The food is mediocre. Do not order your food to go. The first time, they screwed up my order by not giving extra sauce on side (they hardly put sauce on their pasta) and the (warm) bread was cold. So I complained that I spent $22 on a meal and expect it to be right. The manager tells me she will mail me a gift card for an entree ($10). One week later I receive it, despite the fact that I live across the street (the manager claimed they ran out of stamps). So then I go back and the person brings out my food and the order is wrong again. No side salad and no bread for the pasta. Of course I was home when I noticed. All the guy had to do was check the bag and he would have seen the order was incomplete. I will never go back there again. Not worth paying around $20 for an entree and side that is mediocre, even when they get the order right!
(2)
David G.
The old perennial. We had a large party - about 35 people with reservations. Everyone was seated immediately and the friendly wait staff was helpful and always on hand. I had the gluten free pasta with meat sauce and a sausage and was happily surprised with the pasta. Most gluten free fare falls apart but this was al dente and tasted like, well, pasta. The sausage was rather plain but I figure they go for the middle of the road on their spices. Adding crushed red peppers brought out more of its flavor. I really go there for the rich woodwork anyway.
(4)
Jennifer W.
Tonight was my first trip here. I was not impressed by the service. The decor on the the other hand took my breath away. Tiffany glass and lamps, old furniture and beautiful wood. Very antique place. The staff acted as if they were not at work. Not rude to us but to loud and playful with each other. I suppose this could be a good or bad thing. My waiter was over worked. It took a long time to get our food and check. He was very apologetic and let us know the manager had him working the floor and bar so I was understanding. I love Italian food because you usually get a lot of it in your entree. My garlic shrimp fettuccine had 6 shrimp and little pasta. Funny thing is the pasta seemed over cooked and slightly dry and bland. Though the shrimp were plump and juicy I felt I didn't get what $14 at an Italian place should get. The mousse cake was also kind of dry and more bitter than sweet. Over all the place was beautiful just like downtown, the food was not worth the price and the staff was to frantic and playful with each other. It made me slightly uncomfortable. I give 3 stars for the decor alone.
(3)
Douglas R.
We dropped in during a downpour and 50 bucks later I should have got wet going elsewhere. I was excited to be there as I remember it being a good place to eat. For starters the bread was cold and hard. The salads when they finally came were nothing to write home about. My son and I got our entree's first it was 15 minutes before my wife's came out. My son said the mac and cheese at KFC was better. I ordered the spaghetti Vesuvius I was not impressed the meat was overcooked and the sauce was very bland. I couldn't finish it. My wife got the lasagna and it somewhat passed as edible. Definitely a thumbs down. Terrible food and service. I don't believe I will go back.
(1)
julie n.
The decor inside is nice with an old town feel. There is a train caboose i the middle of the restaurant where people can actually sit. The food is just ok. I would say Olive Garden had better food. The pasta is runny, chicken is dry, and service is slow. We had a party of 20. Our waiter was training someone and he could not keep up. When the 20 dishes came out, they called out each dish and spent 2 minutes trying to figure out whose was whose. A better system should be developed.
(2)
JJ N.
So I had a friend visiting Denver that was a tour guide for a group of special needs adults and they picked the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner one night. (Wouldn't have been my first choice but?) The first thing that struck me was the decor and high warehouse ceiling with wood rafters. In some respects I felt like I was in an old library or house in NYC. You can sit in a trolley car or in a huge four poster bed with friends and have dinner. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the service. Food: If you are looking for a good red sauce or great Italian food this is probably not the place for you. The food got the job done and there was plenty of it. Place is very reasonably priced as well. Our tab for 11 people was $130 and everyone was stuffed with leftovers.
(3)
Dominic C.
My girl and I were downtown and hungry for Italian. We were closer to the Spaghetti factory than Maggianos so we decided to try it out. The outside of the building makes you think this place will be a little high end...wrong! The moment we stepped in we should've left. Outdated furniture and fixtures supposedly add to the rustic feel of the place? I thought it needed an update big time. We sat within minutes which was nice but immediately I noticed we were the only couple in the restaurant! I should've known then that this wasn't gonna be good. Yeah there's a train, which you can eat in, in the middle of the place but I think only the kids cared about that. I look at the menu and see very few selections and they all look very generic. And I was right! I had the angel hair pomodoro and she had the spinach tortellini. It was like someone made mine as their first Italian meal ever. I could've literally went to the store and made better meal within half hour. My dish was so bland and tasteless I only ate maybe a quarter of it. My girl's dish was barely warm, chewy, and also very bland. This is a novelty place to take your kids on a birthday. They'll love the train and food. Adults on the other hand, are better off staying at home or going to the olive garden. Staff was great, but the food and atmosphere, not so much.
(1)
Gary S.
it was better than i thought it would be. some of the reviews werent that great. service was good. the food was ok. could have used more garlic. had a scotch and soda. it was pretty weak.it was not real expensive,for what you got. manager checked on us.
(3)
Sherri K.
This is a great spot to take kids downtown. Usually when I'm hanging out downtown I don't have my kids, so this is not someplace I would frequent. That being said, the location is prime real estate. It is a historic building. It is interesting in terms of architecture. The food..not so interesting. I will admit, I am a fan of angel hair pasta, not fat spaghetti. I didn't realize people still ate spaghetti...out...in public. Our service was efficient and friendly. Reminded me of being back in the midwest.
(3)
Robin P.
This place is exactly what a person should expect. Nothing more, nothing less. It ain't fancy, yet not a dump. It's somewhere in between. I used to love this place as a kid, but now, I think it should only be reserved for "every once in awhile." Like once in a blue moon. Last time I went for dinner, the wait time was about 40-50 minutes. To be expected on a Saturday night. Especially since there were at least 3 parties with 10 or more people. TEN freakin' people? Are you out of your mind, coming up in here without a reservation and expect to have 10 people seated. Anywho, my dining companions and I sidled up the bar area and wait for our name to be called. I, being the adventurous lil' scamp that I am, order a Rob Roy. The bartender looks at me, a bit confused, and walks away. He comes back a few seconds later and asks, "You wanted the scotch drink, right?" I guess they don't get too many gals in their twenties ordering Scotch. I roll hard. There are some poor chaps walking around offering to make balloon animals. I'd imagine that they work straight off of tips. I had one man make me a balloon peacock (it is currently sitting on my coffee table, slowly deflating, but still holding up. Sort of). The food ain't bad for the prices you pay. I'd recommend the Mizritha Cheese and Browned Butter pasta. That sucker is rich, but you don't feel half bad about yourself as you wolf down the entire plate. I ordered mine with angel hair, but it came out with spaghetti. I sucked it up and ate it because I was not about to send my food back into the pit of despair. But every meal comes with spumoni or vanilla ice cream. Score. Slow service, but that waitstaff must have to put up with a lot of bs, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Ain't coming back soon, but if I have to, it ain't too bad. And try to sit in the trolley car if you can. It's real.
(3)
Manuel B.
Went for lunch with some co-workers. We arrived at almost noon and it was pretty empty. The food was average, the coffee was really good, but the service was really slow considering how NOT busy the place was. It started out ok. We received our drinks and had our order taken in a reasonable time. My 3 co-workers were offered soda and tea refills, but the waiter ignored my coffee (which was 1 drink from empty). I had to ask for it after he came back, when it truly was empty. Now is when the waiting began. Took quite a while for the waiter to bring our checks (although he did offer to separate everything up front, without us asking; this was impressive). We got our checks and had our money waiting (so we wouldn't have to wait for him to pick them up). Well he took our payments and again, took quite a while to bring back our cards. I think this may be the biggest reason this place was empty at noon in downtown Denver. Most of their lunch business would come from people working downtown. If the downtown Denver crowd can't get there and back to the office in, or reasonably close to an hour, they won't go.
(2)
Annik S.
Yup, a Denver landmark & so felt compelled to take 10-year-old daughter since my office is nearby. But lord it was godawful food with service bordering on surly. Well, did my civic duty (with plenty of leftovers, none taken home).
(2)
Brian K.
Love this place! I come here whenever I'm in Denver.
(5)
Katie R.
Let me recall the last time I set foot in the Old Spaghetti Factory. hmmm. circa 2003. wow. Went to dinner with Anna R and family, and was surprised as to what I saw, tasted and experienced here. 1. Still a cozy atmosphere, full of unique oak booths and a trolley car :) 2. iceberg salad. cheap and not too classy. romaine or spring mix anyone? 3. About 20 different options to choose from. I chose the chicken parm, which was decent, but not wonderful. 4. overwhelmed staff. despite the fact that it wasn't too busy, we waited numerous times for drinks to be refilled, and apps to arrive. 5.balloon man. unique and funny. he made his rounds to each table, coming up with an interesting balloon to create for them. mine you ask? a sweet pea :) 6. parking. total bitch to find street parking, but i lucked out! despite the weird mix of good and bad, the Old Spaghetti Factory still holds a special place in my heart. :)
Mediocre or maybe a little below mediocre. It's a shame this (chain) restaurant isn't better because it has pretty good atmosphere and the location is pretty good. It's not often you see a mediocre chain restaurant in the heart of the city... Because service is a really important element of my eating experience, I first have to mention that our waitress was awful. I'm not sure if she was just in a really bad mood, but she gave us more attitude than helpfulness and acted as though serving us was a gigantic chore. Well excuse me ma'am, I was under the impression it was your job. Instead of friendly smiles and helpful recommendations, there was eye rolling and attitude. The food is just okay. It tasted pretty good but was extremely salty and unhealthy. Kind of like Italian food meets McDonalds. Tastes okay, but you know there was little if any thought but into it so you enjoy it less. The prices are reasonable, however, and you get bread + salad (they don't have italian dressing or ranch.....as I was rudely informed) + ice cream for dessert at no extra charge. So I guess that's a pretty good deal. If you do go, I'd try the Mizithra Cheese & Brown Butter pasta. I have no idea exactly what kind of cheese this is but it tasted pretty good and was definitely unique. I also tried the meat sauce, which tasted like Prego out of the jar so I'd stick to the Mizithra, which is at least different and maybe worth paying for. At the end of the day, mediocre pasta with jarred sauce is what I eat after a long day of work when I'm too tired to cook. It's not what I eat when I'm going out and for this reason I don't think I'll be back at OSF.
(2)
Ali W.
Is this place seriously still in business? I used to like the Old Spaghetti Factory when I was a kid, but I recently ate there again and vowed to never go back. It's JUST SPAGHETTI with RAGU, people! I can make better spaghetti and I can't cook. I've also had better spumoni ice cream. There are so many other places in Denver to get an awesome cheap eat for less than $10. 1 star off: overcooked empty carbs 1 star off: the building looks like a haunted house...go there for Halloween 1 star off: uncomfortable seating 1 star off: fat people stuffing their kids' mouths with empty carbs so that they can look like themselves
(1)
Theresa B.
the old spaghetti factory has had a tiny place in my heart since my kiddie days. that nostalgia combined with a search/need for really bad elementary school cafeteria spaghetti that I ABSOLUTELY love brought me to dinner at downtown denver's old spaghetti factory today. I would expect that parking would be bad and that we'd drive a few blocks looking for street-side parking, especially with a rockies game going on, but we found a spot a block up and since it's Sunday, meters were free! the wait for two was advertised at 45mins. we grabbed a menu and took a seat in their waiting area and admired the antique wood and glass work. we were seated in the rail car (yay!) at the 30min point. all entrees come with a choice of soup or salad (salad is mostly iceberg (ugh!) with an option to upgrade to a caesar for +$1.50), mini sourdough loaves with garlic butter, a choice of tea, coffee or milk, and a scoop of ice cream after dinner! we had the garlic mizithra (great tasting but a little dry) and the manager's favorite (meat sauce+mizithra). each plate is in the $10-$12 range. food was good, but not amazing...service was fast. we'll definitely be back. although we don't have any (yet), it seems like a good place for kids. which i don't really understand why...other than the roving balloon lady and plastic kiddy cups...the antiquey decor doesn't seem like it would appeal to children and there aren't any rides to ride or games to feed tokens to. ? well, whatever it is, i loved it enough as a kid to return as an adult...so it must be special in some way.
(4)
Alan W.
Why is this place still in business? Oh yeah, it's a chain restaurant. You can't get any worse Italian food, and the service and atmosphere is rather tired and seem to be run by high school kids. I could understand this place would be good for families with young kids, as the food is very bland and simple and there are stuff to keep the kids entertained. The place gets really annoying with the number of parents who could not control their kids. It's bad enough to eat bad Italian food with crummy service, but to sit there exposed to kids running and screaming around the restaurant makes for an awful night. If you want decent affordable Italian food with a more pleasant atmosphere, go to Olive Garden instead... or make your own and get a nice bottle of wine (how could you not screw up pasta).
(1)
Don D.
This place has been around since i was a kid. Still good 1-2 times a year. Had spaghetti with Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter. Good and portion just a little larger than really need. Its quite filling. Start out with bread and butter with dinner salad. Appreciate how cold salad is, but recommend you get dressing on as they pour it on. Lady i was with had, Managers special with Brown Butter and Cheese on half and the clam sauce on other half. She mixes together and isn't bad either. Ice tea is a little strong so waitress brought me extra ice without me needing to ask. Appreciate the Spumoni and end of meal. Decor is fine being its in a old Denver Tram building. That goes along with that era. Furniture could use a dusting.
(4)
Jojo M.
I've been going here off and on for 15 years; the last time I went was about 2 weeks ago and I think they are slipping. The service was slow, the decor needs an overhaul and the food is very blah. There was virtually no taste to my spaghetti with marinara and the sald was straight out of a bag. Very disappointing. A lot of kids on field trips come here so the noise level can be very annoying.
(2)
Susan K.
Beautiful restaurant, never got to finish our meal, before we could enjoy our 3rd bite, a cock roach ran across the table. The manager was very professional but we will not return.
(1)
Matt J.
On a recent trip back to Denver, we stopped by here for dinner (mostly for nostalgia having eaten here many times during college). The food is decent. Nothing out of this world in terms of Italian places. But I really do love the Mizthra and brown butter pasta. A long time favorite for me. The decor is fun and the service we had was very good. Overall the prices are good for what you get, the food is good, and the service is good.
(3)
Kmberly B.
We had always heard good things about Old Spaghetti Factory and we were too tired to cook, so we went out. The building is beautiful and historic, the inside is meticulously fun and detailed. We sat in the comfy little waiting area and took in the really antique looking atmosphere. After a short wait we were escorted to our table, which was IN a train car!!! They have several different sections of this very large restaurant and each section is fun and exciting in a different way. The food and the service were just above average. It's too bad I can't give 3.5 stars. It was convenient that each of their spaghetti dishes comes as a "Famous Complete Meal" with a small house salad and even a scoop of spumoni.
(3)
Kristy R.
Yeah I won't go back here. I would give it 0 stars if it didn't have cool decor. Actually I might go back to stand inside and look at the cool furniture and the old trolly car. The historic value is nice, but that's it. The food was gross and the service sucked. Granted I was with a HUGE group, but they'd reserved a special room for us and knew we were coming. Why is a sparkling rose wine listed under Reds? All I know is that I got the worst wine ever, embraced it cause I'm a winetard and drank straight from the bottle wrapped in the paper placemats. I don't typically hate on restaurants, check my other reviews, but this place is not for me.
(1)
Tiffany K.
Typical chain restaurant flair. I agree with most of the reviewers here that the food is okay, but not terrific. The salad was uneventful. The plus side of the whole meal is usually the nice loaf of warm bread, which I always enjoy. I ordered spinach tortellini. Eh. No big reaction, but delicious. Not the best idea to have during a business conference though, because by two I was so sleepy that I needed a little nap. Staff is the same as quoted before by others. They seem under-staffed and not well organized. Or, maybe the staff just needs to brush up on team work. But, it was a Tuesday, so maybe it was just dead time on the staff schedule. There was two wait staff and one host staff, maybe one bus staff. The decor at this restaurant was the same as all the others. Gold rush era/victorian/cat house lampshades and wood furniture. If you've been to one Old Spaghetti factory, then this one will be just like that. No surprises.
(3)
Anna R.
Had an impromptu dinner this evening with my family and fellow yelper and cousin Katie R. Just a couple of observations made about Old Spag over my mediocre, but filling lasagna. 1. Meals come with a salad. Salads made with ice-burg lettuce. Now, I am not a salad snob, but my heart dropped a little as I was brought back to my school cafeteria days-even if the salad isn't wilted...ice-burg inherently looks wilted! It's its tragedy. Spinach or mixed greens are much preferred by this yelper. BUT, enough about salad already...now to balloon man! 2. O O O balloon man. People are sure nice aren't they?I know he was working for tips as he rounded our table, but he was pleasant and engaging enough to at least be well received at our table. He was mighty silly. I walked away with an apple(i don't really know..."apple of my father's eye" i think), Katie R took home a sweet pea(i don't really know about that one either...jk jk) and my brother scored a weird hat(read into that what you will) 3. Please order the cheese garlic bread appetizer! It was divine and decently priced. 4. The really nice thing about Old Spag is its "mood lighting". You do feel like you enter into an underground Italian bistro-soft lighting, red velvet rawwr!, dark oak...you catch my drift. And as I proudly paraphrase my grandmother here...it is all about the mood lighting...she says, this is how you get people to talk.-people don't have to worry about their wrinkles being magnified by the fluorescent lighting above . And converse we did! way after we finished eating, still gabbing...and never did I sense our waiter trying to scooch us along-he even offered to refill my brother's soda. Kind.
(3)
Todd F.
I am sitting here eating lunch after eating lunch at OSF. I ordered a "lunch size" salad, but when it arrived it was more like side-salad-sized with some extra stuff on top. So I ended up going home and eating lunch again. Have you ever had your plate put in front of you and you get that crestfallen feeling and you ask yourself something like "where's the food? Why did I even bother coming here today?" That is sort of how I felt.
(3)
Alden C.
I think my actual review would be 2.5 stars. The food was not horrible but the spaghetti that I had kind of lacked zing in the sauce. Other than that the rest of the time I spent here was ok.
(2)
Melanie X.
My family went here for dinner on a visit to Denver in September. We were so disappointed. The place was dirty, practically every table was piled with dirty dishes. While we were waiting to have our orders taken one of the servers who apparently had just gotten off work walked past us with his work shirt thrown over his shoulder and just an undershirt on. My husband ordered a salad and was later told that they were out of one of the ingredients. My husband decided to cancel his order but the waitress was no where to be found. The food was average but I think just sitting in the midst of a completely dirty restaurant made everything else bad. I did send a message to their headquarters and received a quick response. The manager called me and listened to comments about the restaurant. He wanted us to let them have another chance at their restaurant and said he would send some coupons for us to try them again in our city...never got them. Need I say more?
(1)
Michelle S.
The salad and bread were wonderful! I absolutely love that you get a little desert with your meal, and so did my 3 year old son. I honestly wasn't overly impressed with the spaghetti though, considering that is their specialty! They overloaded my noodles with waaaaay too much sauce and the flavor just wasn't that amazing. The atmosphere is very cool, but the service also was not that great....
(2)
Billy F.
I've been waiting here for thirty minutes now and still don't have my salad and barely just got my water. The service here is a joke and it is very disappointing.
(1)
Paul M.
I've been going here most of my life. It still had good food at a great price. Always a great date place. Amazing atmosphere!
(4)
Joe F.
Are you supposed to give a chain restaurant that doesn't try to be anything it isn't more than four stars? If you rate is purely on your experience, I suppose you can. I went there with a group recently while in town on business and we had the place virtually to ourselves. I wasn't drinking that night so ordered an Italian soda and got to keep the glass as a souvenir - which made my workmates instantly jealous. Plus, when we were ready to go our waitress brought me a clean glass to take home because she knew I was in town on business and couldn't wash the dirty one. In short, very nice people here - good basic food (nothing special) and with prices that match. Unless you're a foodie looking for something spectacular, there's no reason not to go to this place. Why not?
(5)
Jason N.
