Celestino

Jack Reisbeck

Celestino has been our favorite Pasadena Italian restaurant for decades. The food is always top and the staff so friendly and efficient. We have also hosted and attended multiple family parties at Celestino and they are always great. If you live in Pasadena you already know Celestino is a landmark. If you don't be sure and visit them the next time you are nearby. See you soon Celestino!

RJ C.

This place serves a good selection of Italian dishes! The ambiance is great and they have patio seating in the front and in the rear of the restaurant. The food tastes great and I have had really nice servers, the last 4-5 times I have gone here! I highly recommend getting the tiramisu at the end. Overall, a great italian restaurant to go with your family and friends.

Heidi K

Our friends are celebrating our 33rd Anniversary in Celestino! What an honor! We are blessed with wonderful loving friends Service was excellent Restaurant was clean Food were delicious What more can we ask! We had a good time!

Dzmitry Mik

Wonderful piece of ITALY in the center of Pasadena. Very cozy atmosphere of respect and peace. The staffers are super professionals with the knowledge of Italian language. They have more than 20 kinds of pasta and if you ask them they can add extra 20 hidden kinds of pasta. The more I visit the place the more I become addicted to ITALIAN kitchen and traditions. Must visit place for everyone. Super tasty! Upscale pasta!

Shawn Sheng

An amazing Italian restaurant perfect for date night, big celebration, or just enjoying a nice meal. The servers are super nice and absolutely wonderful, the food is delicious and the environment is intimate. There are a lot more tables than I thought, the restaurant is quite big.

Maaaaaaaaaaannnnn!!!!! This place was my first time dining here. My friend treated me here for lunch . I had the best dining experience here. Italian food was definitely wel seasoned, hot bread, pasta, coffee, the tiramisu, just everything was on point. 🤤 The employees were very, very nice and our waiter was just the most attentive person that you can ever have. It's almost like having your own personal waiter for your table with exclusively . The atmosphere was totally cool. Food little pricey but for me it was worth it. You can't take it with you, so you might as well enjoy the fruits of your labor. Definitely try this place as soon as they open 11:40 am because they fill up really really fast. I highly recommend that you make reservations. 🤤 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is a fabulous Italian restaurant. The food was excellent, the service was perfect and the cost was reasonable. It felt like I was back in Rome with an authentic Italian dining experience. Highly recommend. Get there early (our reservation was for 5:30) as by 6:30 the room was packed and many people were waiting.

p j

Maaaaaaaaaaannnnn!!!!! This place was my first time dining here. My friend treated me here for lunch . I had the best dining experience here. Italian food was definitely wel seasoned, hot bread, pasta, coffee, the tiramisu, just everything was on point. 🤤 The employees were very, very nice and our waiter was just the most attentive person that you can ever have. It's almost like having your own personal waiter for your table with exclusively . The atmosphere was totally cool. Food little pricey but for me it was worth it. You can't take it with you, so you might as well enjoy the fruits of your labor. Definitely try this place as soon as they open 11:40 am because they fill up really really fast. I highly recommend that you make reservations. 🤤 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Jean Rutherford

This is a fabulous Italian restaurant. The food was excellent, the service was perfect and the cost was reasonable. It felt like I was back in Rome with an authentic Italian dining experience. Highly recommend. Get there early (our reservation was for 5:30) as by 6:30 the room was packed and many people were waiting.

Luis Francisco-Revilla

Great food and service, with a classic ambiance. It was a bit hard to hear each other due to people at other tables talking really loud. But we really enjoy the the food and great service!

Came here with our friend to celebrate his birthday, and wow — what a surprise! We never even knew this restaurant was here, but we’re so glad we decided to dine at Celestino. The food is amazing. We especially loved the ravioli with burrata cheese and the vodka penne pasta, both absolutely delicious and full of flavor. Service was great, attentive without being rushed, and the dining environment feels truly five-star. Another plus: free parking in the back, which is rare for Pasadena!

My fav Italian restaurant in Los Angeles.. been here for nearly 10 years and after coming back from Italy in October for nearly a month.. coming back here because I missed Italian so much..

We were here for a corporate dinner. The drinks were excellent. Best straight Martini I have had in a while. The fillet mignon was on point and fork tender. The deserts were perfect and not overly sweet. The capriccio was absolutely amazing.

The place was full and we had no reservation. The hostess told us that there will be a wait but she sat us right away. Despite being understaffed, we enjoyed our dinner experience. The porterhouse steak, rack of lamb and veal were cooked to perfection. The spaghetti cacio pepe, panna cotta and ricotta cheesecake were ok.

