The food is amazing! If you're turned on by Traditional Italian, this is the restaurant for you. The lasagna and calamari are some of the best I ever had. I guarantee you will enjoy yourself.
(4)
Martin W.
The pasta is consistently overcooked. The service is not only poor, but the staff are rude. I will not visit this restaurant again. I'm not Italian, but I cook way better than this myself.
(1)
Emily H.
if you dont mind waiting a little for a seat, the food is usually good! They have a great menu and service is good.
(4)
Britney T.
I will always adore this place for some reason. It has a historical, old-time feel to it, complete with the retro decor and trolley car. The food is not the greatest Italian food I've ever had, but they always have deals and specials which makes it a great place for a family outing or lunch with friends. I mostly love the atmosphere of the place. I will admit, the service wasn't so great the last time I was there, but you get what you pay for. They have a parking lot in the back.
(3)
Anthony L.
The service was nice. She was polite, and fixed the multitude of issues I had with the food. The salad was warm, the ravioli was cold, and the bread was harder than the croutons. The manager was also very kind, and made some adjustments to the check. I'd love to say that I'd return to this establishment, but there's much room for improvement. Having worked in the service industry for some years, I try to give the benefit of the doubt, but in this case the service was the only pleasant part.
(2)
Ralph H.
One of my all time favorite restaurants even though I don't like driving downtown. Even when they make mistakes they make it right. This particular visit was all you can eat pasta for an amazing price of $8.99. The calamari was very good as was the various sauces with the pasta. The ranch is homemade and quite delicious. Yum
(5)
Ang T.
Yum. Delicious! To start off, we were surprised and happy to find that there is FREE PARKING for the Spaghetti Warehouse right behind the building which is a rarity in Pittsburgh so it's worth mentioning. I'm not a wine drinker but I could make a whole meal of their sangria. The appetizer sampler is huge and amazing. The bread was warm and delicious. I got the pick 3 deal which was an appetizer, entree and dessert and was a decent deal...could have used a little more sauce on my ravioli but I like things overly saucy. My friend got the Turin Trio which was the lasagna, fettucine alfredo and chicken parmesan. Amazing. Cute kind of kitschy atmosphere with cool stained glass and a trolley car in the middle of the restaurant that you could sit in to eat. Reminded me a little of Buca di Beppo. Service was great and prices were not bad at all for all the food we got.
(5)
Juliette L.
Recently I ate at Spaghetti Warehouse . Breakdown: Decor: nicely done , made me feel comfortable, "warehouse chique" I guess you could call it. (4/5) Service : waiters were kind and were on top of things (5/5) Food: it was pretty good, but not quite as good as other Italian restaurants I have been to. (4/5) Overall: nice place for a good meal at a fair price ! Would recommend for families or just a for group meals. In summary, great experience, if I ever happen to go to Pittsburgh again this restaurant would be on my places to eat !
(4)
Evie T.
What a great place to take your family! Not only is the decor fun but the food and prices wont make you frown either. Spicy Shrimp pasta was friggin awesome and the calamari was fantastic. They have really good prices, specials are more than affordable and the staff are attentative. We will def be coming back. Had a blast!
(5)
Addam C.
Generous portions and the ingredients are made fresh every day. The food is great for the price.
(4)
Steve K.
I wish it were possible to give this place 0 stars. I ate here twice, hated the food both times, and felt like I was in a bizzaro funhouse instead of a restaurant. They clearly thing that if they go for the most ridiculous decor they can imagine it will distract from their lousy food. They're wrong.
(1)
Larissa G.
Looks like it's time to update another review of mine. I once said I had never had a bad experience at this place. Buuuut things have gone downhill a little at the Warehouse since then, so I suppose it's time to update my original statement. While the food here is still some of my favorite comfort food in the city (I certainly won't pretend it's genuine Italian), in the last couple of years things have really slowed down at the Warehouse. At my last visit they were so severely understaffed that I waited about 20 - 30 minutes to be seated, even though I remember seeing open tables during my wait. This isn't to say that the staff didn't do the best they could during that night - in fact the poor girl who handled my table was very clearly doing her best to rush from table to table without dropping anything. And a manager even came out to apologize and bring me drinks because our poor waitress was handling so many tables. So they definitely earned some goodwill back with that. It helps that the food hasn't let me down yet - it always comes out cooked well and seasoned well, and I always enjoy every bite. Sure, it's probably not what Italian die-hards are looking for, but it is a chain restaurant and it does a very good job once you consider that. I will continue to stop in for delicious glasses of sangria and huge portions of pasta and other "Italian" comfort foods - but only on days I'm not in a rush; and hopefully the trend of slower service and not calling in enough people to work won't last forever.
(4)
Matthew U.
I know it's a chain restaurant, but I loved the food and the atmosphere. Maybe I love the kitchy? We arrived before the dinner rush and were promplty seated and our waitress was at our table. She took our drink orders and then disappeared for a bit to let us look over the menus. When she arrived with our drinks we placed an appetizer order and she disappeared again. This time when she returned she was empty handed and took our orders for our entrees. A little slide downhill here. A salad/soup comes with the entree. Weird thing is, we received our salads way before our appetizer, yeah, the thing we ordered first. While we were eating our salads the appetizer finally came out...wrong. What we had oredred was not what we recieved. All that wait and we don't even get the right thing. We informed the waitress, and instead of taking it back, she just brought us what was missing. The food finally comes out, correctly this time. We munch away and then the manager pops up to inquire how we were doing. We say fine and ask for a box to put what we couldn't finish. Time to pay and it's a bit of a cluster here because we asked to have the check split. Things showed up on reversed receipts, but all is good in the end. Will I come back here, yes, but will I remember it's here, probably, but only if I drive by it again.
(3)
Tim C.
We went on a Saturday night. We were told it would be a 30 minute wait...but it was likely closer to 45-50 minutes. The food is just average. Nothing special. Didn't seem handmade or anything like that. I thought they were known for their lasagna...so I got that. Blah...average. Service was incredibly slow. I don't think the waiter checked on us once. I probably wouldn't go back. Visited October 2014
(2)
C C.
I came here with a large group of about forty people. We were seated quickly in the restaurant, which looks nothing like a warehouse. The walls are covered in various decorations, and there's a nice boisterous atmosphere. We were served sourdough bread on wooden paddles, which also had cups of flavored butter. The bread was delicious--warm, crisp on the outside, and pillowy soft on the inside. The butter was a nice accompaniment. My friend got really excited when she realized we were coming here because she loved the bread, and she was super excited when we were served more. Next, we had salad. The iceberg lettuce was really crisp and fresh. It also had tomatoes, onions, croutons, and dressing. It wasn't bad. I ordered the 15-Layer Lasagne from the banquet menu (other choices included grilled chicken Caesar salad, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, and manicotti). It was served with a little Italian flag toothpick. I really enjoyed the lasagna, especially because the meat was so flavorful. I don't eat lasagna much, but this was one of the best I've had. Overall, service was curt and there was too much waiting for my liking, but I can't provide an accurate representation because we were in a large group situation. I had a good experience here and definitely wouldn't mind returning!
(4)
Joe D.
No, nope, uh uh, no way, please don't call this an Italian restaurant. Overcooked, mushy noodles, watery tomato gravy, and meatballs that are too garlicky and over spiced. Can't give this place anything lower than 1 star. Seriously, Olive Garden is a joke and I rate it higher than this place. Again, my advice to any Italian food lover, find a good neighborhood, family owned restaurant and support a family and not a conglomerate.
(1)
Bob B.
I am having a difficult time determining which is worse the Spaghetti Warehouse or the Olive Garden. Mushy spaghetti drenched in the worst sauce I ever had. Ok on second thought the Olive Garden is better.
(1)
Aaron R.
I stopped in here with my family the day before Thanksgiving. My sister, niece, and parents were at the Children's Museum and were struck by a fit of nostalgia--my mom used to take us here when we were kids. Either the whole operation has gone severely downhill, or I was too young to notice how bad it all is. Between all of us, we ordered chicken Alfredo, lasagna, and cheese ravioli. Every dish had several things wrong with it. The chicken was likely cooked the week before in a dirty cafeteria then shipped to the Strip District. It was dry and looked reconstituted. The ravioli were lukewarm at best, and my sister said the lasagna tasted microwaved. Even the bread was stale. Our waitress was also forgetful and a bit cold. I didn't get a salad I ordered, dishes stayed on the table fifteen or twenty minutes after being empty, and water refills were inconsistent. As a former server myself, I'd like to think I know what is in one's control and what is out of one's control. This woman was simply not up to snuff. With Lidia's right down Smallman Street, I have no idea how the Warehouse is staying in business. Spend a few extra dollars and go there. It'll be worth it.
(1)
Jen Y.
I come here with my sister for the nostalgia factor because we have great memories visiting growing up when this restaurant was in its prime. I don't think the restaurant has received any updates in the last 20 years. I love the Caesar salad dressing and the warm sourdough bread served with garlic butter. We were shocked to see when we visited last week that they sell glasses of wine for $2.50 and half carafes for $5.00. They don't list the types or brands on the menu, does it really matter at that price? Lol just pick red, white, or blush and you can get wine there cheaper than a soda at other restaurants. Get the toasted ravioli for an appetizer and keep in mind when you receive your entree that it's typical chain fare, do not expect anything more for the price you are paying. This is a great restaurant for a larger party because most tables seat 6 or more.
(3)
Ashley M.
Good service and yummy food! My boyfriend and I split the feast for 2 and didn't want spaghetti and the server let us swap it out for chicken parm which seemed like an unfair swap for them but we were happy!
(5)
D W.
Im soo surprised with the food that we ate. Im from California and was excited to experience this restaurant. Especially, since it is a local fav. I ordered the house made spaghetti expecting a fresh tomato base sauce. Unfortunately what I got tasted like a canned sauce with minced onions. It had no...flavor! Now maybe I ruined the meal by ordering gluten free noodles....but I didnt think that would make it this bad. Im soo sorry because our server was awesome and they even accommodated our big party. On a good note, the bread was delicious. As much as I hate Olive Garden...I would preferred that.
(2)
Eric G.
Went here on a date, and unfortunately I felt like I walked into a suburban chain restaurant like Applebee's or Ruby Tuesday. The wait staff, however, were all very nice and quick with everything. The food portions were large, and getting the soup and appetizer with the meal almost made my stomach burst. The veggie lasagna was average, the minestrone soup could have been out of the can, but the highlight for me was the baked ravioli appetizer. It was unique and tasty. I had an overall pretty good experience, but I probably won't come back here.
(3)
Tyoko B.
Soooo, my last visit (about 4 months ago) was a waste. I decided to visit this past weekend to redeem my birthday certificate. We were greeted at the door and then taken to our seat. We asked to sit in the trolley and the hostess happily obliged...and this was the end of the "happy" part of our visit. Our server came to the table and I gave him my birthday certificate and he looked puzzled and wasn't really sure of how it worked (although it's clearly stated on the paper). I ordered the Tetrazzini with grilled chicken. Instead of the chicken being juicy and flavorful...it was dry and tasted burnt. I decided just to eat the pasta and the mushrooms in the dish. The bread and the garlic butter is always good here and was the best part of this meal. My fellow dining partner ordered spaghetti with sausage. The sausage was very good while the sauce left much to be desired. Just bland. Our server disappeared for much of our visit but when he was around, he was just clueless. To top it all off, I ended up being charged for the wrong meal and the ice cream that was supposed to be free. In my haste to pay before the server disappeared again, I didn't catch it until AFTER I paid. I went to the front and spoke with the manager to get it corrected. Instead of an apology, I received a "deer in the headlights" look in response to my complaint. It was truly an awkward moment. An apology would have sufficed instead of making me feel as though my complaint was bothersome. Lastly, I'm not that hard to please when it comes to good customer service. A smile or two goes a long way with me and I truly appreciate it. The service I received at the Spaghetti Warehouse was bad...so much so that I can't think of any reason to ever again. As a matter of fact I am unsubscribing from their email club because it's just a waste of my email space. Yes. It was THAT bad!!!
(1)
Morgan M.
Worst place ever. I took my friend there for the first time and my son. We waited a hour for food. The waiter got us out water not our sangria 30 min later out salads and after another 40 min of my kid begging for his pizza we decided to go. The reason they messed up the order. We talked to the manager I'm assuming which didn't really care. Said hopefully we come back because service isn't usually this bad. Never again. Unprofessional and rude
(1)
Mireille M.
terrible... terrible terrible terrible... funny, the food there reminded me of the end of Goodfellas where the guy ordered pasta in a restaurant and got watery noodles and ketchup... yeah, not too far off the mark here. let me back up a bit first.... My stepson and I were on our own for dinner so made sense to go out for the evening. So I picked this place knowing it was a kid friendly joint and not chili's or fuddruckers etc. The building itself is great. I loved the feeling of going into this renovated looking warehouse. He thought it was cool as well. The best part was inside. the decor is fantastic, and really the only reason to go. Loads of vintage signs and things and smack in the middle of the one dining room - a real vintage trolly car - completely renovated... of course I asked for us to be seated inside there... that was really neat. Then the food came... I had spaghetti and Meatballs and a Caesar salad. Now, the salad was really flavorful and fresh. Normally I hate salads in places like this. the lettuce tastes old and rubbery... not in this case. it was excellent. The spaghetti on the other hand - wow, watery, slightly overcooked noodles and sauce I bet was straight out of a Hunt's Spaghetti sauce can. the meatballs were frozen and reheated - i hate that off taste frozen meat takes on. so the salad got an A and spaghetti was a bit loser. My stepson ordered the Italian wedding soup - he loved it - I did not try it... he also got the same watery noodles with the mushroom red sauce. Those mushrooms must have come straight from a can. they were button and the one I tasted had that tinned flavor.... so essentially this restaurant depends completely on frozen, processed, canned ingredients rather than fresh and flavorful. Bottom line... have kids with you? they will love it... just the adults? find something... anything else... it is going to disappoint.
(2)
Jennifer C.
We went on a Saturday night at 7 pm and told wait time was 30 min. Almost left, but ended up being less than 15 min, Atmosphere was great with lots of old signs, phone booths, and funky little rooms. Menu is narrow, with typical Italian fare. All entre's come with salad or soup and fresh warm sourdough bread with a side of garlic butter. Loved the italian wedding soup! Drinks are huge. Aftrer ordering , salad and soup came out quickly with very tangy sour dough bread. Then things went wrong, it took an hour to get our food and this was just lasagne and ziti which you would have thought of been quickly served up. Our waitress was very apologetic, and kept bringing out more bread and drinks. We thought we would float away and the bread after 5 loaves came out did not look so yummy anymore, I wondered if it was just us, but all around us were unhappy faces with multiple loaves of bread sitting on their tables as well. Food was better than average, but not "great". Would have given 4 stars, but wait time was unreasonable and frustrating and we did not seem to be an isolated incident. Would still -probably- go back but maybe earlier in the evening when not as busy.
(3)
Michelle C.
Yes-the food is good and the portions are big. Our waiter was very speedy and attentive. That being said, I cannot ever go back to this place again because of the amount of bugs I saw in such a short period of time. All gnats and thankfully nothing worse but who knows what's going on in the kitchen? Not just a stray gnat or two but dozens just swarmed our table. I killed one with my bare hand on the table and another one bit me and drew a (spec) of blood. Disgusting. A "manager" (looked like a bus boy if you ask me but what do I know) did come to talk to us about it after my waiter noticed me covering my food with my napkin but it didn't accomplish much, no free meal or anything. I noticed other people moving to other parts of the restaurant to avoid these bugs too.
(1)
Carrie T.