Don't listen to the haters. This is my favorite place to eat in the entire world. I have had nothing but the spaghetti and meat sauce ever, but it was been the "most perfect" food to me for thirty years. The Denver version of the Old Spaghetti Factory is fantastic. It has so much of the "old building/eclectic" charm that the newer Spaghetti Factories have deviated from. I used to eat at the original restaurant in Portland, and this one goes a long way to capturing it's spirit. The prices are great, the food is fantastic. Call ahead for seating because it can get busy.
(5)
St F.
Scene 1: It is the early 1970's. Denver just tore down its entire downtown and replaced it with hundreds of acres of parking lots so that it would be more user-friendly to car driving suburbanites. A family from Aurora easily finds parking and takes their child to The Spaghetti Factory for his birthday. He is delighted, finding Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese a la Homer similar to macaroni and cheese, his current favorite food in the world. Scene 2: One year later. It's a birthday party for the kid again. He's still delighted having waited all year to get that mizithra dish, even though he doesn't know who Homer was. (The Iliad was out of print or something I guess, and Matt Groenig hadn't penned the first Life In Hell yet, much less The Simpsons.) Three teenaged employees sing Happy Birthday and the kid is suitably embarassed. For several years the boy's dad, a military man, gets transferred here and there and everywhere. Years go by. Eventually the dad manages to get himself transferred back to his favorite base: Denver. Scene 3: It's the eighties. The boy wears OP and Izod although he's not considered cool enough by his peers to be a preppie or jock. He plays in the marching band and lusts naively after the head cheerleader, unaware that cheerleaders don't go for the boys in the band. He still spends most of his birthdays at The Old Spaghetti Factory. What can I say, the kid is consistent...if not in need of a little imagination. Yep, you guessed it, Mizithra a la Homer every time. Scene 4: He's nearly pushing thirty. Marching band has given way to rock bands and seedy bars. There's been a few brushes with fame and infamy. He's about to move to the coast and drags his friend, despair and a few other cynical goth friends to the Spaghetti Factory. They all enjoy the kitschy fun of being a table full of wierdos in such a family friendly establishment. Wonderful. At least the kid finally has a girlfriend. Several years later an ongoing series of health problems finally get diagnosed as Celiac Disease and the man tries to comprehend his allergy to gluten and a new life without wheat and several other grains. Scene 5: It's the year 2008. After a few illustrious careers the couple returns to Denver. They're still together, only now with a little less goth and a little less angst. While driving through downtown he notices The Old Spaghetti Factory and thinks they're out of business because of the huge FOR LEASE sign on the building. It's just as well since he'll never be able to eat the spaghetti again anyway. A month after they move in to their new home a friend mentions they've got gluten free options at Spaghetti Factory. "Didn't they close?" "No, I just ate there last night. That's how I knew about the gluten free." Scene 6: About a week later: "Hey despair, wanna have dinner at Spaghetti Factory?" "Yeah!" "How long has it been since you ate there?" "I think it was that time before you moved away something like fifteen years ago." Yep. You guessed it. Although sometime in the last decade-plus they dropped the "a la Homer" bit. Now it's just "Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter". Still the same recipe. The kid is now me. I had it with the chicken marsala. Now, I could mention the marsala sauce should have more wine or the brown butter & mizithra would be even better with chopped organic garlic and a little fresh basil, but this isn't the kind of place to get all snooty about that kind of thing. This is a menu that has been essentially the same since before I was born and is reproduced almost exactly in locations all over the country now. It is not intended for connoisseurs. It's simple and cheap and can be prepared by the least trained chefs. This kitchen is not like the one you saw in Ratatouille with sauciers, sommeliers, and sous chefs. The servers don't know French and they won't memorize your order. They may even bring you the wrong dessert or forget you wanted ranch not vinaigrette. Thomas Keller doesn't come here. Ever. But somebody at Old Spaghetti Factory saw a profitable market in celiacs like me and changed the menu that never changes. They now offer gluten-free and I am delighted! And it's not even my birthday. - Silly Ack
(3)
Sarah G.
Service was defiantly not the best, felt neglected by waiter, and food came out slow, and cold. We had to wait for are check for about 15 minutes only to find the waiter, again, finishing up his side work. Two stars.
(2)
Gerry E.
I have eaten at this chain before, and I love these places..... the food is great, the atmosphere is wonderful, and the service was very good.
(4)
Kevin B.
Not very good. Nice place, good service, but totally bland food. I could make better spaghetti at home. Best thing about the meal was the ice cream that was included in the price of the meal. It wasn't terrible.
(2)
Raymond K.
Total mouthgasm! Nothing more needs to be said.
(5)
Chad H.
Great ambiance and perfect for the kids!
(4)
Jason S.
The Mrs. loves this restaurant and I love here so I'm indulgent. That being said, you have to dig the atmosphere here. It has the feel of a place that was furnished through garage/estate sales. And, as a nice bonus for me, they offer whole wheat pasta and a decent vegetarian sauce. The beer selection is atrotious. It's a fun place to take a kid or someone who is a child inside.
(3)
J P.
The decor was creepy. The atmosphere and service was uncomfortable, I've had a better salad on a domestic flight, and my pasta was luke-warm. My mistake.
(1)
Jelena W.
Sean's review made me laugh- I, too, as a child, thought the Old Spaghetti Factory was truly and old spaghetti factory in Denver that was turned into a restaurant. Until in middle school my class took a trip to California, and I found myself dining at the Monterrey Old Spaghetti Factory. My heart was broken, but my belly was happy. On to the present. What's that buzzing sound? Oh, that's just Dr. Atkins spinning in his grave upon seeing my tastes in food. Pasta, bread, and sweets. I don't really care, though- I'm not overweight, and as long as I keep my portions moderate, I don't think I'm likely to become so. The Old Spaghetti Factory is no top pasta parlor with dishes worthy of fireworks; nor is it the hot date spot it would like to be when it grows up. What it is, is reliably tasty comfort food with something to appeal to any diner.
(4)
Vanessa B.
I am not a fat woman with fat children, and think some of the reviews below are ridiculous. I wonder what one expects from a chain called Old Spaghetti Factory, featuring a balloon animal guy, old trolley car and Ice cream with every meal? Be kind, and consider your expectations before you tear a place apart. We came to OSF for dinner because it was Grandparent's Day and my 1 and 3 year old sons "took thir grandparents out" for free. (Grandparents, check out grandparents.com for cool bargains like this!). This restaurant was a winner. Our server was sweet and patient, service was quick. Gluten free menu is available. My sons ate every course, loved the witty cooled aged balloon animal guy, and the adults all found our food to be just fine. Would we come to this restaurant for a date night? Probably not. But for kids, or larger parties, or tourists, it was fun and kitschy and affordable. Both sons deemed it their new favorite. Definitely more tolerable than Casa Bonita, from a food perspective. ;)
(4)
Michele H.
It is what it is. Cheap food for kids. We took the kids here one night as they have a great balloon guy (he is seriously very entertaining) and gf pasta. We sat in the trolley car which the kids thought was fun. The pasta is tasteless (DeBoles) but the kids thought it was great with marinara sauce. I had the gf pasta with mizithra cheese and browned butter and honestly, the pasta wasn't over cooked and it came out okay. I did order the house salad which was literally iceburg lettuce and a few pieces of cabbage. It was really gross. Overall, I would go again just for the kids.
(3)
Sean J.
Old Spaghetti Factory and myself have a love-hate relationship...alright, hate is quite dramatic, but our relationship is veering that way. From the time I was a kid until recently, it seemed that every time family came from out of town, my family and my relatives would all meet at Old Spaghetti Factory. Even as a little kid (for the sake of understanding, littler than I am now) I appreciated the old first half of the 20th century-style restaurant, but what I didn't understand was picturing myself in a Great Gatsby setting, having never heard of the book. Every kid will want to sit in the caboose that's located inside the restaurant. People will enjoy the high comfy chairs and the dimly-lit dining room. What may not be as enjoyed is above average, but not exceptional food. There's nothing about the food that stands out in my mind having touched my sensitive and discerning taste buds. I mean if you want spaghetti, then you can get spaghetti. If you want other pasta, I'm sure you can get other pasta. If you're looking for the perfect date with the ambiance that will win your mate's heart, I myself would distract you from going here. If you want a fun place to take the kids or out-of-town relatives, check it out. You may appreciate it. Back to the love-hate relationship. I always thought that the Old Spaghetti Factory was unique to Denver and to myself. Little did I know as a young, innocent, naive kiddo. When I was driving down First Street in St. Louis, I was stunned when I saw another Old Spaghetti Factory - they had stolen it from me and my Colorado upbringing. I was heart-broken when I found out there are dozens of these in the West.
(4)
Denver D.
I went here about 2 weeks ago. I went with a friend around 9:30pm on a Saturday night, so this may have been why the service sucked. It took our server over ten minutes to come over and greet us, and when he did we ordered the all you can eat "soup and salad". He told us we could not, it was only for lunch. I pointed out on the menu it clearly says for "lunch or dinner". When I showed him this he said, "Well I dont know if my boss will let me"! Needless to say that was a red flag for me to not go back. We did get the soup and salad and it tasted okay, but I will not be returning.
(2)
Lauren H.
I always loved this place but I will never be back. I came in to eat Sunday June 14th before closing and the host wouldn't sit me. She was absolutely rude and I've never been treated that way especially at a place like this. I always drive here after work and it has never been an issue and I've never been told I couldn't be seated. She's short, unprofessional, and should definitely be fired for terrible customer service. I'll be calling management asap tomorrow. Sad to say I'll never be back as long as she's there.
(1)
Robert G.
This place has a unique atmosphere, great for a first date. It's an interesting place with lots of things to talk about. We got to sit in a trolley car they have inside the restaurant. It's was neat. The food wasn't anything special. We had the spinach tortellini with pomodoro sauce and a meat sauce pasta. The spinach tortellini was dry and tasted like flour. It lacked flavor and did not taste like the chicken-meat stuffing it was supposed to have. The first thing that came to mind after my first bite was "this pasta tastes like I imagine the color green tastes like". The meat sauce pasta was a little better. The meat sauce tasted like it was supposed to, but it wasn't anything I'd recommend to a friend. In my opinion it was a little too salty. We were seated right away and were able to sit in the trolley car. After being shown to our table we didn't see a server for about 20 minutes. Service was slow all night. It was about 45 minutes besides we even got bread on the table.
(3)
Kelsie H.
Yummm We had artichoke dip for appetizer and the complimentary bread and butter. Then we all had soup/salad that was complimentary. I personally had the salad with their special dressing and it was very good. I had the managers special and it was very good. Then afterwards we had the spumoni ice cream, complimentary. Didnt leave hungry, that's for sure!!!
(4)
Ann C.
Was a bit wary because of recent reviews, but my fiance and I had a great meal here. Our waiter, Darren, was super friendly, funny, and attentive, and the entrees are a good deal for the price. You get delicious soup, fresh baked bread loaves, and spumoni ice cream for dessert! We got the lasagna and spinach tortellini, both satisfying though I was pretty full after two bites thanks to soup and bread. Also loved the ambiance - there are some cute booths and you can sit in a cable car!
(4)
Pamela B.
Great place to take kids. Our waiter, whose name I forget, unfortunately-- was excellent. He was Friendly and knowledgeable. They gave us a wait time of fifteen minutes, it was only five. We had an enjoyable dinner!
(4)
Katie M.
Old Spaghetti Factory aims to be easy, cheap, Italian food for families, and it achieves this goal, which may disappoint those of us seeking an upscale Italian dining experience. Ever been to an Olive Garden? Ever purchased frozen Bertolli ravioli and a jar of Prego sauce for dinner? Add an open, dark atmosphere and a fully restored vintage trolley car and you've got Old Spaghetti Factory. What I've read in the other reviews rings true in my experience: the meals are filling and cheap, the pasta dishes tend to be bland, and the high-praised item here is the free ice cream (called spumoni, meaning it is Neapolitan-flavored ice cream). There were two birthdays there that evening, so there was a lot of singing, plus there is a staff member going around making balloon animals upon request. These both of these circumstances make me think it would be an awkward spot for a date or business meeting, but a really fun spot if your young nephew is visiting for the weekend! Speaking of kids, their meals seem very kid-friendly and family-friendly. Each meal is actually a 3-course meal, including a soup/salad, bread, a pasta dish of your choice, and a small dish of that previously mentioned spumoni. It's easy and crowd-pleasing, so I can definitely see why they've stayed in business. Like I mentioned above, their ravioli resembles defrosted Bertolli ravioli covered in a jar of Prego, which was a bit of a disappoint for a ravioli-seeking girl. I would let this slide if they didn't claim "made from scratch, on-site" but the restaurant clearly claims it, which I disagree with. My favorite by far (the best dish we had) was the cheesy garlic bread. That was seriously delicious. I don't plan on going back, their food isn't worth it to me. I will give 3 stars though, because while I'm not their target audience, I also struggle understanding a restaurant that claims something about their food that I feel is not demonstrated in the dishes.
(3)
Meredith H.
First of all, I have been going to this restaurant my whole life in Denver and last night was probably our last time. I had actually got married at the OSF in 2011 and we had arranged to have a private room. This time, my step-mother called about a week in advance for 16 people to attend a birthday party for my dad. Here's the rundown of our experience: 1. Seated in a very crowded room with limited room to move around and talk to anyone. 2. We had ONE server for 16 people - ONE! It's not like we walked off the street and expected to be accommodated, they knew we were coming. Although the poor guy did whatever he could, to say the service was slow would be an understatement. 3. Took an hour to get our drinks we ordered from the bar. 4. Took over 1.5 hours to get our food. 5. Food was not the usual OSF quality - could tell the kitchen was rushed. Bottom line is that we were extremely disappointed. My sister had to leave with her 2 year-old after waiting for an hour and a half because she couldn't wait any longer to feed him. It was not the big birthday extravaganza we were hoping for and, sadly, due to that, we probably won't return.
(1)
Hayat C.
Nicole the Manager here at The Old Spaghetti Factory is hands down the best Manager I have ever ran into in my life .We had some problems with our meal and she literally took care of everything for us. I will not go into detail to spare the Spaghetti Factory's reputation .This is my hometown.
(5)
Ravi P.
Seems like authentic Italian food.. So near to my office.. Classic ambience, awesome food
(5)
Kevin L.
This is a family restaurant, let's be clear, folks. If you don't kid yourself, you'll have a fine time. You shouldn't expect fine dining, and you shouldn't be surprised by that if you pay the least bit of attention when you walk in the door. You'll notice some staff not in uniform, no tablecloths, and placemats made out of cheap paper with advertisements on them. But what about the ornate interior, you ask? Again, see it for what it is: this is an over-the-top glitzy place meant to entertain the wandering eyes of children. And it ain't bad for adults, either, if you have a sense of humor. Can you really take a place seriously that has a train car within the walls of the restaurant? Answer: no. But you can look at it and realize how gimmicky and cool it is with its chandeliers and stained glass windows. In fact, Denver's finest (DPD) were having a luncheon aboard that silly express, and they seemed to have found lighthearted enjoyment there, the weight of the city's crime lifted off their shoulders for an hour. On to the food and service. The pasta is not fresh; that is, it can't possibly have been made in house, despite the misleading title of "Spaghetti Factory," and it is for this reason alone that OSF will never rank above 3-stars. Still, our dishes came out al dente, and were quickly devoured. The bread receives low marks, though, as it's not artisan, but also not surpassing the quality of your local supermarket's cheap white dinner buns. Servicewise, we were warmly greeted and quickly seated by a pretty hostess, and our waiter was ever-attentive. Can't ask for much more than that. In the end, if you're expecting a slightly upscale version of a Friendly's-style family restaurant, then you will get what you pay for here. OSF did in a pinch when we were cold and hungry. Their soup, especially, hit the spot and could have passed for being made in-house. WHo knows?! Who cares. If you want a quick plate of cheap homestyle noodles, OSF is the place.
(3)
Leanna C.
I have been coming to this place ever since I was a child in elementary school for field trips. I think if you have kids or are on a budget this a great place to visit. The food is sub par but that's truly not the reason to come here. This is a great Denver staple where you can come to relax and enjoy the unique restaurant and sit in the trolley. Definitely worth a try if you've never been here but don't be shocked by the below average food.
(3)
Tarena Z.
OK, first off, let me say it took 2 hours to get our meal! The meal was ..... Fine. Fettuccini Alfredo was under seasoned and almost cold. Breast of Chicken Fettuccini was actually REALLY GOOD! Spaghetti with Meatballs and Sausage was good but the meatballs were a bit dry. The spaghetti with crème sauce was great! The crab ravioli was a bit dry and bland. The best part of the meal was the Olive Tapenade which was very yummy! The kids LOVED the Italian cream sodas! The place was probably 1/3 full and a 2 hour wait was just unacceptable.
I used to think everything at the OSF was good except for the pasta, how ironic, right? Well, this last experience completely changed my mind. I must have only ordered spaghettis before, since it's the SPAGHETTI factory, lol. This time, I went with what sounded good on the menu. The Garlic Shrimp Fettuccine, which was new on the dinner menu, won my dad's heart. I had a taste and thought it was a little bit too boozy, but hey, it's still a good thing, right? When I saw that the Baked Chicken was only available during dinner, I persuaded my BF to get it even though it was served with spaghetti. Turned out to be a pretty good choice. The chicken was flaming hot right off the griller/oven. I got the Manger's Favorite which is pasta with two sauces. I don't know why I picked Mizithra Cheese & Browned Butter and Marinara, because that's exactly the kind my BF's Baked Chicken dish came with. Next time I'll get the mushroom sauce instead of the marinara. I'm sure if would pair better with the Mizithra Cheese & Browned Butter sauce which was exquisite! (Or, just have that alone, duh!) Mom wanted the lasagna so she got it. The same marinara sauce that we're not too keen to flooded the perfectly fine lasagna (the sauce was simply too much, and overly sour/tomato-ey for us). All the sides were thoroughly enjoyable: - Bread (freshly baked sourdough, it's good, but I would prefer non-sourdough...) - Salad (wonderfully crisp and cold; dressing is thick and yummy, get the Pesto Ranch!) - Milk (is milk) - Coffee (is something else! We liked the coffee so so much that I inquired about it, was told they use Boyds coffee, I wish I know the exact formula because that was one strong yet balanced cup of joe) - Italian soda (we ordered the vanilla flavor, as good as ever!) - Ice cream (the spumoni was unique; I asked for my scoop to be vanilla so I could dunk it in my coffee, heaven!) Our server was very nice and polite, took good care of us. We really liked sitting in the trolley! Thank you OSF for providing such a family friendly atmosphere for us to enjoy a family meal together.
(4)
Chrissie B.
Came in for date night a few weeks ago. It was rainy out, and close to 8pm, so it was not too busy. 5 star for location and atmosphere, 1 star for food and service. Prices were cheap but I'm not sure I will be back.
(3)
Madison A.
I loved this place as a kid! I came here on field trips and my mom took me here when I went to work with her! There is a train in the middle of the restaurant, which is why I loved it so much as a child. Its located in the heart of Denver, and my boyfriend and I came here before we went to Elitches. It's very dimly lit in the restaurant which creates a calm atmosphere. Keep in mind I came here at like 11 on a Wednesday morning. We were pretty much the only ones in there. I ordered a Ceaser Salad, and my boyfriend got the Spaghetti. The waiter came out with the Spaghetti and... Fettuccine? I hadn't even remotely ordered that. I was very confused. I ate it anyways, because I like Fettuccine and I was too hungry to send it back. I really did want that Cesar Salad though. I give this restaurant 3 stars because of my fond childhood memories, not so much my experience. I would maybe return...? Not sure. Hopefully if I do, I'll have a much better experience.
(3)
Kristy C.
uhhh... I guess I will start off with, the fettucini alfredo was AMAZING! My guest also enjoyed her spinach stuffed ravioli. The problem isn't the food. The problem was, it was 5 pm on a thursday evening and the service was really bad :/ -waters took 10 minutes to reach the tables -wine took 15 minutes to reach our tables -dinner took almost an entire HOUR to reach our tables -wine refills took so long that we were stuck at the end of dinner with two full glasses. -my guest asked for meat sauce and they gave her vegetarian sauce, she said it was fine and asked for a meatball to make the difference, and the meatball didn't come out until we were paying the bill. thats insane for 2 entrees and 4 alcoholic beverages. really? For the record, I love the food. But management should consider hiring staff that can handle a 5 o'clock week day rush
(3)
Katherine F.
