Though there is a minimum $$ order requirement, the prices seem fair enough. We each got to take home pasta that lasted another meal or two. There's actually plenty of noodle but not much in other contents (i.e., chicken, shrimp, sausages, etc.). I did not run into any fresh grated cheese or ground pepper problem from my server like some others experienced. When she offered them, I requested for plenty of pepper though I didn't try to ask for more cheese than she was grating...

The service was very professional. Checked on us a few times and smiled plenty. The only problem we saw was when we first entered the restaurant on a relatively slow night, the gentleman, I assume is the bartender and another guy standing just outside of the kitchen, was just glaring over at us (well, they might have been born with natural glaring features so they could just be blank expressions...) and even as we were led in by the hostess/server (she was the only one serving us for the night), they did not crack a smile in our direction. That didn't bother me too much since I'm sure it was nothing personal.

I guess the old Dem Bones look suits them well enough. It's functional. I wouldn't hesitate to return for another meal, but I'd still be on the hunt for a good pasta place that's not too stingy on the protein.

Browsing through the prices for the alcoholic beverages, it does seem a little up there for this type of restaurant especially. I just stuck with water and didn't try the bakery goods they order in for dessert....

I took Mrs. C and some friends to this place because we were craving Italian food. The restaurant is hard to get to, because of the weird arrangement of roads in the area. Once we got to the parking lot, we found a spot to park and were quickly inside. Unfortunately we had to wait for quite a while for a table. I was distracted by the scantily clad servers wandering around, but Mrs. C did not find the ambiance as entertaining. Finally we got a table and set to ordering. The menu is all pasta with no pizza, but there are lots of choices. We shared various pastas, including spaghetti with chicken and olive oil, and linguine with shrimp in the same sauce. I ordered the veal Marsala with #11 spicy clam and shrimp sauce on fettuccine.

We also ordered Focaccia bread, the spicy sausage in sauce appetizer, and a big house salad. All the appies were good but there is no need to order extra bread since they give you complementary bread at the table. I tried the wine but it was a little pricey for the size and quality.

The pastas were all huge portions, but surprisingly my veal was a minuscule portion, about the size of two toonies, and about as thick... The pasta that came with it was tasty, but I never saw any shrimps or clams in it. So my meal was a bit of a rip off. The other pasta dishes seemed like reasonable value. As for flavour, I would rate it a little better than the food at ESM.

Service was good, but a little slow due to the number of guests. The ambience was just fine except maybe a bit noisy with all the people packed into the space. The w/c’s were clean and so no complaints there.

Overall some good points and some bad. Not like mama used to make, but for family-style Italian/American, not too bad.

Italian pasta is usually cooked "al dente", and this restaurant claims to be traditional Italian. The fresh pasta was so soft and over cooked, (reheated ++?) it left the dish very mushy, too much sauce and not much substance- It was more like pureed food . The hospital serves better pasta dishes to their patients, sad to say! But there was plenty to eat. One order costs $19.95 feeds 2 people .And so you are full. But as my husband said - you can get full on Kraft Mac and cheese Dinner ! We were hungry , and as we're eating, we're trying to get something from the dish besides sauce - no real meat to say , and the pasta was dissintegrated- so it just made it like thickened sauce. Oh , there was a pile of melted cheese on top (a disguise ,I think), and the plate was very hot , but the food was Not! And plain white bread served. If you want Focaccia with Oil and Balsamic vinegar ,that's ~ $7, garlic bread (I can only imagine) -~$3. But all in all the wine and the Company was very good!
So we are searching for a restaurant that serves Lasagna the way most people make it - not a pile of noodles and sauce with cheese baked on top. Where is the dish with the defined layers , maybe some spinach ,some ricotta or cottage cheese . The search continues...

I decided to try this place after my friend recommended it to me. I went there with 2 of my guy friends on a Monday night. The restaurant was 3 quarters full, a good sign given it's a Monday night. Monday night is their martini night at $5.95 ea, and I love their selection of fruity martinis. I ordered a penne with spicy italian sausage, chicken and garlic in tomato sauce ($17.95) and both of my friends ordered tortellini with a white sauce and the other with a meat sauce. They had to add $4 for stuffed pasta. The pasta I ordered (penne) was HUGE and I was full just by looking at it. The leftovers I took home lasted me 2 more meals. The pasta itself was okay, tasty but not spectacular. However, the tortellinis my friend ordered were on the small side when compared to my pasta. They were both able to finish them and they were reported to be okay. They said they'll stick with non-stuffed pasta next time.

