Pagliacci’s Restaurant

This place is pretty standard. I have liked everything I have had here… but I have not tried the pizza yet which they are known for… when I do maybe I can up the stars. Their bread is really good and I really love their sautéed broccoli and will typically get it with all my meals, even if it is a salad. I love their tomato mozzarella salad especially with grilled chicken. I also like their chicken in lemon caper sauce… so good. They make good grilled cheese for my daughter too and their fries are yummy. Nice family restaurant!

Pagliacci’s, aptly named, is a true fool’s venture kept alive year after year like a drunken marionette of its namesake.
Considered a familial place to get a big plate of bland Americana Italy before Olive Garden took the mantle nationwide is now an ongoing disease on East Street and a blemish and embarrassment on anyone’s representation of Italian cuisine and culture.
Broccoli rabe or «rape» as it’s presented here was an astonishing $ 23+ plate of soupy mess and just dollars shy of a miles superior and correctly done dish offered at 50 West on the other end of town. Pagliacci’s «rape» looks as if it came out of a tub or tin can hell, goes in concert to most of the dishes on the table. Chicken served with meals has zero spices or even an ounce of cheaply salted flavor as if it came Perdue packed and plopped into a boiling pot. Pizza is thin yet average and oily layered with cheese fit for kid’s appeal — maybe one of the most bearable offerings. Everything on the menu tastes as if it were microwaved or previously frozen.
Pasta is laughably yet boastfully made on premises but it doesn’t matter when it’s perpetually soft and boiled in dank water. They’d be better off using boxes (not actual pasta) of De Cecco rather than what passes for proudly passed off homemade pasta.
Décor hasn’t changed in 30 years, still looks like the 80’s with tacky gold trims everywhere, filthy carpeting, faux frescos and old wood-​trimmed tables accompanied by ugly green seating.
This absolute dump is revered by locals who don’t care to know better and don’t know what life is like beyond a jar of Ragu and frozen garlic breadsticks. It’s unfair how well this place does and how others more skilled struggle to stay in business with superior culinary offerings at lower prices. This place needs to be evaluated and eviscerated by the likes of Gordon Ramsey or a handsome second-​rate impersonator at best. It has too long masqueraded as a kitchen disaster and in my thirty years of life, never have been to a more pathetic and shameful dining experience.
Without insulting American sensibilities of what makes for a passable restaurant, quantity doesn’t win here nor did quality ever enter the doors of what appears to be a restaurant-​sized toilet. If this is considered Italian, you can have your ten pounds of leftovers and fill it in the turned over graves of Italian ancestry the world and centuries over.

One of the best Italian restaurants around. Great fresh pasta can been seen being made right as you walk in. Servers are very nice. Prices aren’t that bad.

pagliacci’s is not a place we go frequently in my family, but it is very important to us.
my mom grew up with a first generation italian mother who made amazing gnocchi. nothing will ever be the same as hers, but pagliacci’s always comes closest, which is why we went here tonight for my mom’s birthday dinner.
to start, we had an order of the fried smelts, yet another family tradition. these were tender, lightly fried, and perfectly crisp. served with tartar sauce, they were an awesome appetizer.
each of our entrees came with salads and they were of generous size, as was the house made bread and focaccia.
my mother’s gnocchi with pomodoro was delicious and perfectly prepared. my dad’s veal parmesan was large and satisfying. my gent got some kind of combo that included veal parmesan along with sausage and meatballs. i opted for the calamari with linguine in a white sauce. while the pasta was great and the calamari was SUPER tender, the white sauce was lacking. it was really more of a broth, but it didn’t have much flavor, and didn’t stick to the pasta at all. i would order the dish again, but i would go with a different sauce.
pagliacci’s is an institution for many (including us), with good reason. i just think they execute some dishes better than others. we will certainly be back.

Had the worst experience ever in an Italian restaurant than anywhere I’ve ever been before the food was horrible the service was horrible everything in general was horrible never been to an Italian restaurant that had no Italian bread very crappy cooked penne alla vodka waitresses don’t even pour water in a glass for you One of the worst experience I have had in any Italian restaurant I would definitely not recommend this place to anyone that’s a real Italian waited such a long time for my waitress to attend to me because she was too busy sitting down with the rest of the staff chatting and ignored me and my family’s needs.

