Spaghetti Jim’s

Obviously, this isn’t the Olive Garden – your giant bowl of overcooked pasta won’t come to your table dripping greasy sauces and you won’t get a bowl of all-​you-​can-​eat salad from a bag globbed with salty dressing here. If that’s your thing, cool – but adjust your expectations when writing a Unilocal review, or, you know, trying new things in general.
I can’t speak to authenticity of the Italian experience here, but everything we had was very good – homemade pasta and sauces in generous, but not overly-​so, portions. The atmosphere is a strip mall, so generic – but don’t judge this book by its cover. There are no appetizers, just a list of pasta dishes, some sandwiches, a few salads, and a couple of desserts. I am personally a big fan of doing a short list of good things really well – and that’s what this is.
My notoriously picky eating children ordered the Italian Beef without the pickled veggies and a half order of spaghetti and meatballs, 86 red sauce. Husb was tempted by the bolognese but landed on the pasta American – spaghetti with ground beef, red sauce, and a handful of shredded mozzerella over top. I ordered lasagna, which I love when it’s homemade and ably executed.
We all enjoyed every bite of our meal. The salad was greens, croutons, a sprinkle of cheese, and dressing. Sauces were homemade, as far as I could tell, and well-​made. Somewhere around the end of the meal, it occurred to me that we were alone in the restaurant – not a single patron had walked in or out. The server speculated that most of their business was at the film festival downtown, and they’d been quite busy earlier this week. What she did not mention to me, and which I wish I’d known at the time, was that they close at 7 – and we walked in around 6:45. We are the people I LOATHED when working in restaurants, who walk in at closing and then eat seven leisurely courses over the space of three hours! Of course we are. It was kind of the staff to spare us the eyerolls and silent, seething hatred, as we probably deserve it, or at least disguised it admirably.
This was the model of a pleasant experience, and after a couple of questionable ones this week I sure appreciate it. We make it to Traverse City once or twice a year, tops, but I’d eat here again, happily, and recommend it to anyone interested in something other than the oversauced, overdressed, chain-​restaurant experience.

While visiting TC, many in our group were looking for a good Italian place. We were in a group of 8… and when they were about to seat us, the hostess said it would take a bit longer to get our food as they had just sat a 9 top.
When pressured for an exact time, she was very noncommittal. Finally the only cook on that night came out and told us it could be as long as 45+ minutes.
How do you have a restaurant that cannot handle a 9 top and an 8 top being sat? Only one cook? Travelers beware!
Would give 0 stars if it was an option.

Good was great – you could tell it was made from scratch. Prices are reasonable. Glad we came.

Bought a coupon for 30.00 for 15.00 on Upnorthlive. You had to use the whole 30.00 at one time no refunds. It was for dine in only so my husband and I went there to dine in. I got the lasagna which was full of meat but not much cheese and the sauce was just basically diced tomatoes it was very dry. My husband said his spaghetti was ok. It states homemade pasta but it tasted like boxed. The salad was just romaine lettuce with a couple of croutons thrown on top. I have had weight loss surgery so I am unable to eat a lot at one time. I was not able to finish my lasagna so I asked for a box to go home. We also had some money left on the coupon and since we could not get any refund I ordered dessert and wanted to take it with me for later. The waitress said I could not get the dessert to go on the coupon. It was dine in only. I said we just dined in. She said she would ask the owner and the answer was no. So I said I would order the dessert then take one bite and take it with me and she said I couldn’t do that but I could take my lasagna home. You would think that the restaurant would want to please the customer so they would come back. I won’t be back. we also had to pay the taxes because that wasn’t included on the coupon. So I really didn’t receive much of a deal by buying that coupon. It also states on the menu that if you buy one entrée and share it you will be charged for two. If you buy it you should be able to do with it what you want. Too many rules for a mediocre restaurant. With all the excellent restaurants in this town don’t bother with this one.

I’m so sorry. .. I really wanted to like this place. The pasta is good – I was there last night with a group and everyone agreed the food was tasty and all of us would go back for that reason. But the service? Horrible beyond belief.
I met my little cadre of friends here for our weekly meal out before knitting group – I know. .. sounds exciting, no? Three of us walked in the door at 5:00 p.m. to join the other four who were already seated. There were people seated at perhaps four other tables. It took at least 15 minutes to get beverages to our table. When asked for menus, the waitress brought several which she plopped into the middle of the table. Our orders were finally taken – salads were delivered to our table probably 40 minutes after we were seated and one of our group had to rob other tables of silverware so we could eat them. When we had been in the restaurant ONE HOUR without our meals, we all agreed enough was enough so asked to have our food packaged to go. As we walked to the front of the restaurant, a couple who walked in the door at the same time we did was just getting up from FINISHING THEIR DINNERS. So. .. we walked in the same time they did, they were already done eating and we hadn’t even been served?
This place has decent food at affordable prices but they desperately need a manager to run things. One waitress and one cook to serve patrons during the week between Christmas and New Year’s is not sufficient. It is also totally inexcusable for a waitress to have to scrounge change from customers because no one made sure the register was stocked with enough change. It also might have taken the sting out of waiting so long if someone had just apologized. .. said gee, we’re sorry we’re a little short-​handed tonight, someone called in sick, etc. but there were no apologies for any of it. Unfortunate since our little group enjoys dining out and I’m pretty sure not one of us will ever go back there.
I understand there’s been an ownership change recently so that might explain the disorganization. You can have the best food in the world, but if your customer service sucks the way it does at this place, you won’t last long, particularly in a town that’s so full of great restaurants.

