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The Old Spaghetti Factory
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
9 reviews for The Old Spaghetti Factory
When I go to an Italian place for dinner I want to feel like I have been transported to Palermo watching Patton and his tanks parade down the street or Parma sitting in the stands watching Parma FC dismantle an opponent in my mind as the flavors flow like waves over my tongue. I want to get lost in the food, maybe a little ambiance from the surroundings would help without going too over the top (old travel agency posters of Italy on the wall is not acceptable). I want to imagine the smell of the Tyrrhenian Sea wafting past my nostrils. After walking into the Old Spaghetti Factory my feet, my nostrils and my imagination were firmly planted in Clackamas, Oregon, sitting at the crease between two tables put together for our party of seven that were not the same height. Yup, I wasn't goin' anywhere but right here, right now. Bye Patton, bye Tyrrhenian Sea.
There were some good aspects of our evening, we were celebrating the three birthdays in two days for me, my Mother In Law and my Brother in Law. Can you imagine the hell my poor Wife goes through this time of year? We were seated pretty fast and the service throughout the meal was consistent and friendly, refills without asking, crayons and place-mat for the my little Tax Deduction and Splenda in the sugar boxes for my average, nothing special but not bad iced tea. And then the food came.
First we got salads; well hold on, calling them salads is a disservice to salads at, lets say, Winco or McDonalds. We got lettuce with little tiny croutons and not much of it. They did bring some bread, it was hot and there was lots of it, but it was more a french bread than an Italian bread. Shortly thereafter we received our entree's.
I ordered the meat platter, a sausage, two meatballs and spaghetti. I have never in my life had meatballs that were so densely packed. I was not sure whether to be impressed or horrified, so I chose the middle ground and was mildly amused. The sausage was overcooked, like one of those poor last sausages or hot dogs at AM/PM or 7-11 on the hot rollers that no one has the guts to take. It actually had an alright taste to it though. The spaghetti was just a tad too al-dente for me, I'm not saying it was not cooked well, it just wasn't how I like it, but it wasn't bad enough to send back.
In all I will remember this evening for excellent company, fun conversation and the humor of watching the Tax Deduction tackle a plate of spaghetti with loads of "snow" (shaker cheese). Will I come back? Probably one day, it's one of the Mother in Law's favorite places, or one day I could be afflicted with Alzheimer's and wander here from the mall.
Don't come here expecting much. When I first walked in I felt under dressed because everything looks so fancy.. but it's all faux fancy. The food was good the service was alright. A step above the Olive Garden, that's for sure, but they still give you the old iceberg lettuce bagged salad and I can't stand that...
The Old Spaghetti Factory is good for two groups of people:
People who hate good food and 6-year-olds having a birthday party.
The food here is a teensy weensy step above the pre-packaged sludge that the Macaroni Grill slings but not by much. The menu claims that they make their sauces daily- that may be the only difference between the two. However, I'm pretty sure that those "homemade" sauces are chock full of high fructose corn syrup and red dye #40.
Non-meat eaters are going to be out of luck except for pasta/marinara. The only two salads on the menu are what I like to call non-healthy-salads (bacon, eggs, cheese- all delicious things, but neither low-cal or Italian). They now offer a side of broccoli doused in cheese, and that's the only veg side available. Hmmm... that actually sounds kind of good right now...
When I was six, I'm pretty sure I had the best birthday dinner EVER at the Old Spaghetti Factory in downtown Denver, CO. You know, you invite all your buddies and sit in the special traincar that they replicate for every OSF in the country. You feel frickin' rad getting the 'free' spumoni for desert. You feel like the conductor of the Italian train.
Then you grow a palate and go back with coworkers one day and are horrified. The best I could do today was ordering whole wheat spaghetti with the plain marinara (and the sauce/pasta ratio was all off- I ended up spooning on the cheesy bread dipping sauce). Everyone (but one guy who had the chicken panini, which he enjoyed) else at the table had pasta with mizithra, which is a wonderful and glorious cheese... but I have my doubts the OSF is using real mizithra. The scant tablespoon sprinkled atop my coworkers' plates looked like Bel Gioso Romano, to be honest. And we all know that's not a real cheese.
Good spot when you have a large crowd or a work function to accommodate, a cheese-bread craving, and a willingness to spend $10+ on some fake Italian food. But with so many other great options in town, probably not worth it if it is on your own credit card. The highlight of the visit was actually zoning out on the stock "vintage" photo of old streetcars in Brooklyn and pretending they were those 3D posters that were really popular in 1992. I thank those posters for teaching me how to intentionally cross my eyes and get nauseous. Just like the OSF.
I was drunk and the spaghetti and meat sauce with Italian sausage was not very good. The sausage was overcooked, and the spaghetti and meat sauce was unremarkable. This place gets two stars because the drinks are stiff. Each meal should come with 3 well cocktails. That's the only way to make the experience semi-enjoyable.
I've been coming here for years and you always get the same thing. Decent food, good prices. The service can be hit or miss, depending on who you get. This is a good place for kids, as it is usually kind of loud in here. The food is always pretty good, but the place can get busy at peak hours.
If you just want some cheap pasta and a relaxed family atmosphere, try it.
If I havn't been to Pastini Pastaria, I would give more credit to this. I have always enjoyed the food here for the most part. You get plentiful portions along with the bread and salad. The ice cream is pretty good too if you have room left. Lately, the service has been spotty, hit or miss. The clackamas location is one of the more nicely and imaginative decorative. Out of all 3 italian spots in the clackamas town center area, this is the best bet.
The food is ok. Over priced spaghetti, and if you want meatballs its gonna cost ya and their nothing special. Save your money and eat this meal at home.
The parents in law are visiting and took us here. It was incredibly busy, but why I don't know. The place is faux-aged and is definitely cheesy. It has a sort of bordello-saloon-grandma's house feel, as if those could all go together. Maybe for some grandmas it does. The food is incredibly amazingly mediocre. From the pasty, doughy white bread, to the bland marinara, the extra fatty salad dressing, all of it was just too bland to warrant more than a less than enthused, "Meh." It is cheap...under 40 bucks for dinner for 4 peeps, and that included a few beers. Nice enough service, a bit slow but they were very busy. I don't feel the need to ever go back.
old spaghetti factory back in the 80's was a great deal and good food - now that they have like 100 places all over the prices went up and service went to hell in a hand basket... over priced and not enough salad dressing so get a can of hunts and some bake at home french bread and stay home