Papa Leno's — Restaurant in Berea

We went during the Spoonbread festival in 2018 between 8-10pm.

We originally got the idea to go to this place by word of mouth and the fact it had 4.6 stars on google. Once we got to the door it was lined out with people who had menus in their hands waiting to get to the counter to order. No wait staff offered us menus or even pointed us to the menus, granted they were straight ahead in a basket next to the cashier 12 customers deep.

Once we got to the cashier it was pretty straight forward, order our food at the counter and then be given a plastic number so hosts could find us and hand us our food which works in small delis or restaurants that can pump out food fast. However, there was no wait staff to tell us where to go or what to do, so we just mosey off in the crowd waiting for a seat to come open while my pregnant wife holds a salad in her hands with no where to eat and no utensils "which I later found in a corner for customers to happen upon and grab."

After about 20-25 minutes of standing around with a number in our hand in the middle of a crowded restaurant we had never been to, a couple finally left their table and we were able to sit down at this nice corner table with someones half eaten food and drinks that we cleared onto another table of half eaten food and drinks. Eventually a bus girl came out and let me use her rag to clean our table. "I asked for it while she cleared the one beside me, so that it would help her out a bit. Girl was flying through that place the whole time. Big props to the bus girl."

After a good 40-45 minute wait for food we finally had our pizzas and fettuccine brought out to us. The pizzas were pretty darn good, with a light amount of sauce, decent toppings and a nice fluffy crust. I went for the meats on meats which was definitely the right choice. My wife however felt like the fettuccine was just mediocre and taste just about the same as if she made it at home with a jar of sauce.

Also a place that serves alcohol should expect people to use the bathroom. This places mens room is for one person. The bathroom wasn't terribly dirty or anything, but it's pretty weird that when you wash your hands you can blow dry them, but then there's no paper towels that you can use to open the door handle with, so what's the point in even washing your hands if you're touching another mans balls on the handle before you go back to eat? We all know not everyone is an upstanding citizen that washes their hands.

One of the absolute huge drawbacks is the fact the wait staff is almost non-existent. Since there is no waiting area for a table you instead have customers who have never been to your restaurant wandering around and hovering over people at their tables waiting for them to leave so you can zip in and stake claim to your table or walking around looking for silverware, then you have a real problem that takes away from the...

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME HERE UNLESS YOU HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO WASTE.

Be prepared for a long line and an hour wait for your food. Not ideal for a business lunch or catching a bite before a play at the college or the local acting school.

I arrived (from out of town) in what should have been plenty of time to grab a bite before a show at Spotlight. Was really looking forward to it. There were no menus at the back to grab and peruse and no way to get one without losing my place in line. I stood in a longer line than usual only to find out it was going to take an hour for my order. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. I’ve never had that long of a wait for service.

At the very least, if they were running that far behind on orders, they could have placed a sign on the door warning people. That way, people who have other plans or are very hungry can go somewhere else without wasting 10-20 minutes in line.

They also weren’t taking orders today for a significant amount of time according to a sign on the door. I would definitely call ahead to make sure they can even serve you.

If you’re seeing a show at Spotlight, there are several fast food options near the theater.

If you really want pizza before the show, make plans to eat at Gillum’s in Richmond several hours before the show. Great pizza and I’ve never had a bad experience there.

If you want a good garlic breadstick covered in garlic butter similar to what they serve here, you can get it at Joe Bologna’s...

Well I was told this was the best place to eat in Berea. The line was long and even the people in line said it was amazing. I wish I could say the same. By the time I sat down to eat my food..... the famous breadsticks everyone raved about..... was so cold, they became hard. The lasagna was good and somehow still warm. I waited for at least 25 minutes for my food. I was sitting right in front of the counter watching the waitresses walk by multiple times. I noticed when they placed a to go box under their warmer and after 10 minutes, I thought I hope that isn't mine because it had been sitting there for quite some time. I even commented at one point to another customer about it and noticed she also had questioned where her food was. Sure enough that was my food under the warmer for at least 15 minutes. When my food was finally handed to me, I asked " is it still hot?" And that I noticed it had been ready for quite a while. She replied yes.....well nope no it wasn't. Before bringing me my food, she was talking to another waitress and looking at me. They knew they were in the wrong and that I had been waiting far too long. I don't think I will be...