Filippi's Pizza Grotto is such a classic! There's something special about visiting a family-owned restaurant with more than 75 years of history and recipes that have been passed down through generations. The food is hearty, comforting, and wonderfully old-school Italian. Their pizzas are generously topped with plenty of cheese, and there are lots of classic pasta and Italian favorites to choose from as well. Portions are satisfying and it's an easy spot to visit with family or a group when everyone wants something a little different. The service was also incredibly friendly and welcoming throughout our visit, which made the experience even better. It's easy to understand why Filippi's has remained a San Diego tradition for so many decades. We had a great experience and would happily return! read more

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Was going to order online. However, it seems that there is an issue when it charges 60% taxes. read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Poway - Italian Near Me - Poway, California

That was horrendous! Hair in the salad, very salty minestrone. Then the main dishes. My husband ordered linguine and clams in white sauce, got red sauce. He was too hungry to wait another 20 minutes. Lasagna was salty as hell, and had a block of mozzarella in the middle, not melted through. Won't be back. read more

Classic, heavy-style pizza with thick crust, thick cheese and lots of "flop." It's incredibly cheesy, so be ready for your toppings to slide off if you don't hold/bite it right. My "build your own" personal pizza had 6 slices with olives and pepperoni. Classic red and white checkerboard linens and empty chianti bottles decorate the room. Service was on point and very efficient. Note: pay at the counter. read more

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This is Joe's favorite place for pizza. We went for an early dinner. It was pretty empty, when we arrived. (A very large group arrived while we were eating, so the quiet didn't last too long!) This is an old-school American Italian restaurant. The decor is dated. I giggled at the Chianti bottles that are used as decoration. There is a mix of 80s style paint/artwork and wood paneling. Tables have flannel backed vinyl tablecloths. (Reminded me of my grandmother's kitchen.) We both opted for the dinner. Had I known the size of the dinner, I would have suggested that we share one, instead. I got the lasagna and a meatball. Joe got ravioli and a meatball. I thought the menu said soup or salad. No, you get both with the dinner. The small bowl of minestrone soup was tasty. The salad was enormous, but good. The waiter brought us a small basket of garlic bread, a half of a loaf for each of us. When he brought the entrees, each entree covered a plate. A separate plate was used for the meatball. Then, he brought a basket of bread! I thought it was a joke. Because I finished the soup and salad, I only took a few bites of the lasagna and the meatball. Most of those, I took home. I loved the lasagna because it had lots of ricotta, which I love. The sauce is herby, not sweet. The meatball had flavor and wasn't too tough, like some places. Our waiter paid attention. He filled our glasses before they were empty. He also brought out boxes and packed our food to go, since there was no way we could finish it there. Prices are cheap, considering the amount of food you receive. I joked that Gordon Ramsey would have had a fit over the portion sizes. I'm glad he wasn't there. I am so ready to go back the next time I'm down for a visit! read more

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Whenever I am in the area, I always make sure to stop in or pick up something to go. Usually at restaurants I have my go to item I always order, but here me and my gf are always mixing and sharing food, from the cheesy bread and Italian meat salad, to the pizza , to the chicken parmigiana. Pricing is very budget friendly, we eat like king and queens without hurting our wallet! What's most important is that the service has always been fantastic, I look forward to our next visit. read more

very bad experience these people are very malicious took a while to when we placed our order for our large pepperoni pizza, they asked if we wanted beverages I I work for I drink Pepsi product I brought in a can of Coca Cola about 3035 waitresses that I had a can of Coke and then after about 35 minutes, they came to our table and said that they were not gonna because we cannot bring in outside could've said that from the I had just picked up my father from the hospital and was taking him to eat I really hope that upper management looks at this and the behavior of these waitresses and management at this location. They could've said that from the get-go but on top made us wait 30 to 35 minutes and then come and tell us this I am going to report this to corporate offices and if necessary, social media and media this is . read more

We had our dinner delivered tonight. The lasagna and rigatoni with marinara were good, but the salad could not be eaten. The lettuce was brown throughout. It's was noticeable through the plastic top, so it should not have been added to the order; it was not edible. read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Poway - Brown lettuce throughout! - Italian Near Me - Poway, California

