Castagnola’s Pizzeria

Is this the same George Castagnola jr that murdered (strangled with a wire) a 21 year old kid in portland OR?

I had the salad and it was… not that great to look at… even worst was how it tasted! It was small cuts of lettuce most of it brown and drenched in dressing! I wish I took a pic but the manager took it away. I also had the sausage onions and potato was ok. I gave it two stars is because the manager comp the salad, and service is ok. Nate.

A newsroom colleague shared the news that «restaurant ‘death row’ has claimed another one,» and, sure enough, the less-​than-​year-​old, Italian-​American eatery that bore the storied Castagnola’s name has been shuttered.
Open since late last summer, the 3,900-square-foot restaurant was owned and operated by sons of famed restaurateur George «Cass» Castagnola — brothers George Jr. and John. It opened with help from Thomas Ky, a Castagnola protégé and owner of the chain of six Assaggio restaurants on Oahu.
Neither Ky nor any of the Castagnolas could be reached for comment, and the senior Castagnola has returned to the mainland, according to an Assaggio employee familiar with the closure.
Castagnola’s Pizzeria offered pizzas, pastas, salads and sandwiches at moderate prices served by staff rocking the signature Cass Castagnola red kerchief ’round their necks.
Officials of Pacific Office Properties, Castagnola’s landlord, could not be reached for comment.

Good food, large portions. My cousin and I split the eggplant parm and we were stuffed! The eggplant was tender and the noodles al dente; truly perfect.

My fiancée and I wanted to have pizza for lunch today and headed out to town in hopes of finding parking near JJ Dolans. Alas, there was no parking, so we decided to look around Restaurant Row since we were in the area. I had remembered reading about an Italian restaurant located inside Restaurant Row, so we decided to check it out.
Castagnola’s is a cozy place with outdoor and indoor seating. When we first got there, there were a few parties inside already and by the time our food came, almost the entire outside was full of people. While looking at the menu, I was happy to see reasonable prices and as I was looking at what other people ordered, I could see that the portions were good sizes as well.
The special for today was a spinach ravioli. We decided to try that, a basket of garlic bread, and a pepperoni pizza. The food came relatively quickly. The bread was covered with butter and garlic. If you’re a garlic fan, you’d definitely like their bread. The pizza was okay and my fiancée said that he preferred Shakey’s pizza to this one. I think there were about 10 pieces on it. The ravioli was okay as well. I wouldn’t have minded trying one of their sandwiches.
The server was nice enough and was prompt to take our order and bring our food, but as the restaurant got busier, it was as if he forgot about us and we waited quite a while for our bill to come.

Pasta Fagioli soup was tasty and authentic and really hit the spot! Fresh warm bread and chicken parm was delish. The marinara was also pretty yummy and I am an Italian from New York so I am pretty picky about my Italian food, and actually hesitated before going in here. Fortunately I was FORCED to try this place because it was the only restaurant open at 3:30 in the afternoon and we were STARVING.
So thanks all the other restaurants in restaurant row for being closed in the afternoon, cuz if any other had been open I likely would not have found this one! I will be back!

***100^th Review***
FOR CLICKING ONTO MY REVIEW, YOU WIN AN ALL-​EXPENSE PAID TRIP TO VEGAS, BROUGHT TO YOU BY VACATIONS HAWAII. Disclaimer: you will have to convince the agent at Vacations Hawaii that you deserve this free trip, even though I didn’t make any arrangements with them. Let’s just see how talented you are.
Well, this is the nature of Unilocal.I like the routine reviews as well as the spectacular ones — each helps with the efficacy of Unilocal so long as you are honest about it. OK, enough about what I think is the mission statement of Unilocal.
Castagnola’s has a huge burden of proof to satisfy me so it’s somewhat unfair. This was Pasta Basta’s location before it folded. Chef Donato at Pasta Basta used to make my favorite Al Pomodoro E Basilico and while I haven’t tried the oft-​recommended Arancino, I haven’t found a place that prepares this dish as well as Pasta Basta.
Castagnola’s NY style pizza is pretty solid. It’s not the huge, floppy, fold em up NY style kine, but it’s got the fresh goeey cheese on it that makes a good NY style pizza go. I’ve been to John’s in NYC (the Broadway location) and this pizza (got the cheese and mushroom) somewhat approaches that. So, good job with that.
Now I also had the linguine with veggies and this is where it falls apart. It was just wholly ordinary, with a nice thin linguine but with sauce poured over it and veggies mixed into the sauce. The sauce and the noodles weren’t sauteed together, which is the style I like. It just reminded me of the Catania’s at the Remington College food court, where they have the pasta and sauce separately sitting there in trays waiting for people to order (cafeteria style). It just doesn’t taste fresh that way.
Thanks for allowing me to post a C note of reviews. Hopefully, Unilocal stays in business long enough for me to post 200, 500 or even 1,000 reviews. Who knows, Mark Zuckerberg may have figured out a way to social network telepathically by then. He’ll still be wearing his hoodie though.

