Jim's Italian Cuisine — Restaurant in Bellefonte

Walking up to the outside of the restaurant, it was nothing flashy other than the sign. Typically, these places are a "labor of love," and the food is a diamond in the rough. Maybe it's because it was my first time visiting on a busy Friday, or I'm not attached to the owners or the history of it in any way, but frankly, my granddad and I had a less than favorable experience here.

We walk in and the staff are running around in the secondary sitting area. We're offered a booth in the corner of this crowded zone where dozens of what I'd assume to be to-go orders were sitting on one of the dining tables. The place felt claustrophobic and completely lacking in atmosphere. We weren't offered a seat in the nicer-looking dining area whatsoever, so that would have possibly improved our experience. What it wouldn't have made better, however, was the food.

I ordered a personal-sized pepperoni pizza and my granddad ordered a chicken parm sandwich. It took about 10 minutes for a sad-looking pizza to make its way to the table. Not to mention, it was a cheese pizza. I wouldn't have cared much, but I thought it was someone else's order, so I sent it back to the kitchen. Another 10 minutes passes, and my pepperoni pizza, not looking much better, comes to the table. At this point, the kitchen has completely forgotten about my granddads chicken parm. Someone eventually came over to clear it up, and by the time it came, I was almost done with my meal.

The pizza I ate wasn't any better than something out of the supermarket's frozen aisle. The sauce was almost sweet and kind of bland, the pepperoni didn't taste all that great, and there was even a soggy part in the dough where it was somewhat undercooked. My granddad's chicken parm had spaghetti noodles in it, and was basically linguini in a bun, and the chicken was pretty much just small chicken nuggets. Neither of us could say we had a good meal, and we walked out disappointed. The only apology we got was a quarter off our bill.

In conclusion, whatever experience the other 5 star reviews claim to have gotten, it was not what we got. The service was poor, the food was poorer, and it's safe to say we won't be returning customers to Jim's...

The waitress so nice and polite and she did everything to help. She answered questions for us and even asked the staff how something was made because I inquired. This is where my problem lies. The salad, dressing, garlic bread, sauce and rigatoni were delicious. The sauce is a bit sweet but not too too much and I actually enjoy that in a good sauce, but when ordering an entree be upfront about what it is. I ordered veal parmesan and I specifically asked the waitress if it was an actual veal cutlet or a veal patty (you know the ones in a store). She thought it was a patty but went to double check which I appreciated. Whoever prepared it lied to her. It was a veal patty. I showed her when she came to check on us that it was in fact a veal patty with a slice of mozzarella on it. She was so nice about it and offered to get a piece of chicken parm in its place even though I was already part way through with my veal patty . She assured me the chicken was actually a piece of chicken. It was not. Same thing happened. It was a deep fried chicken patty with a slice of mozzarella on it. I do not blame the waitress though. She did go and ask questions to find out if they were actually cutlets or patties. I thanked her for taking time to do that I was hungry as I was on the run all day without eating so I finished my food. Its not that it was horrible. It tasted good but had I known the veal and chicken were patties I NEVER would have ordered that entree. I was disappointed. Please be upfront about the way the food is prepared and leave the choice to customers if they want that meal, or choose something different. Italian cuisine is not deep fried...

We moved to Bellefonte 9 months ago, and tonight wins our worst dining experience, from beginning to end (Two previous visits were good.), in Centre County. From the start, the place was filthy with boxes piled everywhere, food on the floor throughout, and greasy near the register (a staff person actually fell when we approached to pay!). Drink orders were messed up (water became root beer), wilted & oily lettuce was passed off as salad, we had to leave the table and hunt staff for flatware, drinks were never re-filled & once food came out (Which came out on 4 shifts. Two finished eating as the other meals were brought out) we never saw our waitress at the table (We did observe her eating chips near the fountain machine.). The meal literally tasted & the portion size was like a tv dinner. I tried to explain to the lady at the register and she literally gagged out an apology and snapped at our party that we don't see the food going out the front. She asked what went wrong, but totally ignored my answer so I just stopped talking. I told her we would not be returning & she snapped that she was sorry, but that was our choice. If you like dirt, horrible food, and rude staff that either ignores or snaps at you, Jim's is your place. I usually never complain, but this was so bad I felt something should be said. Waste of...