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Unfortunately, I'm going to have to agree with others that are saying the food quality is going downhill...our order was pickup, so I didn't realize until I was back home that the spaghetti was gonna be bad...from the moment of opening the container, it smelled "off". After trying to overlook that, I put it into a large bowl to toss and the pasta was mush and sauce did end up being weird...it wasn't edible and when I called, which I REALLY hate being "that person", the young man on the phone just said "oh, I'm really sorry..."...crickets...no offer of replacing, or anything...it would have cost me more in gas to drive back and ask for some freshly made, so I chose to toss it out. I will probably try one more time, I will say the antipasto salad was delish as always, but I'm REALLY hesitant about the spaghetti... read more

This Place is Going Downhill from a 25 Year Customer. We have been coming to this location for a quarter of a century. I'm not sure what's going on, but just look at the photos. The pizza dough is flat and doughy. And this is not the first time as of late. Having made hundreds of pizzas myself, I'm pretty sure the dough was simply under or over proofed. Remaking the pizza would likely had the same result. When I brought this up when paying the bill, the only thing offered was to make a complaint. So I left my contact info for the manger to call me back. Needless to say, nobody ever called days later. We have been making the trip from Julian the last few years, but now we will just go to Venice Pizza, which has never made a bad pizza in the 35 years we have been going there. And it's a slightly shorter drive. read more

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Great service. House salad and antipasti salad were amazing. Big portions and well seasoned. Chicken parmigiana spaghetti was delicious and so was the side meatball. Sauce was super tasty! read more

Very disappointing. Not sure what is happening here, but the pizza crust is completely different than what we have enjoyed over 30 years. Our waiter was very kind when we asked if it was still hand tossed. The answer was a sheepish no. The crust was thin and dense, and lacking the flavor that we have consistently enjoyed when we wanted a "real" pizza. Although the sauce and toppings were good, the cheese is also different. It's a shame the standards have changed- it was really great! Time to find another pizza spot for us. read more

Date of most recent visit: November 4, 2023 Review #1450! The family had come here a couple of weeks prior to celebrate my brother's birthday; while we shared the Fit For a King pizza (lots of cheese on that one), I resolved to come back here after donating blood to try one of their sandwiches. I went with the Super Torpedo ($12.65) - this was a pretty good sized sandwich stuffed with ham, capicolla, cotto, hard salami, and provolone cheese on a toasted Italian roll. As there's no sides with the sandwich, I also went with a side of Sicilian olives ($5.15). My food turned out good - I even brought half the sandwich home to share with my father - but it felt like there was something missing that I couldn't quite put my finger on. This Filippi's is spacious with a large parking lot. Service is quick enough. I suppose for Italian food, this location is what it is; given how each Filippi's location their own menus, though, perhaps I should stick to the Scripps Ranch location (closer to me... and it has prime rib!). read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Poway - Super Torpedo sub. - Italian Near Me - Poway, California

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I ordered no meat on salad and lasagna with marinara. They put meat on the salad and meat sauce on lasagna. They did not pay attention to either order. read more

My husband wanted to go to Filippi's in Poway on a recent Friday. No wait for a table, as the restaurant was half-full. Minestrone soup was good, the garlic bread was inedible...way too much garlic and it was cold. We got a meat lover's pizza and fettuccine Alfredo. The salad for 2 was 90% iceberg lettuce, 2 slices tomato, 2 olives, and 2 pepperoncinis. The pizza crust was doughy and we asked to bake it another 5 minutes, and didn't improve much. My husband had never, ever stopped at one slice in the decades he's dined here. The dough is definitely worse quality from years past. The fettuccine Alfredo was a heaping plate of sparsely distributed sauce, made worse by a lack of serving utensils, thus trying to transfer noodles from the platter to my plate with a lightweight fork was a joke. The floor looked like it hadn't been vacuumed in a week. We found a pair of Mickey Mouse ears under the table, confirming my feeling that this place has turned into a glorified Chuck E Cheese. We paid our bill, tipped the server generously, but this place lost us for good. What a disappointment. read more

Very generous portions, excellent value, good selection. Our waiter was very attentive and friendly. Clean and convenient.

The pastas are very tasty here and the portion sizes are very big so you can enjoy your meals here. The staff and service is good too.

