The Old Spaghetti Factory

Ahhh! How have I not reviewed OSF yet?!
For starters, this is hands down, my favorite restaurant. What more can a person ask for, with the best three-​course meal that includes a soup or salad, endless bread/​butter, an entrée, and their famous neapolitan ice cream?
My favorite dish to order here is the Breast of Chicken Fettuccine. The pasta isn’t too buttery (same goes for the rest of the dishes I’ve tried — Mizithra, Clam Sauce, Garlic Shrimp Fettuccine, etc) and the chicken is always cooked to perfection.
As for the service, all of the servers have been extremely attentive and friendly each time I dine here, and I never have to hesitate if I need something else for the table.
I’m not lying about how good this restaurant is; honestly, I like this place so much that I came here twice in one week for my birthday. It’s a treat for me to eat at OSF and even better when I get to sit in the train!

My family and I were out to dinner to celebrate my mom’s recovery after being in the hospital for a week. My mom really loves pasta, so she wanted to try Spaghetti Factory because she has never been. Our waitress was GABY and she turned what was supposed to be a quality family night out into a huge disappointment. First of all, she was very uninviting from the start. She was barely attentive and came to check on us about twice within an hour and a half. Another waiter was actually filling in, grabbing us waters because she was no where to be found. Finally, when we were done with our meals, we flagged her down to get boxes and the check. Earlier while we were ordering, we made note that our meals came with free ice cream. By the way my mom LOVES Spumoni, so when she saw that this place raves about their signature ice cream, she was really looking forward to it after. Especially because she couldn’t eat while in the hospital. GABY came back with our boxes and the check and I asked her, «Our meals come with ice cream, right?» GABY rudely responded as if she was irritated and as if I was being «demanding» and says, «Oh…you want it?» My mom answers her and says, «yes, if it comes with the meal…» So basically, if I never spoke up, she wouldn’t have offered. By now, I was pretty upset about our experience with her, so I was like whatever I’ll just Unilocal her. My mom still tipped her $ 5, when it should have been $ 0.00. As we were walking out, we passed GABY and she had the AUDACITY to give my mom and I a dirty look and didn’t even say thank you. That was the last straw for me. I took it upon myself to track down the manager Leah whom was very apologetic and sympathetic about our experience. She gave us her card and 2 free meals and said she would take care of us if we visited again. I used to work in customer service and I know it can be rough dealing with different types of people all the time, but I can assure you that my family and I treated GABY with the utmost respect. She acts like she can’t stand her job and as if we were inconveniencing her. Additionally, her attitude shouldn’t be tolerated. So thanks GABY, for ruining our night and the reputation of the restaurant you work at. Good job representing your company!

Great food as usual. The waitress Shey is super friendly and attentive. The three course meal is always a plus and the indoor trolley dining area is a hit with the kids

Love the service! My bf and I ate in the cable car in the middle of the room! Loved the dishes that we ate. Mos def try the Cotton Candy drink! Color change straw and u actually get cotton candy! I would love to come here again!

This is a place to go if you are coming with a big group. It’s comfortable and spacious (5 stars). Great ambiance with nice décor. We’ve come here most times with a large group of 12 people. They have great selection of kids meals and also gluten free dishes. Portions are big. I think the food is above average (3 stars) but I wouldn’t say it was very tasty. The best dish and my favorite dish would be the shrimp cilantro salad! It’s just prefect my flavorful with butter lettuce, cherry tomatoes and grilled shrimps. The dressing is amazingly savory with a hint of lemon juice. I am not a salad person and don’t like to eat salads but this is the only salad I crave and wouldn’t mind eating it everyday.

