Celestino Ristorante & Bar — Restaurant in Pasadena

I walked in at 5 PM for dinner. I was the only person there. I’m walking with a cane right now and a waiter was polishing glasses on the patio and I had to ask him to open the door.

I walked in and the hostess sat me at the smallest table in the restaurant, even though it was empty. I told her that was unacceptable and I wanted to sit deeper in the dining room. She put me at four top to the side of the dining room, and I just decided not to fight her about it.

My waiter was wonderful. I ordered a Caesar salad, linguine with pesto because I’m allergic to red sauce and tomatoes and meatballs with pesto.

He told me the meatballs were in red sauce and I told him to have the red sauce removed and then cook them in the pesto.

The Caesar salad came out and I was eating it. It didn’t have much of a flavor so I asked for more Parmesan cheese, which Jesus provided to me. Once I put the cheese on, it was good but then I tasted something like a tomato. I called Jesus over and said I think there was a tomato in my salad and I’m allergic.

He went to the chef and asked the chef. The chef said it was a garnish. I said to Jesus, I told you that I couldn’t eat red sauce and I’m afraid what tomatoes will di to my system. I asked to see the manager who was not there yet.

The linguine came out wonderfully well. The meatballs were terrific. They balsamic and vinegar for the bread was phenomenal.

I finished my dinner. I asked the server to pack up the leftovers and told him I will wait for the manager who showed up at 6p

When I told him what had happened to me he argued with me. He said a tomato was a garnish and I said not when you have an allergy. He said that you had to tell your waiter and I said I did. I said garnishes or things like parsley but when people have allergies, you have to be careful. He got really pissed off at me and started arguing about everything that I had shared with him. I stood up and said I’m not going to talk to you anymore.

I yelled loudly in the restaurant to the three tables that were there. I’m never eating here again and the manager is an idiot. I asked the hostess to open the door because I was walking with a cane and I had my to go bag. She didn’t move from the podium. I repeated myself...

I had great expectations that were not met. The waiter was ok. Never once was I asked if my meal was prepared to our liking, as we were leaving I was asked was everything ok? He should have asked 45 minutes prior. I was so disppointed in the food. My water glass, smelled of eggs, they replaced it, the other glass smelled of eggs. The bread was somewhat warm, but hard and chewy. The grilled salmon was meh. I suspect it was precooked and reheated. It came with a lemon sauce, what a disappointment tasted as if it was made of Miracle Whip and a packet of lemon Kool-aide. It had a lemon with a seed screen, I removed the cover a dried lemon was hiding. The mixed vegatables were overly salted (I have a salty palate), they consisted of one baby bok choi, it was decent, one slice of zuchinni it was meh, and a slice of raw carrot (not warm but raw), as it was on the other plates. The carbonara was a disappointment, the bacon had been cooked long before, and was hard, very hard. The pasta side with tomato, basil and garlic was decent. The glass of white wine was warm, and tasted as if it was watered down, for the price I get better quality from boxed wine. The ambiance left a lot to be desired, there was Italian music being played, but it was drowned out by the mexican music coming from the kitchen, pick one or the other. The carpet needs to be cleaned, smelled of gym shoes. The bathrooms were not fresh, there was a sign on the door that explained that it was deep cleaned for our safety, when last year? Haha was there soap? When you use the facilities, you can easily see the less than clean kitchen. Having grown up in the food industry, the other places I worked had higher standards. I suspect must poor management and follow through. Over priced will never return. Much better meals available at the...

Overview: a genuine Italian experience that's lacking in a few major areas. Coming from the East Coast, this pales in comparison to 'Italian'.

Food: overall, it's alright. It'll hit the spot of 'I'm craving Italian', but you won't leave feeling like you just had a traditional true Italian meal. I got the special of a swordfish steak, and added in a dish of penne, extra. The steak was great but the meal lacked a proper amount of vegetables and carbs. In fact there was no carb (why I had to order penne). I was expecting a meal, not just a single meal item. we got asked if we wanted bread and butter, something every single restaurant offers and provides for free (at least every single one I've been to, up until now), we said yes and and up getting charged!! What?!? the penne was mediocre, literally something you can throw together yourself in 15 minutes at home. Nothing special here. the imported Italian beer they have is surprisingly good, the blond is better than the red! tiramisu was above average, if I'm being honest I can barely remember it .

Service: our waiter was an authentic Italian guy, almost stereotypically Italian, it was amazing. The accent, the vibe, and the energy he gave was spectacular, and was the most redeeming quality of the restaurant. He recalled the entire specials' menu from heart with every single ingredient it came with, incredible talent. He was very into our opinion of the food, how everything was, etc.

Other: stop charging customers for bread and provide it free, like normal restaurants. if you're making an entree, make it a legit entree. Protein, carb, vegetable/fruit, this is basic cooking. these little money saving tactics they do hurt their review. The fact that the transparency wasn't there is what makes this...