Lovely dinner. Â We came in the summer so there wasn't a long wait. Â The complementary minestrone soup as a starter was delicious. Â We splint an excellent lasagna and still had some to take home. Â Friendly, competent service.
It was a delightful, delicious, and very filling experience. Â We'll be back the next time we're in Prescott.
I'd almost give this restaurant 5 stars for the bread. BEST. BREAD. EVER. Imagine a small baguette, sliced, hot and buttery with a bit of garlic.
The meal was good but the service was horrible. The server forget the drinks and had to be reminded. Once we received our food, she never came back to refill our drinks until we hunted her down. But that bread...wow...TOTALLY SAVED HER!
They Never Heard about Basil...
friendly prompt efficient service. Good wine list. however food was just avg & decor cliched. If the food was great the decor would be fun but as of now - its just another 1950s old school Italian place. Â Whole concept -- including ingredients and menu -- needs updating..
Strictly for those who don't have an appreciation for authentic Italian pasta. That's as nice as I can be. No idea how this place has so many good reviews! You'll find far better, fresh-tasting noodles at the "french" bistro in town, ironically.
IMO worth checking out strictly for dessert -- the cannoli I had was the only authentic-tasting part of the meal.
I have to admit, I was concerned when I learned that Papa's was moving and expanding. After all, why fix something that isn't broken? Wow, was I delighted and surprised! Let me begin by saying that I don't work for Papa's, I'm not "friends" with the owners, and this review is being written by a local Prescott resident that has nothing to gain by reviewing them here. Their new, uptown location is simply more of a good thing. They have managed to expand, and make a great thing even better! They continue to show the same attention to detail, the same old world recipes, the same amazing décor, and the same impeccable wait staff. They managed to expand without losing a step! If you're from out of town, EAT HERE! If you're a local resident, EAT HERE! If you appreciate authentic, delicious Italian fare, EAT HERE! For goodness sake, just EAT HERE! You will be pleased, delighted, and leave in the most delectable carbohydrate coma you've ever experienced! Comfort food to the nth degree! And the staff is gracious, accommodating, friendly, and are passionate about their restaurant, their food, and their hospitality! An amazing experience, consistently! Papa's...you ROCK!
Review Source:I am in the hospitality industry & do HR for 4 hotels in Southern California, I took my 89 year old mother to have dinner here.....this place is awesome, from our server Jaime to the manager/owner & Mama who shared a sample of her amazing minestrone soup, the bread was awesome & I loved the lasagna with meat sauce & my caesar salad, Mom had the chicken parmesan & spumoni....the hospitality was overwhelming! Â I must say it is difficult to impress me, but I was impressed! Â Maybe they'll let me join their team when I move here....hopefully you have some sort of incentive program for positive guest feedback like I do ($25.00 for name recognition.....) Â Thanks Papas team for a job well done, I'll be back!
Review Source:My husband and I have recently moved to Prescott. Â We eat out several times a week and usually try a different place each time. Â There are a few we have been back to 3-4 times. Â I have to say, we have been under-whelmed with the quality of the food /atmosphere/service when compared to the cost of it. Â Papa's was a positive change. Â For once we felt like the quality, service and atmosphere was worth as much as we paid for our dinner. Â
I am giving it 5 Stars - not because I think this restaurant is "Woohoo! As good as it gets!" in a restaurant, but for the price, and in Prescott, it is. Â It is hands down the best $50 meal we have had in the area. Â
We walked in without reservations, around 6 on a Wednesday night. Â We were seated in the lounge (not bar) area. Â We were fine with it. Â However, if you want a less traffic area (the ladies room is off the lounge), make reservations.
Roy 'The Hungry Englishman'
Okay so it's Wednesday evening, it's been a challenging week so my plan is to take my wife out for a romantic meal. Â We have been back and forth to Prescott over the last couple of years and have on occasion frequented the old Papas Italian restaurant. Hearing that they have now opened up a new establishment in town (now calling themselves 'Papas Uptown') we thought this would be a grand opportunity to try the new location out....or so we thought.....!
The place looked great and we were soon seated. Â We were in the mood for something simple, so ordered a thin crust margarita pizza with a couple of extra toping, not rocket science. Â The food coming out of the kitchen looked great, it just kept coming, plate after plate, pizza after pizza and unfortunately for us it kept on going too, straight past our table to all the lucky other seated patron and takeout customer, never once were we graced with a singular little margarita pizza on our table.
Out waiter never once stopped to check on us or explain the delay, so after 45 minuets I stopped him and asked if there was a problem, he offered no apology just saying that it takes a while. Â So after a full hour it finally turned up...right? Â wrong! Â It was a totally different stuffed deep-pan pizza, when I sent it back our waiter returned but not to apologies but to point out the ticket and prove he had written it down correctly and it was the kitchen who had got it wrong, way to go for passing the buck.
