The Old Spaghetti Factory

Smh. This place has such a great venue. Tragic the food is bad and overpriced. But I mean you don’t go here to actually have a good meal. You go to TOSF for fun and to feel fancy in such a great location.

Went to OSF tonight after walking by and seeing how cool the restaurant looked inside. We were seated promptly but that’s when things went downhill. Our waiter was very nice but seemed super busy and overworked.
Our salad came out with dressing on it (after ordering it on the side) and the iceberg lettuce was really old and mushy. The bread also arrived at this time and was fresh baked and tasty.
We still hadn’t even received waters to drink by the time our waiter came by and inquired about the salad. We told him what was wrong and he said he would get us another one and our water.
5 minutes later our entrees arrived. Still no water… The entrees were really average tasting. Not bad but not really good. About 2 – 3 minutes later we finally got water and a new salad. Unfortunately, the salad came out with dressing on it and the lettuce was still old and wilty.
I could tell our waiter was really busy, but it was disappointing that management wasn’t more prepared. It wasn’t a terrible experience, but there are so many good restaurants in the are that I wouldn’t come back to OSF.

I’ve never had a bad food experience here. When i am close, I have to come here for the browned butter mizartha cheese dish! Amazing every time. My son got the Chicken Alfredo Broccoli and said it was his new favorite dish.
This place gets super busy so you will wait for a table but it is so worth it!

I’ve been here 3 times. I was pretty disappointed every single time.
Food just wasn’t very good.

Just had a very disappointing meal at OSF. We had reservations so were seated promptly… that was the only prompt service received. Our waiter did inform us that the kitchen was a «bit backed up» however, waiting 2 hours for our meal was not what we had bargained for. After an hour and a half we asked to speak with a manager as we had seen 5 other tables that had been seated, meal finished and left the restaurant after we were seated. The manager apologized, told us our ticket had been lost and offered us a slice of cake for dessert. Ummmmm-​still hadn’t had food so didn’t need dessert yet! At the 2 hour mark our food arrived and most of the food was fine but my husbands garlic shrimp Alfredo was totally dry (probably under the warmer too long). We asked the server about it and he agreed it was too dry. We didn’t ask for it to be re-​made as we were already been there for such a long time. So… slow service, dry food and no discount on our ticket for the inconvenience. Sorry, not sorry for the tiny tip
UPDATE: After leaving this review a member of the OSF management team contacted me by phone to discuss what happened during our visit. We spoke about it and they were glad to have our input to help better their service in the future. I then received vouchers for entrees to be used on our next visit. I was happy with the outcome and will give OSF another try the next time we are in town.

Food still very good. Prices have increased since the last time we were here! Service is horrible, some of the slowest ever. Had to wait as he served everyone at the same time. He wouldn’t just bring bread or food unless he had another tables food also!

What an awesome experience. Just happened upon this place for lunch, now we’re making plans when guests come to town!

1. Food is totally terrible. I get why people come here — it’s relatively cheap for Minneapolis and you get multiple courses included. But seriously, bland. Overcooked chicken. Terrible sauces. Really, the worst restaurant food my husband and I have ever eaten, and we get forced here about once a year. They have nothing remotely healthy on their lunch menu — no fish, no plain meat. All pastas.
2. The reason they get two stars instead of one is because of the way they managed our party this weekend. They gave us a giant room, the servers were attentive and managed to split checks in at least 10 different ways. It’s hard to get service for a party of 19 in the way we did, and I was really pleased.

I haven’t been to an Old Spaghetti Factory since I was a child. I was excited to come back for nostalgia’s sake. The décor was very similar to the other one I have gone to in Seattle, and the food was good. (how can you mess up pasta?) However, I am giving it two stars because the service was super «meh.» Our waitress was clearly stressed out and running (literally) all over the place. Maybe I was being ignorant but the restaurant was not that busy and seemed a bit empty, at least in our section. I felt she was rushing for us to take our order, which I never like. But the part that really grinded my gears was not even 5 minutes into her bringing our salads and bread, someone from the kitchen brought our entrees. I mean… really? I really enjoy the entire dining experience and like space between my courses. This seemed really ridiculous.
If you haven’t been to an Old Spaghetti Factory before, I would recommend going because it is a cool restaurant. If you have kids they do balloon animals and that kind of thing which is cute. But don’t expect the red carpet treatment. It looks like a fancy restaurant, but its more casual when it comes to service.

Good food and good service. The atmosphere was really cool with how they decorate it. Loved the bread and the ice cream at the end. We ended up totally full by the time it got there so it was hard to eat it all! It was fun to go as an anniversary date.

