Padrino's Bistro, Italian Steakhouse & Pizzeria — Restaurant in Hamilton Township

Disappointing. Do not understand all the rave reviews. If this is your idea of "the best Italian restaurant," you're eating in the wrong places. Decided to try it for Mother's Day. We arrived to find a special à la carte menu, no mention of this was made on their website and the restaurant was not busy enough to warrant one. None of the traditional Italian favorites (i.e. Parmigiana, Piccata, etc. appeared on the menu and there were few choices. This is fine for adults, but can be a problem if children are in your party. Server was extremely inattentive. Took our order and at that time we asked for more bread. Food took quite a while to arrive and the server never checked in with us a single time, to reassure us the food was coming, to see if we needed anything, etc. When the food finally arrived, I can only say it was mediocre at best. I ordered Veal Sorrentino, which was supposed to come topped with jumbo lump crab meat. The crab meat was almost non-existent and one of the four very small pieces of veal was so tough in spots I actually had to spit it into my napkin, because I was unable to chew it. The sides of garlic mashed potatoes and string beans were served barely lukewarm and were bland. The pasta served to the others in my party was better, but nothing spectacular when I sampled it. Not once did our server check on us after the meal was served to see if everything was to our satisfaction or to see if we needed anything and the bread we asked for? It didn't arrive until we were almost finished eating, including the long wait time for the food. If you are going to price your food as that of a high end restaurant, both the food and the service should justify that price and this experience was no where...

What a shame. We used to eat here quite often, but never again. My boyfriend has a severe sensitivity to tomatoes, and he asked if he could have an entree with regular alfredo or cream sauce instead of tomato cream sauce. The waiter said yes, and seemed to understand (we informed him of why he couldn't have tomatoes). When the meal came, the sauce had a blatantly obvious orange tint. We asked the waiter if there were any tomatoes in the food - he said he would ask the kitchen. The waiter came back and said nope, no tomatoes. We thought, ok....maybe he's right. Why would he lie? Boyfriend took a bite and immediately recognized tomato. I did as well - plus, we pulled several tiny pieces of tomato out of the sauce.

The only reason I'm giving them one star is that the waiter knew they screwed up and we didn't have to pay the bill. The kitchen either lied to the waiter (plain laziness), or the watier never even asked the damn kitchen, and he lied. Whatever happened, the "free meal" was no cure for my boyfriend throwing up all the way home, and the massive migraine that came on shortly after.

Here's some advice for the owner: when one of your patrons asks for an entree a particular way, there's usually a reason - whether it's personal preference, or due to someone's HEALTH. If you can't prepare a dish in an alternative way, then be honest - the patron can pick another dish. We never have any issues with any other of the other amazing Italian restaurants Hamilton has to offer. Padrino's customer service has taken a giant nosedive - they obviously don't care about your dining experience or your health needs. What an...

Wow! I can’t say enough good things about Padrino’s, Marco, and the staff. We had my mother’s 50th birthday party here, and the service and food were incredible. The staff really went above and beyond to make sure we had a memorable time. From helping us decorate, to fixing our cake (which was ruined in transit), to bringing out gluten-free pasta – not by request, but simply by generosity and with the intention to help make the day a little bit more special knowing that I wouldn’t have been able to partake in the pasta course without doing so. The food was incredible – everyone had such good things to say, such as “Wow! The food is so good!” and “Delicious!” and “Here, try this – it’s amazing!”. Nothing fell short of impeccable. And on top of it all, the portions were generous so no one left hungry. Having a party of 20+ people, it’s somewhat expected that the food won’t all come out hot, or as tasty, or in a timely fashion, but the Padrino’s staff really put that myth to bed. Everything was hot upon arrival, absolutely delicious, and we received one course after the other without being rushed into finishing or removing plates from the table. Everyone was polite, super helpful, and willing to go the extra step to making our experience a great one – and they certainly did just that! I’d recommend Padrino’s to anyone – for parties and for casual, even upscale, dining. You definitely won’t be...