Joe’s Italian Restaurant Farmington — Restaurant in Farmington

I tried this place twice before making any kind of judgement.

My second trip was one of the weirdest restaurant experiences I have ever had. We were seated right away, but right off the bat the server, Lakota, was antagonistic. She seemed upset when I asked for a Diet Pepsi. Like why? I'll admit that I'm not fluent in the Italian language, but was it really necessary to correct my pronunciation of every single menu item as I'm ordering? Weird and awkward.

Anyways, I went to Joe's for lunch with my sister. We ordered some focaccia bread as an appetizer and later a couple of lunch specials with salads. We both asked for Italian dressing with the salads. The dressing we received was nothing like any Italian dressing I have ever had. It was dark red with a very thick, almost gelatinous, consistency. I tasted it before putting it on my salad and, I kid you not, it tasted exactly like shrimp cocktail sauce. I questioned our server about it and she said that's the only Italian dressing they have, and said it in a very condescending way. Look, I understand there are millions of different recipes out there and each restaurant and chef can make things in a different way than I've ever had before, but either the servers here are completely wrong and don't know what they're actually serving customers, or it's simply a terrible dressing that tastes identical to shrimp cocktail sauce. Either way, not good. After that I asked for some ranch dressing and seemed to get a lot of attitude about that request as well. Our entree's tasted just fine.

At this point all me and my sister could do was laugh at the situation. Both of us just felt like the entire mood of the place was coming from a negative place and we were unwelcome. We didn't finish our food and tried to get out of there as soon as possible. You may be wondering if I was rude to the staff when we arrived and if that's why we were treated this way. All I can tell you is, no. I'm very shy and even while being treated like dirt had nothing but smiles and deference to the staff, and still tipped! I was just fully uncomfortable during my visit and wanted to crawl out of my skin. If they offered me lifetime free food I would still never go back...

My recent visit to Farmington led me to Joe's Italian Restaurant, a highly-rated establishment that quickly became my lunch destination. Located conveniently in a strip mall on the southern edge of Farmington, its impressive Google reviews and numerous testimonials were certainly a draw.

Upon entering, I was warmly welcomed by the staff. Despite being a bit past the usual lunch rush, a few patrons were still enjoying their meals. I was invited to choose any available table. After reviewing the menu, I settled on Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with a side salad and blue cheese dressing. My waitress was exceptionally cordial and attentive throughout my visit.

The salad arrived promptly, accompanied by three warm pieces of pizza bread. The aroma of the freshly baked bread was enticing, and the first bite was a delightful experience. While the salad was good, it wasn't exceptional, mainly due to the lettuce being slightly past its prime, appearing more yellowish-green than vibrant green. I don't attribute this to the restaurant, but rather to the challenges of fresh produce distribution in a city like Farmington, which is somewhat removed from major supply routes.

My main course, the Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, followed shortly. The noodles were cooked to perfection, and the sauce was truly outstanding. The chicken, while good, didn't quite reach the same level of excellence as the sauce and pasta. It seemed the unfortunate aspect was the quality of the ingredients rather than the preparation, which was flawlessly executed. Again, I suspect this is a consequence of Farmington's location, making it difficult to source the freshest and highest-quality produce and ingredients compared to more connected cities like Albuquerque, Santa Fe, or Las Cruces.

I firmly believe that if Joe's Italian Restaurant were situated in a larger city, its cuisine would easily rank among the top-tier in terms of quality and taste. Nevertheless, Joe's Italian Restaurant is a fantastic addition to the Farmington culinary scene. The consistent positive reviews on Google attest to its quality, and it's even more impressive considering it opened less...

We were excited to try the new Italian restaurant and tried calling for reservations many times over the last week with not one single response. The restaurant was definitely clean. Staff was regularly cleaning up tables and appeared to do a good job. Food was hit and miss. Bread and salad were very fresh and tasty and definitely better than most restaurants . We ordered the tour of Italy. Food and drinks were delivered very fast. Lasagna was room temperature and average to below average in taste. Chicken was very tough and well below average in taste and texture. The chicken was definitely difficult to cut even with the knife. The pasta with alfredo was excellent and fresh which was the only item on the main course that was. Atmosphere was quite basic with little decor and almost run down in appearance with fresh paint on the patched together surfaces. Kind of like ann older diner .Environment was much louder than normal with no sound treatment, so lots of echoing. Not a calm relaxing comfortable environment to spend a nice dinner at.

Service was exceptional though starting with a friendly greeting and ending with about the best server anyone could ask for . Our server was Sariah( as shown on the receipt because we couldn’t hear much with all the noisy background). She had a wonderful pleasant friendly demeanor and was very attentive.

Overall, a budget environment with some excellent food and most not as good as frozen food.

Prices were as expensive as the fancier chain restaurants in the area that have a much nicer atmosphere and more consistent better food than Joe’s

The service was outstanding The restaurant overall was...