Papa Ron's Pizza & Italian Steakhouse — Restaurant in Monteagle

Last night I made a decision to make an impression on my date gor the evening. Please note this was our 1st dale. So I and she drive 30 min to arrive around 8:15. The restaurant was moderately filled with 6 or more tables still empty, but there were at least 5 servers visible working the room. We were seated and finally after what Iconsidered a tad too long of a wait, a pleasant young lady asked what we wanted to drink.. we placed our order and again just ad we were wondering where she went... the drinks arrive. She then asks to take our order and we ask a few questions and then we are done. It was again a bit of a wait when salads arrived. However I took mental note that she never mentioned nor asked if we wanted warm bread with our meal. When she arrived she bolted from the table and never asked of we needed anything. I looked at my salad and was surprised to see it covered in black olives. Not a few that could be just moved aside if I didnt like them ... but coverd every square in of the salad. (Training 101.. the waitress should have mentioned the olives.. as some people may not want them.. and again if they were large or whole it would have been easy to eat around them) I have eaten all over this country I have never seen a Ceaser Salad with thinly sliced olives all over a salad. But at this point I wade through the salad. It was fresh and had an average taste. But after a wait of a few more minutes.. no show waitress never brought the warm bread. I leave my table to find her huddled in a corner with other waitresses. I ask her about the bread and she returns my question with a question..."oh.. you want some?" ... Duh! I teturn to my table and out comes some warm delicious bread with a tab of butter.. the amount was highly quarded and rationed like it cost the same as caviar. Really two swipes pf a knife and it was gone. I gave it to my date.. and I made use of the olive oil and black pepper... from the McCormick salt and pepper mills. Hmmm. Then we finally have our dinner arrive, mind you the waitress has NEVER came back this whole time to check on us. As soon as she sets the plates down... she is off again .. no asking if everything is to our liking or asking if we need anything else. Just Zoom! And now the difficult part! I noticed my Chicken Marsala were very very large portions... of whole chicken breasts on steriods! The Marsala was nowhere to be seen or tasted... it was more of a dem I glaze and less of a teaspoon at best. The chicken was very dry.. and it was covered in sligjtly melted shredded cheese and green onions? No mushrooms as advertised and melted cheese? I ate two bites and set it aside. After a few min it was abvious the staff was ready to leave and the waitress arrives at the table and leaves a check. No observation of a full plate sitting there practically untouched. Again after a long wait I take my check to the counter and no one knows where my waitress is. They dont ask about my experience..(wonder of wonders) and happily ask for $53 ... I gave the waitress a $5 for poor service.. but honestly I dont think anyone had trained her nor has she ever eaten anything beyond fast food. So I can sort of excuse her.. but after dining here for at least 20 years and a few owner changes... this was NOT the establishment I remember a couple of years ago.. and I dare recommend it for...

To preface: I have cooked in restaurants professionally and very rarely go out to eat.

My wife and I were visiting the area and it was my turn to pick.

Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted with a smile and sat promptly.

Our waitress was kind and professional.

The food:

First we tried the trio sampler of apps. The calamari was the frozen breaded rings, probably sysco or US foods. The mushrooms were our favorite part. They were breaded to order and by far the best of the three. The third were the mozz bites. Pretty averge cheese nuggies.

Served with 3 sauces. A delicious horse radish ranch and two bland, watery pizza/marinara sauces. It's not hard to make your own sauce, and if they incorporated a delicious San marzano sauce with basil and sugar, the restaurant would be known for it's delicious tomatoes sauce. As of now it tasted like a bland Sysco/USFoods sauce. If you own an Italian restaurant and can't do a tomatoe sauce better than Prego; what's the point of even cooking?

The wedge salad was really great. The lettuce was fresh and crispy.

I ordered a chicken carbonara.

Initial impressions was a loose, watery sauce. Chicken was cooked well. Pasta wasn't al dente and was also over cooked.

The sauce. Oh boy, the carbonara was a cream based Alfredo sauce with bacon. This wasn't a carbonara. It was chicken Alfredo with bacon. The Papa Ron's version of a chicken carbonara, as of this review, was more akin to eating a bowl of cereal: The penne was swimming in a watery Alfredo sauce called a carbonara because you added bacon. Absolutely ridiculous that you guys can honestly charge 17 dollars for a runny Alfredo with bacon and penne pasta.

This isn't a personal attack on the staff or owner, but have some pride in your food because what I was served tonight I can order...

Very nice Italian restaurant in Monteagle. We tried it out for the first time last Friday and liked it so much we went back on the following Sunday! On both visits the food was very good and the service was almost too good - more on that later. My wife tried the Jack Daniel Salmon and she said it was delicious. The chef's vegetable was asparagus that was nicely seasoned. I had the Black and Bleu pasta with steak - it was very good with the pasta not overcooked and the steak good. I also tried the Tiramisu which was creamy and good. We also tried the Baked Boursin cheese dip appetizer which was delicious , served with nan bread. Speaking of bread, the house-made Italian bread is outstanding and complimentary. The service issue was that we received our appetizer piping hot and quickly, and then our salad, and before we could even get halfway through our salad, our entrees arrived. On our second visit we had a little more time to eat our salad which was nice. Quickly getting your food is not that big a problem. On the second visit I had the Baked Spaghetti with meatballs. The spaghetti was very good, and the meatballs were decent, but I got some grisly chunks in the meatballs, but it didn't keep me from eating them! I also tried the long island iced tea which was very good. My wife had the grouper which she said was very good. We tried the spinach and artichoke dip which we enjoyed. My wife loved the extra-thin tortilla chips that were served with the dip. All in all a great choice - and it is right off of the I-24 exit. Free parking, wheelchair accessible, nice wine selection and custom mixed drinks. Fast service...