Pasta Market & Clam Bar

Not a super fancy place but I am not sure what the others are talking about? The food makes up for it! Everything is homemade! My family went there to tasting for catering and were pleasantly surprised! The carbonara is amazing!

I can't give this restaurant even a full star ... and while i can list a TON of things, I'm listing the top 3 issues I had:



#1 and DANGEROUS problem *** I told waitress of my food allergy (bell peppers) and she told me to be sure not to order the chicken cacciatore. AFTER telling her of my allergy and her response about the cacciatore, I asked waitress for her recommendation between the Veal Francesce and Veal Piccata ... she recommended the Veal Piccata which I then ordered. When my meal FINALLY arrived (nearly an hour after it was ordered) there were HUGE pieces of bell pepper on the plate (reminder: waitress was told of my allergy and then proceeded to not only recommend the dish, but delivered it to me to eat!!). Once I finally got waitress' attention she took the plate back to be recooked and came back to give me a status - I was VERY clear at that time that the dish MUST be redone and not just peppers picked out - she assured me this was happening. When food came back out she was quick to say he put tomatoes in dish this time. I took a few bites, cut up the pasta and as I turned the dish I noticed red pieces of BELL PEPPER - sticking out of the batter on the meat -- it was EXTREMELY obvious that the chef pulled the peppers off the plate & replaced them with tomatoes and that he missed the pieces of peppers that clung to the meat! I was NOT happy as I had been VERY clear that I have an ALLERGY to bell peppers - NOT simply that I don't like them.



#2 problem *** cloth napkin had cat/dog/animal hair embedded!! this was touching the silverware!!! GROSS!! (and it was NOT just 1 hair - it was a BUNCH!!!)



#3 problem *** it took WAY too long to get our food - the restaurant was not very busy but from the time we arrived until we left was approximately 2 hours!!!! Remember - during this time although there were 2 of us eating, only 1 of us actually got to eat the meal we ordered!



Other issues: waitress was not very attentive (restaurant NOT very busy at the time); Manager didn't seem too concerned about the food allergen being served to me; waitress tried to cover her bottom about serving something that she had been warned is an ALLERGAN!



I am NOT an employee - I don't even work in the food business -- however, I am a self-proclaimed "Foodie" and LOVE to try new places .. but BEWARE and STAY AWAY FROM HERE!!!!

HORRIBLE!! The food was put out one plate at a time and the owner sux!! Should be reported to the health department.

I went there with my girl friend, and we were promptly told by a waitress that it would be a minute.After several minutes we got tired of waiting and left, though we were asked on several other occasiond if we were waiting to be seated. Don't go here unless you like being ignored and never seated.

I love this place. The food and service are the best in Orange Park as far as Italian food goes. The food is always fresh never frozen. P.S. they make their own bread, salad dressings, and desserts. Wont ever go anywhere else for Italian food ie. mannies cafe um i mean always frozen never ever fresh.

Service has never been quite right and I've given it several attempts. It's hard to watch being from the service industry myself.
Take out is the key! Get your order to go so you can enjoy the well made home cooked Italian without the cluster of their wait staff and even their owner/manager wife.

This was the worst dining experience I have ever had. Our food was brought at all different times, not to mention that my husband's didn't even come out. We were done waiting and would rather have just gone without it. When we gave them our gift certificate, they didn't know what to do since they owed us money back. They weren't prepared for anything and when the server asked the manager what to do- he talked so loud and rude that all 5 tables in there could here him. We ended up having to get another gift certificate for the remaining balance. We of course will not be returning, would rather throw it away. Too bad to think another business will shortly be out of business, would like to see a little mom and pop place make it. Don't waste your time or money.

The food was pretty good but the horrible service really took away from the experience. After 45 minutes of minimal contact, when asked how it was going, one member of oiur party said, "well, we're still waiting for food." Next thing you know, the owner's wife is at our table. The owner's wife is very rude - she told us that the slow service was our fault because we were in a party of 7 and everything is cooked to order and we should have called ahead for such a large party. I fail to understand how cooking to order kept us from getting menus or even drinks until we asked for them.



There are plenty of other restaurants in Orange Park with pretty good food and mediocre service - I'd rather spend my money with them.