Disappointed. That one word sums up our group of 15's experience at the Spaghetti Warehouse. This restaurant has been a Pittsburgh institution for so long; however, it left many in our group unsatisfied and hungry at the end. My mom ordered the roasted garlic shrimp and her dish was dry and the shrimp were over cooked to the point of too chewy. I ordered the chopped salad "warehouse style" as my main entree and it was a big salad. Yet the veggies in the salad weren't fresh and the warm chicken was burnt and wilted the lettuce with its heat. I sent it back without eating it (at least the waitress was kind enough to take it off of our bill). My fiance got the lasagna and chicken parm off of the classic combo section of the menu and his chicken was ok but not great. The lasagna was good too. However, neither were great. My aunt and father were unimpressed with their dishes as well but I'm not sure what they got so I can't speak to their food quality. Also, it took us an hour after we ordered to receive our food and our food was cold. Granted, I understand we have a party of 15 BUT the restaurant was not packed by any stretch of the means. In fact the room we sat in had approximately 10 open tables. I can't speak to how filled the other rooms of the restaurant were though. But there should not have been a hour wait nor should we have gotten cold food as a result of it. We have booked this restaurant for our rehearsal dinner for our wedding but, considering how poor the food was and how incredibly slow the service was (no fault of the waitress), we are looking to change our reservations to a different restaurant. We chose the Spaghetti Warehouse because it is close to the hotel where all of our guests for our wedding are staying. Given how slow the service was, we can't afford to be there til 10:30pm at night when we have to be up at 6am the next morning for a very long day. (Another reviewer said that their rehearsal dinner group took 3+ hours to get out of there). Just my 2 cents. I wish the food quality and service were better. I'm glad we found it out now before the rehearsal dinner.
(2)
Adam C.
Great atmosphere with lots of old pictures, signs, and other decorations. Drinks are pretty large and the bread they bring out was fantastic. The main course was a little less impressive. Portions suffer a little from schizophrenia, going from a little to little to a little to much from one dish to another. As for the food itself it is good, but was a little of the cheap feeling side. The 15 layer lasagna was impressive in size but seamed like it was just 15 layers of the same 3 ingredients. Service was fantastic and the servers where perfect. Overall good place to visit, but there needs to be a little tuning in the kitchen.
(3)
Donald W.
I never thought that standard Italian Food was hard to make. As I alway say it doesn't take a rocket scientist to boil noodles and open a jar of pasta sauce and grate some cheese. For years this place has been touted as a diamon in the ruff in an area of the strip that has since built up greatly over the last 20 years. I had gone in the past but most recently decided to visit again because of their 'no coupon lunch special' advertised in the Sunday paper and also in the Red Plum coupon section. It was around $5 for Spaghetti Marinara a salad and what they call fresh baked bread. Let me say the spaghetti came out in a bowl with alot of tomato chunks and what looked like some raw oregano shaken on top. The noodles (from a box, definately not fresh pasta) were room temperature along with a quite a bit of water that settled to the bottom of the bowl from the sauce seperating. I would honestly rather have had Ragu Robusto from a jar instead of this particular sauce. It tasted like stomach acid, was sour and had not texture to it. The oregano flavor was overbearing and quite off putting. The salad was as described in the review below mine, watery iceberg with brown edges and some dressing spooned on top. We ended up eating alot of bread since nothing else was appetizing. The first one came out warm and the second one was cold and a bit hard. I am going to take a wild guess and say that the bread loaves are made off site and come in a plastic bag inside a giant box such as brown and serve rolls. You can tell they are placed in some type of convection oven to be heated slightly before they serve it to you. It's pretty much a crap shoot if you get a warm one or not. With the special price, tax & tip and depending on if you buy a beverage or not you end up paying about $7 to $9 per person anyway. Not sure if this is your idea of a cheap lunch but at home I can make this meal from about $2 per person and it is always way better. Do yourself a favor and go out and buy some fresh pasta at one of the stores in the Strip, touch up one of your favorite jar sauces with a little Italian sausage, buy a bag of butter lettuce and some salad dressing from Aldi and a fresh loaf of Mancinis bread at your local supermarket and have a feast, save your money by not frequenting places like this.
(1)
Lizzie D.
I just can't help but love Spaghetti Warehouse! So many memories at this restaurant, not to mention the vintage decor is so nostalgic! There is a train (complete with vintage ads and posters!) in the left portion of the restaurant that patrons can have dinner in, which is an absolutely amazing experience! The food is always pretty good and there are deals for certain days of the week that your wallet will thank you for. And let's not forgot to mention the mouth watering sourdough bread and garlic butter! It is so amazing and addictive! The wedding soup is phenomenal! Though, I most recently ordered steak and vegetables, and the presentation was thrown together and unappetizing. There were two small pieces of random steak on my plate, as though they were leftovers. The waiter was odd and rude. He asked if the birthday dessert was on my boyfriend's dad in front of the whole dinner party. Usually, most restaurants will give you a little something for your birthday, or at least be a little less blunt about the cost of the dessert. I wouldn't recommend sitting by the door that the staff comes out of either. It's really loud and they will have full conversations right by your table. Other than those two experiences, I've had a great overall experience at Spaghetti Warehouse and would recommend it to others!
(4)
Kristen H.
You can't screw up pasta--it would be very hard. Only Buca di Beppo has managed to do that, and they did it by drowning the pasta in salt and charging through the nose for it. The food here is pretty darn good. I love the bread they bring to your table and the atmosphere is very fun. My problem is that the past four times I've been here, the service was awful. Tonight our waiter brought our bread and salads before our drinks and this was only a huge problem bc I was dying of thirst. Our waiter (Vincent) had 3 tables. It was like he was trained not to bring our table anything unless hte other two tables needed something. He would disappear for 20 minutes at a time (I'm not kidding). I gave him my drink order and then he asked for our dinner order. He came out with entrees for the one table, salads for the other, and bread for our table. Why would you not just get our drinks? You can come back to the table multiple times!!! This has happened the past four times I dined here, and I'm just over the awful service. Too bad I won't be back, bc I wanted to love this restaurant. Good food, AWFUL service. 2 stars bc I love carbs so damn much.
(2)
John H.
We went here with sixteen people. The only good thing about our visit was having dinner with a bunch of our friends. The service was pretty good to considering the large party. My wife and I got the Sicilian Sampler Appetizer and The Ultimate Feast for two, as our dinner entree. The Calamari was uneatable and the Ravioli was just down right nasty. The wedding soup was the worst I have ever had. The meat balls had absolute no taste, kind of like cardboard. The Pork Sausage tasted burnt. The Spaghetti tasted no different than Boxed pasta. The Lasagna might have had 15 layers but 12 of them were noodles and sauce, you had to search for any meat or cheese. Our garlic bread came out literally black. I can't even believe somebody would serve that. We will not be back.
(1)
Matthew C.
Our terrible experience began with a 45 minute wait only to find half the tables empty and the table behind us being consoled by the manager after their own bad experience. We hopped this was a one off and not typical. Our waiter was prompt but very aloof, but we all have off days. The food was mostly bland and flavorless to the point we could not finish it. This is where things took a turn for the worse, as our order was being boxed up it fell on the floor. Despite our insistence we did not want another the overcompensating manager brought it anyway. We passed it on to the party behind us, maybe they took it home and added some seasoning, it needs it. Avoid this place at all costs!
(2)
Nate B.
A long long time ago in a far away place, I used to go to a place called Spaghetti Warehouse that was cool, clean, had good service, and had really good food. But that place is gone and now I'm left at this place that is dirty, has horrible service, and mediocre food. The end. Never coming back.
(1)
Michael A.
Wednesday night is their special night.. Unlimited soup or salad, bread and a plate of spaghetti (or other limited options) for $4.99. Cheaper than a value meal at your favorite fast food joint and friendlier service. They were busy tonight, but got served in a reasonable amount of time and he was friendly. They aren't going to win any Italian food awards. But for the price it can't be beat. With that said, no way I would pay "normal" pricing here.
(3)
R. P.
Came here a year or so ago to meet some friends... overall not a good experience. There were 4 of us and I don't think one plate was cleared or drinks refilled, it was a slow weeknight as well. So yes that could have just been bad luck with the waitress, but food is sub-par and atmosphere is well. I suppose this is a good dining option in some situations, but there are so many other places in the area, and I guess this was just nothing to write home about for me.
(2)
Marc O.
DO NOT GO HERE! They are understaffed, incompetent, and slow. It was like getting waited on by 1st job people. The place smells like bleach. It's tacky too hot. They play pop music and it's supposed to be an Italian place. Not one person there ever smiled and I was treated like a body in a chair not a person wanting to enjoy a meal. Very very slow service and no authenticity in the meals. I suggest eating out of a seafood dumpster if you plan on going here.
(1)
Elaina H.
I wanted to like it here... in fact, I have in the past. We used to come here for college events and schedule ahead of time for a large group - then again, this was always on weeknights... when they were slow... thank goodness. I always loved the food here (then again, these dishes aren't anything scientific - they are basic - comfort food), and I thought the gigantic restaurant could handle large groups well... until I brought 10 people here for a birthday dinner on a Saturday. First of all, we had reservations but still stood awkwardly in the waiting area for a while to be seated. Not terrible. Then we were seated - the server was flustered and irritated before we had a chance to speak. Long story short, we waited 1.5 hours for our food (pasta... yes - the stuff you make at home for an entire family in 10 minutes), the waitress spent all her time coming to her table bashing the kitchen staff to us (not exactly professional), and the manager was no where to be seen. C'mon, manager! It's your job to sail this ship - get it together. From my line of vision, I could see about 7 servers running around like chickens with their heads cut off doing nothing but throwing the kitchen staff under the bus. Dear manager: if you have this many employees standing around doing nothing but complaining, put a few of them to work in the kitchen. The place is cute and I really want to like it again, but I probably won't return until the management learns how to... manage. True, this isn't Capital Grill, nor was I expecting 5-star service. In all honesty, I'm from the middle-of-nowhere Ohio. I didn't even know what fine dining was until college. It's just that I've had better service at Arby's on a Friday at 12 noon when they have a line 20 people deep and cars wrapped around the building 3 times in the drive-thru. Saving grace: the sangria was good... thankfully, because that's the only thing we consumed for 90 minutes while waiting on our luke-warm dinners to arrive.
(1)
Katherine G.
Ordered delivery. The food showed up 2.5 hours later-which is acceptable, as it's (just) within the delivery window specified. However, the food had apparently been prepared within 15 minutes of receiving our order, because it was cold by the time we got it. I didn't listen to the other reviews and paid the price (literally)... if someone else is saved a crappy SW dinner by this review, my meal (or lack thereof) will not have been in vain.
(1)
Celeta S.
love their drinks and they have good food. the staff is friendly and take out is prepared correctly and quickly. Costco has gift cards that cost less than the face value so you can really get more bang for your buck!
(4)
Gwen N.
Came here later in the evening on a weekday to an empty building. No host/ess, no wandering servers, no customers... We had to search the place for someone to seat us and the first people we ran into were a couple of off-duty servers who were rolling silverware. The male kindly sat us and got our drinks for us. It took a ridiculously long time for our server to even appear at our table and just as long for our food to come out. To make everything worse, the only other couple in the restaurant who were sitting behind us were complaining to the server about their food. The server returned to their table a bit later (no manager) and said that "the manager" told him that since the food is made early in the day, it can lose texture and flavor by the time it is served. WHAT? Seriously???? It was hard to enjoy our food at all by the time it arrived. The food left much the be desired. The service was the worst I've ever encountered. I don't usually leave complaints on restaurant websites but I had to leave one for this terrible visit. They gave us a coupon for a free appetizer. Needless to say we did not return to redeem it.
(1)
Renascent c.
Surprisingly peaceful...not overly packed packed wit customers considering it was 1pm on Monday... Located minutes from the Strip District...sufficient parking available on the side...had to wait several minutes to be seated cuz no hostess was available... Decor was eclectic ...brings u back to the days of the "phone booth"...i wouldn't know them days...lol :) The food was amazing :) the salmon was juicy and tasty...but wasn't a fan of the green paste on top... Fettuccine Alfredo was average...no different from fettuccine Alfredo from other restaurants... What really stood out was the soups...we had wedding and minestrone ...both were very hearty...and full of flavor ... Waitress was friendly and timely and lunch times prices can't be beat considering their big portions :)
(4)
Mishelle B.
So this use to be a family favorite when growing up, but now, things have gone a bit down hill. I'm not sure if it's the clean but tired decor or the dirty dishes that sat on another table the entire time we were there. We were scouting the place to see if it would work for our wedding rehearsal dinner. We arrived about 6 and were quoted a 35 minute wait so we went to the bar for a drink. We ordered Peronis. The bar wasn't busy so we were served right away. The bar was more tired then the rest of the place. It definitely needs updating. The bartenders didn't smile but were nice. About 15 minutes in we heard the hosts calling our name and last call. We hurried over and she was so rude about taking us to our seat. We couldn't hear them call over the other people who came in to the bar. at this point, the bar was busy and noisy. We arrive at our table and looked at the menu, a newspaper. It was easy to understand. Our server started out great until our food was delivered then she disappeared. We ordered an appetizer sampler. It was ok. The calamari was so spicy! The rest of it was ok. There were only 2 bites of bruschetta and they were stale. Dinner was typical. The spaghetti sauce was a bit sweet for me but it was good. The meatballs had way too much cheese in them. I thought they use to have giant meatballs. Guess not. They were definitely not what I expected. We set in the back of the main dining room and had a great view of a tale filed with dirty dishes. Many kept walking by it but never took anything from it including the very visible managers. Even the dishes on our table weren't removed as we progressed through the meal. It took us a half hour to pay for dinner and leave. We might return but probably not a top dinner destination. Add far as a rehearsal dinner we might pass because it's not super handicap friendly.
(3)
Jennifer G.
I have great childhood memories of eating in either the bed or the caboose at spaghetti warehouse in Buffalo and Toronto, so I was excited to try the one in Pittsburgh. The huge restaurant brought back waves of memories as soon as I entered. We were seated in the trolley room (although not in the trolley). Service was decent, but the server had a friend sitting at a nearby table, so there were times she got caught up in conversation and seemed to forget she had a job to do. I ordered the spaghetti with a seafood sauce and was highly disappointed. The shrimp were tiny and tasteless and the sauce very salty and unappetizing. It was very clear this was a frozen and thawed dish rather than something that was freshly prepared. The server had steered me towards it (and away from the spaghetti with mushrooms), so when I mentioned it, she brought me a whole new dinner. That was a nice touch because they certainly didn't have to do that. Overall, I enjoyed my trip down memory lane and the food was decent, but I don't think I'll return again unless I have a coupon or I'm bringing a child to enjoy the trolley or bed rooms.
(3)
Kimberly S.
Ewww, the food here is terrible. Nothing I had tasted good. It tasted like it had been sitting under the food warmers for hours. The service is luke warm at best. Just skip it. There's so many other places out there for good italian food.
(1)
Dan S.
Took two and a half hours to get our food. All our food was the thrown together in the same pan. Not worth the $55.
(1)
Faith A.
I have been to this Spaghetti Warehouse too many times over the years. Back when I was in college, somehow when my family would be around visiting, we would always end up here when meandering around the Strip District. That was a long time ago, but the great thing is that the Spaghetti Warehouse still remains. It may not be some beautiful or nice Italian restaurant, but it is inded good and to me, it seems less "chain-like" than the other Italian chains. The food is good, the portions are great, they have fabulous wedding soup, and those sourdough rolls they give you are to die for (and supposedly around 150 calories to boot which is pretty low in comparison to a lot of other breads- this is for those of you who are calorie counting this new year). We got the Spaghetti Warehouse to go this last time and it was scrumtptious upon it arriving at our home. Hopefully this place will remain a Strip staple!
(4)
Danny D.
The atmosphere was pretty cool. It really is warehouse like. Could have been better with a bigger crowd. But the food was pretty bland.
(3)
Katrina M.