Booked a party of 14, they accommodated us well. Interior décor is great! I love the high ceiling, old fashioned wood furniture, and deep red colors. The 3-​course meal is great! I ordered the #1 lasagna and chicken Marsala platter, and paired it with my server’s recommendation of wine which was fantastic! Our server was amazing. She got all our drinks and orders in correctly and very quickly; I left a generous tip. Restaurant is very attractive and clean. Staff is very friendly and exceptional.
Overall, 5 stars all around. No complaints at a all, only praise. Will definitely come back here again.

My boyfriend and I went to The Old Spaghetti Factory the night before Thanksgiving with his family. I’ll refresh this review again with saying that both my boyfriend and I have celiac disease. I also have a dairy allergy so this basically means that we usually dictate where we will all go out to eat. Since we both had previously had great experiences at other Old Spaghetti Factories we decided this would be the easiest place to go to.
Our waitress was super accommodating and gladly brought over the manager when I asked. Every location seems to have the same great procedures so I relaxed a bit after speaking with the manager. We ordered our dishes and the food came out relatively quickly and neither of us ended up getting sick. We both ordered salads without croutons of course. My boyfriend got the creamy pesto dressing, which contains dairy while I specifically asked for a side of oil and vinegar to be safe. I got the meat sauce with the gluten free pasta and he got half meat sauce and half of the Mizithra cheese. We both enjoyed our meal, but unfortunately our entire table felt like we were a bit shorted on the pasta. I have been back to other locations since and can confirm I have gotten a much bigger portion at other locations. Considering it is just pasta and a relatively cheap item it seems like we should be stuffed afterwards but we weren’t all. Other than that our service was great on this quiet evening. We will definitely be back in the future if we are back in the area again.

Went here before the Twins game to take the kids to where my wife and I had our first date 16 years ago. Had great memories and the décor brought them back. Unfortunately was extremely disappointed when it took 15 minutes to get acknowledged by a server. The server was nice, but so slow and not even apologetic about it. Stopped in for lunch hoping to get in and out within an hour and it took 1:30 and I had to rush him so we didn’t miss the start of the game.
Food was average at best. Weak beer selection. Poor wine by the glass selection.
It’s got nostalgia and décor going for it and that is about it.
I won’t come back unless they start to improve the food and service.

If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive night out with your family, including children, then this is probably a good fit. Positives: kids can be kids, balloon animals, food comes fast, the building is cool inside and out, and is located in a good spot. Minuses: the pasta is cheap. You save money going here and are reminded every bite. Our waiter was not on top of things. We ordered 5 waters and a lemonade… Not too hard but he messed it up.
P. S. There is no linguini!

This was my first time at the Old Spaghetti Factory and I am happy to say that I had an awesome experience here. There is nothing I love more than spaghetti, and luckily, OSF is good at making what is advertised in its title.
This location is located in the heart of downtown MPLS, one block away from the Guthrie. Its prime location makes it a great place for an after-​work gathering or a nice date. The building is spacious but historic-​looking. When you walk inside, you ascend several steps to get to the hostess stand. I couldn’t help but feel like I was royalty when I was seated to sit right next to a cool-​looking boxcar. Have I ever had the opportunity to eat spaghetti in a boxcar? Not until now! The rest of the interior resembles a cathedral with its wooden long tables and expansive high ceilings. Once again, I was pretty amazed and was already left with an outstanding impression of OSF.
John was our server and he was great! Not only was he friendly and attentive, he answered any questions we had about the menu. When I ordered the Italian Cream soda (which includes a keepsake glass I could take home), he offered to bring me a new unused glass to take home so I wouldn’t have to dispose of the remainder of the soda in unsaid ways if I was not able to finish my drink. My boyfriend ordered the Samuel Adams EPA which was equally satisfying to him.
Not only was the service top-​notch, but the food was delicious as well. Since my boyfriend was as avid of a fan of OSF as I was, he agrees that everything on the menu is a good choice. I decided to order the Mizithra Cheese and browned butter spaghetti dish while he ordered the tortellini. Although the pasta was on the greasier side (but in all honesty, who goes to an Italian restaurant for healthy food?), the flavors were on point. Portions were huge and I had to take the remainder of my dish home which became #leftoverfordays. My boyfriend was also impressed by the sheer quantity of tortellini offered per dish; luckily for him, the 10 bite-​sized tortellini pieces did not prove to be too difficult to finish and he was left satisfied.
One of my favorite aspects of The Old Spaghetti Factory was that with each meal, a choice of salad or soup AND ice cream is included, which takes out the guesswork in whether you can afford to order dessert or not. The fact of the matter is, it’s included in your meal so you HAVE to pay for it. But I happen to love salad and ice cream so I am quite the happy gal. YOU ALL HAVE TO TRY THE SPUMONI ICE CREAM (sorry my caps lock got ahead of itself)-SPUMONI is a mixture of pistachio, cherry, and chocolate ice cream and even though my taste buds said eh, my boyfriend told me it was good, so it was good.
I do admit, I was being slightly facetious while writing this review, but for real? The Old Spaghetti Factory is the bomb. Old timer or new customer, don’t hesitate to try this place, with your mom, with your dog, or with your new friend from the streets. I had a great, if not one of the best, dinner date at OSF and would definitely come back if I lived around the area.
By the way, fun fact. Did you know that this location is the only OSF in Minnesota? Now you know!

