Strings Italian Cafe

My family and I were in the area trying to figure out where to eat. Very hungry, we saw Strings and decided that was the place. First time there, on a Sunday late afternoon. There were only a few tables and one person dining at the bar, so it was nice and relaxed.
Every single item we had, we loved. Starters were the Calamari rings, which were seasoned perfectly, and the soups that our meals came with. (We sprung for the extra $ 4 for the lobster bisque that was SO well worth it.) Entrees were Chicken Parm, Spaghetti with prawns in marinara (that was for the less adventurous teenager), Mahi and Crab risotto. Everything so flavorful! My daughter ate off the Kid’s Menu that was all under $ 5 and her mini corn dog combo was such a big portion. It came with mini corn dogs, fries and mac and cheese. Our dessert was a scoop of Spumoni. Yum.
The icing on the cake was our waiter, Michael. He had such a cool and professional demeanor about him. If I had a restaurant, I would want him to work for me. What a pleasant and refreshing server. Great job!

My husband and I went to Strings for our Valentines dinner and had the worst dinner ever.
When our meals came out we smelt something burnt. I thought it was because my chicken was burnt around the edges as I couldn’t see under the cheese sauce. Well before taking a bite I lifted the chicken up to check under and sure enough the entire chicken was black underneath as well. We called the waiter over to show and tell him and he apologized and said he would get another one. Approximately 15 mins. later the waiter came over and said he was sorry and that my dinner was still being cooked. My husband told him to get his food to go as he had lost his appetite and I told to just cancel mine as I too had lost my appetite. The Manager then came back with my husbands packed meal and said he was sorry. He didn’t even offer to take half off of my husbands meal as he should have just compted the meal in my opinion since he ruined our Valentines dinner. Needless to say we will never go to Strings again!

We’ve been going to Strings for years as a family. It’s not always easy to please everyone in a family of 5, but Strings has never let us down. Their veal marsala and veal picatta are my favorites, but I tried linguine marsala with grilled chicken today and it was outstanding. Good ratio of sauce to pasta and the chicken’s grilled flavor gave the marsala sauce a slightly smoky flavor that tied everything together. The service is always outstanding, prompt without being pushy, attentive without interrupting, and our beverages are never empty. The meals include soup or salad, and complimentary bread. The portions are generous, but not excessive. The prices are very reasonable.

Stopped in over the weekend for lunch and had a very nice time and good eats. Our group tried a calzone and a couple of the pasta dishes and everything was hot and tasty. The salads were fresh with a nice creamy Italian dressing, but the soup was lacking flavor and seasoning. That was really the only negative and a minor one at that. Our server, Crystal, and the other wait staff couldn’t have been better or more friendly.

It’s still good. I still have the Penne de la casa– with my allergy it is the one thing I can always have. I modify it a little, and I have only oil and vinegar on my salad (allergic to the other salad dressings) — but the oil and vinegar aren’t bad, so it’s all good. For the price the food here is very good, the service decent, and although the ambiance isn’t that of a dinner house, neither are the prices– for the most part. For what it is, for me, for a quick meal well prepared, it’s as good as it gets. If you want fine dining, go elsewhere, and pay more :-)

Celebrated our daughters 22^nd birthday at Strings tonight. What a great experience. We had 12 in our party. Our tables were ready. We were warm I love you greeted by not only the Manager Mike, but also the Kitchen Manager Miguel. Our waiter (also named Mike) was attentive and so pleasant.
We will be returning for sure!
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One Star for the server. One star for the Manager who took the dish off my bill. It’s clean and inviting and the staff are friendly. I have not been impressed in the past when I was advised by staff that the sauces are prepared and packaged off-​site.
It’s conveniently located, so I thought I’d give it another try. Sadly it was not good. I ordered the Crab Risotto and Mahi, which had mushrooms in the sauce. A real risotto is cooked slowly adding the liquid incrementally, which makes it very creamy.
My order of Risotto was a pile of warmed up rice with a large portion of flavorless Mahi on top, covered by a thick gooey sauce that contained stringy pieces and bits of chewy crab.
I’d love to see fresh ingredients, freshly cooked on the menu. Fresh pasta, if that ever happens, I’ll be first in line.

Came in for dinner with my wife after work. Really tasty food, well plated with generous portions. Service was attentive but not too much so. Everything arrived at the table in a timely way and our drinks stayed filled.

So they offer no GLUTEN FREE pasta. I mean I realize that might not seem authentic enough for a small place but it would be nice.
The server said she’d be back with bread for the rest of the table and disappeared. When I recommended gluten free pasta she started making excuses about how she’s doesn’t make those kinds of decisions, clearly I can see why.
I was trying to convey that she can make the recommendation to the manager.
I won’t be back the food was okay but the overall experience was lacking.
Maybe the manager of this place will take the time to respond maybe not.

This is our second time here, and we were very pleased with the food n their prices. We had the build your own, if you like smoky flavors have the Ala Panna sauce, it has mushrooms, peppers, and panceta. The pasta is really delicious n fresh. They start u off with a herb focaccia bread that’s out of this world. Seating is a bit tight, if not they would get 5 stars.

Love Strings and this location is the bomb! Super clean and the staff was awesome. multiple people made sure I was taken care of and I had a late lunch, sat in a corner table and worked on my laptop. I was in heaven as the location in Walnut Creek closed years ago and it was my favorite spot in town! The lazagna pastry is unbelievable and my favorite! I WILL be back soon!

