Al Lago Restaurant

This is my first Unilocal review. Our experience was so fantastic I opened a Unilocal account just to leave it. Honestly we contacted George of Al Lago restaurant for catering because we were required to by our contract with Allenmore Golf Course where we had my fathers memorial. I’ll be perfectly honest I didn’t expect much. But here is what I got:
Food so delicious that at a MEMORIAL it was an oft repeated topic of conversation. Moist, perfectly seasoned chicken Marsala at a buffet?! Are you kidding me? Who does that? And pasta that people ate and exclaimed over ALL day. When we finally ran out, once we were home, people asked me for the name of George’s restaurant so they could go order some.
REASONABLE pricing. At first I ordered appetizer plates, not really thinking. When the quote came back I called him up expressing my shock at the price tag. Within minutes he called me back and blew my mind with what he could offer. We ended up with multiple truly delicious courses, salad, breads, deserts, coffee service… I really could not have been more pleased with the price and the food.
Perfect, delicious little desserts served in the round and then hand delivered to each table after the service when folks were just sitting around.
Perfect service from set up and serving throughout the memorial and clean up. And then… George hand packed ALL the left overs for us. We carried them to the car and just reopened them for the wake at our house. It saved us so much time. And you know how well prepared food only gets better as the flavors mingle? We had NOTHING left the next day. Every single scrap was eaten by friends and family.
In summary– have these fine folks cater your next event. Eat at Al Lago and the Allenmore golf course restaurant when it opens in a few weeks.
I’ll see you there.

I would like to make a shout out to Gorge the manager. He accused me of breaking a picture in the men’s bathroom when I was just meeting my mother for lunch in the middle of the day. Not only did he approach the situation wrong he falsely accused me of something I did not do. As someone with 7 years experience in the restaurant Industry I know how a situation should be handled and he did about the exact opposite of how it should of been taken care of. I was the only person being harassed for this accusation when there was other people who were in the restaurant and no proof as to why he thought it was me. This place has the worst customer service in Bonney Lake. And the food is very sub par. I won’t be returning, along with friends and family.

Nice that its so close to the house, but food is ok. Sometimes the specials are good, its kind of a hit or miss.

I’ve been driving by for a while and finally made it in for dinner Saturday night. We sat outside in the sun with a beautiful view of the lake. They had nice dinner music playing in the background and brought out heaters when the weather started to get chilly. Everything was delicious and the wait staff was delightful. Very attentive. We even made reservations to come back for Mother’s Day brunch. I’m looking forward to it!

Great food. Awesome staff!!! The pizza is so good. Happy hour has some great deals too. Yeah, I may go here every once in a while. :-)

I love this place. The ribeye is my absolute favorite and the new bloody mary is so good! Great place for a date or fun with friends!

Above everything else Al Lago offers friendship. This nouveau Pierce County Italian eatery has a changing menu and elegant standards. I highly recommend the rotating specials — whatever that may be. Owner George Filiss maintains a great wine selection, and the always professional bar staff prepares excellent cocktails. Bring friends, grab a booth imbibe.

My husband and I both received food poisoning from the seafood Alfredo.
We decided to try this restaurant by our house since we passed it all the time going into Bonney Lake. The décor inside was great, as was our server (wish i remembered her name). We both ordered the seafood Alfredo and it tasted awesome. Overall a great food experience… until we got home.
About 2 hours after we get home my husband starts to feel sick and thus begins our night of no sleeping. I didn’t show symptoms until the next morning. We were both completely out of commission for a week, relying on friends to take us to the doctor and to bring us food and drinks. By the time i felt better i was able to call pierce county and report the food poisoning.
Wasted $ 100 on the meal and drinks and 4 working days each of sick time. Sucks too cause I have a $ 50 gift card I’ll never use now.
Edit (5÷19÷16) — Unfortunately the owner of this restaurant is calling this review ‘vicious and untrue’. I have the name of the focal I called at the Tacoma Health Department and she said they would be doing an inspection of the restaurant (I have not heard a follow-​up since). There is no reason I would post a review like this without there being truth to the matter.

Beautiful location and the view is just amazing.
Ordered a few items for three and I had spaghetti with spicy Italian sausage.
The Italian spicy sausage was cold and not cooked nor prepared in the sauce. Possibly was a frozen sausage.
I would not call this restaurant an authentic Italian, but it has potentials. For starters, get rid of the chef.
The waiter is great and sterling.
The music has to go, the country music does not do well with my pasta.

Most people complain when the food comes out slow. I am complaining because the appetizer salad and meal came out within 5 minutes. Poor kitchen planning. But the food is always good especially the chicken parmesan. Classic. The foie gras was tasty but I could not enjoy it so I took it home. The service by my waiter was very good.
Went back a few weeks later. Had veal Marsalis and my date had chicken Picata. A plus on both. Food came out a good interval and our waitress Stephanie was awesome. Food is one of the better Italian restaurants in Pierce county

Great food and I love how George the owner always mingles with guests and always remembers us!

This place makes Olive Garden look like a 5 star restaurant. I ordered the fettuccini Alfredo, it was gummy, and the sauce had no flavor. I felt sick after eating it. The interior of this place looks old, and dingy. Their Greek salads presentation is that of one you can get at a fast food joint. Would never go back.

