Pagelli's has it's ups and downs. Â I like the nice ambiance inside and the live music with old people dancing outside. Â The food is OK. Â It's Italian, nothing too memorable. Â Pricey for the quality in my opinion. The drinks are expensive as well. Â I've been around Florida, and I think this place is trying to mask itself as an upper class Italian Restaurant. Â It's pretty average and I'd give it 4 stars if it didn't cost more than it's value.
Review Source:My wife and I decided to give this place a second try. We arrived without a reservation and waited about 25 minutes at their outdoor "happy hour" bar. The bar featured a "special" price of $5.00 for the "Trinity" house wine...so we each ordered a Cabernet. The wine was awful (probably one of the many made-up labels from Gallo which supplies most of the banquet hall trade).
Upon being seated our waiter asked if we would like another wine. He was apparently used to comments about the house wine and proceeded to up-sell us on a better Cabernet at $12.50/glass. We ordered two of the menu's Italian specialties. The food was delivered in a timely manner, but barely lukewarm. Our impression was consistent with our first visit...mediocre Italian food, lacking  flavor and zestiness. Pagellis has a very nice atmosphere, and features outdoor seating with very good singers..but as a dining experience it fails to deliver.
This is a loud, Italian chain resto. Â But it's pretty inside, and the bar does good pours of vodka for only four bucks. Â When asked to put the pomodoro on the side, the staff were cheerful and the order came in a separate soup bowl. Â Generous..
In season, the outdoor dining is the best. There are views of a lake, plus excellent singers that croon to a the crescent that is an outdoor dining patio shared jointly by Pagelli's and Hemignways. Â Pagelli's also has an outdoor fireplace that is a godsend on chill December evenings.
Half the appeal is the central location between friends and family who are north in Lee and south in Collier , but who try to meet somethere in between. Â Pagelli's is great solution to this, there on the north side of Coconut Pointe. Â It's also super convenient when you have an extra hour or two and need somethng reliable to eat while enroute to/from RSW.
Over-sauced food and one of the most odd waiters I have ever encountered! Â When you get an answer like "What's that?" to the question "Can I have a side dish of mostaccioli" AT AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT (!), you know something isn't right. Â That's exactly what our waiter said to my wife. Â Dumbfounded, she restated her query "Do you have penne?", to which he said "Oh, sure.".....wow! Â The restaurant itself is very nice looking: situated on a man-made pond, with a nice patio which features lived music in the evenings. Â The food is okay, at best. Â My chicken was LOADED with sauce. Â My wife's "grilled" grouper, was soaked in butter, apparently, before being grilled. Â It was almost as if it was sauted in butter. Â The eggplant appetizer was allegedly very good, although I wouldn't know as I don't care for eggplant. Â The calamari was good as well. Â Back to our waiter, after being told that their draft beer selection was unavailable due to tapper issues, I asked him what they had in bottles. Â His answer, "The usual...." Â Huh?!? Â What a d-bag!
Review Source:Dined here on a busy Saturday night with my wife's family, to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday.
Our party was seated in timely fashion, even though one member was running late. We split some apps for the table -- fried calamari and bruschetta -- while waiting for our missing member. The calamari were crisp and well-cooked, and the lemon sauce was tasty (I opted not to bother with the marinara). Not liking bruschetta, I opted to skip it and won't include it in my review. We also enjoyed the rustic Italian bread with olive oil for dipping; straightforward and tasty.
My wife ordered the Ravioli Antonio, mushroom-stuffed ravioli tossed in portabello mushroom cream sauce, while I had the Tortellacci Pagelli, big tortellini stuffed with veal, beef, and cheese in a pink sauce with ham and scallions. Both dishes were prepared quite well, but the service lacked a little luster; instead of fresh Parmesan grated onto the entrees (something I'd expect from a good Italian restaurant), there was dried cheese offered instead. As well, the food runners had no idea who's dish was who's, which is a service no-no (how hard is it to start in a single position at the table and work one way around the table on the order ticket?).
When it came time for dessert, we ordered the Dolce Vita Trio, with a creme brulee, chocolate Baccio (a gelatinous mousse of chocolate), and tiramisu. Even though it was for my mother-in-law's birthday -- which we specified in the reservation -- the dessert arrived with no fanfare, not even so much as a candle (we snagged the waiter and he quickly corrected it). I only tried the chocolate, which I found... interesting. Weird texture, but good flavor; not something I'd want a full-sized dessert of, but a taste was good. I also had a cup of cappucino and a Strega (an Italian herbal digestif), which was quite nice.
The Saturday entertainment was decent; a lounge-style singer who was pretty competent, backed up by karaoke-style music (but no karaoke screen). Couples were dancing on the patio, which added to the atmosphere.
All in all, the minor service miscues cost a little bit in my review (if only there were a 1/2 star! This'd be a 3.5 star meal, easily), but I'd happily dine here again (although, hopefully on a less-busy night). Dinner and drinks for 5 adults and 2 children came to about $180 before tip.
We had one of our worst restaurant experiences the other night at Pagelli's. Â First when we arrived with a reservation made a week in advance we were seated at the bar rather than at a table because they were overcrowded. Â They were very understaffed and you had to ask at least twice for anything. The entertainment was touted as first class and was merely a couple of mildly entertaining lounge singers. Â When one of our party complained about grossly undercooked vegetables the manager first argued with her and when I supported her he shook his finger at me, gave me a dirty look and said I'm talking to the other lady. Â He offered her a complimentary dessert but did not allow her to choose and when he brought it, he took the first bite. Â We will never return and I can only warn other against this very poor excuse for a restaurant.
Review Source:What a pleasure to eat here -- excellent atmosphere, family friendly and good food. While our family was on vacation in Bonita Springs, Florida, we ventured out to check out to local fare. We found Pagelli's after driving around a very large Simon outdoor mall. The menu was quite varied and they had a few award winning dishes; I had one of them and it was excellent!.
My wife and I enjoyed wine at happy hour prices. The kids were entertained by drawing on the paper above the tablecloth. The portions were large enough that we didn't have enough room for desert. The  wait staff was very friendly and helpful. The prices were very reasonable (Under $90 for 5 meals). Overall, it was a very good experience. I would definitely recommend this place.
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