We chose this place because the menu on their website made everything sound pretty good, and we were starving. Upon walking in there was a bit of an old smell, and kind of like too many birthday parties had dropped cake on the floor. We were seated immediately (there were only maybe 3-5 other tables filled), and our server was friendly. She checked in on us frequently, and kept our glasses full. We ordered the feast for 2, and it was enough food that it could have been for 4. There was just so much!! Thankfully our server brought us a to go box with the meal. I liked the ravioli and lasagna, but the chicken parmesan was dry and the spaghetti could have used way more sauce. I didn't like the sausage either, and the meatball was just okay. For $30 I think we got a pretty meal. I probably won't care to go again, but at least it wasn't a terrible experience.
(3)
Rebecca M.
We went here recently right before a 2-day, 150-mile bike ride to carbo-load. The food was okay - probably what we should have expected for the low prices - but the service was horrible. It was not busy, but we could not get our waitresses attention despite multiple attempts. We needed a refill and asked for one when she took our dinner order, and reminded her when our dinner arrived. We were finally able to flag her down 10 minutes later to remind her again. It also took about 20 minutes to get the check after we had FINISHED our entrees. I am sure that not all of the servers are that bad, but I'm not sure I will be back to find out.
(2)
Will H.
It's probably been about 7 years since I actually ate in the Spaghetti Warehouse. I remembered the experience being pretty underwhelming, so I didn't have high expectations, but we had ordered food for delivery last winter (no, they don't deliver, but one of the online delivery services had them listed), and the food was good enough that we figured it would be a decent meal...and it didn't disappoint on a food level! Now, I'll never claim that Spaghetti Warehouse is the best Italian food spot in the city, but the prices were very reasonable for the portions you get, and the food is actually pretty good. We tried the classic bruschetta as an app. It was really good, and while you "only" get four small pieces, it was a perfect amount for the two of us. The endless salad and bread is a great touch for those who are fans of the Spaghetti Warehouse's counterpart, The Olive Garden. Maybe it was the plaque for the 8,800 lb. World Largest Lasagna on the outside of the restaurant, or the photos in the menu, but I couldn't resist trying the 15-layer lasagna. I actually got the lasagna & chicken park combo, which was probably enough to feed two, despite my gluttonous ability to eat it all myself. The lasagna was good, with a very sausage-dominant flavor, which pleased me. I think my only complaint would've been the lack of sauce. There was barely enough. Same complaint goes for the chicken parm that was on the plate. It was good, but definitely could've used a little more sauce. I'd likely request extra next time to be safe. The bread is awesome, but disappears too quickly! Overall, there really wasn't anything to complain about regarding the meal itself. We went in with chain restaurant expectations and weren't disappointed. When we had ordered food for delivery, I tried the eggplant parm, which was really good. My wife said the wedding soup was also awesome. I'd say two positive food experiences out of two is a good trend! The biggest issue that I have with Spaghetti Warehouse - and the reason I can't give it more than 3 stars - is this: while the expectations/food quality are in line with what you'd expect from an Olive Garden and the vibe is what you'd expect from an old school TGI Friday's, the reality is that the restaurant itself in in shambles when you compare it to those two (or any other chain, small or large, in the same category). For a restaurant that seems to always be packed, you'd think there would be money to maintain the inside of the restaurant a little. We sat in the bar, and the fans above the bar were in various levels of disrepair. The TV's at the bar were all so old that you'd never choose Spaghetti Warehouse for a place to grab a meal if you were hoping to also catch the game. A small tube TV/VCR combo? Even the dive bars that we hangout in are more up-to-date! The cleanliness left a lot to be desired, as well. In a dive bar, diner, or truck stop, I'd be okay with the griminess, but in a large restaurant? No thanks. I'm not saying it'll keep me away, and it clearly doesn't bother the masses that keep the lines flowing out the door, but it really needs to improve to make Spaghetti Warehouse a destination that I'd be quick to recommend.
(3)
RONALD W.
Went tonight for $4.99 rollback Wednesdays. Not very many people at around 9p, so service was really excellent. I only ordered the $4.99 spaghetti with meat sauce which comes with salad and bread. Even ignoring the price, I really enjoyed the whole meal from start to finish. I suspect true Italian aficionados will be upset that the pasta is cooked through, but it really reminded me of home growing up in the Midwest.
(4)
Stacie C.
Whatever happened to this place? Seriously. I remember when you couldn't even get in the door. Now I walk in and feel like walking right back out. Overall, I've got no complaints about the food. I think it's average and priced well. The lasagna is top notch. And having a private lot in the Strip District is nice. I usually dine in but on my last two trips I was placing an order to go. After the first time I should have learned my lesson and called ahead. Never again. The first time, I walked in and went to the bar area (as directed by the sign at the hostess station, not an actual person) to place my to go order. But there was no one there. It's funny, because waiters walk through the bar area and even use the bar to get drinks. But it seems they don't like to actually wait on customers or even make eye contact. After waiting way too long to even be acknowledged, my order was taken. The waiter who ended up helping me, Andrae, apologized at least and was very nice. I asked for two salads and he was happy to accomodate. But then I waited again. I'm not sure why my food took so long, but Andrae knew I had been waiting and threw in some extra bread. Despite the wait, at least I felt like I Andrae took an interest in making sure I was taken care of and his apology was sincere. Skip to the second time. While I had bad memories of my last visit, I was hoping it was an isolated incident and gave Spaghetti Warehouse the benefit of the doubt. Except....things were worst. I start to wonder if there is ever an actual bartender. But as I'm sitting at the bar, waiting once again for achknowledgement from an employee, there was not one but two managers conducting interviews in the bar area. While this is happening, several waitresses come to the bar to get drinks. Not one even looks in my direction, let alone ask if I need something. I didn't want to be rude and interrupt the interviews being conducted, but after a good ten minutes of waiting, I went to the hostess stand at the entrance. I waited a minute or two before one of the waitresses who previously ignored me came out. I was a little salty with her, I'll admit. I explained that I had been waiting at the bar as the sign says but no one was there to take my order. She said she could take my order and again, I was directed to wait at the bar. Back at the bar, their interviews over, I spoke up to one of the managers about how I had been ignored. She apologized and said she thought someone had waited on me. She then offered to take my order which I told her was unnecessary because I had placed it with a waitress at the hostess stand. A few minutes later, the manager came up to tell me that she had deducted $10 from my bill and apologized again. I wasn't expecting that, but at least it was an admission of their poor customer service. However when I received my to-go bag, I only found one salad and one loaf of bread. I guess what I'm trying to say is....beware when placing to-go orders. It's probably best to call ahead. The service here is hit or miss on a daily basis, but definitely beyond a miss when trying to get food to go.
(2)
Jessica D.
I had the Eggplant once my party of 4 was seated. It was great and so much to take home. Bar was small but great service even if our waitress was a bit odd. Every plate at our table was amazing.
(4)
Cindy L.
There has to be better Italian food in Pittsburgh -- I don't know why anyone would come here. I had an overnight field trip with my students to Pittsburgh & the tour company took us here for a murder mystery dinner show. They had us sectioned off which was great for privacy & also since the students were loud. Their service is a hot mess!!!! They only had 2 waiters serving our 50 person group & it was not organized at all. Just getting our drinks out was confusing. The waiters just came out with any drink & then asked -- anyone order this?? This is why my table sat drinkless, breadless, & saladless for the longest time. For our dinner, we were given a salad, entree, & tiramisu. The salad was definitely straight out of the bag & doused with some cheap dressing. It didn't taste fresh at all. There was a list of 8 or so entrees we could choose from. They came out quite haphazardly. I unfortunately ordered the fettuccine alfredo -- worst ever. I could make better alfredo using the sauce from a supermarket jar. I tried to douse it with pepper & cheese but alas it did nothing to help it. Some of the others said the chicken parm was alright but some said theirs was undercooked. The tiramisu also was gross. It definitely was made & cut awhile ago & just kept cold in their fridge. The redeeming parts of this dinner was the decor & old fashioned coin operated games AND the mystery show. I've never been to one & was really excited. They started after we ate our entrees & intermissioned during dessert. The actors were super funny & interactive -- my students loved them which of course makes me happy. Seriously though, their food is so bad.
(1)
Shari P.
Why anyone would willing go here to eat is beyond me. I had read prior yelp reviews and I knew what I was getting myself into. To make a long story short, I went here because I was with several other people that wanted to go here and I really had no choice. Anyway, I ordered the wild mushroom pasta with chicken. The sauce was really disgusting. I found myself eating only the pieces of chicken breast. I brought this meal home because my husband isn't as picky as I am, but he took two bites and got mad at me for not warning him how aweful this meal was. I will not be eating with this group of people again if they choose to go here again.
(2)
Amanda M.
This place is fun and full of neat stuff to look at. Good food not busy at all during lunch time on a Monday. Not sure what it would be like when it's packed. Only complaint is why sourdough bread with Italian food? That makes no sense to me. Excited we got to sit in the trolley!
(4)
Sharon G.
great place to just look around, but they serve food too. i saw the other reviews and they didnt like it. hmmmm. i loved their food. 2 can dine for 25 bucks and itss good.
(4)
Ryan F.
Spag Warehouse is the best value for money in the tri-state area.... damn good food!!
(5)
Kevin S.
I went to the Spaghetti Warehouse on a Sunday afternoon. It was for a late lunch (about 2:00 p.m. when we arrived). We were greeted by the hostess who took us to our table (which was in the trolley car). It's a visually interesting place to dine. However, our chairs were rickety and appeared ready to collapse. The restaurant was mostly empty (which was not a surprise as we got there after the prime lunch hour but before dinner). And yet although there wasn't a lot of other customers there all vying for the attention of the servers, it took an unusually long time for our waitress to arrive at our table. (A pattern which continued throughout the duration of our stay). On the back of the menu, there is a section for lunch entrees. I ordered the "Amazing 15 Layer Lasagne". The three other people in my party all ordered the spaghetti with meatballs. The food was...okay. Nothing to write home about. I've been eating Italian food for almost five decades. And this is average - at best. I'd say on par or slightly below Olive Garden. It wasn't the worst food, but certainly not the best. And again, I cannot overemphasize how below par the service was. But the thing which really upset me was when we got our check. They charged us dinner prices for each of our meals. Again, there is ONE menu, and the pack of the menu has the lunch section. It reads (until 3:00 p.m.). What I failed to see (because it's in fine print) is the part where they only offer lunch prices Monday through Friday. Really? REALLY? Are you kidding me? That's B.S., no matter how you view it. At no time did either the hostess or the waitress bother to explain to us up front that the lunch pricing wasn't in effect. I HATE being ripped off. And any restaurant which does that kind of crap is RIPPING PEOPLE OFF. So congratulations, Spaghetti Warehouse. You got the better of me. And I will never, ever go there again.
(1)
Yas T.
The lasagna was good but everything else was below average. Overall, I didn't like the atmosphere. We went there on a Saturday night and there were only a few people and by 10 o'clock we were the only table left.
(3)
Jack M.
Why come to this place when you have a tasty world of Italian restaurants right at your hungry fingers in this town! The place is essentially a tourist-trap that seeks to reel in folks who are looking for a "fun" looking italian warehouse (now...how would this be fun? Apparently it is to some.) Don't get me wrong...the food is not atrocious. But it certainly is sub-par. My chicken parm was quite un-tasty and seemed as if the spaghetti had come out of a can. The service was mediocre. Keep driving to Bloomfield!
(1)
Monica W.
Okay so I remembering going here as a child and the quality of the food being much better than when I went here recently. The atmosphere has remained the same which is wonderful! The waitress was not that friendly I'm not sure why because she wasn't even busy at all. I ordered a pasta dish which was just standard nothing special. I also ordered wedding soup which I will say was very good! The place was pretty clean and well kept. Overall I believe Spaghetti Warehouse to be very overrated.
(2)
Katie R.
Visited this place for the first time for a rehersal dinner. The decor is cool and varied and the place itself is quite large. There is free parking which is nice, but parking was hard to find on a Friday night. We had a semi-large party (about 15-20 of us) and it took us well over 30 minutes to get seated. Clearly they knew we were coming, so it shouldn't have been a surprised to them. Once we were finally seated, it took 30 minutes from ordering our drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) to actually getting them to the table. We still hadn't even looked at a menu when the drinks finally did arrive. From there the service picked up slightly and we were presented with warm bread, garlic butter (decent) and salad. I dislike iceburg lettuce so this was meh. Given that we were a large party, obviously we were given a limited menu selection. I ordered "The Incredible 15 Layer Lasagna" and it certainly wasn't 15 layers, unless you count the loads of marinara on top as, say, 10 layers. My cousin ordered the same thing and ended up with a piece of chicken on his plate, don't ask me why. The lasagna was okay, but I've had better from a Stouffer's frozen meal. Moving onto dessert, I ordered the tiramisu. Might as well just call it white cake with "espresso" drizzled on top. It was still slightly frozen too. No thanks. From start to finish it took us over 3 hours to get our entire meal. Understandably, we weren't a small table of four so it will take longer, but it shouldn't have taken that long. Since we were there for a significant amount of time, we were able to observe what other's were eating/doing while we were waiting. Nearly everyone had enough leftover portions to take home and feed themselves at least once if not twice more. Good value as a customer, bad for a business who is trying to make money. All in all, if you're looking for some good authentic Italian, I would recommend going elsewhere.
(2)
Brent M.
Arrived at 7:15 on a Saturday night, there was a 20 minute wait although although empty tables were visible. Got seated at 7:30, put order in shortly thereafter. We got bread and our soups fairly quickly then sat for an hour without any signs of food. We looked around the restraint and it was obvious other tables had been waiting and we're getting frustrated. The waitress apologized the kitchen was slow, so we gave it another 15 minutes before we finally walked out at 9:15 still hungry. The food I saw looked good, but I would never recommend this place. It doesn't take over an hour and a half to make a friggin salad and pasta.
(1)
Brent R.
A nice surprise. So, this place is a smaller corporate chain, but it was honestly pretty darn good. The Sangria drinks were great. The bread, sourdough, is brought out fresh and hot. Yumm.... The food was a nice portion, expect to have leftovers to take home. The building is a nice old warehouse antique feeling. Lots of signs, old pictures, a train-car in the dinning room you can eat in... its nice. ** Would be a good family place.
(4)
Mary W.
If you are in the mood for Italian, give it a try. They have a dinner for two that includes all the favorites...sausage, meatballs, lasagna, chicken Parmesan, spaghetti, and cheese ravioli. The prices are right. This is a great family restaurant. The kids are given a wooden nickle to turn in at the front desk for a candy stick, and Wednesday nights they have a balloonist and magician.
(4)
Darren W.
