Pettas Restaurant

My brother urged me to try this place again. I must have gone on an off night last time because the food was great! Everything was flavorful and the portions were huge. The service was fantastic and I will defiantly go back.

Awful. If you are over 80 and have no teeth this is the place for you. Food is nicely overcooked, gummy and bland. The restaurant feels like a basement from 1950 and the staff can’t be more disinterested in serving you. And here I thought Schenectady was famous for its Italian restaurants. No pride is taken in any aspect of this place. So sad.

Petta’s has been around since the dawn of time. Locals have fond memories of it from years past. The décor hasn’t changed — dark wood paneling down a long, dark hallway into a low-​ceilinged space with… more dark wood paneling.
One of my friends chose Petta’s last night for a gathering of 5; we had reservations for 4:30 (on the early side for a Saturday!), so there was only one other table seated when we all arrived.
By 6:30 the restaurant was almost filled up. The large majority of people dining here were on the older side… and some were even decked out in rhinestone-​bejeweled duds for the big night out on the town.
The wait staff was very friendly and attentive… sometimes a little too quick to take plates away when there were a few morsels left (this is a «clean plate» crew)…but great with refilling drinks and offering menu suggestions.
The menus are printed on regular paper… and I was surprised to actually see frog’s legs on the menu. (Sorry…nobody in our party ordered those.).
I ordered the homemade cavatelli with red sauce (not the marinara but a «smoother» sauce suggested by Bob). The pasta was gummy (in a good homemade pasta way) and the sauce was thick and garlicky. Hit the spot — was exactly what I wanted.
We shared the calamari and the clams — both were very good. The sauce the the clams were served in was also heavy on the garlic — and great for dipping the bread into.
Oh — the bread… how could I forget? Generous portion of perfectly dense (but not too dense) italian bread with crunchy/​chewy crust and soft insides.
Others at the table had lasagna, chicken marsala, chicken parmigiana and veal parmigiana. Everyone really enjoyed what they ordered… and there was plenty left over. Lots and lots of food… but we still tried dessert! Spumoni, Tartufo, Cheesecake and Peanut Butter pie all hit the table and were devoured. Coffee, too.
We sat there for hours — catching up with friends that we haven’t seen in a while. Nobody rushed us out and there was never a line for tables… so it was a nice, leisurely no-​pressure meal. There was some live music as well… which was interesting…
Decent old-​school Italian food.

I have been going here since I was a child. Went for an early dinner with the hubby. Other than the area being even more disgusting, nothing has changed.
We had the chicken Sorrento and veal Sorrento. Chicken pastine was fabulous, and salad was fresh, crisp and tasty. Homemade cavatelli was soooo yummy. We had excellent food and excellent service. Thank you for a great meal.

If we had only known!
In town for the marathon, and looking for a traditional pre-​race pasta dinner, I checked TripAdviser for a local recommendation. Petta’s was it, with a 4±star rating.
Finding the establishment after dark, as it’s tucked in a very sketchy neighborhood, should have been a warning. But, we persevered.
With the hostess asking if we have a preference for seating, I asked for a quiet table. She actually scoffed at me. Another warning.
The dining room is decorated in mid-70’s vinyl and formica, with the walls covered in tacky, dark wood paneling. TV’s tuned to the lottery numbers-​du-​jour, and Rubbermaid rolling carts utilized to both serve and bus the tables. Yikes. But, the biggest warning should have been the clientele… few under the age of 75. 75 is about the age of the last remodel of this eatery.
Upon sitting, a heap of bread arrived quickly, followed by a underwhelming, pre-​made salad. These would be the last edible morsels that reached our table that night.
Basic fare of Baked Ziti and Lasagna… how can any self-​respecting Italian restaurant screw up basic dishes like that? Pettas managed to surpass bad. They went right to pathetic.
The cooked pasta was old, tasteless and lukewarm. The lasagna was bland and the meat was gray. And, lukewarm would have been an improvement. It nearly approached cold.
But, as another reviewer mentioned, the portions were big. One can only assume that a typical Pettas diner likes a lot of lousy food. Us, not so much.
We left highly disappointed, and somewhat hungry. And, only afterwards I checked the Unilocal rating. If I had only checked it first and not relied on TripAdviser. If we had only known!

The food was good we had the chicken parmesan and 8 ounce steak the baked potatoes were really good. The waitress was little different the bus boy max was cool.

Delicious and our waiter was great. The antipasto salad was absolutely amazing. Pasta was a bit over cooked but the sauce was excellent. We’re originally from Utica, but came from the west coast and my mom was thrilled to go back to a family favorite.

