Cafe Santorini

10/23/08

Great food and ambience, although with some incidents...

by BushwickBrooklyn at Citysearch

I went on a friend's recommendation and I was very happy with the results as far as the service of our waiter and the entrees we received. Our waiter was knowledgeable and helped me make a choice between two entrees I couldn't decide on. I went with his suggestion and it was an excellent choice. I got the pesto farfalle with grilled chicken and my companion got a brochette dish. We went at night during a weekday so it was quite empty and we immediately got seated outdoors and it was a wonderful spot. However, the hostess tried to seat us by the wall even though there were three empty tables by the railing where you can oversee the plaza. I requested for us to be seated by the railing but she refused saying they were saving those for bigger parties. I was a party of two, yet I saw at least one of those tables were set up for two people so her reason made no sense. Since we arrived nearly a half hour before our reservation, I told her we'll come back at our reserved time and maybe then seats will be "available". I guess to make us stay and not risk losing customers, she agreed to seat us by the railing. About halfway into our meal, she seated a party of 3 right next to us, despite 6 other (yes I counted) tables that were empty. My dinner companion was a Black man and he made a joking comment to me that perhaps it was because he's Black that these things happened to us. Although it was a joke, it was disheartening in face of what happened to us.

• Pros: Cool ambience, tasty food, knowledgeable waiters
• Cons: Possible discriminatory service

12/16/07

Hidden Gem

by veeveeun at Citysearch

Cafe Santorini is located upstairs of the alley way in Old Town Pasadena. The ambience is really nice (especially if you're sitting outside on a summer evening). I've been to Cafe Santorini multiple times and though the service could be a little better, the food is delish! If you like Mediterranian food, this is a place that you should try.

• Pros: Ambience, Food
• Cons: Service is slow

09/02/07

The worst restaurant in Pasadena, bar none

by seekinghonestfood at Citysearch

I used to get dragged to this totally mediocre restaurant whenever

friends insisted on sitting out on their 'fabulous patio', which in

reality is an exposed, crowded, ambience-free holding pen for saps who

wouldn't know good Mediterranean food if it were handed to them on a plate.

Never mind the bad meals, the rude waiters, the food you were

served that you never ordered, or the food you ordered but were never

served. That was, until the day the maitre d' (if such a low-class

joint can indeed be said to have such a position) refused to seat

three of us until the fourth member of our party arrived. Call me

crazy, but adding insult to the injury of their food and service was

the last straw for me, and I vowed never to go back.

Fast forward 10 years, when I stupidly agreed to try it again, just a

few weeks ago, thinking that it must have changed hands, or at least

learned something about restauranteur-ism in the intervening decade,

if only by osmosis from the many superior restaurants within spitting

distance. Well, as the adage goes, you can't teach an old dog new

tricks, and apparently it was business as usual -- that is to say, bad

-- in this doghouse. After seating us on the 'fabulous patio', we were

told that if we were only going to order dessert, we'd have to sit

somewhere else! In disbelief, we took it up with the management, who

told us helpfully that if we didn't like it, we could always leave!

Which we were only too pleased to do. A short walk down the stairs and

across the plaza brought us to Il Fornaio, where we were seated not

only promptly and courteously, but on their lovely landscaped outdoor

patio, a veritable oasis compared to Santorini's swill-pen. And when

the desserts arrived -- without mistakes or delays -- they were

transcendent. Something Santorini's owners wouldn't know the meaning

of.

• Pros: what can I say?
• Cons: food, service