This year we didn’t have any plans with family for Easter. We were undecided on where to go that wouldn’t be overly busy and possibly offered Happy Hour. It was just after 2:00 and it occurred to us that we hadn’t been to Al Lago in a while. We called to see if they were busy and if they were offering H.H. on a holiday… sure enough both were in our favor after calling. So we arrived and found the place nearly empty as their brunch ended at 2:00 and it was nearly 3:00 by this time… although I was surprised seeing only one or two tables with patrons on a holiday. We sat at one of the nice big circular booths facing the bar. We were greeted as we walked in and told we could sit anywhere. The young man brought menus/​water immediately. The happy hour menu had a nice variety of food items and drink choices at a reasonable price ranging from 3 – 7.00. We started out with a wedge salad and fried calamari and bruschetta. For drinks we had a Manhattan and lemon drop. If you want a kick butt drink order a Manhattan! The blue cheese salad was good, the crunchy walnuts top it off. The fried calamari very good along with the garlic aoli they serve with it and portion good. I love when they add the tentacles along with the rings. The bruschetta… ok, probably wouldn’t order again. Not quite sure why but between the thick toast it was on being somewhat soft and the tomato mixture a little blah it just wasn’t exciting. I think the bread choice needs to be thinner and maybe a pop of more garlic and basil would really help. After those nice starters we chose a couple entrée’s to share as well. My hubby had the bacon cheese burger with fries and I had the steamer clams, each were just 6 or 7.00 bucks! Both came out looking impressive. We asked that the fries be bumped up to the truffle fries that we noticed on a different menu, which we did receive. The burger and fries were awesome, just needed a little sauce as both buns were without… but the aoli was the perfect fix. The clams also delicious, broth and all just hit the spot. By this time we had ordered another round of drinks, a mojito and a whiskey sour, both nicely made. The server was very attentive. No real complaints, the food quality and quantity were on point for the most part and being on happy hour was such a nice perk. We normally go in the summer and sit outside while enjoying happy hour but it for some reason has been a year since our last visit. We were happily reminded how much we enjoy this place, whether eating inside or out. After our meals here across from Lk. Tapps we always end with a drive around the lake on a nice day.

Better than Olive Garden, but I would not consider a high end Italian joint! It has potential, but I would say it’s avg. Not bad but not great! Not many options in the area, so if they could just step up their game I think they could dominate the area.

Disappointed. My first visit last night with a good friend. I ordered the dinner Ahi Tuna which came stacked with avocados that were rock hard! There weren’t even ripe! Awful. It ruined the whole plate for me.
Crêpe brûlée was only okay in my opinion. She’ll was just blackened and not as crisp as I have had before.
I won’t return.

I’m amazed this place has a 3 star rating. The service is awesome. I went twice, the first time tried the meatless lasagna and it was fresh, hot, good portion, inexpensive, and tasted AMAZING. The cheese they use is out of this world and their marinara is delicious. Italian soda always a treat and the waitress was great. The complimentary bread and butter with basil and sun dried tomato were a meal on their own and bread is made in house with a crispy crust, I give that 5 stars by itself.
Second trip for lunch I had the Caesar salad, added garbanzo beans and the dressing amount is light and perfect. Fresh cut veggies and a side of balsamic vinegar and olive oil with that amazing bread again. Different server, same great service. A nice open view with all the windows and some old school décor.
This should be a local gem.

My wife and I went to a wine/​food pairing event here recently. The pairings were wonderful, the servers were knowledgable and we ended the evening bringing a few bottles of wine home. It was a fun way to experience new wine and learn how to pair it up correctly with food. We plan to go to the next event.

I came here for a private luncheon and though the private party area and staff were nice, I can’t say the same for the food. I had Chicken Picatta, which came with roasted vegetables and angel hair. The chicken was really thin and such a small portion. And since it was so thin, it was overcooked, making it hard to cut with a knife and fork. Some of the edges were burnt, too. Not only did it have such a tough texture and was overcooked, but it was waaay too salty. Nothing on the plate was edible. The roasted vegetables and angel hair were really oily, making it hard to eat. Fortunately the service is really friendly, hence the two stars versus one. But I’d never eat here again.

Not all that great as I wanted it to be. For years I’ve been wanting to try this place out for dinner but I was pretty disappointed. I’ll keep it short and straight to the point.
Spaghetti with meatballs. Bland. Sauce tastes like a can of tomato sauce.
Steak salad. Flavor of red onions all over the place. Tried to pick them out but it didn’t help. Either request for easy on the onions or leave them out all together.
Steak was so inconveniently placed on top of the salad. I wasn’t given an extra plate to slice it on so I had to ask for one… it took too long so I didn’t bother waiting. It’s my first time to ever slice steak on top of veggies.
Chicken tenders was ok. My kid enjoyed it but the side of ranch dressing he requested was «bad» according to him. It was a bit sour but not spoiled.
I don’t plan to go back unless I’m invited for dinner or something.

With complete and utter confidence, I can attest to the glory and wonderment of Al Lago… from 1500 miles away, without ever having stepped foot in their restaurant.
Impossible, you say! Balderdash, you cry (puffing away at your Calabash pipe, in your Victorian garb, being all old-​timey and judgy and imaginary).Except, it’s true! Because, I live in Arizona, my mother lives in Bonney Lake, and this is the second year I’ve been able to phone order fine wine and an exquisite meal to be delivered to her doorstep on her birthday.
Stephanie is an immensely attentive, thoughtful and helpful Goddess; guiding me toward all the best-​of-​the-​best choices. And the owner, George, must be some sort of saint, because even though their delivery service is only available certain days, and even though my mom’s birthday was NOT one of those days, George drove to my mother’s home and delivered her special dinner himself.
My mother assures me it’s delicious, and next time I visit her I plan to find out for (read: gorge) myself.
THANK YOU AL LAGO!