the rest, even thought i hate hate HATE wasting food. Then when the check came, they charged me for things i didnt order, so they had to fix that....just horrible!!!!!!!! this is the worst review i have ever written im going to sit next to a toilet now, cos i feel the rice coming back up
(1)Henry S.
I have never been a big fan of Pasta Pomodoro but my family and I decided to check it out because we got a coupon in the mail for a free entree with the purchase of another entree. I'm always looking for a good deal so we decided to check it out. Its been at least 4 years since I've been to Pasta Pomodoro and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I had the creamy mushroom penne, my wife had the chicken parmigiana and my mom had a vegetarian eggplant dish. All were very tasty especially my penne. Service on the other hand was a bit slow. It was at least 10 minutes before our waitress came to take or drink orders. Over all decent experience but not spectacular. With our coupon it would have been about $45 but with our coupon we got out of there for about $32. Although the food was ok I don't think I'll be coming back for about another 4 years. I don't know what it is but I just don't really care for this place.
(3)Johnnie J.
Pasta Pomodoro is a nice chill place to eat before heading off to the movie theatre a few shops away. After being seated and ordering your food, the staff will bring you and your guests plenty of bread to start with olive oil to start off. There is a nice assortment of appetizers, soups, salads and pasta dishes to choose from. Is Pasta Pomodoro expensive for what it is? That would depend on your pocketbook. However, remember this... Movie food is really really expensive. $5 for a soda! $5 for a hotdog! $5 for a large popcorn! $5 for chips and cheese! Well, you get the point! You'll be spending much less here than at the movie theatre at Union Landing.
(3)Pikachu P.
I was a big fan of pasta pomodoro. As usual, I ordered frutti de mare with extra sauce, but when the food came out, it was dry. Plus I was asking for tabasco and yikes..they don't have it. I was disappointed. If I want to eat at pasta pomodoro, will definitely not go to this location.
(3)kris c.
The service is good, but the food is just normal...nothing extravagant, but not disgusting either. I've been here a few times too, and the service is always good. The bread is not bad either. But, what can you really expect from a chain?
(3)C. L.
We were treated to their take-out lunch and it was pretty good. Lots of food and I loved the bread. Pasta, salad and bread, can't ask for more than that!
(3)Brenda H.
It was nice to come and get some comfort food (pasta) after a nice movie. I took my best friend here after a day of hanging out and the staff was nice. I wouldn't say it was gourmet itallian food, but for a nice quick bite....it worked!
(3)D B.
great pasta loved it!!!
(5)Peg S.
I usually try to stay away from the chains prevalent in Union City & Fremont, but it was bday dinner and we had to go out. The bday boy, actually Momma, wanted to go the place where they have peanuts in bins (Texas Roadhouse, Momma). T'was a Monday night so we're thinkin' it's a semi-holiday, kids got school and people got to work the next day, so shouldn't be crowded. Wrong-o. It was packed inside with hungry people looking like a herd of cattle waiting to be branded. They said it would be an hour wait so we dejectedly left looking for what slim pickin's we could find around Union City Landing . . . we finally settled on Pasta Pomodoro. I've been to various branches in SF and the peninsula and think this one pales so in comparison. The focaccia bread was waaay too greasy even without dipping it in the oil. The mixed green salad (at least the portion that I got) was smothered in dressing. I was mildly satisfied with the Capellini Pomodoro with chicken - light tomato sauce, right amount of chicken pieces, soft pasta. The Gemelli with sundried tomatoes (my current obsession), chicken, mushrooms and cream sauce was good - altho' the pasta was a bit stiff. So, the good thing is it's never crowded (tells you something) and probably better than Olive Garden but that's not saying much. My theory is that no matter how good the chain is elsewhere, something happens on it's way to UC/Fremont . . . 2.5.
(2)Billy S.
the food here probabloy isn't super authentic but it sure is tasty. my friend jeremy and i came here one night and ate hella bread, had some wine and some delicious pasta. i really can't complain about this place.
(4)Joey N.
don't know how authentic or anything this place is but i like it alot. I have my fav's that we get alot - clams, seafood pasta, chicken something...lasagna, and the darn tiramisu(sp?) I used to love that one dish with mushrooms suasage and some cream sauch however recently it hasn't been that great.