With no apology and no offer to make this right, we were reluctant to wait another hour so decided to leave. Â As we were leaving the restaurant the very nice mature lady who had greeted us more than 60 minuets prior (I think she may be one of the owners) wished us well and hoped we had enjoyed our meal, at that point I commented that we had not eaten anything and explained to her what had happened. Â Her response was a brief apology and asked if we would "give then another try"...!
Let me say that I fully understand we all get it wrong now and again but where customer service is concerned the golden rule for me is not that one can get things wrong but how an establishment responds when they do. Â Neither the waiter or the hostess made any attempt to correct what was clearly their error, not even a heartfelt apology was forthcoming. Â It is worth pointing out that we went straight to another Italian restaurant a few blocks away and in less than 20 minuets were tucking into our pizza.
I hope the owners of Papas Uptown read this post and take note. Â Prescott is a small town and there is a good chance they have lost at least two customers for good.
Happy eating (but not here) Roy.
...........................FOLLOWUP...............Â.!
After our first disappointing visit (see above) I was contacted by Andrea (the owner) who was sincerely apologetic and invited us back in the hopes of allowing them to make things right. Â It was some months before we were back in town but on our visit I did call Andrea to take her up on the offer. Â Andrea went above and beyond and invited us to be her guest for a full meal. Â Unfortunately our short visit didn't allow for this but at our request she was very pleased to provide us with a take-away pizza of our choice. Â The pizza was very good but more importantly Andrea's sincere apology and willingness to put things right was a credit to her and her business. Â I have always said that you can judge a business 'not' buy IF they make a misstake but in how they correct it, hence my upgrade to FIVE STARS. Â
Thank you Andrea we will look forward to seeing you again the next time we are back home in Prescott.
Happy eating, Roy
I chose Papa's based on these reviews last night, and it deserves all the positive buzz. Â Wouldn't want to go without a reservation because it's popular! Â By the way, it does have a full bar, not just wine & beer. Â My entree was the chicken prosciutto, with a giant portion of both the chicken and fettuccine Alfredo, both insanely good. Â My husband had the shrimp fra diavolo, which wasn't as spicy as he's enjoyed at other Italian restaurants, but he was still happy with it. Â It's in a magical area over the holidays, with all (dozens) of the Courthouse trees lit, and a charming animated Santa display.
Our server was young, efficient and charming and the European decor went beyond the typical red & white checked tablecloths, with chandeliers and soft Italian music.
While it's almost an hour away, it's definitely destination dining.
Papa's has moved to downtown Prescott, in the former 129 1/2 space. Same good food and welcoming service, and the old fashioned atmosphere is cozy. Miss the patio in the old location, though! Still, it's one of our favorites in Prescott, and definitely one of the top options in the tourist trap heavy downtown.
Review Source:Went to this restaurant a couple of nights ago while in Prescott. Very busy place. It was the night of the Christmas Parade and the Courthouse lighting.
Went in and was asked if we had a reservation. We did not. The lady was very friendly and offered us the first table in the restaurant as that is all they had available. We were fortunate to get in when we did because people were getting turned away after us that didn't have a reservation.
We were seated and brought a basket of bread which was soon followed by a bowl of minestrone soup to try. The food was excellent and the portions were huge. I recommend the Papas Meat Trio. Its enough to feed two.
The hostess and wait staff were very friendly and always had a smile.
Reservations aren't required. However it is a very popular place so next time I go to Prescott, I will make reservations before I go so I can be sure to get in there again.
Excellent restaurant with great service and a terrific atmosphere. I had veal marsala, was very impressed with both the portion and the flavor. Great pasta, you could easily tell they made it fresh. Our hostess was great, the server friendly, and the food came out in a very reasonable amount of time.
Only one drawback that kept them from five stars: mold spots all over the walls in the men's room. I almost wanted to hold my breath while I was in there for fear of it making me sick. I know it's a new location for them, so I'll give them time to attend to it (it very clearly predates their move). Hopefully they give it a good cleaning before my next visit.
We arrived on a Saturday night with no reservations, and were seated immediately at a high-top table by the bar. Bread and samples of the minestrone soup were brought almost immediately. The bread was delicious and the minestrone the best I have ever had! We decided to try a deep dish pizza with fresh basil. I was expecting some julienned basil on top, but they actually take whole basil leaves and place them beneath the cheese. It was heavenly! Not to mention the sauce was great and it was not greasy at all. I will definitely be back on a future trip to the area to try a pasta dish...the guy next to me was eating an alfredo dish that looked incredible!
