Dino's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Westminster

This was my secret weapon for over 30 years. Nearing the end of raising 4 children, we are all veteran Dinos diners - hands down, the best meatballs this side of the Atlantic. Since we now live 40 mins away, this is a special occasion treat. On Friday, we came as a party of 5 for my daughter's 16th birthday. We arrived at around 5:40, the place was nearly empty - maybe 8 other customers. It took about 15 minutes for our initial order to be taken, but that did finally happen. We ordered a large pie, some spaghetti, some ravioli, some moz sticks, minestrone, sodas, and of course plenty of meatballs. By 6:15 we had been there over 30 mins and still no drinks. Another couple came in and sat across from us. Our same waitress took their order. They immediately received their drinks. Our waitress apologized for our delay and brought sodas and the moz sticks. The couple across from us received their entire dinner. We had been there about 50 mins and had moz sticks, they had been there maybe 20 mins and had their entire dinner. The wife and I exchanged very quiet and polite looks, but said nothing else. About 5 mins later, our waitress walked by, stopped and apologized again. She said that they had an unexpected large dinner crowd (??), had run out of prepared food, and was cooking ours fresh! It would be out in another 5 mins. Now, my wife and I both looked around a basically empty restaurant. I say 'empty' because we've seen Dinos absolutely busting at the seams full - and this was definitely EMPTY. Ok, so we were lied to. Doesn't matter, something was wrong, but we would just get through it. Dinner arrived. The minestrone was absolutely horrible. It was luke warm if that, and all of the vegetables were still raw and crispy. The onions could not even be eaten. It was just awful. My daughter and I had spaghetti, the wife had ravioli. My daughter asked for some parmesan added to her pasta dish, so we gave her the jar on the table and she added it. After a few bites, she said it all smelled and tasted strange. She refused to eat the rest of it. I ate half of mine and one meatball, and I agreed it did not taste right. It is now past 7 o'clock, everyone is frustrated and angry, so we ask for containers so we can take it home and just leave. Worst restaurant experience since I can remember, and daughter's birthday dinner destroyed. About 3 AM, I awoke to such severe nausea and diarrhea... I will spare you the details. In the middle of THAT, my daughter woke up saying she felt sick. Then my wife got up with all of us saying she had thrown up an hour earlier. All 3 of us who had pasta, minestrone and meatballs were sick as dogs while the two boys who only had pizza were fine. Now, an entire family who has regularly spent their money there for over 30 years, will never spend their money there ever again. I can't imagine the taste of those meatballs again, after throwing them up all night. In addition, an entirely NEW generation of paying customers will all now likely never patronize that restaurant ever as adults. The loss is staggering... but it is what it is. We had no real plan B. If we had a plan B restaurant, it was Hometown Buffet, but that's not an option anymore. Not going to drive almost an hour and prepare to spend over $100 just to gamble on another disaster. Good luck in the future, Dinos, and good luck to anyone who can gamble with their dinner and/or...

Grabbed a family meal for my coworkers and I.

Parking: Free parking lot.

Ambiance/Environment: They have a large space with plenty of seating. Perfect for large groups. There’s claw machines right when you enter. The register is in the center to the left when you walk in. The interior design can use an update since it is outdated. I visited during early dinner at 16:00 and it wasn’t as busy, but I was told they do get a rush in the evening.

Service: Too many names to list, but everyone was courteous, quick, & efficient. Since I did have a large order, throughput took about 45 min. It was worth the wait though.

Foods: I got the Family Meal option #1 which came with a large pizza, garlic bread, antipasto salad, and lasagna. I ordered the chicken Alfredo pizza. This was absolutely delicious! The pizza was huge, and the crust was thick! The sauce tasted exactly like Alfredo, and there was a generous amount of cheese. The salad tasted as expected, and it had lots of toppings. It came with ranch and thousand island dressing. If the pizza wasn’t fulfilling enough, the lasagna will definitely do the trick. There were layers of pasta, meat, red sauce, cheese, and more cheese! This was so mouthwatering! The garlic bread was cheesy and garlicky. The buffalo wings, celery, carrot, & chicken strips tasted as expected.

Pricing: The Family Meal is $45.99. Definitely worth it! We enjoyed everything and left...

What can I say? The place is run down. The paint is bad and the place smells like old cheese. The only food they do OK on is the pepperoni and cheese pizza. They use plates that look like they are out of a prison cafeteria. I ordered spaghetti with tomato sauce and they served me meat sauce. When asked about it I got a dumbfounded look from the fat waiter as if I should not be complaining. It was not even dinner service and they made my family and I wait too long for a menu and drink order. Upon asking the fat waiter about why it took so long he replies that they were busy and if I wanted to order or not. If you have ever seen this place you will tell that it doesn't have enough seats to be busy. More like incompetent staff that I saw screwing around behind the counter on several occasions. I didn't even bother to complain because the management has signs up that talk about screaming kids and complaining staff so it would just be a waste of time as it was clear they do not care. If you want great Italian food drive to Chapman and West in Garden Grove and enjoy Carolinas. The only thing close to Italian in Dinos is...