So, there I was, stuck with a gift card from X-Mas for Spaghetti Warehouse. The Olive Garden and Bob Evans cards were thankfully used up, and since Spaghetti Warehouse is close to where I work (also a warehouse), we figured we'd get rid of this one while it was on our minds. Also, as hard as it might be to fathom, this life-long Pittsburgher had never been here before. Reading the other reviews reinforced my belief that I wasn't missing much, but again, that goddamn gift card was weighin' me down. The decor is marvelous,and the restaurant itself is voluminous. What this building housed before Spaghetti Warehouse took up shop here I couldn't tell you. I could almost hear a forklift backing up and some guys hootin' and hollerin'. Vintage metal signs bedeck the brick walls. Old Coney Islandesque games can be seen along with a Ms. Pac Man arcade machine. They must expect busloads of diners since there's even an upstairs dining area. Methinks the novelty of the joint has long since worn off if the somewhat sparse crowd from a few nights back (Friday the 4th) was any indicator, and after sampling the menu, it's easy to see why. We ordered from some "special deal" menu. Caveat emptor? Initially, dinner held promise with the complimentary sourdough loaf. The soft, perfectly spreadable garlic/parsley butter was dynamite as was the bread. No gripes there. I was also impressed with the large Coca-Cola glasses which minimized refills to the point where I didn't need one during the entire meal. That was a lotta pop, and I arrived parched. The salad that came with the meal was admissable even though I ignored the bad omen that was the Italian dressing. Let's just say I had a hunch it was bottled and generic. Considering the name of the restaurant, what else was I gonna order but meatballs and spaghetti? Mine came with a side of fried zucchini, which is when tragedy struck its first blow. Instead of slicing the zucchini thinly, they cut it fat like fricking steak fries, and the "chunks" of zucchini weren't properly breaded or cooked at all; they were falling out of their clothes like an inebriated debutante and were close to raw. Did they just blanch 'em? They almost tasted like broccoli stalks or room-temperature cucumber. As the internet trolls say...Meh. Oh, and if that wasn't unfortunate enough, the ranch dressing they gave me as a dipping sauce (along with an acceptable marinara) tasted like a watery, nigh flavorless blue cheese. Onto the s'ghetti and meatballs. The meatballs passed muster. They were moist, dense and without a real fault in my opinion. I ate them first, probably because I could intuitively detect disappointment in the sauce and pasta. My Spider-Sense was on the mark. The pasta itself tasted like it had been boiled hours ago and was left to sit under a hot lamp or in a cafeteria-style steampan until service. The sauce came off as a tomato paste/ketchup sham with perhaps some water added to thin it out. Our server kept asking us, "Is everything tasting like you expected?" What was I gonna say? I mean, I didn't expect it to be that good. So I just said, "Yeah." Then said server vanished for 30 minutes. My dessert was something that I think was called an Oreo Dream, a forgettable cakey/brownie-ish whatsit that I finished in about 15 seconds flat. Kay seemed to like her Shrimp Scampi. I had a taste and thought it to be so-so. Then our server pulled another disappearing act. 30 minutes later, he came back with the bill only to make like D.B. Cooper yet again. Once he returned for the last time, we too teleported (BAMF!) out of there after unloading that gift card. Eh, at least they have a big, free parking lot. Finding a spot can be a stressfest in The Strip. They are a chain. That means there are more of them. This is a problem.
(2)
Margaret F.
We came to spaghetti warehouse (09/13) because it USED to be a great restaurant. The evening we visited we had not made a reservation so we expected to have a little wait. There were some people waiting in the lobby, and what appeared to be a birthday party happening in the dining room. When we walked up to the host's counter, we noticed the tables at the bar were empty. There were three hostesses behind the counter talking with who we assumed to be the manager. When the manager walked away, one hostess picked up a ringing phone while the other two stood there staring anywhere but us. When the hostess finally got off the phone, she did not greet us in any way, we had to ask if there was a wait and for how long. When we were told there was a 45 min wait, we had to ask if the bar was available (she did not offer this option). The hostess said "yes" and handed us menus and pointed up the stairs toward the bar- she did not show us where to go. After sitting down, we then waited another 10min to put in our drink order. The woman waiting on us seemed to be the only one working in the bar area on this busy night. We wanted to be easy on the girl because she was apparently alone behind the bar, but she was very rude. After waiting 10min to put in our drink order, it then took another 10min to get our drinks. It took about 40 min for our food to come out. The chicken tasted like frozen out-of-a-bag grilled chicken and the "wild mushroom cream sauce" was condensed cream of mushroom soup (My boyfriends pesto was swimming in olive oil). I would like to say this was an unusually bad night, however when I saw several waiters and waitresses gabbing and paying little attention to customers, it's hard to believe it was a one time thing. At one point a waiter stopped and stood watching the football game that was on the tv for about 8-10min. The only think I liked were the women's restrooms- they were nice and clean. Needless to say, we will not be giving warehouse another chance. Summary: Awful service, terrible food, nice bathrooms. I would rather go to Olive Garden than here!
(1)
Amy S.
It has been years sense we visited the spaghetti warehouse, my husband and I couldn't remember why we haven't been back. We had purchased a groupon for this place and decided to try it for an early dinner... Our first step in the restaurant and then it hit us on why we haven't returned.. The odd smell hits you at first step in the restaurant , you look around in the foyer and you see weird and dilapidated pictures, a candy stand that probably hasn't been used in years.. We get seated in a booth with one side ripped and the other side stained, our waitress was nice but that is far as she went. The food is mediocre at best, the bread and the endless salad was the saving grace of dinner... We wanted to enjoy this place and tried to have a good time, we would not recommend this place to anyone... There are plenty of other good restaurants in the strip and in lawrenceville..
(2)
Yancy Y.
I liked the food here. We got the $25 deal. Salad was good but a little dressing heavy, stuffed mushroom appetizer was simple but very good and the 15 layer lasagne was very rich and hearty. The hostess was a ditz. He seated a couple before us that we arrived before and then seated us at a table that was inconvenient with a post, cutting off part of our party. We asked to move and she just moved the table. The kicker was the place was empty!
(4)
October R.
.JB's parents wanted to meet here for dinner, I wasn't all that thrilled but I went for them. I guess I was a little hard on SW the first time around, the food isn't bad, I just think it's overrated. On this trip we got an appetizer sampler - fried mozz and zucchiniI were nothing special, the brushetta was superb and I didn't get to taste the fried ravoli but I didn't hear any complaints from the table. As an entree I had the 4 cheese manicotti which comes with both marinara and alfredo, the dish was good but im not really a fan of their marinara so if I ever find myself revisiting The SW I'll ask for just alfredo. Everyone else at the table had some form of lasagna (veggie, sausage and meat) and again, no complaints. Overall, its a decent family restaurant.
(3)
MB O.
Soup, salad, and bread with garlic butter was a good start. I had the manicotti it was very good!!
(4)
Tony M.
Decent, not great
(3)
Brian R.
I've been here once, so this is sort of a "first-impression" review. I've always heard good things about the Spaghetti Warehouse, and I'm one to love a great dish of spaghetti and meatballs! A friend of mine had a buy-one-get-one coupon from the local newspaper, so the two of us ate for the price of one. Our bill, including tip, was $20. The spaghetti I ordered was fabulous, but the lasagna my buddy ordered looked even better! This lasagna was huge. I love that you get bread and salad with your pasta dish. The decor is pretty cool, and the place is large. Free parking was a plus! The only complaint I would offer here is that our waitress seemed to be very disinterested in her job. Not sure if she was having a bad day or what, but she just wasn't very friendly. Nonetheless, I'll go back! Good food, good decor, generally good service!
(4)
Michael B.
I walked in expecting a great experience. It has a great atmosphere. There was nothing wrong with our service, but the food was overpriced and pretty meh. I had the tiramisu which is one of my favorites to get and it was horrible. It tasted like it came out of a Walmart freezer on clearance. Won't be coming back anytime soon.
(2)
M K.
This is a one time visit. The worst service ever. It was almost empty and twice we had to have someone find our waitress. The food was mediocre at best. The bruschetta appetizer for 4.99 had 4 tiny pieces of bread with some tomatoes on top. Not even shaved cheese, nothing. Total waste of money. The lasagna that they claim is so great in my opinion was diner quality, and that might insult some great diners.
(1)
Michael T.
This place is dead, but they just don't know it yet. Arrived on a rainy Wednesday around 7PM. 20 minute wait for a table, so I guess they are doing well, right? We should have known better when we sat in the bar area to wait (me, my spouse, and my eight-year-old son) after the rather apathetic front-desk person took our name. A couple tables taken, but no sign of staff in the bar. Every table was dirty, covered with plates, glasses, and the remains of others. We took one that had just a couple of glasses and an impressive amount of Parmesan cheese scattered about. Took 10 minutes for any sign of a bartender, who promptly spent five minutes getting caught up on drink orders before wandering over. No smile, no welcome, just "what do you want, and are you waiting for a table". And certainly no "let me clean this table for you". We had a beer and a wine and a root beer for the little one. The pinot grigio was vile, but, hey, thanks for charging us for the more expensive version: lord knows how disgusting the cheaper version would have been. Finally, after 20 minutes we were seated. Not a table in the bar area had been cleaned in that period. And the restaurant is empty! Maybe 20% full! They made us wait simply because they can't staff correctly. Acres of empty tables. So we sit, look at the menu, check out the surrounding (few) tables and made the only good decision we made this night: we left and found another place in the area. A place that actually worked to seat us and made us feel welcome. The most amazing thing: between the greeter, the bartender, and the seater, there was not a single smile. Not a single sign that they actually are happy that we chose their establishment. And not a sign that that they gave a damn whether we ever wanted to come back. No wonder it is 80% empty but still makes people wait. The other reviews compare this to Olive Garden and the like. As my review makes clear, I can't compare the food. And I am certainly not a fan of the Olive Garden. But the few times I have gone into one, I was made to feel welcome. Certainly not here. The place is living off memories: I don't think it is creating any new (positive) ones.
(1)
Luke P.
Had to write a review because the most recent time I ate here (last weekend), it was just a great experience. We actually were a large party and everyone was being difficult, but I thought that the servers and the 1 manager that helped us were really nice about it. I end up in the Spaghetti Warehouse every so often, maybe 1 a month or more, because I know I can get an honest meal and at a great price. They don't do anything fancy here, but they've got the basics: spaghetti, meatballs, chicken parm, lasagna, etc... The deals for the kids are great, but in general I think all their prices are really fair. I never leave hungry (their portions are big), but I also never spend too much. Really I can eat for just about $8-10 for just me. The people that served me various times were really great. I think Dana, Christy and Lucian were my latest servers. Letitia at the bar is also really friendly. I definitely don't mind waiting at the bar when she is working. And when I go w/ friends or family, everyone is usually pretty happy because the atmosphere is fun. They have fun stuff on the walls and interesting things to look at. They even have a Trolly car you can dine in (although I never do). I'll be back for sure. I am a big fan of the lasagna. But I also get mozzy sticks sometimes, because I just can't help myself.
(5)
Mark C.
My family and friends had my mothers 75th birthday party at this Spaghetti Warehouse on Saturday March 15, 2014 and everything was perfect. From the time I made the reservations right up until we left I could not have been happier. Our waiter was Cody and he was personable, efficient, and by the end of the evening we felt like he was part of the family. He made my mom feel very special and very welcome. The food was excellent and the atmospher could not have been better. They even had a gentleman making balloon animals and he made my mom a hat and flowers and even though she thought the hat was silly, she wore it all evening. This was a perfect evening for everyone (our guest were also super impressed). We had brought our own birthday cake, candles, and paper plates and they kept the cake in the back, brought it out with the candles lit and even sang Happy Birthday with us to my mom. Cody even provided clean forks to go with out cake. It was just a perfect evening.
(5)
Gregory T.
We have been coming here since it opened, but will not go back after our three last visits. It has gone downhill badly. Three visits ago we were seated in the trolley and then completely ignored for 30 minutes. There was a waitress, but apparently she was new and only had the front half. I finally went out front and demanded the manager who finally assigned a waitress for us and comp'ed our meals. The lasagna was very disappointing with hard noodles and definitely not oven baked and barely warm. Two visits ago to use the gift cards we intended to use on the previous visit, service was poor and food was fair. The last visit last night was the third strike and SW is OUT! Very poor service and food. The drinks were all ice and refills were not timely. The server past our table many times, but she flew by each time like we were not there. The zucchini appetizer was good. We only got one loaf of bread which was barely done and came with almost no butter. No ranch dressing...really! This is the Strip District after all with many stores for crying out loud. The food was very poor. The spaghetti and meatballs had about a tablespoon of sauce. The fetticini alfredo was almost devoid of sauce, as well. My Wild Mushroom and Chicken was not warm but tasted okay. We will NOT be going back. Olive Garden and Bravos in the North Hills will be getting our business from now on.
(1)
John L.
The food is horrible - how can you serve pasta and marinara sauce and not even toss the pasta in the sauce? I truly received a pile of watery noodles with a ladle of sauce on top. Actually, the name says it all. While this place has an italian food menu, there isn't an italian bone in its body. You feel as if you are being served italian food from an irish line cook. The restaurant decor was really nice when they last decorated it in 1981, which was also the last time that they updated the menu.
(1)
Jennifer B.
Didn't think this was possible, but it's worse than Olive Garden...food was horrible and extremely overpriced, service was decidedly lacking.... Neat location with fun and interesting decor but I wouldn't eat there again.
(1)
Susan D.
My husband and I took our niece and nephew to the nearby John Heinz History Center this past Saturday. We decided to stop for lunch here. Normally when my husband and I think "Italian", we think of a fine trattoria or an old-school place like Minutello's (we're childless). But when little ones are in tow, it's always best to stop at a kid-friendly place like this. So how is it? Pretty good actually. About what you'd get at one of Olive Garden's better locations. I opted for the penne pasta with Italian sausage and peppers and onions. I forget what my husband had, but mine was good, although I wish their lunch menu was available on Saturdays (I would have prefferred a sandwich and soup). But they have a good kid's menu here, so that's why we stopped. Kids can get a pasta or pizza meal for $3.99. They really seemed to like it and their portions were just right. They also have a fairly extensive beer and wine list here. I'm a non-drinker but my husband Rick enjoyed a good Italian beer, Peroni, on tap. Thing about pasta places like this is that since I'm a type-1 diabetic, the insulin I have to take to cover a meal like this. Well that, and add the tiramisu I had for dessert (O the glorious carbs--Pump that insulin, Susan, pump). So yeah, while it is a chain, Spaghetti Warehouse isn't a bad choice, especially if the little ones are along.
(3)
Robin D.
This was the first time my husband and I have been here. We went with my sister-in-law, her boyfriend, and his sister as it is a tradition to go around Christmas for the boyfriend's family. Well, we were not impressed at all. Even the bf wasn't happy this time. We didnt have the best waitress as she would run off too quickly.for us to say much and we thought forgot about us the drinks took so long. She finally showed and said she had dropped them and had to make them again. We ordered and the wait wasn't too terribly bad for the food being a Saturday night in Pittsburgh though it was after 7 when we arrived. I didn't care much for.the garlicky butter that came with the sourdough, but the bread was hot and fresh. A balloon artist came around and made a flamingo that had to be 4 feet tall for the bf's sister and a little penguin for the SIL. He later came back, unasked, and gave her a 2 ft penguin with a hockey stick and puck in its "hands'. We finally got our soup, which did take a while to come out. Three of.us had the wedding soup and none of us liked it. The SIL's bf said it didn't even taste like wedding soup, but like chicken soup with meatballs. Granted I've been a little stuffy lately, but the broth barely tasted like wedding soup broth to me either. I had the fettucine alfredo, which was ok. I ate more of it than I might have were I not eating for two right now. I added pepper because it was rather plain...not even a garnish. My husband said his spaghetti and meatballs was just ok. The bf had ordered an Italian Margarita I believe it was called and drank the first one though it wasn't mixed right as you could taste the tequila and there was no salt. He even added sugar trying to improve it. The second he gave back and the waitress didn't even apologize or take it off the bill. She went into the kitchen and started complaining loudly and our table was near the kitchen. Then she shows up with the check and we had to wait for her to come back to split it 3 ways since there was 2 couples and one other at the table. The bad drink was still there and my SIL was thoroughly pissed by then and went to talk to the manager and told him about overhearing her and all he did was take the one drink off. I noticed while reading our check that the entrees were correct, but that she had us as having a salad and minestrone when we both had wedding soup. I didn't say anything since the price was the same. The balloons artist was great, but we won't be going back just to see him.
(1)
Sarah C.
Fettucini from a can, anyone? If you like paying $10 for tasteless pasta and sauces, this is your place! Stay away and never look back.
(2)
Amy R.
I've been going here for 4-5 years. Not super frequently, but probably at least once every 6 months to a year. My last visit left me with the thought "has something changed, because either I have gotten way more picky or it just really used to be better." The 7 layer lasagna used to be amazing, from what I recall, but the last time I ate it, I was disappointed. Nothing spectacular, not really all that cheesy - just kinda 'meh'. I could probably make better. I like the idea of a warehouse-turned restaurant, but for being in the strip district...the heart of what Pittsburgh is really all about - they should be doing better than they currently are. The sourdough bread is still great and I can't complain about my wine (although I did have to go with the white zin as a second choice because they were out of Riesling). Can't beat the price though - you can get a spaghetti dinner on Wednesdays for $4.99. Great for big groups as well - very accommodating and large.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
Craig T.
