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    Alza Osteria

    4.4 (1.2k reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

    Alza Osteria Photos

    Business Info

    ALZA OSTERIA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Classy
    Casual
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Alza Osteria

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    Dinner menu, side1
    Angela B.

    After driving by this place for years, I finally stopped in to check it out. Alza Osteria is visible from the street but is easily overlooked because the shopping strip it's in is very unassuming. There's plenty of parking. The front door is right by the handicapped spots. Once inside, the restaurant has a very comfortable ambiance with study wooden chairs and tables. I didn't notice any outside seating. The server greeted us upon entering and we could choose where we wanted to sit. They have a great lunch menu with special pricing, but the dinner menu is more extensive. We decided to share a small strawberry pecan salad in addition to our entrees. I ordered a customized calzone (chicken, prosciutto, mushrooms, and spinach with Alfredo sauce) and my friend chose the chicken Parmesan sandwich. The salad was fantastic! All the toppings blended together beautifully and the cheese and vinaigrette were delish! My calzone was also amazing ~ excellent portion size with enough for leftovers, and the flavor combo was great! The Alfredo came on the side along with marinara for dipping. My friend's chicken Parmesan sandwich was a good size and the roll needed to be smooshed down a bit to get a bite. The one thing we both noticed, tho, was that the chicken in the salad and the sandwich was on the flat and dry (vs moist) side. Not sure if it was just overcooked or what, because the chicken in my calzone was fine. Overall, we enjoyed the food and the service. We saw some other items on the menu we want to try, so we will be back soon!

    Caesar Salad
    Gina C.

    Our waiter was Caleb very nice and attentive and great with suggestions for all my allergies. Lauren the chef was amazing helping with. Making my delicious Salmon Mediterranean with substitute linguine since I was allergic to mixed vegetables. She was sure to check and double check if I could eat certain spices or not. Thank you Lauren The restaurant is a nice cozy Italian restaurant that is family friendly. Thank you we will be back.

    Laurie D.

    I met a girlfriend here for lunch last week. I was looking for a restaurant halfway between us and, of course, I looked on yelp. I loved the atmosphere and décor. There were plenty of tables. We both ordered the Spaghetti Bolognese from their Lunch Menu. I asked if they could make it spicy, and the server told me they could. Unfortunately, I guess the chef forgot because there was no spice whatsoever. It's okay, because it was still delicious. We both added a salad, and we split Bruschetta. The Bruschetta was presented beautifully; however, we agreed that it tasted a bit too sweet. It must've been the balsamic. I would not order the Bruschetta again. We were served complimentary bread with garlic butter, and it was really good. Service was great, and they didn't mind that we sat at our table for over three hours. We enjoyed our lunch and will be meeting here again in the future.

    Spaghetti
    Akane T.

    Such a nice little local spot. All the employees and owner is the best. The food is really good!! Been here many times and will be coming back again!!

    Enjoying my wine
    Vanessa G.

    We have been coming here for years. Everything is fantastic, but lately this has been our #1 spot for pizza. The pizza is amazing!! The sauce is wonderful and the toppings are so fresh and flavorful. I especially love the meatball topping. We always get a salad with creamy Italian. I ask for extra dressing to dip my pizza. The service is always top notch and the ambiance is delightful.

    Inside
    Britney M.

    SEAFOOD PIZZA!!!! You need this in your life! If you love pizza, shrimp, scallops and pesto sauce, this is for you. You will love this pizza! The flavors come together nicely, and it is really delicious. I was pleasantly surprised about this seafood pizza. My husband was equally mind-blown by how good it is lol It was $32 for the large seafood pizza. Worth it! 10/10 Calamari 10/10 The calamari appetizer was divine. It was light and crispy. The calamari had tender pieces and was fried with a light batter. Sometimes calamari can have a heavy batter, and it doesn't really enhance the dish. I loved this version where the batter was thin. It was perfect calamari. 10/10 Creamy Arrabiata 10/10 My husband loved this dish! He kept raving about how good the pasta was. The mushrooms were a nice touch. The pasta was a bit spicy and my husband loved it. He ate half in restaurant and the leftovers the next day. Ravioli Florentine 7/10 This dish was alright. Not my favorite though. I wouldn't order it again. The ravioli didn't have much cheese inside. The sauce itself was lacking. I ate one ravioli and threw the rest away when I got home. It came with a side salad that had brown lettuce. The salad was not great. I wasn't a fan of brown lettuce in my salad. Service was good! 10/10 There was one server for the entire restaurant. Poor lady! She did a great job managing all of that though. Very sweet lady and made sure we had what we needed. The ambiance was crowded. It was a busy day, and the restaurant isn't very big. It's a small restaurant. We will be back for the seafood pizza! That was a showstopper/ highlight.