(4)J S.
food is so-so. i still don't understand why the bread is served cold. service is bad, bad, bad. one time we had to wait for almost an hour for our food. 2.5 stars
(2)Vivian S.
Not as good as it used to be. The service one time really bad. Waited up to 30 mins for our pasta - turned out the order was never placed! And the place wasn't even that busy. But my hubby still loves the bisteca, which is one of their better dishes.
(2)Mike P.
Went to this place after a movie. The food was ok. Nothing to get excited about. Its better Italian food than Olive Garden but not authentic family style. Its about average. The one thing I will have to warn you about is the service. After a movie the place can get crowded and this place was just not ready for a crowd. All I heard was "Sorry for the wait". It was during lunch but the place just could not handle a crowded dining room. If you are not in a hurry and don't mind waiting for your food this place is ok. If you prefer good attentive service go someplace else.
(3)Cindy H.
Pasta Pomodoro has poor service from beginning to end. My sister and I had to wait for 5 minutes before someone noticed we needed to be seated. Actually, we had to make them notice us. If they were too busy serving other tables, then why would they have two people serving us. We had someone on the left and someone on the right taking our orders. My sister enjoyed the Caesar salad. She ordered pasta with Italian sausage and tomato sauce. There was nothing special about this dish. Tortellini soup was okay. The tortellini pasta didn't taste cheesy enough. I like the fresh spinach in my soup. They didn't tell me that it costs an additional $1 to get this soup until the bill came. I ordered a mozarella panini that had slices of tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, mozarella, and pesto. I tasted the nastiest olives ever. They tasted like black licorice or bitter medicine. The bread isn't your normal sandwich bread. It tasted the same as the bread they give you for free - fluffy and soft. Since it's a mozarella panini, I was disappointed that the mozarella slices weren't even melted. I basically had a cold sandwich with semi-warm bread. The bits of greens on the side was pointless. I'm giving this restuarant 2 stars instead of 1 because of the nice Italian interior design. I kind of like their napkins. If you like restaurants with nice restrooms, you'll be coming to the wrong place. It smells good, but it doesn't match up with the Italian feel outside.
(2)Jenn T.
this place is yummy.. my food was great. the staff was friendly.. i even chit chatted with the owner! i love the bread with the dipping oil.. yum.. the best part was the dessert.. i was full already but i still managed to eat all of it up! my bill came out to be real cheap for all that food.. good stuff!
(5)Monica W.
Went with a group of friends for dinner and wasn't all that good. We ordered fettucine, butternut squash ravioli, ravioli with tomato sauce and create your own bolognese with penne. the tomato sauce ravioli was okay, but the butternut squash ravioli was waaay too sweet. It was like eating dessert....the create your own bolognese with penne wasn't that great. It was simply meat sauce with penne. If you plan on going, just don't expect a lot el oh el
(2)Nicole tracey S.
Good pasta spot in the landing! I love their sauce with the bread. Service is ok not bad, Def come over here instead of Tomatino.
(3)Tiff P.
Walked in on a Thursday evening just before 6pm. There were maybe a dozen or so people in the restaurant, so it wasn't crowded by any means. You'd think that someone would be able and willing to seat our tiny party of two, but even with minimal customers mid-week, this was not the case. The staff seemed to hover around the bay area, 3 of them just glancing over at us a few times like they had already decided they didn't want to work for the rest of the evening. After waiting a few minutes, we had to ask to be seated, but the server we spoke to turned to her coworker and literally said "this table is yours." And so we were seated... this should have been our early warning, the prelude to what would be a meal lacking service and quality food. After finally being seated it took another 10 minutes to get a glass of water and even another 10 minutes after that to be served bread. I asked for the balsamic vinegar so that we could dip it with the olive oil already on the table, but that never came. We asked twice and it still never came. With that said though, the bread was good and what I remembered from PP. Entrees: - Chicken Fettucine... big flat noodles drowning in a white cream sauce, with just 3 strips of chicken. The sauce was milky instead of creamy and the flavor was lacking so much so that we wished we would've just made it at home. - Vegetable salad with grilled chicken... the saving grace was the load of grilled veggies. But for paying an extra $5 for grilled chicken breast, it would've been nice if they gave me more than 3 oz. of it. Overall, completely unsatisfying and overrated restaurant. If we didn't have a gift card I would've walked out after taking so long to be seated in the first place. For two people with 2 entrees, our total bill was just under $50. At about $20+ a plate, the portions, service and experience are not worth half of that.
