The Italian Kitchen West — Restaurant in El Paso

Back when I was a kid growing up in Detroit, there was a place called The Spaghetti Palace. It wasn't authentic Italian food, but they made Italian food that Americans would no doubt enjoy. Yet following a local renaissance of what authentic Italian cooking was like through the 1990's, The Spaghetti Palace went out of business as a bunch of authentic Italian restaurants took their place. It wasn't that the replacements were bad, but they didn't have the same type of casual flavor that you could find at The Spaghetti Palace...

Fast forward to my trip to El Paso when we got the opportunity to go to The Italian Kitchen West. The interior wasn't anything fancy but it was still cozy. We perused their beer/wine selection and were glad to see they stocked Peroni and Moretti as their beers. The selection was what you would expect of Americanized Italian - Meaning pizzas, pastas, salads with Kraft-style dressing, chicken parm, store-bought garlic bread, and the like. The meal didn't break us, and the meat sauce was pretty hearty. While the service was great from the staff, an arguing couple nearby made the event uncomfortable for my guests so we decided to leave early. I was able to take everything home, which tasted just as fine reheated as it did when actually served.

Was it the "real" Italian experience or the type of high-end place you'd bring a first date to? Probably not. But it is the type of place where being casual reigns supreme and can greet you with a beer and a plate of tasty pasta after a long day. My party and I enjoyed it and we'd...

I am incredibly disappointed, I had been wanting to try this place for a long time. We went and placed an order to go because we wanted to enjoy our food at home. The order was incorrect, and the menu on their website is apparently out of date because one of the items that we wanted they no longer serve apparently. We were waiting for 45 minutes before anybody updated us on our order, they explained that they lost the ticket and were trying to rush it out as soon as possible. We finally got home and realized that one of the sandwiches we ordered was completely incorrect. We didn't have any modifications on it but the sandwich was just not the one we ordered. The food itself was not good, and for them having lost a ticket and rushing the order everything was pretty cold. I don't live far I live less than 2 minutes from the restaurant. We ordered the lasagna as well, The pasta was overcooked and needed a lot more sauce. I really wish that they I better quality of food standards. I would personally feel embarrassed knowing that my food is going out like that. I don't particularly have any issue with the staff but the place just seemed poorly managed. Obviously don't know what happens behind the counter, but from what I saw the restaurant was not busy and it was during a weeknight, no holiday. I apologize for the long post, but I'm hoping that if the owner/management sees this they might see it as an opportunity to focus in on what needs...

i’ve been dying to try this place for so long because i had been craving bruschetta for weeks! we got seated immediately and it took our waitress 20 minutes to get out drinks and we waited an extra 10 to get our order taken. others next to us had sat down maybe 20 minutes after us and they seemed to have gotten other things before us. when we got the bruschetta, the bread was toasted but it was soft like it had been sitting out for a while and it had wayyyy too much vinaigrette on it, almost like drinking an entire spoonful off it. the bread was soggy from all of the dressing and the tomatoes and little salad on the side were just not good. we waited an extra 40 minutes to get our soup and salad, while the tables next to us had gotten them before us. 40 minutes for a salad is RIDICULOUS. when we actually got out pasta, we could tell just by looking at it that it had been sitting under a heating lamp for at least 15 minutes. it was dry on top and cold. we then just decided to leave. as a server myself, i understand how it is when it’s busy, but our server never tried to update us on or food or refill our drinks and it felt like we were less of a priority than other tables... i was really looking forward to this place and i’m so disappointed how it...