Gina's Italian Cuisine — Restaurant in Arroyo Grande

My spouse and I ate here last Saturday (5/20/2023). I ordered the lasagna. It was the worst thing I have EVER tasted! The sauce was clearly can tomato sauce. It was lukewarm and the cooks didn't even try to pretend otherwise. I think they literally just poured it from a can. The noodles were so overcooked and they just hung from the fork. They were completely flaccid. I think they cook their pre-made noodles in the microwave. And the cheese was disgusting. I took one bite and was disgusted. They brought me a different dish, chicken with pesto sauce. It was pretty good. And the waiter was OK. But the shift manager/restaurant manager was playing on his phone. I went up to let him know it was my spouse's birthday and he nodded but he never looked at me. He just kept playing on his phone. And finally, they had an employee taking a break at the table with customers nearby. And another employee smoked out front and the cigarette smoke came into the restaurant. We were appalled. Their employees should have to take a break at the back of the restaurant, not where everyone can see them,

There was just another party there when we left. We noticed that the restaurants around it, were packed. So everyone knows to avoid this restaurant. It's too bad, as for the past 20 years, we liked coming to this restaurant on special occasions. But the past 2-3 times have been disappointing! We're never going back again. Sauce from a can, noodles cooked in a microwave is shameful. Celebrity Chef Gordan Ramsey would...

I read the previous reviews, and wish my experience was the same so I could write a 5 * review…I ordered spaghetti to go on two separate occasions for my grandson to go…The first was Jan 8,2025 it was Wednesday, the restaurant was empty it looked beautiful, wine stand outside the door very inviting I was impressed, the older gentleman that helped me expressed his concern about not having any customers, Rooster Creek next door was popping they had customers and I felt bad for them….The spaghetti was great my grandson loved it..So I went again a second time on a Friday, Jan 10, 2025, this time I ordered a regular serving of spaghetti not a child’s serving. When I picked up the spaghetti at the restaurant I was hoping they had more business, I really felt bad for the gentleman on weds. So it was more busy. When I arrived home with the spaghetti and small $5 dollar salad… I was appalled, the spaghetti was a child’s dinner not an adult and I was charged double compared to weds spaghetti, it was disappointing because I was rooting for this restaurant and felt cheated…Just check your order before you take it home if you order to go, there was a previous review that had similar experience when ordering to pick up…Maybe they don’t put in the same love in the food when it’s a pick up ordered verse dinning there. I heard you can get great spaghetti for a better price at Gino’s...

I'm honestly surprised at the overall rating. We had a terrible experience. We had dinner March 16th and it was a negative experience. The food was basic and the service was mostly acceptable. But that's as good as it got.

The menu is lacking important information. My husband, who has a wheat allergy, ordered a pasta dish with meat and gluten-free pasta. The menu instructed selecting a meat and did not list an additional charge (implying the meat was included in the price) for the meat or the gluten-free noodles. Further, the waiter offered no information about additional charges. So you can imagine our surprise at $11 in additional charges for his meal.

Now, we live with additional charges for gluten-free noodles but we've never had an experience where no information was forthcoming until the arrival of the bill. And when we questioned it the server became surly. After my insistence that we should have been informed he grudgingly took off $5. We left with a bad taste in our mouths over the entire experience.

We won't eat there again and warn against the place. There are plenty of other restaurants. No one would...