Review Source:Review needs to be prefaced by the fact that we did not eat at papa's. Â After my grandfather's funeral we had huge trays of food brought back to his house including ziti, chicken parm, bread, and salad. Â Salad was ok, I liked the dressing pretty well. Â Bread was pretty gross and greasy. Â Chicken parm had good flavor but was super dry which made me not a fan.... and the ziti was pretty darned good. Â Liked the red sauce and sausage.... just really solid.
Review Source:Went to Prescott for an overnight visit, needed good food, yelped Papa's Italian, went there and it was an hour wait, left our name and number, they called 50 minutes later and we were back in less than five minutes from where we were staying. Â We settled in for an amazing experience.
---waiter was helpful, knowledgeable and very nice
---food was hot, fresh, traditional delish Italian, lemon cassata cake was the best thing ever!!!
--- owner came to our table after our meal and listened attentively to our synopsis of our experience
---ambiance was quaint, everything was clean and efficient
Wish there were more little gems like this in the Phoenix area, very impressed, will definitely return next trip to Prescott.
First: CALL FOR RESERVATIONS!
I get the feeling this is one of those restaurants that deserves another chance, even though I wasn't wow'ed this time.
She ordered the chicken parmigiana with fettuccine alfredo. The chicken was tender, very tasty, average size portion. It was nearly buried under the fettuccine and not in a good way. I only tried a bit, and while I liked it, she didn't.
I ordered the meat plate of tortoni, meat ravioli and lasagna. They used a classic marinara and honestly, you can't do much to make the first two choices be more than what they are, so I saved the lasagna for last. I call it lasagna because the menu called it lasagna. It was sausage and ricotta sandwiched between two noodles. That's it? A one layer lasagna???
While the other dishes may be better, something as basic and traditional as lasagna should be the backbone of an Italian based menu. If there was a different lasagna used if you ordered it as a full entree, I never found out. Regardless, it left me disappointed.
Will I go back? Maybe. It was good enough to allow that even Pavaroti sometimes hits a sour note.
First experience to Pappa's and what a GREAT one! Papa's in the pines serves authentic italian cooking that tastes as if we were in Italy again. Amazing service from the staff and owner. They greeted us with open arms and big smiles (nice!) as if we were invited to have dinner with the family. The food was so incredible and yummy with big plates. It's an adorable restaurant with outdoor sitting on the 69 route. The big plus - dog friendly! We sat outside on the patio while enjoying the open air with views of the pine trees and clouds. It was such a great experience that we requested to return the next evening, same time, same table.
The next evening, we walked into the patio area and they totally surprised us with a special reserved sign, a romantic lamp with flowers and a water bowl for our dog-sweet! It really made us feel like they were expecting us. This was over the top exceptional! Why can't most resturants have this type of service? Could it get any better? It did with the fabulous service and food again. Pappa's is certainly consistant with all their promises. Isn't that what most customers want?
UPDATE: We were told they are moving to the downtown Prescott area in October, larger venue and near more activities. Trust us, you will want to try everything on the menu (including the spectaular desserts) and will want to walk off your dinner like us. What a great feeling! Keep it up Pappa's, we will be back when in Prescott soon.
Deborah, Jerry and little Chief.
Absolutely delicious food! Always! My wife and I have never been disappointed with the food and our guests are always impressed as well. Cute environment, especially in the warmer weather when you can eat outside. Great staff and not terribly priced for great food. Here's a link to the online menu since it can be hard to search.
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpapasitalianrestaurant.com%2FHome.html&s=e2c568a2c6804573bf1dd5c3ed34e23ea3d0adb47ff37972e6b5e23d897642cc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://papasitalianresta…</a>
Check it out if you are in the mood for delish italian!!!
This was my first time here. They start you off with a bowl of soup and bread sticks which both were good. The salad was kinda plain and the dressing was average. the food came hot and fast. I had the spicy ravioli it was good. My wife's meal can't remember what it was called but it was real good. The canole was the best I have ever had. All in all it was a good dinner for a good price.
Review Source:Best Italian food I have ever had. I know this is a bold statement, but its true. I passed by this place on my way in to town to hang with my sister, and when we got hungry later we decided to give it a whirl. Its the cutest, coziest little restaurant I have seen in a long time. There isn't much space in there. We came later for dinner (830) and it was still packed when we got there. We only waited maybe 5 minutes for a table, but I can easily see how you could wait hours. I highly recommend reservations (I heard they take them). The wine selection is perfect, and we tried an italian wine that was out of this world. Plus they give you a sample of minestrone soup and bread right when you sit down. How fun!??!