(1)K C.
Sigh... where to begin...lets keep it simple because this place was so bad I do not even want to spend too much time to write the review. The pasta was beyond soggy and overcooked. I think when I was a child, i tried better HOMETOWN BUFFET pasta than here. I dont know what part of authentic pasta p is claiming here... I had very small expectation for this place but not even worth your money. It used be little better but now its just beyond bad.
(1)A H.
I would give them 1 star, but the food is decent. It's their phone etiquette that sucks. Last time they put me on hold for 10 minutes. This time..13 minutes. I get it...maybe you're busy. But still...there should be no reason anyone should have to wait that long for service. They literally could've made me a pasta dish in that amount of time. I asked my bf to call on his phone and try to order. Guess what? He called me right after I finally got my order taken (12 minutes into my wait time) and said that he ordered no problem. Next time I'll take my business elsewhere.
(2)Drea H.
The service & management here is so bad, we thought they were a brand new restaurant still working out their kinks! Small Italian restaurant located inside a moderately sized shopping plaza next to the freeway. The inside is quite spacious, and looks like a nice place to dine in for a relaxing lunch or dinner - one side mainly consists of tables/chairs, while the other has booths. They have a small bar & offer nice alcoholic beverages. They are next to a couple other eateries - Sushi Boat, Starbucks, Tribu Grill. Parking lot is oddly configured so it can be busy during peak hours. The restaurant was cold, service was SUPER slow, and the food was mediocre at best. I got the pesto capellini & it was awful - super oily & tasted like straight up pesto from a jar. Husband's panini was bland. Our water was never refilled, and we never got our second order of bread, which we'd requested to the owner/manager. In addition to all of the above, the same owner/manager kept yelling at our poor waiter in front of everyone. We overheard her making numerous snide, negative remarks towards her employee. It was so disheartening to hear & made for a truly negative dining experience.
(2)Hao H.
If I could give this place ZERO stars I would. We got seated and waited 10 mins and no one came by to take our drink orders and when someone did come by they asked us what we wanted to eat and didn't ask us what we wanted to drink. ...30 mins past by and no food on our table and we ordered the simple spaghetti and meatballs and people that got seated 5-10 mins after us got their food in front of them. Horrible service and horrible management. Won't be coming back here ever again and the spaghetti tasted a bit off. Two thumbs down for this pasta pomodoro, I'm surprised they are still open for business
(1)Julie H.
I use a lot of different catering services for my lunch appointments at work. Pasta Pomodoro was by far one of the worst I've ever used. The food was delivered 45 minutes late because the Union City restaurant pretty much forgot about my order. It makes me look bad to my clients when lunch is so late & my clients have a very limited time to meet with me. For this reason, I use catering companies that are consistently on time. Would not recommend Pasta Pomodoro catering!
(1)Marissa G.
I don't like to write reviews, especially negative ones but this was absolutely ridiculous. We came here for lunch and there were 5 of us. Our server was immediately rude to us. I believe her name was Janae, something like that. We sat down and told her that we needed separate checks. She came back with "well you need to understand that if you want separate checks you're going to have to realize that it takes me a while so I don't need you standing up and waiting for me at the table because it takes a while for me to separate the checks." Whoa. Slow down there. That was mistake number 1. I work in the restaurant industry and I would never EVER tell anyone that. I don't even know why she needed to tell us that we needed to wait, it was not busy. And if they were busy don't they have some regulations about a "lunch rush"? The food took forever, every time we asked about something it was like pulling teeth to get it. The pregnant chick was the last one to get her food. My water never got refilled. They overcharged my other friend for her pasta and instead of handing the check to her and taking her card our server dropped off the check and left KNOWING that we had to leave at that moment, making us stand by our table and wait for her to come back. I get it, you're busy. But there are certain rules that apply to restaurants during a lunch rush. This place definitely did not have a lunch rush. I have worked in restaurants where I've had over 10 tables at a time and was still able to get them out promptly and in a timely manner. There was absolutely no reason for her to be rude to us or to treat us like we didn't matter. Maybe this is why they only have 3 stars...? I don't want to see this girl get fired, not at all. She doesn't deserve that. Maybe training again? Maybe new rules about lunch rushes? Maybe don't be rude? I get it. Everyone has bad days but you have to remember that other people depend on you so you have to put your feelings aside at the moment. Every customer is ultimately paying your bills so you might want to be nice to them.
