The Old Spaghetti Factory — Restaurant in Chesterfield

We were here for the first time two weeks ago and it was awesome. Tonight was far from awesome and just plain weird. Our waiter was very robotic, rehearsed and spoke in third person using us, our, we and folks with anything he said. He NEVER said I, you or me. It was like he was eating dinner with us. For example... Okay folks, we'll be back with our drinks. We'll get those menus out of our way and brings us our soup and salad. It was as if he didn't even see us as real people. I was so completely distracted by the way he spoke and there was no eye contact either. When he brought my food, I asked for grated parm, like my daughter had and he told me I could use the shaker on the table which was not fresh. I said, you can't grate some and he said no. He didn't offer to bring any from the kitchen either. When my food came, it was different than the last time. I understand different cooks, but last time my vesuvius had a lot of pieces of sausage and meatballs with the chicken. Tonight I counted one small piece of meatball and 3 slices of sausage among a sea of chicken. That was very different from the first time and different from the description of the meal on the menu. After I was denied my request for grated cheese, a female waitress came out and said that our waiter had to leave for a family emergency. I was stuck waiting for water for a while because of the switch. I started to feel bad and think maybe it was so awkward because he was preoccupied, but then about 10 minutes after she said that I saw him bring out bread to another table. Perhaps, he was assisting another server before leaving, but this whole experience was just very strange and not at all the relaxing break I was hoping for since my daughter has been up here in the hospital for several weeks and I don't get out much. I finally decided to speak to the manager about it and he said he didn't know the waiter to speak that way and that he too talked like him. He said that if I would have brought the meal to his attention he would have fixed it. Then he said they don't offer grated cheese only the cheese on the table. I said my daughter had grated cheese on her food, so there wasn't grated cheese in the kitchen he could have brought me? He said well yes the kitchen had some, but there are cheese shakers on the tables for our guests. I said ok, well I was just looking for some clarification on what happened here and started to walk out, because all he did was make a bunch of excuses and said he'd "take care of it ". I said as I walked out that I was sure of that. He knew I was being sarcastic, but all he did was blow me off and make an uncomfortable situation much worse. Then I walked out of the building and realized I left my dang purse and I was already upset and tearing up and now had to walk back in and get my purse. I walk in and he is talking to a woman at the bar and several waitstaff about me!!! I don't think this situation could have been handled any less professionally, so at that point I asked him if I could get the corporate number. He said yes, but he wasn't sure what I wanted him to do. I said all I wanted was some validation and to have a decent dinner out, but instead when I told him what the waiter was doing he was justifying and telling me it didn't really happen that way, because he didn't know the waiter to be that way. He said he'd be back with the number. At that point I was completely in tears and just thought of leaving. He came back with the number on a card and had a gift certificate. I found it very strange that he had no problem blowing me off and it wasn't until after I asked for the number to corporate after he was talking to his employees about me that he finally tried to make it right. At this point, I'm not sure if I will ever come back. He had the opportunity to validate my concerns and make me feel heard and instead he told me what I said didn't happen, and it was my fault the food wasn't corrected, (when I was without waitstaff) and then decided to talk about me to his staff when I left. What...

My husband and I had invited my son and daughter-in-law to go out to dinner to celebrate my son's birthday (which was actually in 2 days). We were able to make an online reservation (a very easy process) and were seated as soon as everyone in our party had arrived. Unfortunately, I do not remember our waitress's name. She had long hair and glasses, young, petite and average height. She took our drink and appetizer orders very efficiently. We had cheese-garlic bread and the hot spinach dip. Both were served hot; we already had appetizer plates available. The aps arrived not long after being ordered. They were delicious. Our salads arrived soon thereafter and were prepared exactly as we had ordered. Fresh warm bread was also brought to the table with an easily spreadable butter. Next, our entrees arrived, also hot and prepared exactly as we expected. Dessert was the last course, and they honored my request for chocolate topping on my vanilla ice cream. Plus they put a little birthday candle in my son's spumoni! There is plenty of parking at this restaurant, and there is handicapped parking available. The doors are very majestic and large when you enter the restaurant. They are able to be opened easily, but if you are arthritic, they might be daunting to push. They have a very beautiful and elegant waiting area, with comfortable seating and restroom facilities available. We had a reservation, but I saw parties coming in that were seated immediately. The restaurant itself is large, it has plenty of space to navigate. My husband uses a walker and he was able to get through easily. The restaurant was not loud; we were able to converse easily. We were seated next to the window. There was a small parcel of time that sunlight was in my husband's face even though there was a shade on the window. The sun set not long after we arrived so it really was not a problem. Our waitress was very experienced. She came at exactly the right times to make sure that our dining experience was going well. She refilled drinks on a timely basis. The plates were cleared from the table in an efficient manner. Our waitress came to the table because we were expecting our bill to arrive. And much to our great surprise, we found out that a woman and her daughter had already paid our bill. They had also been dining in the restaurant. For some reason they chose to pay our bill. We never saw them. The waitress said that the women did not know us. I am hoping that they see this review and know how extremely appreciative and touched we all were to be given such an honor. I myself had tears in my eyes to realize that there are some truly beautiful and kind people out in this world. You honestly made my day. On a personal level, I had a few hardships that I was dealing with yesterday, and today it felt like someone had been sent from the heavens to show me that there is always a silver lining. So my family and I say thank you to the mother and daughter who gave us an anonymous gift. We will pay it forward. We left the restaurant and one of us did need to use the restroom before heading home. The restroom was very clean, as was the rest of the restaurant. The hostess staff at the front of the reception area did thank us and say goodbye to us as we were leaving. (That show of gratitude towards a customer is important to...

So the misses felt like spaghetti and meatballs, we stopped for her to try them out here. I wish I could give this place a good review. The service was wonderful, the inside was very nice, and the bar was well stocked, and looked great. Bread with butter was nice as well. Now for the Cons, they give military discounts ONLY ON TUESDAYS. I appreciate any one who gives military, police, and Fire Dept a discount, but limiting it to one day is kinda sad. How about 10% on Tuesday and 5% the rest of the time. The second was the salad, it was ok, Not even close to Olive garden salad, could be a little fresher, The spaghetti and meatballs was lacking, the spaghetti tasted like plain regular spaghetti at the supermarket for a dollar, and the meat balls were a little smaller than I expected (that's what she said). Not much, just a little. The meatballs also were very plain, no seasoning. I didn't taste garlic, onion, or anything. I didn't even pick up on any real flavor. Also, not really a meaty flavored either. Tasted more like filler/bread than actual beef. Chef Boyardee meat balls have more flavor. Really sad, she is Italian, and I love good flavor. For a dish that's $20.00 with a very small salad, and one small scoop of ice cream, the price doesn't fit the food you get. For bland meatballs, I expect at least 3-4 of that size, with maybe some more sauce with more flavor to counter the lack of flavor from the meat. The sauce seemed pretty basic. Maybe it was a bad night for meatballs, and sauce. Ice cream at the end was fine, 1 small scoop of chocolate, cherry, pistachio. That was good. I don't think I will come here again unless a group I am with really wants too. And I'll update if I do. Last thoughts, if you're doing a family owned, and pure Italian family operated restaurant, please make sure at least the spaghetti and meatballs taste like it is an Italian family recipe. Not a bland, bread ball, that tastes like the same bread...