Pomodoro Italian Kitchen

Took 20 minutes after we were seated to get waiter. This only happened when I went back to hostess to complain. Ordered glass of wine that came in dirty glass. Food came out fast, but was average at best. Read reviews before we ate there, disappointed in service, cleanliness, and food.

OK, the kids love this place. Me, well I would usually opt for another. But this evening things all lined up. Josh was our waiter and food came out pipping hot and quite tasty. My kids have their favorite Alfredo with meat torts. I did the Seafood Special (shrimp, clams, mussels, squid and alas they were out of the scallops). Was a lot of food for one guy.
Got to give the following SaleebScore: Food: ⁸⁄₁₀; Service: ⁹⁄₁₀; Value ⁸⁄₁₀; Ambiance: ⁶⁄₁₀ (low score because of the loud customers adjacent to us, too away from the whole dining experience).
Will I be back? Well certainly, my kids will be dragging me back to this place.

One of my favorite places to eat in Durham! Family owned and operated, Josephene is the best she really knows how to make the customers feel important! I have been coming here for years. Food is amazing from the pizza, pasta dishes, Stromboli to the dinner special!
But their homemade desserts are a must… the Tiramisu is the best!!!
You never leave hungry or disappointed! Love the staff here too!

I ordered the Original Stromboli and it was huge. The marinara was okay but I would have preferred a different dipping sauce. My mother had the grilled chicken and she loved it. They were out of strawberry cheesecake so I tried the turtle. It was great. Wait staff was very good and easy on the eyes.

I haven’t tried many dishes here, but I can tell you that the Lobster Ravioli is superb. I have been dropping by this place for years, just for that dish.

I really enjoy Pomodoros… I really don’t understand why there are so many negative reviews. This is a popular place for my office to get lunch. The cost/​quantity ratio, IMO, is excellent. I always get a to-​go box and have enough for another meal. It’s not the most posh Italian restaurant around but it doesn’t pretend to be. I’ve always left here happy. Also, that Pasta a la Dino sounded so odd to me but now I get it almost EVERY time.

The décor is outdated. The food was bland. The waitress brought our salad before our appetizer. We saw the bartender eating while working. Overall not impressed and doubt we will be back.

Food — ok. What you’d expect from a ‘time-​warp’ Italian eatery from 20 years ago. Red sauce and cheese and pasta all ‘ok.’ Meat dishes hit or miss. Got some fried seafood and ate about half that was good, didn’t eat half that was overcooked and overbreaded. My impression was frozen portion control. Salad was huge and very good. Based just on food this place is a 3 star.
Service when I’ve been there has been 1-​star. We were seated in a booth behind the servers ‘social booth.’ Waitresses plopped down repeatedly behind me, spoke loudly, laughed and when one came out with a tray of silverware and slammed it on the table behind me I objected. They all laughed but agreed to move us. The waiter was uninformed and when I asked him about a draft beer he said he didn’t know what kind it was but I should try it because ‘trying new things is good.’ From our new seat we got to watch the barmaid sweep her area into the dining area next to us. It was surreal.
It was convenient to where we were, it wasn’t walk-​out bad and it seemed relatively clean. There are better places not far away but… the food is ok. After all it is part of the wasteland of restaurants in N. Durham.

Had the fruiti di mare and hubs the chicken parm. We ordered takeout. I wasn’t expecting much based off the reviews other than a bland and blank canvas for me to ‘fix’ with my seasoning collection and it was just that, the perfect base for an Italian dish we ‘saved’ with some garlic, salt and red pepper flakes at home. The seafood and pasta was overcooked so some of the shrimp were a bit hard and gummy. Hubby said his chicken parm was OK if it was a cheap fast food meal but for the prices they should really reconsider adding a little more flavor to their meals or lowering them and making it more of a fast food Italian chain which is what it felt like. I’d probably do the same I did tonight, reorder when I need an Italian fix for takeout and don’t feel like cooking since there aren’t many nearby Italian joints that make a seafood pasta with a red sauce. Although melo is close by they over oiled their food and don’t have my favorite dish (or many red sauce based dishes), making it a second choice although slightly tastier than Pomodoro.

Pomodoro has nice outdoor seating and the restaurant inside was nice as well. Our waiter was nice and overall the service wasn’t bad. The bread was tasty and brought out in a timely manner. I ordered the House Stromboli and it was huge. They definitely gave me enough for my money. The Stromboli was delicious. It took the waitress a while to come back when we were ready to leave but it wasn’t too much of a problem. Also they took the coupon I got from Unilocal and I was very pleased!