Entrée portions were quite large, so no one should go away hungry, but the flavors left us disappointed. We started off with a Caesar salad, and while it wasn’t anything remarkable, the salad was nicely tossed and wasn’t drowning in dressing.
Our entrees consisted of a pizza and their chicken scicilian. The pizza was very soggy in the middle. We ordered it with pepperoni, olives, and mushrooms. These weren’t items that should have caused the crust to become soggy, but the edges were nicely done. Too bad that it wasn’t consistent throughout the pie.
The chicken scicilian give a nice sized portion, but it lacked any kind of flavor and seasoning. I really couldn’t taste any of the white wine or any of the seasonings that were visually apparent in the dish. Something was lacking, and in summary, it was taste.
Service was great with personable staff and their cocktails were decent too. These factors probably kept it from being a 2-​star rating. Foodwise, we weren’t impressed, but big eaters will like the portions and the prices.

I went in on a Wednesday afternoon around 5pm.
Heard about a new pizza place in town so I had to try it.
Look: When I walked in, there was actually no one in the restaurant. The bartender said that he just finished a rush and everyone left. I didnt doubt him because from the bar area, his tip bucket was full! Its a small place with set tables, ideal spot for business meetings, intimate dinners, etc. There is even a little side room with a pool table and dart boards. The table looks new. I didnt see any dinner tables in the room so maybe its not a place to dine and play.
Food: I ordered a sausage/​pepperoni pizza. While i was on the bar, the bartender put some bread in an oven and cut and delivered it to me after it was done. The pizza was thin crust, and I believe it was baked in a brick oven. The food started at $ 7.90 and $ 1 for additional toppings. Happy hour is great. Its $ 3.50 well drinks (not junk liquor either) and $ 3 drafts. Most foods averaged around $ 11-​$ 12. Definately good price for what you get!
Staff: There were only 2 people on staff. One bartender, and one cook! After I arrived, phone orders were coming in, a couple of families came in to have dinner, and a couple more bar patrons. The bartender was the host, busser, waiter, and bartender. Took phone orders and even walked into the kitchen to help out the cook.
Overall: I like the place and definately would come to hang out. I wonder what this place would be like if it was full! A one person staff might be a little chaotic!

The spot that Castagnola’s is located in within Restaurant Row is pretty famous for being bad luck. I can’t remember how many restaurants have come and gone in the past couple years but here’s to hoping that Castagnola’s lasts!
This place makes great pizza for an affordable price, each one starts off at about $ 7 and $ 1 per topping. We also tried the eggplant parmesan, which was good, but didn’t beat the pizza. There’s also subs on the menu, which we didn’t get to try yet.
The customer service is great, especially since the owner is often the host and the atmosphere has a family vibe to it so it’s keiki safe (you can draw on the tables!). It wasn’t very crowded when we came here for dinner but there were a lot of people, running in and out, with their phone orders. I definitely recommend coming here, it sure beats CPK!

I really need a half star here… this place deserves 4 and a half! I might change this to 5 stars if I have another good experience the next time I go. Great cheap Italian food here. The place is located in restaurant row right next to Hokulani. It’s a nice little sit down restaurant. Perfect for a nice cheap lunch or dinner date.
I went around 1:30pm during the week so it wasn’t crowded at all. Service was good, an old man that looked like the owner was serving us. He was really good at checking up on us throughout the meal and asking how the food was.
Pizza’s are 7.99 for a plain cheese one and 1 dollar to add each topping. The pizza is more than enough for 1 person to eat. I got pepperoni and mushroom on mines. I really wanted to dry the meatballs but they ran out by the time we went… Pizzas are delicious, one of the better one’s I’ve had, especially for how cheap they are!
The Garlic Cheese Bread — I think i could come here and just eat this stuff for my meal. Freshly baked there and sooo good. I took the extra home and warmed them up the next day and they were still soft and yummy.
My friend had the Chicken Linguine so i tried some. It was alright but definitely not the best I had. Can’t go wrong for the price though!