I’m not a fan of writing poor reviews, and I really wanted to like this place, as there aren’t many places like this (or at least have the potential like this).
When you walk in, the interior and décor is pretty cool, and quite amazing… However, that’s pretty much where it stops.
It was a pretty quiet Tuesday night, so you at least think everything would be up to par.
We had a large party of 14, 3 of which were kids. & Celebrating a 60^th Wedding anniversary!
Everything seemed dull, unorganized, and the employees just didn’t have that inviting feeling and energy, that can make a restaurant experience. It felt like we were eating in an empty warehouse, with music that was much too low, and created a boring environment.
Our food came out at very different times, and some orders were even forgotten.
The restaurant seems it has great potential if given the right management and team, and the menu sounds really good when you’re reading it… but for a place called spaghetti factory, I expected a lot better.
The dishes seemed uninspired, the spaghetti was cold, and seemed as they had a big batch of pre-​cooked spaghetti in back, being that a lot of it was stuck together, & it was not steaming hot at all.
If I was looking for a family dinner, with reasonable prices, and a decent vibe, I would probably just stick to Bucca de Beppo, or even Olive garden. I cannot speak for Fri-​Sun, but if they cant hang on a Tuesday, I would be scared to find out… Not to mention I seemed somewhat embarrassed for taking my guests here, as I was the one who chose it.

I’ve been working on Broadway since late October & I’ve never been to this restaurant until today. I went with a friend of mine & we both love the food, ambiance, and customer service.
First off, let me start with the ambiance. I love the set up and especially my favorite part; the el Camino train set in the middle. It gives the restaurant that «local vibe».
Second, OUR FOOD WAS AMAZING! My friend ordered the ravioli and he is usually picky with ravioli but he said it was «just the way he wanted it». I ordered the Chicken marsala with spaghetti on the side topped with cheese (I forgot what cheese) but oh my goodness I was in awe! Not only do you have your entrée, you also have your choice of minestrone soup or salad. I got the minestrone soup & I LOVED it. ALSO, they give you bread with butter! I’m usually picky with Chicken Marsala but it was one of the best I’ve tried.
Third, GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE! I forgot our server’s name but he did an awesome job checking in and out to see if we were enjoying our food or if we needed anything. He also recommended what food to get like compare and contrast.
You get what you pay for, that’s FOR SURE. I think the prices are fair I guess if you want to compare prices to another restaurant maybe Olive Garden or BJ’s brew house restaurant. Not so bad. I’m definitely coming back.

My three favorite things about this place is the FREE bread, ice cream, and our waitress.
The spaghetti sauce was kind of watered down, so it didn’t taste as good as I had hoped. But the bread was delicious!

My first time here and it was for a birthday party. I really like the atmosphere of the place. It’s rustic but classy at the same time.
Sorry for not taking more pictures, my food arrived really late and I was so hungry I ate it all before I could snap a pic!
I didn’t get to try the shakes though but I think that’s what I’ll come back here for. They have an Oreo shake that I am eyeing for!
I had the ravioli with stuffed sausages or at least that’s what I thought it was called. It was super spicy and totally not what I was expecting! I enjoyed it never the less but I must have down a few glasses of water and ice cream after that!
Ohhh what I did love was the bread! Freshly baked and slathered with butter. To die for! I always love a good loaf of bread.
You can park in the nearby parking structures and it’s free if you’re only there for 1.5 hrs or less! But street parking are an options too!

Had some great food and awesome drinks! Been going to this restaurant back when you could only go to SF or San Jose and I still love It. Great service!

You feel like spaghetti? I come here a couple times a week for the Mizithra Pasta or the Cilantro Lemon Shrimp Salad. These are my favorite dishes. The Italian orange soda (there’s other flavor available) is also a must every time. You can order the soda without buying the glass, it’s about $ 1 less.
The prices are reasonable. This is the place you can go and the food always the same. It’s consistent. You get a lot for your $ here! By the way I met the new manager, her name is Leahy. She is so welcoming and has great customer service skills! She’s very attentive.
We always have a great time at this location!

I always come here with my boyfriend as a tradition. Food is great & you get more than your money’s worth! Waiters are very friendly too!

