Cafe Corleone Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Paramount

I was in the area and I had a craving for Italian food, but I didn't want to brave the congestion at Olive Garden or sit through the formality of Sizzler to get it, so I came here.

I sat down and ordered Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken. The first thing I ordered was a simple coke. It was brought to me and when I tasted it, I was smacked in the buds by the cheaply sugared taste of some generic soda. It wasn't even up to the standards of RC Cola and felt more like carbon water sweetened with some cheap Kool-Aid knock-off. Little did I know that this would foretell of the miserliness to come.

The next thing to come was a round of garlic bread. Not bad, but not good. It was rather quotidian fare, but probably the best thing on the menu.

Offered a choice between soup or salad, I chose the vegetable soup. The stew was completely bland. It tasted exactly as though the cook had put three types of watery vegetables into a pot of boiling water. There was no taste to speak of other than neutrality. It was as if I were drinking hot water with a murky consistency.

The Alfredo was absolutely repugnant. Upon seeing it and smelling it, I knew it would be completely unsatisfactory. It smelled thickly of cheese, even in the absence of any cheese. The pasta looked like plastic, the sauce was slimy and greasy, and the chicken looked pink and cheap. Biting into the chicken, I discovered it to be tough, bordering on crunchy. I knew at once I was eating microwavable chicken breast chunks from a 30 lb. discount bag straight out of the freezer section of Costco or Walmart. I had to set the chicken aside on another plate.

The pasta was little better. The taste of the sauce was completely hideous.

This is a demonstration of what happens when you try to cut corners by using the cheapest ingredients you can find. I would have complained, but the list of problems was so long it would have been far more trouble than it was worth. I'm surprised this place hasn't been...

I loved my meal here. My family and I were in the mood for Italian type food, Since our last place closed down, we haven't really come across any Italian food that we enjoyed. We're not Italian food aficionados but we know What we like. After coming across reviews for Cafe Corleone, we decided we would try it out. I was not disappointed. The restaurant is kind of small and the decor makes it warm and inviting. The staff are friendly and attentive but not overly so. THE FOOD! The food was sooo good. As I've said, we don't know much about Italian food but we do know about comfort food and the care that goes into it. I ordered the Spaggetti with meat sauce and two meatballs, my husband ordered Chicken cacciatore and my two kids shared the Shrimp Alfredo. My Spaghetti was delicious! I could taste the cooking of the tomatoes as if there may have been a bit of olive oil and sizzling involved at one point in its making. My husband's chicken cacciatore (which he ordered because of the mile long list if veggies in it) was flavor packed and I could taste every different veggie in it but it all married to make one tasty dish. The Alfredo (yes, we all tasted eachothers food lol) didn't taste like I had come to think Alfredo is supposed to taste. It was so. much. better! I could taste the fresh cream/real butter maybe. All in all, it was a great meal and I will most definitely be...

I'm only giving it 4 stars for now because I've only ordered the meatball sandwich for carry-out. So I'm reserving my final judgement for the time I take my fiance to have dinner. The menu had quite a few savory looking choices, and I know that my girl will definitely be looking to try the salmon plate. As for the meatball sandwich, it was absolutely delicious. The bread used was so soft, but not mushy (like what can happen if a marinara sauce is too oily). The meatballs and sauce were great tasting and full of flavor, and the side of potatoes that is included is seasoned so well. Even though I only picked up my order for takeout, the brief time I was inside brought back some fond memories of growing up working at the small family owned restaurant that my grandmother ran. Their servers were very polite and seemed pleasant (maybe when I take my fiance I might test a bit to see how knowledgeable they are about their menu...lol jk, they seemed like nice kids). The overall ambiance of the place seemed very relaxed and it wasn't fancy (in a good way). It was simple and done right. I look forward to a dinner date sometime...