Spaghetti Works — Restaurant in Omaha

Husband and I are in town for a short time for work. We decided to try what looked like a bustling Italian restaurant. The building itself and the outdoor seating was very inviting. Upon entering the restaurant, we loved the decor and old school vibe. We had high hopes for this restaurant as it was fairly busy, but oh how disappointing our first and only experience was. I will admit, I’m a sucker for a salad bar, especially when it comes with your meal, but the pasta dishes here were something out of a chef boyardee can. The sauces were extremely bland and the pasta was cooked well past al dente. The food was sub-par. Salad bar was basic but still good if you’re into leafy greens and veggies. The salad bars were kept clean by attendants that stand-by to refill and clean the area. Our female attendant was very prompt at refilling what was needed and cleaning the area if anything spilled. My husband and I were seated facing the other salad bar when we noticed a male attendant getting ready to switch out a large salad bowl but not before grabbing some lettuce out of the new bowl, bare handed, and eating it. This happened multiple times in the 45 seconds he was waiting for people to get out of the way so he could switch the bowls out. We were shocked and disgusted. I also would not recommend this place for couples or intimate settings. I hate to say it but Olive Garden is a step up from this restaurant. Think of Spaghetti Works as a Chuck E Cheese that serves “Italian food”, without the games and jungle gym. Definitely for family’s who want a bang for your buck, regardless of quality. The booth we sat in was descent but the family seated behind us was just a little too bonkers. Kids having temper tantrums throwing drinks and ice off the table. Even the busser that came to clean it was in shock. Our server came over not to apologize or to possibly offer us a different table, but to say, “You know, kids will be kids!” Oh, lol. No. That’s not normal behavior but thanks for trying. With that said, the children’s behavior is not a reflection of this restaurant and was not rated based on that experience, but for our server and the staff to be fully aware of how out of control that table was for almost an hour and to not offer us different seating arrangements, was unprofessional. Our server was new (she told us that), but she was nice. She was definitely flustered and overwhelmed with the 4 tables she had. We only saw her 3 times the whole hour and a half we were there. In all, we would not come back. For the sub-par food, witnessing the male salad bar attendant pulling and eating the lettuce with his bare hands he’s about to serve to customers, and the unprofessionalism of the staff, it’s a no for me. I’m hoping Omaha has...

Will never come here again, would recommend others to do the same. First off, had a party of eighteen and we were treated from the start as a non priority. Took 20 minutes at least to finally get drinks to the table, for instance. They did not make an effort to have enough seating for everyone, as some were eating dinner from their laps. The salad bar was unkept and the empty black olive container was being used as a trash cup. Table was sticky. Bread came at the end because they forgot. I'm sure they were understaffed, but that's not the point of this review. At the end of my meal, my 2 yr old threw up on me pretty good, likely his whole dinner. So I went to the bathroom to wash up. I took off my shirt in there because I needed to flush this red sauce out of it before it set in the sink. This bouncer guy who hangs out in the bathroom is instantly giving me business about this. I tell him to mind his own, I just got threw up on, etc. So he does, or so I thought. Their paper towel dispensers were not working well, so it took me several minutes to get four sheets to wipe off my pants. During that time, dude had returned with the general manager to the restroom and told me I need to leave or they are calling the police, treating me like I'm one of the drunks, but dressed in nice pants and a silk polo. So I tell them they need to chill out, we are spending too much money here to get treated like this, etc. Never did cuss at anyone, remember that fact. They continue picking at me, and I tell them maybe they should talk to my disabled wife about why they are throwing me out of the restaurant without me helping my wife and two children out. Then the GM tells the whopper. He proceeded to announce to everyone at the table that I was in the bathroom in my underwear with children surrounding me! Well my wife didn't believe that, but I don't know who else in the restaurant did! How absolutely embarrassing! Please don't eat here, it's not worth the harassment. I'm interested to see what their reply is going to be, I will be updating...

Pretty darn good! I am Italian, raised by an Italian grandmother who taught me to make Cannoli's from scratch— while this restaurant isn't anywhere near that level, it's still delicious!

I had their All-You-Can-Eat option with the salad bar, pasta with refills, and 2 Texas toast thick slices of garlic bread.

The salad bar was fully stocked during a busy dinner hour, and the iceberg lettuce was fresh. The ranch, like at many open bars, tasted fine, but it was questionable for me. I am a stickler with food safety and when something is lumpy, it makes me consider if they're not throwing the rest out at the end of the day. You can't keep adding fresh to an existing tub of sauce or the older stuff never actually leaves the tub. I don't like thinking that, so they could just pour what's left into a new tub and put it out so that you know it's tended to considerably.

The pasta was good; the Alfredo sauce with bowtie was my favorite. I also tried spaghetti with meat sauce, and the Italian sausage sauce. They were all pretty good.

I had a couple of drinks at the bar, the pour was actually reasonable. In my past experiences, Restaurants usually pour light for cocktails. I was very pleased, each serving was $5.50 which is pretty reasonable to me.

Service was A+ for the young lady behind the bar. Atmosphere was good. It's a family style dining layout with a few separations/half walls. It was a full house but I didn't feel crowded.

One improvement would be for the management staff on the floor to be respectful of your customers. I was speaking with the bartender and the female manager walked up to the well, completely ignored me while the bartender had eye contact with me, and just spoke over us to ask her a question. It was disrespectful and wasn't appreciated. If I have that experience again, it won't happen a...