Sandra D’s Italian Garden

If you are looking for over-​the-​top delicious food, I would highly recommend Sandra D’s. The owners are very friendly and make each guest feel important.

Still a wonderful place to eat. My girlfriend and I come here whenever we can. Anniversaries, birthdays anything for a sensual, romantic evening.
One of the best parts still remains the owners. They are the most kind and welcoming people. They make every visit feel unique.
I can’t think of a reason to not go.

Reservations are a must at this restaurant and so worth it!!! This is truly a 5 star dining experience. The service is amazing. The food is incredible! The atmosphere was quiet and very romantic I will definitely be returning!

Great food! Excellent service and atmosphere. This is hands down the nicest restaurant in auburn!

This is truly a gem in the area. The Caesar salad with anchovies is yummy and they are so generous With the filets! We had the sausage ravioli and the crimini mushroom lasagna… both were fabulous! Though I have to say the sauce on the lasagna was amazing and I wanted to lick the plate… Instead opted to scraped every speck of this sauce off with the buttery breadsticks!

Great food! Adorable family owned restaurant. Very good food! Ravioli, lasagna and Mac and cheese were all amazing!
Great food! Adorable family owned restaurant. Very good food! Ravioli, lasagna and Mac and cheese were all amazing!
Worth a stop!

This definitely is a hidden gem in this small town. This five star restaurant has quite the delicious assortment of food. I highly recommend Sandra D’s. This is a favorite for my family. I always like to try whatever delicious soups they have available (the cheeseburger soup is amazing), but they have other great options such as Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo and Scallops (those are to die for). This is a small place, maybe has 9 – 10 tables (if that). Great place for an anniversary dinner for valentines day.

Outstanding Italian food. We’re from out of town, and Sandra D’s was recommended by a long-​time local resident. We had a seafood lasagna (special), carne panini al forno, and pollo gorgonzola salad.
Homemade chocolate tiramisu for dessert was delicious.
I plan to have the sausage (specially prepared to the restaurant’s specifications by a local butcher) and peppers on my next visit to Auburn.
Note: wine list is sparse but adequate.

Don’t go if you are handicapped. They discourage any clientele that require special needs

Just finished having lunch here. The house salad was amazing accompanied by the yummiest bread sticks. I had the traditional spaghetti and it was wonderful. Husband had the special ravioli stuffed with squash and cheese. Definitely a winner! Prices very reasonable Just found a new favorite Italian restaurant.

A quaint and quiet place with reasonable prices. Customer service was great. Food was good, great house salad. Imaginative dinner special plates.

When you spend enough time in Auburn and you ask around for where to eat, at some point someone will mention that you need to eat at Sandra D’s – the only «five star restaurant in town.» I’m not sure where that designation came from (perhaps their business card) or what criteria were used, but it does make you want to check the place out.
So we went on a Wednesday at lunch to see for ourselves. It was relatively quiet. Just us and a few business guys at another table. Some others have mentioned the décor. I, too, am not a huge fan of fake plants, vines, etc. However, short of distasteful (lewd/​racist/​sexist, etc.) I don’t really care if the place is covered in pink teddy bears or decked out in an Elvis motif as long as the food is delicious.
Unfortunately, I did not find that to be the case either. The pasta and even the breadsticks were just okay. I wasn’t expecting real authentic Roma cuisine, of course. I was hoping, however, for something of at least Olive Garden quality. I found it fell short all-​around. The customer service was okay. Definitely not bad, but not the stellar small-​town wait staff that other reviewers have highlighted. Maybe we hit an off day service-​wise.
The moral of this review is that I don’t intend to go back. I will look to Fort Wayne for good Italian food (or just make it at home!). I do like that it’s not a chain (which plague Auburn), so I wish I liked it better. Sadly, I did not.
Ciao, ciao.

My husband and I stopped by this place for lunch on a Friday afternoon.
With the exception of two other couples, the place was absolutely empty. We were immediately taken to the back of the restaurant, which is considerably darker than the front of the restaurant. (The front of the restaurant gets natural light from a large picture window.) I asked to be seated in the front because I was straining to read the menu. We were told that we couldn’t be reseated because those tables were reserved for larger parties. Seriously? I have to sit in the frickin’ dark because SEVERAL parties of 4 MIGHT swarm the place all at once? Mind you, one of the couples were already sitting at a table that seats 4, so obviously this policy wasn’t biblical. But (1) because my husband is conflict-​averse and (2) I was starving, I didn’t pursue it further. As a consolation prize, the busboy lit a tea candle. Thanks, junior. That quarter-​lumen of light makes all the difference in the world. (NOT.)
The menu is primarily (nearly exclusively) Italian. I ordered the homemade meat ravioli with meat sauce, and hubby ordered cheese cannelloni with meat sauce. We both had the house salad. I went with the house raspberry salad dressing. I’m reasonably certain the salad dressing was merely raspberry yogurt with a few slivered almonds in it. I asked my husband to taste the dressing, asking him «what does this taste like?» His response? «Dannon yogurt.» Moving on …
My meat ravioli was quite tasty, although the portion size (two ravioli) was insufficient. My husband’s «cannelloni» wasn’t cannelloni at all. Last time I checked, cannelloni was a cylindrical, tube-​shaped pasta. What my husband got was more appropriately called a «lasagna noodle roll-​up.» Wow, didn’t see that coming … In addition to being a little more awkward to eat, it doesn’t hold nearly as much filling as cannelloni. The cheese filling and meat sauce were quite tasty, though. And the housemade breadsticks were quite good too.
Would I go back? I can’t rule it out, but the less-​than-​stellar customer service would certainly make me think twice. And I’d definitely pick a different salad dressing.

went for a business lunch and had excellent food. great service and high quality food, highly recommended. rare to find in a smaller town such a find. The only reason I didn’t give 5 because the décor is a bit much for me, not a big fan of plastic vines hanging from the ceiling but who cares when the food is that good.

The only 5 star reviewed restaurant in town. Exceptional food and pampered service. Chef owned with wife, they both interact with customers. I constantly try new things and am never disappointed! My favorites are any pasta dish and any salad choice for lunches. Great homemade soups and bread sticks. Worth a good drive!

Exceptional food, the owner/​chef and owner/​hostess are fantastic. They treat you better than family. The bread sticks are to die for, homemade and yummy. We have never had a poor meal there

Really liked this place. Not to many options in Auburn that are not large national chains. This chef owned, family run place is really good. I travel to Auburn a lot on business, and I have been here a few time and never disappointed. Specials change all the time and are creative and delicious!

A really good choice for dinner. The food is exceptional. Their house salad dressing is homemade and phenomenal. One of my favorites is also one of the cheapest, the alfredo. The sauce is outstanding, and i usually add chicken to it. It is a small and cozy place, good for special occasions. In the summer i’ve seen them put a table or two outside. There service is also excellent, and they always make good recommendations. I’ve never been disappointed. They are closed Mondays.