We came here for dinner before a show at the Guthrie. We were told there was a 20 minute wait and sat in the very pretty, well decorated waiting area. The hostess seemed very stressed but seated us promptly after 20 minutes. On our way to our table, we noticed many empty tables. They seemed to be understaffed, resulting in a longer wait. But we were okay with it and sat down in a very cool trolley car.
Our waiter James came to take our drink orders and came back with them quickly, although wine from the bar took a while because the «bartender was a little backed up». Our salads and soups to start were okay, seemed more like cafeteria food than restaurant food. For my main course, I had Alfredo sauce with gluten free pasta. The pasta was good and the sauce was better and more flavorful than I had expected. Didn’t even need to add salt and pepper (rare for me). We had to leave before our scoops of ice cream to catch our show (major bummer) but overall a positive experience. I wouldn’t drive all the way downtown for it but if I’m going to the Guthrie, I’ll stop by.

On a recent trip to Minneapolis over Memorial Day weekend, we stayed downtown Minneapolis and were within walking distance of this place. I have never heard of the OSF before, so we were interested because we are big pasta fans.
We waited to be seated for about 5 minutes, and for a Saturday night, isn’t bad at all. My only qualm on this was the time it took our waiter to first seek us out. It took a few minutes but to me, it’s nothing that’ll ruin a night if they make up for it. He kept my drink full during our stay, and that’s all I really ask from a waiter.
The place itself is an awesome looking place. They had an old street trolley car with booths, although we didn’t get seated there, the rest of the place was just cool to look at and take in, and enjoy.
I ordered the garlic shrimp fettuccine, and my girlfriend got the spicy spaghetti vesuvius. Both were very good, which I’m happy about as I wanted to like this place, and we very much did. For the price of your meal, at least for us, we got bread, salad, and ice cream at the end. The total bill was just over 30, which isn’t bad for the food, experience, atmosphere, and service. We will definitely be coming back on our next trip to the cities.

Below mediocre as you can get.
I stopped by (solo) on 5÷30÷15 to have a little dinner. There was a line but I just got a table at the bar. The food itself had no flavor. I had to add a lot of parmesan cheese and black pepper just to get flavor.
I had the chicken breast fettuccine Alfredo meal.
The server was great & friendly. But I wouldn’t recommend this place at all.

Our family used to really like The Old Spaghetti Factory. It was our go-​to restaurant in Minneapolis because we liked the antique décor and the all-​inclusive meal (includes beverage, salad, bread and ice cream). The favorite dish, of course, is the Browned Butter and Mizithra Cheese. If you’ve never had it, it’s a drier spaghetti dish, but it has a salty/​cheesy combination that is just scrumptious. Give it a try.
Service has been great at times, and less so at other times. I would say that more often than not we’ve had excellent servers who have gone out of their way to give us a great experience, and have even provided little extras for our children, which we have appreciated.
My disappointment with The Old Spaghetti Factory is that their prices have really gone up in recent years, and when you realize you’re paying for spaghetti, I question whether you’re really getting your money’s worth. Overall, I’d say that the food is pretty average Italian fare. You can get better tasting Italian food at many other restaurants.
It’s a destination restaurant. If you’re attending a sporting or art event downtown, it would be worth trying, just for the ambiance of the place, and for the Mizithra dish, but it’s probably not a place you’d return to again and again.
Parking is available, at a cost, in the lot just behind the restaurant.

When I travel to an NHL city, my group tries to hit TOSF to bring our team luck. Ok, superstitious, but it seems to work. On our visit to this one, it was a little tricky to find. I guess if we were going to a Vikings game, it would have been easier to locate.
Parking is not free. There’s lots across the restaurant, and on the street (meter parking).
The menu is almost the same as the other OSF. The portions here seem a bit larger than my home OSF in Fullerton, but the bread was bland and tasteless. Its a generic french roll. The OSF in Fullerton provides hot sourdough bread. Maybe its a California thing? Well, minus 1 star for that. Sorry, but bread makes a huge difference when sopping up the sauce.
The waitress charged me for coffees, and I had to hunt her down to remind her that coffee comes wih the complete meal.
Overall a decent dinner. I was surprised it wasn’t crowded on a Friday night. Maybe because there’s no football game?