Papa's Italian Restaurant ~ Prescott, Arizona

Latest visit: Feb 2021

First visit: Sep 1997

Now here's a trip down memory lane. Mrs. RJG and I had been married less than 6 months when we embarked on our very first road trip from Denver. Neither of us had ever been to Prescott, and so after a day in Phoenix, we spent the night here. This was long before any of our extensive family moved to the area. Our dinner choice that night was Papa's - at that time they were located on a rural two lane country road. We were late, so it was dark when we arrived. It was a quaint little restaurant as I recalled. I did validate on this visit that my memory did not deceive me, and that it was indeed the same place. Today they are a fixture in downtown Prescott. It's a very popular venue, and when we arrived it looked like we had no chance for a table. Reservations only it seemed. But fortune favors the bold, and our timing was perfect. We got, as the hostess informed us, "the best table in the restaurant", and we were seated immediately. What a break! The table was private, tucked away in a corner near the bar

We started with a bottle of the house cabernet, which is Woodbridge, and was fairly priced - not something you see too much anymore unfortunately. Two small sliced loaves of heavily seasoned bread showed up with a creamy butter. Excellent. We each ordered our meal and both of us got the house salad. The salad comes with cold and crisp green lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, and garbanzo beans. Best of all is the balsamic vinaigrette, an excellent homemade blend. We also asked for parm cheese, and out came a bowl of freshly grated real parmesan cheese. As for the main course Mrs. RJG had spaghetti and Italian sausage, while I went for the staple chicken parm. No one will complain about the portion sizes! The real (full) spaghetti was perfectly cooked al dente. The sausage is of the spicy variety which is to both of our likings. Not sure if they make their own or it's from a local vendor. The chicken was seasoned heavily the way I like it. However they didn't crisp it enough, and so it was a bit chewy. Not sure if that's their recipe or they just didn't bake it enough on this visit. Their red sauce is of the thick and chunky variety, and is a bit sour. We would have preferred it to be more smooth and perhaps a bit sweeter or spicier. Personal preferences to be sure. Service was impeccable, and we haven't seen a restaurant this busy since the pandemic started. Hints of better times ahead. We hope.

Never thought we'd ever have a chance to go back here - but 24 years later, we made it. We had a great time too.

9/2/97; 2/16/21 (new entry)