Strings Italian Cafe

We went to lunch here Tuesday and there were only a couple tables occupied, service was terrible, he never refilled or even asked. It was two adults and four kids, ages 12,8,and Twins almost 3 I didn’t order anything I already had lunch so I just had a few bites of my friends meal our bill was $ 65 pretty pricey for mediocre Italian pasta. Did I mention service was horrible!!!

We were in need of finding a venue to host my daughter’s graduation luncheon for 50 people so we visited Strings to see what they could offer. We met with the manager, Jose, who basically gave us a variety of options to choose from. He was attentive to our needs and budget. He did not try to «sell» us a high priced menu like other venues would have done. He was honest and straight forward. He allowed for us to even come the night before to decorate the area if we wanted to. The luncheon was great! The food was great! But most of all, Jose’s service was great! He always checked in with me during the party and asked if there was anything I needed. I am most grateful for the service that String’s offered. If you are looking for a small venue, I highly recommend this place. Oh and ask for Jose!

Tried this place for the first time. Had very fast service, very clean but most important food was great !
I recommend the stake strips very delicious.

their pasta is mediocre. I ordered the shrimp scampi to go & was not impressed. I think that w/​seafood, you’d get a light sauce (preferably Alfredo) & w/​meat you’d get a red sauce. but not just the food itself, but the presentation was terrible as well.
I came home & opened the bag & it was filled w/​grease. they packaged the shrimp separate from the pasta, which is understandable, but the shrimp was in a pool of oil :/​I open the little baggy of bread & there’s just 3 pieces of burnt bread… usually their bread is a light yellow color but this batch was obviously forgotten in the oven lol
I wouldn’t care to come again. it’s just convenient since I live a few minutes away, but it isn’t worth it.

We ordered family style 6 items because we wanted it all. Everything we ordered was delicious and everyone was happy. I wasnt impressed with the pizza with its bready doughy crust. Thin crisp crust would have been perfect. I wish I hadn’t of shared my meatball spaghetti with meatsauce. I also ordered an Italian soda which surprised me because it was more like a dessert. The host on Saturday 5÷6÷16 was awesome! I will definitely come back here everytime I’m in town. Shooooooot… forget Olive Garden.

I just went for lunch during a week day. It was slow quiet nice atmosphere. Service was prompt and he refilled my drink. I ordered a calzone it came out hot and tasty. The loss of a star came from 1. I had to ask for the bread they serve 2. He never asked me how my food was or offered me a box etc. I will come again and it’s good would recommend it.

Had an early dinner with the family yesterday & everything was great the manager waited on us, food came out on time service was great as well. We will be returning

This place was amazing me and my family got greeted right away and the server was on top of her job and the man that look like the manager was a pretty cool guy taking care of us aswell, on top of that food was excellent i will be coming back

We always enjoy coming in and having Jose as our waiter. The service is friendly and excellent, as well as the inviting Italian atmosphere. We are always pleased with the quality of the food and the reasonable prices. It is always a great place to go out with our family and friends!
–Jeff, Noreen, Nicole, and Cara

Great Service & Great Food! Jose gives special attention to detail! Shrimp and calamari special was excellent. Food and service is much improved over prior owner.

On Tuesday 3÷15÷16 my wife and I were in the mood for some pasta and salad so we tried the String“s Italian Café.
The service was O.K. but the food :
1) Way Overpriced ;a small SIMPLE side salad is $ 6.49.Pass.
2) The Minestroni ‘soup’ , whick we both ordered, was simply a light broth with cabbage?, 2 kidney beans in the cup of ‘soup’ and a small sliver of carrot and maybe a sliver of onion.
THAT IS NOT MINESTRONI SOUP.
3)The spaghetti noodles were tasteless and the pasta sauce for the spaghetti and meatballs was also bland and was tasteless. The meatballs were large and tasty.
HOWEVER: The garlic bread was fresh and tasty, as was the Iced Tea.
Next time, we will return to the ‘Romano’s Macaroni Grill or to the Old Spaghetti Factory.
Sincerely, :(
R. Terry

Both service and food were awesome!
Despite having some problems with our on line order, Jose was able to work things out and take care of us no problem! The food was hot, and amazing, and we plan to be back!
Thanks!

