Prego

Celebrated a young friend's birthday for dinner last night. He is new to Italian food and only knows spaghetti. So we wanted him to try different dishes. He enjoyed every single one of them.The calamari fritto was tender and the vongole, white neck clams, was amazing! The pancetta brought it to the next level and the white wine sauce was divine. We kept asking for more bread so we could dip it in the sauce. Yum! Our friend enjoyed this experience so much and he loved the food. He is so happy to know there is more than spaghetti to Iralian cuisine.

I found this gem online based on proximity and my friend mentioned she was planning on trying them out also....So I took the dive and I'm so glad I did!!!As soon as I saw the espresso machine I knew it was going to be something magical and I was not disappointed. I started with the crab fingers (not pictured because I ate them too fast) and a cocktail. Then had the ravioli. And 2 more cocktails Michael was my server/bartender. The bread was fresh, olive oil top notch and all three of my drinks were refreshing for my Friday happy hour!!!Every member of the staff was kind and polite and the space was quaint and intimate but ok for my casual attire. I can't wait to go back and bring friends!!!

Snapper with encrusted Parmesan and crab meat is delicious. Usually the sides are mediocre but the spinach and penne pasta in red sauce are excellent! I'm so glad to finally make it here. The staff are very attentive.

Ambiance: Casual and way too bright during the day!Service: Average. Nothing noticeable. Food: The worst MARGHERITA Pizza I ever had. I would never be going back.

My partner and I came here for a date night since the restaurant seemed cozy and intimate. Service was prompt and friendly and as soon as we were seated, we were served bread that came with a side of olive oil that had garlic, red pepper flakes and basil. The bread was fresh, soft and delicious dipped in the olive oil! For the main dishes, I got the Branzino and my partner tried the Pollo Romano. The branzino was tender and I enjoyed the grilled tomatoes but the spinach kinda lacked flavor. My partner really liked his chicken parmesan and the mashed potatoes it came with. Overall, if I am in the Rice Village area and craving Italian food, I'd probably stop by again.

I went here once with my parents when I was in the eighth grade I think it was. This was my second time coming and my first takeout from here. Anyway, I ordered the Lasagna togo earlier tonight and it was very delicious, rich and full of aromas. The pasta layers were soft n fresh. The red sauce was like the texture of salsa but with a sweet n tart flavor to it. The ground meat was well seasoned, savory n kinda spicy in a way. The cheese was very thick n rich. This lasagna meal had strong notes of basil and pesto flavors, which were a nice herby plus. The service was very good n friendly. I remember ordering a dish here many years back on my very first visit called the Capellini, which was great n will get it again on another visit if they still sell it. Great Italian spot in Rice Village.

We were in the area and decided to go to Prego on a whim. We came as a walk-in for dinner and were able to be seated immediately. The waiter was amiable, knowledgeable about the menu, and patient with our table who was indecisive about ordering and needed to hear the specials described multiple times (so many delicious options, including a Parmesan-crusted flounder and duck ravioli).To start the meal, we ordered their calamari and crab fingers as appetizers. The calamari was nicely cooked, well seasoned, and I enjoyed the lightly crisp batter. It was also served with a tasty marinara dipping sauce. We ordered the 1/2-lb. serving of their crab fingers (also has a 1/4-lb. option), which was served in a luxurious lemon garlic sauce. Their lemon garlic sauce is money - if they just made a pasta dish served with their lemon garlic sauce, I would be a happy camper. The 1/2-lb. of crab fingers allowed our party of six to have about 2-3 claws per person (though some were baby fingers), and it comes with two crostinis to sop up even more of the lemon garlic sauce. We also ate more bread than we planned - their olive oil is something special and demands to be eaten!Prego started off strong with the appetizers, but my entree was not as impressive. I ended up ordering off the regular menu and opted for the Gamberi e Granchino (shrimp scampi, crabmeat, rapini, and spaghetti aglio e olio). Aglio e olio is my favorite pasta preparation, but this just lacked flavor. For an Italian place, I was expecting more for their pasta cookery. The spaghetti was overcooked and under-seasoned (not al dente). Aside from the full cloves of roasted garlic mixed with the dish, the aglio e olio was too plain for my tastes. I ended up dumping the rest of the bread's olive oil onto my dish to up the olive oil flavor. While the waiter did make it rain freshly grated Parmesan cheese (much appreciated), this dish could've benefited from some salt and fresh cracked black pepper. I did like that the lumps of crabmeat were present and the gulf shrimp were giant (everything really is bigger in Texas). I also liked that the entree was a fully composed dish- protein, pasta, and veg- but this dish felt uninspired.Located near Rice University, it does have a college town feel and quality to it (not quite upscale). But overall, we enjoyed our dinner. It's more of a 3.5, but I'll round up since the appetizers were stellar, the dishes had good presentation, and service was warm and inviting.

The food at Prego is fantastic. Specifically, the fish lunch specials are really, really good. Great spot!

The decor is pleasantly unobtrusive, and the waitstaff are generally on point. We never had to ask for a refill on our water or tea, but I would have liked to have a selection of fun mocktails to choose from that were built for flavors without alcohol instead of mocktails "based on" what's already on the cocktail menu. But this is hardly a reasonable complaint, I'll admit. The only reason I deducted a star, and it's really not that much of a difference between 4 and 5, so here's feedback - the pasta dishes both had the same issue where they were just kind of tangled clumps of noodles with stuff, and it was hard to get a good-sized bite with whole pasta. Still tasted delicious, though, if not a touch Sysco on the sauces.

Food was delicious! Dessert was amazing. I also loved the warm bread and the oil for dipping. Kalamari appetizer, ravioli and the fish dish of the day were our entrees, finished with panecottaWill be back for sure!