Castiglia's Italian Restaurant

Very good taste 9 out of 10 for flavor. 2 out of 10 for portion size for the cost. Pasta sauce is very very good. Wasn't happy about the cost though for chicken parm. For $16 I expected quite a big meal and the piece of chicken was tiny but the pasta was good.

Once again their taste was very very good. Enjoyed it, on the fence about going back though.

Out of a possible ten I would give this restaurant a five. One member of our party got the pasta with shrimp and clams. The shrimp you could tell was frozen and the clams were god awful. Not only did they taste terrible, but they were the size of quarters and looked as if they were illegally fished (size wise). I myself had veal parm. The pasta was fine however the veal was not the best. While it was not the worst veal I have ever had, you could tell it was the fake veal restaurants use when veal isnt in season. The other member of out party enjoyed their meals so I guess this was the positive part of our dinning experience.

Love it! During a recent visit to Fredericksburg, some friends of ours (who are locals) recommended Castiglia's for dinner. This was the weekend Fredericksburg hosted the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon and the place was packed with runners and their families looking for tasty pasta dishes to fuel them for the next day's race. When we arrived, the line was already formed and extneding out of the restaurant. We thought for sure the wait would be long. Not so, we were seated within five mintues.

This place looks and feels like a family owned Italian restaurant should. (I do not know that it is family owned, but it sure does feel like it.) The decor is tasteful but not extravagent. The atmosphere is cozy without feeling cramped. Much of the wait staff is speaking Italian and there is an older gentleman playing the accordian and taking special requests from dinner guests. Close you eyes and you might believe you are in downtown Florence, Italy.

The smells in this place are pure heaven. We caught the aroma of fresh baked pizza crust from a block away. As we walked closer, we could begin smelling the wonderful tomato sauce, sausage, herbs and other ingredients as they played a harmonius melody with our noses. Can you tell we like this place?

The food and drink lived up to our now, very high expectations. My wife had a wonderful pasta dish with some of the best tomato sauce we have ever tasted -- it tasted like fresh tomatos with just the right amount of seasoning. I ordered a Calzone that was equally good and fresh. The food portions are large and the prices are very reasonable, if not just plain inexpensive.

If you read any of my other reviews, you know I am a stickler for good service and I am happy to say that Castiglia's service was nearly as good as the food. Although there was a snafu with my order, they were straighforward about what happened and made sure I was 100% satisfied.

We like this place so much, we came back again the next day with some friends for lunch.

This is definitely one of the better family Italian restaurants we have had the pleasure of dining and will be be back again real soon. Highly recommended!