Papa Joes Italian Eatery

Food was excellent. Service was fair; on the slow side. Hostess very rude. Had a large party and were enjoying coffee and dessert and were told we had to leave, they had another party waiting for the table. Lost my business.

Food is good, but the management and service is as poor as it gets. You know it’s true when you’re celebrating someone’s birthday, chatting around the table and you’re told by the «hostess» you’ve overstayed your welcome. They ‘need the table’. Really, Papa Joe’s? With 3 empty tables right behind us? The food isn’t THAT good that you can be so rude. And who serves chicken parmesan WITHOUT pasta? All that after one of our younger guests got totally ignored, orders were mixed up, our server spent more time with the ‘regulars’ in the corner while we waited for items to be brought to our table, and we never got refills on any of our drinks. I guess we won’t bother you ever again. We’ll find someplace else to spend our money — like Red Fedele’s Brook House!

Came here Saturday night for some dinner. It was pretty busy luckily we made reservations so only waited 10 minutes. Service staff was quite friendly and the food came out fairly quick. The Italian wedding soup is one of the best in Rochester. The fried calamari appetizer was average. I think the banana peppers and lemon made it a bit sour. (most places use bell peppers to even out the sourness). The portions were very large. I ordered a Seafood capellini pasta dish and it was very good. My GF ordered a 16oz prime rib not sure why since she couldn’t finish ¼ of it, but the cut was very juicy and flavorful.
I would definitely come back here again.

Wanted to order a half dinner with chicken french and shrimp scampi, which I have before but was told no this time. I asked why and was told they would overcharge me. What happened to accommodating the customer? Then I just order the shrimp scampi. We had to wait nearly 45 minutes for our meals. My bf ordered the fra Diablo. The waiter did give me a glass of wine on the house for the long wait. Normally I like this place but have been disappointed the last 2 times we’ve been there.

Cute little establishment. It is very small inside but that doesn’t take away from flavor of their dishes. They have an excellent wait staff in my opinion and they have some authentic Italian dishes. When I learned that the head cook from agatina’s came over to be the head cook at Papa Joe’s I knew I had to come. He really knows what he is doing. I haven’t been in a while but I’m sure to go back soon. They have a great red sauce and their chicken French is excellent. It’s the right amount of lemon sauce to chicken. I also like their choices of sides and their portion sizes. You get what you pay for and you get to take some home. Their prices are reasonable especially since you’re probably getting at least two meals out of it. If you haven’t been it’s worth a try!

I love this little Italian joint. I usually get takeout, and they are always on time, the food is always hot and correct, the girls are delightful and cute, and it is the best Italian wedding soup I’ve had from a restaurant. This time I ordered veal cooked with artichoke hearts and mushrooms, cooked in a wine sauce. I was very happy with my choice. Never a bad experience from Papa Joes.

I’ve been going to Papa Joes since it opened and this place is AMAZING. No matter what you order everything tastes simply amazing! They have the best Italian wedding soup I have ever tasted! The place is quite small but it really gives you that at home feel. Andddd the prices are unbelievably cheap every time I go for a couple for two with soups full entrées two glasses of wine (and lot and lots of left overs) it usually costs about $ 28-​$ 30. I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants some good olé home cooking!

Used to be a good place to eat with good food, and not too long of a wait. Now, the wait times are ridiculous, the atmosphere is so loud, the tables are so crammed together you cant enjoy a meal, and you cant enjoy it anyway, because whoever is cooking the food is horrible!!! The last three times I have come here, I have been bitterly dissapointed, well no more!!! I work too hard for my money, and my wife and I used to love the food here, and it is so lackluster in flavor. Our waitresses have completely ignored us, and to get a glass of wine with dinner is a joke! This place has turned into a joke! Dont waste your time!!!

Delicious no-​frills/​homey Italian restaurant in an Italian neighborhood.
Expect big portions & flavorful dishes at reasonable prices — don’t visit for décor or fancy plating.
Take-​out (even drive-​through) is available and the place was bustling; even with a packed waiting room they moved people through quickly.
One nice surprise was that bottled wine was very reasonable compared to typical restaurant mark-​up (~18 $ and up).
Homemade pasta has great texture/​flavor and even the plain red sauce has a spice to it that distinguishes it from your standard Ragu experience. Veal was nice and tender. The traditional antipasto was not particularly «gourmet» but it was solid and large-​portioned, a good size to split with 2 people in my view. Overall the entres and reasonable wine really made Joe’s shine, will be on a list to return to for good Italian for sure.

We were there on a recent Friday night to celebrate our anniversary. We started with the beans and greens appetizer. Delicious. Salads were dressed up a bit and good. We enjoyed the crusty bread. My Haddock French over escarole was terrific. My husband enjoyed his linguini with clam sauce. The only disappointment was the watery pasta and bland tomato sauce that accompanied my fish. House Cabernet was good. All in all a good meal. Good value. Generous portions but you can order half portions. Good service. We will be back. Note that they do not take reservations on Friday nights.

I order from here very frequently (at leat 2 or 3 times a month). Never once have I been disappointed. I call ahead for takeout and usually plan for a 30 minute to one hour wait on the weekends. Well worth the wait! They have the most delectable chicken French I have ever tasted in my life– ask for it served on a bed of angel hair with escarole. Amazing! ! Also the best artichoke French you can imagine. Chicken parm is also another great dish. I have had it at parties for catering and it is just as good. I don’t go in to eat, so I can’t speak on the service inside, but every time I have called to order they are very friendly. The best is that they have a drive thru they pack up the food beautifully and the orders are never messed up!!! Even with it being take out, the presentation is beautiful It is a perfect choice for a date night in!