When you only have two tables of customers, there shouldn’t be any reason that they don’t get drink refills. Also if the only table that has customers when the second party walks in has a screaming kid at it… just maybe you could and should NOT sit the second party right next to them! Seriously! Two tables out of many and we got to listen to a kid scream multiple times. I will give it to the parents because the dad took the kid outside each time, but he was doing this before we came in and we got seated right next to them anyway.
It wouldn’t hurt if they would wipe down the walls now and then either. Kinda getting gross…

So far our experience tonight is less then stellar. 15 minute wait after we were seated to order drinks, and no there not busy. We got our salads and were told bread was on the way, which never came and now I’m sitting with and empty glass as the staff enjoys each other’s company. Hopefully they remember our entrée. I don’t think I’ll be returning anytime soon. Poor service always ruins a meal!

The restaurant needs a good cleaning. The place was unnecessarily filthy. The food was only mediocre. My husband and I shared a margarita pizza. It had to much sauce on it. Probably to hide the fact that it lacked enough cheese, tomatoes, and basil. I do have to admit I enjoyed the crust though. My husband had the minestrone with only one piece of zucchini and 3 pieces of carrot. He said his «broth» was «okay». My salad had ancient raisins in it. Overall this Strings is not what it used to be. Try The Olive Garden or Romano’s if you want Italian.

Came here on a busier night of the week and brought a couple others with me. The Manager Jose happened out be our waiter again. The place was pretty packed but I didn’t notice any slow down on the service at all. He stayed consistent with drink and bread refills. Unlimited bread. This place is honestly like carb heaven. The food is always consistent here. I always get the chicken parmesan. Great dish as usual guys. The cooks in the back don’t seem to get overwhelmed by the food orders. Plates continued coming out quickly and everyone around me seemed happy.
Had a great time. Thanks again Jose, we’ll be back!

Drove all the way from the Bay Area to visit for my mother in-​laws bday dinner and we chose strings.
Now keep in mind that this is a cozy restaurant borderline Lodi — Stockton and us being from the Bay Area we’re used to the fancy Italian. Strings is far better due to the quality of the staff!
We parked in front and was greeted right away by Jose…
Kim who was our server was «hella» awesome! Very friendly and attentive and made the evening extra special.
Jose the Manager plus Kim’s friendliness and awesome customer service made this restaurant a 5 star. ***it’s the quality of the people that makes the restaurant!
Thanks guys! You guys are awesome, see you guys soon.

My wife and I come here about once a month. We love the food. The salad and bread is to die for. Jose the hostess has helped us with choosing our meals and we have just about tried everything on the menu. This place has great services, happy, fun & energetic employees.
The Decour and music that they play is just right. This is a great place to have a family gathering, party or just a romantic date. My wife and I recommend this place to everyone of our friends and family.

«As good as it gets» is appropriate for this eatery.
I am from San Francisco, and some call me quite Italian-​food snobbish [well perhaps not that bad].
Foremost, I look for taste, ingredient quality and friendliness of staff over what the inside of anything looks like, how busy a place is, or how it appears to have once been. For those who are reading this review and have been to some of the finest — and most authentic — Italian eateries in North Beach in San Francisco or in the North End of Boston, Mass — you know what I mean.
Our money’s much better spent at Strings than any other Italian eatery. Why?
1. The other Italian places in Stockton/​Lodi [with the exception of Strings in Lodi] use less than exemplary ingredients. It’s not that they are bad, but I’d rather not eat a pre-​packaged meal from Olive Garden… I’d rather have something a little more thought through by the human being in the back who is making it for me.
2. There is no Calzone better in California. PERIOD. I’ve been to many, many delightful places which come close — but Strings has the best.
3. Jose, who is often there [head-​waiter? Manager?] is nothing less than a delight to deal with. Fast, courteous and friendly — and goes out of his way to ensure your experience with the food is A+.
4. For my birthday, where did I want to go? Palomino on the Embarcadero, perhaps Calzone’s in North Beach? Nope. Take me to Stockton. Bring me to Strings. Price is right, food is excellent and authentic and it’s a nice enough atmosphere for anything I’d ever want to go to.

Good thing I had a Groupon!
Overpriced mediocre Italian food.
The food is not bad… it is just not memorable.
There are better choices locally.
I had the seafood bisque, $ 6. Not much of a seafood flavor.
For $ 6 the bowl should have been full… it was half full.
The artichoke dip with toasted baguette bread was decent.
The meat raviolis with meat sauce were mediocre. The sauce
had a strong tomato flavor. For $ 12.50 you get 9 to 10 raviolis.
Part of my rating… i just do not like the layout of the restaurant.
It is weird… and it needs a ‘refresh’.
Here’s how I would rate our local Italian eateries:
1 Angelina’s
2 Romano’s macaroni grill
3 Olive Garden
4 Old spaghetti factory
5 Strings Italian café
Yep… I’m glad I had a Groupon!