Expensive old poor quality food. To summarize this one star Tuesday night dining experience- order drinks, wait 20 minutes, ice cubes in beer, no vodka in cocktail, order entrees, wait 35 minutes, frumpy brown-edged lettuce straight out of the bag making up the smallest lamest main course salad I have ever gotten for 10 dollars, warm italian bread (+1), mystery meat in the spaghetti vesuvius (bone in), ask for bill, wait 20 minutes, waitress says she will comp for my kiddie cocktail, but forgot to change the bill, wait 15 more minutes, new bill, run to 7/11 to buy better ice cream for dessert Final thought: Reading all these reviews about waitresses comping drinks and food and then people still seeing the charges on their statements made me wonder if they purposefully run your card, then come to the table and tell you oh wait I will comp that ______, and rerun your card without canceling the previous charge. I'll be checking my statement.
(1)
Eric L.
This chain has declined over the years, but this one has got to be the worst I've been to. The food wasn't awful but the atmosphere was horrid. Felt like I was dining in a funeral home.
(2)
Dave C.
I absolutely love coming to The OSF. I'm a Denver native so it has always been a landmark restaurant that still has that Old Downtown Denver early twentieth century industrial vibe which is rapidly disappearing from contemporary Hipster LoDo. It kind of reminds me of The Organ Grinder which sadly is no longer around that used to be on Alameda and Federal where you got to eat pizza and they had a real pipe organ that played creepy music while you watched old black and white silent movies. Yes, I'm showing my age here as well as waving my native flag. Their spaghetti and Sicilian meatballs are just a staple. It's called the Old Spaghetti Factory, right? So I come here for the pasketti and meatballs which are pretty darn good. Not as good as my wife's homemade meatballs (and no I'm not just saying that either) but a very close runner up so when she doesn't feel like cooking and we want to get out of the house and enjoy the atmosphere of Old Denver, this is one of our go-to places. And the prices are actually pretty good. By comparison we usually go to the Olive Garden by our house and we found the prices here to be even a bit less. I always love eating in the old Trolley car. It's just the thing that makes the kid in me smile EVERY time. But I have to tell you, if you have a chance to eat in the bar, take it. It's very quiet and secluded with cozy booths plus you get to take in the romantically stunning ambiance of the old brick walls, stain glass windows and mahogany wood bar counter and mirrors. The bartender was also on-top of serving us and made sure the drinks were always filled, the food was to our liking and we were taken care of. Forget his name, and I apologize, but kudos to him. He was outstanding. He's a keeper. Give the man a raise. They also have my favorite Italian Vanilla Cream Sodas that are really tasty, but pricey. I could keep drinking these like water but at five bucks a glass I pretty much only get to treat myself to one glass which I savor with every sip. You even get to take home the glass as a memento of your visit to The OSF. They will be happy to give you a clean one to take home if you ask. And if you still have room left after the bread and appetizers, salad, and gorging on pasta and meatballs, there's the free ice cream dessert. So it's not the best ice cream I've ever had, but hey, it's free. You might want to take a walk around the 16th Street Mall afterward to burn off a few of those unwanted calories. If you love Spaghetti, The Old Spaghetti Factory is a no-brainer. Just go.
(4)
kirk m.
Walking distance to my house and usually get take out...not bad for the price.
(3)
Melissa j.
This place is gross. All they have going for them is the interior. You can walk in the alley to find boxes labeled, fettuccine Alfredo. Save your money and go buy a lean cuisine pasta dish. It tastes the same. yuck.
(1)
Sheila M.
Always have loved this place. Worth the wait. Food is always hot and great. Sometimes service a tad slow depending on how busy it is but always great experience
(4)
Michelle N.
I have not been here since I was a kid. We decided to take my 4 year old nephew for dinner...it was great. After reading the reviews, I was not expecting much, but we had a good experience. My son had a strawberry Italian cream soda, he loved it. The food was better than expected. I had the Mizithra and browned butter on wheat pasta...very good. Everyone else went with standard spaghetti and I heard no complaints. It is true that the service is pretty slow here. I was okay with it because the kids were having fun and we were not in a rush. I made a reservation and did not have to wait to be seated.
(4)
Gregor Y.
What happened, Old Spaghetti Factory? What in the world. You used to be reasonable. We'd take out of town guests for reasonable food at a reasonable price, with good service in a charming historical setting. But tonight was a big disappointment for us and our Kansas cousins who'd loved you in the past. Tonight, it was the Cold Spaghetti Factory. Summary: Took over an hour to get ANY food on the table. Terrible service, cold entrees; apologetic manager comped some stuff (but the waiter was unrepentant). I started to write more details, but the list of what went wrong is more than you want to read.
(2)
Rachel C.
We went yesterday for the first time. We waited over 30 minutes for our drinks to come. I told them I was on a really strict diet and wondered if I could just get a side salad and a plain old grilled chicken breast. They said no problem but when it came the chicken was breaded. I asked if I could have something not breaded and they returned with some sliced grilled chicken. It was actually pretty good as was the salad. My husband ordered the manager special and my kiddo spaghetti. Everything was good. According to them them best part was the ice cream at the end. They really enjoyed it. I doubt we will go back since it's pretty far away and we weren't amazed by it. But it was worth trying something new.
(3)
Carmen J.
This place stands on reputation alone,its been an institution in Denver for as long as I can remember,went there years ago when my niece was a kid and then during the holidays returned with her daughter,it was as good as always, great service,great food we even got to sit on the trolley,I loved it. Tried the spaghetti with the garlic and browned butter for the first time YUM now I'll probably always have that dish. The cute little ice cream at the end it a great finish for me.
(5)
Melissa J.
I wanted to like it so bad since I have many childhood memories of coming here and sometimes even getting to sit in the trolley car. However, last night I realized how slow and overpriced this place is. The waiter couldn't keep our orders straight and we all had to ask for what we ordered multiple times. At one point the server brought me a glass of wine that I didn't even order and still charged me for it. On top of that, I found it irritating to pay so much for a lame iceberg lettuce salad and a small portion of pasta that was ok but nothing special. Childhood memories, ruined :(
(2)
Tabitha D.
First time dining at this restaurant, as I am not from around here. I was a walk in for a table of two, waited about 25 minutes to be seated. No problem there, the problems didn't begin until we were sat. Once we sat we were greeted by our server, didn't bother to introduce himself, it wasn't until we received the bill that we found out his name was Cody. He got our drink order, 2 glasses of wine and 2 waters, then hurried away. He returned right away with our waters and asked if we'd like an appetizer. We ordered the cheese bread, he then said "lemme go put that in real quick" and dismissed himself from the table before either of us even had a chance to order our salads. Upon his return, we ordered our salads and entrees. We still hadn't received our wine at this point. After about 5 minutes we noticed a young man wondering about with cheese bread, asking 4 tables if they'd ordered it before finally approaching ours. It took until about half way through our appetizer to get our wine. At this point I was a little irritated because we actually had to flag down the girl with our wine. Took a little longer for dinner salads, but once arrived I was relieved our server had fixed the table number issue. Cody popped in to deliver what I'm assuming was dinner bread, he never explained. However, we didn't touch the bread because the moment he dropped it off it slid off its plate and onto the table. Cody didn't even acknowledge it. Our entrees arrived shortly afterwards, with no sign of our server. It wasn't until about half way through our meal that a manager stopped by. She didn't introduce herself either. Once I explained everything that had gone wrong and pointed out the loaf of bread that was quite literally sitting on the table, she offered to comp our meal. We weren't looking for compensation, but after the terrible service we received we couldn't say no. She quickly walked off and never checked back on us. Cody then came over to ask which dessert we'd like, as it came with the meal. I got Spumoni, which Cody promptly served. Without spoons, I might add. My boyfriend had to get up and grab some from the next table, seeing as how Cody didn't bother to return. He did however return one final time, to deliver another dessert for my birthday and drop the check. Luckily the manager was walking by this time because yet again he had dropped a dessert without utensils. She didn't bother to apologize for anything, just comped the meal. Now I know the difference between busy and just plain BAD service. Our server only had 4 other tables, which I noticed he was giving poor service to as well because they were visibly upset. Not only did we have terrible service, but Cody NEVER once stopped by to check on us. He was simply an order taker, and a bad one at that!! The only reason this restaurant even got 1 star is for the food and it was decent at best. Otherwise it's not worth the time or money. Bad management and even worse service!! I would not recommend it to anyone. Buca di Beppo is 10X better and they'll take care of you.
(1)
Doogie H.
I still have yet to receive a refund for the double charge that was posted to my account. It is 8 days since this post and 11 days since the dinner. They refused to send me a refund check, but said the only way I'll get a refund is if I give them my credit card number over the phone. I hope I don't regret that, but I did it.
(1)
Hollie W.
We really enjoyed The Old Spaghetti Factory!! The prices were good and the food was super!! The lasagna was really yummy. The atmosphere was amazing!!
(4)
Sara B.
YUCK! Every time that I come here it tastes like they dumped a bag of salt on each plate. Why is this considered to be great Italian food in Denver? I say drive a few minutes to North Denver where you can get much more authentic and less "I feel like I am eating out of the dead sea" Italian food. The last time I came here I was met with the worst service I have ever received in my entire life. We were sat at a table that was absolutely filthy. Our waitress showed up 15 minutes later and when we pointed out the table she said she would get someone to fix it. 10 minutes later, this guy shows up with a dirty rag and literally dabs it on the edge of the table completely missing all of the leftover food from the previous diners. When our server came back to take our drink orders (yes, we were seated for 25 minutes without getting our drink orders taken), we pointed out that the table was still not clean. She disappeared and a few minutes later the guy who came by with the dirty dish cloth stormed up to our table and raised his voice asking us why we would say he didn't clean the table when he clearly did. After this atrocious behavior we approached the hostess stand and asked for a manager. The manager moved us to a different section with a different server and offered a generic apology...no comp, no emotion, no return customers here.
(1)
Tiara Q.
Old Spagetti Factory is to Italian food as Casa Bonita is to Mexican food. Come folks, get over it. There are far better choices for Italian or pasta or however you want to categorize it. Don't come here expecting maggianos or even Olive Garden quality. It's not. Sit in the train car, drink some alcohol and stop taking yourself and this place so seriously. You're welcome.
(3)
Lee S.
Mount Vesuvius in Italy is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the city of Pompeii. The Vesuvius Spaghetti I enjoyed last evening was spicy and, though not Volcanic, very tasty and shall I say "different." Different is good. We come to the Old Spaghetti Factory for the fun, to see old friends, to celebrate a birthday, to sit in the old Trolley and laugh and drink and eat. This place is not 5 stars, but could be 4 if... ...if we had even close to good service. ...If they brought us more water. ...if they didn't forget the bread until the end of the meal. ...if my soup had been warm. ...if I didn't have to ask 3 times for our wine. ...if, oh, I'll stop. Like I said, we have fun, but don't put your expectations too high.
(3)
Amanda F.
I worked right around the corner from this restaurant so it was a frequent stop for birthday lunches etc. I was never, ever impressed. Even with staff buzzing around, when we were one of two tables, we could never get any service, and the food was mediocre at best. Pricey mediocre. I would not recommend at all.
(1)
Lauren T.
I'm such a huge fan of pasta, this place was always a great go to in an interesting building. Service is great, good is great, a neat piece of history for Denver!
(5)
Ken K.
I love this place. First, the atmosphere is amazing with stained glass windows, Tiffany style lamps and unique furniture, and a trolley. Also this place is fairly quiet it is easy to talk with someone. And the food is good and the prices are reasonable. Even the outside of this building is beautiful. Take a look at the brick work on the outside.
(5)
Paul N.
Old Spaghetti Factory. Now before I ever got there, I knew it was a chain. But it's pasta - how bad could it be? Plus, it was located in this historic brick building! Bad restaurants are just not found in nice places, I wrongfully assumed. So there I went, a few blocks walk from my hotel. Got in and sat in this large dark room. Alone. Interesting decor - stained glass, Tiffany style lights, a train car. Wait...what? Yet the ceiling was strangely unfinished and not in a cool-exposed-ductwork way. Just in a "we never got around to that part because, man, it was just too much work" way. So I ordered the chicken Marsala and a salad. The salad, if you could call it that, was iceberg lettuce. There may have been a little red onion too, but it's hard to say since it was so damn gloomy in there. I mean, even my local diner back in NJ gives you a slice of cucumber, a cherry tomato and some shredded carrot! Then my chicken dish came. Yup, I went down that route of despair yet again. As of today, I am not allowed to order chicken Marsala, anywhere, ever again, under any circumstances. It was awful and barely tasted of Marsala. But the worst was the side of pasta. It was spaghetti with a "sauce" of what sounded like a fancy cheese and browned butter. Sounds good, right? Reality was an affront to sauces everywhere. The sauce, which lacked the liquid properties of sauce, was similar in taste and texture to Kraft Parmesan cheese from the green container. Only grittier. And saltier. And with less flavor, which is nearly impossible, yet the Old Spaghetti Factory managed to do just that. So unsatisfied with the meal was I, that I didn't take the place up on its offer of a complimentary scoop of vanilla or spumoni ice cream for dessert. Instead, I stopped at a nearby 7/11 for a Heath bar.
(1)
Kat L.
I went here on a busy Friday night - it was clearly prom season and there were many large groups. Despite that fact, we got seated very quickly, even though we, too, were a large group. Our waiter was very attentive, and gave us excellent service. He was friendly and helpful. So my real problem with the restaurant was the food. I have been to Old Spaghetti Factories across the West Coast and this was the worst I've ever eaten. My chicken parmesan did not really seemed cooked. I know I could have complained, but since it was so crowded and we had somewhere to go, I just ate the spaghetti on the plate. I basically left the restaurant feeling nauseous. No one in my group really liked what they got. Everyone who ordered tortellini pulled the filling out and ate the rest. Everyone had to add things to their food in order to get them to be edible (cheese, salt, extra sauce). I would never return here, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that it was just a busy night and they had a lot of large groups to serve.
(3)
Kerilyn J.
Last night (Tuesday) I went to the Spaghetti Factory in Denver with my daughter and boyfriend for a special dinner before heading out to see the musical Annie playing in town. First we stood at the host stand for well over 10 minutes without a word spoken to us. Finally the hostess came back and without looking at us (instead staring at the ipad) said in her exact words "what can I do for you?". All while still not even bothering to look at us. After we were sat at our table - we did not see a waiter in the 15 minutes we sat there. He did run by to say he would be right with us, but not one person stopped by to even get a drink order. At this point, after waiting 25 minutes we had to leave to make it to the show on time. Not one person - including the hostess, stopped us on the way out to ask if they could help or where we were going. I didn't see any manager in the restaurant portion at any time and the restaurant appeared under staffed and the staff that was present was possibly some of the rudest I have encountered. I had not been to Spaghetti Factory in over 20 years and I was hoping for a wonderful evening for my daughter's first theatrical experience. I will not go back to this location.
(1)
M E.
Best birthday dinner place in town for kids, on the weekend there is a man who has been there 10+years who makes balloons for all the kids. He remembered our daughter from 5 years ago! He made her and her friends balloons hats which all connected, there were 7 of them! They loved it and are still talking about it. Food, service and staff are always great! Very family friendly which is refreshing.Thank you Old Spaghetti Factory.
(5)
Mila G.
Been here forever, although the neighborhood around it has cleaned up a bit since we were kids. They do have gluten-free pasta, although the cooks overcooked it and the noodles just fell apart when I tried to eat them. Salad was less than desirable, same old cheap iceberg lettuce every place serves. The gluten-free menu is also just the regular menu minus croutons and substitute their GF pasta. The family had fun though, and went home with leftovers.
(4)
Michael P.
The food is good, but the service is very nice. I like the attention to service, but not overbearing. Seated quickly on a weekend day, and the place was full. Our server knew the menu and gave a great suggestion for an appetizer. Just a little pricy in my opinion, but would come back here for almost any occasion.
(4)
Sumner H.
Love this place! Great food. Right amount. Reasonable prices. Comes fast. Friendly helpful serving staff. Fun location downtown. My regular order is the Manager's Favorite with Meat and Mizithra. Come early to avoid waiting. But even still, it's worth the wait.
(5)
Leah A.
I'd like to add something about me last visit. After our server cleared our dinner dishes he came to our table with the bill in hand and asked if we wanted any dessert. I said, "Don't our meals come with dessert?" and he said yes and then set the bill on our table (we also still had wine left to drink). He then came back with our spumoni, so we obviously felt extremely rushed to eat our dessert. We thought that was rude and unprofessional. I mean, if the meal includes spumoni, why on earth would the server ask if we "wanted any dessert" (he could have asked if we'd like any desserts OTHER than the spumoni) and proceed to leave the bill with us before he even served us our dessert?! The food was delicious but this service was not acceptable. I certainly hope we do not get this server again.
(3)
Michelle P.
Supposed to be a Denver landmark?? To all of the Denverites out there who love this place....don't take anyone from out of town to dine here and tell them about how awesome this place is because all of your foodie credibility will barrel down a snowy Rocky Mountain slope like an avalanche! I lived here for a few years back in the 80's and I remembered people talking about this place like it was somewhere you might go on a special occasion. I thought I was missing out on something special. So I urged a coworker to come here with me during lunch after a long training session at our downtown location. I was somewhat delighted in finally trying this place and now that I think about it, he didn't seem too thrilled. Must have known what I was in for and probably wondered why in the hell I was so aroused at the idea of going! LOL The food was just OK. The service was slow and I am not sure why because we may have been the only people there! The one thing about this place that I liked was the decor. You feel like you are stepping back in time to the wild west. We were sat next to this big trolley car which was cool. On a positive note, this is a good place to take your family. The kids will love it! The prices are very good and the food isn't bad, it's just not up to the quality of my grown-up palate.
(2)
Emma C.
Currently the front part of the restaurant is under construction so they can build an accessible restroom, which is very considerate and didn't interrupt our meal at all. We had a PHENOMENAL server and I feel like a jerk for not remembering his name. But he was extremely attentive, very funny, and all-around awesome. We received all of our appetizers, food, drink refills, dessert, and check in a timely manner and with a smile. The food was...okay. The bread they gave us when we got there was WAY too crunchy. The sauce-to-noodle ratio on everyone in my party's plates was kind of skewed; Dad, Boyfriend and I all had noodles drowning in sauce, while Mom and Sister barely had any. There's some inconsistency from the kitchen that I hope they figure out soon. The pasta itself was good, if not bland. I had to sprinkle a ton of pepper on it to give it any flavor. FREE ICE CREAM. Whooo! Spumoni is always a treat, and it's a perfect, small size for after a big pasta meal. Normally this would be a 3-star review, but because of the awesome service I'm bumping them up a star. I just hope they can get some more consistency from the kitchen, because this really is a cool place and the service is bar none.
(4)
Beau W.
This used to be a great place. It was my first choice for my childhood birthday dinners. I went with my girlfriend and daughter. It was all around boring. I had shrimp and pasta... boring. They had basic American- Italian classics... boring. No flavor to be found. bad service too. This was a tough blow. This was a great place turned bad. They got rid of the sit down Tron and Galaga game as well. The Neapolitan ice cream was no consolation. This is a stinker now. What a shame.
(1)
Mariam V.
What happened to this place? I went a few years ago and it was good, but we went last night and were so disappointed! My Alfredo pasta tasted like watered down sauce...the chicken Marsala was basically a dried piece of chicken, it was awful. To top it off we ordered margaritas that I'm pretty sure had no alcohol in them and when we told our server they tasted weird he said the bar manager won't make us new ones or take them off our bill. Service was crappy but the food was awful! Don't go!
(1)
Tessa F.
Terrible. Seating took forever, no acknowledgement, food was bland, service was incredibly slow for a Monday, was about to pay full price for a premium side salad that the server agreed to sub for the two side salads our meal came with. The one star was because the manager came by in attempt to salvage our visit and offer an $8 discount and also I can't give them lower than one star. Never again, Olive Garden all the way.
(1)
Michelle S.
