Rigatony’s

RigaTony’s is our go to lunch spot but they also have great dinners. If you want a classic Italian meal at a family place with lots of character, this is a great option in south Tempe.
Their lunch specials can’t be beat. They have a «create your own pasta» deal for $ 7.95 and the regular lunch menu is extremely reasonable as well. My boyfriend almost always orders the chicken Parmesan ciabatta sandwich even though they took it off the menu a year ago. They are always willing to make it for him. Our meals also come with salad and bread so we get out of there for under $ 30 for lunch for two people and that’s before the discount for being a frequent diner. It’s a great value. You could easily pay the same or more elsewhere and not get salad and bread included. Did I mention the bread is freshly baked? It’s the best if you get lucky enough to get it while it’s still warm from the oven.
Dinner is always busy. We’ve come in at 5 and seen a line on a weeknight. Forget about eating here on a holiday without a reservation! We came here for lunch on Father’s Day and it was an hour wait! (I’m telling you so you plan ahead. I’m glad RigaTony’s is so busy because that means it’ll be open for as long as I want to keep eating there.) We’ve only been here for dinner a couple times but we’ve always had a good time. The sangria is amazing! The baked Rigatony is my go to for dinner. I wish they had a veggie lasagna. Their drink prices are very reasonable so we’ve never broken the bank having dinner here.
They have a lovely patio with heaters if it’s cold. My boyfriend took me here when we first started dating and I felt like we were in this little intimate café.
The waitstaff has always been courteous and friendly. We usually sit in the bar if we can and Tracy remembers that I like Dr. Pepper and always asks us if we need menus when we sit down. (We usually don’t because we have the menu memorized.)
They also do takeout and sometimes if we want a light dinner we order salad to go and a few appetizers. They have two takeout parking spots so pickup is a breeze.
If you haven’t been here yet, you should make plans to go!

My favorite Italian food place in Phoenix! The salad and bread are both amazing. I don’t think you could order a bad entrée. The wait times are longer then most, but well worth the wait!

Great find! Fast service, great food, and did I say great food? I tired the Tour and it was not only tasty, but stuffed me! Reasonably authentic experience.

Not gonna lie, I kinda want to give a bad review because it’s always crowded here… But I can’t… it’s amazeballs!!! The food is delicious. I have taken to ordering takeout as well which is still great. Tastes like homemade in a grandma’s kitchen. Yum yum yum.

Food wasn’t bad and for lunch special at 8.95 was a good deal. Monday lunch special was chicken parmesan and comes with saled and bread all for 8.95. Sauce was good and chicken and pasta was cooked good not the best if had but for the price it was worth it.

The food here is awesome. My favorite dish is without question the baked Rigatony. I get it with both meatballs and Italian sausage. Chocolate cake and bread pudding are great desserts. Hopefully they add a warm cookie with ice cream to their dessert menu soon.

Great value for the money. The food always tastes great and the portions are large. Be sure to ask about the desert of the day.

We are new to the area and are still exploring the local restaurants. I took my lady to RigaTony’s last night. The food was superb. The atmosphere was warming. It was crowded so we sat at the bar. I was expecting really lousy service because even the bar was packed. After eating the Veal Saltimbocca and the never ending antipasto salad, I could understand why it was so crowded. This will be one of our favorites that we visit often. The icing on the cake was our waitress, Jessica, she really took good care of us, even though she was very busy with customers up to her eyebrows. I wish all waiters and waitress had her heart to treat the customers as well as we were treated last night. I was also impressed that as busy as it was we didnt have to wait forever to get our meal which means the kitchen crew were bustin it as well. Good Job RigaTony’s.

food was really good so was the service. salad and bread was delicious. I got the manicotti with spinach and it was really tasty! my daughter got the kids spaghetti and meatballs, but it only comes with one meatball. and my husband got the chicken parm. all in all the food was good we will return, only reason I’m giving it 3 stars is because I asked for a tiramisu to go, and when I got home it was all smashed over the plastic take home container and not for nothing it was a really tiny piece for the price, but the flavor was good! jus y disappointed when we went to share dessert at home and it’s a mess in the container and we only got 2 small bites each