You NEED to go here if you hang in Prescott. Its so incredibly tasty!!
Ok. Â Let me see if I have this right. Â Jacki A gave PaPa's a four star rating instead of 5 because it was small and crowded. Â It is small because it can't be any bigger (to me it is very cozy), and it is crowded because it has the best Italian food around. Â I recommend making reservations, unless you don't mind eating on the patio outside.
Papa's is just a great restaurant. Â Great food, great service, very accommodating, they take reservations......and great desserts too. Â What more could you want? Â Everything I have eaten at Papa's has been terrific, and the portions are generous. Â I even love their salad with classic italian dressing.
And on the weekends, Mama will bring you a complimentary bowl of minestrone soup to enjoy. Â
Unless you're in Chicago or the Northeast, you're not going to do much better than Papa's. Â Myself and all my friends just love it.
This place is an absolute gem! My wife and I arrived twenty minutes to closing, and despite staying almost an  hour after closing, we never felt rushed by the wonderful staff. I had the Marsala chicken special, and my wife had the Meat Trio. The portions were large, and the food was flavorful. The homemade minestrone soup with vegetables and italian sausage had robust flavor and the texture of the vegetables was just right. We ended our meal with a slice of lemon cassada cake, which was full of light citrus flavor and was a great finish to our meals. As it was a comfortable evening, we sat at an outside table. The restaurant has a quaint atmosphere to it, but it can seat quite a large amount of people. If you are in Prescott, I certainly recommend you check this place out. The food is flavorful, the atmosphere is lovely, and the staff are attentive.
Review Source:Good menu and enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Usually you can judge a good restaurant by the quality of the bread they bring out before the meal. Not the case here. The bread sticks are dry and tasteless. We do not get pizza here for fear the crust is the same as the bread. Everything else was very good.
Please, Papa's, find a new bread recipe!
Judy
After a hard day in Skull Valley discovering frozen pipes, my friend and I decided Italian was in order to treat my depression. This place is great! We had the special, a chicken/spinach on linguini and an order of ravioli. Both were scrumptious and we took home leftovers galore.
The red sauce is probably one of the best I have ever tasted. My Italian friend agreed. I highly recommend Papa's. The servers and owners were friendly, as well, which is always a plus.
Apparently Papa's is one of the only places in Prescott you need a reservation. Unfortunately ours got lost between the call and our arrival the next day, but within seconds of mentioning we were celebrating our anniversary we were sat at the 'best table' on the beautiful patio under the stars. The food was delish and well priced. We are a bit a canoli snobs and the sweet cheese confection here was different but delicious. We would defiantly return!
Review Source:We made reservations for 7:30 on a Saturday & good thing we did - it was packed! Everyone loved their food; my fiance's chicken prosciutto  was to die for!! The only disappointment was there weren't really any appetizers (none of us had eaten since breakfast), but it turned out okay because the food came out fast (just as we were finishing our salads).
The service was EXCELLENT!
*note there is very limited parking, but a lot of people were parking across the street which was the side of the road
Papa's Italian Food is a nice homey restaurant a couple miles out of town (and just a half mile from the Prescott Pines B&B). Â The atmosphere and service is outstanding, however the food and dessert were simply average. Â The gnocchi with marinara was decent, nothing extraordinary or special about the flavoring or texture, and the meatball side dish was large and very moist. Â The sicilian sausage minestrone starter soup was fine, it did not have an overpowering sausage flavor and a large selection of vegetables. Â There are more intriguing restaurant options in Prescott and I would likely only come back to try their pizza.
Review Source:This is a place my parents found while driving around in Prescott one time when I was younger. Now every time we go to Prescott my family and I go to Papa's Italian Restaurant.
The pizza is wonderful and different than what i hate tasted in the past. It's really a nice change from the greasy pizza at chain pizza places. Oh, and for an appetizer you should try the cheese bread-- It's pretty much the most amazing bread I have ever had in my life!
Followed my own advice and have just gotten the pizza since the first visit. Â They really know how to make a pizza, my favorite is sausage, onion, and artichoke heart (a suggestion of the waitress). Â
You can't beat the service, they remember my parents when we go, and as always, the meat balls are delicious.
I would recommend a reservation because it's getting rather busy and since the place is so small you might have a hard time getting a table. Â Time to expand maybe?
INSANELY GOOD! Great hometown restaurant atmosphere. Get there a little before 6 or else it'll get a little busy. There was great service and the Pizza Priazzo is very different than your average pizza place. Very reasonable prices compared to the amount of food you get. I barely got through 2 pieces of the pizza, it is EXTREMELY filling.
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