Great family run Italian restaurant. Excellent menu and even if you’re not in the mood for typical Italian, their buffalo chicken sandwiches and wraps are delicious. Their portions are always generous and the employees are generally happy to be serving you. Highly recommend this restaurant for Italian dining versus any other in the area.

Sunday for lunch. Décor here is a bit dated but it is bright and clean looking. We were seated promptly which was lucky because a few minutes later the seating line and queue got much longer.
We had a friendly waitress who took our drink orders (diet Pepsi and a Bud Light). My wife orders Linguine with Red Clam Sauce. I order the Chicken Parm dish with freshly made pasta (shells). Both with garden salad. Bread/​butter and garlic sticks are served while we wait. The salads are promptly served. Nothing special here. Just a relatively small salad (served on a plastic dish) with peppercorn ranch dressing. Good but, they really should serve the salad on a glass type dish. That would keep the whole experience from being cheapened. On to the main course.
The portions are large. In line with the price paid. My wife’s dish has a lot of clams and lots of sauce prepped with just the right amount of garlic. Tons of freshly made linguine. Way too much to eat at one sitting so a take home meal (or two) is brought home. We both like the way this dish is prepped here so I will describe it as delish.
My Chicken Parm is delish too. But be aware that you must like a lot of cheese and sauce covering the chicken. I do, hence the delish description. You get a lot of chicken (I estimate 12 – 16 oz.). Half of my dish is homebound for dinner.
The bottom line here is that you get all the Americanized Italian dishes you can handle. If you like the way they prep their sauces then you are in heaven. If you don’t then… you know the story, you will not like it. Only you can make that decision and to do that you will have to check it out yourself. Happy eating.

Pagliacci’s is a very nice restaurant with a comfortable atmosphere.
We were here for a pre– Christmas dinner with family that we won’t be able to get together with over the holiday.
The waitress brought a large basket of fresh, warm Italian bread, and garlic bread. We went through that and she brought another basket of warm bread. Musta’ been pretty good bread! We almost finished the second basket, as well!
I started with a cup of their soup de jour, which was Arizona chicken soup. Delightful! Creamy, with an adequate amount of chicken, and just enough southwestern style heat to make it interestingly flavorful.
Even though this restaurant specializes in Italian dishes, I opted for an evening special of Beef Tip Stroganoff.
The stroganoff dish far exceeded my expectations of it. Plenty of cubes of tender beef, lots of noodles and fresh mushrooms, and a sauce that really delivered!
Everyone else commented that their respective dinners (all had a variety of traditional Italian style meals) were very good also.
I’m struggling to explain why four, instead of five stars, everything considered. My only explanation is that the restaurant just didn’t have that intangible «WOW!» factor that would have pushed my review up one more.
We will likely make this our go to place for these family gatherings because we all agreed the food and location were close to ideal.
A great place for family dinner, Italian style!

Horrible. Fried Mozzarella DRENCHED in sauce, chewy «homemade» pasta, horrible service, crusty, outdated décor, gross food. Don’t understand the hype at all.

So I haven’t been here since I was a little kid, and after tonight I’m wondering why! Wow this place rocks, super huge portions, apparently we thought we could eat more than we ordered lol.
We were seated right away and drink orders taken, there was definitely no rush and they were busy. I went for the mussels far Diablo and that probably would have been enough lol. They were cooked perfect and the sauce had just the right amount of spice.
I had a chicken parm & lasagna combo next because I needed to be in a food coma this evening, Just an FYI, split it with a friend. I have half in my fridge for tomorrow’s lunch.
They have tons of home-​made pasta as well as regular selection too. As I type this I’m dozing off into food coma land and yet if I was asked to go back tomorrow I’d be there.
The staff, and the food were equally amazing. I guess that right there is why they have been around so long.
So back to the why haven’t I been there more often question… I’ll be working on that.

We are from California and we come here just about every year to visit with family & friends. We go to this restaurant many times while we are here. One of our favorites.

I have no complaints. The food and service was really good. I had the chicken parm and it was pretty big and delicious. The décor could use some updating but I would deff come back!

