Back again and just as impressed as the first time. Chef Lance and his Team are killing it! Food, Service and Ambiance are all awesome. read more

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Let me start this review by saying that I understand that they just opened and are still working out the kinks of a new restaurant. The community and food of the original location were a really big part of my life. I was devastated when I heard they were closed. I was excited to hear it was reopening. I no longer live in Fayetteville but happened to be here visiting family this week. We made reservations and were seated right away. The table was wobbly and i fixed it with some coasters i requested. Not a big deal, but worth noting bc the experience would have been fine if 1 or 2 of these things happened but the combination of it all made it worth writing a review. We ordered 3 cocktails that took far too long to deliver. The tequila one was a little odd but I liked it. When my mother in law ordered a beer shortly after , her pint showed up about an inch short and no head on the beer. Our manicotti and lasagna came out and we were told the pizza would be out within a couple minutes. The manicotti was good. The lasagna was cold in the middle and we had to send it back. The pizza took another 12ish minutes leaving me as the only one with food at our table and my food getting cold while I waited on my family's food to arrive / reheat. My mom had ordered a lasagna to go as well. After paying, my mom and I walked outside to chat and it took the rest of the family quite a while to meet us outside. Come to find out, they were searching for their card bc the server never returned it. Another server found it on the bar and brought it to them. Again, not a huge deal, but the culmination of the small things led to a poor experience. When my mom got home, she called me to ask if our food was really sweet. I said it tasted a little sweet but not crazy. Then she and her husband got into their lasagna further and there was a giant inedible cinnamon stick in their food. Her Caesar salad was also wilted and with no croutons. Normally I wouldn't mind a few minor mistakes during opening week but this whole experience was not great. Especially for the price and the hype around the new reopening! I will also admit that I was a little surprised that the chef didn't come out to check on any tables. Especially during opening week. The vibe of a small community place that truly cares wasn't there anymore. read more

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This restaurant was small and intimate. When we first arrived, they gave us four small pieces of bruschetta for our party of 4, and it was delicious! They also had a bottle of rose for $16. My husband and I split the mushroom ravioli and my Boys also had a large portion of pasta. The mushroom ravioli had 6 ravioli and 2 pieces of shrimp which was perfect to split. We also ordered the meatballs for appetizers (only two) but delicious!!!! I would definitely eat there again!!! read more

This review is for a delivery order (but please not the delivery was fast and on time) I got the Apollo Tuscans Piccata with a side Ceasar salad. I also ordered a side of creamy pesto and side of Parmesan cheese. The side of Parmesan cheese was $2.50 and came in a tiny container - there was less of it than on the very small side salad. This is a crazy price for that. The creamy pesto had a good consistency but it is overly salty. The entree- the chicken appears to be good quality and is well cooked. They were accurate in my modifications which is greatly appreciated. The description leaves out capers (I shoulda got that from piccata huh?!) but I do not like them and they weren't listed or I would have had them removed. The descriptions says that the linguini is in a creamy garlic Parmesan sauce. This is a joke. It's in maybe a chicken broth? Alittle butter and pasta water? There is zero creamy sauce, it's flavorless liquid. I get pricing is more for delivery but I wanted to give this local restaurant a shot and that was $55 with nothing worth it. (Salad dressing was good but definitely not a chef specialty, it's 100% bottles creamy ceasar dressing). read more

Food was just ok and extremely expensive. Be prepared to wait to even get acknowledged after you have been seated. Waited 20 plus minutes to get a waitress to come to our table. Not worth it. read more

What a refresh. The ambiance was great, and the food was brilliant. My wife had the Lasagna which she loved, and the bruschetta was an unexpected, and delicious surprise. I am vegan, and while they didn't have anything vegan on the menu, the chef came out and discussed a dish that he could make vegan. He made a really tasty eggplant dish, with a side of veggies which was AMAZING. The chef was also super cool and made sure everyone in the restaurant had a great meal. We will certainly be back. read more

Maybe we came on an off night. Took about 10 minutes to be greeted by our server once we were seated. We were brought waters but never offered anything else. The bread they provided wasn't great with a little overripe diced tomato and oil. The Caesar salad tasted like the dressing was bottled. I had the Chicken Parm and the sauce was sooo salty. The actual chicken was nice, but the side of penne was drowning in salty tomato paste. The atmosphere was great, but the service was spotty. For what they charge, it didn't meet expectations. read more