I enjoy the food but the service is HORRIBLE! Went in for dinner tonight and for two of us it took an hour and a half...we didn't even need to look at the menu as we knew what we wanted and the place was pretty dead. We waited a while for our server to greet us and when she did she was so distracted it was like she didn't want to wait and listen to our order. Our drinks didn't come until we were done with our appetizer. We finally asked someone up front to find our server as we had been done with our dinner for nearly 15 minutes. If you don't care about service this is a good place to go but if you have limited time go somewhere else!
(2)
Melody H.
I'm from Denver and used to go here as a kid and loved it. However, I recently went with my husband and it was awful. It was noisy, crowded and the food looked and tasted as if it came from a cafeteria. I've made better spaghetti at home. The waitress was nice, but she was overworked and it showed.
(1)
Llesena L.
So awful. Never eating here again. Everything tasted canned or frozen. We got the New England clam chowder. Worst clam chowder either me or my husband has had. He got spaghetti and meatballs. Meatballs were overlooked and the same nasty canned tasting sauce. I got the spinach ravioli. Pasty and a little sauce splattered to one side of the ravioli. They were barely lukewarm. Little Cesar's has better cheesy bread lol and apparently we were supposed to get a loaf of regular bread which we never received. $33 I highly regret spending on top of a $6 tip. And $10 we had to pay for parking. Almost $50 for one of the worst meals we've ever had at a restaurant!
(1)
Michael P.
I love this place! I've been going there since I was a kid and have never been disappointed. I love the atmosphere and the food is really good. The only thing that I would offer as a criticism is that the staff seem a little overwhelmed every time I've come in to dine (lunch and dinner, weekdays and weekends). Understaffed maybe? Certainly seating and serving could be better managed.
(4)
Stephanie S.
It's been a tradition of sorts, for me to come here every year for my birthday, been doing this for about 10+ years now... Most times it's a crapshoot, it can be great, or abysmal... The garlic cheese bread is delicious always. Served with a tasty chunky marinara. The broccoli with mazithra cheese is to die for! We always have 7+ people in our party so we get at least one if not two large orders of this broccoli! My entree for years has been the brown butter and mazithra cheese! If you've never had this you need to try this amazing dish!! I LOVE IT!! My tip is to ask for extra brown butter, they're not too generous with the butter, and I don't like "dry" pasta... At the end of your meal you get to choose between vanilla or spumoni ice cream! As a whole you can't go wrong with the spaghetti factory! Pretty great meals, dessert, and sides for great prices! Atmosphere is fun, and there is always a person doing balloon animals for the kids, for free (tips are appreciated though ;) ), so all in all go for pretty tasty food, great prices, and the fun of the place! It's an experience that everyone should have! :D
(5)
Trent G.
I'm not going to write to Mario and Luigi about Old Spaghetti Factory, but I will write a 3-star Yelp review about it. My wife has been going on and on about how awesome this place was for her growing up, but I'd never been until recently. I liked the trolley car and some of the atmosphere, but gave an outdated vibe more than a historic landmark vibe. The food was good, but nothing too special. Chicken parmesan was good, and the brown butter noodles with cheese had a lot of great flavor. The garlic cheese bread to start tasted a little "just out of the freezer package," but the marinara with it was tasty. Caesar dressing on the salad tasted a bit too tangy for my liking. Wine selection is limited, but the markup is low, so some good prices. Came out of there for around $45 with wine, so not a bad night out. Didn't come out too stuffed either, which is always a relief. So, I wouldn't cast this place down the warp tube, but it's not raising my castle flag all the way either. Worth giving a shot and finding out for yourself.
(3)
Aimee L.
You can't beat the lunch specials here! A quick lunch with co-worker or friends is totally doable. If you haven't tried it in awhile you should give it a chance again.
(4)
Colorado N.
Haven't been here in years. It used to be one of our favorite special places to take our kids when they were little because spumoni is included with the meal - and my kids thought that was magical. We went here last night and it was pretty good but I was kind of disappointed. The service was slow though it wasn't very busy. The bread and salads took quite a while. The pasta came out almost cold. We went there for old times' sake and it was still pretty charming. Not sure if I'll come again but maybe they had an off night.
(3)
Mary F.
Good meal for a fair price and great for children We have eaten at many OSF since we ate at the first one we found in the 1980's in St. Louis and ate there with our preteen children.. Since we moved to Denver in 1999 we find this a great place to take our grandchildren and good for an entertaining evening for out-of-town relatives and friends. We have eaten at the OSF in over 20 locations now- the most recent out-of-town one was in Vancouver last May. The basic meals are good and filling. Occasionally the salad lettuce does look old but that is not true for the most part. No, the spaghetti is not made there but the sauces are wonderful. We usually pick the manager's favorite so we can have two different sauces on the plate. I'd say that we have had good to great service over 98% of the time in all the locations. It was a great find in Honolulu since food is very expensive in Hawauu but not at OSF. We now look for OSF whenever we visit a new city for one of the meals while there.
(4)
Patrick S.
This place takes me back to my childhood! I wanted to introduce my husband to a place I hadn't been to since I was a teenager. We were not disappointed! Upon entering this historic building you got a feel that this was going to be a comforting experience. It's a chain, yes...but you tend to forget this. The dining room is divided in a way where a large group doesn't interfere with a quiet couple's lunch. We were graciously greeted and our waiter Mike soon arrived. We had already perused the menu, and our order was promptly placed. We enjoyed our salads, bread, and entrees immensely! Is it fancy? No. Is it old-school, traditional Italian? Oh yes!!! The salads were what you would expect--simple, but satisfying. The entrees: tasty and filling! And for dessert....I was almost giddy when the spimoni ice cream arrived in a chilled silver dish--just like I remembered! My husband savored every bite of the mud pie--we were both smiling at the end! We WILL be back!
(5)
Amanda N.
I love this place. The service can be hit or miss, especially if they're busy, but the food makes up for it. I love it here, and the ambiance and decor are especially cool. Mizithra cheese - yum! I'm a big fan of their broccoli, and their ravioli is one of my favorites. Great place!
(4)
Jai G.
I'm only giving this 1-star so that I can write a review...PLEASE don't waste your time or money. You walk in the door and only smell old mildewy carpet, no Italian food. The hostess seemed bothered by everything, the waitress needs serving etiquette classes, and the food was disgusting. Go to Olive Garden.
(1)
Cody H.
It's alright. Tastes very corporate food. Waiter can't even accept the fact I'm deaf and consistently stands behind my back yakking away on what I'd like to order. Blacklisted! Not a deaf friendly spot.
(2)
Shannon T.
I was an Old Spaghetti Factory fan when I lived in St. Louis and have been to this one in Denver twice before. Tonight after a small party, my husband and I stopped by as we were in downtown Denver. I didn't know they closed at 10:30pm and it was a little bit before 10pm. I know, I know. I was one of those tonight. But I've worked in the food industry before and everything tonight was completely unacceptable. If you close at 10:30pm, you take that 10:29pm customer and you treat them like a customer that comes in at 12:00pm. We had to wait a little for a table which was strange but thankfully we weren't the only people there, there were still some stragglers. Our waitress was very set on getting us out, understandable but she didn't have to be so rude. Everything took longer than I would've thought and it would've made sense if they were cooking it fresh since I'm sure they were closing the kitchens but everything was ice cold. Yes, I'm sorry I came in 40 minutes before you closed but did you really have to give me cold, old food? I'm really disappointed with my experience here. I've never really had a bad experience in my life time at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Think I'll just stick to the one in St. Louis.
(2)
Glen B.
The best things about this place are the building, it's history, the trolley and other interesting artifacts inside. The food was ok, but pretty institutional (clearly the salad came out of a bag with nothing added, if there was any of their famous Mizithra cheese on my Spinach & Cheese Ravioli, I couldn't find it), the service not very good (we had to ask to be served after having been seated for 15 minutes). Too bad, I used to enjoy coming here.
(2)
Court Z.
I love the old spaghetti factory. Wonderful place to take the kids. They absolutely love sitting in the old trolley. Service started out a bit rough. Took 15 minutes before someone acknowledged us at our table, but they recognized and owned their mistake, giving us several complimentary items and apologizing profusely. Food was really good. I had the mizithra brown butter noodles. Very rich and delicious. Our family loves this place and tries to make it out here several times a year.
(4)
Chuck L.
I hope you like salty, school cafeteria quality spaghetti, because that's what they serve here. I expected a lot more from a restaurant that specializes in.... wait for it... spaghetti. I'm no pasta snob either, but this was bad. My spaghetti with meat sauce had a strange metallic flavor. I pictured some dirty guy in the back opening a large Costco-size can of expired gov't tomato sauce and then dumping a bag of salt in it to try to improve the flavor. That's how amazing it tasted... at $13 a serving. Even my son rejected the kid's pasta. The only cool thing about the restaurant is that you can dine in an old street car.
(1)
Sarah S.
I love that they have gluten free options now! Wish they had gluten free bread for the table...but maybe one day! The food was good, as usual, and the atmosphere is so unique. I love it here. Lunch prices are fantastic with perfect portions. My one bad comment is that the changing table in the women's restroom is extremely high. I'm 5'3 and the table was about my chest height and made changing my daughter difficult...can only think that a man must have installed it! :p
(5)
Jamie L.
So, neither of us had been here in YEARS. Probably closer to a decade. We'd heard rumblings lately of OSF, good ones. We didn't know where to go on a cold, snowy Sunday night. Comfort Food. Semi-Date-Night. Denver-ish. Off to Old Spaghetti Factory we go. I did call ahead, and make a "reservation" about an hour ahead of time, (Perhaps call-ahead seating?) and we were greeted promptly and seated up in the Trolley! Yay! We'd scoped the menu out online, and knew the drill. Fresh Bread (tasted like Sourdough to me, and we plowed through that whole loaf!), Salad (or Soup), Iced Tea, and Spumoni come with the meals. My baby got his standard: Pasketti and Meatballs. ($9.50ish) I just had to try the Miz... Mitzi... MIzthra... Whatever, the Cheese and Browned Butter with Spaghetti. I opted for the Garlic option, with Garlic, Mushrooms, and Bacon. ($11.25) We both upgraded to the Caesar Salad for $1.25, and were very glad we did. Our server had just been slammed with 3 tables at once, and was very clearly stressing, but in a customer-centric sort of way. He made eye contact and assured us he would be with us shortly, with a smile, twice. So all was good. Oh! And the Man also tried the French Vanilla Italian Soda in the "Colorful Keepsake Glass!!!" He was in Heaven. He ordered two, and wanted more. Suffice it to say, I now have French Vanilla Syrup, Milk, and San Pellegrino in the house. (At $4 apiece, these babies can get steep, so keep that in mind.) Our salads came out, and the Caesar dressing was tangy with anchovy, which we love, and the salad was topped with copious amounts of shredded cheese. I think he and I more INHALED our salads rather than savored. We got our meals and had to remind the server about the bread... which was "Still in the oven." But we forgave him that fib as soon as we coated that hot loaf with soft butter and bit into it. Whatever, Dude, just keep 'em coming! The Man loved his Pasketti and Meatballs... In fact, he FINISHED it all, which I RARELY see. I did manage to snag a bite of both sauce and meatball. I liked the sauce, chunky with tomatoes and good flavor. The meatballs were also tasty, but being a home-cook-meatball-Goddess, I just don't think it's fair for me to comment on restaurant meatballs. I mean, we all know mine are better. He liked 'em, and that's what counts. My Garlic...Miz...Mizthi... um, CHEESE and Browned Butter was interesting. It was good, but too rich and buttery for me to eat in one sitting. But I did enjoy it! The bacon... well, what can you say about bacon? It makes ANYTHING better. I will say that the dish could have been enhanced with MORE of the Mushrooms (Maybe use Baby 'Bellas, guys? Even Papa Johns has caved and uses them!) and more of the Cheese. When I reheated the leftovers at home, I crumbled in some Queso Fresco (Hey, man, it was in the fridge) and added fresh ground black pepper. That upped the Noms Factor considerably. Wow, this review is a novel. And I've not even gotten to dessert. Free Ice Cream. Who complains about that? ~*The End*~
(4)
Mary K.
This has been a family fave for years. I always order the Mizithra & Brown Butter. They have a new menu...higher $s & an item called Garlic Mizithra-which promises bacon & mushrooms. What could be better?...They should've named it Salted Mizithra. Inedible! Word of advice....don't ruin a classic. The waiter, who was hovering a bit before our food arrived, all but vanished afterward. I can only assume this was because my mountain of pasta remained untouched. Sadly, what I desperately needed was water, to help me swallow the salt. We will be back, but we have no intention from straying off the tried & true menu ever again.
(3)
johnny d.
if i didn't have kids, i would loathe the place, but as a parent, it's nice to know you can go to a place and let the kids wreak total havoc, have food fights & melt down without worrying what the table next to you thinks - they are doing the same. yeah, the food pretty much blows (fazoli's drive-through caliber spaghetti) but there's a big market for this type of offering. the staff are usually rough around the edges (wine service?) as i too would be if i had to wait on miserable couples and their bombastic toddlers. so if you bring a date here you're not using your head - this place doesn't exist for you, it exists for parents. if you can make better pasta (big achievement) stay home and do so - this place is not for you. a single person without children bitching about the OSF is like me complaining about the wine selection at shotgun willie's. the remarks about fat people dining here to fatten up their kids are pretty typical of twenty-something club-hoppers - let's see how these chicks look in their 30's after 2 or 3 pregnancies, and where they dine out with their kids....after getting thrown out of sushi den with their unruly children, i bet we see them at the Ol' Spag factory, choking back the vinegary house chianti, bitching about the parents at the next table over... but beware, my wife and i are watching for ya...and if you harsh our mellow you'll get a plate of mizithra frisbee'd at your head...
(3)
Russ N.
This is one of my favorite restaurants. The price is great and the food is great. I moved here from Portland, OR where the Old Spaghetti Factory started and the Denver, CO restaurant doesn't fall short of it's history. The building that the Old Spaghetti Factory is in sets the atmosphere well. Highly recommend for anyone who wants good Italian food (with a "shortened" menu) and a good time downtown.
(5)
John F.
Had a nice B'day dinner with friends. Was nice. Service was attentive and friendly be the food was ... Spaghetti. Everybody seemed to enjoy their meal. I had spaghetti a/ meat sauce and Italian sausage - yummy. Not sure what the ney sayers were expecting, but the place is cool and a good value.
(4)
JoAnne H.
I was put on hold 3 times, the manager will be right with you. Then the manager, Tim put me on hold then came back after 5 minutes and said he was not taking reservations they were too busy. Why couldn't he or anyone of those idiots tell me that the first time I called?
(1)
D. A.
This is not the first Spaghetti Factory Ive been to. The one in San Jose, CA. is fantastic. However this was by far the worst. The ambiance was phenomenal, even if you weren't eating there its worth popping your head in. The old woodwork is incredible. The service was the worst part. Our waitress had no business being in food service. It was like being waited on by someone struggling with Alzheimers. She greeted us and got our drink orders then disappeared for 20 min. yes 20 effing minutes!!! As I have worked in food service before I have ample amounts of grace for the business, even to a fault. But she had 5 tables in her section and it looked like all were getting the same treatment. At least shes consistent. When she came back with the drinks she forgot a drink and the straws. The adults were ok but it was messy to have the kids drink from the holes in the cup lids. Anyway, the speed of service continued the whole time. I figure once she assumed she wasnt getting a big tip she gave up. Thanks lady. (oh and servers the excuse "The kitchens backed up" only works if the place is goddamn busy, in this case it wasnt) The food was on par with olive garden. I got the spinach ravioli. But I recommend the Mithra cheese and browned butter. That was good. Denver OSF it was a long 2 hours. Thanks /s
(1)
Ellie M.
This is my favorite restaurant that I've ever been to for several reasons: 1) It is kid and family friendly. I have been coming here since I was fairly young and still enjoy the atmosphere. It is a large enough building so that the presence of younger children is not overwhelming if you're on a date or with a small group. 2) With the purchase of an entree both a dinner salad and spumoni ice cream are included. BEST spumoni I have ever tasted inside the US. 3) The atmosphere is fun and exciting Tough the spaghetti is only slightly above average tasting, their alfredo sauce is phenomenal and the dessert at the end definitely makes up for it!
(4)
Ben S.
The Old Spaghetti Factory's food tastes as good as the name, OLD! I'm shocked I didn't get food poisoning. Whoever reads this and considers going to this place save your money and your gut. I'm not sure how anyone can review this place better than an "Eek!"? Honestly, college cafeteria food is several steps up from the OSF - I can confidently say that I'll never be back. They couldn't pay me to eat there again.
(1)
Brian J.
Lasagna is great and so is the Mizithra and browned butter. Have been to many different ones all over the country and have always liked it.
(5)
Amy W.
Good place to take out-of -towners, tourists, and kids. I have had better food, but the atmosphere is unique and has historical value to Denver. It's not the best food, but again...it's unique. I am a Native of Denver- if this place ever goes...Casa Bonita needs to go with it!
(2)
priya k.
I fell in love with this place, I love Denver I actually dint now that this was a franchise and they had few of them in California. Anywaz, I had marasla pasta which was soo good, and its cheaper than cheese cake factory, and olive garden. I would definitely go back their for the food, and great customer service, and nice decor.
(5)
Brandon O.
In the 3 times we have been to the Old Spaghetti Factory...Twice we waited over 45 minutes for our meals. It's pasta people! 2 people ordering spaghetti and meatballs should not take that long. Then just recently we tried again and we waited 15 minutes after being seated and no one approached us. I could understand if the place was busy and there was a line out the door but it was 9pm on a Thursday...the place was empty. I went to complain to the 2 young guys that looked like managers but they stood there like deers in headlights. They had no response. So if you have nothing better to do but sit around and stare at fake Victorian decor then The Old Spaghetti Factory is your place.
(1)
Pat A.
Spaghetti? In an old factory? Just when you thought you've seen it ALL. WHHAAA WHHHAAA WHHHHHAAAAATTT?!?!?! WOW!! I ate my DINNER in an old cable car. No, I'm not one of the crazy hobos that hangs out outside of this place begging you for left overs, but you might think that if you've never been to this place. I'm Joe Everyday Patron of the SPAGHETTI FACTORY in the trendy "lodo" area of downtown Denver. This must be how the girls in sex and the city feel!
(5)
Daniel R.
The Old Spaghetti Factory is a must for any person living in Denver or in the downtown area. The scenery is really awesome and the lighting inside is dark and fluorescent which can make it a potential place for a date. For starters do not order the salmon even if you want to be healthy. It doesn't taste that great and the fettucini alfredo served with it will balance out your efforts to eat healthy. Instead try out their creative spinach tortellini stuffed with cheese, or the grand vegetarian lasagna. You will love every bit of these and you will be willing to pay for every cent they're worth. Also, if you come here be nice to the waitresses because one time this lady tried to charge me fifty cents for the croutons on my salad? I've never heard of this, but that was the first and only time something that ridiculous has ever happened to me. For desert you have to get the spumoni ice cream. It's absolutely perfect in it's tiny little round dish and just one serving will keep you satisfied.
(4)
Penelope W.
What a kool name and mental image, right? Just from learning the name, should you be impressed with this place. The Spaghetti serves one thing, spaghetti...with salad, soup and bread of course. And after that, delicious ice cream! Come here for delightful LODO charm, such as folks carryin' on around in horse toting carts wearnin' Aspen's finest threads to give this area a real Denva flav! You may experience a bit of a wait when dining a restaurant like the Spaghetti Factory. This place is popular! And for the right reasons. Come for a romantic spaghetti Dinner with a date of interest but watch out for those carbs! Better just get the soup and salad BUT still come for the ambiance.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Street Bike Parking : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Touristy Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
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.
matt a.
The food is mediocre. Do not order your food to go. The first time, they screwed up my order by not giving extra sauce on side (they hardly put sauce on their pasta) and the (warm) bread was cold. So I complained that I spent $22 on a meal and expect it to be right. The manager tells me she will mail me a gift card for an entree ($10). One week later I receive it, despite the fact that I live across the street (the manager claimed they ran out of stamps). So then I go back and the person brings out my food and the order is wrong again. No side salad and no bread for the pasta. Of course I was home when I noticed. All the guy had to do was check the bag and he would have seen the order was incomplete. I will never go back there again. Not worth paying around $20 for an entree and side that is mediocre, even when they get the order right!
