Goomba's

OMG the garlic knots are the featured star here! Fluffy, buttery, garlicky rolls.... Sooo delicious! Went here with a group of friends and we were still talking about the rolls the next day. Granted, you have to be a garlic lover to enjoy these. There is chopped garlic and garlic powder sprinkled on these rolls. Ok, begrudgingly moving on from the rolls.

I posted pics of the various dishes we all ordered. As you can probably see, the serving sizes are huge. All of us ended up taking half of our dinners home, including a couple with hearty appetites.

Most of the dinners also came with a side salad with several dressing options. The salads were tasty and plentiful. Chopped lettuce, bell peppers, red onions, tomatoes and egg, shredded cheese and carrots. I savored the garlic parmesan dressing, others at the table enjoyed ranch and house italian dressings on their salads.

The chicken parmesan (and the veal version) were both crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The sauce was very good and the pasta was perfectly cooked. You can switch out the pasta shape if desired. Penne instead of spaghetti, angel hair instead of linguini, etc.

The supreme calzone was stuffed with meats and cheese. They also have a few choices of goombolis. My friend ordered and enjoyed the chicken cordon blue goomboli. These are basically strombolis with a twist on the name.

I had the chicken marsala. It was okay but after listening to the rave reviews of everyone else's dishes, I was regretting my choice. There just wasn't a lot of flavor in the dish for my taste. The meat was tender and the pasta was perfectly cooked so that was a plus.

Note to owner... there is a half booth that is positioned directly under an AC unit/vent. The condensation drips on the heads of those seated below. We had to move our group to avoid the drops. Consider some kind of catch tray below it to prevent that.

A couple other points: service was prompt, friendly and attentive. There is also a full bar in the place. As others mentioned, it is a bit dark in there. Some like that, there may be others that won't.

This was my first time here after driving by for a few years and we will be back for the delicious food. I would absolutely recommend this place to others.

We've been to this building before but it was years ago and was a different restaurant.
We wanted to try it and were satisfied by everything.
Was a bit pricey on the entrees but was good.
Got a pizza to try and bring home.
Also got a ravioli to share.

Good atmosphere...quiet and clean.
Service was good too.

So except for the $ we enjoyed the visit.

I have been coming to Goombas for a long time. Today I get here and I see a sign that says Cash Only. I am thinking system is down which I am fine with that ..... but then when I get the menu, it has a whole new name. So turns out that Goombas has closed!!!!! It is NOW a new restaurant!!!!! This new restaurant is called Napoli's Italian restaurant.... Since this just happened they are not service liquor yet and they do not have a system to use non-cash transactions......

Anyways.... so far service is okay, lets see how it goes.

The atmosphere is sweet and homey. I felt like I was back in my Italian friend's kitchen. The food was delicious and the staff was sweet. They even gave a small pizza lesson to my 2 year old.

Thanks!!

I love that this restaurant is in an old church! Service is great, and staff is friendly. Food is some of the best Italian in Clermont.

My family are here for the second time early today at around 4:30pm. The first time was at around 7:30pm two weeks ago. First of all, the food is overall prepared decent, not exceptional. A couple of things I didn't like were the side salads with cheddar cheese (Italian salads shouldn't have cheddar cheese) and the garlic knots. Restaurants priced as high at this one should be serving fresh warm Italian bread with real butter or with oil and herbs. Garlic knots should be reserved for pizzerias. At our previous visit, one of the owners was present. She went above and beyond making sure that we had a great experience.

My biggest complaint that left me disappointed today was the service. There were about 10 20 somethings minding the restaurant without an adult on site. The restaurant was highly disorganized and affected our meal. My father waited over 15 minutes for a glass of wine and we had to ask for silverware and refills. We also had to ask for our first order of our included garlic knots as they didn't come out before or with the meal.

My kids had coloring menus, but didn't get crayons initially, we had to ask for them.

Our first order of garlic knots were hard with no oil and a light coating of cheese. You could tell they were leftovers and not fresh. we requested a fresh order which arrived as they should, soft with fresh garlic.

It's a shame that the service is so terrible for the amount of kids they had working. This reflects the managements teaching of staff along with the managements experience in owning a restaurant. our server was polite and courteous, but just not educated about the restaurant business. It's hard to fault her.

I will not be returning to this place, because I think it is extremely overpriced for the service and food choices. It's a higher end pizza and pasta shop charging fine Italian prices. Although there were some meat and seafood dishes, the service and attention to detail do not justify the cost. I would love nothing more than to go to a family owned restaurant, but for the price the service and food are way better at a chain like Carrabba's.

My suggestion is to get the service together and get them educated or have Robert Irvine come in there and straighten the place out. if this type of service is frequent then prices need to come way down.

I've been to Goomba's a few times in the last 2 months and have had a very nice evening. The service can be mixed depending on the entertainment and the crown capacity. The food is tasty and always comes out hot. The soups and salads are also good. We usually go with other friends, so our time there is always fun. Usually the entertainment keeps us dancing and having a good time. Parking could be dodgy depending on the time of the evening.

I wanted to like it. I got take out from there one day and out was decent- went in for dinner and was totally disappointed. The waitress was good but that was it. The pizza was super soggy- I asked for crispy. The cheese had a garlic topping on the pizza- not your typical plain cheese. I did like the fried meatball things- but other than that- nothing else. The soup was also not very good.
Probably won't go back.

THE GOOD:

They are family owned and operated. The prices are reasonable. Some of their food is pretty good.


THE BAD:

Everything seems to be in disarray. The service isn't great but it isn't bad in the traditional way. I get the feeling that everyone who works there is trying very hard and cares but they simply don't know how to run a restaurant properly. There are a few too many tables for the space in some areas and I found myself bumping chairs with patrons behind me.

THE UGLY:

I have had some good dishes here (lasagna, fried meatball app, garlic rolls) but have also been disappointed more than once. The gnocchi was not good at all and the caesar salad looks just plain sad; tiny, sh*tty croutons and all.

CONCLUSION:

I wouldn't protest coming here if someone wanted to go but I don't see myself proposing it as an option either. I love to support local family run businesses and hope they make some changes (specifically with management).

GOOMBA'S, IF YOU'RE READING:

Whoever your captain is, needs to run a tighter ship. I would get rid of the cheesy bright colored drink special signs plastered on the bar (they take away from the homey feel of your restaurant) and also look at trimming the menu up a bit, focusing only on what you absolutely excel at. It's good to have unique and different options than some of your competitors but if you can't execute them at a high level, it is pointless.

- I am a fan of Goomba's. I have been a few times and have tried different items.
The pizza is more expensive than if you'd go to a franchise - but it is heavy on toppings and very tasty.
The dinner plates are certainly big enough for two meals - at least for me - so that balances the higher cost.
I would like to see better service. I've gone by myself and sat at the bar and I've gone as a couple and sat at a regular table and in both situations sat for long periods of time without seeing a server or getting a refill.
The wine selection is minimal .