The food is amazing! If you're turned on by Traditional Italian, this is the restaurant for you. The lasagna and calamari are some of the best I ever had. I guarantee you will enjoy yourself.
(4)Martin W.
The pasta is consistently overcooked. The service is not only poor, but the staff are rude. I will not visit this restaurant again. I'm not Italian, but I cook way better than this myself.
(1)Emily H.
if you dont mind waiting a little for a seat, the food is usually good! They have a great menu and service is good.
(4)Britney T.
I will always adore this place for some reason. It has a historical, old-time feel to it, complete with the retro decor and trolley car. The food is not the greatest Italian food I've ever had, but they always have deals and specials which makes it a great place for a family outing or lunch with friends. I mostly love the atmosphere of the place. I will admit, the service wasn't so great the last time I was there, but you get what you pay for. They have a parking lot in the back.
(3)Anthony L.
The service was nice. She was polite, and fixed the multitude of issues I had with the food. The salad was warm, the ravioli was cold, and the bread was harder than the croutons. The manager was also very kind, and made some adjustments to the check. I'd love to say that I'd return to this establishment, but there's much room for improvement. Having worked in the service industry for some years, I try to give the benefit of the doubt, but in this case the service was the only pleasant part.
(2)Ralph H.
One of my all time favorite restaurants even though I don't like driving downtown. Even when they make mistakes they make it right. This particular visit was all you can eat pasta for an amazing price of $8.99. The calamari was very good as was the various sauces with the pasta. The ranch is homemade and quite delicious. Yum
(5)Ang T.
Yum. Delicious! To start off, we were surprised and happy to find that there is FREE PARKING for the Spaghetti Warehouse right behind the building which is a rarity in Pittsburgh so it's worth mentioning. I'm not a wine drinker but I could make a whole meal of their sangria. The appetizer sampler is huge and amazing. The bread was warm and delicious. I got the pick 3 deal which was an appetizer, entree and dessert and was a decent deal...could have used a little more sauce on my ravioli but I like things overly saucy. My friend got the Turin Trio which was the lasagna, fettucine alfredo and chicken parmesan. Amazing. Cute kind of kitschy atmosphere with cool stained glass and a trolley car in the middle of the restaurant that you could sit in to eat. Reminded me a little of Buca di Beppo. Service was great and prices were not bad at all for all the food we got.
(5)Juliette L.
Recently I ate at Spaghetti Warehouse . Breakdown: Decor: nicely done , made me feel comfortable, "warehouse chique" I guess you could call it. (4/5) Service : waiters were kind and were on top of things (5/5) Food: it was pretty good, but not quite as good as other Italian restaurants I have been to. (4/5) Overall: nice place for a good meal at a fair price ! Would recommend for families or just a for group meals. In summary, great experience, if I ever happen to go to Pittsburgh again this restaurant would be on my places to eat !
(4)Evie T.
What a great place to take your family! Not only is the decor fun but the food and prices wont make you frown either. Spicy Shrimp pasta was friggin awesome and the calamari was fantastic. They have really good prices, specials are more than affordable and the staff are attentative. We will def be coming back. Had a blast!
(5)Addam C.
Generous portions and the ingredients are made fresh every day. The food is great for the price.
(4)Steve K.
I wish it were possible to give this place 0 stars. I ate here twice, hated the food both times, and felt like I was in a bizzaro funhouse instead of a restaurant. They clearly thing that if they go for the most ridiculous decor they can imagine it will distract from their lousy food. They're wrong.
(1)Larissa G.
Looks like it's time to update another review of mine. I once said I had never had a bad experience at this place. Buuuut things have gone downhill a little at the Warehouse since then, so I suppose it's time to update my original statement. While the food here is still some of my favorite comfort food in the city (I certainly won't pretend it's genuine Italian), in the last couple of years things have really slowed down at the Warehouse. At my last visit they were so severely understaffed that I waited about 20 - 30 minutes to be seated, even though I remember seeing open tables during my wait. This isn't to say that the staff didn't do the best they could during that night - in fact the poor girl who handled my table was very clearly doing her best to rush from table to table without dropping anything. And a manager even came out to apologize and bring me drinks because our poor waitress was handling so many tables. So they definitely earned some goodwill back with that. It helps that the food hasn't let me down yet - it always comes out cooked well and seasoned well, and I always enjoy every bite. Sure, it's probably not what Italian die-hards are looking for, but it is a chain restaurant and it does a very good job once you consider that. I will continue to stop in for delicious glasses of sangria and huge portions of pasta and other "Italian" comfort foods - but only on days I'm not in a rush; and hopefully the trend of slower service and not calling in enough people to work won't last forever.
(4)Matthew U.
I know it's a chain restaurant, but I loved the food and the atmosphere. Maybe I love the kitchy? We arrived before the dinner rush and were promplty seated and our waitress was at our table. She took our drink orders and then disappeared for a bit to let us look over the menus. When she arrived with our drinks we placed an appetizer order and she disappeared again. This time when she returned she was empty handed and took our orders for our entrees. A little slide downhill here. A salad/soup comes with the entree. Weird thing is, we received our salads way before our appetizer, yeah, the thing we ordered first. While we were eating our salads the appetizer finally came out...wrong. What we had oredred was not what we recieved. All that wait and we don't even get the right thing. We informed the waitress, and instead of taking it back, she just brought us what was missing. The food finally comes out, correctly this time. We munch away and then the manager pops up to inquire how we were doing. We say fine and ask for a box to put what we couldn't finish. Time to pay and it's a bit of a cluster here because we asked to have the check split. Things showed up on reversed receipts, but all is good in the end. Will I come back here, yes, but will I remember it's here, probably, but only if I drive by it again.
(3)Tim C.
We went on a Saturday night. We were told it would be a 30 minute wait...but it was likely closer to 45-50 minutes. The food is just average. Nothing special. Didn't seem handmade or anything like that. I thought they were known for their lasagna...so I got that. Blah...average. Service was incredibly slow. I don't think the waiter checked on us once. I probably wouldn't go back. Visited October 2014
(2)C C.
I came here with a large group of about forty people. We were seated quickly in the restaurant, which looks nothing like a warehouse. The walls are covered in various decorations, and there's a nice boisterous atmosphere. We were served sourdough bread on wooden paddles, which also had cups of flavored butter. The bread was delicious--warm, crisp on the outside, and pillowy soft on the inside. The butter was a nice accompaniment. My friend got really excited when she realized we were coming here because she loved the bread, and she was super excited when we were served more. Next, we had salad. The iceberg lettuce was really crisp and fresh. It also had tomatoes, onions, croutons, and dressing. It wasn't bad. I ordered the 15-Layer Lasagne from the banquet menu (other choices included grilled chicken Caesar salad, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, and manicotti). It was served with a little Italian flag toothpick. I really enjoyed the lasagna, especially because the meat was so flavorful. I don't eat lasagna much, but this was one of the best I've had. Overall, service was curt and there was too much waiting for my liking, but I can't provide an accurate representation because we were in a large group situation. I had a good experience here and definitely wouldn't mind returning!
(4)Joe D.
No, nope, uh uh, no way, please don't call this an Italian restaurant. Overcooked, mushy noodles, watery tomato gravy, and meatballs that are too garlicky and over spiced. Can't give this place anything lower than 1 star. Seriously, Olive Garden is a joke and I rate it higher than this place. Again, my advice to any Italian food lover, find a good neighborhood, family owned restaurant and support a family and not a conglomerate.
(1)Bob B.
I am having a difficult time determining which is worse the Spaghetti Warehouse or the Olive Garden. Mushy spaghetti drenched in the worst sauce I ever had. Ok on second thought the Olive Garden is better.
(1)Aaron R.
I stopped in here with my family the day before Thanksgiving. My sister, niece, and parents were at the Children's Museum and were struck by a fit of nostalgia--my mom used to take us here when we were kids. Either the whole operation has gone severely downhill, or I was too young to notice how bad it all is. Between all of us, we ordered chicken Alfredo, lasagna, and cheese ravioli. Every dish had several things wrong with it. The chicken was likely cooked the week before in a dirty cafeteria then shipped to the Strip District. It was dry and looked reconstituted. The ravioli were lukewarm at best, and my sister said the lasagna tasted microwaved. Even the bread was stale. Our waitress was also forgetful and a bit cold. I didn't get a salad I ordered, dishes stayed on the table fifteen or twenty minutes after being empty, and water refills were inconsistent. As a former server myself, I'd like to think I know what is in one's control and what is out of one's control. This woman was simply not up to snuff. With Lidia's right down Smallman Street, I have no idea how the Warehouse is staying in business. Spend a few extra dollars and go there. It'll be worth it.
(1)Jen Y.
I come here with my sister for the nostalgia factor because we have great memories visiting growing up when this restaurant was in its prime. I don't think the restaurant has received any updates in the last 20 years. I love the Caesar salad dressing and the warm sourdough bread served with garlic butter. We were shocked to see when we visited last week that they sell glasses of wine for $2.50 and half carafes for $5.00. They don't list the types or brands on the menu, does it really matter at that price? Lol just pick red, white, or blush and you can get wine there cheaper than a soda at other restaurants. Get the toasted ravioli for an appetizer and keep in mind when you receive your entree that it's typical chain fare, do not expect anything more for the price you are paying. This is a great restaurant for a larger party because most tables seat 6 or more.
(3)Ashley M.
Good service and yummy food! My boyfriend and I split the feast for 2 and didn't want spaghetti and the server let us swap it out for chicken parm which seemed like an unfair swap for them but we were happy!
(5)D W.
Im soo surprised with the food that we ate. Im from California and was excited to experience this restaurant. Especially, since it is a local fav. I ordered the house made spaghetti expecting a fresh tomato base sauce. Unfortunately what I got tasted like a canned sauce with minced onions. It had no...flavor! Now maybe I ruined the meal by ordering gluten free noodles....but I didnt think that would make it this bad. Im soo sorry because our server was awesome and they even accommodated our big party. On a good note, the bread was delicious. As much as I hate Olive Garden...I would preferred that.
(2)Eric G.
Went here on a date, and unfortunately I felt like I walked into a suburban chain restaurant like Applebee's or Ruby Tuesday. The wait staff, however, were all very nice and quick with everything. The food portions were large, and getting the soup and appetizer with the meal almost made my stomach burst. The veggie lasagna was average, the minestrone soup could have been out of the can, but the highlight for me was the baked ravioli appetizer. It was unique and tasty. I had an overall pretty good experience, but I probably won't come back here.
(3)Tyoko B.
Soooo, my last visit (about 4 months ago) was a waste. I decided to visit this past weekend to redeem my birthday certificate. We were greeted at the door and then taken to our seat. We asked to sit in the trolley and the hostess happily obliged...and this was the end of the "happy" part of our visit. Our server came to the table and I gave him my birthday certificate and he looked puzzled and wasn't really sure of how it worked (although it's clearly stated on the paper). I ordered the Tetrazzini with grilled chicken. Instead of the chicken being juicy and flavorful...it was dry and tasted burnt. I decided just to eat the pasta and the mushrooms in the dish. The bread and the garlic butter is always good here and was the best part of this meal. My fellow dining partner ordered spaghetti with sausage. The sausage was very good while the sauce left much to be desired. Just bland. Our server disappeared for much of our visit but when he was around, he was just clueless. To top it all off, I ended up being charged for the wrong meal and the ice cream that was supposed to be free. In my haste to pay before the server disappeared again, I didn't catch it until AFTER I paid. I went to the front and spoke with the manager to get it corrected. Instead of an apology, I received a "deer in the headlights" look in response to my complaint. It was truly an awkward moment. An apology would have sufficed instead of making me feel as though my complaint was bothersome. Lastly, I'm not that hard to please when it comes to good customer service. A smile or two goes a long way with me and I truly appreciate it. The service I received at the Spaghetti Warehouse was bad...so much so that I can't think of any reason to ever again. As a matter of fact I am unsubscribing from their email club because it's just a waste of my email space. Yes. It was THAT bad!!!
(1)Morgan M.
Worst place ever. I took my friend there for the first time and my son. We waited a hour for food. The waiter got us out water not our sangria 30 min later out salads and after another 40 min of my kid begging for his pizza we decided to go. The reason they messed up the order. We talked to the manager I'm assuming which didn't really care. Said hopefully we come back because service isn't usually this bad. Never again. Unprofessional and rude
(1)Mireille M.
terrible... terrible terrible terrible... funny, the food there reminded me of the end of Goodfellas where the guy ordered pasta in a restaurant and got watery noodles and ketchup... yeah, not too far off the mark here. let me back up a bit first.... My stepson and I were on our own for dinner so made sense to go out for the evening. So I picked this place knowing it was a kid friendly joint and not chili's or fuddruckers etc. The building itself is great. I loved the feeling of going into this renovated looking warehouse. He thought it was cool as well. The best part was inside. the decor is fantastic, and really the only reason to go. Loads of vintage signs and things and smack in the middle of the one dining room - a real vintage trolly car - completely renovated... of course I asked for us to be seated inside there... that was really neat. Then the food came... I had spaghetti and Meatballs and a Caesar salad. Now, the salad was really flavorful and fresh. Normally I hate salads in places like this. the lettuce tastes old and rubbery... not in this case. it was excellent. The spaghetti on the other hand - wow, watery, slightly overcooked noodles and sauce I bet was straight out of a Hunt's Spaghetti sauce can. the meatballs were frozen and reheated - i hate that off taste frozen meat takes on. so the salad got an A and spaghetti was a bit loser. My stepson ordered the Italian wedding soup - he loved it - I did not try it... he also got the same watery noodles with the mushroom red sauce. Those mushrooms must have come straight from a can. they were button and the one I tasted had that tinned flavor.... so essentially this restaurant depends completely on frozen, processed, canned ingredients rather than fresh and flavorful. Bottom line... have kids with you? they will love it... just the adults? find something... anything else... it is going to disappoint.
(2)Jennifer C.
We went on a Saturday night at 7 pm and told wait time was 30 min. Almost left, but ended up being less than 15 min, Atmosphere was great with lots of old signs, phone booths, and funky little rooms. Menu is narrow, with typical Italian fare. All entre's come with salad or soup and fresh warm sourdough bread with a side of garlic butter. Loved the italian wedding soup! Drinks are huge. Aftrer ordering , salad and soup came out quickly with very tangy sour dough bread. Then things went wrong, it took an hour to get our food and this was just lasagne and ziti which you would have thought of been quickly served up. Our waitress was very apologetic, and kept bringing out more bread and drinks. We thought we would float away and the bread after 5 loaves came out did not look so yummy anymore, I wondered if it was just us, but all around us were unhappy faces with multiple loaves of bread sitting on their tables as well. Food was better than average, but not "great". Would have given 4 stars, but wait time was unreasonable and frustrating and we did not seem to be an isolated incident. Would still -probably- go back but maybe earlier in the evening when not as busy.
(3)Michelle C.
Yes-the food is good and the portions are big. Our waiter was very speedy and attentive. That being said, I cannot ever go back to this place again because of the amount of bugs I saw in such a short period of time. All gnats and thankfully nothing worse but who knows what's going on in the kitchen? Not just a stray gnat or two but dozens just swarmed our table. I killed one with my bare hand on the table and another one bit me and drew a (spec) of blood. Disgusting. A "manager" (looked like a bus boy if you ask me but what do I know) did come to talk to us about it after my waiter noticed me covering my food with my napkin but it didn't accomplish much, no free meal or anything. I noticed other people moving to other parts of the restaurant to avoid these bugs too.
(1)Carrie T.
