Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

I wish I didn't have to go back to The Old Spaghetti Factory , but it wasn't my choice of venue. In any case, after a couple of duds previously I definitely wanted to order something different and went with the first recommendation I got. The "It's All Included" feature of The Old Spaghetti Factory means you get among other things choice of soup. I went with their standard Minestrone Soup which is actually decent -- except this time it came lukewarm, which totally killed it. FAIL. Red Thai Curry Linguine with Prawns or Chicken ($16.50) light red curry and coconut milk mixed with sautéed peppers and choice of prawns or chicken an topped with fresh cilantro There was negligible curry flavour. If not for the name I couldn't tell this was a curry sauce at all. FAIL. There's coconut flavour and thankfully a not-too-skimpy amount of meat here. Sauce is also generous without your pasta swimming in it. Sweet pepper bits were quite a jarring contrast...

Back to The Old Spaghetti Factory . Not my choice of venue -- I was there for an event -- so that may bias me especially as I wasn't impressed at all last time. Keep this in mind! Minestrone Soup For the " It's All Included " soup, this time I went with the basic offering, and thankfully it was actually really decent. Spicy with slight peppery (?) heat. Good as an appetizer. Spinach Salad ($10.50, extra for optional chicken or prawns) Prepared with almonds, apples, and cranberries with our own Honey Dijon dressing and topped with creamy goat cheese Price is weak for portion considering it's mostly spinach (hey, it's a salad!). You'd probably do just as well if you got Honey Dijon dressing from a supermarket and make up a salad yourself. Which is not to say it tastes bad. It's just that it's mediocre. Where a restaurant can really show value is in the additional ingredients / garnishes that the average person might not be bothered ...

It's been a long time since I've been to The Old Spaghetti Factory -- long enough that I really didn't remember anything about that. Wouldn't have gone except there was a group meet there, so keep in mind this review is based on large-party auto-gratuity service. Their mains come "It's All Included", meaning theoretically you get: Italian Sourdough Bread with Whipped Garlic and Plain Butter. This is not garlic bread. This is bread you cut yourself, and soft butter supposedly with garlic mixed in. We were in a group so they brought a few plates of this and sprinkled it about the long table. I specifically asked for it later in the evening when the bread had run out and never saw it. Maybe it was brought to the table elsewhere but it's a long table and as I specifically asked for it, I really did expect that it would land closer to me if not brought right to me. Soup OR salad Small bowl of Minestrone Soup, or upgrade to Clam Chowder or Fren...