Geppetto's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Oregon

I dined at this establishment this evening since it was highly rated on google and about a midpoint in my travels home, close to the freeway, etc.

I’ll note that our server was friendly, had no issues with service or any staff. I read on here others complaining about service but I can’t echo their sentiment.

That said, the food was the most disgusting food I’ve ever had in a restaurant. I ordered the lasagna, my husband had sausage carbonara, our daughter had spaghetti, and my grandmother had a combo plate of lasagna/spaghetti. We’ve been traveling all day and were really excited to eat there since the menu seemed solid, the restaurant was clean, and it smelled great when we walked in.

Our salads came and they were...beyond plain. And not to split hairs but the lettuce was too large to eat comfortably, shredded carrots, a few croutons, and that’s it. The dressing was thick. And tastes way too much like dill. That said, we figured maybe it’s just a bad dinner salad but lowkey felt like it was just a glimpse into what dinner would be like.

Aaaaaand it was. We will start with the “garlic bread”. Which was literally just like, old stale plain herb bread...that was extremely dry, served with little plastic dishes of hard butter. At first I was kind of taken back like, maybe that was what they serve kids...? Our garlic bread has to still be coming because that looks super unappetizing. Nope. That’s the garlic bread. I saw someone else post a pic of it and theirs was at least toasted and looked like it was already buttered. But ours was disgusting. I was embarrassed at that point for having chosen that place to take my grandmother to, because she wanted Olive Garden and I told her this would be fine bc the reviews were great.

Now the entrees. My plate came and was the exactly the image of what I might think food looks like in prison. There was SO much sauce, and literally nothing else. Inside my lasagna looked like cat food. You couldn’t tell what the heck I was eating. And it was kind of cold. The sauce tasted bland, sweet, and under seasoned. The meat...clearly the cheapest, worst ground whatever they could buy. The “cheese” who knows. I’m guessing there was ricotta in there but it was so mashed up and blended and ground and hideous! I was so disappointed. Now, I didn’t want to be ungrateful I figured maybe I just should have ordered something else. But after I got over trying to talk myself into eating my lasagna I looked up and to my amazement my grandmother had the same look of disgust on her face.

Her feedback was that she’d rather have Ragu than the spaghetti they served. Then she grabbed some bread and took one bite and said exactly what I was already thinking. “What the heck!”

My husband didn’t eat more than half of his food. He isn’t picky, pretentious, or too worried about what he eats if he’s hungry he will demolish whatever. He was starving when we arrived and didn’t finish his food, he NEVER does that. I tried his food and same. There was nothing special about his dish. Now, that said I have to stress that when I say there was nothing special about it, I don’t mean to suggest that I feel like “‘yeah it’ll do, it did the trick but wasn’t anything I couldn’t live without”. What I mean to say is this was the worst meal I’ve ever had. And they have no business charging the prices they do for the quality. It was dreadful! It was so much worse than “nothing special”.

My daughter, she liked it. But she’s a kid. Kids love noodles and simple food.

That all said, something has to be carrying this restaurant. It’s been established since the 70s. I read the people who own it now have only owned it for two years. I don’t know. Maybe they’re growing. Maybe they're going through staff turnover. Maybe the place is an awesome pizza place but the traditional items you’d find in an Italian restaurant...the pasta, the sauces, the bread...HUGE let down. You’d be hard pressed to find a more amateur lasagna...”garlic bread”...carbonara. I have to wonder if they even try their food.

Advice to owners:...

Summary of visit: Undercooked pasta, long wait time, and too small of portion

I don't feel the food is worth the cost. Mind you, I do not mind paying if the food is good!

We came in around 3:10 on a Saturday afternoon. Our food was served almost exactly at 4pm.

I got spaghetti with meat sauce, along with gluten free noodles. My wife got a chicken pasta dish, also with gluten free noodles.

First off, it took over 30 minutes to get the dishes. I don't think pasta should take that long. I cook gluten free spaghetti noodles all the time, it only takes about eight to ten minutes.

After waiting 30 minutes, the pasta actually was STILL not fully cooked and was quite el'dente. Very firm. Edible but not entirely enjoyable. Noodles are easy to cook guys! It's literally eight or so minutes required. I don't know what they were doing for 30 minutes the restaurant had barely any customers in it at the time.

The meat sauce was ok but even while hot, I could tell it was quite sour. Not bad enough to avoid eating but not how I normally like. Once I got my leftover spaghetti in my fridge at home and then later tasted it after it got cold, the sauce was starting to taste a lot like stomach acid. This shows the sauce was a bit too acidic and tomato in my opinion. It needs something to balance out the acidity. Typically when I make homemade spaghetti it's still delicious even when refrigerator cold.

My wifes dish was also undercooked pasta but the most annoying thing was the small portion they gave her. She said she had been to this restaurant twice before and the portion she got tonight was about half the size of previous visits. She literally had no extra to take home, while I did! Her dish was $23! When they brought the dish out I was surprised at how small the portion was.

I don't think I was impressed at all and probably would not bother going back. Salem is really lacking in Italian food.

Our meals cost $60 total with tip! Not worth it for the quality or amount of food we got.

Positives:

The Focaccia bread was light, airy, and tasty. A highlight.

We had the minestrone soup, it was very good, and piping hot , perfect. I don't know if they make that soup in house but it was great.

The service was excellent our waitress kept everything in mind and was great. The food was...

If I could leave a thousand stars i would.

I was very ready to leave a negative review yesterday, but it was NOT Geppetto's fault. I made the mistake of using Postmates.

I started to go off on POSTMATES which i will continue below, but the point is that Julie and the Geppettos team were unbelievably helpful, kind and more than willing to make things right.

Julie and her husband are the owners, Geppettos has been a local family owned restaurant for probably longer than the 40 years I've been alive.

When I expressed (and to be honest I was very rude in my email) my disappointment and frustration, Julie responded personally and professionally and offered solutions to make things right. She apologized for the things that were not even her fault, she took full responsibility and offered to correct the order and deliver it herself.

She did in fact hold true to her word. Julie i give you, not your restaurant or professional title or anything else but YOU as a person, my upmost respect and gratitude. This 🌎 would be a much better place with more people like you in it.

I encourage you all to support the local businesses with honest and kind people like Julie at Geppettos, the world is crazy enough, let us all come together and support each other when we can.

Now on to my rant about POSTMATES, who is NOT A LOCAL BUSINESS AND DOES NOT CARE....

Not only did Postmates charge me an additional $60 to what I ordered but the driver felt it was okay for him to make decisions for me on unavailable items I ordered or options that the POSTMATES site did not offer a choice without bothering to contact me, POSTMATES increases the menu prices, the "service fee" is not for the restaurant, they charge an enormous delivery fee AND ask for a...