(2)David G.
The old perennial. We had a large party - about 35 people with reservations. Everyone was seated immediately and the friendly wait staff was helpful and always on hand. I had the gluten free pasta with meat sauce and a sausage and was happily surprised with the pasta. Most gluten free fare falls apart but this was al dente and tasted like, well, pasta. The sausage was rather plain but I figure they go for the middle of the road on their spices. Adding crushed red peppers brought out more of its flavor. I really go there for the rich woodwork anyway.
(4)Jennifer W.
Tonight was my first trip here. I was not impressed by the service. The decor on the the other hand took my breath away. Tiffany glass and lamps, old furniture and beautiful wood. Very antique place. The staff acted as if they were not at work. Not rude to us but to loud and playful with each other. I suppose this could be a good or bad thing. My waiter was over worked. It took a long time to get our food and check. He was very apologetic and let us know the manager had him working the floor and bar so I was understanding. I love Italian food because you usually get a lot of it in your entree. My garlic shrimp fettuccine had 6 shrimp and little pasta. Funny thing is the pasta seemed over cooked and slightly dry and bland. Though the shrimp were plump and juicy I felt I didn't get what $14 at an Italian place should get. The mousse cake was also kind of dry and more bitter than sweet. Over all the place was beautiful just like downtown, the food was not worth the price and the staff was to frantic and playful with each other. It made me slightly uncomfortable. I give 3 stars for the decor alone.
(3)Douglas R.
We dropped in during a downpour and 50 bucks later I should have got wet going elsewhere. I was excited to be there as I remember it being a good place to eat. For starters the bread was cold and hard. The salads when they finally came were nothing to write home about. My son and I got our entree's first it was 15 minutes before my wife's came out. My son said the mac and cheese at KFC was better. I ordered the spaghetti Vesuvius I was not impressed the meat was overcooked and the sauce was very bland. I couldn't finish it. My wife got the lasagna and it somewhat passed as edible. Definitely a thumbs down. Terrible food and service. I don't believe I will go back.
(1)julie n.
The decor inside is nice with an old town feel. There is a train caboose i the middle of the restaurant where people can actually sit. The food is just ok. I would say Olive Garden had better food. The pasta is runny, chicken is dry, and service is slow. We had a party of 20. Our waiter was training someone and he could not keep up. When the 20 dishes came out, they called out each dish and spent 2 minutes trying to figure out whose was whose. A better system should be developed.
(2)JJ N.
So I had a friend visiting Denver that was a tour guide for a group of special needs adults and they picked the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner one night. (Wouldn't have been my first choice but?) The first thing that struck me was the decor and high warehouse ceiling with wood rafters. In some respects I felt like I was in an old library or house in NYC. You can sit in a trolley car or in a huge four poster bed with friends and have dinner. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the service. Food: If you are looking for a good red sauce or great Italian food this is probably not the place for you. The food got the job done and there was plenty of it. Place is very reasonably priced as well. Our tab for 11 people was $130 and everyone was stuffed with leftovers.
(3)Dominic C.
My girl and I were downtown and hungry for Italian. We were closer to the Spaghetti factory than Maggianos so we decided to try it out. The outside of the building makes you think this place will be a little high end...wrong! The moment we stepped in we should've left. Outdated furniture and fixtures supposedly add to the rustic feel of the place? I thought it needed an update big time. We sat within minutes which was nice but immediately I noticed we were the only couple in the restaurant! I should've known then that this wasn't gonna be good. Yeah there's a train, which you can eat in, in the middle of the place but I think only the kids cared about that. I look at the menu and see very few selections and they all look very generic. And I was right! I had the angel hair pomodoro and she had the spinach tortellini. It was like someone made mine as their first Italian meal ever. I could've literally went to the store and made better meal within half hour. My dish was so bland and tasteless I only ate maybe a quarter of it. My girl's dish was barely warm, chewy, and also very bland. This is a novelty place to take your kids on a birthday. They'll love the train and food. Adults on the other hand, are better off staying at home or going to the olive garden. Staff was great, but the food and atmosphere, not so much.
(1)Gary S.
it was better than i thought it would be. some of the reviews werent that great. service was good. the food was ok. could have used more garlic. had a scotch and soda. it was pretty weak.it was not real expensive,for what you got. manager checked on us.
(3)Sherri K.
This is a great spot to take kids downtown. Usually when I'm hanging out downtown I don't have my kids, so this is not someplace I would frequent. That being said, the location is prime real estate. It is a historic building. It is interesting in terms of architecture. The food..not so interesting. I will admit, I am a fan of angel hair pasta, not fat spaghetti. I didn't realize people still ate spaghetti...out...in public. Our service was efficient and friendly. Reminded me of being back in the midwest.
(3)Robin P.
This place is exactly what a person should expect. Nothing more, nothing less. It ain't fancy, yet not a dump. It's somewhere in between. I used to love this place as a kid, but now, I think it should only be reserved for "every once in awhile." Like once in a blue moon. Last time I went for dinner, the wait time was about 40-50 minutes. To be expected on a Saturday night. Especially since there were at least 3 parties with 10 or more people. TEN freakin' people? Are you out of your mind, coming up in here without a reservation and expect to have 10 people seated. Anywho, my dining companions and I sidled up the bar area and wait for our name to be called. I, being the adventurous lil' scamp that I am, order a Rob Roy. The bartender looks at me, a bit confused, and walks away. He comes back a few seconds later and asks, "You wanted the scotch drink, right?" I guess they don't get too many gals in their twenties ordering Scotch. I roll hard. There are some poor chaps walking around offering to make balloon animals. I'd imagine that they work straight off of tips. I had one man make me a balloon peacock (it is currently sitting on my coffee table, slowly deflating, but still holding up. Sort of). The food ain't bad for the prices you pay. I'd recommend the Mizritha Cheese and Browned Butter pasta. That sucker is rich, but you don't feel half bad about yourself as you wolf down the entire plate. I ordered mine with angel hair, but it came out with spaghetti. I sucked it up and ate it because I was not about to send my food back into the pit of despair. But every meal comes with spumoni or vanilla ice cream. Score. Slow service, but that waitstaff must have to put up with a lot of bs, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Ain't coming back soon, but if I have to, it ain't too bad. And try to sit in the trolley car if you can. It's real.
(3)Manuel B.
Went for lunch with some co-workers. We arrived at almost noon and it was pretty empty. The food was average, the coffee was really good, but the service was really slow considering how NOT busy the place was. It started out ok. We received our drinks and had our order taken in a reasonable time. My 3 co-workers were offered soda and tea refills, but the waiter ignored my coffee (which was 1 drink from empty). I had to ask for it after he came back, when it truly was empty. Now is when the waiting began. Took quite a while for the waiter to bring our checks (although he did offer to separate everything up front, without us asking; this was impressive). We got our checks and had our money waiting (so we wouldn't have to wait for him to pick them up). Well he took our payments and again, took quite a while to bring back our cards. I think this may be the biggest reason this place was empty at noon in downtown Denver. Most of their lunch business would come from people working downtown. If the downtown Denver crowd can't get there and back to the office in, or reasonably close to an hour, they won't go.
(2)Annik S.
Yup, a Denver landmark & so felt compelled to take 10-year-old daughter since my office is nearby. But lord it was godawful food with service bordering on surly. Well, did my civic duty (with plenty of leftovers, none taken home).
(2)Brian K.
Love this place! I come here whenever I'm in Denver.
(5)Katie R.
Let me recall the last time I set foot in the Old Spaghetti Factory. hmmm. circa 2003. wow. Went to dinner with Anna R and family, and was surprised as to what I saw, tasted and experienced here. 1. Still a cozy atmosphere, full of unique oak booths and a trolley car :) 2. iceberg salad. cheap and not too classy. romaine or spring mix anyone? 3. About 20 different options to choose from. I chose the chicken parm, which was decent, but not wonderful. 4. overwhelmed staff. despite the fact that it wasn't too busy, we waited numerous times for drinks to be refilled, and apps to arrive. 5.balloon man. unique and funny. he made his rounds to each table, coming up with an interesting balloon to create for them. mine you ask? a sweet pea :) 6. parking. total bitch to find street parking, but i lucked out! despite the weird mix of good and bad, the Old Spaghetti Factory still holds a special place in my heart. :)
(3)willy F.
Cheap reasonable food. $50 for 4 with tip
(3)Rachel J.
I was honestly kind of saddened by my experience here at the Spaghetti Factory. I hadn't been for almost 10 years and was exciting to go back. The location is great, close to the hustle and bustle of downtown Denver. We walked from the Magnolia hotel. The food was above average (really good bread) and you do get a lot for your money. I appreciate that. The service was mediocre. The hostess was not very professional and had us stand to the side while she placed our menus and silverware rather than letting us sit first. The server was nice but didn't seem like she wanted to be there very much. But more than anything, why is the management not keeping this place up? Dim lighting, dusty décor, cracks in the faux leather booths. Dirty, old , crumpled menus. This place needs some major TLC so that it can keep going strong and uphold it's place in Denver history.
(3)Garth E.
Mediocre or maybe a little below mediocre. It's a shame this (chain) restaurant isn't better because it has pretty good atmosphere and the location is pretty good. It's not often you see a mediocre chain restaurant in the heart of the city... Because service is a really important element of my eating experience, I first have to mention that our waitress was awful. I'm not sure if she was just in a really bad mood, but she gave us more attitude than helpfulness and acted as though serving us was a gigantic chore. Well excuse me ma'am, I was under the impression it was your job. Instead of friendly smiles and helpful recommendations, there was eye rolling and attitude. The food is just okay. It tasted pretty good but was extremely salty and unhealthy. Kind of like Italian food meets McDonalds. Tastes okay, but you know there was little if any thought but into it so you enjoy it less. The prices are reasonable, however, and you get bread + salad (they don't have italian dressing or ranch.....as I was rudely informed) + ice cream for dessert at no extra charge. So I guess that's a pretty good deal. If you do go, I'd try the Mizithra Cheese & Brown Butter pasta. I have no idea exactly what kind of cheese this is but it tasted pretty good and was definitely unique. I also tried the meat sauce, which tasted like Prego out of the jar so I'd stick to the Mizithra, which is at least different and maybe worth paying for. At the end of the day, mediocre pasta with jarred sauce is what I eat after a long day of work when I'm too tired to cook. It's not what I eat when I'm going out and for this reason I don't think I'll be back at OSF.
(2)Ali W.
Is this place seriously still in business? I used to like the Old Spaghetti Factory when I was a kid, but I recently ate there again and vowed to never go back. It's JUST SPAGHETTI with RAGU, people! I can make better spaghetti and I can't cook. I've also had better spumoni ice cream. There are so many other places in Denver to get an awesome cheap eat for less than $10. 1 star off: overcooked empty carbs 1 star off: the building looks like a haunted house...go there for Halloween 1 star off: uncomfortable seating 1 star off: fat people stuffing their kids' mouths with empty carbs so that they can look like themselves
(1)Theresa B.
the old spaghetti factory has had a tiny place in my heart since my kiddie days. that nostalgia combined with a search/need for really bad elementary school cafeteria spaghetti that I ABSOLUTELY love brought me to dinner at downtown denver's old spaghetti factory today. I would expect that parking would be bad and that we'd drive a few blocks looking for street-side parking, especially with a rockies game going on, but we found a spot a block up and since it's Sunday, meters were free! the wait for two was advertised at 45mins. we grabbed a menu and took a seat in their waiting area and admired the antique wood and glass work. we were seated in the rail car (yay!) at the 30min point. all entrees come with a choice of soup or salad (salad is mostly iceberg (ugh!) with an option to upgrade to a caesar for +$1.50), mini sourdough loaves with garlic butter, a choice of tea, coffee or milk, and a scoop of ice cream after dinner! we had the garlic mizithra (great tasting but a little dry) and the manager's favorite (meat sauce+mizithra). each plate is in the $10-$12 range. food was good, but not amazing...service was fast. we'll definitely be back. although we don't have any (yet), it seems like a good place for kids. which i don't really understand why...other than the roving balloon lady and plastic kiddy cups...the antiquey decor doesn't seem like it would appeal to children and there aren't any rides to ride or games to feed tokens to. ? well, whatever it is, i loved it enough as a kid to return as an adult...so it must be special in some way.
(4)Alan W.
Why is this place still in business? Oh yeah, it's a chain restaurant. You can't get any worse Italian food, and the service and atmosphere is rather tired and seem to be run by high school kids. I could understand this place would be good for families with young kids, as the food is very bland and simple and there are stuff to keep the kids entertained. The place gets really annoying with the number of parents who could not control their kids. It's bad enough to eat bad Italian food with crummy service, but to sit there exposed to kids running and screaming around the restaurant makes for an awful night. If you want decent affordable Italian food with a more pleasant atmosphere, go to Olive Garden instead... or make your own and get a nice bottle of wine (how could you not screw up pasta).
(1)Don D.
This place has been around since i was a kid. Still good 1-2 times a year. Had spaghetti with Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter. Good and portion just a little larger than really need. Its quite filling. Start out with bread and butter with dinner salad. Appreciate how cold salad is, but recommend you get dressing on as they pour it on. Lady i was with had, Managers special with Brown Butter and Cheese on half and the clam sauce on other half. She mixes together and isn't bad either. Ice tea is a little strong so waitress brought me extra ice without me needing to ask. Appreciate the Spumoni and end of meal. Decor is fine being its in a old Denver Tram building. That goes along with that era. Furniture could use a dusting.
(4)Jojo M.
I've been going here off and on for 15 years; the last time I went was about 2 weeks ago and I think they are slipping. The service was slow, the decor needs an overhaul and the food is very blah. There was virtually no taste to my spaghetti with marinara and the sald was straight out of a bag. Very disappointing. A lot of kids on field trips come here so the noise level can be very annoying.
(2)Susan K.
Beautiful restaurant, never got to finish our meal, before we could enjoy our 3rd bite, a cock roach ran across the table. The manager was very professional but we will not return.
(1)Matt J.
On a recent trip back to Denver, we stopped by here for dinner (mostly for nostalgia having eaten here many times during college). The food is decent. Nothing out of this world in terms of Italian places. But I really do love the Mizthra and brown butter pasta. A long time favorite for me. The decor is fun and the service we had was very good. Overall the prices are good for what you get, the food is good, and the service is good.
(3)Kmberly B.
We had always heard good things about Old Spaghetti Factory and we were too tired to cook, so we went out. The building is beautiful and historic, the inside is meticulously fun and detailed. We sat in the comfy little waiting area and took in the really antique looking atmosphere. After a short wait we were escorted to our table, which was IN a train car!!! They have several different sections of this very large restaurant and each section is fun and exciting in a different way. The food and the service were just above average. It's too bad I can't give 3.5 stars. It was convenient that each of their spaghetti dishes comes as a "Famous Complete Meal" with a small house salad and even a scoop of spumoni.
(3)Kristy R.
Yeah I won't go back here. I would give it 0 stars if it didn't have cool decor. Actually I might go back to stand inside and look at the cool furniture and the old trolly car. The historic value is nice, but that's it. The food was gross and the service sucked. Granted I was with a HUGE group, but they'd reserved a special room for us and knew we were coming. Why is a sparkling rose wine listed under Reds? All I know is that I got the worst wine ever, embraced it cause I'm a winetard and drank straight from the bottle wrapped in the paper placemats. I don't typically hate on restaurants, check my other reviews, but this place is not for me.
(1)Tiffany K.
Typical chain restaurant flair. I agree with most of the reviewers here that the food is okay, but not terrific. The salad was uneventful. The plus side of the whole meal is usually the nice loaf of warm bread, which I always enjoy. I ordered spinach tortellini. Eh. No big reaction, but delicious. Not the best idea to have during a business conference though, because by two I was so sleepy that I needed a little nap. Staff is the same as quoted before by others. They seem under-staffed and not well organized. Or, maybe the staff just needs to brush up on team work. But, it was a Tuesday, so maybe it was just dead time on the staff schedule. There was two wait staff and one host staff, maybe one bus staff. The decor at this restaurant was the same as all the others. Gold rush era/victorian/cat house lampshades and wood furniture. If you've been to one Old Spaghetti factory, then this one will be just like that. No surprises.
(3)Anna R.
Had an impromptu dinner this evening with my family and fellow yelper and cousin Katie R. Just a couple of observations made about Old Spag over my mediocre, but filling lasagna. 1. Meals come with a salad. Salads made with ice-burg lettuce. Now, I am not a salad snob, but my heart dropped a little as I was brought back to my school cafeteria days-even if the salad isn't wilted...ice-burg inherently looks wilted! It's its tragedy. Spinach or mixed greens are much preferred by this yelper. BUT, enough about salad already...now to balloon man! 2. O O O balloon man. People are sure nice aren't they?I know he was working for tips as he rounded our table, but he was pleasant and engaging enough to at least be well received at our table. He was mighty silly. I walked away with an apple(i don't really know..."apple of my father's eye" i think), Katie R took home a sweet pea(i don't really know about that one either...jk jk) and my brother scored a weird hat(read into that what you will) 3. Please order the cheese garlic bread appetizer! It was divine and decently priced. 4. The really nice thing about Old Spag is its "mood lighting". You do feel like you enter into an underground Italian bistro-soft lighting, red velvet rawwr!, dark oak...you catch my drift. And as I proudly paraphrase my grandmother here...it is all about the mood lighting...she says, this is how you get people to talk.-people don't have to worry about their wrinkles being magnified by the fluorescent lighting above . And converse we did! way after we finished eating, still gabbing...and never did I sense our waiter trying to scooch us along-he even offered to refill my brother's soda. Kind.
(3)Todd F.
I am sitting here eating lunch after eating lunch at OSF. I ordered a "lunch size" salad, but when it arrived it was more like side-salad-sized with some extra stuff on top. So I ended up going home and eating lunch again. Have you ever had your plate put in front of you and you get that crestfallen feeling and you ask yourself something like "where's the food? Why did I even bother coming here today?" That is sort of how I felt.
(3)Alden C.
I think my actual review would be 2.5 stars. The food was not horrible but the spaghetti that I had kind of lacked zing in the sauce. Other than that the rest of the time I spent here was ok.
(2)Melanie X.
My family went here for dinner on a visit to Denver in September. We were so disappointed. The place was dirty, practically every table was piled with dirty dishes. While we were waiting to have our orders taken one of the servers who apparently had just gotten off work walked past us with his work shirt thrown over his shoulder and just an undershirt on. My husband ordered a salad and was later told that they were out of one of the ingredients. My husband decided to cancel his order but the waitress was no where to be found. The food was average but I think just sitting in the midst of a completely dirty restaurant made everything else bad. I did send a message to their headquarters and received a quick response. The manager called me and listened to comments about the restaurant. He wanted us to let them have another chance at their restaurant and said he would send some coupons for us to try them again in our city...never got them. Need I say more?
(1)Michelle S.
The salad and bread were wonderful! I absolutely love that you get a little desert with your meal, and so did my 3 year old son. I honestly wasn't overly impressed with the spaghetti though, considering that is their specialty! They overloaded my noodles with waaaaay too much sauce and the flavor just wasn't that amazing. The atmosphere is very cool, but the service also was not that great....
(2)Billy F.
I've been waiting here for thirty minutes now and still don't have my salad and barely just got my water. The service here is a joke and it is very disappointing.
(1)Paul M.
I've been going here most of my life. It still had good food at a great price. Always a great date place. Amazing atmosphere!
(4)Joe F.
Are you supposed to give a chain restaurant that doesn't try to be anything it isn't more than four stars? If you rate is purely on your experience, I suppose you can. I went there with a group recently while in town on business and we had the place virtually to ourselves. I wasn't drinking that night so ordered an Italian soda and got to keep the glass as a souvenir - which made my workmates instantly jealous. Plus, when we were ready to go our waitress brought me a clean glass to take home because she knew I was in town on business and couldn't wash the dirty one. In short, very nice people here - good basic food (nothing special) and with prices that match. Unless you're a foodie looking for something spectacular, there's no reason not to go to this place. Why not?
(5)Jason N.
