Rigatoni's Pasta & Grill

Reviews about Rigatoni's Pasta & Grill

• 2 / 5

  By Michelle Keys
  So this place has potential to be great, but it was unfortunately lacking. I went with a party of four (two kids, two adults.) It was a Tuesday night, and pretty dead, except for us. Our waitress was friendly, and none of my complaints relate to her at all. If I could give her a separate review and give her five stars, I would do so.
  
  So let's get to the food... we asked for a side of alfredo sauce to have with our unlimited breadsticks. The sauce was bland and I am very happy nobody ordered it on a pasta.
  
  The breadsticks were cool, but each was completely different in size and texture. Some were large and doughy and some were skinny and crisp.
  When our family-style salad arrived, it was topped with four croutons, three little pieces of cumcumber (maybe two, but I am being generous) and three cherry tomatoes. Our waitress was really nice and let us all pick our own dressing, but the salad was completely lacking in the vegetable department.
  
  Now, about the entrees.... My friend stuck to what they are known for and ordered the crab cakes. His meal was pretty good, no complaints, although he was in the bathroom the rest of the night. I had a penne vodka with shrimp. The sauce was so oily, it broke apart as you moved it in the dish it was served in. It was also a bland sauce, no real flavor. The shrimp were so overcooked, they were rubbery. Who doesn't like oily, overcooked shrimp? LOL One of the kids got the same meal as me, and neither of us took home our leftovers (which were substantial) or even ate the protein out of it. The other kid got buttered pasta and a meatball, which really, how could you mess that up? Well, the meatball was underwhelming, but she ate it.
  
  We figured we would get dessert because we were still pretty hungry since we didn't eat our dinner. We shared a raspberry cheesecake and a piece of chocolate mousse cake... both were 5.99 each, and for the size and fact that they were probably frozen and thawed out, nothing special. Even the whipped cream tasted gross and different from normal whipped cream.
  
  I am not sure what is going on in that kitchen, but at least he has a good wait staff. Our waitress took off one of the gross pastas, but our bill after tip and everything was still almost 100 bucks... so for the money, we will be taking our business elsewhere, maybe Trieste, which is two blocks away and has a phenomenal vodka penne!
  
  Avoid if possible.
  June 16, 2016