(1)Mystery M.
This is my second time here at Pasta Pomodoro in Union Landing. My experience here the first time wasn't really that good at all, and to be honest, my second time here wasn't any better sadly. Honestly, the kicker and problem here at Pasta Pomodoro, is really the Customer Service. Both times we had encountered not so good Customer Service, and you know Customer Service is key at any business not just a restaurant. The first time I came with my mom and we had a coupon that they sent us in the mail and so we thought why not come by here for a little lunch because the coupon was a pretty good deal. So we ordered off the lunch menu, however NO where on the Coupon did it say NOT Valid with Lunch Specials!!! After we asked for our check we presented our coupon and the waitress said it wasn't valid because we ordered off the lunch specials...the waitress was well it's not valid. My mom told her that she needs to tell the corporate that it does not say that it is NOT valid with the lunch specials on the coupon. We argued with the waitress for a while and it really wasn't that good even though she did give us like $3.50 off or something because that's all she could give. Still, that's not really acceptable. Today, I dined here to give them a second chance and let me tell you they didn't really do anything to make me come back for a third time. I wasn't really all that impressed with this visit either. We entered the restaurant and was seated right away which was good but they took forever to come take out orders. Like we were sitting there for at least 10 minutes before we were acknowledged. Finally when the waitress came, she apologized for making us wait, she said something like they were confused with the tables and had a little mishap... They usually bring us waters right away at most restaurants but here they didn't. They just took forever and to took our drinks orders while we were ordering our entrees. You kept us waiting for 10 minutes and we had no water to drink...yikes! Our waitress never came to refill our waters either... The waitress brought us complimentary bread but we had to ask for small plates to eat the bread with. Like did they expect us to eat the bread without plates? Once our meals came and she noticed we finished our bread she did offer to get us more bread but we declined since our meals were here. The first time I wanted something with Pesto Sauce and I saw an entree with Pesto Sauce and it ended up being a Sandwich and I had no clue until it arrived...that already got me meh. I was hoping it would have been a Pesto Type Pasta nope...the menu didn't say sandwich or to me it didn't sound like one... Anyways as for today's meal I went with friends and we each ordered an entree. I ordered the Bolognese which was $14.50 and dang the portion was pretty small. I mean it was alright, but like honestly for the price it's not worth it at all. It's not something I'd crave again or anything. My best friend ordered the Parmigiana which was Pasta and Chicken Breast. He said that he wasn't really that disappointed with the dish but I could tell he was. The Chicken for him was a bit to Crispy for him and the pasta didn't taste that great. I could tell really he was being a little nice when I asked him if he enjoyed his entree because he really only ate the Chicken and left most of the pasta on the plate and didn't even want to take it home...He thought it was a bit overpriced for what he received. My other good close friend ordered the Classic Lasagna and said it was really good. He seemed to enjoy it, I mean he ate the whole thing so it must be pretty food right? He ate it pretty quickly too. My other friend ordered the basic Italian dish, Chicken Alfredo Pasta. It costs $3.50 for the Chicken which to him wasn't bad because they gave a reasonable amount of it which was a bit surprising to him. His complaint was that the portion size is small. Oh and if you join their e-club they send you a coupon for a FREE Entree which expires in a month upon receiving it. That's a nice little added bonus. Although you can't combine offers either. If you watch a movie on the day you dine here and you show your ticket stub, you get $5 off. but we couldn't use it b/c we had the e-club coupon. Furthermore, in my opinion, I'm not sure if I would return. Especially when there are much better places out there such as Bucca Di Beppo and heck even Olive Garden. The Customer Service could definitely use some improvements and the portion size for what you pay for isn't worth it. Too expensive for what you receive. If it wasn't for the FREE Entree Coupon for joining their e-club, I would've rated this place a 1.
(2)Melanie V.