Okay so since I work a block away, I have been here a few times since they recently opened.
Trip 1: Got take-​out and ordered the Chicken Sicilian ($ 10). It was NOT what I expected and I did not care for it too much. It was basically oily chicken mixed with oily onions, bell peppers and potatoes. There was little to no salt/​seasoning and I had to wait forever for it (over 30 mins). Based upon this experience I was skeptical.
Trip 2: I sometimes give second chances, and I’m glad I did. On this trip, I went with co-​workers and ordered the Chicken Parigiana hot sandwich. It was super yummy, filling and delicious. It only cost $ 8 bucks and was completely delicious with two thick soft warm pieces of pizza bread, a huge piece of breaded chicken, tomato sauce and melted mozerella cheese. Yay!
Trip 3: I finally got to try the pizza, and it was worth the wait! Loved it! It was all of my favorite things: cheesy, warm, bready and saucy. And starting at only $ 7 you can’t beat it! It’s a huge personal pizza too. I eat a lot and I always have leftovers.

If you like cheap and delicious Italian food then you will like this place!
Pizza’s are huge and under $ 10.
The pasta dishes are also under $ 10 too!
I had the Chicken Cacciatore. It was good. The marinara sauce has lots of flavor. They give a lot of sauce which is great because it goes well with the free bread. And the bread is good too! nice and soft. unlike the hard and cold bread at CPK.
The owner is really nice he came and checked on us throughout our meal. He told us that they have their liquor license now so next week they will be starting happy hour everyday from 3 pm — 6pm!
$ 3.50 for beers and other mixed drinks! and the magic words. Free Pizza!!! Awesome. As soon as he said that my eyes and stomach lit up like a Christmas tree.
I will definitely be checking it out next week.
They also have a game room in the back with a fancy pool table and darts. The owner made sure to tell us that the pool table is super special and expensive and went on and on about the details. I don’t know anything about pool but he was very proud of his table so it must be great. There was also a juke box or it could’ve been a game machine I am not sure what it was.
Service was good too. Oh and the table cloths are paper and you can color all over it with crayons. Fun!

I had an appointment at Restaurant Row and decided to eat here for lunch. I loved everything about it. I ordered a Pizza that was shared between two people. Between the Pizza and free bread we both had our fill. The Pizza was excellent and not overly greasy.
The atmosphere is nice and quite.
The service was excellent. The serve Pepsi here. I told the waiter how much I prefer Coke over Pepsi and that I was ordering a Pepsi as a last resort. The waiter said he wouldn’t charge me for the Pepsi. As a Coke person I thought this was a nice gesture.
The prices were great. The bill came out to $ 9.35.
I will be returning to Castagnola’s.

I miss you Pasta Basta! Castagnolas took over this space and offers similar Italian fares but is less a take-​out counter and more of a restaurant.
I had the spicy white wine chicken which was over wilted romaine and pasta. It was the special and interesting to say the least. I thought it was a salad when the server explained the dish since he failed to mention the pasta part! I was avoiding the carbs and ended up with a tummy full of it! It was pretty good though.
Coworkers had the chicken cacciatore and veggie linguine. Both were beautifully plated and generous in portion size. Prices were on average $ 10 per dish for lunch. (not sure if there is a different dinner menu)
Service is slow and uninformed but I hope this new restaurant can pull it together. They have potential.

Perfect family style Italian restaurant!!! From the moment we spoke to the beautiful hostess… met the legendary owner/​chef and was seated and introduced to the Italian Waiter… to the Cannoli for desert, everything was authentic and perfecto!!! The prices were amazingly low with the portions amazingly big!!!
Castagnopa’s Italian Restaurant across from Oceans808 is perfecto! Castagnola’s garlcc bread is stellar! Awaiting the Ceasar Salad, Sausage, Pepperoni & Mushroom Pizza and Lasagna! All home made… finishing with Cas’s famous Cannoli!!!

My friend and I saw this place after leaving Hokulani Bakery. It’s brand spanking new. By the décor we thought it would be a little too pricey for lunch but after a quick glance at the menu most of the dishes were under $ 10. Score! There was this nice gentleman outside who was so friendly and reminded me of an Italian grandpa! He stopped by our table a couple of times and complemented our «art work» drawn with crayons on the table. He also told us about their freshly made linguine which I foresee in my near future.
We ordered the individual pizza with olives, mushrooms and extra cheese. They didn’t have tomatoes yet because they were waiting on their delivery. The pizza was crispy and delicious.
We also ordered the eggplant parmesan sandwich and split it. I am very finicky about eggplant because if prepared wrong it can end up having a strong aftertaste of egg or a slew of other things can happen so I was very much anticipating this eggplant sammich! And the ruling is… the eggplant was perfectly scrumptious. The bread was toasted to perfection and there was mozzarella cheese with a marinara sauce that had just the right amount of sweetness to it. My friend says it was so good she will dream about it. I concur.
The bill ended up being $ 18 and some change however the waitress accidentally charged the credit card $ 1,800. Oh me, oh my! She apologized profusely and said the mistake was corrected immediately. I understand that a new restaurant will have a few hiccups at the beginning so we didn’t make a huge deal about it.
I will be back to Castagnola’s because when the bill is entered correctly into the cash register, the price is definitely right and the food is «Molto Buono». This is an excellent addition to Restaurant Row.