Don't listen to the haters. This is my favorite place to eat in the entire world. I have had nothing but the spaghetti and meat sauce ever, but it was been the "most perfect" food to me for thirty years. The Denver version of the Old Spaghetti Factory is fantastic. It has so much of the "old building/eclectic" charm that the newer Spaghetti Factories have deviated from. I used to eat at the original restaurant in Portland, and this one goes a long way to capturing it's spirit. The prices are great, the food is fantastic. Call ahead for seating because it can get busy.
(5)St F.
Scene 1: It is the early 1970's. Denver just tore down its entire downtown and replaced it with hundreds of acres of parking lots so that it would be more user-friendly to car driving suburbanites. A family from Aurora easily finds parking and takes their child to The Spaghetti Factory for his birthday. He is delighted, finding Spaghetti with Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese a la Homer similar to macaroni and cheese, his current favorite food in the world. Scene 2: One year later. It's a birthday party for the kid again. He's still delighted having waited all year to get that mizithra dish, even though he doesn't know who Homer was. (The Iliad was out of print or something I guess, and Matt Groenig hadn't penned the first Life In Hell yet, much less The Simpsons.) Three teenaged employees sing Happy Birthday and the kid is suitably embarassed. For several years the boy's dad, a military man, gets transferred here and there and everywhere. Years go by. Eventually the dad manages to get himself transferred back to his favorite base: Denver. Scene 3: It's the eighties. The boy wears OP and Izod although he's not considered cool enough by his peers to be a preppie or jock. He plays in the marching band and lusts naively after the head cheerleader, unaware that cheerleaders don't go for the boys in the band. He still spends most of his birthdays at The Old Spaghetti Factory. What can I say, the kid is consistent...if not in need of a little imagination. Yep, you guessed it, Mizithra a la Homer every time. Scene 4: He's nearly pushing thirty. Marching band has given way to rock bands and seedy bars. There's been a few brushes with fame and infamy. He's about to move to the coast and drags his friend, despair and a few other cynical goth friends to the Spaghetti Factory. They all enjoy the kitschy fun of being a table full of wierdos in such a family friendly establishment. Wonderful. At least the kid finally has a girlfriend. Several years later an ongoing series of health problems finally get diagnosed as Celiac Disease and the man tries to comprehend his allergy to gluten and a new life without wheat and several other grains. Scene 5: It's the year 2008. After a few illustrious careers the couple returns to Denver. They're still together, only now with a little less goth and a little less angst. While driving through downtown he notices The Old Spaghetti Factory and thinks they're out of business because of the huge FOR LEASE sign on the building. It's just as well since he'll never be able to eat the spaghetti again anyway. A month after they move in to their new home a friend mentions they've got gluten free options at Spaghetti Factory. "Didn't they close?" "No, I just ate there last night. That's how I knew about the gluten free." Scene 6: About a week later: "Hey despair, wanna have dinner at Spaghetti Factory?" "Yeah!" "How long has it been since you ate there?" "I think it was that time before you moved away something like fifteen years ago." Yep. You guessed it. Although sometime in the last decade-plus they dropped the "a la Homer" bit. Now it's just "Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter". Still the same recipe. The kid is now me. I had it with the chicken marsala. Now, I could mention the marsala sauce should have more wine or the brown butter & mizithra would be even better with chopped organic garlic and a little fresh basil, but this isn't the kind of place to get all snooty about that kind of thing. This is a menu that has been essentially the same since before I was born and is reproduced almost exactly in locations all over the country now. It is not intended for connoisseurs. It's simple and cheap and can be prepared by the least trained chefs. This kitchen is not like the one you saw in Ratatouille with sauciers, sommeliers, and sous chefs. The servers don't know French and they won't memorize your order. They may even bring you the wrong dessert or forget you wanted ranch not vinaigrette. Thomas Keller doesn't come here. Ever. But somebody at Old Spaghetti Factory saw a profitable market in celiacs like me and changed the menu that never changes. They now offer gluten-free and I am delighted! And it's not even my birthday. - Silly Ack
(3)Sarah G.
Service was defiantly not the best, felt neglected by waiter, and food came out slow, and cold. We had to wait for are check for about 15 minutes only to find the waiter, again, finishing up his side work. Two stars.
(2)Gerry E.
I have eaten at this chain before, and I love these places..... the food is great, the atmosphere is wonderful, and the service was very good.
(4)Kevin B.
Not very good. Nice place, good service, but totally bland food. I could make better spaghetti at home. Best thing about the meal was the ice cream that was included in the price of the meal. It wasn't terrible.
(2)Raymond K.
Total mouthgasm! Nothing more needs to be said.
(5)Chad H.
Great ambiance and perfect for the kids!
(4)Jason S.
The Mrs. loves this restaurant and I love here so I'm indulgent. That being said, you have to dig the atmosphere here. It has the feel of a place that was furnished through garage/estate sales. And, as a nice bonus for me, they offer whole wheat pasta and a decent vegetarian sauce. The beer selection is atrotious. It's a fun place to take a kid or someone who is a child inside.
(3)J P.
The decor was creepy. The atmosphere and service was uncomfortable, I've had a better salad on a domestic flight, and my pasta was luke-warm. My mistake.
(1)Jelena W.
Sean's review made me laugh- I, too, as a child, thought the Old Spaghetti Factory was truly and old spaghetti factory in Denver that was turned into a restaurant. Until in middle school my class took a trip to California, and I found myself dining at the Monterrey Old Spaghetti Factory. My heart was broken, but my belly was happy. On to the present. What's that buzzing sound? Oh, that's just Dr. Atkins spinning in his grave upon seeing my tastes in food. Pasta, bread, and sweets. I don't really care, though- I'm not overweight, and as long as I keep my portions moderate, I don't think I'm likely to become so. The Old Spaghetti Factory is no top pasta parlor with dishes worthy of fireworks; nor is it the hot date spot it would like to be when it grows up. What it is, is reliably tasty comfort food with something to appeal to any diner.
(4)Vanessa B.
I am not a fat woman with fat children, and think some of the reviews below are ridiculous. I wonder what one expects from a chain called Old Spaghetti Factory, featuring a balloon animal guy, old trolley car and Ice cream with every meal? Be kind, and consider your expectations before you tear a place apart. We came to OSF for dinner because it was Grandparent's Day and my 1 and 3 year old sons "took thir grandparents out" for free. (Grandparents, check out grandparents.com for cool bargains like this!). This restaurant was a winner. Our server was sweet and patient, service was quick. Gluten free menu is available. My sons ate every course, loved the witty cooled aged balloon animal guy, and the adults all found our food to be just fine. Would we come to this restaurant for a date night? Probably not. But for kids, or larger parties, or tourists, it was fun and kitschy and affordable. Both sons deemed it their new favorite. Definitely more tolerable than Casa Bonita, from a food perspective. ;)
(4)Michele H.
It is what it is. Cheap food for kids. We took the kids here one night as they have a great balloon guy (he is seriously very entertaining) and gf pasta. We sat in the trolley car which the kids thought was fun. The pasta is tasteless (DeBoles) but the kids thought it was great with marinara sauce. I had the gf pasta with mizithra cheese and browned butter and honestly, the pasta wasn't over cooked and it came out okay. I did order the house salad which was literally iceburg lettuce and a few pieces of cabbage. It was really gross. Overall, I would go again just for the kids.
(3)Sean J.
Old Spaghetti Factory and myself have a love-hate relationship...alright, hate is quite dramatic, but our relationship is veering that way. From the time I was a kid until recently, it seemed that every time family came from out of town, my family and my relatives would all meet at Old Spaghetti Factory. Even as a little kid (for the sake of understanding, littler than I am now) I appreciated the old first half of the 20th century-style restaurant, but what I didn't understand was picturing myself in a Great Gatsby setting, having never heard of the book. Every kid will want to sit in the caboose that's located inside the restaurant. People will enjoy the high comfy chairs and the dimly-lit dining room. What may not be as enjoyed is above average, but not exceptional food. There's nothing about the food that stands out in my mind having touched my sensitive and discerning taste buds. I mean if you want spaghetti, then you can get spaghetti. If you want other pasta, I'm sure you can get other pasta. If you're looking for the perfect date with the ambiance that will win your mate's heart, I myself would distract you from going here. If you want a fun place to take the kids or out-of-town relatives, check it out. You may appreciate it. Back to the love-hate relationship. I always thought that the Old Spaghetti Factory was unique to Denver and to myself. Little did I know as a young, innocent, naive kiddo. When I was driving down First Street in St. Louis, I was stunned when I saw another Old Spaghetti Factory - they had stolen it from me and my Colorado upbringing. I was heart-broken when I found out there are dozens of these in the West.
(4)Denver D.
I went here about 2 weeks ago. I went with a friend around 9:30pm on a Saturday night, so this may have been why the service sucked. It took our server over ten minutes to come over and greet us, and when he did we ordered the all you can eat "soup and salad". He told us we could not, it was only for lunch. I pointed out on the menu it clearly says for "lunch or dinner". When I showed him this he said, "Well I dont know if my boss will let me"! Needless to say that was a red flag for me to not go back. We did get the soup and salad and it tasted okay, but I will not be returning.
(2)Lauren H.
I always loved this place but I will never be back. I came in to eat Sunday June 14th before closing and the host wouldn't sit me. She was absolutely rude and I've never been treated that way especially at a place like this. I always drive here after work and it has never been an issue and I've never been told I couldn't be seated. She's short, unprofessional, and should definitely be fired for terrible customer service. I'll be calling management asap tomorrow. Sad to say I'll never be back as long as she's there.
(1)Robert G.
This place has a unique atmosphere, great for a first date. It's an interesting place with lots of things to talk about. We got to sit in a trolley car they have inside the restaurant. It's was neat. The food wasn't anything special. We had the spinach tortellini with pomodoro sauce and a meat sauce pasta. The spinach tortellini was dry and tasted like flour. It lacked flavor and did not taste like the chicken-meat stuffing it was supposed to have. The first thing that came to mind after my first bite was "this pasta tastes like I imagine the color green tastes like". The meat sauce pasta was a little better. The meat sauce tasted like it was supposed to, but it wasn't anything I'd recommend to a friend. In my opinion it was a little too salty. We were seated right away and were able to sit in the trolley car. After being shown to our table we didn't see a server for about 20 minutes. Service was slow all night. It was about 45 minutes besides we even got bread on the table.
(3)Kelsie H.
Yummm We had artichoke dip for appetizer and the complimentary bread and butter. Then we all had soup/salad that was complimentary. I personally had the salad with their special dressing and it was very good. I had the managers special and it was very good. Then afterwards we had the spumoni ice cream, complimentary. Didnt leave hungry, that's for sure!!!
(4)Ann C.
Was a bit wary because of recent reviews, but my fiance and I had a great meal here. Our waiter, Darren, was super friendly, funny, and attentive, and the entrees are a good deal for the price. You get delicious soup, fresh baked bread loaves, and spumoni ice cream for dessert! We got the lasagna and spinach tortellini, both satisfying though I was pretty full after two bites thanks to soup and bread. Also loved the ambiance - there are some cute booths and you can sit in a cable car!
(4)Pamela B.
Great place to take kids. Our waiter, whose name I forget, unfortunately-- was excellent. He was Friendly and knowledgeable. They gave us a wait time of fifteen minutes, it was only five. We had an enjoyable dinner!
(4)Katie M.
Old Spaghetti Factory aims to be easy, cheap, Italian food for families, and it achieves this goal, which may disappoint those of us seeking an upscale Italian dining experience. Ever been to an Olive Garden? Ever purchased frozen Bertolli ravioli and a jar of Prego sauce for dinner? Add an open, dark atmosphere and a fully restored vintage trolley car and you've got Old Spaghetti Factory. What I've read in the other reviews rings true in my experience: the meals are filling and cheap, the pasta dishes tend to be bland, and the high-praised item here is the free ice cream (called spumoni, meaning it is Neapolitan-flavored ice cream). There were two birthdays there that evening, so there was a lot of singing, plus there is a staff member going around making balloon animals upon request. These both of these circumstances make me think it would be an awkward spot for a date or business meeting, but a really fun spot if your young nephew is visiting for the weekend! Speaking of kids, their meals seem very kid-friendly and family-friendly. Each meal is actually a 3-course meal, including a soup/salad, bread, a pasta dish of your choice, and a small dish of that previously mentioned spumoni. It's easy and crowd-pleasing, so I can definitely see why they've stayed in business. Like I mentioned above, their ravioli resembles defrosted Bertolli ravioli covered in a jar of Prego, which was a bit of a disappoint for a ravioli-seeking girl. I would let this slide if they didn't claim "made from scratch, on-site" but the restaurant clearly claims it, which I disagree with. My favorite by far (the best dish we had) was the cheesy garlic bread. That was seriously delicious. I don't plan on going back, their food isn't worth it to me. I will give 3 stars though, because while I'm not their target audience, I also struggle understanding a restaurant that claims something about their food that I feel is not demonstrated in the dishes.
(3)Meredith H.
First of all, I have been going to this restaurant my whole life in Denver and last night was probably our last time. I had actually got married at the OSF in 2011 and we had arranged to have a private room. This time, my step-mother called about a week in advance for 16 people to attend a birthday party for my dad. Here's the rundown of our experience: 1. Seated in a very crowded room with limited room to move around and talk to anyone. 2. We had ONE server for 16 people - ONE! It's not like we walked off the street and expected to be accommodated, they knew we were coming. Although the poor guy did whatever he could, to say the service was slow would be an understatement. 3. Took an hour to get our drinks we ordered from the bar. 4. Took over 1.5 hours to get our food. 5. Food was not the usual OSF quality - could tell the kitchen was rushed. Bottom line is that we were extremely disappointed. My sister had to leave with her 2 year-old after waiting for an hour and a half because she couldn't wait any longer to feed him. It was not the big birthday extravaganza we were hoping for and, sadly, due to that, we probably won't return.
(1)Hayat C.
Nicole the Manager here at The Old Spaghetti Factory is hands down the best Manager I have ever ran into in my life .We had some problems with our meal and she literally took care of everything for us. I will not go into detail to spare the Spaghetti Factory's reputation .This is my hometown.
(5)Ravi P.
Seems like authentic Italian food.. So near to my office.. Classic ambience, awesome food
(5)Kevin L.
This is a family restaurant, let's be clear, folks. If you don't kid yourself, you'll have a fine time. You shouldn't expect fine dining, and you shouldn't be surprised by that if you pay the least bit of attention when you walk in the door. You'll notice some staff not in uniform, no tablecloths, and placemats made out of cheap paper with advertisements on them. But what about the ornate interior, you ask? Again, see it for what it is: this is an over-the-top glitzy place meant to entertain the wandering eyes of children. And it ain't bad for adults, either, if you have a sense of humor. Can you really take a place seriously that has a train car within the walls of the restaurant? Answer: no. But you can look at it and realize how gimmicky and cool it is with its chandeliers and stained glass windows. In fact, Denver's finest (DPD) were having a luncheon aboard that silly express, and they seemed to have found lighthearted enjoyment there, the weight of the city's crime lifted off their shoulders for an hour. On to the food and service. The pasta is not fresh; that is, it can't possibly have been made in house, despite the misleading title of "Spaghetti Factory," and it is for this reason alone that OSF will never rank above 3-stars. Still, our dishes came out al dente, and were quickly devoured. The bread receives low marks, though, as it's not artisan, but also not surpassing the quality of your local supermarket's cheap white dinner buns. Servicewise, we were warmly greeted and quickly seated by a pretty hostess, and our waiter was ever-attentive. Can't ask for much more than that. In the end, if you're expecting a slightly upscale version of a Friendly's-style family restaurant, then you will get what you pay for here. OSF did in a pinch when we were cold and hungry. Their soup, especially, hit the spot and could have passed for being made in-house. WHo knows?! Who cares. If you want a quick plate of cheap homestyle noodles, OSF is the place.
(3)Leanna C.
I have been coming to this place ever since I was a child in elementary school for field trips. I think if you have kids or are on a budget this a great place to visit. The food is sub par but that's truly not the reason to come here. This is a great Denver staple where you can come to relax and enjoy the unique restaurant and sit in the trolley. Definitely worth a try if you've never been here but don't be shocked by the below average food.
(3)Tarena Z.
OK, first off, let me say it took 2 hours to get our meal! The meal was ..... Fine. Fettuccini Alfredo was under seasoned and almost cold. Breast of Chicken Fettuccini was actually REALLY GOOD! Spaghetti with Meatballs and Sausage was good but the meatballs were a bit dry. The spaghetti with crème sauce was great! The crab ravioli was a bit dry and bland. The best part of the meal was the Olive Tapenade which was very yummy! The kids LOVED the Italian cream sodas! The place was probably 1/3 full and a 2 hour wait was just unacceptable.
(3)Anna N.
It's funny how our perceptions change as we get older. I remember thinking that this place was amazing as a kid, but that's definitely not what was going through my mind this time around. My fiancé and I took some of my little cousins out for dinner just to have some family time. They loved the old-style feel and the trolley in the middle of the restaurant, and if you concentrate on that, maybe you can ignore how boring the food is. I got the Mizithra Cheese and Brown Butter pasta, which was good, but a whole plate of just that? Way too much for me. It needs variety, and my small salad prior to it did not suffice. I would've appreciated a spoonful of veggies added to the plate. Apparently the kid's menu items are pretty good (not that I can personally attest). The Italian sodas are the best part of the meal, and if you pay a little extra, you get to keep the glass, which makes a nice little souvenir.
(2)Lily S.
I used to think everything at the OSF was good except for the pasta, how ironic, right? Well, this last experience completely changed my mind. I must have only ordered spaghettis before, since it's the SPAGHETTI factory, lol. This time, I went with what sounded good on the menu. The Garlic Shrimp Fettuccine, which was new on the dinner menu, won my dad's heart. I had a taste and thought it was a little bit too boozy, but hey, it's still a good thing, right? When I saw that the Baked Chicken was only available during dinner, I persuaded my BF to get it even though it was served with spaghetti. Turned out to be a pretty good choice. The chicken was flaming hot right off the griller/oven. I got the Manger's Favorite which is pasta with two sauces. I don't know why I picked Mizithra Cheese & Browned Butter and Marinara, because that's exactly the kind my BF's Baked Chicken dish came with. Next time I'll get the mushroom sauce instead of the marinara. I'm sure if would pair better with the Mizithra Cheese & Browned Butter sauce which was exquisite! (Or, just have that alone, duh!) Mom wanted the lasagna so she got it. The same marinara sauce that we're not too keen to flooded the perfectly fine lasagna (the sauce was simply too much, and overly sour/tomato-ey for us). All the sides were thoroughly enjoyable: - Bread (freshly baked sourdough, it's good, but I would prefer non-sourdough...) - Salad (wonderfully crisp and cold; dressing is thick and yummy, get the Pesto Ranch!) - Milk (is milk) - Coffee (is something else! We liked the coffee so so much that I inquired about it, was told they use Boyds coffee, I wish I know the exact formula because that was one strong yet balanced cup of joe) - Italian soda (we ordered the vanilla flavor, as good as ever!) - Ice cream (the spumoni was unique; I asked for my scoop to be vanilla so I could dunk it in my coffee, heaven!) Our server was very nice and polite, took good care of us. We really liked sitting in the trolley! Thank you OSF for providing such a family friendly atmosphere for us to enjoy a family meal together.
(4)Chrissie B.
Came in for date night a few weeks ago. It was rainy out, and close to 8pm, so it was not too busy. 5 star for location and atmosphere, 1 star for food and service. Prices were cheap but I'm not sure I will be back.
(3)Madison A.
I loved this place as a kid! I came here on field trips and my mom took me here when I went to work with her! There is a train in the middle of the restaurant, which is why I loved it so much as a child. Its located in the heart of Denver, and my boyfriend and I came here before we went to Elitches. It's very dimly lit in the restaurant which creates a calm atmosphere. Keep in mind I came here at like 11 on a Wednesday morning. We were pretty much the only ones in there. I ordered a Ceaser Salad, and my boyfriend got the Spaghetti. The waiter came out with the Spaghetti and... Fettuccine? I hadn't even remotely ordered that. I was very confused. I ate it anyways, because I like Fettuccine and I was too hungry to send it back. I really did want that Cesar Salad though. I give this restaurant 3 stars because of my fond childhood memories, not so much my experience. I would maybe return...? Not sure. Hopefully if I do, I'll have a much better experience.