Where do I start. I finally make time to meet up with my friends/coworkers for their belated birthday lunch and bring my toddler along for our lunch date. They are on a strict one hour lunch time period. I hardly ever dine at this restaurant, I mean, it's probably only my 2nd or 3rd time ever in my life, but it was what one of the birthday girls wanted so I said sure why not. So. Getting seated. Not a problem. Getting order taken quickly - not a problem. I could tell we had a waiter in training - but that was not explained to us. I ordered the '$10 all you can eat' pasta.. I got the rigatoni with bolognese sauce and paid the $4 extra for chicken (which is more like a few bites per bowl) to be added to it and a Diet Coke for $3. Already I'm at a $17 lunch before tax. Mind you -- the waiter brings out the check shortly after he brings our meals knowing we are on our lunch break and will have to return to work shortly. What I was happy about - was there was not any problem in getting the check to be split 4 ways. What I was unhappy about - I was never offered a refill on my "all you can eat pasta" but instead I had to make it a point to ask. so here's where I get pissed. after my refill is delivered, my toddler wakes up from her nap in the stroller, I'm sharing with her and the waiter/waitress are nowhere to be found. I see a different waitress and ask her for a to-go box. she says - sure. uhm. 2-3 minutes later with no to-go box delivered and no waitress in sight - I figure i'll just get up and go to the counter because now I've really got to go because my coworker, who I picked up from work and drove to this place - needs to get back to clock in and I figure - let me take the rest of this to go so I can finish feeding my toddler the pasta back at the work location. so, I get up, with my toddler in my arms/on my hip to walk up to the counter to ask for a to-go box.. 1st, the waitress says sorry she forgot about my to-go box. THEN. here's the kicker. as the woman next to her (later I find out this is the manager) hands me a regular size to-go box and I'm heading back to the table, she says "oh! because you got the bolognese, you can't take the food to-go". I'm sorry. what? are you SERIOUS right now? and they both say yes that because I had purchased the 'all you can eat' that they view it like going to a buffet in which you can't have a to-go box. I completely admit I lost my cool at this very moment, changed my tone and was livid. I totally said you're freaking kidding me right. And why did i lose my cool? because of b.s. pettiness! I just paid a $20 lunch and you're going to throw my food out anyways because I just was eating from the plate, but yet, I can't take it to go!??? And even after my waiter/waitress didn't even offer a refill?! but could sure as hell give the check real fast?! 1st of all - learn some customer service!!!! you can clearly hear in my tone I'm now upset. you could have kept me as a customer if you would have simply said - oh, you know, our policy is not to give out to-go containers on that specific menu item, however, since you were not told this information, here you go, but please remember for next time. If THAT would have been told to me, then I'd probably be returning as a customer, because then I'd know if I ever return to not order the all you can eat during a timed lunch hour and especially with my toddler in tow. However, since both the waitress AND The manager wanted to be petty (which the manager took back the regular to-go container and gave me a small one instead - which is ALL i needed anyways!!) and the waitress was continuing to argue with me and try and prove her point.. I mean.. seriously!? I didn't walk into a buffet..i walked into a sit down restaurant and it's not like I was being a fat ass and ordering 5 refills and still trying to take one to go. I had already signed my bill with a 15% tip and I sooo contemplated saying re-run my slip so I can tip ZERO or even rip up my check and walk out! Learn something from your competitors.. Olive Garden and Maggianos - have NO problem with a buy one take one home or taking your leftovers!
(1)Julius P.
First impressions: the smell was welcoming. As we took our seats, the seats felt plushed and too soft. The waiter was friendly, and the service was decent. Food came, and it was good at first. I orders the lasagna, which looked good, but didn't really taste that good. My parents oredered the penne portobello and the seafood pasta. The latter was mediocre at best, while the former was delicious. Overall, it was alright. Mostly a hit/miss experience.
(3)David K.
Stopped in here for a quick lunch. Since I love Italian food - this place is OK food - wise. nothing I had 'wow'ed me. It was a little more on the bland side (soup, pasta sauce, etc). My pasta was over cooked - but the kitchen hustles. I got my order in under 10 minutes. If you are looking for 'real' Italian - you may not like this place. But if you like Olive Garden, you just might like it.
(3)Kathryn B.
