Italian Express

Had this spot bookmarked for awhile. Thought it might be good for some cheap Italian take out. I didn’t work for me.
When we walked in we were the only ones there. None of the 4 people behind the counter even acknowledged that they would take our order when we were ready. It was odd. Eventually with some strange I eye contact with a guy standing at a register I determined that he might be ready to take my order. So, I began ordering. Very strange. But, the place looked very clean and I thought if the food is good it’s fine.
Unfortunately the food just really lacked flavor and didn’t taste fresh made at all. Even the garlic bread which looked good had no flavor. Spaghetti and meatballs needed more sauce but lacked flavor anyway. The meatballs definitely looked and tasted premade, from frozen I suspect. Spinach Ravioli was good but not enough to make me want to try again in the future.

Delivery
Meh.
Timing: Good — arrived in 45 – 60 window they provided after placing order through Unilocal online.
Driver: ok, not that friendly, nonpulsed by $ 5 tip
Food: Bland
I ordered spaghetti and meatballs, sausage Panini, garlic bread which was tasteless and appeared to be flat ironed, Caesar salad which was the only thing that tasted good.
We had a good chuckle the next morning when we walked out the front door to see a small container of Red pepper flakes placed on our doorstep.
Still searching for a restaurant that treats the takeout orders with the same care as the dine in orders.

For the $ I believe you can find much better food.

The guys were super friendly on the phone. Other reviewers talk about how much garlic bread they send and how it good it is. All true! I had sausage rolls with spaghetti and meatballs, everything was really good! The delivery was like 20 minutes earlier then expected. The driver was friendly and seemed really stoked when I tipped him $ 5. I’ll definitely be ordering again.

I saw four stars on Unilocal and decided to give them a try. We ordered for delivery through Eat24. The order was supposed to arrive to our home within 45 minutes. It arrived 1 hour and 25 minutes later! Apparently, the driver forgot our soda so he decided to go back to get it but no one notified us. The soda arrived at room temperature and the food was very cold. The fettuccine alfredo tasted like a mix of extra olive oil with water. It had no flavor! That is one of our favorite meals at home and my girls were very disappointed. They took a bite and pushed their plates away and refused to eat. The only item that was acceptable was the order of garlic knots. I would give those a 3. We also ordered the Pesto Chicken Panini which I would give a two. The size was decent, but the taste was not that great. I am too afraid to give them another try so this will be our first and only time we order from them. Usually I give more than one chance, we all have a bad day. If the food taste had been acceptable, I would have forgiven the fact that they were so very late. I had prepaid a 19% tip because I thought with 4 stars they would be fantastic. I was going to give cash on top of that once the driver arrived. But I ended up changing my mind.

I have gone to Italian Express before and never remember to share how good the food is!!! So, today I will be ordering for take out to share with my co-​workers. There is this delicious dish they make for me when I go in and I just recently found out from my sister that it has made the menu!!! YUM!!! It’s the spinach ravioli with creamy sauce and they serve it with garlic bread… so delicious, you can taste the nutmeg in the ravioli, the spices in the sauce, the meat sauce is very good but add the creaminess and wow!!! I can’t wait to have lunch now! LOVE LOVE LOVE and the owners are really cool! I have turned my friends onto this little gem.

I grew up with this company by my parents house and they move here to Tustin. Their mama Mia is amazing love it, pizza is great with their sauce and real mushrooms their calzones pastas whatever you want they got and I love it all. Great customer service and they deliver!!!

Waited over an hour and a half for 1 pizza and when it finally came it was cold. Wasn’t even good, I don’t recommend this place.

I love Italian Express. Their pasta dishes are delicious, as is their pizza. I am so happy to have found this place. Their delivery service is great and they have always been on time. I have also tried their «Make your own» pasta and it was delicious. I have never been disappointed with anything I have ordered from here.

My favorite pizza and pasta delivery in the area. They don’t overcharge for deliveries and arrive within a favorable time. Their prices are outstanding and both pizza and pastas are delicious.

Wow… Absolutely delicious! I started this review a few months ago and since this mom and pop shop has become my favorite pizza place in the neighborhood! The pizza sauce is tangy and flavorful, cheese tasty and the thin crust is heaven! I have tried several of the pasta dishes and each has been delicious, my favorite is the cheese tortellini with ham and peas. If I do have delivery the pizza always arrives in a timely fashion, nice and hot… Service with a smile! Thanks for shari g your wonderful recipes with us! :)

Promise time of 45 – 60 minutes for an order. 95 minutes later still no update. Atrocious! Canceled order and waiting to calm down before writing a detailed review.