A nice place to have dinner with. The service could be a bit slow when it's crowded and there's no dedicated server for the table. However, the servers are very kind and are willing to answer any of your questions. The food is tasty and I enjoyed the dessert the most. The recommended white wine was also a plus to the pasta I ordered.

regis kwong

Came here with our friend to celebrate his birthday, and wow — what a surprise! We never even knew this restaurant was here, but we’re so glad we decided to dine at Celestino. The food is amazing. We especially loved the ravioli with burrata cheese and the vodka penne pasta, both absolutely delicious and full of flavor. Service was great, attentive without being rushed, and the dining environment feels truly five-star. Another plus: free parking in the back, which is rare for Pasadena!

Ed Tom

My fav Italian restaurant in Los Angeles.. been here for nearly 10 years and after coming back from Italy in October for nearly a month.. coming back here because I missed Italian so much..

Yi-Hsiang Lai

A nice place to have dinner with. The service could be a bit slow when it's crowded and there's no dedicated server for the table. However, the servers are very kind and are willing to answer any of your questions. The food is tasty and I enjoyed the dessert the most. The recommended white wine was also a plus to the pasta I ordered.

Tareq Barakzoy

We were here for a corporate dinner. The drinks were excellent. Best straight Martini I have had in a while. The fillet mignon was on point and fork tender. The deserts were perfect and not overly sweet. The capriccio was absolutely amazing.

Susanna SS

The place was full and we had no reservation. The hostess told us that there will be a wait but she sat us right away. Despite being understaffed, we enjoyed our dinner experience. The porterhouse steak, rack of lamb and veal were cooked to perfection. The spaghetti cacio pepe, panna cotta and ricotta cheesecake were ok.

Staff: 5/5 - nice accommodating staff Food Quality: 3/5 - good quality ; I ordered Venison it was good flavorful but lacked tenderness and marbling Food Flavor: 2/5 Appetizer was this mushroom soufflé that was not an actual soufflé bc it lacked all qualities of one- it resemble chum from chum bucket and looked repulsive. Spaghetti hubby got tasted like Chef Boy R Dee not pleasant and pasta was split( no.1 rule is never split the pasta every Italian knows this) Venison was good but veggies and sides were all cold as if straight out refrigerator. Drinks: 5/5 -bar staff was knowledgeable sociable and well versed Price: 4/5 - reasonable price if food was up to par Overall: 19/25-76% satisfactory

Overview: a genuine Italian experience that's lacking in a few major areas. Coming from the East Coast, this pales in comparison to 'Italian'. Food: - overall, it's alright. It'll hit the spot of 'I'm craving Italian', but you won't leave feeling like you just had a traditional true Italian meal. - I got the special of a swordfish steak, and added in a dish of penne, extra. The steak was great but the meal lacked a proper amount of vegetables and carbs. In fact there was no carb (why I had to order penne). I was expecting a meal, not just a single meal item. - we got asked if we wanted bread and butter, something every single restaurant offers and provides for free (at least every single one I've been to, up until now), we said yes and and up getting charged!! What?!? - the penne was mediocre, literally something you can throw together yourself in 15 minutes at home. Nothing special here. - the imported Italian beer they have is surprisingly good, the blond is better than the red! - tiramisu was above average, if I'm being honest I can barely remember it . Service: - our waiter was an authentic Italian guy, almost stereotypically Italian, it was amazing. The accent, the vibe, and the energy he gave was spectacular, and was the most redeeming quality of the restaurant. He recalled the entire specials' menu from heart with every single ingredient it came with, incredible talent. He was very into our opinion of the food, how everything was, etc. Other: - stop charging customers for bread and provide it free, like normal restaurants. - if you're making an entree, make it a legit entree. Protein, carb, vegetable/fruit, this is basic cooking. - these little money saving tactics they do hurt their review. The fact that the transparency wasn't there is what makes this point hit hard.

Momo The Builder (Jon Simonin)

Overview: a genuine Italian experience that's lacking in a few major areas. Coming from the East Coast, this pales in comparison to 'Italian'. Food: - overall, it's alright. It'll hit the spot of 'I'm craving Italian', but you won't leave feeling like you just had a traditional true Italian meal. - I got the special of a swordfish steak, and added in a dish of penne, extra. The steak was great but the meal lacked a proper amount of vegetables and carbs. In fact there was no carb (why I had to order penne). I was expecting a meal, not just a single meal item. - we got asked if we wanted bread and butter, something every single restaurant offers and provides for free (at least every single one I've been to, up until now), we said yes and and up getting charged!! What?!? - the penne was mediocre, literally something you can throw together yourself in 15 minutes at home. Nothing special here. - the imported Italian beer they have is surprisingly good, the blond is better than the red! - tiramisu was above average, if I'm being honest I can barely remember it . Service: - our waiter was an authentic Italian guy, almost stereotypically Italian, it was amazing. The accent, the vibe, and the energy he gave was spectacular, and was the most redeeming quality of the restaurant. He recalled the entire specials' menu from heart with every single ingredient it came with, incredible talent. He was very into our opinion of the food, how everything was, etc. Other: - stop charging customers for bread and provide it free, like normal restaurants. - if you're making an entree, make it a legit entree. Protein, carb, vegetable/fruit, this is basic cooking. - these little money saving tactics they do hurt their review. The fact that the transparency wasn't there is what makes this point hit hard.

