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    Cafe Villa

    4.5 (121 reviews)
    Closed Closed

    Services - Cafe Villa

    Venue rental

    Cafe Villa Photos

    CAFE VILLA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Happy hour specials
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Cafe Villa

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    Bruschetta and truffle fries
    Tariq M.

    Cafe Villa is the kind of place you stumble upon and immediately want to keep to yourself--but it's too good not to share. From the moment you walk in, the atmosphere sets the tone: mellow jazz floating through the air, a seaside serenity that feels like a deep breath after a long day, just a 10-minute drive from the shore. The food? Absolutely on point. I started with the Bruschetta Classica--simple, fresh, and perfectly dressed with EVOO and a tangy balsamic glaze. The Margherita Flatbread was next: crisp edges, warm mozzarella, and just the right hit of basil. And those truffle fries--wow. Drizzled with malt aioli, they were rich, savory, and totally addictive. Drinks were equally memorable. The Cabernet had a lovely caramel finish that lingered in the best way. And the Prosecco--served in an adorable Lumina bottle straight from Italy--was bright, bubbly, and refreshing. Prices are beyond reasonable for the quality. The bartender was friendly, welcoming, and clearly takes pride in the space. I genuinely love this little haunt. It's rare to find a place with great taste, great vibes, and no pretense. Cafe Villa is a five-star standout.

    Arancini, bruschetta and calamari.
    Janet S.

    What a great little find next to the Villa Inn in San Rafael. As I was checking in to the inn, I noticed a flyer for happy Hour at the on-site restaurant. So we headed over at 5pm and had 2 glasses of wine ($6 a glass), bruschetta $6, arancini $8 and fried calamari ($8). All that served as our dinner. Our bartender was very welcoming and gave us some tips for exploring the area. We're going back for dinner tomorrow!

    Polpette (meatballs) $6 home made with love
    Marina ..

    Best happy hour in Marin!! Drinks, food, service (shoutout Robbie) and atmosphere are unbeatable. 10/10 recommend.

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    4 days ago

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    2 months ago

    After reading the reviews, I expected more from both the food and the ambiance. Both were very average.

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    1 month ago

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    2 years ago

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    4 months ago

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    4 months ago

    Solid good menu. Family owned and nice to see them happily running a restaurant together. Out of the main action area.

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    5 months ago

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    5 months ago

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    2 months ago

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    6 months ago

    Great food. Great Owners. Definitely a part of our regular dining rotation. Family friendly.

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    3 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    3 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Food is outstanding. Accommodated our large group in a private room. Service exceptional.

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    4 months ago

    Disappointing. Three dishes sampled -- one pasta v good, one soup ok, one inedible. I don't recommend the sproouts.

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    11 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Greatest happy hour in the area and also a super amazing hidden gem kind of restaurant. I've always had great service at the bar.

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    1 year ago

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    6 months ago

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    6 months ago

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    6 months ago

    Great food and service. Off the beaten track in terms of location but aren't those spots so wonderful to find and enjoy!

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    2 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Cafe Villa

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    La Toscana

    4.0(479 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    It's been a minute since we visited our neighborhood Italian favorite, La Toscana…read more It was a busy Thursday night, but luckily we made a reservation. Highly recommend a reservation. Juan S. was our server for the night. Very knowable about the menu and the dishes. We started with a classic Caesar salad that we shared. It was plenty enough for us. I ordered the Petrale Sole special and my husband had the Pollo Pomodoro with vodka tomato sauce. Both were excellent choices. The fish was fresh and perfectly cooked, as were the mixed veggies. My husband loved the pasta as well. For 2 entrees, 2 glasses of wine, 1 Caesar salad, 1 bruschetta and a cannoli for later, our bill was $152, before tip. Well worth it.