    Calamari
    Lynnette V.

    HAVE: 1/5 Fettuccini Alfredo 5/5 Calamari 4/5 Spaghetti bolognese 5/5 Personal Pepperoni Pizza 5/5 Complimentary bread TAKES: We came here due to their strong Yelp reviews and just like any other restaurants, they have their hits and misses. They started us off with their complimentary bread; honestly, it was one of the best breads I've had. Their calamari was perfect - crunchy, tender, and seasoned well. They have a unique take on their pepperoni pizza as the base is more "bready" than the usual crust. Their Fettuccini Alfredo was the only miss - it was dry and bland. I had to add seasoning just to give it some extra flavor. Service was slow at the start - we had to flag someone down to get their attention despite being the only customers at that time. We assumed that it might be due to a shift change. But when the male server took over the service - he was very helpful and efficient. The restaurant is small and a little outdated but clean, with plenty of parking as it is not located in a busy area.

    Beer
    Barbieejo A.

    We were quickly seated. Server was super friendly. I asked for a beer recommendation and it was nice and crisp. Fresh bread arrived at the table with garlic butter. Nice touch. The bread was not heavy as typical bread seemed as if it was the flour but lighter than normal. We ordered brushetta. The topping was a fair amount but the balsamic was a bit too sweet for me. We ordered chicken piccata came with angel hair pasta and good amount of capers with a lemon wedge. The pasta and chicken complimented each other well. The sauce seemed a light lemon flavor the fresh squeezed elevated the flavor. Great dish to order. It also came with soup or salad I chose minestrone but not to my liking way too much tomato taste for My taste buds. We also had a pizza it was mozzarella and basil, tomatoes (Margarite) good pizza the crust was hand tossed. Nice place to enjoy a meal not too loud but it was Monday.

    Inside
    Diana R.

    We celebrated a birthday tonight and learned about Alza Osteria from my son. We've heard great things about this place and we were so excited to dine here. We had reservations for 7:30 on a Saturday evening. Our party of 4 was seated promptly. Every table was filled inside and it was busy filled with chatter. A basket of bread was brought out promptly along with garlic butter. Our server, Angel was friendly and engaging. We ordered a couple different pastas and a pizza to share. Our meal started off with fried calamari with marinara sauce and an order of garlic twist I liked how the calamari was not covered with heavy batter. It was light and crispy but could've used a little bit more seasoning. Everyone enjoyed their pasta dishes. The one thing that we were not too thrilled about was the pizza. While the toppings were good and fresh, however, the dough was not anything out of this world. Instead, it reminded me of something that was frozen, unfortunately. We will just stick to the pasta from now on. We will return to try the other pasta entrees. Parking is plentiful. The restaurant was clean and all of the staff were friendly. Overall, we enjoyed our dining experience here and look forward to the next visit.

    Creamy Arrabiata

    Not only the pasta, their chicken is AMAZING. I ordered the creamy penne arrabiata. Delicious sauce not too spicy. The penne was cooked al dente to perfection. I can't stress this enough, the chicken was cooked sous vide then pan grilled. Incredibly moist and juicy. I have never had chicken pasta like this. It was like Anton in ratatouille Highly recommend.

    Menu
    Linda B.

    The family got together at Alza Osteria's for dinner and it did not disappoint. We ordered our usual calzone (always good) and tortellini Alfredo - very good, and the chicken picatta. The chicken was a little dry but the pasta and sauce made up for it. Their minestrone soup was only average. I wouldn't order it again. Service was excellent Overall we had a great time with good food. We'll be back!

    Cocktail menu
    Gabby A.

    We found this place during Covid and we just fell in love. Everything we've had we love everyone we bring ends up coming back on their own. This time we were party of six. We were celebrating my moms birthday. We were told an hour wait, but we were seated soon after. The food was great. I would just steer away from the minestrone soup.

    Nancy T.