All I can say is… WOW!!! Just left my Mother’s Day dinner @ Pettas. I have to say… the first time that we have ever left a restaurant before the entrees were served. We arrived prior to 7 pm & the place was hopping. The host was sweet & found us a table ASAP… that, I’m sad to say, was the highlight of our 2 hour stay @ this Schenectady «icon».
We sat @ our table for over 30 min sipping our glasses of water empty until I finally lost patience. I approached the bar for some assistance & was presented with a heaping helping of attitude. The gentleman that I spoke to was argumentative & rude, & proceeded to question me about my arrival time. An annoyed waitress came by & told us that she was busy & would get to us. OMG!!! Should have taken the hint… but quite honestly, my kids & husband were being so great that I didn’t want to ruin the night… our waitress reappeared, took the drink orders, & delivered quickly… my husband & I thought great… just a busy night… 2 sets from the lounge singer & 1 hr 15 min later… we flagged down another waitress… no salads… no original waitress. She was appalled that we were STILL waiting. Salads appeared… we ate them… watched everyone else around us… that arrived later than us, get food…& nothing… finally 2 hours after arrival I approached the bartender… told her our situation & asked for the check. They produced a check for our drinks & salads!!! R U KIDDING ME?!?
We paid for what we ingested. I couldn’t leave it there. Before leaving, I had to tell the bartender that this was a very terrible experience & that I was taking my kids home hungry @ 9 pm. I also told her that I was going to write a review in Unilocal… do you know what her response was!!! «Nobody pays attention to Unilocal anyways.» Again… WOW!!!
Thanks, Petta’s, for my «lovely» Mother’s Day dinner!!! By the way, my large Italian family has spent many an evening & $$$ @ your establishment… I’m sad to see how far you have fallen.

This used to be one the arguably top 3 Italian Restaurants in Schenectady
along with Luigi’s and Ferrari’s. Well Luigi’s is closed down now.
But the last 3 times I have gone to Petta’s got worse and worse to the
point the last time literally was a chore to eat. My fiancé and I
ate about half of the grovel and just wrote this place off.
This place BLOWS now.
Plus, its located in the highest crime area of Schenectady

Always a wonderful meal. And they welcome special requests which is rare. I had the Eggplant Rollatini (not on the menu). Fabulous bread, fabulous service.

We ate at Petta’s 10/​20/​2013. It was the worst experience i’ve ever had. Grey clams, raw pasta and a steak that was worse than a steak-​um. As for the service, there was none. the waiter was wandering the dining room frantically. After he did the drive by delivering the unappealing meal. They had the nerve to ask if we wanted it wrapped…

Good food, fairly quiet atmosphere. Our waitress was friendly, but the service was slow. No one was at the door to take our names when we first arrived. Finally got seated, then another long wait before our waitress showed up. Like I said: good food, slow service.

The staff was friendly but it took 50 minutes to get our entrees and for the price they charge it should be outstanding but alas it was not. The prime rib was terrible and clearly was cheap cuts full of fat.
Won’t be venturing into that area again unfortunately again.

Food was okay, nothing special and it felt like being in a giant diner more than a nice restaurant. I wouldn’t go back.

I had seen Petta’s Groupon deal and decided I would give it a shot. Italian food is usually pretty hard to screw up, but also hard to really wow you, so I figured I was in for a decent meal. Ahhh, if I only I knew then what I know now.
Petta’s is a family-​owned restaurant in the middle of a residential district that looks like a barn from the outside. The décor is very welcoming and warm and the staff was really very nice. They don’t take reservations, but we only had to wait about 15 – 20 minutes to be seated, which wasn’t too bad. Interestingly, most of the servers don’t carry the plates to and from the tables by hand; they use plastic carts to transport the dishes and we found that to be kind of tacky and lazy (there were plenty of able-​bodied men and women working there so there just didn’t seem to be a reason for it).
As for the food, they have very tasty Italian bread and they give you more than you could eat by far. Unfortunately, that was probably the last thing I really liked about this meal. The sides that come with the dinners are either pasta or potato with vegetables and it rather stinks that you can’t get veggies with your pasta (perhaps they might have been good). The pasta was bland and the sauce, while plentiful, was also fairly tasteless. For our entrees we both ordered chicken francaise (being a favorite of ours and one of their January specials) and we were utterly disappointed. The sauce was not the sauce for chicken francaise at all; you could barely taste anything aside from garlic. I desperately tried to taste lemon, but I just couldn’t and that was a real letdown. Most importantly, you could easily tell that the chicken was not cooked fresh and that it was a boxed chicken tender. The chicken was dry and flavorless and tasted like a bland chicken tender that you would be served at a banquet. That in itself ruined the meal for us; a quality Italian place can’t charge $ 15 for chicken francaise and prepare it out of a box with the wrong sauce, it just can’t (especially if it’s one of their specials).
I agree with one of the previous reviewers that this place is all about quantity over quality. I really wanted to like this place initially since I love finding good-​quality family-​owned places, but Petta’s is an utter disappointment. I would advise you to avoid it at all costs and find someplace else to eat.

Petta’s is a great place to eat just as long as you don’t mind crappy food! Marino’s Flying Pizza is where you can feel comfortable at and the food is 100% better! If bland is your thing then Petta’s is great! If taste is what you seek then Marino’s Flying Pizza is the boss in that town!

I love everything about Pettas. the staff is friendly, the food is decent. I love the sizzling steak and the prices are reasonable. yep. the ambiance is old style but that’s what I love the most about pettas

Very good family restaurant with friendly, family owned staff. We have just been in the area a short time and have already been to Petta’s twice. Very large portions & delicious so you won’t leave hungry. They also do take out.

We had a work luncheon here and it was awful. Overall the food was very greasy and unappetizing. There is no atmosphere. Fake wood paneling and metal chairs with vinyl upholstery make me think this place hasn’t been renovated in over 20 years. If you value food quality over quantity, try somewhere else.

This is traditional old world Schenectady Italian. The setting is classic Italian and everyone in the restaurant has been going there for years… because they are treated like family.
The delicious meals, with extremely large portions also keep patrons coming back. This is about the best Italian bread I’ve ever had. My mouth is watering thinking about it.
Great for large family meals, banquets, receptions… You will not be disappointed at Petta’s.