In my last review I gave one star too many. The food has gone incredibly downhill, at least given today's experience. You might be okay with dinner. Called in for a to-go order for lunch. They told me it would be ready in 15 minutes. I got there at least 30 minutes later and it still was not ready. Once we got home we were extremely disappointed. Bruschetta appetizer did not even come with the toasted bread. Instead, we were only given 2 pieces of the free focaccia bread. Bolognese was BROWN and extremely unappetizing. Considering I wasted part of my lunch hour waiting for my order to be ready, I really had no other option but to pick it at. The minestrone soup that came with it was bland and bright orange with grease. Chicken parm -- BURNT! Totally unacceptable to make me wait for my order then give it to me burnt. While I was waiting, a man at a table behind me got up to tell the waitress that he was leaving because he had been waiting for his food as well. Having worked in a restaurant, I know that there are good days and bad days but it's not okay to charge customers for burnt, off-color, half-assed prepared food.
(1)JT B.
Service is a little slow if your in a hurry!! The food is good and Sara rocked it at the bar. I come here four times a year with business and have never had a bad meal.
(5)Kunjal P.
Completely opposite food vs. Their branch on Santana Row. Pathetic food. We ordered Veggie Pasta Pomodoro and Ravioli. The sauce was artificially flavored. Won't recommend.
(1)Mimi T.
This is by far the worst pasta pomodoro I've been to, and i love pasta pomodoro.I called in for an pick up and as I arrived I stood there in the front and the waitress sees me yet she ignores me and goes back to talking to her coworker. I finally walked by the bar and told her I ordered to go and she looks at me like I'm crazy and says " please stand in the front" excuse meeeeeeeee? That's where I stood in the beginning and I was ignored! Yeah...this will be the first and last time I'm coming to this location.
(1)Helen T.
Pasta Pomodoro has really gone downhill. When it first opened, it was my family's go-to place for Italian food. The servers were great; they even remembered our names and regular orders. However, in the past year or so, the service has been horrendous. After ordering our beverages, we saw that one of our cups were grimy and dirty. We politely asked the waitress to replace the cup, but she ended up arguing with us and saying it was just a stain. Stain or not, restaurants shouldn't even have dishes or cups that appear dirty. Additionally, the beverages we ordered were hot waters, so they were free anyways. The Fettucine Alfredo I ordered was delicious, but the two Penne Portobellos were another story. They probably didn't wash the mushrooms out properly or something, but there was a sandy feel and taste them both. Gross! Although the provided bread and pesto are delightful, the free appetizer is definitely not enough to compensate for the unsanitary environment and horrendous service.
(2)William B.
I'll start with the service here.. Our waiter was inattentive, and very slow. He only brought us bread after we requested. He didn't check up on us before our food came out and let us sit for quite a long time with no service. Next the food. My food came out and was cold, you can imagine after waiting 20 minutes after ordering you'd hope your plate would be warm but all the pasta was cold. The pasta itself tasted terrible, I didn't like it at all. The chicken was warm, and actually did taste pretty decent. The worst part about this experience, was the food poisoning. I was up all night in the rest room after eating here. I know it was their food because I had no ate since 11am and we ate here around 9pm. We will not be going back here, just about every part of the experience was bad. If you like Pasta Pomodoro make the trip up to Emeryville, that is the only decent one around here.
(1)joel k.
If you give a place 1 or 2 stars because the service sucks, then you're as dumb as the people serving you. I use yelp for the reviews of the FOOD. Service is really secondary unless your on a date trying to get a nut, or trying to impress someone. I live down the street from this location and eat here several times a month. The pasta is flavorful and pairs well with the bread and the numerous selections offered on the menu. As much as I love my unlimited breadsticks and salad at Olive Garden, pasta pomodoro is in a different league. This is real pasta, not reheated Olive Garden cafeteria food. In closing I have only had one bad service experience here and that was due to the restaurant being understaffed. If you waknt to be treated like royalty in regards to service, then go to Massimo's in Newark which is 3 times as expensive.
(4)Zohal S.
The only good part of the meal was the bread in the beginning. Service was slow, we had to wait until the ladies were done chit-chatting to get seated.The food was not fresh, it gave us food poisoning. If you're thinking about going here, save yourself the trouble and just go to Olive Garden.
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