We were greeted with a homemade sign that stated there is an extra charge to pay with a credit card. What in the world was the owner thinking? Who doesn’t use a credit card at a restaurant?
The place was generally dirty, and I’m not sure if the air conditioner was working. My chair had food residue on it from the last patron, ick! They use real silver plated silverware that was tarnished and looked dirty. I asked for replacements and they seemed worse than originals. The menu was wet with what I hoped was a soft drink spill. The drinking cups were greasy too.
Waitress seemed nice but totally confused as to what a diner would enjoy, like knowing what the specials were, or the price of the drinks. I guess she was new, but it was clear that this was not the job for her.
The menu was a confusing mess. They have Thai noodles at an Italian restaurant! As weird as that is, my wife ordered it and liked it. It might have been the best dish we had at our table. Another one in our group had chicken parmesan which was quite good with an unexpected «disc» of caramelized parmesan cheese on top. I ordered something from the specials list and it was so unremarkable that I cannot even remember what it was called. I do remember that it had no flavor but was served piping hot.
We had a problem with the bill and when I tried to discuss it with the «cashier», she became snippy and rude. I think she must be a relative of the owners or else she would have been fired long ago for treating customers so rudely.
When you consider the terrible décor, the uncomfortable chairs, the dirty cups, the dirty silverware, the unskilled waitresses, and the rude and snotty cashier, I say skip this place.
I wish that I could say that I liked this place because I really like hole in the wall mom and pop places, but I just can’t overlook all the issues.

If you’re looking for ambiance and super pro service, this is probably not your place. It’s kind of goofy and our waitress on our last visit was very obviously new at her job.
But– if you’re looking for excellent home-​made pasta at an extremely reasonable price in a family-​owned restaurant, this is your place. We always make time to have a group meal here when we are in town. I hope that as they get more popular, and maybe more slick, that they don’t lose the mom and pop love that makes their food so special.

Great food! The service is awesome. There is take-​out for noodles and sauce for that party at home.

This is my third experience dining at Jim’s and I’m sorry to say not as good as I expected. We had a group of 12 and granted that’s a crowd for a small place, but here’s my story: We had called days ahead so our table was waiting for us at 5:30pm. The drinks came out promptly, orders were taken a bit tardy, but that was OK. Then the problems started. The wait time for food was way too long, in most cases 45 minutes and in my and one other, the order never arrived. They were forgotten. We had to remind the server and then they arrived. I visited the salad bar which was well stocked, but the lettuce leaves were wilted and the dressings were in squeeze bottles which was fine, but they were in a compartment which had started out with ice in it. The ice was now water, and the bottles had tipped over so water was entering the open end of the bottle. Not good.
In fairness I have to say everyone liked the food, my lasagna was great, but there were issues with soups that were served. Jim came out to say hello and was genuinly sorry, aplogized and comped the last meal to come out and provided free desserts for everyone.
I think the problem centered around not enough help. The server had too many diners to serve, the kitchen was overwhelmed by our group as well as other customers at the same time. Keep the food quality up, pay attention to the salad bar, and use additional help out front and in the kitchen. Oh yes, prices were reasonable and we felt we got our money’s worth and his new dining room was fine.

Love the homemade Italian! Expanded into the space next door so they have plenty of room. Food is quick but tons of flavor

Best meal we’ve had in TC.
If you’re getting tired of the head-​trippy, chi-​chi spots downtown, if you’ve had it with tight dining rooms crowded with people competing to see who’s coolest, head on over to Spaghetti Jim’s.
The quality of the food is second to none. You can get your mom’s meatballs and spaghetti, or you can get a specialities and nightly specials that’ll blow your socks off, like tonight’s zucchini fritters with organic farro and basil aioli or mushroom ravioli with veal Demi-​glacé.
What I’m trying to say is, Jim Abfalter and his wife give you all of the creativity and quality and none of the headaches of some of TC’s trendy eateries. Check the Facebook photos and you’ll agree.
You get a good meal prepared and served with care for about $ 10 to $ 12 including salad and bread. No fancy dining room, no snotty waiter, no wine or liquor, but you can spend the dough you save on a wonderful dessert homemade by Jim’s wife. Yes, you have to be seated by 7. So worth it!
NEW OWNER SINCE I WROTE THIS.