My 1^st time here. Came in, I wanted Chicken parma sandwich, but i it wasn’t on the menu.
They made it anyway, no fuss. Very nice waitress.
The place has chain feel, but the food is great. Smells great, tastes authentic.
I hope the chain moves to East Bay.

Service was spot on. My water glass never hit empty. The bread was fantastic, and I really enjoyed the lobster bisque I ordered as a side. Entrees were well portioned and tasty. A memorable evening being taken care of and enjoying the great atmosphere.
Unfortunately we are from out of state so our next visit will be a bit far off. Strings — Livermore is right up on top of our list of great eats.

We came to this restaurant at 6pm on a Saturday night, and were sat immediately. We were served by a waiter and a trainee, who did a phenomenal job and were very attentive.
The drinks were good, and the wine list was pretty standard. Refills were plenty.
I ordered a meat calzone with minestrone. The minestrone was very bland, and there was a little too much broth for my taste. The calzone could’ve probably used more filling, considering it was basically a large hunk of bread, but it sufficed.
The rest of my party was so-​so on their food, mainly due to quantity and not necessarily quality. Either way, the food tasted fresh, which was important. I’d say it’s fair for the price.
The atmosphere was good, although the place was dimly lit, good thing I don’t need glasses to read a menu (yet).
All in all, I’d probably come back here again.

We came here at lunch since we had a passport card and they take one meal off when you order.
I wasn’t impressed. the pasta was mediocre and there was nothing special about any of it. The salad was over dressed and I got a pasta with some curry in it. and it had WAY too much of the curry. It wasn’t pleasant and I only ate a few bites. Luckily my husband liked it and he ate the rest of it while I ate his seafood pasta. which was okay but better than what I ordered.

We went to Strings for the first time last Monday. I seen an ad on FB and learned about the Monday night special and I have been wanting to try a new place. I’m glad we did.
The special is perfect. I had the Chicken Spinach Linguine with Bacon, it was so good. My husband had the Chicken Parm and he says the flavor was right on.
Our server was Heather and she was super helpful and her attitude was amazing. Having a great server on top of great food always makes me happy.
We will definitely be back.

Went on a Sunday evening.
— no wait
— sat immediately
— service was great, checked on us and refilled our drinks.
— entrees around $ 15ish.
— good selection of wines.
— music playing in the background was soothing.
— pasta was delicious.
— place was clean inside
— much nicer inside than from the outside.
— bread was awesome!
I recommend this spot if you looking for some Italian food.

Menu had good variety. Restaurant décor was bright and clean. Food was ok.
Plus:
Very nice, accommodating waitress.
Tasty, warm bread.
Italian sausage was very processed, but the flavor was good.
Cons:
Side salad: iceberg lettuce, a few strands of carrots & red cabbage, croutons and raisins. Not crazy about iceberg lettuce and I really dislike raisins.
Smoked salmon & shells: salmon was in small pieces. Made it seem a bit like a child’s plate? Flavor was ok.

My friend and I were going to lunch together for the first time in like a month since I’ve been so busy with work. We tried Denica’s first, but after finding out that a) everything I wanted to eat had things I was allergic to in it or b) they weren’t sure about the ingredients and therefore the end result was pretty much the same as a), we ended up walking across the street to Strings because neither of us had been there before and we both wanted to try it.
Unfortunately, I had the same problem here. I couldn’t eat a lot of the things because they had ingredients I couldn’t eat– and they couldn’t check the bread, because they got the breads and dough from someplace else and didn’t have access to the ingredients. So that was a pain.
BUT– everyone was super helpful. I received a solid list of things that I could and could not have, and ended up building my own pasta dish, using penne, with added shrimp, and a pesto sauce. My friend ordered the salmon. The food was good. I could have done with less garlic and more shrimp, and the sauce was kind of watery, but it was tasty and filling.
We received a salad I could eat, with dressing, and I took off the croutons (which had corn). It was an OK salad. I liked the sunflower seeds and raisins. Iceberg lettuce is actually my least favorite kind of greens (I prefer arugula, wild greens, or spinach leaves) but that’s a personal preference.
Our waitress was very attentive, and kind when I sent back my tea because it was too sweet (I can’t stand sweet things). Basically, the service was everything you could wish for in a restaurant. I was also really impressed by the new interior. I understand that they were forced to remodel when someone crashed their car through the restaurant (how do you even DO that?), and it’s very nice. Kind of like a modern-​ish winery setting. It reminded me of the Pourhouse.
Overall, Strings was a solid, positive experience for me. I would come back.

I’ll start with the positive:
–The service! Every employee that I encountered was very friendly. Our waitress was on it and sweetly remedied an issue we had with the wine.
–The décor! Since the restaurant has now been plowed into by horrible drivers at least twice, they have improved the interior each time.
The not-​so-​positive:
–The food. The house salad is seriously just iceberg lettuce, store-​bought croutons and raisins. Ick. For my entrée I ordered Portobello Ravioli with Shrimp and Asparagus. It was just ok, it was a tiny portion for the price, and it was absolutely swimming in a very brothy sauce.
–The wine. Someone with true wine knowledge needs to re-​do their list. It’s bad. But I do applaud them for carrying some Livermore bottles.
I don’t see myself coming to Strings for a nice family dinner again, but I might stop by for lunch with my kids and see how things go.