Drove up from Bridgeport for lunch on Saturday. Nice family restaurant. Lunch comes with salad and basket of garlic bread. Delicious!I had broccoli rabe with sliced sausage and white beans. Reminds me of old school peasant meals growing up. My father had baked stuffed sole. Portions were good and everything was fresh. Nice waitstaff.

Always good food. The last time we had their pizza, the service was good, the food came out quickly and was served at the right temperature.
The portions are always huge and we consistently walk away with enough for another meal at home.
They make their own pasta and that is what I normally order. It’s a can’t miss. The tomato sauce is flavorful and plentiful.
I had the veal parm a long time ago and it was very good. I’ve not had it in a while so the next time I may order that and update this review.
Pagliacci’s has been here for many years and is our «Go to» when we can’t decide or don’t want to chance any surprises at other untested places.

Stopped going there when I saw one of the guys in the kitchen open a drawer and pull out pasta with his bare hand and put it on the plate. I was standing out front waiting for my family to come out. Never went back after that.

My favorite Italian place in Plainville — I have been coming here for 27 years and am not sick of it. Ever.
I love the huge portions, fast service, breadsticks they serve you. My favorite dishes are the classic ones — chicken and eggplant parm, meat ball grinders. I love it all there. Fresh made pasta too, made on premises. The sauce is delicious, thick and wonderful.
I always buy gift cards there for Christmas time for friends and family. Everyone loves getting a Pags gift card. Very loyal to Pagliaccis and will come here forever!

As we we approached the front door, a big guy was walking out with a huge take-​out order. As we set foot inside, we saw a dozen take-​out orders lined up on the counter like a parade.
Pagliacci’s is always busy. We were here before 5:00 on a Saturday and it was packed.
Dinner started with their complimentary bread basket –chock full of garlic sticks and fresh Italian bread.
Our orders were Baked Ziti with a Meat Ragu sauce ($ 15.95) and a Calamari over Linguine Fra Diavlo ($ 19.95). Both portions were gargantuan. The calamari was piping hot, the Ziti was warm but not piping hot.
My Calamari was great– a huge portion of grilled calamari, a huge portion of linguine in a great tasting sauce. One nit-​pick, I asked for the Fra Diavlo to be very spicy, but it was barely spicy.
Both meals came with a good sized salad included in the dinner cost.
Service was eh — nothing great. Not one check-​back on the food. Not one offer to refill the
all. She delivered a meal to the table next to us, she was six feet away, and never turned to say a word to us. Maybe she was having a bad night.
Bottom line, we enjoyed our meals, and will enjoy the second halves in a day or so. Four meals at a $ 9 average ain’t bad at all…

If there were 10 stars this restaurant would get it!
We went tonight about 6pm and there were only a few tables. As one reviewer said do not take notice of the out-​dated décor. I could care less about the décor. My top priorities are
cleanliness of the restaurant — YES
friendly staff, good wait staff — YES
good food — YES-​YES-​YES!!!
The portions were enormous! We all had boxes to go!
I had the penne a la vodka, my husband had the linguine & white clams, my son had the zuppa di pesce. We also had the fried calamari — delicious and another huge order!
Debbie was our waitress, she was so nice, friendly and always there to refill our drinks without having to ask!
They even make their own pasta and cannoli cream!
Pagliacci’s is open everyday but Christmas, Debbie told us! They even have a large room for private parties!
We have finally found our favorite italian food restaurant!
I HIGHLY recommend Pagliacci’s!!!

Loving the fresh pasta, sauce was decent. Huge portions, thought the service was good.
Parking can be tight.

Had my graduation dinner here and we all had a great evening! The restaurant was pretty slow, it was 730 on a Wednesday night, so service was no issue. Bread and salads came out super quick, which was awesome because we were so hungry! Our main entrees came out shortly thereafter. The menu looks like it has recently been revamped – my mom’s favorite dish was nowheres to be found – if this happens to you, just ask if they are still able to make it, that’s what we did and my mom got her chicken scarpiello just like she always used to! I had baked ravioli with a bolognese sauce – hearty and comforting, as always. After eating as much as we could, we all had to-​go containers full of delicious Italian food.
Love the friendliness of the staff and the consistency of the quality of their food. Couldn’t have been happier with my choice for my graduation dinner!