Disappointed. That one word sums up our group of 15's experience at the Spaghetti Warehouse. This restaurant has been a Pittsburgh institution for so long; however, it left many in our group unsatisfied and hungry at the end. My mom ordered the roasted garlic shrimp and her dish was dry and the shrimp were over cooked to the point of too chewy. I ordered the chopped salad "warehouse style" as my main entree and it was a big salad. Yet the veggies in the salad weren't fresh and the warm chicken was burnt and wilted the lettuce with its heat. I sent it back without eating it (at least the waitress was kind enough to take it off of our bill). My fiance got the lasagna and chicken parm off of the classic combo section of the menu and his chicken was ok but not great. The lasagna was good too. However, neither were great. My aunt and father were unimpressed with their dishes as well but I'm not sure what they got so I can't speak to their food quality. Also, it took us an hour after we ordered to receive our food and our food was cold. Granted, I understand we have a party of 15 BUT the restaurant was not packed by any stretch of the means. In fact the room we sat in had approximately 10 open tables. I can't speak to how filled the other rooms of the restaurant were though. But there should not have been a hour wait nor should we have gotten cold food as a result of it. We have booked this restaurant for our rehearsal dinner for our wedding but, considering how poor the food was and how incredibly slow the service was (no fault of the waitress), we are looking to change our reservations to a different restaurant. We chose the Spaghetti Warehouse because it is close to the hotel where all of our guests for our wedding are staying. Given how slow the service was, we can't afford to be there til 10:30pm at night when we have to be up at 6am the next morning for a very long day. (Another reviewer said that their rehearsal dinner group took 3+ hours to get out of there). Just my 2 cents. I wish the food quality and service were better. I'm glad we found it out now before the rehearsal dinner.
(2)Adam C.
Great atmosphere with lots of old pictures, signs, and other decorations. Drinks are pretty large and the bread they bring out was fantastic. The main course was a little less impressive. Portions suffer a little from schizophrenia, going from a little to little to a little to much from one dish to another. As for the food itself it is good, but was a little of the cheap feeling side. The 15 layer lasagna was impressive in size but seamed like it was just 15 layers of the same 3 ingredients. Service was fantastic and the servers where perfect. Overall good place to visit, but there needs to be a little tuning in the kitchen.
(3)Donald W.
I never thought that standard Italian Food was hard to make. As I alway say it doesn't take a rocket scientist to boil noodles and open a jar of pasta sauce and grate some cheese. For years this place has been touted as a diamon in the ruff in an area of the strip that has since built up greatly over the last 20 years. I had gone in the past but most recently decided to visit again because of their 'no coupon lunch special' advertised in the Sunday paper and also in the Red Plum coupon section. It was around $5 for Spaghetti Marinara a salad and what they call fresh baked bread. Let me say the spaghetti came out in a bowl with alot of tomato chunks and what looked like some raw oregano shaken on top. The noodles (from a box, definately not fresh pasta) were room temperature along with a quite a bit of water that settled to the bottom of the bowl from the sauce seperating. I would honestly rather have had Ragu Robusto from a jar instead of this particular sauce. It tasted like stomach acid, was sour and had not texture to it. The oregano flavor was overbearing and quite off putting. The salad was as described in the review below mine, watery iceberg with brown edges and some dressing spooned on top. We ended up eating alot of bread since nothing else was appetizing. The first one came out warm and the second one was cold and a bit hard. I am going to take a wild guess and say that the bread loaves are made off site and come in a plastic bag inside a giant box such as brown and serve rolls. You can tell they are placed in some type of convection oven to be heated slightly before they serve it to you. It's pretty much a crap shoot if you get a warm one or not. With the special price, tax & tip and depending on if you buy a beverage or not you end up paying about $7 to $9 per person anyway. Not sure if this is your idea of a cheap lunch but at home I can make this meal from about $2 per person and it is always way better. Do yourself a favor and go out and buy some fresh pasta at one of the stores in the Strip, touch up one of your favorite jar sauces with a little Italian sausage, buy a bag of butter lettuce and some salad dressing from Aldi and a fresh loaf of Mancinis bread at your local supermarket and have a feast, save your money by not frequenting places like this.
(1)Lizzie D.
I just can't help but love Spaghetti Warehouse! So many memories at this restaurant, not to mention the vintage decor is so nostalgic! There is a train (complete with vintage ads and posters!) in the left portion of the restaurant that patrons can have dinner in, which is an absolutely amazing experience! The food is always pretty good and there are deals for certain days of the week that your wallet will thank you for. And let's not forgot to mention the mouth watering sourdough bread and garlic butter! It is so amazing and addictive! The wedding soup is phenomenal! Though, I most recently ordered steak and vegetables, and the presentation was thrown together and unappetizing. There were two small pieces of random steak on my plate, as though they were leftovers. The waiter was odd and rude. He asked if the birthday dessert was on my boyfriend's dad in front of the whole dinner party. Usually, most restaurants will give you a little something for your birthday, or at least be a little less blunt about the cost of the dessert. I wouldn't recommend sitting by the door that the staff comes out of either. It's really loud and they will have full conversations right by your table. Other than those two experiences, I've had a great overall experience at Spaghetti Warehouse and would recommend it to others!
(4)Kristen H.
You can't screw up pasta--it would be very hard. Only Buca di Beppo has managed to do that, and they did it by drowning the pasta in salt and charging through the nose for it. The food here is pretty darn good. I love the bread they bring to your table and the atmosphere is very fun. My problem is that the past four times I've been here, the service was awful. Tonight our waiter brought our bread and salads before our drinks and this was only a huge problem bc I was dying of thirst. Our waiter (Vincent) had 3 tables. It was like he was trained not to bring our table anything unless hte other two tables needed something. He would disappear for 20 minutes at a time (I'm not kidding). I gave him my drink order and then he asked for our dinner order. He came out with entrees for the one table, salads for the other, and bread for our table. Why would you not just get our drinks? You can come back to the table multiple times!!! This has happened the past four times I dined here, and I'm just over the awful service. Too bad I won't be back, bc I wanted to love this restaurant. Good food, AWFUL service. 2 stars bc I love carbs so damn much.
(2)John H.
We went here with sixteen people. The only good thing about our visit was having dinner with a bunch of our friends. The service was pretty good to considering the large party. My wife and I got the Sicilian Sampler Appetizer and The Ultimate Feast for two, as our dinner entree. The Calamari was uneatable and the Ravioli was just down right nasty. The wedding soup was the worst I have ever had. The meat balls had absolute no taste, kind of like cardboard. The Pork Sausage tasted burnt. The Spaghetti tasted no different than Boxed pasta. The Lasagna might have had 15 layers but 12 of them were noodles and sauce, you had to search for any meat or cheese. Our garlic bread came out literally black. I can't even believe somebody would serve that. We will not be back.
(1)Matthew C.
Our terrible experience began with a 45 minute wait only to find half the tables empty and the table behind us being consoled by the manager after their own bad experience. We hopped this was a one off and not typical. Our waiter was prompt but very aloof, but we all have off days. The food was mostly bland and flavorless to the point we could not finish it. This is where things took a turn for the worse, as our order was being boxed up it fell on the floor. Despite our insistence we did not want another the overcompensating manager brought it anyway. We passed it on to the party behind us, maybe they took it home and added some seasoning, it needs it. Avoid this place at all costs!
(2)Nate B.
A long long time ago in a far away place, I used to go to a place called Spaghetti Warehouse that was cool, clean, had good service, and had really good food. But that place is gone and now I'm left at this place that is dirty, has horrible service, and mediocre food. The end. Never coming back.
(1)Michael A.
Wednesday night is their special night.. Unlimited soup or salad, bread and a plate of spaghetti (or other limited options) for $4.99. Cheaper than a value meal at your favorite fast food joint and friendlier service. They were busy tonight, but got served in a reasonable amount of time and he was friendly. They aren't going to win any Italian food awards. But for the price it can't be beat. With that said, no way I would pay "normal" pricing here.
(3)R. P.
Came here a year or so ago to meet some friends... overall not a good experience. There were 4 of us and I don't think one plate was cleared or drinks refilled, it was a slow weeknight as well. So yes that could have just been bad luck with the waitress, but food is sub-par and atmosphere is well. I suppose this is a good dining option in some situations, but there are so many other places in the area, and I guess this was just nothing to write home about for me.
(2)Marc O.
DO NOT GO HERE! They are understaffed, incompetent, and slow. It was like getting waited on by 1st job people. The place smells like bleach. It's tacky too hot. They play pop music and it's supposed to be an Italian place. Not one person there ever smiled and I was treated like a body in a chair not a person wanting to enjoy a meal. Very very slow service and no authenticity in the meals. I suggest eating out of a seafood dumpster if you plan on going here.
(1)Elaina H.
I wanted to like it here... in fact, I have in the past. We used to come here for college events and schedule ahead of time for a large group - then again, this was always on weeknights... when they were slow... thank goodness. I always loved the food here (then again, these dishes aren't anything scientific - they are basic - comfort food), and I thought the gigantic restaurant could handle large groups well... until I brought 10 people here for a birthday dinner on a Saturday. First of all, we had reservations but still stood awkwardly in the waiting area for a while to be seated. Not terrible. Then we were seated - the server was flustered and irritated before we had a chance to speak. Long story short, we waited 1.5 hours for our food (pasta... yes - the stuff you make at home for an entire family in 10 minutes), the waitress spent all her time coming to her table bashing the kitchen staff to us (not exactly professional), and the manager was no where to be seen. C'mon, manager! It's your job to sail this ship - get it together. From my line of vision, I could see about 7 servers running around like chickens with their heads cut off doing nothing but throwing the kitchen staff under the bus. Dear manager: if you have this many employees standing around doing nothing but complaining, put a few of them to work in the kitchen. The place is cute and I really want to like it again, but I probably won't return until the management learns how to... manage. True, this isn't Capital Grill, nor was I expecting 5-star service. In all honesty, I'm from the middle-of-nowhere Ohio. I didn't even know what fine dining was until college. It's just that I've had better service at Arby's on a Friday at 12 noon when they have a line 20 people deep and cars wrapped around the building 3 times in the drive-thru. Saving grace: the sangria was good... thankfully, because that's the only thing we consumed for 90 minutes while waiting on our luke-warm dinners to arrive.
(1)Katherine G.
Ordered delivery. The food showed up 2.5 hours later-which is acceptable, as it's (just) within the delivery window specified. However, the food had apparently been prepared within 15 minutes of receiving our order, because it was cold by the time we got it. I didn't listen to the other reviews and paid the price (literally)... if someone else is saved a crappy SW dinner by this review, my meal (or lack thereof) will not have been in vain.
(1)Celeta S.
love their drinks and they have good food. the staff is friendly and take out is prepared correctly and quickly. Costco has gift cards that cost less than the face value so you can really get more bang for your buck!
(4)Gwen N.
Came here later in the evening on a weekday to an empty building. No host/ess, no wandering servers, no customers... We had to search the place for someone to seat us and the first people we ran into were a couple of off-duty servers who were rolling silverware. The male kindly sat us and got our drinks for us. It took a ridiculously long time for our server to even appear at our table and just as long for our food to come out. To make everything worse, the only other couple in the restaurant who were sitting behind us were complaining to the server about their food. The server returned to their table a bit later (no manager) and said that "the manager" told him that since the food is made early in the day, it can lose texture and flavor by the time it is served. WHAT? Seriously???? It was hard to enjoy our food at all by the time it arrived. The food left much the be desired. The service was the worst I've ever encountered. I don't usually leave complaints on restaurant websites but I had to leave one for this terrible visit. They gave us a coupon for a free appetizer. Needless to say we did not return to redeem it.
(1)Renascent c.
Surprisingly peaceful...not overly packed packed wit customers considering it was 1pm on Monday... Located minutes from the Strip District...sufficient parking available on the side...had to wait several minutes to be seated cuz no hostess was available... Decor was eclectic ...brings u back to the days of the "phone booth"...i wouldn't know them days...lol :) The food was amazing :) the salmon was juicy and tasty...but wasn't a fan of the green paste on top... Fettuccine Alfredo was average...no different from fettuccine Alfredo from other restaurants... What really stood out was the soups...we had wedding and minestrone ...both were very hearty...and full of flavor ... Waitress was friendly and timely and lunch times prices can't be beat considering their big portions :)
(4)Mishelle B.
So this use to be a family favorite when growing up, but now, things have gone a bit down hill. I'm not sure if it's the clean but tired decor or the dirty dishes that sat on another table the entire time we were there. We were scouting the place to see if it would work for our wedding rehearsal dinner. We arrived about 6 and were quoted a 35 minute wait so we went to the bar for a drink. We ordered Peronis. The bar wasn't busy so we were served right away. The bar was more tired then the rest of the place. It definitely needs updating. The bartenders didn't smile but were nice. About 15 minutes in we heard the hosts calling our name and last call. We hurried over and she was so rude about taking us to our seat. We couldn't hear them call over the other people who came in to the bar. at this point, the bar was busy and noisy. We arrive at our table and looked at the menu, a newspaper. It was easy to understand. Our server started out great until our food was delivered then she disappeared. We ordered an appetizer sampler. It was ok. The calamari was so spicy! The rest of it was ok. There were only 2 bites of bruschetta and they were stale. Dinner was typical. The spaghetti sauce was a bit sweet for me but it was good. The meatballs had way too much cheese in them. I thought they use to have giant meatballs. Guess not. They were definitely not what I expected. We set in the back of the main dining room and had a great view of a tale filed with dirty dishes. Many kept walking by it but never took anything from it including the very visible managers. Even the dishes on our table weren't removed as we progressed through the meal. It took us a half hour to pay for dinner and leave. We might return but probably not a top dinner destination. Add far as a rehearsal dinner we might pass because it's not super handicap friendly.
(3)Jennifer G.
I have great childhood memories of eating in either the bed or the caboose at spaghetti warehouse in Buffalo and Toronto, so I was excited to try the one in Pittsburgh. The huge restaurant brought back waves of memories as soon as I entered. We were seated in the trolley room (although not in the trolley). Service was decent, but the server had a friend sitting at a nearby table, so there were times she got caught up in conversation and seemed to forget she had a job to do. I ordered the spaghetti with a seafood sauce and was highly disappointed. The shrimp were tiny and tasteless and the sauce very salty and unappetizing. It was very clear this was a frozen and thawed dish rather than something that was freshly prepared. The server had steered me towards it (and away from the spaghetti with mushrooms), so when I mentioned it, she brought me a whole new dinner. That was a nice touch because they certainly didn't have to do that. Overall, I enjoyed my trip down memory lane and the food was decent, but I don't think I'll return again unless I have a coupon or I'm bringing a child to enjoy the trolley or bed rooms.
(3)Kimberly S.
Ewww, the food here is terrible. Nothing I had tasted good. It tasted like it had been sitting under the food warmers for hours. The service is luke warm at best. Just skip it. There's so many other places out there for good italian food.
(1)Dan S.
Took two and a half hours to get our food. All our food was the thrown together in the same pan. Not worth the $55.
(1)Faith A.
I have been to this Spaghetti Warehouse too many times over the years. Back when I was in college, somehow when my family would be around visiting, we would always end up here when meandering around the Strip District. That was a long time ago, but the great thing is that the Spaghetti Warehouse still remains. It may not be some beautiful or nice Italian restaurant, but it is inded good and to me, it seems less "chain-like" than the other Italian chains. The food is good, the portions are great, they have fabulous wedding soup, and those sourdough rolls they give you are to die for (and supposedly around 150 calories to boot which is pretty low in comparison to a lot of other breads- this is for those of you who are calorie counting this new year). We got the Spaghetti Warehouse to go this last time and it was scrumtptious upon it arriving at our home. Hopefully this place will remain a Strip staple!
(4)Danny D.
The atmosphere was pretty cool. It really is warehouse like. Could have been better with a bigger crowd. But the food was pretty bland.
(3)Katrina M.