Our first visit since the ownership change. We have celebrated many milestones over the years at Pesto including graduations, birthdays, new jobs,and promotions. It has been a go to place for celebrations. I don't know if we will go back. Pesto has never been inexpensive and as with most businesses prices have gone up and portions were definitely smaller. There were four of us for dinner. Three out four of us were disappointed with our meal. The fettuccine was probably a fourth less in quantity and the cream sauce barely coved the noodles. The eggplant Parmesan was not good either. The eggplant was tough and the sauce on the accompanying pasta was way too sweet. The service was barely existent. Had to ask three times for water refills and our desert (it was the highlight of the meal) took 30 minutes to arrive. It appears that our waiter was also having to play bartender. Is the new way or were they short staffed. For a tab that ran over $200 the whole experience fell short. Looks like we will be looking for a new place to celebrate milestones. I am giving a two star rating based solely on the desert. read more

Another amazing night at Pesto's by Lance. Everything we ordered was amazing and perfectly prepared. Make sure and get reservations as it packs out read more

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If it were solely based on the food, this place would be a 5 star restaurant. I had the mushroom ravioli and it is some of the best pasta I've had in NWA. Everyone at the table was very happy with their food which included the chicken Parmesan and eggplant Parmesan. I'm giving it a 4 star because of the service and drink selection, but mostly the drink selection. If it were solely based on this, I probably would have given 2 or 3 stars. The wine selection is just not good, the Pinot noir tasted like balsamic vinegar. A good pasta meal needs a good glass of wine! The food came out quickly and, again, was amazing. But the servers seemed flustered, which would be understandable if it had been busy but there were only 4 or 5 tables of other patrons when we were there. A lot of circumstances could have led to this, sometimes people just have off days and that's why I went for 4 stars. Again, if there had been the option for a nice glass of wine I probably wouldn't have thought twice about the servers! Also got to meet the new owner, his story is interesting so if you have a chance to meet him, ask him how he took over! read more

Amazing food at Pesto's By Lance! I had the Garlic Bread with Marinara sauce to start, then a Caesar Salad that was perfect in size and taste and then ended with a special Shrimp and Scallops Florentine Shanye. Highly recommend read more

Pesto's By Lance - Shrimp and Scallop Florentine Shanye - Wine Bars Near Me - Fayetteville, Arkansas

If you're here just to find out what I think about the food, scroll down. If you're here wondering if this place is a re-boot of an old friend (Pesto Cafe), keep reading. Adequate. That's how I would sum up my experience at Pesto's by Lance. It's a misleading name where the only similarities are the logo, food style, and location. If you're looking for the charm, atmosphere, and food of the former Pesto Cafe, you're not going to find it here. Was the old Pesto Cafe in need of a facelift? Yes. But much like Hugo's, Pesto Cafe was a Fayetteville staple. Way back, it used to be Ghazi's Pesto Cafe and they had two Fayetteville locations. That's how busy this place used to be. Two locations within mere miles of each other. One location closed (and became Cafe Rue Orleans) and the motel location stuck around. It survived a change in ownership (I think) to become Pesto Cafe. The place has been emptied out, repainted, lightly remodeled, and it's under new ownership (obviously). The walls are definitely in stark contrast to the Pesto of old. They are bare and lack character minus a few stock pictures. I imagine that emptying the old place was quite a bit of work, but they left it so void of character. Surprisingly, they left the old wobbly tables and chairs behind! If you're going to go through the trouble, at least get some new tables and chairs. They did cover them with new table clothes, so I guess there's that. It was also quite hot inside...probably around 77. It has been 90+ outside for a while, but nearly 80 inside is too hot to keep your restaurant. Very uncomfortable. We were seated quickly around dinner time. There were three other tables that had people, which would have been unusual for the old Pesto at this time. The line used to be out the door and you were guaranteed to be waiting for a table. Drink orders were taken by the nice, but obviously new to the restaurant biz, server. The next indication that this wasn't the old Pesto Cafe was the bread. It would have usually been brought out in a basket with roughly 4 to 6 pieces. This was a small plate with two pieces...one for each of us. Now, I shouldn't be eating a ton of bread, so this wasn't a big deal. But it is worth mentioning. It was also too garlicy. It was like they dusted it with garlic salt or powder before it was brought out. I'll admit that the old Pesto Cafe bread was nothing spectacular. In fact, it was a little hard. But it was great with the caprese ala pesto appetizer. They did have something similar in name on the menu, but we didn't order it. The menu has changed a lot. I guess that's to be expected, but if you're going to lead people to believe you are the same place with your logo, you might want to keep the thing people kept coming back for...the food. I did manage to find something close to my go-to from Pesto Cafe, the cannelloni. It made no mention of the angel hair pasta that used to come with this dish, but I ordered it anyway. The old version used to come with one larger cannelloni stuffed with ground beef, spices, cheeses, pine nuts, and lightly covered with melted mozzarella. It was served in a hot skillet with angel hair pasta in the same skillet and topped with sauce. It was great. What I received was three cannelloni's SMOTHERED in an ENTIRE BAG of mozzarella to the point it was challenging to cut. The ground beef stuffing was decent. But I was missing the whole pine nuts and it wasn't quite as flavorful as the old version either. The sauce was very generic to me. I told my wife it almost reminded me of Chef Boyardee in flavor. If this wasn't a canned sauce or canned cheap tomatoes at most, then I don't know what the heck they're doing back in the kitchen. My recommendation would be to reduce the number of cannelloni's and put a small amount of angel hair & sauce. It gives variety to the dish. My wife ordered the Linguine Pesto Alfredo. You wanna talk about a punch in the face with garlic...WOW. I know pesto has garlic, but dang. Other than that, it was ok. Reduce the garlic, lighter pesto, and less capers. At the end of it all, it was just ok. The atmosphere left a lot to be desired with the lack of character and the uncomfortable heat. The service was alright and the food needs some thought. That's what gets me to what I originally said this was...adequate. It wasn't worth the price. Am I nostalgic? Yes. Am I biased? Absolutely. But if you're going to hitch your wagon to an old locally famous establishment with the name & logo, you should be prepared for comparisons. If this iteration survives, I may come back to see if they've improved. However, this chance we took was to see if it was worthy of the name for us...unfortunately it fell flat. Good luck to them. I hope they make improvements and become a success. read more