This place has AWFUL service. Came for lunch with a couple friends and were greeted and seated immediately, hence the 2^nd star. Other than the initial encounter with the host, we had the unfortunate privilege of being seated with Richard.
From the start, he seemed pretty nice, but was actually lacking in knowledge about actual menu items. He seemed not to even care about providing us with great customer service. The amount of times he came up to us was very sparse. Keep in mind, there was probably 2 or 3 other tables of people in this section, which weren’t even being waited on by him.
We ordered at around 12:15 and didn’t get our food until 12:50. A 35 min wait time for food in a nearly empty restaurant is something I find to be unreasonable. At the San Diego location, on a busy night, the wait time for food isn’t even this long.
Food was fine as per usual (mazithra and brown butter), so that part of the rating is reflected in that 2^nd star. Keep in mind, we were still never checked up on to see if we needed anything more or of everything was going well. Once we asked for the check, we were given it in a timely matter and had one simple request.
We had put 3 cards in and asked that he split our amount evenly. Not a big deal at all for most servers, however for Richard, this seemed to be the most difficult part of his job. He loudly sighed as he took our bill, and immediately I looked to my friends to see if he had in fact sighed over this minimal task. He returned and tried to be polite, but at this point, his attitude was the main aspect of this meal.
If you have trouble helping diners with simple requests, maybe customer service isn’t the job for you.
Will not be coming back to this location, but hopefully another location will treat me with better respect.

Oh boy. I’m very disappointed to have to write this review.
For several years, OSF has been one of our go-​to places for an easy mid-​week meal after a long day at work/​school/​sports practice. We’ve had some great experiences here — and especially enjoyed having «Lynn» serve us. Loved how she remembered the small details about our family. Two stars just for her, otherwise this would be a zero star review.
Today, however, our experience was very disappointing from the moment we walked in.
With the exception of an apparently large party in their banquet room, the place had a modest amount of people. Typical of what you might see on a weeknight at 6:30pm. We were greeted by a waiter who said they’d be with us in a moment, and shortly after we were greeted by the host. We asked to sit in the trolley, and he indicated that it would be possible, but to expect service to take longer because the server in that area was also working the large banquet. We declined, but he only responded with a funny head movement (neither a nod not a shake). So we confirmed with him that it was NO to the trolley, and this time he responded with a slow, but uncertain nod. Most unclear communication we’ve had with someone who’s supposed to be your first point of contact.
We were seated, not in the trolley, but in the same area. Drinks were offered, and ordered. Then we ordered our meal, and waited. And waited. We were starving, but hopeful that the bread would come out first as it usually did. Nothing.
After what was an unusually long amount of time, the salads came. We asked for bread, and that came out shortly after. And while we were still less than half way through our salads — and mind you, they’re just side salads, not huge entrée sizes — our pasta came. He placed mind in front of me, and it was not what I had ordered, so while the rest of my family ate, I worked on my salad. When he returned, he told us that the kitchen read the ticket wrong and is making me a new one. Ok.
I watched my family finish their meal, and we waited. We flagged him down to ask for water for my daughter. And when he returned with the water, he cleared our plates — including my daughter’s, who wasn’t done yet. Still no meal.
After waiting an additional 15 min, we flagged him down to ask if we could just have my meal to-​go since we needed to get the kids home. He apologized because there was a big banquet. Seriously? How long does it take them to boil some pasta and toss it browned butter and cheese? Surely not 20 min; not even 15 min! The restaurant specializes in pasta! It shouldn’t take that long to make — and it’s not «the banquet’s fault!»
We waited a bit more after that, and when we got the check, we thought we were comp’d for the meal, but after closer inspection, we saw that one dish (the wrong one that was originally given to me) was deleted, and my correct dish inserted. The kitchen didn’t read the ticket wrong — it was written wrong.. We didn’t complain because we just needed to get the kids home.
The server just needed to own the mistake. Not blame it on the kitchen nor the banquet. We all make mistakes.
And the management sure did not plan their service very well today. Have servers dedicated to only the banquet or just the main restaurant. The servers will do a better job, and your customers may get better service.
We love OSF. But are sad to say that today’s experience makes us very apprehensive about future visits.