I just want to start off by saying that as of this posting (August 27), Castagnola’s Pizzeria is still undergoing a «soft opening.» Having said that, you really can’t count 1-​star reviews given a day or two after a restaurant opens (Lora H & Sara G) as nothing ever goes how you want it a day or two after opening – especially restaurants.
I’m going to preface this by saying that this review is going to be based solely on the quality, quantity, and presentation of the food we ordered (see pics) as we got our food to go and ate it back in the office.
Quality: As far as taste goes, everyone in our group agreed that each of our dishes tasted really good. The pizza had good sauce and the right amount of sauce. I’m a sauce guy so under sauced pizza is a downer for me. Also, they make all their bread in house – pizza dough being no exception. Combo good bread with good sauce, you’ve already got a good pizza.
The person in our group that ordered the eggplant parm sandwich complemented that the sandwich tasted really good on their house made bread. Garlic shrimp pasta, just the right combination of garlic-​ness and spiceiness.
Presentation: For being a take out order, Castagnola’s goes all out. The plasticware that they put all their take out food in is pretty nice and definitely makes for a nice presentation. Definitely a step up from styrofoam containers – AND it make it appear like you have a lot of food (not that you don’t have a lot of food).
Price: I have to say that Cas’s prices are pretty reasonable. Individual pizzas run for under $ 7 while sandwiches run in the $ 8 – 9 range. Meanwhile the pastas are run $ 9-​$ 11. All in all, pretty reasonable for the amount of food we got.
Overall, I thought we got some great food for what we paid for. For being only the second week in operation, Castagnola’s has made some nice adjustments from the first week we of business. They can only get better with more time.

I had such high hopes for this place since I heard that the owner of this place was the same as Assagios. Can you say not even close!!! I ordered Chicken Parmesan and it was not good. The prices are decent, most dishes are all under $ 10. But the portions reflected the prices. And as far as taste… ugh. And I guess since they just opened, they have to work out some kinks… but seriously, they need to talk to the hostess. We asked, «what do the sandwiches come with,» obviously asking if there were any sides… her response, «well, i was told that they come with bread, and the meatball sandwich comes with meatballs.» UM SERIOUSLY!!! Needless to say, I probably won’t eat here again.

This is a fairly new restaurant located next to Hokulani Bakery at Pioneer Plaza (formerly Restaurant Row). Came here during lunch with co-​workers.
STAFF: The owner initially greeted us at the entrance. You can tell by his accent that he is somewhere from Europe, but his history in the back of the menu indicates that his father started off the restaurant in New Jersy. Our waiter was friendly, but kind of «slow». I’ll give him some slack, though. Seems like most of the young workers were all fairly new to the whole business itself.
FOOD: Two co-​workers ordered Chicken Parmigiana and Eggplant Linguine. Two other co-​workers ordered individual sized Mushroom pizza and Mushroom/​Pepperoni pizza. I ordered Green Peppers w/​Extra Cheese pizza. My co-​workers who ordered the pasta dishes gave their food four (4) stars. Our «individual pizzas» were more like medium sized pizzas — no complaints there, though; we just thought that it would be a size of a «personal pan» pizza from Pizza Hut size, but it was almost doubled. We could’ve all shared one «individual pizza». The pizza was «OK», wish it would’ve been crispier. It was $ 6.90 for just the tomato sauce and cheese on the pizza and the toppings were $ 1.00 each. I guess looking at the size of the pizza, the price was pretty decent. Also, the pasta dishes were under $ 10 so that was «deals», which was smart on their part because it’s hard to keep business prosperous at this vicinity.
One negative was that the pizzas took 20-​minutes or so to arrive. And when we got our pizzas, my pizza was done wrong — they gave me just pepperoni, not green peppers. The cook told me that the abbreviations that the waiter wrote was «pep» so I guess it confused the cooks. And then when it finally did come out like a total of 30minutes, the green peppers were just slices right over the pizza, not embedded within the cheese pizza. My co-​worker told me that it’s the way the make it in New York, too. So I guess everyone has different styles. I guess I’m just used to everything being embedded inside of the pizza, not just slices over the pizza where it’s easy to fall off. The cook apologized, but I thought they’d at least offer a complimentary dessert for the long wait and the mistake on my pizza. But NADA.
I took my pizza back to work and re-​toasted it for my mid-​afternoon snack. It was more delicious and crisp. Heheh. Well, I see somewhat of potential with this restaurant. It looks like they will be having a full bar soon, too. I wouldn’t mind giving this another try in the near future.