We chose this place because the menu on their website made everything sound pretty good, and we were starving. Upon walking in there was a bit of an old smell, and kind of like too many birthday parties had dropped cake on the floor. We were seated immediately (there were only maybe 3-5 other tables filled), and our server was friendly. She checked in on us frequently, and kept our glasses full. We ordered the feast for 2, and it was enough food that it could have been for 4. There was just so much!! Thankfully our server brought us a to go box with the meal. I liked the ravioli and lasagna, but the chicken parmesan was dry and the spaghetti could have used way more sauce. I didn't like the sausage either, and the meatball was just okay. For $30 I think we got a pretty meal. I probably won't care to go again, but at least it wasn't a terrible experience.
(3)Rebecca M.
We went here recently right before a 2-day, 150-mile bike ride to carbo-load. The food was okay - probably what we should have expected for the low prices - but the service was horrible. It was not busy, but we could not get our waitresses attention despite multiple attempts. We needed a refill and asked for one when she took our dinner order, and reminded her when our dinner arrived. We were finally able to flag her down 10 minutes later to remind her again. It also took about 20 minutes to get the check after we had FINISHED our entrees. I am sure that not all of the servers are that bad, but I'm not sure I will be back to find out.
(2)Will H.
It's probably been about 7 years since I actually ate in the Spaghetti Warehouse. I remembered the experience being pretty underwhelming, so I didn't have high expectations, but we had ordered food for delivery last winter (no, they don't deliver, but one of the online delivery services had them listed), and the food was good enough that we figured it would be a decent meal...and it didn't disappoint on a food level! Now, I'll never claim that Spaghetti Warehouse is the best Italian food spot in the city, but the prices were very reasonable for the portions you get, and the food is actually pretty good. We tried the classic bruschetta as an app. It was really good, and while you "only" get four small pieces, it was a perfect amount for the two of us. The endless salad and bread is a great touch for those who are fans of the Spaghetti Warehouse's counterpart, The Olive Garden. Maybe it was the plaque for the 8,800 lb. World Largest Lasagna on the outside of the restaurant, or the photos in the menu, but I couldn't resist trying the 15-layer lasagna. I actually got the lasagna & chicken park combo, which was probably enough to feed two, despite my gluttonous ability to eat it all myself. The lasagna was good, with a very sausage-dominant flavor, which pleased me. I think my only complaint would've been the lack of sauce. There was barely enough. Same complaint goes for the chicken parm that was on the plate. It was good, but definitely could've used a little more sauce. I'd likely request extra next time to be safe. The bread is awesome, but disappears too quickly! Overall, there really wasn't anything to complain about regarding the meal itself. We went in with chain restaurant expectations and weren't disappointed. When we had ordered food for delivery, I tried the eggplant parm, which was really good. My wife said the wedding soup was also awesome. I'd say two positive food experiences out of two is a good trend! The biggest issue that I have with Spaghetti Warehouse - and the reason I can't give it more than 3 stars - is this: while the expectations/food quality are in line with what you'd expect from an Olive Garden and the vibe is what you'd expect from an old school TGI Friday's, the reality is that the restaurant itself in in shambles when you compare it to those two (or any other chain, small or large, in the same category). For a restaurant that seems to always be packed, you'd think there would be money to maintain the inside of the restaurant a little. We sat in the bar, and the fans above the bar were in various levels of disrepair. The TV's at the bar were all so old that you'd never choose Spaghetti Warehouse for a place to grab a meal if you were hoping to also catch the game. A small tube TV/VCR combo? Even the dive bars that we hangout in are more up-to-date! The cleanliness left a lot to be desired, as well. In a dive bar, diner, or truck stop, I'd be okay with the griminess, but in a large restaurant? No thanks. I'm not saying it'll keep me away, and it clearly doesn't bother the masses that keep the lines flowing out the door, but it really needs to improve to make Spaghetti Warehouse a destination that I'd be quick to recommend.
(3)RONALD W.
Went tonight for $4.99 rollback Wednesdays. Not very many people at around 9p, so service was really excellent. I only ordered the $4.99 spaghetti with meat sauce which comes with salad and bread. Even ignoring the price, I really enjoyed the whole meal from start to finish. I suspect true Italian aficionados will be upset that the pasta is cooked through, but it really reminded me of home growing up in the Midwest.
(4)Stacie C.
Whatever happened to this place? Seriously. I remember when you couldn't even get in the door. Now I walk in and feel like walking right back out. Overall, I've got no complaints about the food. I think it's average and priced well. The lasagna is top notch. And having a private lot in the Strip District is nice. I usually dine in but on my last two trips I was placing an order to go. After the first time I should have learned my lesson and called ahead. Never again. The first time, I walked in and went to the bar area (as directed by the sign at the hostess station, not an actual person) to place my to go order. But there was no one there. It's funny, because waiters walk through the bar area and even use the bar to get drinks. But it seems they don't like to actually wait on customers or even make eye contact. After waiting way too long to even be acknowledged, my order was taken. The waiter who ended up helping me, Andrae, apologized at least and was very nice. I asked for two salads and he was happy to accomodate. But then I waited again. I'm not sure why my food took so long, but Andrae knew I had been waiting and threw in some extra bread. Despite the wait, at least I felt like I Andrae took an interest in making sure I was taken care of and his apology was sincere. Skip to the second time. While I had bad memories of my last visit, I was hoping it was an isolated incident and gave Spaghetti Warehouse the benefit of the doubt. Except....things were worst. I start to wonder if there is ever an actual bartender. But as I'm sitting at the bar, waiting once again for achknowledgement from an employee, there was not one but two managers conducting interviews in the bar area. While this is happening, several waitresses come to the bar to get drinks. Not one even looks in my direction, let alone ask if I need something. I didn't want to be rude and interrupt the interviews being conducted, but after a good ten minutes of waiting, I went to the hostess stand at the entrance. I waited a minute or two before one of the waitresses who previously ignored me came out. I was a little salty with her, I'll admit. I explained that I had been waiting at the bar as the sign says but no one was there to take my order. She said she could take my order and again, I was directed to wait at the bar. Back at the bar, their interviews over, I spoke up to one of the managers about how I had been ignored. She apologized and said she thought someone had waited on me. She then offered to take my order which I told her was unnecessary because I had placed it with a waitress at the hostess stand. A few minutes later, the manager came up to tell me that she had deducted $10 from my bill and apologized again. I wasn't expecting that, but at least it was an admission of their poor customer service. However when I received my to-go bag, I only found one salad and one loaf of bread. I guess what I'm trying to say is....beware when placing to-go orders. It's probably best to call ahead. The service here is hit or miss on a daily basis, but definitely beyond a miss when trying to get food to go.
(2)Jessica D.
I had the Eggplant once my party of 4 was seated. It was great and so much to take home. Bar was small but great service even if our waitress was a bit odd. Every plate at our table was amazing.
(4)Cindy L.
There has to be better Italian food in Pittsburgh -- I don't know why anyone would come here. I had an overnight field trip with my students to Pittsburgh & the tour company took us here for a murder mystery dinner show. They had us sectioned off which was great for privacy & also since the students were loud. Their service is a hot mess!!!! They only had 2 waiters serving our 50 person group & it was not organized at all. Just getting our drinks out was confusing. The waiters just came out with any drink & then asked -- anyone order this?? This is why my table sat drinkless, breadless, & saladless for the longest time. For our dinner, we were given a salad, entree, & tiramisu. The salad was definitely straight out of the bag & doused with some cheap dressing. It didn't taste fresh at all. There was a list of 8 or so entrees we could choose from. They came out quite haphazardly. I unfortunately ordered the fettuccine alfredo -- worst ever. I could make better alfredo using the sauce from a supermarket jar. I tried to douse it with pepper & cheese but alas it did nothing to help it. Some of the others said the chicken parm was alright but some said theirs was undercooked. The tiramisu also was gross. It definitely was made & cut awhile ago & just kept cold in their fridge. The redeeming parts of this dinner was the decor & old fashioned coin operated games AND the mystery show. I've never been to one & was really excited. They started after we ate our entrees & intermissioned during dessert. The actors were super funny & interactive -- my students loved them which of course makes me happy. Seriously though, their food is so bad.
(1)Shari P.
Why anyone would willing go here to eat is beyond me. I had read prior yelp reviews and I knew what I was getting myself into. To make a long story short, I went here because I was with several other people that wanted to go here and I really had no choice. Anyway, I ordered the wild mushroom pasta with chicken. The sauce was really disgusting. I found myself eating only the pieces of chicken breast. I brought this meal home because my husband isn't as picky as I am, but he took two bites and got mad at me for not warning him how aweful this meal was. I will not be eating with this group of people again if they choose to go here again.
(2)Amanda M.
This place is fun and full of neat stuff to look at. Good food not busy at all during lunch time on a Monday. Not sure what it would be like when it's packed. Only complaint is why sourdough bread with Italian food? That makes no sense to me. Excited we got to sit in the trolley!
(4)Sharon G.
great place to just look around, but they serve food too. i saw the other reviews and they didnt like it. hmmmm. i loved their food. 2 can dine for 25 bucks and itss good.
(4)Ryan F.
Spag Warehouse is the best value for money in the tri-state area.... damn good food!!
(5)Kevin S.
I went to the Spaghetti Warehouse on a Sunday afternoon. It was for a late lunch (about 2:00 p.m. when we arrived). We were greeted by the hostess who took us to our table (which was in the trolley car). It's a visually interesting place to dine. However, our chairs were rickety and appeared ready to collapse. The restaurant was mostly empty (which was not a surprise as we got there after the prime lunch hour but before dinner). And yet although there wasn't a lot of other customers there all vying for the attention of the servers, it took an unusually long time for our waitress to arrive at our table. (A pattern which continued throughout the duration of our stay). On the back of the menu, there is a section for lunch entrees. I ordered the "Amazing 15 Layer Lasagne". The three other people in my party all ordered the spaghetti with meatballs. The food was...okay. Nothing to write home about. I've been eating Italian food for almost five decades. And this is average - at best. I'd say on par or slightly below Olive Garden. It wasn't the worst food, but certainly not the best. And again, I cannot overemphasize how below par the service was. But the thing which really upset me was when we got our check. They charged us dinner prices for each of our meals. Again, there is ONE menu, and the pack of the menu has the lunch section. It reads (until 3:00 p.m.). What I failed to see (because it's in fine print) is the part where they only offer lunch prices Monday through Friday. Really? REALLY? Are you kidding me? That's B.S., no matter how you view it. At no time did either the hostess or the waitress bother to explain to us up front that the lunch pricing wasn't in effect. I HATE being ripped off. And any restaurant which does that kind of crap is RIPPING PEOPLE OFF. So congratulations, Spaghetti Warehouse. You got the better of me. And I will never, ever go there again.
(1)Yas T.
The lasagna was good but everything else was below average. Overall, I didn't like the atmosphere. We went there on a Saturday night and there were only a few people and by 10 o'clock we were the only table left.
(3)Jack M.
Why come to this place when you have a tasty world of Italian restaurants right at your hungry fingers in this town! The place is essentially a tourist-trap that seeks to reel in folks who are looking for a "fun" looking italian warehouse (now...how would this be fun? Apparently it is to some.) Don't get me wrong...the food is not atrocious. But it certainly is sub-par. My chicken parm was quite un-tasty and seemed as if the spaghetti had come out of a can. The service was mediocre. Keep driving to Bloomfield!
(1)Monica W.
Okay so I remembering going here as a child and the quality of the food being much better than when I went here recently. The atmosphere has remained the same which is wonderful! The waitress was not that friendly I'm not sure why because she wasn't even busy at all. I ordered a pasta dish which was just standard nothing special. I also ordered wedding soup which I will say was very good! The place was pretty clean and well kept. Overall I believe Spaghetti Warehouse to be very overrated.
(2)Katie R.
Visited this place for the first time for a rehersal dinner. The decor is cool and varied and the place itself is quite large. There is free parking which is nice, but parking was hard to find on a Friday night. We had a semi-large party (about 15-20 of us) and it took us well over 30 minutes to get seated. Clearly they knew we were coming, so it shouldn't have been a surprised to them. Once we were finally seated, it took 30 minutes from ordering our drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) to actually getting them to the table. We still hadn't even looked at a menu when the drinks finally did arrive. From there the service picked up slightly and we were presented with warm bread, garlic butter (decent) and salad. I dislike iceburg lettuce so this was meh. Given that we were a large party, obviously we were given a limited menu selection. I ordered "The Incredible 15 Layer Lasagna" and it certainly wasn't 15 layers, unless you count the loads of marinara on top as, say, 10 layers. My cousin ordered the same thing and ended up with a piece of chicken on his plate, don't ask me why. The lasagna was okay, but I've had better from a Stouffer's frozen meal. Moving onto dessert, I ordered the tiramisu. Might as well just call it white cake with "espresso" drizzled on top. It was still slightly frozen too. No thanks. From start to finish it took us over 3 hours to get our entire meal. Understandably, we weren't a small table of four so it will take longer, but it shouldn't have taken that long. Since we were there for a significant amount of time, we were able to observe what other's were eating/doing while we were waiting. Nearly everyone had enough leftover portions to take home and feed themselves at least once if not twice more. Good value as a customer, bad for a business who is trying to make money. All in all, if you're looking for some good authentic Italian, I would recommend going elsewhere.
(2)Brent M.
Arrived at 7:15 on a Saturday night, there was a 20 minute wait although although empty tables were visible. Got seated at 7:30, put order in shortly thereafter. We got bread and our soups fairly quickly then sat for an hour without any signs of food. We looked around the restraint and it was obvious other tables had been waiting and we're getting frustrated. The waitress apologized the kitchen was slow, so we gave it another 15 minutes before we finally walked out at 9:15 still hungry. The food I saw looked good, but I would never recommend this place. It doesn't take over an hour and a half to make a friggin salad and pasta.
(1)Brent R.
A nice surprise. So, this place is a smaller corporate chain, but it was honestly pretty darn good. The Sangria drinks were great. The bread, sourdough, is brought out fresh and hot. Yumm.... The food was a nice portion, expect to have leftovers to take home. The building is a nice old warehouse antique feeling. Lots of signs, old pictures, a train-car in the dinning room you can eat in... its nice. ** Would be a good family place.
(4)Mary W.
If you are in the mood for Italian, give it a try. They have a dinner for two that includes all the favorites...sausage, meatballs, lasagna, chicken Parmesan, spaghetti, and cheese ravioli. The prices are right. This is a great family restaurant. The kids are given a wooden nickle to turn in at the front desk for a candy stick, and Wednesday nights they have a balloonist and magician.
(4)Darren W.
