Don Pasquale Restaurant

It’s my first time in Cambridge so I was excited to go around exploring. As it came to around 2pm on the weekend I came across the Don Pasquale which I only found because it’s opposite the Starbucks. It’s outside area was empty but nicely situated on the corner of the marketplace. The pizza was OK but it was a little smaller then I expected.
Finally you have to go in to pay which is a bit strange however on the whole the restaurant is quite nice just unsure on the quality of the food.

Don’t eat here! My wife and I got food poisoning when we ordered their pizzas via Deliveroo. When we phoned to let them know, we got rudely brushed off by the manager. Never ordering from them again!

So the ONLY reason this place gets two stars is because of where it sits.
Good.
1. The seating outside on a nice day is glorious
Mediocre
1. The Food, it was pretty mediocre, I’ve popped some photos on, I think they rely on foot traffic. My friends pasta was bland, I had a look around at the pizzas and the base looked quite thick and airy. I followed on looking at the photo of a calzone on Unilocal,mine did not look like the one from a few years ago (see my photo) not full, dough texture was verging on pasty style pastry. I saw the deserts on another table, looked like a 90s banana split.
Poor
Service —
1. they turned one group away because they didn’t want food, and then proceeded 10 minutes later to seat new customers in the same area for just drinks.
2. They served others before us, when we had been waiting for ages.
3. I asked them to come back later while i was eating as I probably could be convinced to order wine. We didn’t see them until we waited and waited until the bill didn’t arrive, and they they said it was on the scrap bit of paper they’d left when our food arrived.
Just a bit bland really, on all counts except the view.

Food was scrumptious for the price. Very accommodating and friendly staff. They catered to us 5 minutes before they were bound to close. A wonderful place for a date night. I will definitely come back.

Chosen because of seats in the sun and the whole menu looked good!
Quickly seated with friendly service
Big menu with good choices of pizzas and pastas at reasonable price
Friend and I went for more nibbles and ordered antipasto board, mixed salad and garlic pizza bread along with 2 glasses of house white
Arrived really quickly which was fine for us as hungry however not sure if they were be so pushy for a dinner?
Impressed with antipasto, pizza bread and wine. Mixed salad was average for price
After we had been served a new maitre de took over and he was speaking so loudly so you could hear him bitching about customers and bossing staff around… Bit awkward
Overall lovely lunch in the sun!

A Cambridge stalwart– the landmark restaurant on the corner of the market square. Friendly and a good spot to sit outside and people watch when the weather is clement, with a view out over the market. Menu is unthreatening Italian (esque) — one suspect that this is now fairly finely tuned to middle of the road. Breakfast is reasonably executed; I’d head here before picking any one of the chain outlets with which Cambridge is over stocked.

Très bon accueil. Bön restau italien !
Service rapide.

Delicious food, excellent (and entertaining) service. I was delighted and impressed to find a place that had gluten free pasta available too. Recommended.

We had a salad and spagetti. Very good overall and reasonable. We ate outside since the weather was pleasant. The service was good too.

Situated in the heart of Cambridge and offering an extensive yet reasonably priced menu, Don Pasquale appears a wise and convenient choice for Saturday afternoon lunch. Fast forward an hour into the dining experience however and not all was as it seemed.
Whilst the pizzas, pasta and steak ordered by our party were palatable they sadly lacked the iingredients to set our taste buds alight. Service was impersonal and arrived at appropriate interludes — unlike the wasps that frequented the outside dining area.
If ordering dessert stick with the ice cream, it is truly delicious. Other choices, notably cakes, proved disappointing.

The eating arrangements are either outside on the sidewalk (good views of city life, though somewhat noisy), or downstairs in the basement (quite comfortable though a little cramped). The service is consistently friendly and helpful, occasionally hurried at busy times. Customers are often tourists or passing visitors, but the Italian managers and cooks give a good atmosphere. This restaurant was once much more grand, with a serious menu in the spacious upstairs dining room; now it’s more of an up-​market snack bar. But the food is fresh and well prepared in correct Italian style, not over expensive: the menu doesn’t change very much, but for passing customers that’s no serious disadvantage. Not really for a special occasion but fine for what it is.

Maybe the best (definately) one of the best italian restaurants in Cambridge. We normally go their on a Saturday for lunch (I am not even sure it is open in the evenings). The food (typical pizza, pasta and salads) is phantastic. Prices are reasonable, although similara to evening meals in other restaurants.
The waiters are very stressed, impatient and have little time for you. They are really lucky their food is so nice to make up for it. It is definately not a place you want to stay and sit for a little while and the restaurant itself is absolutely packed with tables and people.
But we go their again and again.