    First I'd like to start off by saying, we made dinner reservations an hour and a half in advance…read morefor 8 pm on a Friday night and showed up to the restaurant at our reservation time, where we were forced to wait an extra 15 min because our table still wasn't ready-- which we would normally understand and be fine with, but we witnessed a walk-in customer come in and get seated before us. After we were finally seated and put in our order for drinks, appetizers and main dishes, we waited quite a long time to get our food served. Quality-- not sure if we ordered the wrong things or went in on an off night, but for some reason everything we ordered was underwhelming and lackluster, from the: -drinks (cucumber mojito and strawberry balsamic mocktails) -bruschetta was average -meatballs were sort of flavorless -spinach ravioli with pesto was bland -parpadelle was also bland and portion was oddly small Overall, the food and service was unsatisfactory for the price we paid for the bill. We were excited to come here to celebrate our anniversary and left the restaurant feeling super unfulfilled with our meals. Safe to say we won't be coming back to this establishment, nor will we be suggesting this restaurant to friends and family.

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    La Toscana - S'more brownie sundae - with birthday candle

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    California Gold

    California Gold

    4.8(181 reviews)
    0.9 mi
    $$
    Full bar
    Happy hour specials

    WOW. Just WOW. **California Gold in San Rafael** is an absolute gem, and our experience was taken…read moreto the *next level* thanks to the incredible bartender **Víctor**. From start to finish, he was beyond amazing--warm, welcoming, insanely knowledgeable, and clearly passionate about his craft. Every single drink was PERFECT. Not one miss. We enjoyed **all** the drinks, and each cocktail somehow got better than the last. On top of that, Víctor is just an awesome human being who makes you feel genuinely taken care of. The **location is beautiful**, the atmosphere is fun, vibrant, and incredibly enjoyable--one of those places where you instantly feel relaxed and excited to be there at the same time. Great vibes, great energy, great people. This place is a MUST, and Víctor is the reason we'll be coming back again and again. Do yourself a favor: sit at the bar, trust his recommendations, and enjoy an unforgettable night.

    Service was terrible. Ordered a drink asked for an adjustment due to food allergies. Was told it…read morewould be well balanced. Bartender was annoyed and was rude. Had a food reaction and I asked if I could choose a replacement. They told me no and wanted me to pay for another drink. A patron offered me a replacement drink and he shouldn't have to do that. Was excited to check this place out from out of town. The entire drink was left at the bar and I left the establishment. The bartenders had terrible customer service skills.

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    California Gold - English Bar Scotch Sour

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    California Gold - 12 Beers On Tap!!!

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    California Gold - Polo Cup : Vodka or Gin, Elderflower, Cucumber, Basil, Mint, Lemon, Orange Bitters, and Soda

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    Polo Cup : Vodka or Gin, Elderflower, Cucumber, Basil, Mint, Lemon, Orange Bitters, and Soda

    Fratm - Yummy complimentary bread basket. First one is free

    Fratm

    4.3(78 reviews)
    0.8 mi

    Came here on a Saturday night at about 8:30p. Street parking was easy and we didn't have to wait…read more There was a table with quite a large Italian family. When you hear Italian and it's a family, I don't doubt this place is a legit Italian restaurant The atmosphere was great & the service was great. The beet salad was amazing. I ordered the burrata pizza and my friend ordered some kind of rib meat pizza. He said his was really good. My burrata pizza was delicious. I would come back again. Highly recommend.

    Walked in on a Saturday evening and it was relatively busy but was happy there was a table…read moreavailable. The staff was very friendly and attentive and they had some great specials available that night but I mainly ordered from the menu except when it came to desert ;) Ordered: *Crostino del Vesuvio - Really yummy. Loved the freshness of the tomatoes but there was a small portion of burrata on the crostini and that made it a bit disappointing. *Salsiccia - Tasty BUT the dough was undercooked and couldn't hold up to the sauce, sausage and toppings. The pizza got soggy really fast and everything seeped in. After eating about 1/3 of the pizza I just started eating the toppings because the crust was gummy. **Let me mention here that my pizza probably sat a little longer than needed because they brought the appetizer AND the pizza out at the SAME TIME which made ZERO SENSE why they wouldn't space them out but that probably added to the sogginess of the pizza** *Cannoli - OUTSTANDING! Honestly the best cannoli I've had outside of Italy. I would come back because overall the food was good and so was the service but would definitely ask that they space out the appetizer and pizza AND that they make sure the pizza dough is cooked thoroughly!!

    Photos
    Fratm
    Fratm
    Fratm - Views from the corner

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    Views from the corner

    Cafe Villa - italian - Updated May 2026

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