The two of us went early on a Saturday evening (4:45) and were surprised when the hostess told us it would be a 30 minute wait. The wait seemed to be a factor of multiple large groups of prom-​bound teenagers with reservations and separately, an obscene amount of takeout orders (mostly salads and some sort of sub sandwich?). Our 30 minute wait time ended up being 50 minutes, but we were hungry, and we were already so deep in, we continued to wait.
Immediately when the gentleman seating us brought us to our table, he stated they would like to give us a complimentary appetizer of our choice as a thank you for waiting (note, we did NOT complain about the wait time since it seemed like the restaurant was just having an unusually busy sort of night). We opted for the fried raviolis and were happy campers for the remainder of our dining experience.
We enjoyed the fried raviolis, complimentary bread and delicious (unlimited?) antipasto salad, a raspberry flavored Italian soda, a couple of beers, the Taste of Rigatony platter, and the deep dish lasagna with meat sauce. We also had the chocolate hazelnut cake to go.
Our server was busy but very friendly and attentive. The prices were impressive for the quality and portion size. Not sure if they take reservations for small parties, but it might be worth a shot next time we go (either way, there will definitely be a next time!).

Last night was my first time here and I will come back again. Starting out with the Salad & the bread they were so good the food was superb so delicious out of this world. Tricia was our waitress and she has great Customer Service Skills. I felt like I was in the Godfather movie the way the restaurant was set up I just loved it

Got the early bird pasta special, linguini with meat sauce (and Alfredo sauce mixed in) and Italian sausage. It also came with fresh baked bread and their awesome house salad (seriously, I’d come here just for the salad). Proportions were big, and the prices are just right. The pasta sauces are flavorful and rich. Great local Italian spot!

HIT OR MISS
good one time terrible the next
take your chances
If it’s bad try again… if it’s good YAY
has potential just really wish they would get it together and be consistently delicious!

This place was hoppin’ on a Wednesday night! After perusing the weird items at the adjacent Tuesday Morning as we were waiting for a table, we eventually got a seat on the patio, some of the only people to brave the chilly 70 degree evening in Arizona. We got calamari, the capellini pescatore, and the baked rigatoni. All the main dishes come with their antipasti salad and ciabatta bread. Now, my home town is largely Sicilian and I lived in Italy for a bit. Rigatony’s is super solid, homey Italian American food. It’s like what Macaroni Grill should be with a bit more soul and liberal use of garlic. The marinara sauce for dipping or on the pasta has a nice kick of fresh garlic, the ciabatta was delicious, and I hoovered down my rigatoni with ultimate ease. My partner in dining/​life and I both agreed this would go in our rotation for easy comfort food. We’re fans.

This place was packed even for an early Thursday dinner. You can tell that this restaurant is a beloved local establishment. The ambiance is authentic and relaxed… perfect place to enjoy a tasty sangria! Hubby and I split a three item meal with unlimited bread and salad. If you split a meal, they charge you $ 3, but it was well worth it because of the amazing salad and bread. Forget those chain restaurants that claim they know how to cook Italian food. Try Rigatony’s instead!

I love fired zucchini. Almost as much as I love falafels. This place serves fried zuc as an appetizer and it is just to die for. I come here becuase I actually crave huge plates of fried zucchini fries and a side of their pesto ranch.
Oh, and be careful not to totally ruin your dinner because they serve bread here too. Amazing, hot out of the oven bread with Italian seasonings and lots of butter. This is a rough place to visit if you’re an emotional eater or craving carbs or PMSing or all of the above.
Service can be hit or miss, but usually it’s pretty average. Depending on when you visit there might be a wait, though it’s a pretty large dining area and the turn around time is decent. I know this is an Italian restaurant I’ve never actually had their pasta — my go to is the salmon salad with the pesto ranch. It is definitely not a healthy salad, so if that’s what you are wanting, have them put the dressing on the side. they are very generous with it!

I’ve only sat at the bar for a glass of wine and a salad, but the atmosphere and salads are incredible.