I would probably come back again, and maybe order the calamari since I saw a lot of other tables ordering it and they smelled good.

Love the food but unfortunatly the prices just went up again $21. they give you a huge plate so I eat for 3 days lol but I think they could decrease the size of plate and charge less I love the Dish Fettucini with the Paesano toppings baby clams baby shrimp and baby scallops and salmon with a light dill sauce so the sauce is not to heavy My daughter always orders the gnocchi with a yummy rose sauce and my hubby orders the penne with a spicy sausage tomato sauce.

If you've read through the reviews here you know the service isn't the best at Italian Tomato. It's not that the staff aren't nice or attentive, they're just run off their feet and have too many tables on busy nights so it takes them a long time to come back for orders and whatnot. I've gone on 2 different busy nights and had quick service the first time and slow service the second time. That said, the pasta is fantastic, I get 3 meals out of it and it's really, really good. I'm old-fashioned and a plain eater so I stick with the staple (Spaghetti Bolognese) and it's very flavourful. My friend tried the Chicken Parmesan and said it's the best of that dish he's ever had.

I say give it a try and just don't expect the servers to be waiting hand and foot on you, they get the job done and sometimes they're slow but it's worth it for the yummy pasta and at $14-15 a plate it's not a bad deal considering you can get 2 or 3 meals out of it!

We had to wait about 45 minutes for our food to arrive and the waitresses explaination was "It's just that when its a full house, it gets a little busy and the chef's have to make the sauces from scratch". First of all, the chefs and the waiters were just standing around from what we saw, and secondly, the restaurant wasn't even half full.

The food was mediocre, I was expecting better. Don't go unless you are willing to wait 40-60 minutes (and this is during SLOW period) for your food.

This isnt exactly the best for a main course with meat. My husband had the pork rib rack and it was sadly very small and it was also very dried out. I had the veal marsala and it was chewy like gum. The pasta was good but I was disappointed with the fact that there was way too much sauce and no vegetables to speak of other than the salads on the top of the menu. The calamari was ok but I have had much better. Overall if you just want to chow down on a huge bowl of pasta then this place is for you.

visited Italian Tomato a few days ago, and I don't get why a lot of people enjoy the restaurant.

we were seated quickly. the weird thing was that they seated my bf and i in the busy section although the other side was completely empty. there was only one server in our area while the other servers were enjoying dinner and drinks near the kitchen. i felt sorry for the girl serving us although she did a good job serving everyone without any trouble. she even managed to talk to us (and other tables) in between.

after reading about the big portions, we decided to share the pasta/ pork combo that they offered. the ravioli was okay, obviously not homemade which was disappointing. the sauce was runny, which is how some italians like it. the veal was horrid. it was in a mushroom sauce that looked liked it came from a can and they added some soy sauce for some color.

as a lot of reviews mentioned, come here if you're hungry but not looking for a nice fulfilling meal

won't be coming back any time soon.

Ok so, how long till you erase this one?
This place is truly not worth Mcdonalds money, plain and simple. If you want to replicate the experience, go buy a pound of boxed, dry pasta and cook it way over or way under. add a splash of canola oil, they do not use EVOO, some recycled and show bottles though, I have a colleague who would know, like they work there. Add a splash of flavor, a couple frozen pieces of veg, and a 2 oz portion of protein, underweighed is preffered.

The service is rude, combattive and abrasive. This is based on 4 visits, so I would say a good judge.
I keep getting pulled back due to the stat padding done by the staff, at the brasses prompting, and their friends/relatives. You can clearly tell the paddeds, one post that raves about a cheap pasta joint that skimps you and provides bad service. Should you not believe me get out and about in Richmond, this place has a very bad word of mouth.

so why the solid, so hopefully this stays up to warn otherws to the unethical cheap advertising ploy that this page is used for.