So, there I was, stuck with a gift card from X-Mas for Spaghetti Warehouse. The Olive Garden and Bob Evans cards were thankfully used up, and since Spaghetti Warehouse is close to where I work (also a warehouse), we figured we'd get rid of this one while it was on our minds. Also, as hard as it might be to fathom, this life-long Pittsburgher had never been here before. Reading the other reviews reinforced my belief that I wasn't missing much, but again, that goddamn gift card was weighin' me down. The decor is marvelous,and the restaurant itself is voluminous. What this building housed before Spaghetti Warehouse took up shop here I couldn't tell you. I could almost hear a forklift backing up and some guys hootin' and hollerin'. Vintage metal signs bedeck the brick walls. Old Coney Islandesque games can be seen along with a Ms. Pac Man arcade machine. They must expect busloads of diners since there's even an upstairs dining area. Methinks the novelty of the joint has long since worn off if the somewhat sparse crowd from a few nights back (Friday the 4th) was any indicator, and after sampling the menu, it's easy to see why. We ordered from some "special deal" menu. Caveat emptor? Initially, dinner held promise with the complimentary sourdough loaf. The soft, perfectly spreadable garlic/parsley butter was dynamite as was the bread. No gripes there. I was also impressed with the large Coca-Cola glasses which minimized refills to the point where I didn't need one during the entire meal. That was a lotta pop, and I arrived parched. The salad that came with the meal was admissable even though I ignored the bad omen that was the Italian dressing. Let's just say I had a hunch it was bottled and generic. Considering the name of the restaurant, what else was I gonna order but meatballs and spaghetti? Mine came with a side of fried zucchini, which is when tragedy struck its first blow. Instead of slicing the zucchini thinly, they cut it fat like fricking steak fries, and the "chunks" of zucchini weren't properly breaded or cooked at all; they were falling out of their clothes like an inebriated debutante and were close to raw. Did they just blanch 'em? They almost tasted like broccoli stalks or room-temperature cucumber. As the internet trolls say...Meh. Oh, and if that wasn't unfortunate enough, the ranch dressing they gave me as a dipping sauce (along with an acceptable marinara) tasted like a watery, nigh flavorless blue cheese. Onto the s'ghetti and meatballs. The meatballs passed muster. They were moist, dense and without a real fault in my opinion. I ate them first, probably because I could intuitively detect disappointment in the sauce and pasta. My Spider-Sense was on the mark. The pasta itself tasted like it had been boiled hours ago and was left to sit under a hot lamp or in a cafeteria-style steampan until service. The sauce came off as a tomato paste/ketchup sham with perhaps some water added to thin it out. Our server kept asking us, "Is everything tasting like you expected?" What was I gonna say? I mean, I didn't expect it to be that good. So I just said, "Yeah." Then said server vanished for 30 minutes. My dessert was something that I think was called an Oreo Dream, a forgettable cakey/brownie-ish whatsit that I finished in about 15 seconds flat. Kay seemed to like her Shrimp Scampi. I had a taste and thought it to be so-so. Then our server pulled another disappearing act. 30 minutes later, he came back with the bill only to make like D.B. Cooper yet again. Once he returned for the last time, we too teleported (BAMF!) out of there after unloading that gift card. Eh, at least they have a big, free parking lot. Finding a spot can be a stressfest in The Strip. They are a chain. That means there are more of them. This is a problem.
(2)Margaret F.
We came to spaghetti warehouse (09/13) because it USED to be a great restaurant. The evening we visited we had not made a reservation so we expected to have a little wait. There were some people waiting in the lobby, and what appeared to be a birthday party happening in the dining room. When we walked up to the host's counter, we noticed the tables at the bar were empty. There were three hostesses behind the counter talking with who we assumed to be the manager. When the manager walked away, one hostess picked up a ringing phone while the other two stood there staring anywhere but us. When the hostess finally got off the phone, she did not greet us in any way, we had to ask if there was a wait and for how long. When we were told there was a 45 min wait, we had to ask if the bar was available (she did not offer this option). The hostess said "yes" and handed us menus and pointed up the stairs toward the bar- she did not show us where to go. After sitting down, we then waited another 10min to put in our drink order. The woman waiting on us seemed to be the only one working in the bar area on this busy night. We wanted to be easy on the girl because she was apparently alone behind the bar, but she was very rude. After waiting 10min to put in our drink order, it then took another 10min to get our drinks. It took about 40 min for our food to come out. The chicken tasted like frozen out-of-a-bag grilled chicken and the "wild mushroom cream sauce" was condensed cream of mushroom soup (My boyfriends pesto was swimming in olive oil). I would like to say this was an unusually bad night, however when I saw several waiters and waitresses gabbing and paying little attention to customers, it's hard to believe it was a one time thing. At one point a waiter stopped and stood watching the football game that was on the tv for about 8-10min. The only think I liked were the women's restrooms- they were nice and clean. Needless to say, we will not be giving warehouse another chance. Summary: Awful service, terrible food, nice bathrooms. I would rather go to Olive Garden than here!
(1)Amy S.
It has been years sense we visited the spaghetti warehouse, my husband and I couldn't remember why we haven't been back. We had purchased a groupon for this place and decided to try it for an early dinner... Our first step in the restaurant and then it hit us on why we haven't returned.. The odd smell hits you at first step in the restaurant , you look around in the foyer and you see weird and dilapidated pictures, a candy stand that probably hasn't been used in years.. We get seated in a booth with one side ripped and the other side stained, our waitress was nice but that is far as she went. The food is mediocre at best, the bread and the endless salad was the saving grace of dinner... We wanted to enjoy this place and tried to have a good time, we would not recommend this place to anyone... There are plenty of other good restaurants in the strip and in lawrenceville..
(2)Yancy Y.
I liked the food here. We got the $25 deal. Salad was good but a little dressing heavy, stuffed mushroom appetizer was simple but very good and the 15 layer lasagne was very rich and hearty. The hostess was a ditz. He seated a couple before us that we arrived before and then seated us at a table that was inconvenient with a post, cutting off part of our party. We asked to move and she just moved the table. The kicker was the place was empty!
(4)October R.
.JB's parents wanted to meet here for dinner, I wasn't all that thrilled but I went for them. I guess I was a little hard on SW the first time around, the food isn't bad, I just think it's overrated. On this trip we got an appetizer sampler - fried mozz and zucchiniI were nothing special, the brushetta was superb and I didn't get to taste the fried ravoli but I didn't hear any complaints from the table. As an entree I had the 4 cheese manicotti which comes with both marinara and alfredo, the dish was good but im not really a fan of their marinara so if I ever find myself revisiting The SW I'll ask for just alfredo. Everyone else at the table had some form of lasagna (veggie, sausage and meat) and again, no complaints. Overall, its a decent family restaurant.
(3)MB O.
Soup, salad, and bread with garlic butter was a good start. I had the manicotti it was very good!!
(4)Tony M.
Decent, not great
(3)Brian R.
I've been here once, so this is sort of a "first-impression" review. I've always heard good things about the Spaghetti Warehouse, and I'm one to love a great dish of spaghetti and meatballs! A friend of mine had a buy-one-get-one coupon from the local newspaper, so the two of us ate for the price of one. Our bill, including tip, was $20. The spaghetti I ordered was fabulous, but the lasagna my buddy ordered looked even better! This lasagna was huge. I love that you get bread and salad with your pasta dish. The decor is pretty cool, and the place is large. Free parking was a plus! The only complaint I would offer here is that our waitress seemed to be very disinterested in her job. Not sure if she was having a bad day or what, but she just wasn't very friendly. Nonetheless, I'll go back! Good food, good decor, generally good service!
(4)Michael B.
I walked in expecting a great experience. It has a great atmosphere. There was nothing wrong with our service, but the food was overpriced and pretty meh. I had the tiramisu which is one of my favorites to get and it was horrible. It tasted like it came out of a Walmart freezer on clearance. Won't be coming back anytime soon.
(2)M K.
This is a one time visit. The worst service ever. It was almost empty and twice we had to have someone find our waitress. The food was mediocre at best. The bruschetta appetizer for 4.99 had 4 tiny pieces of bread with some tomatoes on top. Not even shaved cheese, nothing. Total waste of money. The lasagna that they claim is so great in my opinion was diner quality, and that might insult some great diners.
(1)Michael T.
This place is dead, but they just don't know it yet. Arrived on a rainy Wednesday around 7PM. 20 minute wait for a table, so I guess they are doing well, right? We should have known better when we sat in the bar area to wait (me, my spouse, and my eight-year-old son) after the rather apathetic front-desk person took our name. A couple tables taken, but no sign of staff in the bar. Every table was dirty, covered with plates, glasses, and the remains of others. We took one that had just a couple of glasses and an impressive amount of Parmesan cheese scattered about. Took 10 minutes for any sign of a bartender, who promptly spent five minutes getting caught up on drink orders before wandering over. No smile, no welcome, just "what do you want, and are you waiting for a table". And certainly no "let me clean this table for you". We had a beer and a wine and a root beer for the little one. The pinot grigio was vile, but, hey, thanks for charging us for the more expensive version: lord knows how disgusting the cheaper version would have been. Finally, after 20 minutes we were seated. Not a table in the bar area had been cleaned in that period. And the restaurant is empty! Maybe 20% full! They made us wait simply because they can't staff correctly. Acres of empty tables. So we sit, look at the menu, check out the surrounding (few) tables and made the only good decision we made this night: we left and found another place in the area. A place that actually worked to seat us and made us feel welcome. The most amazing thing: between the greeter, the bartender, and the seater, there was not a single smile. Not a single sign that they actually are happy that we chose their establishment. And not a sign that that they gave a damn whether we ever wanted to come back. No wonder it is 80% empty but still makes people wait. The other reviews compare this to Olive Garden and the like. As my review makes clear, I can't compare the food. And I am certainly not a fan of the Olive Garden. But the few times I have gone into one, I was made to feel welcome. Certainly not here. The place is living off memories: I don't think it is creating any new (positive) ones.
(1)Luke P.
Had to write a review because the most recent time I ate here (last weekend), it was just a great experience. We actually were a large party and everyone was being difficult, but I thought that the servers and the 1 manager that helped us were really nice about it. I end up in the Spaghetti Warehouse every so often, maybe 1 a month or more, because I know I can get an honest meal and at a great price. They don't do anything fancy here, but they've got the basics: spaghetti, meatballs, chicken parm, lasagna, etc... The deals for the kids are great, but in general I think all their prices are really fair. I never leave hungry (their portions are big), but I also never spend too much. Really I can eat for just about $8-10 for just me. The people that served me various times were really great. I think Dana, Christy and Lucian were my latest servers. Letitia at the bar is also really friendly. I definitely don't mind waiting at the bar when she is working. And when I go w/ friends or family, everyone is usually pretty happy because the atmosphere is fun. They have fun stuff on the walls and interesting things to look at. They even have a Trolly car you can dine in (although I never do). I'll be back for sure. I am a big fan of the lasagna. But I also get mozzy sticks sometimes, because I just can't help myself.
(5)Mark C.
My family and friends had my mothers 75th birthday party at this Spaghetti Warehouse on Saturday March 15, 2014 and everything was perfect. From the time I made the reservations right up until we left I could not have been happier. Our waiter was Cody and he was personable, efficient, and by the end of the evening we felt like he was part of the family. He made my mom feel very special and very welcome. The food was excellent and the atmospher could not have been better. They even had a gentleman making balloon animals and he made my mom a hat and flowers and even though she thought the hat was silly, she wore it all evening. This was a perfect evening for everyone (our guest were also super impressed). We had brought our own birthday cake, candles, and paper plates and they kept the cake in the back, brought it out with the candles lit and even sang Happy Birthday with us to my mom. Cody even provided clean forks to go with out cake. It was just a perfect evening.
(5)Gregory T.
We have been coming here since it opened, but will not go back after our three last visits. It has gone downhill badly. Three visits ago we were seated in the trolley and then completely ignored for 30 minutes. There was a waitress, but apparently she was new and only had the front half. I finally went out front and demanded the manager who finally assigned a waitress for us and comp'ed our meals. The lasagna was very disappointing with hard noodles and definitely not oven baked and barely warm. Two visits ago to use the gift cards we intended to use on the previous visit, service was poor and food was fair. The last visit last night was the third strike and SW is OUT! Very poor service and food. The drinks were all ice and refills were not timely. The server past our table many times, but she flew by each time like we were not there. The zucchini appetizer was good. We only got one loaf of bread which was barely done and came with almost no butter. No ranch dressing...really! This is the Strip District after all with many stores for crying out loud. The food was very poor. The spaghetti and meatballs had about a tablespoon of sauce. The fetticini alfredo was almost devoid of sauce, as well. My Wild Mushroom and Chicken was not warm but tasted okay. We will NOT be going back. Olive Garden and Bravos in the North Hills will be getting our business from now on.
(1)John L.
The food is horrible - how can you serve pasta and marinara sauce and not even toss the pasta in the sauce? I truly received a pile of watery noodles with a ladle of sauce on top. Actually, the name says it all. While this place has an italian food menu, there isn't an italian bone in its body. You feel as if you are being served italian food from an irish line cook. The restaurant decor was really nice when they last decorated it in 1981, which was also the last time that they updated the menu.
(1)Jennifer B.
Didn't think this was possible, but it's worse than Olive Garden...food was horrible and extremely overpriced, service was decidedly lacking.... Neat location with fun and interesting decor but I wouldn't eat there again.
(1)Susan D.
My husband and I took our niece and nephew to the nearby John Heinz History Center this past Saturday. We decided to stop for lunch here. Normally when my husband and I think "Italian", we think of a fine trattoria or an old-school place like Minutello's (we're childless). But when little ones are in tow, it's always best to stop at a kid-friendly place like this. So how is it? Pretty good actually. About what you'd get at one of Olive Garden's better locations. I opted for the penne pasta with Italian sausage and peppers and onions. I forget what my husband had, but mine was good, although I wish their lunch menu was available on Saturdays (I would have prefferred a sandwich and soup). But they have a good kid's menu here, so that's why we stopped. Kids can get a pasta or pizza meal for $3.99. They really seemed to like it and their portions were just right. They also have a fairly extensive beer and wine list here. I'm a non-drinker but my husband Rick enjoyed a good Italian beer, Peroni, on tap. Thing about pasta places like this is that since I'm a type-1 diabetic, the insulin I have to take to cover a meal like this. Well that, and add the tiramisu I had for dessert (O the glorious carbs--Pump that insulin, Susan, pump). So yeah, while it is a chain, Spaghetti Warehouse isn't a bad choice, especially if the little ones are along.
(3)Robin D.
This was the first time my husband and I have been here. We went with my sister-in-law, her boyfriend, and his sister as it is a tradition to go around Christmas for the boyfriend's family. Well, we were not impressed at all. Even the bf wasn't happy this time. We didnt have the best waitress as she would run off too quickly.for us to say much and we thought forgot about us the drinks took so long. She finally showed and said she had dropped them and had to make them again. We ordered and the wait wasn't too terribly bad for the food being a Saturday night in Pittsburgh though it was after 7 when we arrived. I didn't care much for.the garlicky butter that came with the sourdough, but the bread was hot and fresh. A balloon artist came around and made a flamingo that had to be 4 feet tall for the bf's sister and a little penguin for the SIL. He later came back, unasked, and gave her a 2 ft penguin with a hockey stick and puck in its "hands'. We finally got our soup, which did take a while to come out. Three of.us had the wedding soup and none of us liked it. The SIL's bf said it didn't even taste like wedding soup, but like chicken soup with meatballs. Granted I've been a little stuffy lately, but the broth barely tasted like wedding soup broth to me either. I had the fettucine alfredo, which was ok. I ate more of it than I might have were I not eating for two right now. I added pepper because it was rather plain...not even a garnish. My husband said his spaghetti and meatballs was just ok. The bf had ordered an Italian Margarita I believe it was called and drank the first one though it wasn't mixed right as you could taste the tequila and there was no salt. He even added sugar trying to improve it. The second he gave back and the waitress didn't even apologize or take it off the bill. She went into the kitchen and started complaining loudly and our table was near the kitchen. Then she shows up with the check and we had to wait for her to come back to split it 3 ways since there was 2 couples and one other at the table. The bad drink was still there and my SIL was thoroughly pissed by then and went to talk to the manager and told him about overhearing her and all he did was take the one drink off. I noticed while reading our check that the entrees were correct, but that she had us as having a salad and minestrone when we both had wedding soup. I didn't say anything since the price was the same. The balloons artist was great, but we won't be going back just to see him.
(1)Sarah C.
Fettucini from a can, anyone? If you like paying $10 for tasteless pasta and sauces, this is your place! Stay away and never look back.
(2)Amy R.
I've been going here for 4-5 years. Not super frequently, but probably at least once every 6 months to a year. My last visit left me with the thought "has something changed, because either I have gotten way more picky or it just really used to be better." The 7 layer lasagna used to be amazing, from what I recall, but the last time I ate it, I was disappointed. Nothing spectacular, not really all that cheesy - just kinda 'meh'. I could probably make better. I like the idea of a warehouse-turned restaurant, but for being in the strip district...the heart of what Pittsburgh is really all about - they should be doing better than they currently are. The sourdough bread is still great and I can't complain about my wine (although I did have to go with the white zin as a second choice because they were out of Riesling). Can't beat the price though - you can get a spaghetti dinner on Wednesdays for $4.99. Great for big groups as well - very accommodating and large.
(3)