sarafino's

won't be back. this was our second time here. the food is good, so i can't complain there. but, arriving for a 8 pm seating, and not being seated until 9:50 is totally unreasonable. we were a party of 6 and had a few bottles of our wine while we waited, but space is limited and their really isn't a place to sit and wait. had we been in the city we would have left and gone somewhere else. by the time we needed to decide leaving or not, it wasn't really worth it to go somewhere else. they kept saying they were waiting for a table to leave, but that table clearly was in no hurry, as they kept cracking open beers when they had finished eating long before! really!!!! just rude! love byob's, but with so many all over now, we'll stick to one's where ressies/call ahead are honored. lawrenceville/bloomfield have great ones!

absolutely delicious! i love sarafino's! the sun dried tomato olive oil for bread is yummy! byob restaurant.

never again. we called a week in advance to have a birthday celebration there. they said they didn't take reservations but they did have call ahead seating. not only did we call ahead to keep us up on the status of a table, we also were there at 7pm. we waited 1.5 hours and still weren't seated. like the other reviewer said, we were told 20 minutes and then a party who was friends of the owner came in and they got our table! that is a huge no no. then another table came open and we were told that they had been waiting for 45 minutes. really, it was 8:00 and we were there since 7. if you don't know this family personally don't even bother. it is too crowded and the food isn't that great if you are italian. my mom makes better sauce!!!!!

~ spettacolare + eccellente!!!. what a meal!! we had a big party of 25 people, and we shared everything family style. wine was byo. starting off first with warm loaves of bread, excellent dipping sauce, and continued into several courses of appetizers, such as wonderful thin crust margarita and white sauced red onion and gorgonzola pizzas, two kinds of beans and greens, several styles of pastas, salad, chicken, veal, vegetables (zucchini, carrots, brussels sprouts) and finishing with some incredible desserts. this meal was spettacolare y eccellente from start to finish. friendly, efficient staff, and a wonderful chef!

great italian restaurant. i really enjoying sarafino's and i'm thrilled that i live so close to it. great food every time. go check it out for yourself.

my wife and i have been regulars for years and really like it. the staff couldn't be friendlier. it is very busy on weekends, so we tend to go during the week. we stick to the pasta dishes and green and beans and enjoy the deserts. they recently changed their bread vendor and it's a big improvement. isn't it funny that when you click through to the people who write the overly negative reviews, this is the only place they've reviewed? makes you wonder. this is a good solid place to dine.

real italian. i have become a regular at sarafino's. actually, i am an addict. the food is soooo good and homemade. our new york friends always ask to make a visit to sarafino's. the space is small so at times there may be a wait, although we have never had a problem waiting at a byob establishment! lol
some tips for those wanting to become regulars at sarafino's......
1. attend a few funerals at mcdermott's.
2.tell joey that his son's baby photo is the cutest you've ever seen.
3. tell joey that his baby photo is the cutest you've ever seen.
4.mention the fact that you know the circle inn used to be a funeral home.
5.discuss how you saw "the blob" in sarafino's when it used to be the crafton theatre.
6.know at least one grandma ducky story.
7. be able to identify a family member in the photos with your favorite recipe.
8.bring your appetite, the portions are big.
9 bring your personality if you have one. don't expect them to be your entertainment.
10. lastly, strap on a set, wait in line, quit your whining, and before you know it...... you will be a regular too!
bon appetit!

will never go again. our dear friends, my husband and i were looking for somewhere different and something that was mid way between our homes. i called for reservations on tuesday for saturday. they told me they had call ahead seating but that we they were sure a table would be waiting. we showed up 10 minutes early and were told it would be just a few moments. 45 minutes later we left after being totally ignored and watching people come in and get seated ahead of us. if you are local to crafton and know someone at this place you obviously get priority seating. all others are totally ignored and there is no manager to even complain to. as my husband says -- the lunatics are running the asylum at sarafinos.