The company I work for had Papa Joe’s cater our lunch today. The food was amazing, we had juicy chicken breasts that were very delicious. They were not dried out and they were packed with flavor. I also had the Ziti, which was very good as well. The salad and Rolls were top notch too! I would recommend this place for other events that need catering. The staff that showed up were very friendly as well. I can’t wait to visit the restaurant and see first hand what Papa is all about.

It’s always busy here, so sometimes the wait and service can be an issue (as I have read in many other reviews), but the food has always been fantastic, every time I have been there! I usually order the full order of chicken parmesean (or veal, or eggplant) with Italian wedding soup and salad. Their sauce is awesome. The portions are huge (I take the leftovers home and get another lunch or two out of it). The Italian Wedding Soup is the best I have ever had. I always leave full and happy! :) I have also tried getting the same meal in a takeout form and have not been disappointed either. My husband also enjoys the fish fry’s and prime rib here. He said the prime rib was better than one’s he has had from Outback Steakhouse and Red Osier.

It didn’t start well, as I sat the waitress was cleaning off the table ware that wasn’t needed. (There were spoons thanks be praised.) My bread plate was dirty, but she happily traded it for a clean one. We missed the fact that the menus were sat on the far corner of the table, since we may have been chatting it literally took a few minutes, then it dawned on me that the menus had even been left. I heard the other waitress talk about the specials to her table, I had to ask our waitress about them, and then she went to investigate what they were.
The bread (butter on the table, no oil) was pretty dry and stale. Second restaurant on the west side like that this week, maybe I’m out of touch. I ordered half eggplant and a side of homemade ravioli. The ravioli were tender, cooked perfectly, thick dough, lightly stuffed. The eggplant was generous in size, sliced very thin, when stacked it seemed like 75% breading, 25% eggplant, lending it to be pretty dry to eat. I borrowed some of my ravioli sauce to moisten it up. My company ordered the ravioli as a meal, there were only 4, this dish didn’t make it into the generous portion category.
We were were literally the first ones in the place, followed by many many more. I was surprised at almost a full house on a Thursday lunch hour.

Mom and pop type restaurant, very small inside. I have never dined in, I’ve always ordered to go. Decent food. One of the only places I will order lasagna from. I did not like their chicken french at all!, my boyfriend orders the chicken parm and that is actually quite good. Huge servings and that particular dish is covered in cheese! They have delicious italian wedding soup!

I’ve frequented Papa Joe’s since opening and have NEVER been disappointed. I love the marinara sauce, perhaps the best I’ve ever had. I know that sauce is tough since everyone has their own specific taste they like.
The veal parm full portion with a side of linguini alfredo is my go to meal and it never disappoints. The full portion is huge and you do get a lot for your money with it.
I suggest reservations as they are always busy. kind of speaks to how much people like it.

Nice atmosphere but I have to say I wanted to like Papa Joe’s but its a swing and a miss. Chicken Marsala was bland, osso bucco had way too much sage. My daughter who loves calamari did not care for it here. I don’t think I’ll be coming back :(

I went to Papa Joes this weekend and it was just «okay». My date and I ordered the specials. He got the haddock french-​very delicious and quite a generous portion. I got the linguini giovanni and wasn’t too impressed, it was just pasta tossed in butter with some olives, a couple shrimp and peppers tossed in it. I ended up not eating half of it.
The other couples we went with all got half portions of their meals and seemed to enjoy them… but they were Southern and don’t know a darned thing about Italian food because they can’t get it down there.
The thing I don’t like about restaurants is that when a salad accompanies the meal and it is all iceberg lettuce, drenched in a dressing. Total boo. Mama likes a nice spring mix ;)
A positive thing is the bread they put on the table when you first get there… warm and fresh.
One of the people I went with ordered a beer and it took 45 minutes for the waitress to go get it. All of their beer is bottled.
It took forever to get through their phone line. You can make a reservation for any night of the week except Fridays. Splitting checks isn’t a problem.

Are you looking for a home-​cooking Italian restaurant where the portions are mammoth, the quality is good and price is low? BINGO!!!
Papa Joe’s is good, not great, home cooking that prefers to tout quantity over quality, but hey, sometimes when you’re craving a mound of pasta and oil and cheese-​drenched protein, it must be done.
Will you wait an abysmally long time for your table? Yes. Will you have flashbacks to your childhood when your parents dragged you to places like Ponderosa and Sizzler? Likely. Will you gawk and sigh over the heaping pile of steaming food placed before you and bashfully chirp, «I can’t eat all of this» before putting about 90% of it away? Oh the shame, yes.
Get the fried calamari with jalapenos and peppers. Astonishingly good.

I went to Papa Joe’s with four other couples for a nice Italian meal– and that’s what we got! We waited for a good thirty minutes, but with wine & good friends, who cares. The prices at this place are unreal, a $ 12 entrée will feed you for days! We all split wine bottles, appetizers & dessert and we didn’t even cry when we got the bill!
The fact that Papa Joe’s is stationed in an old bank doesn’t make this a romantic hot spot, but if you’re looking for authentic Italian food with friendly staff, this place is highly recommended! You can even pick up food to go through the old drive thru… doesn’t get much better than that, folks!
There is no bar to sit at while you wait, but wine can be brought out upon request.