12/22/08

You get what you pay for....

by atlguy35

I ate here this past Saturday. The atmosphere is great but the food is DISGUSTING! You would be much better off eating the pasta from a Ryan's/Shoney's buffet or making it yourself with ground beef, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and a box of pasta.

Our meal started with a spinach and artichoke "dip". No lie, we were served a bowl of watery spinach "soup"- zero taste and completely inedible.

We then got the salad- no problems whatsoever (how can you mess up salad anyway?) The ice cream and bread were fine as well.

The pasta entrees arrive- cheap meats (meat sauce was full of fat, meatballs were tough, sausage was chewy), and watery and tasteless spaghetti sauce. Heck, even the iced tea was watered down. Think of the cheapest buffet food you have ever eaten and then bump that down a notch. Seriously...

I know people are going to say "you get what you pay for", and in this case, it is absolutely true. If you want to bring the kids for a "night out" this is a cheap and suitable dining choice, but parents may want to eat beforehand because once you get to the Old Spaghetti Factory, you will leave feeling less than satisfied (and maybe disgusted if you are a picky eater).

• Pros: Cheap prices, good ambiance
• Cons: Low quality buffet style food

Kitschy Italian restaurant churns out heaping plates of pasta that won't break the bank.

by Contributor

In Short
Whimsical antiques and decorative items--velvet armchairs, vintage-looking fringed lamps and booths made from iron bedsteads--fill the dining room. The OSF Classics menu offers spaghetti with a choice of mushroom sauce, rich meat sauce, browned butter and feta-like mizithra cheese sauce, and more. Other popular favorites are the baked lasagna--layers of noodles, tomato sauce and four kinds of cheese--and the fettuccine Alfredo. Meals include a green salad, fresh-baked bread and ice cream.

06/15/08

Wonderful atmosphere but food could be much better

by csm1956

I took my husband here for Father's Day. He wanted to go to Macaroni Grill, but I suggested trying the Spaghetti Factory since we had never been there. The atmosphere was great but the food was about the same as one would expect to get at Fazoli's. I felt bad afterward. I know he didn't enjoy the meal as much as he would have enjoyed Macaroni Grill. For sides, the only option is broccoli; no other veggies are offered. My meatballs were still raw in the middle. I doubt we'll be back!

• Pros: atmosphere
• Cons: food, parking

05/24/08

Good food, pleasant experience

by nashgal85

Ate here with friends on a Friday night and really enjoyed the experience. It wasn't too crowded, surprisingly, so we were seated immediately in a large, charmingly decorated room. Our server was not the greatest but he got the job done. I ordered the spaghetti with browned butter for the main course and, despite its simplicity, it tasted great. It's also nice that the price on the menu not only includes your entree but also a sizeable salad (very tasty), delicious bread & butter appetizer, a drink, as well as a cup of ice cream for dessert. My entire bill came to about $11-12 including tax and tip. I definitely recommend - good Italian food, nothing too fancy, at a good price.

• Pros: Good food, good price, charming decor
• Cons: Server was pretty dull

05/07/08

Good Food, Bad Service

by coastiegirl

My boyfriend and I went here for his birthday a few weeks ago. I have always heard good things about the Spaghetti factory, but never lived close enough to one until we visited Nashville. The food was excellent and the portions were generous without being overwhelming. I liked that ice cream was included in the meal price. Aside from the food, our server was something to be desired. We waited 5-10 min before he even came to take our order. After we placed out order he came back with drinks and 5 min later came back to ask me what I ordered because he forgot. When we tried to order desert he kept insisting we try one thing when we asked for the chocolate cake. When we finished eating and he drop off the check, one bowl of ice cream, and no chocolate cake...Needless to say his tip was docked accordingly.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Service

02/25/07

kind of a let-down

by alabamagirl71

Was looking forward to eating at Old Spaghetti Factory, had heard good things from co-workers.

First time we went we weren't able to get a seat....the wait was over 1-1/2hrs (got there on a Saturday around 5pm before a Preds game).

Second time we tried a little earlier, and only waited about 5 minutes for a table.

Service was just OK, but the place was pretty busy, so we let it slide. Their garlic cheese bread was not much better than some I've bought in the freezer section at the grocery store....it just didn't taste very fresh. I had a combo plate of pasta with the mizithra/browned butter sauce and also the meat sauce. The mizithra/browned butter pasta was way too dry. I ended up mixing it together with the meat sauce to see if that helped any, but it didn't. I don't think I even finished half of it. My husband ordered the chicken parmigiana, he said it was just "OK".

Best part of the meal was the Mississippi Mud Pie my husband ordered....very good but really really rich!!

11/06/06

Descent food good prices

by high_five

good pasta, salads are small but O.K., I have visited several locations nation wide and received the same quality and pricing as the nashville location.must try the Mizithra

• Pros: mizithra pasta, pesto salad dressing
• Cons: small salads, pay parking

10/09/06

Never any waitstaff

by stemember

I am through with this place. Every time I treat to eat there, it seems that the waitstaff is slow and trying to make excuses that so-and-so didn't show up and they've been working non-stop for 24 hours. This is definitely not a place to go for good service.

• Pros: Good food at good prices
• Cons: Bad service

09/30/06

decent italian food for a great price.

by pinkstaronguitar

first of all, this place has an amazing atmosphere. and the prices are also amazing. you can get a drink, soup or salad, an entree, and dessert for what? under eight bucks a person? you do get what you pay for, you get more than what you pay for. as far as the food goes, it is fairly decent italian food. its always very quick and the service is professional.

• Pros: prices, food.
• Cons: sometimes a wait, downtown=pay for parking.

07/23/06

Still the best pasta I've ever had, even after all these years!!!

by rae1202

This has been my favorite restaurant since forever. I have celebrated many special occasions there without any complaints, however, my most recent visit this past weekend was a little below par. My group of 7 was "forgotten" and wasn't added to the waiting list, our Server Assistant did more walking around than assisting, and they had run out of ice and meatballs. BUT, I strongly feel this was probably (hopefully) a one time thing. We were seated quickly as soon as the hostess realized her mistake. Our server, James, had my group of 7; a rowdy, druken bachelorette party; and another large group (10+) of teenagers all in his section, and he was a wonderful server. Personally, I felt it was bad planning seating three large groups in this guy's section, especially when his assistant was MIA for most the night, but he did a great job. I've eaten at OSF literally dozens of times, and this was the first time anything like this happened. Again, I feel that this was a one time thing, and I would still recommend this restaurant to anyone in a heartbeat. When all was said in done, the wine was perfectly chilled, the garlic cheese bread was fresh from the oven, and the pasta was delectable (as ususal!!) Be prepared for a longer wait in the weekends especially during the summer and during the holidays, and be forewarned-they don't take reservations on Friday or Saturday nights, and they don't take call-aheads, no matter how large the group is (although I think it would be beneficial to them to do so). Overall, I would still rate it an easy 8.5/9!

• Pros: great food, awesome atmoshpere, fun place to celebrate any occasion
• Cons: parking in downtown is usually yucky, no matter where you're going