The food is really good. It's Pesto 2.0 and Chef Lance has done a great job updating the menu, the Interior and the kitchen. Give it a shot for great Italian dishes. read more

Came in from out of town with a huge group of people - 17 of us in total. Some of the best service I have ever experienced, wait staff was so on top of it, and the food was especially delicious- Scallops were to die for! read more

The eggplant Parmesan was so good! The restaurant was quiet and the decor was nice and Rebecca was very attentive. read more

Pesto's By Lance - The tables were nice and the lighting was perfect - Wine Bars Near Me - Fayetteville, Arkansas

We had dinner here about a week after they opened under new leadership. I've waited long enough to not go off on a tirade. All four of were looking forward to this restaurant reopening, all four of us left very disappointed. The sauce that was used on all four dishes was puréed tomatoes, if there was garlic, evoo, oregano or basil in the sauce you could fool all of us. The plates were not served hot, only warm, although that didn't seem to concern the wait staff who spent more of their time outside the building than inside serving customers. There seems to be real problem finding a quality Italian themed restaurant in NWA, that's a real embarrassment. Will we be back since they'd only been open a week? I don't think we will. Sorry read more

You have to eat here! Chef Lance and his team are killing it. The mushroom ravioli was out of this world and shrimp scampi was equally enjoyed. Of course the lasagna is a staple! The new decor, attention to detail and so much more are all appreciated! If you are new to NWA eat here! If you've been here all your life, revisit this gem. And of course - always say hello to the chef and appreciate his team! Jeff W. read more

We enjoyed dinner at Pesto's by Lance a couple of weeks ago. We were there for Birthday celebrations. It has been quite a while since I last ate at Pesto's prior to their closing. The ambience was great--things were really cleaned up. Also, our watiress was excellent and Chef Lance took time to visit with us. Chef Lance also took a few minutes after our meal to get some feedback on the meal. We loved it! The food was excellent and we were surprised with a Birthday Cannoli! We'll definitely be going back soon! read more

We were very excited to re-live and enjoy some of the original Pesto Cafe's specialties, but Lance's entire menu is his own. It's our own fault for making that assumption, but felt duped by the name! In reality, everything we ordered was very average at best. The Caesar salads lacked dressing and parmesan cheese. The lasagna and chicken Parmesan were both OK. At least my wife liked her pesto chicken! read more

