Pasquale's Osteria — Restaurant in Norwalk

Not much to like about this place, and I was unpleasantly surprised based on the generally positive reviews on Google. I'll start with the poor service: Came with a party of 6 on a recent Thursday. There was 1 waiter on shift, which might have been enough based on the amount of patrons but he certainly didn't seem interested in tending to us. Odd, because we had the largest party there. We ordered 2 appetizers, 1 of which was meager sized considering the price and portion expectation based on industry standard for fried calamari. Instead of rectifying the problem he shrugged it off with "that's the appetizer portion". Trust me, I have eaten at dozens of italian restaurants in my life, and that was not an appetizer portion. Moving on... when the entrees arrived, he and a colleague placed them down and he proceeded to refill water glasses. He accidentally poured some water into one of the entree plates. He seemed to have noticed and didn't say anything (I was looking at him when it happened, he appeared to try and move on hoping nobody saw). Another person saw and pointed it out to him. He again didn't offer to rectify the problem by bringing out a new plate, or offering to remove the cost from the bill. We let it go. We then asked for a slight modification to a side dish he brought out and he huffed and gave an eye roll.. then said it will be a few minutes. We were largely forgotten about after that, and there was quite a bit of waiting between us finishing our meals and the check being offered. By the way, prices for each meal were ~$3 more than their advertised prices on their website. It's poor for a business to not update their online info to be accurate, especially when it comes to pricing. It feels dishonest. As for the food: That previously mentioned small appetizer of fried calamari was poor quality. Tasted only like vegetable oil and straight out of a freezer, not homemade like you would expect at these rates. The other appetizer had an odd flavor; I believe they put way too much oregano in both the sauce and ricotta cheese mix. No one at our table enjoyed it. Moving on... If one orders an entree that does not come with a side of pasta, you will receive exactly 1 small potato wedge, 1 broccoli stalk, and 5-6 green beans on the side. Oddly, this can be seen even in the restaurant's own posted online images. It's not an adequate side for these entrees, regardless of cost. It's interesting where ownership chooses to pinch pennies. The chicken on my plate was adequately sized, but was drenched in an overly oily, nondescript tomato based sauce that did the chicken no favors. The Butterflied shrimp tasted good in the dish. Others at the table felt their meals were passable, nobody raved about any of it. I have no grudge here, and I tried to be objective as possible in how our experience went. I imagine there are much better restaurant options nearby for...

I went to eat dinner with my friend on December 16 , 2022 . We didn’t have a reservation and I understand it . First of all the waiter with a very heavy Italian accent barely accomodante us in a way that we were feeling comfortable making believing that all the other table would have been reserved to someone else . So ok we sit were he told us to sit even if we didn’t like it . Therefore only on two of the table he mentioned were reserved and the one he didn’t give to us and we asked for was left empty for the rest of the night ! We order some clams oreganata and I know how clams oreganata should be .since I am Italian and I know Italian food very well . It was smelling like dead fish defrosted 2 /3 times the quality of the cooking was not even to be considered a standard way with a bit of Marsala wine browned not even flavored or stuffed with fresh garlic herbs and white wine or sautéed procedure like the Italian restaurant like Nino’s or T& J does it with a flavor and quality taste that will really make a customer enjoy it ! Portion of snapper livornese was excessively heavy in red gravy sauce and poor in side vegetables not even to be considered a reasonable portion. We pay for wine more than food for 2 glass of Cabernet and Chardonnay of cheap house wine . We order a tiramisu at the end and it was tasty like old not fresh to be considered as it should be . I would not even give a one star at this premises old fashion way and bad food . Not funny we paid $133 Plus $26 tips Very disappointed I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone you...

Our children hosted a 50th anniversary dinner celebration for my husband and myself at Pasquale's in August. We are frequent customers of Pasquale's so we knew that the food would be delicious. There were thirteen of us at the dinner and the service and food was beyond compare. My daughter and daughter-in-law had previously chosen the family style appetizers and then everyone chose their main course from the menu. Everything was delicious but more than that the service was outstanding which it usually is but to serve thirteen dinners at exactly the same time was wonderful. The waiters were constantly checking to make sure everything was perfect and that we had everything we wanted. I am so happy that my children chose Pasquale's for this memorable occasion. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who appreciates good food and...