(3)Kristy C.
uhhh... I guess I will start off with, the fettucini alfredo was AMAZING! My guest also enjoyed her spinach stuffed ravioli. The problem isn't the food. The problem was, it was 5 pm on a thursday evening and the service was really bad :/ -waters took 10 minutes to reach the tables -wine took 15 minutes to reach our tables -dinner took almost an entire HOUR to reach our tables -wine refills took so long that we were stuck at the end of dinner with two full glasses. -my guest asked for meat sauce and they gave her vegetarian sauce, she said it was fine and asked for a meatball to make the difference, and the meatball didn't come out until we were paying the bill. thats insane for 2 entrees and 4 alcoholic beverages. really? For the record, I love the food. But management should consider hiring staff that can handle a 5 o'clock week day rush
(3)Katherine F.
Expensive old poor quality food. To summarize this one star Tuesday night dining experience- order drinks, wait 20 minutes, ice cubes in beer, no vodka in cocktail, order entrees, wait 35 minutes, frumpy brown-edged lettuce straight out of the bag making up the smallest lamest main course salad I have ever gotten for 10 dollars, warm italian bread (+1), mystery meat in the spaghetti vesuvius (bone in), ask for bill, wait 20 minutes, waitress says she will comp for my kiddie cocktail, but forgot to change the bill, wait 15 more minutes, new bill, run to 7/11 to buy better ice cream for dessert Final thought: Reading all these reviews about waitresses comping drinks and food and then people still seeing the charges on their statements made me wonder if they purposefully run your card, then come to the table and tell you oh wait I will comp that ______, and rerun your card without canceling the previous charge. I'll be checking my statement.
(1)Eric L.
This chain has declined over the years, but this one has got to be the worst I've been to. The food wasn't awful but the atmosphere was horrid. Felt like I was dining in a funeral home.
(2)Dave C.
I absolutely love coming to The OSF. I'm a Denver native so it has always been a landmark restaurant that still has that Old Downtown Denver early twentieth century industrial vibe which is rapidly disappearing from contemporary Hipster LoDo. It kind of reminds me of The Organ Grinder which sadly is no longer around that used to be on Alameda and Federal where you got to eat pizza and they had a real pipe organ that played creepy music while you watched old black and white silent movies. Yes, I'm showing my age here as well as waving my native flag. Their spaghetti and Sicilian meatballs are just a staple. It's called the Old Spaghetti Factory, right? So I come here for the pasketti and meatballs which are pretty darn good. Not as good as my wife's homemade meatballs (and no I'm not just saying that either) but a very close runner up so when she doesn't feel like cooking and we want to get out of the house and enjoy the atmosphere of Old Denver, this is one of our go-to places. And the prices are actually pretty good. By comparison we usually go to the Olive Garden by our house and we found the prices here to be even a bit less. I always love eating in the old Trolley car. It's just the thing that makes the kid in me smile EVERY time. But I have to tell you, if you have a chance to eat in the bar, take it. It's very quiet and secluded with cozy booths plus you get to take in the romantically stunning ambiance of the old brick walls, stain glass windows and mahogany wood bar counter and mirrors. The bartender was also on-top of serving us and made sure the drinks were always filled, the food was to our liking and we were taken care of. Forget his name, and I apologize, but kudos to him. He was outstanding. He's a keeper. Give the man a raise. They also have my favorite Italian Vanilla Cream Sodas that are really tasty, but pricey. I could keep drinking these like water but at five bucks a glass I pretty much only get to treat myself to one glass which I savor with every sip. You even get to take home the glass as a memento of your visit to The OSF. They will be happy to give you a clean one to take home if you ask. And if you still have room left after the bread and appetizers, salad, and gorging on pasta and meatballs, there's the free ice cream dessert. So it's not the best ice cream I've ever had, but hey, it's free. You might want to take a walk around the 16th Street Mall afterward to burn off a few of those unwanted calories. If you love Spaghetti, The Old Spaghetti Factory is a no-brainer. Just go.
(4)kirk m.
Walking distance to my house and usually get take out...not bad for the price.
(3)Melissa j.
This place is gross. All they have going for them is the interior. You can walk in the alley to find boxes labeled, fettuccine Alfredo. Save your money and go buy a lean cuisine pasta dish. It tastes the same. yuck.
(1)Sheila M.
Always have loved this place. Worth the wait. Food is always hot and great. Sometimes service a tad slow depending on how busy it is but always great experience
(4)Michelle N.
I have not been here since I was a kid. We decided to take my 4 year old nephew for dinner...it was great. After reading the reviews, I was not expecting much, but we had a good experience. My son had a strawberry Italian cream soda, he loved it. The food was better than expected. I had the Mizithra and browned butter on wheat pasta...very good. Everyone else went with standard spaghetti and I heard no complaints. It is true that the service is pretty slow here. I was okay with it because the kids were having fun and we were not in a rush. I made a reservation and did not have to wait to be seated.
(4)Gregor Y.
What happened, Old Spaghetti Factory? What in the world. You used to be reasonable. We'd take out of town guests for reasonable food at a reasonable price, with good service in a charming historical setting. But tonight was a big disappointment for us and our Kansas cousins who'd loved you in the past. Tonight, it was the Cold Spaghetti Factory. Summary: Took over an hour to get ANY food on the table. Terrible service, cold entrees; apologetic manager comped some stuff (but the waiter was unrepentant). I started to write more details, but the list of what went wrong is more than you want to read.
(2)Rachel C.
We went yesterday for the first time. We waited over 30 minutes for our drinks to come. I told them I was on a really strict diet and wondered if I could just get a side salad and a plain old grilled chicken breast. They said no problem but when it came the chicken was breaded. I asked if I could have something not breaded and they returned with some sliced grilled chicken. It was actually pretty good as was the salad. My husband ordered the manager special and my kiddo spaghetti. Everything was good. According to them them best part was the ice cream at the end. They really enjoyed it. I doubt we will go back since it's pretty far away and we weren't amazed by it. But it was worth trying something new.
(3)Carmen J.
This place stands on reputation alone,its been an institution in Denver for as long as I can remember,went there years ago when my niece was a kid and then during the holidays returned with her daughter,it was as good as always, great service,great food we even got to sit on the trolley,I loved it. Tried the spaghetti with the garlic and browned butter for the first time YUM now I'll probably always have that dish. The cute little ice cream at the end it a great finish for me.
(5)Melissa J.
I wanted to like it so bad since I have many childhood memories of coming here and sometimes even getting to sit in the trolley car. However, last night I realized how slow and overpriced this place is. The waiter couldn't keep our orders straight and we all had to ask for what we ordered multiple times. At one point the server brought me a glass of wine that I didn't even order and still charged me for it. On top of that, I found it irritating to pay so much for a lame iceberg lettuce salad and a small portion of pasta that was ok but nothing special. Childhood memories, ruined :(
(2)Tabitha D.
First time dining at this restaurant, as I am not from around here. I was a walk in for a table of two, waited about 25 minutes to be seated. No problem there, the problems didn't begin until we were sat. Once we sat we were greeted by our server, didn't bother to introduce himself, it wasn't until we received the bill that we found out his name was Cody. He got our drink order, 2 glasses of wine and 2 waters, then hurried away. He returned right away with our waters and asked if we'd like an appetizer. We ordered the cheese bread, he then said "lemme go put that in real quick" and dismissed himself from the table before either of us even had a chance to order our salads. Upon his return, we ordered our salads and entrees. We still hadn't received our wine at this point. After about 5 minutes we noticed a young man wondering about with cheese bread, asking 4 tables if they'd ordered it before finally approaching ours. It took until about half way through our appetizer to get our wine. At this point I was a little irritated because we actually had to flag down the girl with our wine. Took a little longer for dinner salads, but once arrived I was relieved our server had fixed the table number issue. Cody popped in to deliver what I'm assuming was dinner bread, he never explained. However, we didn't touch the bread because the moment he dropped it off it slid off its plate and onto the table. Cody didn't even acknowledge it. Our entrees arrived shortly afterwards, with no sign of our server. It wasn't until about half way through our meal that a manager stopped by. She didn't introduce herself either. Once I explained everything that had gone wrong and pointed out the loaf of bread that was quite literally sitting on the table, she offered to comp our meal. We weren't looking for compensation, but after the terrible service we received we couldn't say no. She quickly walked off and never checked back on us. Cody then came over to ask which dessert we'd like, as it came with the meal. I got Spumoni, which Cody promptly served. Without spoons, I might add. My boyfriend had to get up and grab some from the next table, seeing as how Cody didn't bother to return. He did however return one final time, to deliver another dessert for my birthday and drop the check. Luckily the manager was walking by this time because yet again he had dropped a dessert without utensils. She didn't bother to apologize for anything, just comped the meal. Now I know the difference between busy and just plain BAD service. Our server only had 4 other tables, which I noticed he was giving poor service to as well because they were visibly upset. Not only did we have terrible service, but Cody NEVER once stopped by to check on us. He was simply an order taker, and a bad one at that!! The only reason this restaurant even got 1 star is for the food and it was decent at best. Otherwise it's not worth the time or money. Bad management and even worse service!! I would not recommend it to anyone. Buca di Beppo is 10X better and they'll take care of you.
(1)Doogie H.
I still have yet to receive a refund for the double charge that was posted to my account. It is 8 days since this post and 11 days since the dinner. They refused to send me a refund check, but said the only way I'll get a refund is if I give them my credit card number over the phone. I hope I don't regret that, but I did it.
(1)Hollie W.
We really enjoyed The Old Spaghetti Factory!! The prices were good and the food was super!! The lasagna was really yummy. The atmosphere was amazing!!
(4)Sara B.
YUCK! Every time that I come here it tastes like they dumped a bag of salt on each plate. Why is this considered to be great Italian food in Denver? I say drive a few minutes to North Denver where you can get much more authentic and less "I feel like I am eating out of the dead sea" Italian food. The last time I came here I was met with the worst service I have ever received in my entire life. We were sat at a table that was absolutely filthy. Our waitress showed up 15 minutes later and when we pointed out the table she said she would get someone to fix it. 10 minutes later, this guy shows up with a dirty rag and literally dabs it on the edge of the table completely missing all of the leftover food from the previous diners. When our server came back to take our drink orders (yes, we were seated for 25 minutes without getting our drink orders taken), we pointed out that the table was still not clean. She disappeared and a few minutes later the guy who came by with the dirty dish cloth stormed up to our table and raised his voice asking us why we would say he didn't clean the table when he clearly did. After this atrocious behavior we approached the hostess stand and asked for a manager. The manager moved us to a different section with a different server and offered a generic apology...no comp, no emotion, no return customers here.
(1)Tiara Q.
Old Spagetti Factory is to Italian food as Casa Bonita is to Mexican food. Come folks, get over it. There are far better choices for Italian or pasta or however you want to categorize it. Don't come here expecting maggianos or even Olive Garden quality. It's not. Sit in the train car, drink some alcohol and stop taking yourself and this place so seriously. You're welcome.
(3)Lee S.
Mount Vesuvius in Italy is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the city of Pompeii. The Vesuvius Spaghetti I enjoyed last evening was spicy and, though not Volcanic, very tasty and shall I say "different." Different is good. We come to the Old Spaghetti Factory for the fun, to see old friends, to celebrate a birthday, to sit in the old Trolley and laugh and drink and eat. This place is not 5 stars, but could be 4 if... ...if we had even close to good service. ...If they brought us more water. ...if they didn't forget the bread until the end of the meal. ...if my soup had been warm. ...if I didn't have to ask 3 times for our wine. ...if, oh, I'll stop. Like I said, we have fun, but don't put your expectations too high.
(3)Amanda F.
I worked right around the corner from this restaurant so it was a frequent stop for birthday lunches etc. I was never, ever impressed. Even with staff buzzing around, when we were one of two tables, we could never get any service, and the food was mediocre at best. Pricey mediocre. I would not recommend at all.
(1)Lauren T.
I'm such a huge fan of pasta, this place was always a great go to in an interesting building. Service is great, good is great, a neat piece of history for Denver!
(5)Ken K.
I love this place. First, the atmosphere is amazing with stained glass windows, Tiffany style lamps and unique furniture, and a trolley. Also this place is fairly quiet it is easy to talk with someone. And the food is good and the prices are reasonable. Even the outside of this building is beautiful. Take a look at the brick work on the outside.
(5)Paul N.
Old Spaghetti Factory. Now before I ever got there, I knew it was a chain. But it's pasta - how bad could it be? Plus, it was located in this historic brick building! Bad restaurants are just not found in nice places, I wrongfully assumed. So there I went, a few blocks walk from my hotel. Got in and sat in this large dark room. Alone. Interesting decor - stained glass, Tiffany style lights, a train car. Wait...what? Yet the ceiling was strangely unfinished and not in a cool-exposed-ductwork way. Just in a "we never got around to that part because, man, it was just too much work" way. So I ordered the chicken Marsala and a salad. The salad, if you could call it that, was iceberg lettuce. There may have been a little red onion too, but it's hard to say since it was so damn gloomy in there. I mean, even my local diner back in NJ gives you a slice of cucumber, a cherry tomato and some shredded carrot! Then my chicken dish came. Yup, I went down that route of despair yet again. As of today, I am not allowed to order chicken Marsala, anywhere, ever again, under any circumstances. It was awful and barely tasted of Marsala. But the worst was the side of pasta. It was spaghetti with a "sauce" of what sounded like a fancy cheese and browned butter. Sounds good, right? Reality was an affront to sauces everywhere. The sauce, which lacked the liquid properties of sauce, was similar in taste and texture to Kraft Parmesan cheese from the green container. Only grittier. And saltier. And with less flavor, which is nearly impossible, yet the Old Spaghetti Factory managed to do just that. So unsatisfied with the meal was I, that I didn't take the place up on its offer of a complimentary scoop of vanilla or spumoni ice cream for dessert. Instead, I stopped at a nearby 7/11 for a Heath bar.
(1)Kat L.
I went here on a busy Friday night - it was clearly prom season and there were many large groups. Despite that fact, we got seated very quickly, even though we, too, were a large group. Our waiter was very attentive, and gave us excellent service. He was friendly and helpful. So my real problem with the restaurant was the food. I have been to Old Spaghetti Factories across the West Coast and this was the worst I've ever eaten. My chicken parmesan did not really seemed cooked. I know I could have complained, but since it was so crowded and we had somewhere to go, I just ate the spaghetti on the plate. I basically left the restaurant feeling nauseous. No one in my group really liked what they got. Everyone who ordered tortellini pulled the filling out and ate the rest. Everyone had to add things to their food in order to get them to be edible (cheese, salt, extra sauce). I would never return here, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that it was just a busy night and they had a lot of large groups to serve.
(3)Kerilyn J.
Last night (Tuesday) I went to the Spaghetti Factory in Denver with my daughter and boyfriend for a special dinner before heading out to see the musical Annie playing in town. First we stood at the host stand for well over 10 minutes without a word spoken to us. Finally the hostess came back and without looking at us (instead staring at the ipad) said in her exact words "what can I do for you?". All while still not even bothering to look at us. After we were sat at our table - we did not see a waiter in the 15 minutes we sat there. He did run by to say he would be right with us, but not one person stopped by to even get a drink order. At this point, after waiting 25 minutes we had to leave to make it to the show on time. Not one person - including the hostess, stopped us on the way out to ask if they could help or where we were going. I didn't see any manager in the restaurant portion at any time and the restaurant appeared under staffed and the staff that was present was possibly some of the rudest I have encountered. I had not been to Spaghetti Factory in over 20 years and I was hoping for a wonderful evening for my daughter's first theatrical experience. I will not go back to this location.
(1)M E.
Best birthday dinner place in town for kids, on the weekend there is a man who has been there 10+years who makes balloons for all the kids. He remembered our daughter from 5 years ago! He made her and her friends balloons hats which all connected, there were 7 of them! They loved it and are still talking about it. Food, service and staff are always great! Very family friendly which is refreshing.Thank you Old Spaghetti Factory.
(5)Mila G.
Been here forever, although the neighborhood around it has cleaned up a bit since we were kids. They do have gluten-free pasta, although the cooks overcooked it and the noodles just fell apart when I tried to eat them. Salad was less than desirable, same old cheap iceberg lettuce every place serves. The gluten-free menu is also just the regular menu minus croutons and substitute their GF pasta. The family had fun though, and went home with leftovers.
(4)Michael P.
The food is good, but the service is very nice. I like the attention to service, but not overbearing. Seated quickly on a weekend day, and the place was full. Our server knew the menu and gave a great suggestion for an appetizer. Just a little pricy in my opinion, but would come back here for almost any occasion.
(4)Sumner H.
Love this place! Great food. Right amount. Reasonable prices. Comes fast. Friendly helpful serving staff. Fun location downtown. My regular order is the Manager's Favorite with Meat and Mizithra. Come early to avoid waiting. But even still, it's worth the wait.
(5)Leah A.
I'd like to add something about me last visit. After our server cleared our dinner dishes he came to our table with the bill in hand and asked if we wanted any dessert. I said, "Don't our meals come with dessert?" and he said yes and then set the bill on our table (we also still had wine left to drink). He then came back with our spumoni, so we obviously felt extremely rushed to eat our dessert. We thought that was rude and unprofessional. I mean, if the meal includes spumoni, why on earth would the server ask if we "wanted any dessert" (he could have asked if we'd like any desserts OTHER than the spumoni) and proceed to leave the bill with us before he even served us our dessert?! The food was delicious but this service was not acceptable. I certainly hope we do not get this server again.
(3)Michelle P.
Supposed to be a Denver landmark?? To all of the Denverites out there who love this place....don't take anyone from out of town to dine here and tell them about how awesome this place is because all of your foodie credibility will barrel down a snowy Rocky Mountain slope like an avalanche! I lived here for a few years back in the 80's and I remembered people talking about this place like it was somewhere you might go on a special occasion. I thought I was missing out on something special. So I urged a coworker to come here with me during lunch after a long training session at our downtown location. I was somewhat delighted in finally trying this place and now that I think about it, he didn't seem too thrilled. Must have known what I was in for and probably wondered why in the hell I was so aroused at the idea of going! LOL The food was just OK. The service was slow and I am not sure why because we may have been the only people there! The one thing about this place that I liked was the decor. You feel like you are stepping back in time to the wild west. We were sat next to this big trolley car which was cool. On a positive note, this is a good place to take your family. The kids will love it! The prices are very good and the food isn't bad, it's just not up to the quality of my grown-up palate.
(2)Emma C.
Currently the front part of the restaurant is under construction so they can build an accessible restroom, which is very considerate and didn't interrupt our meal at all. We had a PHENOMENAL server and I feel like a jerk for not remembering his name. But he was extremely attentive, very funny, and all-around awesome. We received all of our appetizers, food, drink refills, dessert, and check in a timely manner and with a smile. The food was...okay. The bread they gave us when we got there was WAY too crunchy. The sauce-to-noodle ratio on everyone in my party's plates was kind of skewed; Dad, Boyfriend and I all had noodles drowning in sauce, while Mom and Sister barely had any. There's some inconsistency from the kitchen that I hope they figure out soon. The pasta itself was good, if not bland. I had to sprinkle a ton of pepper on it to give it any flavor. FREE ICE CREAM. Whooo! Spumoni is always a treat, and it's a perfect, small size for after a big pasta meal. Normally this would be a 3-star review, but because of the awesome service I'm bumping them up a star. I just hope they can get some more consistency from the kitchen, because this really is a cool place and the service is bar none.
(4)Beau W.
This used to be a great place. It was my first choice for my childhood birthday dinners. I went with my girlfriend and daughter. It was all around boring. I had shrimp and pasta... boring. They had basic American- Italian classics... boring. No flavor to be found. bad service too. This was a tough blow. This was a great place turned bad. They got rid of the sit down Tron and Galaga game as well. The Neapolitan ice cream was no consolation. This is a stinker now. What a shame.
(1)Mariam V.
What happened to this place? I went a few years ago and it was good, but we went last night and were so disappointed! My Alfredo pasta tasted like watered down sauce...the chicken Marsala was basically a dried piece of chicken, it was awful. To top it off we ordered margaritas that I'm pretty sure had no alcohol in them and when we told our server they tasted weird he said the bar manager won't make us new ones or take them off our bill. Service was crappy but the food was awful! Don't go!