So I have ate there many times, and it use to be one of my favorite places but the last few times that I have gone I haven’t been happy. First they charge gratuity for six people (counting the baby that didn’t eat really 5 and a baby). Every other place that I have been it’s 8 or more. I think that their pasta dishes are now way over priced, and the quality hasn’t been good lately. On Saturday when I went there I order chicken Alfredo which was $ 11.99 plus $ 3.00 for the chicken. When I got it the chicken looked like it was that Tyson pre cooked chicken strips, there was only 5 little strips and it tasted like nothing… They didn’t season anything, I couldn’t even taste cheese in the sauce so I sent it back, it wasn’t worth $ 14.99, when I can make my own for the same price at home and taste the right way. I will say the second item I ordered was good but it’s something that I have had before. I’m at the point where I have no interest in eating there again.

Slow service today, totally inattentive waitress who tried to argue with me about what I ordered, delivered my soup tepid and out of sequence with the other appetizers at the table, and took a good 5 minutes to refill my drink. My Pasta a la Dino was good, but the dining experience as a whole took my appetite away. If I come here again I’m going to ask to not be seated in her section. Our 45 minute lunch break ended up taking a good 75 minutes.

Excellent service, the best boneless wings in Durham, Stromboli is top notch, and the best Sangria around. Check it out.

Great place to eat and an awesome staff! I have never had a complaint with any of the pasta dishes, sandwiches, or pizza that I have ordered. If you are looking for some good Italian food and a family type atmosphere this is the place for you. Great location right off 85 and five minutes away from Duke University. Has a good size party room and a bar that can fit about eight to ten people.

I went to pomodoro’s for dinner, while traveling from our of town. It’s in a great location, if you are staying at Courtyard Marriott (walk right next door.) The service was good and the staff is attentive and friendly. I had a cheese calzone, which was average. It was way too much in size for 1 person, but came out warm instead of sizzling hot. It filled me up rather quickly, though. A good place to check out on a casual dinner night. I will try it again with something else next time, if I visit Durham again.

I want to like Pomodoro. I really, really do. They are only two minutes from my house, and I’ve been numerous times. Usually I do take out and get the pizza. Their pizza is fine. It’s not outstanding, but when I have family in town it does the trick. It’s usually ready in 15 – 20 minutes.
Outside of getting pizza to go, I would not recommend eating here. In the past, I have ordered the baked pasta dishes and they have been ok. The pasta dish I had was bland and overcooked. They are not worth they money. Recently, a dinner for two costs 50.00. That included an appetizer, two entrees, and one beer and soda. Given the quality of the food, it should not have exceeded 30.00.
If you want good Italian food in that same area, drive across the street to Meelo’s. It will run you about the same for a dinner for two, but the food is much fresher and has flavor to it.

Why so many bad reviews?! I’ve eaten here a few times. I usually get a sandwich-I’ve had the buffalo chicken and the italian sandwich and they were both amazing!
Both had perfect flavoring, and I am pretty picky. The bread is perfectly baked and for the buffalo chicken sandwich is a perfectly mild buffalo tangy mix of chicken with cheese. It melted in my mouth ha ha, I have actually yet to find better.
The italian with their house dressing is perfect too. I am picky with my sauces and I think that’s why I really love this place. Their food is worth the price, I know when I go to eat here I will leave happy. Service is always great too, I definitively recommend it!
They also have amazing deserts and a nice quaint patio area! Prices are very reasonable as well!
Also I noticed people complained about no bread? We also get fresh from the oven bread everytime!

Lets take a look at the big picture here. I sing in an a capella group called the Heart of Carolina Chorus. We had a performance up the street at a local retirement village. We walked into Pomodoros last night at 8:30, an unannounced group of 25. We were greated and walked towards a great room located towards the rear of the restaurant no problems. We all ordered food, drinks, beer, everything. Our server, Zach was professional, jovial, and had a great sense of humor throughout the entire evening, a group of loud extroverted singers is a tough crowd at 9pm.
I had the sicilian pizza w/​pepperoni, sausage, and onions. Loved it as did the other 5 people that tried to grab a piece once they saw it come out. We hung out past closing time. They didnt even kick us out and we were still singing as we walked out the door at 11:00 (they close at 10:00pm).
Thanks so much to Josephene, Jordan, and Zach. Our amazing crew last night at Pomodoros!!! We love you guys so much and hopefully we can come back tonight? kidding. GO check out this amazing italian spot. The people and the pizza and the food are amazing.

This had to be the most bland meal of my entire life. I got the chicken parm and it was gray inside.GRAY. It was disgusting. The bread was so tasteless… like, most people buy more expensive rolls for their family at Food Lion. The service was fine, they have some nice servers there. I am just really shocked this place stays in business.

The eggplant was terrible– definitely pre-​made frozen eggplant from Cosco or Sam’s club… and it was served with no side pasta and no bread. Seriously, what Italian restaurant doesn’t server at least bread with the meal? Could the managers be that stupid or is the service that bad?
Once I got my food which took a long time, the waitress was gone… never to be seen again… had to go hunt my bill down to leave.
I feel sorry for those who think they have the best Italian food around. you folks obviously don’t get out much.