"I'm eating my leftovers from The Bender as I'm typing out this review. I love The Spaghetti Bender--it's been in the same spot forever and I don't think it'll be going anywhere anytime soon. If I'm in the mood for a quick Italian dish, I'll head over to Pasta Connection since it's right down the street from me, but if I'm going on a date or have friends in town, this is where I'll usually suggest.
I'm a fan of their garlic bread and marinara sauce, along with their tureen of minestrone soup. Their soup is packed full of greens and chick peas, and it's the first soup that taught me that celery's not so bad. Their caprese salad is pretty good too.
The portions here are pretty hefty; I don't know how anyone can finish the "dinner" combo, because seriously, this is food you need to take home! My boyfriend ordered the chicken piccata and I got the tortellini basil pesto. We were both pleased with our dishes and were full before we could even finish half of our meal. "
"The service was also very good throughout the meal and kept on top of everything nicely. There is nothing like a calm and relaxing environment for a good dinner and this place definitely excels at giving you that home cooked feeling. Anyone who enjoys a good Italian meal should definitely give this place a try as I think they will come away pretty impressed. I would recommend making reservations as due to the small setup they do get busy and wait times can be a bit long. I will definitely return here again."
"Polenta is awesome, and I don't like polenta.
The garlic bread is good on its own, but try this. Dip the garlic bread in the soup and take a bite. What do you think about that? A melding of fresh garlic, spices, freshness, vegetable stock, saltiness and home.
This place is like eating at home. The staff is friendly, kind, considerate, and never upsell you. You get what you want, when you want it.
SPECIALS: Each month they have monthly specials that are really SPECIAL. Don't miss out on each and every one of them."
"I've been coming to this restaurant since I was a little boy. Back then, it was just one room, and I believe the only thing on the menu was spaghetti with red sauce or white sauce, but I loved it. It was my restaurant of choice for any special occasion.
Needless to say, we've both grown up. Can't say that I've improved with age, but the Spaghetti Bender certainly has! The menu has grown substantially and now includes a variety of classic Italian dishes; there's something for everyone, and each dish is expertly prepared to order.
If you're dining in, as opposed to takeout (which is also offered), don't expect a quick meal; be prepared to spend a couple of hours, as the service, while excellent and attentive, can be a tad slow. Add to that that the meals come with both soup and salad, and you can see that this is more of a leisurely dining experience.
The soup that's served with the meals is a clear broth minestrone made with seasonal vegetables. Simple and warming, it is delicious, and a perfect start for the meal. A really good foil for the delicious, garlicky bread that accompanies it. The broth is pure heaven, the veggies tender/crisp. A little too much celery for my taste, but that's a personal thing.
The salad is tossed at table with a slightly sweet, creamy Italian dressing that is a secret recipe. It's a meal all on its own. Last night it included avocados, which added to the creaminess. Sublime!
I had the halibut piccata, which, at market price was probably the most expensive thing on the menu. It was a generously sized halibut steak, perfectly seasoned and cooked. Pasta primavera, chock full of zucchini, broccoli and carrots, was served as a side. It was a bit pricey, at $25.50, but worth every penny.
Our server was the establishment's manager, Raquel. She was personable, professional and knowledgeable about everything on the menu, from the wine to the food. When you visit, you'll be very lucky if she's attending your table!
The atmosphere is very homey, not stuffy at all, and there are tables available outside in their very charming patio bar; the patio is also a great place to hang out and chat with the friendly bartenders and local patrons. Soft, classic nostalgic music was playing the entire evening."
Daily Pilot - Dining review -- Kathy Mader
Spaghetti Bender makes you feel right at home
I haven't been to Spaghetti Bender in Newport Beach for probably 20 years, and honest to goodness -- good being the operative word -- I don't know why. You don't have to dress up. You don't have to make reservations. You don't have to pay too much. And it serves some darn good home-style, neighborhood Italian cooking. Spaghetti Bender, located among surf shops, burger stands and a liquor store on Coast Highway, is easy to miss if you are not looking for it. But once you see it, you wonder how you could have ever missed it. It's been there since 1969.
Painted to look like a rustic Italian villa, Spaghetti Bender is a family business through and through. And if you are not family, you stay until you are. Chef Alfonso Gomez and manager Janie Whorton have been with the restaurant for more than 20 years each and "are instrumental in its success and consistency," said owner Joyce Hoskinson.
The family, as well as the staff, seem to take a lot of pride in the restaurant, and besides that, it seems like a fun place to work. It is decorated with classic red-and-white checked tablecloths, highlighted with white lights around the windows. You get the sense you are in someone's house. Hoskinson's mother, Ailie Pasini, opened the restaurant while her husband, Lorenzo, was out cooking on ships for the U.S. Merchant Marine, stealing a few of his family recipes in the process.
The restaurant business continues to run in the family, with Joyce's son Michael bringing Spaghetti Bender into the 21st century. The restaurant is now developing its own Web page. The food, however, remains the same. And that is the restaurant's No. 1 goal, Joyce said, even though it wasn't always easy. The restaurant started out too poor to advertise, but word of mouth has kept it in business. In fact, another restaurant is in the works.
The menu can make all your Italian food dreams come true, loaded with all the neighborhood favorites. You won't find those California influences like barbecue chicken pizza here. This is the stuff of sausage and peppers and vats of various time-honored sauces, such as Alfredo, Bolognese (meat sauce) and marinara. Everything you associate with authentic Italian food is here: tortellini, manicotti, chicken parmigiana ($10.75 a la carte or $16.75 for dinner), linguine with clams, and penne puttanesca ($8.75 a la carte or $14.75 for dinner), a spicy dish with garlic, olives and pepper.