I love Italian Express. I eat here at least once a week. Good quick simple Italian food. Great owners, friendly service. Love this place.

I have been driving past Italian Express on my way to work for the past four years and finally decided to try it for lunch one day. I ordered the Marguerite pizza and a salad. All was very good! I cannot wait to try more items on the menu. They have great lunch specials! The portion sizes were the perfect size for what you pay! Better than most places! You get more for your money here.
also, one of the owners (Lady) was extremely helpful and willing to explain the menu and different lunch options you can do. (Such as make your own salad to go– next time) They have great lunch specials! We will be back soon! YUM!

Have ordered here two times. I’ve had the eggplant parm. It was good but not enough sauce and the sauce is really bad. Zucchini sticks were eh. The calzones are really good minus the really bad sauce. No spices at all. Decent and hardy but nothing to write home about. Upside, delivery guy is on point! Super nice and reasonably fast

Far exceeded my expectations… and I’m a thin crust pizza snob… once you’ve been in NYC and had NYC thin crust pizza, it’s hard to go back to processed, thick dough pizza. Even my bestie loved it and she is extreeemely picky about food — esp. thin crust pizza!
Portions — fantastic. We can eat on the largest pizza for days…
The wings — big, plump and juicy with a mouth-​watering spicy buffalo sauce reminiscent of Texas-​style and Cajun-​style flavors added.
The salad — fresh and green (not cheap, white iceburg lettuce) with a good amount of ingredients.
Definitely will be ordering again!

I originally gave Italian Express 4 stars. See my previous review.
However, after visiting at least 6 more times, I have to give Italian Express that missing star.
Every meal here has been fantastic. The customer service is fantastic — ALWAYS friendly, courteous, and accommodating. The owners WILL remember you!
The food is not only delicious, but also extremely consistent. I usually order the same 2 – 3 dishes and have yet to notice any discrepancies. It’s never been overcooked, too salty, etc.
And how can you beat the lunch special? For under $ 9, you can stuff yourself with a drink, AYCE salad bar, and home-​cooked Italian food. Totally underrated.
Definitely one of my top lunch spots.

If you’re into bad experiences, order from Italian Express. You’ll order and then wait hours for your food. Not cool.
I’ll never order from here again. I’m sorry Dominoes Pizza… I don’t know what I was thinking.

We were looking for a new pizza place that delivers.
I am sad to say that I didn’t even get a change to try the pizza. DO NOT BOTHER ordering pizza for delivery from here. The guy who took our order said that it would take about 30 – 40 mins. Interesting… I guess they don’t know how to tell time because we called an hour after we ordered to check to see what the hold up was and they said that the delivery guy was on his way.
Cut to 30 mins later and still no delivery guy. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? So, we called to cancel our order and let’s just say that this place had a real opportunity to make tomato sauce out of tomatoes (pardon the pun. I had to do it). They could have asked us why we were canceling our order. just apologized and told us that since the pizza is already on its way… That they would give us some sort of discount to make it up to us. It’s not about the money. It’s about customer service.
But no! His response was a real peppy «okay! The pizza is almost there so tell the delivery guy that you want to cancel the order».
Now he’s asking US to do HIS job?!? No thanks dude! You just lost us as customers for life. It’s very telling how a business reacts to screw ups…
Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!

I usually get their pasta which, in my opinion is a good portion size. To elaborate, most places give a lot of pasta. Problem is, I tend to finish it. Italian Express has a portion size that I find satisfying enough, but not stuffed. I’m fine with that (need to lose some weight afterall). Others may find it too small.
Funny story: I finally got around to ordering their pizza, half veggie and half cheese. At home, the family sits down to eat, I take 2 veggie slices, and open up a packet of red crushed peppers. I sprinkle it over the pizza, and it’s red specs (salt size) pour out. I thought, I guess the flakes were really crushed. The taste was good, but something was really tart, I thought maybe it was the chopped tomatoes. I mention it to the wife, and she says it’s not tart at all. At that same instant, I saw she had these little cups of red crush peppers and parmesan cheese. Hmm so what’s this packet I put on my pizza? Turns out it was a Tajin Classico Seasoning. One of my girls brought it home from school and left it on the table! The tartness was the lime/​spice seasoning!
Overall, the pizza was very good, very thin crust NY style pizza. Unfortunately, my taste buds were skewed from this tart lime packet! Will definitely have another opportunity to try it again in the future (pizza that is, not the Tajin seasoning). ;)