Pasta Pomodoro

Nobody there to greet you in an empty restaurant. Tasteless sauce and dried out pasta. Hardly anything other than that on the plate. I’m glad it was such a small portion because I had to choke it down. You would think that somebody had to try to make the food that bad because even if I considered myself to have an empty cupboard, I could still put something together a lot better than that it 10 minutes. I won’t be back

Meh. Major meh. Only bought two dishes and it was over $ 40 and not worth it. Definitely Olive Garden or less Quality. Ew

Our first time here was a pleasant experience. Food was very good and reasonably priced, too.
Our waitress Rebecca? Great! :-)

Great place to bring kids, very family friendly. Consistently good food.

A little disappointed with our experience this past weekend. Got in late after a long weekend & long day with a few friends. We didn’t see the posted hours but we were seated & got drinks & bread. All was fine. We were famished so we put in our order fairly quickly. 3 of us «built our own pasta» all you can eat w/​meat added. As our main dishes were placed on our table we were told the kitchen closed and we couldn’t place any subsequent orders!?! Food was decent but portions were small (as one would expect with an all you can eat menu). While we take responsibility for not reading the hours the servers could have mentioned that the kitchen would be closing soon /​right after making our orders so we could have at least doubled the initial request?!
After a short discussion with the closing manager she gave us a discount and one free dessert we shared for the misunderstanding. We are grateful for the gesture but a little communication could have gone a long way (especially to our starving stomachs)!

We went back to Pasta Pomodaro after a year and it was a relaxed experience. My son had the Ravioli with the tomato and cream sauce with a lemonade and an vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate fudge. We shared a large seasonal orzo, kale and Arugula salad with feta cheese and a chicken pesto pizza (we had left overs) — our server Lisa was beyond wonderful — she is the reason it is not just a 3 star BUT a 5 star — we will be back again

Great neighborhood restaurant and nice option for when you don’t feel like cooking dinner. Like the raviolis and their breads.

I jad to kill yime and wait for a ride because I ended a dic appt. across the street super early. I was greeted by a latjna lady right away, eventhough she was at the other end of the restaurant. That’s a plus. My server Jairo came over almost immediately to take my order. I only had wine since I had dinner plans. Jairo brought over this panini toasted herbed bread and this pesto like dipping sauce and I was in heaven. He even offered a refill which was super generous. That bread was soo good that I would consider coming back here on purpose for dinnner.
The service was a huge plus!

I’ve been here about 6 – 7 times now and have never left dissatisfied… Surprised to see some of the lower reviews but to each their own.
It’s walking distance from our house which is also a big plus.
The service can be hit and miss depending on the server but they’re all friendly — there’s one younger girl that’s a little slow but she’s sweet and we’re never in a rush.
For a chain, I would say the food is above average; better than Bucca in my opinion and the focaccia bread they start you off with is yummy (especially with the pesto sauce). I do my best to pass it up but never can fight the temptation :)
I usually order the «build your own» pasta and go with the larger shells, bolognese sauce and Italian sausage — very good!
My wife mixes it up but recently ordered (and loved) the chicken and kale ravioli in a white wine sauce with asparagus. I tried one (or two) bites and it was super tasty; rich, full of flavor but light enough that you don’t end up in a coma.
Decent beers and wine list too.
Overall, great little neighborhood joint that is quickly becoming a Friday night go-​to after a long week at work.

Pretty average Italian food. Chopped salad $ 10 was good. Penne portobello $ 14 was ok. They also give you free bread with dipping sauce that is decent.

We really enjoyed our experience here. Yes, it’s a chain restaurant, but overall, we enjoyed ourselves because the food was good, the service was great, it’s reliable, and friendly to groups and children. We’ve tried numerous items on the menu and never been disappointed. They brought out bread that was delicious and we had enough food for lunch the next day. No complaints here.

It’s been over 6 months since I’ve been to a Pasta Pomodoro and after my last experience it will take at least two or three more years before I come back. The menu has barely changed in the last 10 years after all this time THE SAME FOOD OVER AND OVER becomes ridiculously boring. Service has gone downhill and the professional wait staff this placed used to have has been replaced with a much younger and enthusiastic one that lacks basic customer service skills. I had the penne portobello which was ridiculously dry and hard to eat. For dessert I ordered Tiramisu which tasted just like the frozen Tiramisu I buy at the dollar tree. The only difference I found between the two Tiramisus is that one costs $ 1 and the other costs $ 6. I hope someone at Pasta P realizes that something needs to be done soon, otherwise they will continue losing guests.

Why can’t more chain Italian places be like Pasta Pomodoro? Is it really that hard to have a curated menu, decent wine, and good customer service? Is it really that hard to keep your tables clean, staff organized, and have dishes come out on time? (I mean you, Olive Garden.)
Came here for an early Valentine’s day dinner. I haven’t been to a Pasta Pomodoro in years. So imagine my surprise when I found my old favorite, butternut squash ravioli, is still a menu option. Of course I had to get it. This version was richer than I remembered, but that could be all of the butter that was used to coat the ravioli. The ravioli itself was creamy, though lacking the sweetness you usually find in butternut squash dishes. Still, a good meal with enough for leftovers the next day. Tasted good the next day too, unlike that other chain Italian restaurant takeout. (I mean you, Olive Garden.)
We did have to wait towards the end of our meal as seats quickly filled up on a Friday night. Overall I would come back if given the chance.

