The Old Spaghetti Factory — Restaurant in Spokane

9.2.25: First time at this location for my friend's birthday dinner and since we live in North Idaho, it was any an hour ish drive. We were starving and hoped the wait was worth it. I used Google's online reservation system, which was really simple and easy. When we walked in the door, we were greeted and told the hostess we were in 15 minutes early. She was able to sit us right away. It wasn't too busy at first but picked up by the time we left. Ambience was quiet and lightning was on the dim side. It made for a relaxing environment and we even got sat at a booth with a window.

Our server, Scott, right away said he would be right back. After a few minutes of scanning the menu, Scott returned to take it drink order and thanked us for our patience. Since cotton candy is my fav, I couldn't resist not ordering the Cotton Candy Limeade. It arrived with cotton candy on a stick, which I wasn't expecting and loved it! The limeade itself was really delicious and not too sour. My friend ordered a vanilla Italian Soda and liked it so much he ordered a 2nd one, which was perfect because now we both have souvenir glasses. Scott was awesome enough to give us two fresh clean glasses to take home.

So with Spaghetti Factory's 3-course setup, I went with the garden salad with thousand island as my appetizer, traditional spaghetti with manager's choice of two sauces: Mizithra Cheese & Browned Butter and traditional Marinara Sauce, as my entree, and traditional spumoni for dessert. My friend ordered the lasagna and a side of 2 meatballs (he was quick and I only got a pic of 1 meatball lol). As for an appetizer, we went with the Sicilian garlic cheese bread.

My salad was good but nothing out of the ordinary. The garlic cheese bread was phenomenally awesome. It was soft, hot, and cheesy--the marinara dip was nice and rich and complimented it very well. My spaghetti arrived picturesque-like and they did a great job keeping my 2 sauces separate. The noodles were perfectly tender--al dente to a T. The Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter sauce is so flavorful. Although not really saucy, it's my first choice if I'm not feeling saucey. The melding of flavors explodes your mouth with tasty goodness. It almost reminds me of a dry white Alfredo. Let's not forget about the marinara sauce with its rich robust tomato flavor blended with just the right amount of spices. I thoroughly enjoyed my spaghetti plate and ate it all. Boo for no leftovers lol. My friend said hands down it was the best lasagna he's had in years. Because everything we ate was so flavorful, he said the meatballs were great but pretty ordinary. The spumoni scoop of ice cream for dessert hit the spot. I love pistachio and it had a good pistachio taste and enjoyed the 3 distinct flavors versus all 3 flavors just blending into weirdness.

Scott was a friendly server, checked on us at all the right times, and overall added a nice vibe to our dinner. We left so full I think I waddled outta there haha. We'll...

The food was absolutely delicious. Family members at my table ordered Spaghetti with Clam Sauce, Spaghetti with Mizithra Cheese, and Lasagna.

Our waitress was delightful. And the birthday celebration dinner went well. But, there was a little problem communicating about our reservations so I want to pass some advice on to anyone wanting to eat in the trolley car (inside the restaurant).

Two weeks prior to our dinner, I called to make a reservation. I said we had a party of nine, five adults, four youth. I reserved the date and time. She said she couldn't ensure that we could sit in the trolly car because it's first come, first served.

The second time I called, I asked to change our reservation to a different day. No problem. I reminded them that we wanted to sit in the trolley. I was told that there are tables for four and tables for two. So they could not seat a party of nine in the trolley. So I asked if the four youth could at least sit in the trolley. I was told they could. We agreed that the five adults would sit near the trolley since a table of four could accommodate the kids.

We arrived at the restaurant fifteen minutes early, just fifteen minutes after they opened, no one was seated in the trolley. I let them know we had arrived so we could be seated. I was informed that they could not possibly divide a party. I was also informed that the kids (ages 10, 11, 11, and 12) were too young to be seated alone.

I told them this had all been arranged over a week ago. I also mentioned that the trolley car was the reason we chose this restaurant. I was told a manager would come speak to us.

It turned out ok. They finally did seat the kids at a trolley table. The adults were seated next to the trolley so we could monitor the kids.

I hope this information will be helpful when you call to make reservations for your group. Be sure to ask a lot of questions. Not every employee who answers the phone will give the same information.

I am grateful that they did accommodate us, but it felt a little "iffy" for a few...

Sooo... The good: 1. excellent wait staff (attentive and friendly but not overbearing) 2. Love the decor: brick, paintings, velvet furniture, chandeliers 3. The fresh baked bread and whipped butter is GD delightful, I could absolutely gorge on this 4. Anytime I've made a reservation, no matter how crowded, I get in at my reservation time. 5. The facility is completely nut free (and for anyone with a nut allergy, this is a relief) 6. I love the menu option of having multiple sauces with my pasta. It's a great way to try new things, or mix flavors that compliment each other

The Average: 1. tomato based pasta sauces tasted tinny, a true sign they are not homemade, nor long cooked, as is proper 2. The salad is literally bag mix and croutons which I don't consider a legitimate salad, I expect tomato, cucumber, & onion at minimum (good dressing though).3. The Caesar salad is $2 more per meal and is the cheaper salad mix but with Caesar dressing. Baffling.

The bad: the bathroom (male & female) is one toilet each for a very popular packed restaurant and was quite dirty (both of them) and lacking toilet paper. This is a red flag to me for a restaurant. Staff should be ensuring your bathrooms at an eatery don't have pee on the floor and are well stocked with toilet paper. If that is how you keep your bathroom, I become concerned about how your kitchen's cleaning standards are. I went to Trader Joe's afterwards and their bathrooms were impeccable. No reason a grocery store should have cleaner bathrooms than a restaurant... 2. When it has been busy my food has been brought before I've even eaten half my salad (not a huge deal), and has been consistently lukewarm at best (definitely a big deal). This implies you didn't even warm my food up properly because the kitchen was rushing, and the food here is not cheap enough for those kind of mistakes to be happening repeatedly.

Overall, after giving them multiple chances, I simply will not be...