Pasta Festa

Been here a couple more times and everything is delicious. Better than olive garden for sure. Heard they closed, hope its a rumour.

I think this place is in a bit of an identity crisis, its kinda like a pizza parlor, with old lady books and bookshelves. Also the décor is totally random. Other than that I love it!!! And honestly that does not even really bug me but I gotta find something wrong! Portions and prices ROCK! Friendly staff! Great place to hangout, and get a 10% discount for sac state students!!!

This is one of the worst restaurants I have ever been to. The food is garbage. Seriously. I went there when it first opened and tried it out. I had the salmon pasta. Everything was straight out of a can. I couldn’t even force myself to eat it. My lady friend said her food was also nasty and not fresh. So it had been a few months and we were drunk and starving last night. We decided to try the place out again. We ordered calzones. Even though we were drunk and starving, once again, the food was absolutely disgusting. Neither one of us could eat more than a bite or two. EVERYTHING comes out of a can at this place. I don’t understand how people have given good reviews on here. They must be fake reviews written by the owners and the owners friends. Try it for yourself, just have a backup plan ready when your food sucks!

Ordered some food to go, I was having a hard time understanding the person on the phone for a while until he eventually transferred me over to someone. I ordered about 5 dishes to go. I had the beef lasagna (too salty), Crazy Alfredo (not tasty at all), Chicken Gnocchi (its alright, wished the potatoes were a little smaller), Pesto pizza (tasted kind of bland), and finally the Tortellini George (the best out of all of the plates). Everything was already by the time i got there. And it only took me like 10 minutes to get there right after hanging up with them. Service was good, food was alright, i might just come back for the tortellini George cause that was absolutely yummy!

I really really like this place! I came here several times for some Orgs fundraiser and when a group of friends and I are just looking for a place to eat at night. Luckily they close pretty late. Their food come in big portions and the price is not bad! It also tastes pretty good. I’ve had their pesto pasta, Chicken Alfredo, and Lasagna. They were all delicious and each of them were all under ten dollars. I know that their Frutti di Mare was cheap and it had a big portion considering that it’s a seafood dish.
I would come here any day when I’m crave pasta. Next thing I’m going to try is the Frutti di mare!

This place is a order at the counter. drinks are free refills. has a cool atmosphere… definitely a casual place.
I had the salmon pasta… favors were good. although, it was a bit salty. I don’t know if it was just that night, but we had three pasta dishes… it was all salty.
If you do order the salmon dish. It’s not fresh salmon. It taste more like package salmon.
We had 3 main dishes, 1 cawazone… sorry if the spelled that wrong… appitizer, and a beer. our total was $ 45 price was responsible. Portions are big… i would definitely go back.

It totally exceeded our expectations!
Loads of yummy food for an amazing price.
We will be back.

I dragged my mom here for some fundraiser event, wasn’t really expecting much after reading reviews but was pleasantly surprised.
You order at the front, get your own drinks, and wait for the food to be brought out to you. It was really clean, not crowded at all, and had a nice sort of comfortable ambiance.
I had the Mediterranean pasta combo and my mom got the Greek salad. The salads came out after about 5 minutes and the pasta took about 10 – 15 minutes.
The greek salad was huge, enough to feed two people. I’m not a salad person but I did like that my salad contained mainly leafy dark greens instead of crunchy pale ones. Seemed pretty fresh too.
My pasta was also pretty good, not that much sauce but it had that slightly sweet, mainly tangy favor I liked. Only a few shrimp, but the shrimp was really good too. The plate was also huge!
I would say this place has 2.5 of my 3 requirements:
1. pretty good food (especially for portion size)
2. okay/​decent service (but not fast but I’ll take it compared to the cheap prices at Mickey’s with food they throw at you.) instead of good but eh.
3. convenient location: really close to Sac state, in the howe/​arden plaza
…All in all, a pretty good eatery.

Fast service and good food. I am on board. The place has a quaint feel with books lining the wall. Ordered the «Festa Chicken» which was Penne with chicken, mushrooms, garlic and Parmagianno topped with a Cream Sauce. Very tasty and a good value. It cost $ 7.50.

If you go to order and there is a younger, ditsy girl at the register you are probably going to get bad service… but if anyone else is there then it will be great.
despite the spotty service every once in a while, the food is great, prices are more then fair, portions are HUGE, nice place to study, watch football, get a decent date-​on, and pretty good prices on beer too.
I hope more people start supporting this place because it is really good local place; we eat here all the time.