(1)Tessa F.
Terrible. Seating took forever, no acknowledgement, food was bland, service was incredibly slow for a Monday, was about to pay full price for a premium side salad that the server agreed to sub for the two side salads our meal came with. The one star was because the manager came by in attempt to salvage our visit and offer an $8 discount and also I can't give them lower than one star. Never again, Olive Garden all the way.
(1)Michelle S.
I enjoy the food but the service is HORRIBLE! Went in for dinner tonight and for two of us it took an hour and a half...we didn't even need to look at the menu as we knew what we wanted and the place was pretty dead. We waited a while for our server to greet us and when she did she was so distracted it was like she didn't want to wait and listen to our order. Our drinks didn't come until we were done with our appetizer. We finally asked someone up front to find our server as we had been done with our dinner for nearly 15 minutes. If you don't care about service this is a good place to go but if you have limited time go somewhere else!
(2)Melody H.
I'm from Denver and used to go here as a kid and loved it. However, I recently went with my husband and it was awful. It was noisy, crowded and the food looked and tasted as if it came from a cafeteria. I've made better spaghetti at home. The waitress was nice, but she was overworked and it showed.
(1)Llesena L.
So awful. Never eating here again. Everything tasted canned or frozen. We got the New England clam chowder. Worst clam chowder either me or my husband has had. He got spaghetti and meatballs. Meatballs were overlooked and the same nasty canned tasting sauce. I got the spinach ravioli. Pasty and a little sauce splattered to one side of the ravioli. They were barely lukewarm. Little Cesar's has better cheesy bread lol and apparently we were supposed to get a loaf of regular bread which we never received. $33 I highly regret spending on top of a $6 tip. And $10 we had to pay for parking. Almost $50 for one of the worst meals we've ever had at a restaurant!
(1)Michael P.
I love this place! I've been going there since I was a kid and have never been disappointed. I love the atmosphere and the food is really good. The only thing that I would offer as a criticism is that the staff seem a little overwhelmed every time I've come in to dine (lunch and dinner, weekdays and weekends). Understaffed maybe? Certainly seating and serving could be better managed.
(4)Stephanie S.
It's been a tradition of sorts, for me to come here every year for my birthday, been doing this for about 10+ years now... Most times it's a crapshoot, it can be great, or abysmal... The garlic cheese bread is delicious always. Served with a tasty chunky marinara. The broccoli with mazithra cheese is to die for! We always have 7+ people in our party so we get at least one if not two large orders of this broccoli! My entree for years has been the brown butter and mazithra cheese! If you've never had this you need to try this amazing dish!! I LOVE IT!! My tip is to ask for extra brown butter, they're not too generous with the butter, and I don't like "dry" pasta... At the end of your meal you get to choose between vanilla or spumoni ice cream! As a whole you can't go wrong with the spaghetti factory! Pretty great meals, dessert, and sides for great prices! Atmosphere is fun, and there is always a person doing balloon animals for the kids, for free (tips are appreciated though ;) ), so all in all go for pretty tasty food, great prices, and the fun of the place! It's an experience that everyone should have! :D
(5)Trent G.
I'm not going to write to Mario and Luigi about Old Spaghetti Factory, but I will write a 3-star Yelp review about it. My wife has been going on and on about how awesome this place was for her growing up, but I'd never been until recently. I liked the trolley car and some of the atmosphere, but gave an outdated vibe more than a historic landmark vibe. The food was good, but nothing too special. Chicken parmesan was good, and the brown butter noodles with cheese had a lot of great flavor. The garlic cheese bread to start tasted a little "just out of the freezer package," but the marinara with it was tasty. Caesar dressing on the salad tasted a bit too tangy for my liking. Wine selection is limited, but the markup is low, so some good prices. Came out of there for around $45 with wine, so not a bad night out. Didn't come out too stuffed either, which is always a relief. So, I wouldn't cast this place down the warp tube, but it's not raising my castle flag all the way either. Worth giving a shot and finding out for yourself.
(3)Aimee L.
You can't beat the lunch specials here! A quick lunch with co-worker or friends is totally doable. If you haven't tried it in awhile you should give it a chance again.
(4)Colorado N.
Haven't been here in years. It used to be one of our favorite special places to take our kids when they were little because spumoni is included with the meal - and my kids thought that was magical. We went here last night and it was pretty good but I was kind of disappointed. The service was slow though it wasn't very busy. The bread and salads took quite a while. The pasta came out almost cold. We went there for old times' sake and it was still pretty charming. Not sure if I'll come again but maybe they had an off night.
(3)Mary F.
Good meal for a fair price and great for children We have eaten at many OSF since we ate at the first one we found in the 1980's in St. Louis and ate there with our preteen children.. Since we moved to Denver in 1999 we find this a great place to take our grandchildren and good for an entertaining evening for out-of-town relatives and friends. We have eaten at the OSF in over 20 locations now- the most recent out-of-town one was in Vancouver last May. The basic meals are good and filling. Occasionally the salad lettuce does look old but that is not true for the most part. No, the spaghetti is not made there but the sauces are wonderful. We usually pick the manager's favorite so we can have two different sauces on the plate. I'd say that we have had good to great service over 98% of the time in all the locations. It was a great find in Honolulu since food is very expensive in Hawauu but not at OSF. We now look for OSF whenever we visit a new city for one of the meals while there.
(4)Patrick S.
This place takes me back to my childhood! I wanted to introduce my husband to a place I hadn't been to since I was a teenager. We were not disappointed! Upon entering this historic building you got a feel that this was going to be a comforting experience. It's a chain, yes...but you tend to forget this. The dining room is divided in a way where a large group doesn't interfere with a quiet couple's lunch. We were graciously greeted and our waiter Mike soon arrived. We had already perused the menu, and our order was promptly placed. We enjoyed our salads, bread, and entrees immensely! Is it fancy? No. Is it old-school, traditional Italian? Oh yes!!! The salads were what you would expect--simple, but satisfying. The entrees: tasty and filling! And for dessert....I was almost giddy when the spimoni ice cream arrived in a chilled silver dish--just like I remembered! My husband savored every bite of the mud pie--we were both smiling at the end! We WILL be back!
(5)Amanda N.
I love this place. The service can be hit or miss, especially if they're busy, but the food makes up for it. I love it here, and the ambiance and decor are especially cool. Mizithra cheese - yum! I'm a big fan of their broccoli, and their ravioli is one of my favorites. Great place!
(4)Jai G.
I'm only giving this 1-star so that I can write a review...PLEASE don't waste your time or money. You walk in the door and only smell old mildewy carpet, no Italian food. The hostess seemed bothered by everything, the waitress needs serving etiquette classes, and the food was disgusting. Go to Olive Garden.
(1)Cody H.
It's alright. Tastes very corporate food. Waiter can't even accept the fact I'm deaf and consistently stands behind my back yakking away on what I'd like to order. Blacklisted! Not a deaf friendly spot.
(2)Shannon T.
I was an Old Spaghetti Factory fan when I lived in St. Louis and have been to this one in Denver twice before. Tonight after a small party, my husband and I stopped by as we were in downtown Denver. I didn't know they closed at 10:30pm and it was a little bit before 10pm. I know, I know. I was one of those tonight. But I've worked in the food industry before and everything tonight was completely unacceptable. If you close at 10:30pm, you take that 10:29pm customer and you treat them like a customer that comes in at 12:00pm. We had to wait a little for a table which was strange but thankfully we weren't the only people there, there were still some stragglers. Our waitress was very set on getting us out, understandable but she didn't have to be so rude. Everything took longer than I would've thought and it would've made sense if they were cooking it fresh since I'm sure they were closing the kitchens but everything was ice cold. Yes, I'm sorry I came in 40 minutes before you closed but did you really have to give me cold, old food? I'm really disappointed with my experience here. I've never really had a bad experience in my life time at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Think I'll just stick to the one in St. Louis.
(2)Glen B.
The best things about this place are the building, it's history, the trolley and other interesting artifacts inside. The food was ok, but pretty institutional (clearly the salad came out of a bag with nothing added, if there was any of their famous Mizithra cheese on my Spinach & Cheese Ravioli, I couldn't find it), the service not very good (we had to ask to be served after having been seated for 15 minutes). Too bad, I used to enjoy coming here.
(2)Court Z.
I love the old spaghetti factory. Wonderful place to take the kids. They absolutely love sitting in the old trolley. Service started out a bit rough. Took 15 minutes before someone acknowledged us at our table, but they recognized and owned their mistake, giving us several complimentary items and apologizing profusely. Food was really good. I had the mizithra brown butter noodles. Very rich and delicious. Our family loves this place and tries to make it out here several times a year.
(4)Chuck L.
I hope you like salty, school cafeteria quality spaghetti, because that's what they serve here. I expected a lot more from a restaurant that specializes in.... wait for it... spaghetti. I'm no pasta snob either, but this was bad. My spaghetti with meat sauce had a strange metallic flavor. I pictured some dirty guy in the back opening a large Costco-size can of expired gov't tomato sauce and then dumping a bag of salt in it to try to improve the flavor. That's how amazing it tasted... at $13 a serving. Even my son rejected the kid's pasta. The only cool thing about the restaurant is that you can dine in an old street car.
(1)Sarah S.
I love that they have gluten free options now! Wish they had gluten free bread for the table...but maybe one day! The food was good, as usual, and the atmosphere is so unique. I love it here. Lunch prices are fantastic with perfect portions. My one bad comment is that the changing table in the women's restroom is extremely high. I'm 5'3 and the table was about my chest height and made changing my daughter difficult...can only think that a man must have installed it! :p
(5)Jamie L.
So, neither of us had been here in YEARS. Probably closer to a decade. We'd heard rumblings lately of OSF, good ones. We didn't know where to go on a cold, snowy Sunday night. Comfort Food. Semi-Date-Night. Denver-ish. Off to Old Spaghetti Factory we go. I did call ahead, and make a "reservation" about an hour ahead of time, (Perhaps call-ahead seating?) and we were greeted promptly and seated up in the Trolley! Yay! We'd scoped the menu out online, and knew the drill. Fresh Bread (tasted like Sourdough to me, and we plowed through that whole loaf!), Salad (or Soup), Iced Tea, and Spumoni come with the meals. My baby got his standard: Pasketti and Meatballs. ($9.50ish) I just had to try the Miz... Mitzi... MIzthra... Whatever, the Cheese and Browned Butter with Spaghetti. I opted for the Garlic option, with Garlic, Mushrooms, and Bacon. ($11.25) We both upgraded to the Caesar Salad for $1.25, and were very glad we did. Our server had just been slammed with 3 tables at once, and was very clearly stressing, but in a customer-centric sort of way. He made eye contact and assured us he would be with us shortly, with a smile, twice. So all was good. Oh! And the Man also tried the French Vanilla Italian Soda in the "Colorful Keepsake Glass!!!" He was in Heaven. He ordered two, and wanted more. Suffice it to say, I now have French Vanilla Syrup, Milk, and San Pellegrino in the house. (At $4 apiece, these babies can get steep, so keep that in mind.) Our salads came out, and the Caesar dressing was tangy with anchovy, which we love, and the salad was topped with copious amounts of shredded cheese. I think he and I more INHALED our salads rather than savored. We got our meals and had to remind the server about the bread... which was "Still in the oven." But we forgave him that fib as soon as we coated that hot loaf with soft butter and bit into it. Whatever, Dude, just keep 'em coming! The Man loved his Pasketti and Meatballs... In fact, he FINISHED it all, which I RARELY see. I did manage to snag a bite of both sauce and meatball. I liked the sauce, chunky with tomatoes and good flavor. The meatballs were also tasty, but being a home-cook-meatball-Goddess, I just don't think it's fair for me to comment on restaurant meatballs. I mean, we all know mine are better. He liked 'em, and that's what counts. My Garlic...Miz...Mizthi... um, CHEESE and Browned Butter was interesting. It was good, but too rich and buttery for me to eat in one sitting. But I did enjoy it! The bacon... well, what can you say about bacon? It makes ANYTHING better. I will say that the dish could have been enhanced with MORE of the Mushrooms (Maybe use Baby 'Bellas, guys? Even Papa Johns has caved and uses them!) and more of the Cheese. When I reheated the leftovers at home, I crumbled in some Queso Fresco (Hey, man, it was in the fridge) and added fresh ground black pepper. That upped the Noms Factor considerably. Wow, this review is a novel. And I've not even gotten to dessert. Free Ice Cream. Who complains about that? ~*The End*~
(4)Mary K.
This has been a family fave for years. I always order the Mizithra & Brown Butter. They have a new menu...higher $s & an item called Garlic Mizithra-which promises bacon & mushrooms. What could be better?...They should've named it Salted Mizithra. Inedible! Word of advice....don't ruin a classic. The waiter, who was hovering a bit before our food arrived, all but vanished afterward. I can only assume this was because my mountain of pasta remained untouched. Sadly, what I desperately needed was water, to help me swallow the salt. We will be back, but we have no intention from straying off the tried & true menu ever again.
(3)johnny d.
if i didn't have kids, i would loathe the place, but as a parent, it's nice to know you can go to a place and let the kids wreak total havoc, have food fights & melt down without worrying what the table next to you thinks - they are doing the same. yeah, the food pretty much blows (fazoli's drive-through caliber spaghetti) but there's a big market for this type of offering. the staff are usually rough around the edges (wine service?) as i too would be if i had to wait on miserable couples and their bombastic toddlers. so if you bring a date here you're not using your head - this place doesn't exist for you, it exists for parents. if you can make better pasta (big achievement) stay home and do so - this place is not for you. a single person without children bitching about the OSF is like me complaining about the wine selection at shotgun willie's. the remarks about fat people dining here to fatten up their kids are pretty typical of twenty-something club-hoppers - let's see how these chicks look in their 30's after 2 or 3 pregnancies, and where they dine out with their kids....after getting thrown out of sushi den with their unruly children, i bet we see them at the Ol' Spag factory, choking back the vinegary house chianti, bitching about the parents at the next table over... but beware, my wife and i are watching for ya...and if you harsh our mellow you'll get a plate of mizithra frisbee'd at your head...
(3)Russ N.
This is one of my favorite restaurants. The price is great and the food is great. I moved here from Portland, OR where the Old Spaghetti Factory started and the Denver, CO restaurant doesn't fall short of it's history. The building that the Old Spaghetti Factory is in sets the atmosphere well. Highly recommend for anyone who wants good Italian food (with a "shortened" menu) and a good time downtown.
(5)John F.
Had a nice B'day dinner with friends. Was nice. Service was attentive and friendly be the food was ... Spaghetti. Everybody seemed to enjoy their meal. I had spaghetti a/ meat sauce and Italian sausage - yummy. Not sure what the ney sayers were expecting, but the place is cool and a good value.
(4)JoAnne H.
I was put on hold 3 times, the manager will be right with you. Then the manager, Tim put me on hold then came back after 5 minutes and said he was not taking reservations they were too busy. Why couldn't he or anyone of those idiots tell me that the first time I called?
(1)D. A.
This is not the first Spaghetti Factory Ive been to. The one in San Jose, CA. is fantastic. However this was by far the worst. The ambiance was phenomenal, even if you weren't eating there its worth popping your head in. The old woodwork is incredible. The service was the worst part. Our waitress had no business being in food service. It was like being waited on by someone struggling with Alzheimers. She greeted us and got our drink orders then disappeared for 20 min. yes 20 effing minutes!!! As I have worked in food service before I have ample amounts of grace for the business, even to a fault. But she had 5 tables in her section and it looked like all were getting the same treatment. At least shes consistent. When she came back with the drinks she forgot a drink and the straws. The adults were ok but it was messy to have the kids drink from the holes in the cup lids. Anyway, the speed of service continued the whole time. I figure once she assumed she wasnt getting a big tip she gave up. Thanks lady. (oh and servers the excuse "The kitchens backed up" only works if the place is goddamn busy, in this case it wasnt) The food was on par with olive garden. I got the spinach ravioli. But I recommend the Mithra cheese and browned butter. That was good. Denver OSF it was a long 2 hours. Thanks /s
(1)Ellie M.
This is my favorite restaurant that I've ever been to for several reasons: 1) It is kid and family friendly. I have been coming here since I was fairly young and still enjoy the atmosphere. It is a large enough building so that the presence of younger children is not overwhelming if you're on a date or with a small group. 2) With the purchase of an entree both a dinner salad and spumoni ice cream are included. BEST spumoni I have ever tasted inside the US. 3) The atmosphere is fun and exciting Tough the spaghetti is only slightly above average tasting, their alfredo sauce is phenomenal and the dessert at the end definitely makes up for it!
(4)Ben S.
The Old Spaghetti Factory's food tastes as good as the name, OLD! I'm shocked I didn't get food poisoning. Whoever reads this and considers going to this place save your money and your gut. I'm not sure how anyone can review this place better than an "Eek!"? Honestly, college cafeteria food is several steps up from the OSF - I can confidently say that I'll never be back. They couldn't pay me to eat there again.
(1)Brian J.
Lasagna is great and so is the Mizithra and browned butter. Have been to many different ones all over the country and have always liked it.
(5)Amy W.
Good place to take out-of -towners, tourists, and kids. I have had better food, but the atmosphere is unique and has historical value to Denver. It's not the best food, but again...it's unique. I am a Native of Denver- if this place ever goes...Casa Bonita needs to go with it!
(2)priya k.
I fell in love with this place, I love Denver I actually dint now that this was a franchise and they had few of them in California. Anywaz, I had marasla pasta which was soo good, and its cheaper than cheese cake factory, and olive garden. I would definitely go back their for the food, and great customer service, and nice decor.
(5)Brandon O.
In the 3 times we have been to the Old Spaghetti Factory...Twice we waited over 45 minutes for our meals. It's pasta people! 2 people ordering spaghetti and meatballs should not take that long. Then just recently we tried again and we waited 15 minutes after being seated and no one approached us. I could understand if the place was busy and there was a line out the door but it was 9pm on a Thursday...the place was empty. I went to complain to the 2 young guys that looked like managers but they stood there like deers in headlights. They had no response. So if you have nothing better to do but sit around and stare at fake Victorian decor then The Old Spaghetti Factory is your place.
(1)Pat A.
Spaghetti? In an old factory? Just when you thought you've seen it ALL. WHHAAA WHHHAAA WHHHHHAAAAATTT?!?!?! WOW!! I ate my DINNER in an old cable car. No, I'm not one of the crazy hobos that hangs out outside of this place begging you for left overs, but you might think that if you've never been to this place. I'm Joe Everyday Patron of the SPAGHETTI FACTORY in the trendy "lodo" area of downtown Denver. This must be how the girls in sex and the city feel!
(5)Daniel R.
The Old Spaghetti Factory is a must for any person living in Denver or in the downtown area. The scenery is really awesome and the lighting inside is dark and fluorescent which can make it a potential place for a date. For starters do not order the salmon even if you want to be healthy. It doesn't taste that great and the fettucini alfredo served with it will balance out your efforts to eat healthy. Instead try out their creative spinach tortellini stuffed with cheese, or the grand vegetarian lasagna. You will love every bit of these and you will be willing to pay for every cent they're worth. Also, if you come here be nice to the waitresses because one time this lady tried to charge me fifty cents for the croutons on my salad? I've never heard of this, but that was the first and only time something that ridiculous has ever happened to me. For desert you have to get the spumoni ice cream. It's absolutely perfect in it's tiny little round dish and just one serving will keep you satisfied.
(4)Penelope W.
What a kool name and mental image, right? Just from learning the name, should you be impressed with this place. The Spaghetti serves one thing, spaghetti...with salad, soup and bread of course. And after that, delicious ice cream! Come here for delightful LODO charm, such as folks carryin' on around in horse toting carts wearnin' Aspen's finest threads to give this area a real Denva flav! You may experience a bit of a wait when dining a restaurant like the Spaghetti Factory. This place is popular! And for the right reasons. Come for a romantic spaghetti Dinner with a date of interest but watch out for those carbs! Better just get the soup and salad BUT still come for the ambiance.
(4)