Sadly, Olive Garden would have been better for the amount we paid. This place has a great wine selection and the cocktails and coffee are wonderful. The food leaves too much to be desired. It is very salty, the olive oil is low quality, and the specials were oversold. The sourdough bread that they give you had decent flavor and texture and was warm, but they do not have room temperature butter. We asked two separate servers for spreadable butter, one server brought us cold butter and the other brought us contaminated melted butter. The dining areas are very crowded. It was almost too loud to have a conversation but not quite. And while our server did remove one of the specials for us, we likely will not be returning.

We just finished a dinner meal at Celestino's. We tried it upon the recommendation from a friend for authentic Italian. We took our daughter for a casual family meal for 3. The dinner started out great with bread brought to the table and a friendly waiter. My daughter ordered spiral pasta with 4 cheeses which she said tasted like basic mac n cheese; my husband ordered penne a la vodka which was delicious and I had a pasta with mushroom and shrimp pasta that was nice, but nothing to rave about. It all turned sour when we were asked if we were interested in dessert. We asked what was available and the waiter said he would bring something special, so we were expectantly excited. He brought two dishes that almost seemed as if he was bringing it as a courtesy since we weren't given any other options. We ate both and both were delicious. However, as friendly and gregarious as he was the whole time, he then brought the check and quickly scurried off. We looked and saw that not only both desserts were charged, bread was charged at $2.00 per person even though they just brought it to our table when we were seated. If given a choice, we probably would have declined a dessert. We thought that this was poor and shortsighted customer service, because we would have returned and shared our experience with friends. Instead, a casual dinner turned out to be an expensive meal along with a poor review. We felt as though we were "scammed" for a higher bill. Instead of choosing to return with family and friends, we will warn others not to come to this unscrupulous establishment.

Linda Kao

We just finished a dinner meal at Celestino's. We tried it upon the recommendation from a friend for authentic Italian. We took our daughter for a casual family meal for 3. The dinner started out great with bread brought to the table and a friendly waiter. My daughter ordered spiral pasta with 4 cheeses which she said tasted like basic mac n cheese; my husband ordered penne a la vodka which was delicious and I had a pasta with mushroom and shrimp pasta that was nice, but nothing to rave about. It all turned sour when we were asked if we were interested in dessert. We asked what was available and the waiter said he would bring something special, so we were expectantly excited. He brought two dishes that almost seemed as if he was bringing it as a courtesy since we weren't given any other options. We ate both and both were delicious. However, as friendly and gregarious as he was the whole time, he then brought the check and quickly scurried off. We looked and saw that not only both desserts were charged, bread was charged at $2.00 per person even though they just brought it to our table when we were seated. If given a choice, we probably would have declined a dessert. We thought that this was poor and shortsighted customer service, because we would have returned and shared our experience with friends. Instead, a casual dinner turned out to be an expensive meal along with a poor review. We felt as though we were "scammed" for a higher bill. Instead of choosing to return with family and friends, we will warn others not to come to this unscrupulous establishment.

The food was absolutely flavorless — nothing tasted good. The service, however, was at a solid level, and the atmosphere was average. But the food itself was completely disappointing. And then the check at the end felt like the price of a five-star Michelin restaurant, which made the experience even more frustrating. Because of all this, my rating is 2 stars.

A S aka GarikBaldi

The food was absolutely flavorless — nothing tasted good. The service, however, was at a solid level, and the atmosphere was average. But the food itself was completely disappointing. And then the check at the end felt like the price of a five-star Michelin restaurant, which made the experience even more frustrating. Because of all this, my rating is 2 stars.

This would probably be my first and last time dining here. I had booked a reservation but I waited over 30 minutes to get seated because there was so much disorganization and chaos inside, and I saw people who had arrived after me get seated before me which felt unfair. There’s no designated waiting area so there were people standing around blocking walkways. I had to find the host several times and ask when I was going to be seated. The food was good, but the service was certainly subpar. I only saw my server two times, and I had to ask someone else several times to grab the check. It’s highly likely that I would not come here again due to the disorganization and poor service. The establishment needs to have a better system of waiting areas, checking guests in and ensuring they are seated in a timely manner.

Peter Hahn

This would probably be my first and last time dining here. I had booked a reservation but I waited over 30 minutes to get seated because there was so much disorganization and chaos inside, and I saw people who had arrived after me get seated before me which felt unfair. There’s no designated waiting area so there were people standing around blocking walkways. I had to find the host several times and ask when I was going to be seated. The food was good, but the service was certainly subpar. I only saw my server two times, and I had to ask someone else several times to grab the check. It’s highly likely that I would not come here again due to the disorganization and poor service. The establishment needs to have a better system of waiting areas, checking guests in and ensuring they are seated in a timely manner.