Pasta Festa is Pasta Incubo (nightmare) Looks are deceiving. I’ve got gas that could light up the Central Valley thanks to their awful food. Here’s the lowdown:
1. I received a 20% off coupon at school and fellow Unilocalers gave decent ratings so we decided to try this place.
2. Upon entering, the décor is welcoming with free wifi and books on shelves.
3. You saddle up to the cashier, order and pay. My fiancé has a theory that if one must pay prior to receiving your food AND there’s an abundance of cameras, the food must suck.
4. The cashier was too busy chatting in her native tongue with someone at the counter. She obviously didn’t give a rat’s ass about the line beginning to form behind us (four deep). When she took a breath, her friend stepped aside so our order could be taken.
5. I had to repeat myself five times because the cashier clearly didn’t understand English yet she kept saying «I can’t understand YOU.»
(Before you assume, I am a first-​generation American and understand the challenges with learning English like my parents and grandparents had to encounter. But she made me feel as if I spoke with an impediment when I clearly do not)
6. I ordered the Chicken Marsala and the honey got Spaghetti and Meatballs hold the marinara. We paid for an extra piece of garlic bread ($ 1)
7. We hadn’t been seated for five minutes when voila! Our plates arrived: me Chicken Piccata and his burnt-​to-​a-​charcoal-​crisp meatballs.
8. The waitress scurried away so fast I didn’t have a chance to tell her: hey wrong dish and by the way do you have any meatballs that aren’t burnt to a crisp?
9. She switches the plates and it was if she ran into the kitchen, flicked the capers off and threw the same piece of sorry-​ass chicken cutlet on top. No mushrooms. No sauce. Just some broth from God knows where.
10. The garlic bread was cold (except for the side they tossed on the grill) and worse, it was topped with (cold) garlic spread from a jar. Absolutely nasty!
11. Another set of meatballs came out for him in lightning speed. Our theory: they use frozen meatballs, toss them on a fry pan, put an iron press and that’s why they’re so dry and burnt.
Needless to say, we will NEVER, NEVER patronize this place if hell freezes over and this was the only food around. I’d prefer to eat crickets and skin squirrels for dinner instead. I’ve never hunted, nor eaten crickets and am quite fond of the peculiar Sacto squirrels.
Check out our photos of the charred meatballs and the garlic goo.

Just went for the first time. Friendly staff. Kind of has a pub feeling environment.
I went because they left a 20% off coupon in my windshield and reviews said it was cheap so heeey! College students dreaaam!
It is definitely cheap. You can see the menu and prices on their website. Its very very yummmy! I don’t know what the bad reviews on taste were about. I ordered takeout. Got the calamari and the capricciosa (sp?). The portion size wasn’t huge like other reviews said. But then again it could be because I got take out? Maybe. Ill have to go again and eat inside.
Make sure you follow them on twitter for special deals @pastafesta

I really liked it! We came in a group of people for an event, and it was completely crowded in here. Pasta was served in huge portions. We had to get our own utensils, and we used paper plates. (idk why?) The atmossphere was great, cauual looking, yet it sorta looks like a bar. There is a back patio ish looking thing where you can go outside and chill. The bathroom was really clean. Employees were extremely nice and polite. Pasta tasted GOOOOOOD. LOVED IT. Didn’t really like the garlic bread though… but overall great place. Would definitely come again when i’m in the mood for some pastaaaa festa. :)
4.5 stars

Well done!
Excellent strategy in getting your name out there. I got a coupon at Sacramento State for «free pasta & drink». I expected a small plate of some sort. WELL the plate was HUGE and delicious. The free entre was the Crazy Alfredo Pasta. The veggies tasted fresh, pasta well cooked and very tasteful.
My girlfriend ordered the Napoli Pizza and let me tell you for $ 7.50 it sure is competing with any other pizza I have tried here in Sacramento. Very Delicious. Definitely will be coming back soon! Glad the coupon got us to try this place!
A must try!

Great place for the price!
The food portions were huge! Easily enough food to have leftovers for lunch the next day. I got a combo meal with a pasta dish, soup, salad and drink for $ 12!!! What a deal! The pasta was yummy with lots of chicken and mushrooms and the toasted bread served with it had chunks of garlic… yummm. The soup was clam chowder and was awful but for $ 12 for all that food… I was still completely happy. The place was clean and the workers were all very friendly.
People have to think about what they’re paying for… of course you’re going to have to get your own utensils and actually get up from your table to get your food but you’re paying an average of $ 9 a dish!
For a nice sit down dinner with appetizers and wine and dessert I would absolutely venture somewhere else but for a quick cheap meal that can satisfy my pasta craving with… I’ll definately be back!

