Celestino Ristorante & Bar

I saw the mixed reviews on this restaurant and had to throw my two cents in. My wife and I really enjoyed our visit. The rabbit polenta was awesome. I also just really enjoyed the atmosphere - the owner and his family were there speaking in Italian or English with thick accents. The service was great. I actually prefer to sit inside away from the street noise - it enables the suspension of disbelief that you are no longer in Pasadena.

I ordered black and white tagliolini with scallops at this restaurant. It was very tasty and light. Everyone in our group was happy with what s/he got. We waitied for a while for bread and wine because the waitor was very busy. That was the only bad thing.

My wife wanted to try this restaurant for her birthday so we visited it last Friday night. We had reservations and were seated immediately upon arrival. The service was good, and the ambience was nice (we sat in the outdoor patio because the front patio seemed too noisy). My wife had the angel hair pasta with tomatoes which she liked, and I had the spaghetti with seafood which tasted good. But four hours after the meal, I was violently vomitting for several hours. Since Celestino was the only restaurant I'd eaten at all evening, I have to assume it was the seafood spaghetti that caused my demise. My wife called the restaurant the next day to inform them of what had happened so that they could check their seafood supply and nobody else would fall ill. Nobody returned her call. We will NEVER return.

We expected high prices and very good food, and Celestino met our expectations. The wait staff was very fast, and the menu was bigger than I expected - I had a hard time choosing, and that was before the specials were read. I went for the gorgonzola risotto, and a bowl of mushroom soup. It was filling and very flavorful, although the risotto was a little runnier than I would have preferred. We also had the calamari friti appetizer, which was light and very good. Overall, I was impressed, but the price is a little prohibitive to come here too often ($35/person after tax and tip.) Definitely a place I would take my wife for a special occasion.

I read lots of nice reviews about Celestino, and I had gone there once before with a friend. The first time was pleasant. However, the second visit was a disappointment since I looked forward to having risotto with squid ink, but got long grain rice instead. It tasted more like fried rice with squid ink than what the menu indicated: risotto with squid ink. We were hoping for a quiet, romantic dinner, so you should try going on a weekday since on a Friday night, it got a little noisy. The wine selection was also a disappointment. The Sardinian Grenache could have been better used for cooking with its high acidic content than for sipping with dinner.