Celestino - Pasadena

I have been dining at this restaurant for years for both business and personal occasions. The menu features delicious dishes like ragù with wild boar, risotto w... read more I have been dining at this restaurant for years for both business and personal occasions. The menu features delicious dishes like ragù with wild boar, risotto with mascarpone cheese and mushrooms, salmon, grilled squid special, and panna cotta for dessert. Every meal I have had here has been exceptional. Unfortunately, I did not have Tony as my server this time; he is known for his exceptional service and has been working there for over 30 years. I have a great admiration for the Sicilian Drago brothers who run this restaurant.

The food was very disappointing. We ordered 5 entrées between the 4 of us, sent one back; one was good, one passable and the rest not worth the time or money. O... read more The food was very disappointing. We ordered 5 entrées between the 4 of us, sent one back; one was good, one passable and the rest not worth the time or money. On the plus side, the lemondrops were great and we really enjoyed our server.

The food was good, would preferred a few more clams in the black and white pasta dish. Pasta was very good . Halibut dish was very good as well. I would recomme... read more The food was good, would preferred a few more clams in the black and white pasta dish. Pasta was very good . Halibut dish was very good as well. I would recommend the establishment.

Food was ok, overly overpriced. Our waiter was a little too friendly and inappropriate. read more Food was ok, overly overpriced. Our waiter was a little too friendly and inappropriate.

This has been one of our go to Italian restaurants in Pasadena for many years. But it is VERY unlikely that we will be there ever again. We were there to celebr... read more This has been one of our go to Italian restaurants in Pasadena for many years. But it is VERY unlikely that we will be there ever again. We were there to celebrate a family birthday with high expectations. But the evening began poorly when we had to ask twice for someone to take our drinks order. Once we were all seated with drinks served, our then friendly waiter Mario told us of the specials and took our orders. Then the real problems began. One of my expectations in good restaurants is for all orders to be served together. This didn 't happen. 3 meals were served, but the final 2 were at least 5 or more minutes behind. But the worst part was the food. Our 2 vegetarian guests ordered linguini alfredo, which was inedible. Another guest ordered the halibut special. I have never seen an entree served with such a tiny piece of fish! I 'm guessing that it couldn 't have weighed more that 2-3 ounces, and it was severely over cooked and dry. It was a disgrace to see such a tiny piece of fish served on a dinner plate which was largely empty. My husband 's chicken parmesan was similarly tiny, overcooked and stringy. It was served with 2 tiny pieces of cauliflower on the side. A disgrace! My pasta dish was the only acceptable meal served to us. And to make things worse, the waiter never checked on our table again until the plates were being removed. No one was there to refill water glasses. And our request for grated cheese was ignored. I had to go out into the hallway to ask for someone to bring some to our table. At the end of our meal, the waiter RELUCTANTLY removed the uneaten alfredo dishes from our bill. When we asked to speak to the manager, he claimed that the manager wasn 't there. All in all, an experience NOT to be repeated.