You know, I liked this place. It gets three and a half stars from me.
It’s clean, it’s cheap, and the portions are huge.
You have to get your own utensils and drinks and whatnot, and yeah, you’d better keep checking to make sure your food’s done, because they’re still not quite coordinated time-​wise.
But the Heiress and I got two huge entrees (enough for two more meals the next day) and an appetizer AND drinks all for under $ 25. I had the chicken fettucine with mushrooms and it was swoonable. The kid had the chicken and broccoli pasta and she ate it. Seriously, this kid is fussy, so there you are.
A few thoughts: We got a caprese appetizer, and it showed up with plenty of fresh mozzarella and basil but there was vinegary dressing all over it, which I wasn’t expecting. Also, the tomatoes were chilled and not very ripe. It’s August in California — get yourself some fresh tomatoes. Also, the iced tea was Lipton, whether you ordered it by the bottle (green tea) or from the dispenser. It’s got that metallic taste, so I’d give it a miss. Panera down the street has fresh-​brewed — it’s not hard to make. In addition, the garlic bread had a dollop of garlic on the top, which was weird, and tasted funny — not fresh. So don’t bother with that.
But try the pasta, seriously.
We didn’t have dessert as it didn’t seem like a highlight of the place.
I think this would make a great lunch spot. We’ll try it again and let you know.

This place replaced the Steve’s Pizza, which closed about six months ago. I decided to give this place a chance since a friend knew one of the cooks and highly recommended it.
I will say that if they are trying to compete with Steve’s Pizza in any way shape or form they are embarking on a rocky and tough road. I’ve never found or tasted a pizza that is as good as Steve’s pizza… it is the standard in which I compare all other pizzas.
I went here with two friends who ordered pasta dishes which were huge. They finished their entire plate and didn’t complain, but they didn’t brag about how good it was or suggest coming here again. I ordered a pizza… the Milano. It was better than I expected. I like my food hot and spicy, so I normally add jalapeño– which they don’t have or offer as an option. When I asked about it they said, no Italian restaurants offer jalapenos. I was like, well maybe you are right– but this is California. The sauce tasted fresh, but was sweeter than I would have liked and lacked the full flavor of herbs, spiciness, and saltiness that I come to expect from great sauce.
Overall, this place earns kudos because of it’s ambiance. It’s definitely not what you’d come to expect from a little Italian diner, but I doubt they are trying to be authentic. I haven’t tried their pasta yet, so I can’t comment. They offer free wifi and with the way they have their tables scattered, seems they’re trying to be an Italian version of Panera or something– trying to encourage people to come and hangout, study, go there for meetings, etc.
I give them 3.25 stars. But since Unilocal doesn’t let me give partial credit I will elaborate. The place was CLEAN, modern looking, comfortable, and the employees were polite. I will probably go back and order the Chicken Pasta dish my friend ordered (I believe it was the Chicken Marsala).

I love this place. It had a very casual atmosphere and is almost fast food. You order at the counter and receive a number to pick up your food. The food is served on real dishes, but you have to get your own utensils which I don’t really mind, especially for the price. Portions are great and the food is cheap. $ 16 lunch for me and my bf. What a steal. They have a few flaws, but it’s nothing too major. I wish the lasagna had been HOT and not warm. The salad also tasted wilted and old, but I loved everything else about this place. The bf got the lasagna which came with some garlic bread and I got the meatball sandwich. The lasagna was a bit greasy, but tasted so good with the bread. The meatballs were ok, but I loved the crustiness of the bread. I’m anxious to try other dishes here.

Meh — The marinara was kinda gross, it was really sweet and even though the other ingredients in my calzone were warm/​hot, the sauce was not. Strange. I suspect the sauce may have been fresh out of the can.
I really wanted to like this place better, and to be honest I’m going to have to go back at least one more time because one of my coworkers really loved their meatball sandwich. Hopefully by then they have switched over to making their own marinara with less of the sugary funk going on.
I will say that the place does appear nice and clean and the staff was very polite as well — I can definitely appreciate that. I’ll tolerate crappy service for phenomenal food, but the reverse is not true.
I hope this place makes it, as I like the pricing and location. The menu has some great items on it as well.

Well done! Super nice and super clean place. It looks so great, I can’t even remember what Steve’s Pizza looked like! Tonite, I had the lasagna, hubby had a combo pizza and my son had a Chicken sandwich. The lasagna was HUGE and full of cheese and good stuff! It was very reasonably priced and I now have my lunch for tomorrow taken care of!
Hubby’s pizza had tons of meat and veggies on it and he pretty much scarfed it up. My son liked his chicken sandwich, but felt the french bread was a bit hard for him. He just likes soft sourdough bread. Oh, we also got an order of Garlic Bread. There were SIX pieces choc full of butter and roasted garlic that was awesome!
Bathrooms are very important to me, because I feel that how clean a bathroom is, shows how clean a kitchen is. Well, this bathroom was pretty damn clean! I know its a new place and I will recheck it out in a week, but so far so good! The t.p. was soft too!
As we live nearby, this will become out go-​to pizza/​pasta hangout.
Beer isn’t available yet, but according to the owner, they should have it in a couple weeks!!!