The real deal. Great food served with genuine care. We stopped through on a road trip and still talk about it. Hopefully we can come back!

So in the last couple months, Spaghetti Jim’s has almost tripled in size, expanding into the newly empty spaces next door. Food is even better than I last remembered it, and the extra space makes the place way more comfortable.
They still stop seating at 7pm, and they’re still closed on Sundays, so it’s tough to get in some nights, but of the places I’ve been so far, it’s the best italian you’ll find in town.

First time customers, wife’s salad was rotting with black leaves, meat balls we so so. When she told the waitress about the salad she never said any thing to anyone or even checked the salad stock so it could not be sold to anyone else. Once my wife said something to another lady as we were checking out she investigated the issue. Place is in a strip mall. Went their because of the reviews others have given it. Not impressed or will return lots of other fantastic places to eat in T. C.

Based on earlier reviews my wife and I went to Spaghetti Jim’s to celebrate her birthday. We were very disappointed. It is very small, does not serve wine or other alcoholic beverages, while the pasta may be made on site, it was not very good nor was the sauce. I ordered the tagliatelli with pork bolognese and my wife had spaghetti and meatball (the half portion). Neither was very good. Your salad, bread and pasta all come on one dish. The service was okay but nothing to write home about.

Wow what can I say about this place!!! The worst example of Italian food we have ever experienced!!! I would say that we have ever eaten but way too bad to eat. The chicken Parmesan and the lasagna were the worst we have ever tasted. The sauce was so bitter… No seasonings. The homemade pasta was like trying to eat a rope. The salad was just a few leafs of lettuce… Nothing else. The garlic bread was a joke… So soggy. Do not waste your time or money on this place. We read good reviews but they must have been written by the owner!!!
B.Dean

Having just moved to the area from Trenton, NJ, aka the Italian restaurant on every corner town, we were really craving some good pasta. Soooo glad we stopped here. Have loved everything we’ve ever ordered. (Sorry I haven’t written sooner but, you know…)
Have been here multiple times and never disappointed. Jim even made gnocchi at our request for when our daughter was in town — with pesto sauce!
If you ever see chestnut pasta with mushroom sauce, order it immediately!
Only problem is that we haven’t been able to explore other places in the area. We can’t bring ourselves to drive past and not stop for a meal!

Good stuff here. You can tell everything is made by hand and with love.
Great Italian food. Yes, the seating is tight and limited, but drop in for a lunch on a weekday and you will end up going back for take out.

My office mates decided to order take-​out from here today and I was pleasantly surprised! It is easy to overlook this restaurant due to its tucked away in a strip mall location, but don’t let that steer you away from the food.
I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs since that must be the specialty. It was very good even though I am not a big fan of Italian seasoned meat — they were not too spicy and overpowering — the mozzarella in the middle was a surprising touch. The pasta was cooked perfectly and very tasty. Bread was nice to soak up the red sauce. Can’t comment on the salad as I didn’t eat any (got shorted one for the take-​out — no biggy).
I can’t really find a reason to take a star away from this fine local establishment — good food that fills you up!
BTW — I laugh at these reviewers who try to compare this establishment with Stella’s or Tuscan! Are you seriously going to try to compare Spaghetti Jim’s to those two places?! Please don’t bother reviewing and rating if you can’t distinguish the difference in price-​point and market segment these establishments belong too. That is plain asinine no matter how fine your olive oil palette is.
Now I found a new spot to take my family prior to our Wednesday church activities.

I only ordered take-​out, so this review is based on what I took home. We *thoroughly* enjoyed this quick meal that took a flash to heat up and devour!
Homemade pasta… super fresh and super yummy!
I loved the Taglierini, super thin spaghetti noodles. I have also enjoyed their spinach and tomato fettuccine. The best thing about fresh pasta is that it heats up in 2 – 3 minutes. On a side note: you can buy their pasta at Oryana and a few other supermarkets.
Mozza Stuffed Meatballs were superbly spiced and mega-​sized! My hubby and I ate one meat ball each for dinner and it was more than enough to satisfy our hunger.
(We’re not big meat eaters to begin with, so perhaps you may want to eat more)
Marinara sauce was delish! My only complaint was that the serving size wasn’t big enough! Definitely buy two containers to take home!
I have eaten at TONS of Italian restaurants in big cities: Little Italy in Baltimore, North End in Boston, expense account super-​expensive Italian and Spaghetti Jim’s can compete with the big boys!
Their dining area consists of a few two-​top tables, and the atmosphere wouldn’t be the best place to go on a first date, but if you have a group large enough, you can reserve the side room.
Mamma Mia! My tummy is happy tonight!