Moved here from New York in 2012. Came here on recommendation for lunch for 2. Food wise and taste was was average Italian food at best. Nothing better to say it was ok like for the masses. Nothing unique from the pizza and entrees. If you want average and bland Italian food then you will love it. More like a cafeteria dinner style food. There are some excellent authentic Italian restaurants in Arizona. This is 100% not one of them. PAY a few dollars more to eat the best authentic Italian food in the state. As good as any in BROOKLYN OR MANHATTAN NEW YORK. Save time looking at my Italian reviews. I have been eating in excellent Italian restaurants for 5(years now. If you want to wait for fresh cooked I know the top ones to enjoy

Been here twice. Food is good but nothing exceptional. So I wonder why there are always packed? I guess I don’t know Italian food or maybe Tempe lacks above average Italian places?

This is the only place I go when I feel like eating some pasta or lasagna. Olive Garden usually leaves me with indigestion, but not this place. Salad is great and service so far has been great too. Could b a little pricey but we usually end up getting a box for half our entrees, so we get to eat some more at home later! Which is always good.

Went here this past Saturday night. I had a big group of people so I made a reservation for 7. Of course being a stickler for being on time we were running late. And of course not just me but my whole group. So I call and tell them we will be around 15 mins late. They said of no problem we will be waiting for you! Which I think it really great. So everyone gets there and asks if I ever been there of course I haven’t I just picked it based on Unilocal reviews. Didn’t disappoint, It was a busy Saturday and night and our food came quick and the bread and salad was a great way to start! I got the lasagna and oh man it was sooooooo good! great way to start my birthday night! Thanks to our waitress she was very nice and quick!

We’ve been to RigaTony’s more than a few times. Grandma C likes to switch it up sometimes so instead of going to O.G. we come here.
On this visit there was a wait. It was a Sunday night around 6:30 and we ended up waiting about 15 minutes before being sat. It was really no problem because there were some supper nice people waiting as well. We just chatted it up until our buzzer went off.
We ended up getting sat at the same middle table that we’ve been sat at 3 times before. It’s kind of funny that we’ve been here 7 times but have only sat at 3 different tables.
This time our server was Tricia seemed a bit «distracted». Not a bad server but you could definitely tell there were a hundred places she would have rather been.
We enjoyed the pasta salad the comes with the meals. Actually, my favorite thing about RigaTony’s.
C ordered Spaghetti with Meat Balls, Sub Rigatony ($ 13.95). Not sure how they came up with the price but I guess subbing Rigatony costs an additional $ 1.49.
The pasta was cooked fine and C likes the sauce and meat balls just fine. Not sure the portion size was worth $ 13.95.
Grandma C and K both ordered the Penne Rosa ($ 14.50 ea). Basically it’s Penne with broccoli, peas, mushrooms & sausage in a tomato cream sauce, topped with asiago cheese.
K liked the dish well enough. The pasta was cooked correctly. Her only comment was that the portion size did not warrant the price.
Grandma C thought the dish was too spicy. I’m not sure if the spice was in the marinara or the sausage but either way she was less than happy with the dish.
I ordered the Linguine with Clam Sauce ($ 14.95). I liked my dish. The pasta was cooked correctly. There were a lot of clams in the dish and the parmesan cream sauce was pretty tasty.
Another thing that I was disappointed in was the bread. The slices are just too big and really doesn’t have a flavor that’s any better than your local grocery store variety.
One last note. C ordered a Strawberry Lemonade. We got charged 50 cents for the Strawberry flavoring. I searched my pockets but there weren’t any more nickels and dimes.
Apathetic Service. Great Salad. Average Pasta. Good Linguine & Clams. Lousy Bread. Portion size not warranting Prices. Nickel & Dimed. 2.5 Stars.

We have been going to Rigatony’s for years, since their old location on Knox Avenue. We started going to the new location on Warner Road and every single time we have had a great experience. Food wise and service wise, never disappointed. Our favorite is the salad and bread combo before the meal and the cannolis are so delicious! I am always trying a new dish everytime I go and so far there hasn’t been one that I wouldn’t order again. Huge thumbs up!

Both my parents are immigrants from southern Italy, and I have cousins, uncles, aunts & Godparents in the restaurant business. The salad is EXCELLENT. The bread is very good, so much so that my 10 year old son who doesn’t even really like bread will gobble it up. Chicken Picatta is great, the Calamari is PERFECT (my picky 10 yr old likes it too). And the Cannoli are HEAVENLY. Buon appetito!