It’s been years since I’ve been to a Pasta Pomodoro. And it will be a while before I come back. There was a reason why it was quiet on a Sunday late morning, as I would find out soon enough after being seated at the restaurant. In fact, it should have been a tell tale sign that this establishment has logistics issues — when it took 3 minutes for a host to come to the front of the restaurant and seat us (when it was practically empty).
The drink orders took too long to arrive after we placed them (10 – 15 minutes or so).
The star of the meal was the house focaccia bread — everything else was either ordinary or unexciting. I felt I was in a time warp, the Penne Portobello was pretty much the same dish as it was 15 years ago, less creamy than the one off the Alameda in Santa Clara.
The final issue with restaurant is that the server does not know how to process their house gift card — coming back to tell us that there was zero balance on a Pasta Pomodoro gift card that we used. So we paid in cash. And then later learned, a few weeks after dining at Pasta Pomodoro, from the corporate office that the gift card did indeed have a credit balance.
Given the strong and multitude dining options in San Mateo (and for that matter at the mall in which Pasta Pasta Pomodoro is located), its safe to say, I will not be back to subject myself to poor service amongst other things, anytime soon.

THANK YOU to our server during dinner tonight, Sabrina. She was very attentive to all the tables she was assigned to. Had to write this review because you don’t always get that kind of service anymore. We’ve been going to Pasta Pomodoro San Mateo for years now and food is always good and always a good deal. Service was exceptional tonight though so we felt it deserved this Unilocal review. Thank you, Sabrina!

Average to below average Italian restaurant. It might be ok for lunch but certainly not for dinner. We had the same issue other reviewers have mentioned — there was no one at the front desk to greet us when we walked in. There was a couple waiting ahead of us… the hostess helped them but didn’t have the courtesy to say «I’ll be back to help you on a jiffy» or something like that. I guess you can’t expect that type of service from a chain???
Now for the food. We ordered garlic bread with tomato sauce for our appetizer. The bread itself was cheesy with very faint hint of garlic. It should have been called «cheese bread» :). The tomato sauce had a distinct tinny taste; the one that one gets when acid etches into the tin can. Obviously the restaurant uses canned tomatoes and not fresh tomatoes.
I ordered the daily special which was chicken marsala. My daughter ordered a lasagna. My wife ordered Sicilian pasta which was made with fettuccine, vegetables and tomato sauce. My other daughter ordered spaghetti with Alfredo sauce and meatball.
What I got was a creamy pasta in which I could taste nothing but the cream!!! My wife’s dish was overwhelmed with the tinny taste. The lasagna was the worst– it was a soggy mess. It was so bad that we sent it back and got the spaghetti. This dish was their best offering.
I guess you are wondering why I have two stars instead of one given my experience. The saving grace was the waitress who was very sweet and friendly. She had a great attitude… although little lost (she did not know the daily special when I asked).

I know this is a chain but the pasta here was surprisingly good. Service was excellent, and the warm focaccia bread with garlic pesto dip was a delightful surprise. I recommend the polenta, so rich and flavorful ! The fettuccine tasted like homemade pasta, which was unexpected. Overall an excellent experience and I will come back again when I crave Italian.

I came here on August 23 for dinner. we walked in and were not greeted by anyone. ok, maybe they’re busy. benefit of the doubt.
spotted by 2 different waiters, still nothing, not even a «we’ll be right with you!» ok…
another waiter and a manager appeared aaand still nothing. not a good sign.
through my excellent eavesdropping skills, I picked up on the fact that the computer system was down. were we told this directly? nope! I had to call to the retreating back of one of the aforementioned waiters to ask if they’re seating people. *shakes head* «nope». that’s it? no explanation nor apology? «ok well a heads up would’ve been nice. thanks»
peace out, pomodoro.

I ate here for a business lunch. The pasta was ok. Nothing stood out as great.
The service was very good and the place was fairly quiet so easy to talk and listen while my business associates discussed.
Would rather go somewhere else if given the choice.

Our office ordered Pasta Pomodoro for lunch where I enjoyed the most low-​carb (yet high-​taste) Italian meal that I’ve ever had. I tried several dishes:
— Chicken and Vegetable Salad
— Caprese (Mozzarella with Tomatoes)
— Pollo Griglia (Grilled Chicken — similar chicken from the salad mentioned above)
— Filetto di Manzo (Steak)
— Grilled Asparagus
— Broccolli (with chili and sun dried tomatoes)
— Cavolini (Brussel Sprouts, which like their fellow Brassica, Cauliflower, are so hot right now)
Excellent meal and looking forward to continued orders from Pasta Pomodoro, which has become the de facto Italian order at the office.
***Update***
We ordered from Pasta Pomodoro again, and while not as low carb, the food was still excellent. This time around, we had:
— Ravioli Di Zucca (Butternut Squash)
— Parmigiana (Chicken)
— Angel hair pasta