Mattucci's Willow Cafe

Today, when I went to Mattucci's, it was to celebrate a personal accomplishment. I first went there in 1978, and I've been there a number of times since. Forget Olive Garden. This is the real deal. It's like stepping back into time and experiencing what it's like to eat in the dining room of an old Italian home. It's very relaxing. Very comforting. I've always had great service here. Which is why I keep coming back. But today was a little different. This is the first time I've been to a restaurant, by myself, since my wife passed away 3 years ago. I've been putting it off, because I knew it would be difficult. However, my server today was Ashley. She really blessed me today with her level of energy, her personality, and her grace. She impressed me so much that she joined the ranks of th

Good: Pizza was very good, but honestly has too much cheese on it(for me). The pasta fagiolo was edible, but served colder than i would prefer it. The not so good: food was cold. All four platters were late and cold. Sorry. They forgot our Calamari appitizer that we ordered. I didn't get a whole draft beer(it was 3/4 of the way full and there was literally no one at the bar). Waitress says there were 2 meatballs in the sampler, only got one. The atmosphere? No music. You can hear everyone's table convos. It's Like sitting in someone's basement. I really wanted to like this place but it was very expensive and disappointing.

Service and atmosphere were good. Food was terrible. Instant mashed potatoes. Frozen calamari. I can make better pizza at home.

Everything is good but the pizza is just so so. Sauce way to sweet and average crust at best and cheese never cooked enough. Whole thing is overpowered by the sickening sweet sauce. Chicken parm could be thinner like a cutlet was too thick. Not the mattuccis I remember from years ago.

I was disappointed to say the least. I've been familiar with the name my whole life, so I must have put them in a higher class based on the opinions of others. I had ordered two of their Chicken Cordon Bleu meals, which have no special accompanying description to tell you that it is not the cordon bleu you ate and are picturing in your head right now. So you could imagine my confusion when I opened the box to find chicken parmesan with a piece of prosciutto(?) tossed between one of the pieces of chicken. When I called they told me "that's our cordon bleu, thats how we make them." We ordered some soup as well. Pasta figoli wasnt bad, I never had it before so I cant compare it to anything. It didnt leave me thinking Wow but I would probably eat it again to break up the monotony in this areas