Paolo Lombardi's Ristorante

Doesn't Recommend

skitdora2010

Joined 2 years ago

Went downhill. While this place was good over ten years ago, now the place is one of the worst places to eat. Going under the assumption that food was good here, my grandmother twice held family dinner here even after people stopped liking it. Once was in an August around 2005 and the ziti was over cooked. That's forgivable right? The second time every aspect of the meal was awful. This was in 2007. We ate here after our grandfather died. I don't know if it was short notice, because it was booked 4 or 3 days ahead of time. We still had to wait to be seated for about an hour. The salads were awful, they tasted wilted and bitter. I'm not sure if they soaked the salads in a sink or if the lettuce was just very old. Nobody ate the salad. The chicken parm was over baked. It was hard to cut and very stringy. The eggplant tasted like rubber. The ziti this time was decent, and it went pretty quickly. The desserts had no flavor. They were attractive, but completely bland. The waitstaff was very attentive and polite, they tried to be helpful, but good service doesn't help when food is that bad. Plates returned to the kitchen came back tasting the same way. Just more of the overcooked slop came back our way. Seeing that it was a dinner to celebrate the life of a beloved family member, this place should have been ashamed of themselves and the entire meal should have been given a steep discount. It wasn't because they found the inferior grade meals to be okay...though I didn't see THEM eat it.

I will never in my life ever return to this "restaurant". They are less than two miles from where I live and I will never support their low quality high priced inferior eatery. It's a pity that they are that bad. Better food can easily be made at home. In fact the food of their expectation of "high" quality can easily be found in my kitchens garbage can. The vegetables can be found in my compost heap, wait for them to decompose for at least a couple of days, then it will be of the same calibre as the "fresh" vegetables served at Lombardi's. On a kinder note, I might recommend someone to eat here if they are on a diet. It's hard to overindulge on spoiled food.

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myeats

Joined 6 years ago

Average at best.. Just average. Come up from the city, so not many up here to chose from. Yes, I am a food broker down there. There are a few decent ones in the Albany area but for Italian only two, Villa Valenti and Cafe Capriccio. Albany area just does not cut it.

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Editorial Review by Christy Buena. Family-friendly Italian restaurant in upscale neighborhood serves authentic pasta dishes, seafood and meat platters.

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jmanza

Joined 7 years ago

Could have been great, but too many errors.. The reservation person told me they were serving a party of 70 that evening, and I guess she was trying to warn me, but she assured us she could accommodate us. My party of 6 arrived promptly for our 7:00 p.m. reservation. Forty minutes later we were finally seated, after a stressed-out hostess told us there wasn't anything she could do to get us seated. We were really put out, but they tried to make it up to us with three free appetizers. The tortellini and calamari were very good, but the bruschetta was soggy and tomatoes weren't ripe. Our waiter was very personable, tried hard to attend to our needs, but the entire waitstaff were sweating with the exertion of trying to serve what was obviously an over-booked night. After the appetizers, we were hopeful that our meals would arrive promptly, but it was not to be so. From the time we were seated it was another hour and 20 minutes till we finally received our entrees. The loft where we sat was too warm, and when we asked for the air conditioning to be increased, they opened a door instead. Three of us enjoyed our meals, and three of us did not. I enjoy plenty of salt, but my entree was overdone with it. The roasted pepper in the hot antipasto was obviously out of a jar, and everything else was fried. I might give this place another try, on the strength of a very fine tortellini dish, but I would certainly not go during a time which is normally high-volume.

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larahe5

Joined 9 years ago

larahe5. this is the best Italian resturant in the area the menu is 20 pages long have in italian. They have a hot antipasta that is out of this world. There pasta is home made the gravy is great relly nice atmosphere. My Aunt takes my whole family there every year what a treat! Try everything I am Italian and my parents owed a resturant so did my brother and sister I know food. It is hard to get real Italian when you are Italian try it you won't be sorry

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kimberlybushnell

Joined 9 years ago

top notch. wonderful,spectacular as ALWAYS,the service and the food consistant and delicious, a dining joy for over 10 years, top on my list

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tvman

Joined 10 years ago

the best. One review said that all the locals go to the Villa Valenti, that is because most are to cheap and don't no good from bad or they would not go to the Villa. I have lived 2 miles from the Villa and went right past it to get a good meal for the last 35 yaers. In life you get what you pay for you may pay more at Lombardi's but there is no comparison in the difference in quality. most people know about as much about food as a pig knows about a holiday. Break loose once in a while. learn something.

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Spudlini

Joined 10 years ago

So-So. We've lived in Rensselaer county for 12 yrs. We go to Lombardi's only when we have a gift certificate. We'd go more if their prices weren't so outrageous. Their food is average, certainly not worth the exorbitant prices. The atmosphere is superb, but the same atmosphere can be found in many Albany restaurants for much less, in some cases with better food. It's unfortunate, because we prefer to support our area businesses.

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tc4866

Joined 10 years ago

i know what i am talking about. does anyone in albany know good italian food??? i am an italian from the Bronx that lived upstate for five years. this restaurant really impressed me. the food was delicious, the atmosphere was nice and the servie was excellent. the menu is extensive and truly italian. i can't beleive the other ratings...don't listen to them! this place is good!

Doesn't Recommend

jaridmv

Joined 11 years ago

2nd rate. everyone in Rnseslaer county goes to the Villa Valenti-almost all locals unamisously prefer Villa Valenti over Poalo Lomabardos- We all know this.