    Ok usually my husband and I order some type of pasta, We decided we did not want leftovers. We shared a small Caesar salad, there was plenty. We also got a small everything pizza, 6 slices. Everything was sooo good. We drank a bottle of Vigneti Zabu Nero D' Aviola, 13% alcohol. Bread was brought to the table along with a bottle of water. Taylor was our server, she was so efficient even though extremely busy. All the tables were full, so glad I made a reservation. Only complaint, very noisy, this one kids had an extremely high voice. I know it's not his fault, but you could hear everything he said. Need to get a pizza to go sometime.

    Menu (March 2025)

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    2 months ago

    The chicken piccata is 10 out of 10! All images posted do not do it justice. Strong recommendation and great prices.

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    Page 1 of 31

    Ask the Community - Alza Osteria

    Are you open on Christmas day?

    Hi Emily, we will be closed on Christmas Day

    What is the average cost per plate here?

    16-18$ on average....but well worth it!!!

    You still have daily specials?

    Gluten free pasta available?

    Yes!

    Do you do any gluten free options?

    Yes

    Do they have pasta carbonara?

    Yes, and it's amazing! You have to ask for it cause I don't think it's in the menu.

    Is the pasta here hand made or store bought?

    Hi Scott! We currently use a brand of pasta that is the next best thing to house-made. We'd love to make our pasta in house, however that requires a lot of extra kitchen space that we unfortunately do not have. Hopefully this will be a possibility… 

    View All 14 Questions

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    Photos
    Wines and spirits. There are several more rows not displayed.
    Wines and spirits. There are several more rows not displayed.
    Fess Parker Frontier Red ordered!!
    Fess Parker Frontier Red ordered!!
    View from the street

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    View from the street
    Hi Proof Whisky & Spirits & Wine

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    First visit a few months ago…read more I decided to buy in person rather than online. I came to the realization that, was a mistake. The pricing at the in store is not current. Sometimes the pricing is cheaper online, and it's reflected when it's scanned at the register. Also not all bourbon is in order. There was a bottle they definitely had , but I couldn't find it and took a few minutes for an associate to locate it. Therefore, I highly recommend to order online and pickup later. (I would have saved about 30mins ordering online ). Not that I'm complaining, just stating a fact. Pricing for scotch and non allocated bourbon is excellent. Lower than anyone , save Costco. I came specifically for a Laphroaig lore cask strength, $85. Grabbed a few other goodies.

    I came in here confusing the name with Hi Time thinking they opened a new location. OMG their…read moremanager is rude! I was shopping for a gift and the person I assumed was the owner turned me over to the female manager because they didn't seem to speak much English. She talked to me like I was stupid and then got weird and aggressive when I asked if they had gift bags, telling me they charge for those. I was just asking if they had them! I wasn't asking for anything free, though that would have been nice considering I spent over $200 and then was snapped at like I was trying to get a handout. The young college kids working in there also get treated poorly by the stuff I overheard. The store is small, cramped, and they hover over you for taking a look. More security cameras than a bank. Just straaaaange vibes in there. Will just make the drive to Newport next time.

    Photos
    Fine&Rare Allocation Bottle
    Fine&Rare Allocation Bottle
    Hi Proof Whisky & Spirits & Wine
    Champagne

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    Champagne
    Nine Liquor

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    THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE NINE LIQUOR #2 LOCATION ON CHAPMAN AND RAYMOND…read more They don't have a Yelp page, it still shows up under the previous owner and is marked closed. But I know both nine locations have the same owner. I visited this location and bought my usual, a Lotta Colada Buzzball. When I opened it (as soon as I walked out, I was not driving) I noticed the liquid was clear and not the milky white color it should be. The taste was AWFUL! I walked back in and told the cashier that it was a bad batch. He instantly became very defensive and rude, accusing me of endangering HIM with my open container and that I couldn't possibly have a bad buzzball because they don't go bad. NEWSFLASH- BAD BATCHES DO EXIST. Then he told me that they do not do returns or exchanges anyway and to leave the store. Okay, that's fine. But I'll never be back to either location. I've worked in customer service for over 20 years and this owner needs to provide some CS training for staff because clearly, it's lacking at both locations. I've attached pictures of the SH*TTY batch one I bought at Nine #2 and this pretty one I bought at my usual location that actually respects their customers.

    Photos
    Pretty milky white color, as it should be.
    Pretty milky white color, as it should be.
    Another angle of the good batch
    Another angle of the good batch
    DISGUSTING!!

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    DISGUSTING!!

    Alza Osteria - pizza - Updated August 2026

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