Cafe Santorini — Restaurant in Pasadena

The 4 of us went to Santorini Restaurant in Pasadena, CA on Saturday 06/18/2016 for the fathers day weekend (@ 12:45 pm for Lunch). After waiting for 15-20 minutes which was ok, we were seated in the front row. The waiter ( Oriental man & possibly Filipino or Chinese) came to our table & we ordered 4 glasses of water and an Appetizer (SANTORINI MEZZE TASTING) to start our lunch. After going over the Menu(5 minutes max.) we were ready to order our meals. The waiter came back & we ordered the following food.

1- MOUSSAKA 1- PENNE CON POLLO 1- YUVETS 1- SANTORINI LAMB SOUVLAK

I specifically asked the waiter to please make sure the SANTORINI LAMB SOUVLAK is well done and I don't want the meat bloody & pink colored inside. He told us not to worry and the chef will make sure the meat is cooked properly & he'll guarantee the meat is well done & not bloody. Also mentioned to the waiter that my wife would like to have the PENNE CON POLLO al dente or under cooked ( had to explain it to him for awhile what al dente/ under cooked is !!!) After waiting for 25-30 minutes our food arrived & that's when the disaster started. The PENNE CON POLLO came with a long black hair mixed in the pasta, a sign that this has happened in the kitchen & not during the kitchen to table trip. I immediately showed the hair to the cook and he said that he'll bring another one and did not apologize at all. My wife said "No thanks. after seeing the hair in my food I've lost my appetite" My dad started cutting his meat ( SANTORINI LAMB SOUVLAK) & surprised again, meat was rare & bloody inside. The waiter was called again & without any apology he said he'll take the meat back in the kitchen and will cook it more. My food (YUVETS) was extremely soggy and tasteless ( Only ate 1/5 of it) and did not look anything like the picture on their web site but, have to admit the MOUSSAKA was good and tasty. After waiting another 15 minutes the waiter returned the SANTORINI LAMB SOUVLAK and by that time my father had lost his appetite as he was discussed with the blood in his food the first time and did not eat his food. I explained our frustrations to the waiter and he said " Don't worry, the restaurant is not going to charge you for PENNE CON POLLO, that came with hair inside the dish, okay?". As if he's doing us a FAVOR & we were suppose to still pay for that dish. Not a single apology from the waiter or chef or a manager was said which was more frustrating. My dads dish(SANTORINI LAMB SOUVLAK) comes with tzatziki & hummus but, they realized that 15 minutes after returning the food for the 2nd time. The whole experience was bad and we are not going there anymore. This kind of treatment is not expected from a...

Love this place! My wife and I have eaten here several times over the years and it has never let us down - and that's an accomplishment for any restaurant! Food and service are excellent. The outdoor patio is where we ate last night and were we usually get a table. Being on the 2nd floor it has a very nice ambiance above street level.

I recommend reservations in advance especially for Fri-Sun evenings when it is usually very busy. We arrived about 40 minutes ahead of our reservation to what appeared to be a full restaurant and bar but, we were seated at a very nice table for 4 on the patio within 10 minutes which was a pleasant surprise.

Our waiter was professional and attentive as were all of the other service people. We started with Santorini Cafe's Grilled Calamari; baby squid served over mixed field greens & tossed with lemon Herb dressing and it was fresh and delicious. For the main course, I had the Moroccan lamb shank, braised with dried fruit and balsamic vinegar, herbed couscous, my wife the Chicken Kabob, our friends had Penne con Pollo, and Red Curry Risotto with Black mussels, Jumbo shrimp, clams, spinach & red onions.

We had a bottle of Klima Merlot/Kotsifail (2014) from Crete that was so good we ordered another! For desert we had the Elizabeth 'cake' - a Lebanese dessert that actually wasn't a cake but more of a firm white custard with a hint of rose water flavor cut in a square that was topped with pistachio pieces. A not too sweet way to finish the meal.

If I were to deduct anything it would be for the way too expensive bar drinks - nothing less than $14 which I find to be truly ridiculous (but all too common these days) and is why we didn't have any cocktails. The total tab for the meal including the 2 bottles of wine ($52/ea), 2 desserts and 2 coffees was a decent $275 for 4 people so I find it to still be a good value overall. The overall noise level was quite acceptable and coupled with the ambiance makes this restaurant a great place for a date...

Terrible experience.

My fiancé had a reservation here for her birthday 3 days in advance for 7 people. They ended up seating us on some horrible back room that was completely unfinished. Unpainted walls. Plastic folding tables. Ladders sitting in the corners. Storage boxes tucked away. No ambiance. Horrible lighting. There was no reason they could not have planned to have two tables put together in the main room or the nice patio. At the very least, inform parties they could be sat in a back storage room when they make the reservation.

The service sucked. Besides the manager who came to us as we waited for a proper table in the main dining, everyone else was cold and short with everything we asked of them. All the waiters save for a couple spoke broken English and were very unaccommodating. The hosts were overheard making a comment about our 5 year old son being with us. ( our son was mostly perfectly behaved and not a nuisance in any way ) Which leads me to our third complaint

We made the reservation for a birthday. They knew this. They never made a mention about the birthday or asked us about the gelato dish. We told them in the beginning we would order the flourless chocolate dessert in place of the gelato because my fiancé can’t eat dairy. So when the time came, the waiter asked if we still wanted the dessert. We said yes. Still nothing about her birthday. They gave us the check and charged $11 for a small piece of a flourless brownie. They never even mentioned the birthday. When we asked the waiter if they can comp the chocolate dessert he said “oh no absolutely not. But I will get the gelato” … lol oh ok buddy. On top of the horrible experience when first getting there, to be charged for what should have been comped and having a birthday completely ignored, it was a pathetic experience.

Bonus bullsh*t - The portions are terrible. On appetizers and...