service ok, food ok. byob establishment, and many table byob in a big way. was seated promptly and quickly received bread and olive oil with sun dried dip, very enjoyable. had the penne with marinara sauce, which was good. s had fettuccine alfredo and was not impressed.

a little change never hurts. i've been a steady patron of sarafino's since they've opened. the service has always been a bit slow but for the most part friendly. the food has always been outstanding, however the menu is getting a bit stale . i get it that they have a standard menu then an additional menu featuring the specials. but the same specials have also been around since the beginning. for example the crab cakes, i ordered these the last time i visisted sarafino's. this is not an inexpensive menu item but 3/4 of the crab cake consisted of bread crumbs. it's easy to see why they are still on tne menu, they must be a high profit item. i'll continue to come sarafino,s on occasion but but i'd realy love to see them change some menu items at least the specials.

service. not sure about some of the reviews regarding service a sarafinos. besides being one of my favorite "go to" restaurants - i have never, ever had bad service here. have they been busy and maybe a bit quick - sure - but look at the size of the place and the crowds they get on a friday/saturday. best time to go is for lunch - either early or late. it is one of the few places in pittsburgh that i will recommend to friends and especially out-of-towners. never had a complaint.


-----25 jul, 2009-----

always dependable. great food in a family atmosphere. lunch or dinner. it has become a go to choice for our family when we want good family style italian in a comfortable, casual environment.


-----26 may, 2009-----

always good. always dependable.

poor service. a good friend recommended this restaurant. the food was very good thank god because the service and friendliness of the waitress was absent. we were seated by the door and everytime someone came in or out of the restaurant are friend had to move or got bumped. the waitress didn't even try to move us when we first arrived and i immediately asked for another table. she said there weren't any, although all night long, people kept coming into the restaurant and continued to the back room. i must say i was embarrassed for bringing my coworkers and there parents from out of town to this restaurant. i would not recommend my friends go there, merely because the poor service made the dining experience horrible.

just went for the first time last night based off a recommendation from a friend. the food was great and came out hot, however the wait staff was not very friendly or attentive. also, they seated our reserved party of 7 directly across from the door which meant that we constantly got blasted with cold air not to mention the person sitting at the end of the table had to keep moving his chair every time patrons came and left...very annoying! when we asked if we could be seated in the back we were told that we couldn't.

first time review. my wife and i tried the restaurant on the recommendation of a friend and the reviews on urbanspoon.

we weren't in the mood for pasta or pizza (having eaten both recently) so we decided to try a sandwhich. it was a cold night and a bowl of soup also seemed in order.

it wasn't very busy and the waitress was very nice and quite funny. she recommended the potato-leek soup, which i tried, my wife had the old standby wedding soup. the soups were good but not great, i added cheese to mine for more flavor, my wifes wasn't hot enough.

i ordered the seared steak panini, supposedly with "filet tips". the steak was so tough you couldn't chew it. my wife and i both shared the steak because the waitress brought her a meatball sandwich, she had ordered a hot sausage so we sent the meatball back. we should have sent the steak back as well.

the hot sausage when it came (soon after) was good, we shared that and picked at the "side salad" (as stated on the menu). it was actually a side "pasta" salad, one of the reasons we ordered a sandwhich was because it came with a "side salad", never thought i would have to ask if that meant actual "salad". we even asked for the house dressing on our salad and the waitress never batted an eye or explained the salad was a pasta salad. weird!

when we paid the bill we told the waitress that the steak was too tough. to her credit she said that we should have said something, they would have gotten us something else. she was right and the next time we will.

one more thing, when we got our food this fruit fly (gnat to some) appeared and started hovering around. i saw that on a few other reviews and assumed that being the middle of winter the flys would be dead. guess not. i think the owner needs to close the place down for a few days and give it a good cleaning.

would we go back....maybe, and try something they are known for, like pasta.

food is fine but the service is often spotty. don't pick a night when the wait staff is in a bad mood.