Phoenix has been my home away from home lately since my boyfriend comes for Air Force drill every month so I’ve decided to go on a bit of a Unilocal search for the best places near by. We had a craving for some great Italian pasta so we decided to check this place out after seeing all the great reviews.
The service was great. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the meal. She also gave us some punch cards at the end of meal to use for return visits.
I loved the atmosphere. It seemed kind of similar to a Boca’s with the decorations but more of a family owned feel.
To save the best for last, the food was amazing! We had the calamari to start which came with a classic & spicy marinara as well as some lemons. I thought it was very good and portion size was very generous. My boyfriend had the make your own pasta special which came with an antipasti salad and rosemary bread. (Available daily 2 – 5 pm) We ended up sharing the salad and bread since the portion size was huge. I went with the Baked Rigatony and omg, delicious!
I can’t get enough of this place and I’ll definitely be back soon!

I didn’t have high expectations, but the food was surprisingly good.
The salad that comes with the meal is actually a meal in itself. Very good.
Ordered the spaghetti deluxe (meat sauce, sausage, meatball). Turned out to be a lot of food. Very good.
Also ordered the short rib. Again, very good. First one they brought out was a little tough, but the next one was spot on.

Went again last nite. Again, the place was packed and without reservations, you are SOL. But we made reservations and got seated in about 10 mins. Service is good, despite them being super busy. People complain about the food being mediocre, but that is to be expected from a mid-​range, family style restaurant. I think their food is better than Olive Garden, and Bucca de Beppo. I have no complaints about this place if I want family style, cost-​effective dinners. If I wanted a high-​end dinner, I would go to a fancier Northern Italian type of place and pay the price for such food.

This place reminds me of a mix between bucca & Olive Garden.
Salad and bread Come with dinner entrée. HUGE salad & it’s delicious. Bread is warm and tastes fresh.
We started with clams. It was delicious
I ordered ½ Alfredo ½ marinara with a side of meatballs.
I honestly was full by the time my entrée came. Would have been satisfied with just the clams.

We loved it so much the first time that we had to come back for more. Eggplant is excellent. Ravioli with tomato cream sauce was to die for! Bread is excellent. Service was excellent.
On trip #2 my husband wasn’t impressed with the pizza crust. I had the chicken piccata. It was good but not amazing. Server this time was … Forgetful but pleasant
Love their bread and salad that comes with the meals but would appreciate if they checked before delivering it whether we want all the ingredients in it. One person didn’t eat onions, another didn’t eat pork so we had to send it back both times. Felt bad wasting good food, and it caused our food and salad to come out simultaneously.

This is my family’s go to in the Tempe/​Chandler area. We have been going her since their original location down in Chandler for over 10 years now.
They have great lunch specials (one of their entrees for $ 8.95, it is set for each day of the week) & the food is very reasonable for what you get. I don’t believe there is any food item over $ 15 on the menu. They also have an incredible rewards program, believe you get something free after every 5^th meal.
All the entrees start with their house salad. If you don’t like their salad, you clearly don’t like eating. It is a Italian dressing with cut up salami & cheese. It blows away most house salads I have ever had. Their bread has a great crust on it. For entrees, they have a great standard chicken Parmesan with an excellent cut of chicken. Their pork chops are very juicy and tasty, but not huge. If you are hungry I would suggest doing the double order, unless you want to fill up on salad. They have excellent build your own pizza’s (they are decent size) as well. Finally dessert… when I do get one, I get the spumoni. It is a gellato style spumoni. This is the only one I have had, but the other desserts have looked really tasty.
It is not the fanciest restaurant, but it has a nice atmosphere. I would say it is a 4−½, but I give them a benefit of the doubt since we have never had a bad experience there.

I visit here often. I’m talking like 2 or 3 times a week. Ask waitress Tricia, she has seen me. (Great waitress by the way! Very personable and super sweet. Paul is great too.) I’ve been here especially since I have been pregnant. I CRAVE the salad and love anything with cheese.
Today, I got takeout for lunch. I ordered the minestrone soup. I am sad to say that it was not at all what I was expecting. Never again. Isn’t minestrone soup supposed to have beans or pasta in it? By definition: a thick soup containing vegetables and pasta. This was watery, thin and without pasta. :(
I called the manager, he was nice enough to check the soup for me. He said it looked fine to him, must have just been mine. He took down my address and said he would send something to makeup for it, which I appreciate.
Will update review if I am pleased with the response. Thanks for caring that I was disappointed!

