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The Old Spaghetti Factory
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
15 reviews for The Old Spaghetti Factory
Remember the good ol' days when they had the telephone operating system to play with? Well, maybe I am aging myself. I grew up with the Spaghetti Factory being one of our families favorite places to go. Back in the day, I thought "Oh wow! Mom and Dad are taking us out?!". Thinking back.....they probably only took us there because it was CHEAP and LOUD!
I admit we take our kids there for the same reason!
As for the food, it is by no means a great Italian restaurant...but decent. Sometimes the food is hit or miss, but mostly consistent. I like the meat lovers plate, it is enough food for a couple of meals. I've stated before, I love leftovers!
Parking can be quite the hassle, especially on the weekends. And waiting among the other cattle to be seated isn't much fun. Just once, I want to wait until the second name call of a party and take it! I know, living on the edge. That's how I roll!
If you are looking for a place for a large group and want fairly cheap eats...this might be your place.
On the plus side, the Spaghetti Factory has a "canopy". A lot of good places fail to understand that no animals, not even humans, care to be in an exposed place. Many trendy new places fail to get this, and pack a room full of table and chairs, without any "protection" from access. The tables are more "protected" and the space is more intimate here. The colors are warm.
The downside is, the atmosphere is pretty manufactured, and the mostly young (high-school aged?) staff doesn't even try to deceive you about it.
The food has a mystery flavor (like Olive Garden)-- is it paper?-- and the bread and sandwiches are greasy.
If you can believe in hype, this place will offer it to you in spades-- you'll probably enjoy it here. Otherwise, support your local restaurants!
I used to call this place the Old Ass Spaghetti Factory cause that's what the food is like. Overcook some noodles, throw some Ragu on it and there you go, you've got a cheap lunch special at the Old Ass Spaghetti Factory. I will say that the best thing here is the Chicken Cacciatore, but you can only get it during lunch. Other than that, go to the store and grab some spaghetti-o's that's fairly comparable.
There is much hatred for the Factory of Spaghetti but it doesn't sway me one bit. I still love this place, and I got to eat in the trolley. I didn't eat all day yesterday, so it is perfectly justifiable to eat a ton of carbs.
First, I had an ok bowl of minestrone soup. I think next time I am going to get a salad, but on there is nothing better on cold days than a warm bowl of soup. With the soup we had their awesome sourdough bread. It is easy to eat too much of the bread, so I have to watch myself. Then came my hearty platter of spaghetti with meat sauce. Other dishes there may be crap, but I wouldn't know because this is all I ever get. Simple, effective, delicious. Finally, when your super full and cant eat anymore, they send out the spumoni ice cream, which is probably some of the best ice cream I have had.
Dinner for two was under $30, so you got to at least give props for an afforable dinnah.
Zipzap Zubidy Bop!
Eh.
Old Spaghetti Factory. A nice, perky twenty-ish staffer greets you with somewhat fakey excitement. By rote:
Sit down and have a glass of water! Take a look at the menu - take your time (especially if you order alcohol). Enjoy the company, because the food isn't that hot. But the important thing is that it won't offend your in-laws from Indiana, who are a little skeptical of this 'Pan-Asian' thing.
Wince a bit while you pay, full but wondering why you *really* needed to eat out for a meal of that quality, and go home. Not regretful, but feeling like you've sold a little bit of your food soul in exchange for peaceful interfamily relationships. Sigh.
There is some street parking, and a lot across the street. The wait is usually manageable.
What to order? Get a half order of spaghetti with brown butter and mizithra cheese, and spaghetti with white claim sauce. The two flavors go great together.
The baked bread is very good, as is the salad.
Fairly good Italian food, but I stick to what I know, so I am not sure how the rest of the menu stacks up.
I had fond memories of this place as a kid. The setup is quaint with a caboose in the middle with additional seating inside. I always wanted to sit there when I was little.
The food, however, isn't what I remember. It could be my palate has changed as I grew up, but the last time I was at the Old Spaghetti Factory (maybe this past June), alot of the dishes were a tad salty. The prices were reasonable, and the quantity served was more than enough to satisfy me. I do like the Old Spaghetti Factory, but please, easy on the salt.
I've been to a couple Spaghetti Factories. It's nice to know they are all pretty much the same in decor and look. The service, isn't always the same, but that can vary in any restaurant from day to day.
This one was pretty good. I have to say that the food wasn't bad, very hearty, and as usual, very good on the wallet.
Service wasn't bad either. We didn't wait long to get a table at all. Besides you can always phone ahead to get on the list up to an hour ahead so you can get there and just sit instead of waiting. This is great for large parties.
I love spaghetti factory, I'm just not sure why people hate it so.
After being at the one in Seattle, I was curious about this place. It still lives up to its standard! I dined in the dining car, had exceptional service, and had a ton of food! It amazes the reasonable price includes a full course meal and then some.
Location is walking distance from downtown Tacoma.
About a group of twenty of us went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for a little get-together dinner. We were seated in our own room, which was nice because we got quite loud. The food is just ok. I ordered the spaghetti with brown butter and mizithra cheese, which wasn't bad but not fantastic either. For relatively cheap eats this place is a great place to go, especially with a large group.
Okay, so this place isn't the culinary capital of Tacoma. However, it's a good place to take kids, and their spaghetti isn't THAT bad. It's better than the Olive Garden, for example. Yes, it's disturbing to think that the pasta sauce is manufactured somewhere in the midwest and then shipped in gigantic tubs and cans to Tacoma to be served to us. Yes, the salad is drowning in salad dressing. Yes, the sourdough bread is brick-like. But is that why you go to the Spag Fac? No, you go so your kid can sit in a century-old trolley and eat Spumoni. At least it's better than going to other kid-friendly places like Red Robin.
When you're having a birthday party or any other large group gathering check out The Old Spaghetti Factory downtown. I've always had great service here and you can dine in an old rail car if you'd like. It's atmosphere is unique and lively, the food is always great.
I've eaten here a few times and have never been impressed. I've had meals here ranging from bland to pretty good, but never spectacular. I remember the one in Seattle always being good though. Yeh the service was good, they have a lot of cute waitresses, but I care more about the food.
This place is garbage! Food is slapped together poorly and the waitstaff would rather be at recess. Long waits for a dissapointing finish. & please don't call this italian, it makes me cry.
never, never, never again.