The place is nice. They sat us by the window, I thought that was nice. it took a long time for them to take our order. we ordered chicken parmigiana and the potpourri, food is a ok, Totally turned off with the service, the server did not come back for our drinks to refill, did not check on us, we were totally ignored :(
So we decided just to ask for a bill and a box to go. But they still took forever to come back… I have to get up and pay the bill …
Definitely will not come back.

Great restaurant if you crave for decent spaghetti. There are many parking lots nearby, they are all free if you leave within 2 hours. Or you can get the ticket validated at the cinema for 4 hours.
Anyway, the menu hasn’t change for many years, because it’s proven to work! All entrees and pasta come with a soup or salad, bread, and icecream. Their hot tea, coffee, ice tea is just a $ 1. I love their ice tea, very rich flavor.
I tried most of the items in the menu already, my favorite is still the lasagna. You can pair it up with the chicken with Marsala sauce.

I feel really bad for having to drop a star… but it is what it is.
I came here again this past Wednesday night (Veteran’s Day Holiday for some people) for my birthday dinner with my family. There was plenty of seating but the restaurant was severely understaffed. I get that it’s the middle of the week and usually not many people go out then, but I guess they weren’t prepared for the holiday?
We had reserved a spot so we got seated quickly. I noticed that a bunch of people still had to wait a long, long time after we were seated.
We were seated right next to the train car thingy. We didn’t meet our waiter or receive any greetings until about 20 minutes later… Other waiters kept passing by but none made eye contact or even responded when we tried to catch their attention. My mom finally caught a busboy (she’s really aggressive and scary so I apologize for her rude behavior that night loool x_​_​x) but alas he was just a busboy. But he gave us the best service that he could and grabbed us a few waters and even helped ask who our waiter was and kept checking up on the waiters and us. Give that kid a raise!
We finally met our waiter (who looked really pooped out from work) and he quickly took our orders and ran off once again. He was friendly and all so that lifted our spirits a bit haha.
Food was the usual, still love the 3 course deal. Service was super minimal this time. I understand the whole understaffed thing but… I don’t know, there could be some improvements so that can be avoided. I usually don’t care for service but it was pretty sucky this time.

Good. Service was quick. Food was delicious. Space was clean. Free parking in the city garage.
My kids love this place (but we don’t come here often).

Was here for the Murder Mystery dinner last night. Food was TERRIBLE. I understand that it’s a large group you are serving, but at least make the food edible! Service was at least half decent.
My group had one of each entrée — a vegetarian angel hair, meat spaghetti and a cheesy tortellini. The only plate we cleared was the tortellini. Everything else was just inedible. How hard can pasta be?
Salad was watery, which diluted the dressing. Ice cream was already half melted by the time we got them .
Parking here sucks, although its possible to find street parking if you are willing to walk a little.

This is the only place in the world that I’ve seen «Mizithra» cheese at, so I’m not exactly sure if it’s a real cheese or just some fake concoction that the OSF cranks out, but whatever — JUST GET IT. Everything else on the menu is just meh and okay — which you still don’t get mad about since you’re only paying $ 12 for a freakin’ three course dinner — but that browned butter and mizithra cheese pasta is one toothy-​tastic meal!
Service is spotty at best, so go in expecting to nurse your watermelon sized sourdough roll for a while. I get my money’s worth by getting the $ 1 iced tea (or $ 1 milk for the kids) and hitting them up for unlimited refills.
They have a huge back dining room that is good for parties and large groups. Catering services or banquet dinners start at around $ 10/​pp for three courses — pretty good stuff considering your other party option at that price is a taco cart!