Great Italian place. I almost gave it five stars and might when I go back, and I will go back! The Calamari was good, I like mine a little more authentic. The Anti-​pasta salad was very good. Spaghetti with meat sauce was outstanding! Some of the best I have ever had. Mom and pop Italian ambiance. Service was good. It’s a no rush, old school vibe. I am a fan.

We have only recently become regulars after driving by many years. This place is awesome, food is more than great. Service rocks, Bryce, Frankey, Alexa, Shannie at the bar, fast, fast, fast. Stop in and see for yourself. We split an entrée and salad and it’s perfect

If you’re going to eat your feelings, you’re not going for Chinese… you’ll just be depressed an hour later.
I came here on a whim, wanting to carb load before an early Camelback hike. Being my first time, I was surprised at the crowd waiting for a table. When the hostess informed me of a 20 minute wait time, I spied a lonely seat at the bar and made a break for it.
I asked the enthusiastic bartender for a hefe and orange, but the unfiltered wheat beer was not on the menu. He convinced me to go with a Peroni, and it was sheer perfection, and balanced perfectly with my meal. The $ 4.50 a bottle seemed steep… I must be conditioned for the dollar PBRs.
Starting out with the fried ravioli appetizer, which consisted of four large puffs of ricotta in a pasta shell, swimming in a delightful marinara. This dish was smooth and cheesy, each bite eliciting the next. I should have stopped here, but I hadnt eaten all day, choosing instead to brood in a bed with sweat stained sheets.
For round #2, I decided on the chicken parm, due to Ashlie’s review. To me, the red sauce on this dish tasted strange, unlike the savory sauce from the appetizer. Of course, that didnt stop me from eating 72.8% of it.
The entrée also came with two thick slices of toasted french loaf and a chopped anti-​pasto salad.
This place rocked! And the bar aint a bad place to saddle up to. It’s like the single-​riders line at DCA’s Radiator Springs Racers

We recently moved to Tempe and were searching around for good local food. This was our first visit and we were very pleased. The waiter we had was pleasant, he was at our table just enough so that it wasn’t bothersome and we were able to get our orders and our check in a timely fashion.
As for the food it was delightful. Their salad was amazing, the bread was well, just bread in my opinion. We ordered fried ravioli, fettuccine alfredo and the deluxe spaghetti. The fried ravioli was by far the best dish we ordered for the night, it was to die for. The fettuccine alfredo was great, its exactly what I would expect of the dish and as for the spaghetti it was also great. Portions were perfect in my opinion.
The atmosphere was a little on the loud side, where we sat the tables were rather close together so I could hear the conversations of those sitting next to us really well. Made it kind of hard to focus on my dinner companion. It feels homey but a little outdated.
Overall we will definitely be back and I will be taking my parents when they come to town to visit. Great family place!

Rigatony’s is an old standby for our family. We ate the Chandler location all the time when my mom worked in that area, and my husband and I ate at the Mesa location near our old house when we were first married. Now Rigatony’s is only located in Tempe in what seems like an old Olive Garden. It’s not a place that I would go to voluntarily, but it works really well for family dinners with relatives who have simpler tastes. Anything to avoid going to a chain restaurant!
My mom always gets the baked rigatony with sausage, their signature dish. I’ve had it with broccoli, but it’s not quite the same. The cheese ravioli, however, is a good vegetarian dish (or you could add a meat sauce). It’s homemade and had lots of ooey gooey cheese inside in addition to the creamy ricotta. Their marinara is good, and I like the chunks of tomatoes in it. My husband gets their gluten free quinoa pasta and is happy with it. My dad was very happy with the cappellini pescatore. He went through half a loaf of ciabatta to soak up the garlic sauce. The house chianti is a good value because you get a liter carafe which is an extra glass more than a standard bottle. Like the restaurant, the wine isn’t a standout, but it does the job just fine.