AC wasn't working properly and it was uncomfortably warm. Several items listed on menu were not available. We had a variety of pastas and a pizza. Everything was just ok. My Prosecco was flat. Dessert cheesecake was good. Service was good. Overly priced for what you are getting. read more

The worst Italian food I've ever had. The chicken Alfredo sauce was watery, not rich at all! The chicken was very thin and overcooked. Alfredo and chicken had any flavor. Extremely disappointed as this was my birthday meal! read more

Hands down - this is the finest Italian food in the state, with a meticulous chef and terrific support and wait staff. Prices are reasonable - especially considering the 5-star quality of every dish we have tried. Great atmosphere, too, recently remodeled to emulate a quaint Italian Trattoria. If it's your birthday, they provide a complimentary Cannoli... and the waitress might even take a photo of your group! Highly recommended. read more

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Such an awesome place, with awesome food, and an awesome vibe. We have visited Pesto's by Lance multiple times now and been impressed every time. Most recently we visited with a large group of about 20 people. We notified them ahead of time, and they were completely set up and ready for us when we arrived, handled us as easily as a table of 4, and every aspect of our visit was top notch. Not an easy task, and they handled it flawlessly. Would definitely recommend for large groups, as well as a great place for a casual night out with amazing food, awesome atmosphere, and impeccable service.. 5 stars isn't enough!! read more

The best food. The best drinks. The BEST mushroom Ravioli. The best tiramisu. The best chef, waitstaff, and bar tenders around. Make a reservation and go today. Do NOT wait. It's that good! read more

Pesto's By Lance - Tiramisu - Wine Bars Near Me - Fayetteville, Arkansas

We had dinner early and enjoyed every delicious bite! The sauce on all three dishes was perfect, not overly sauced or watery. I grew up with NY city Italian. If that is the type of Italian you like go here read more

We have been to Pesto's by Lance a few times and have loved it each and every time. The ingredients are high quality, and the food is delicious and well prepared. It is one of my favorite restaurants in Northwest Arkansas. I enjoy the spaghetti and my youngest son is crazy about the cheesecake. read more

Unfortunately, the flavor of the food and friendliness of staff did not match the nice atmosphere.

Outstanding Chicken Marsala. It's fantastic, so are the Caesar Salad and Tiramisu and they have some of the best tomato sauce I have ever tasted. Friendly staff, and great owner. It is a solid choice. read more

The worst Chicken Marsala I've ever tasted. Maybe their other dishes are okay but this was a big disappointment. The sauce was not creamy with that distinct Marsala flavor. It tasted like packaged beef gravy. read more

If you are looking for the vibe that the old one had, you won't find it. We decided to try the new place and got seated right away. Food was good, service was decent, and the atmosphere was ok. I ordered the chef's special on the menu (shrimp dish) but they were out. I ended up with another shrimp dish that was good. Another person ordered the lasagna and it was the biggest portion of lasagna I've ever seen. It was also good. I would recommend this place but like I said, it's a totally new experience without the cozy vibe of the old place. read more

Service was fine and we were helped by a few different people. The restaurant itself felt like a cave. The windows are frosted so you barely get any light from outside and there's not enough lighting in the restaurant to even see the food in front of you, which is probably on purpose because the food is terrible. Was both overcooked and under flavored. I expect a lot more especially when I'm paying $25-40 per entree. read more

Words can not explain how wonderful the food was and how thoughtful the staff was. They truly catered to our needs. The ambiance was remarkable as they ensured that each person was comfortable. The food was amazing and well prepared. The chef showed great hospitality and also makes sure the dishes are prepared well. Would definitely recommend this place as a stop on anyone's list. read more

Great food and a wonderful staff! I highly recommend Pesto's by Lance. The ambiance is amazing as well!

What an excellent Italian restaurant! The Chicken and Shrimp Pesto Alfredo was marvelous! Excellent balance between the pesto and alfredo in creating the sauce. Large succulent shrimp and very tender and delicious chicken! Linguini was cooked to perfection! A great addition to Fayetteville's restaurant culture... Very friendly and professional staff. Lance is outstanding! Wonderful! read more

Excellent service and excellent food. Our waitress was wonderful. Nice atmosphere. We will be back.

Pesto's by Lance is incredible! Lance is a legend and Fayetteville is lucky to have him. Pesto's by Lance is ten times better than the old Pesto Cafe in terms of service, quality food, and overall dining experience. I highly highly recommend checking it out! This is one of our new go to spots. read more