At first glance at the menu, I was a bit taken aback as the complete dinners are a full $6 more than the a la carte items. How could this be? But once my tureen of soup -- two to three bowls at least -- and my extra-large tossed salad arrived, it made sense. I relaxed and started in, big time. The homemade minestrone was loaded with beans and pasta and all sorts of veggies, a vegetarian paradise. Brian was thrilled with not one hint of stewed tomato in it; this soup gets the flavor from the beans and broth and is pretty hardy. Throw in a little of that toasty garlic bread and it's a meal. "Papa's world-famous house dressing" on the salad, a sort of creamy Italian, was very good. In fact, the soup, salad and garlic bread is all you need. But as I often say, much to the dismay of my belly, you've got to make it hurt. We tried the fried mozzarella, very fairly priced at $6 because it is huge and the very real deal. No preformed, prepackaged cubes, but a hefty slab of cheese, fried crispy in the garlic bread crumbs and drenched in a tangy, tasty tomato sauce. While all the food is good, this is the dish that will bring us back again and again. Nobody makes it like this anymore.My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Gnocchi is always sort of a telltale dish for me. This potato/pasta dumpling is sticky business, literally. They take a long time to make by hand, so most restaurants just buy theirs frozen or air-sealed from pasta distributors. And if you cook the gnocchi 30 seconds too long or 30 seconds too short, it is either gummy or pasty, or both. Believe me, I know. Spaghetti Bender makes its gnocchi fresh daily. And this stuff is good. Brian went traditional, with the spaghetti and meatballs ($7.50 a la carte or $13.50 for dinner), because if you don't do that right, you can forget the rest.
The results? Brian has suggested we go there twice since last week's visit. The best thing about Spaghetti Bender is that you feel liked you walked into an old friend's house, sat down at grandma's table and she threw together "a little something special." How's that for a family neighborhood restaurant?
Spaghetti Bender makes you feel right at home
I haven't been to Spaghetti Bender in Newport Beach for probably 20 years, and honest to goodness -- good being the operative word -- I don't know why. You don't have to dress up. You don't have to make reservations. You don't have to pay too much. And it serves some darn good home-style, neighborhood Italian cooking. Spaghetti Bender, located among surf shops, burger stands and a liquor store on Coast Highway, is easy to miss if you are not looking for it. But once you see it, you wonder how you could have ever missed it. It's been there since 1969.
Painted to look like a rustic Italian villa, Spaghetti Bender is a family business through and through. And if you are not family, you stay until you are. Chef Alfonso Gomez and manager Janie Whorton have been with the restaurant for more than 20 years each and "are instrumental in its success and consistency," said owner Joyce Hoskinson.
The family, as well as the staff, seem to take a lot of pride in the restaurant, and besides that, it seems like a fun place to work. It is decorated with classic red-and-white checked tablecloths, highlighted with white lights around the windows. You get the sense you are in someone's house. Hoskinson's mother, Ailie Pasini, opened the restaurant while her husband, Lorenzo, was out cooking on ships for the U.S. Merchant Marine, stealing a few of his family recipes in the process.
The restaurant business continues to run in the family, with Joyce's son Michael bringing Spaghetti Bender into the 21st century. The restaurant is now developing its own Web page. The food, however, remains the same. And that is the restaurant's No. 1 goal, Joyce said, even though it wasn't always easy. The restaurant started out too poor to advertise, but word of mouth has kept it in business. In fact, another restaurant is in the works.
The menu can make all your Italian food dreams come true, loaded with all the neighborhood favorites. You won't find those California influences like barbecue chicken pizza here. This is the stuff of sausage and peppers and vats of various time-honored sauces, such as Alfredo, Bolognese (meat sauce) and marinara. Everything you associate with authentic Italian food is here: tortellini, manicotti, chicken parmigiana ($10.75 a la carte or $16.75 for dinner), linguine with clams, and penne puttanesca ($8.75 a la carte or $14.75 for dinner), a spicy dish with garlic, olives and pepper.
At first glance at the menu, I was a bit taken aback as the complete dinners are a full $6 more than the a la carte items. How could this be? But once my tureen of soup -- two to three bowls at least -- and my extra-large tossed salad arrived, it made sense. I relaxed and started in, big time. The homemade minestrone was loaded with beans and pasta and all sorts of veggies, a vegetarian paradise. Brian was thrilled with not one hint of stewed tomato in it; this soup gets the flavor from the beans and broth and is pretty hardy. Throw in a little of that toasty garlic bread and it's a meal. "Papa's world-famous house dressing" on the salad, a sort of creamy Italian, was very good. In fact, the soup, salad and garlic bread is all you need. But as I often say, much to the dismay of my belly, you've got to make it hurt. We tried the fried mozzarella, very fairly priced at $6 because it is huge and the very real deal. No preformed, prepackaged cubes, but a hefty slab of cheese, fried crispy in the garlic bread crumbs and drenched in a tangy, tasty tomato sauce. While all the food is good, this is the dish that will bring us back again and again. Nobody makes it like this anymore.My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Gnocchi is always sort of a telltale dish for me. This potato/pasta dumpling is sticky business, literally. They take a long time to make by hand, so most restaurants just buy theirs frozen or air-sealed from pasta distributors. And if you cook the gnocchi 30 seconds too long or 30 seconds too short, it is either gummy or pasty, or both. Believe me, I know. Spaghetti Bender makes its gnocchi fresh daily. And this stuff is good. Brian went traditional, with the spaghetti and meatballs ($7.50 a la carte or $13.50 for dinner), because if you don't do that right, you can forget the rest.
The results? Brian has suggested we go there twice since last week's visit. The best thing about Spaghetti Bender is that you feel liked you walked into an old friend's house, sat down at grandma's table and she threw together "a little something special." How's that for a family neighborhood restaurant?