I LOVE FILIPPI'S. I've been coming here for years now. Best darn pizza in town. My husband loves the ice cold beer and the chicken parm is definitely a winner. Lasagna is rich with cheese. Always a great time. We take out all the time. read more

Came here with my family, and the service was honestly amazing. The ambiance as well. Really enjoy coming here to eat. The food itself was ok, nothing really to brag about. But honestly when you're eating here with family, the food isn't the most important thing. You come here for the vibe and staff. Would come again! read more

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The staff at this powy Felipe's were amazing we had ordered for our Pizza to be delivered to our room it is at medical facility different levels of care we never got our order it was a DoorDash person that was supposed to deliver they called us back to see if we received our Pizza and in doing so we made a whole new Pizza for us and drove it app the street to us they're amazing I'm gonna order again from them right now go in there have their Pizza read more

Was in the area for some training and my co-worker wanted Italian food. Someone we bumped into recommended this place. It wasn't too far from our hotel. They had their own parking lot, that was nice. We entered and were greeted right away and got seated immediately. They decorated the dining room as Italian as they can. The overall building and atmosphere was a bit dated, but clean. Our server seemed rushed and was short when attending to us. The room was not that full since we arrived around 545pm. She wasn't rude, just short. Our drinks and side dishes like the cheesy bread, soup and salad arrived quickly. Followed by our main dish with more bread. The minestrone soup was nice to start. I wanted another cup. The salad with Italian dressing was pretty decent size and I had an ample amount of dressing just how I like my salad. I had the chicken Parmesan. Big portion. Love the right amount of cheese melted on top of the chicken. It was okay. Nothing stood out. My co-worker had the same side dishes and ordered shrimp Alfredo. When her entree arrived, we were shocked on the amount of pasta. I mean, the plate could have feed a family of 4. So much pasta, after she was done, her plate looked like it was never touched. Overall, our experience was ok. read more

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I went there a few weeks back with my daughter food was great service was great. I don't understand why they have any bad reviews? Always enjoy Filippi's read more

Used to be good, but the last several years it just keeps going downhill. Every time we eat there you have to plan on being by a restroom for two days. It had been 6 months and thought we try again, nope. Tried to ask for light cheese and the gal taking the order didn't understand what we wanted and we don't speak spanish, so... Sad because this was out go to since the 70's when it was on the end of Poway Rd. read more

The basic pepperoni pizza was AMAZING! 10 out of 10! The vibe of this place is very 1980's like an old Pizza Hut. Talk about taste, texture and appearance it has it all! However the thing that was disappointing was the special called Fit for a king, it came recommended by the waitress. Being my first time I LOVE trying new things. It shouldn't be called fit for a king, more like fit for a joker. The sauce was lacking or not present at all, the veggies were not cut up and big. It seemed as if they just threw a bunch of stuff on it and called it a pizza. I asked for sauce because it was basically naked, and I got charged for it. Overall would only come back for the pepperoni pizza. read more

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Five Stars! This Filippi's never disappoints! The food quality is always on point. This visit we ordered two lasagnas with meat sauce and they were mmmm, mmmm, GOOD! Service was excellent and the restaurant is always kept up well. read more

Lots of pasta but sauce leaves some to be desired . Tasted like canned sauce. No zingr just kinda bland Its not bad if you're Craving spaghetti It's just ok read more

Stopped by with a group of about 20 including teenagers for a bite after a baseball tournament. We were there on a Saturday evening and were shocked to see we were immediately seated and plenty of tables. If you are in the area please support this establishment. Service was great but the food was amazing. It was our first time at this location and we were definitely impressed. I do wish they had the little store like their location in Little Italy but it's fine, I can survive without their great olive oil a little longer. The pizza has so much cheese that you definitely need to cut it for easy separation otherwise you will pull the cheese off the other slices. Please ask for warm bread with butter, you can thank me later. If you have a larger group I recommend the family pasta that includes spaghetti, lasagna, and ravioli. One plate of it easily fed at least 6 of our teens with a large pizza. We also ordered fettuccine alfredo with crispy chicken that was to die for according to one of our teens. We went back to our hotels with so much food that allowed the boys to not bug us for anything once they got hungry at night. Be ready to eat and eat some more. You will need to go for a walk after to help digest all the yummy dishes. read more

Awesome, pizzas were packed with delicious ingredients, will be back for sure. I wish there was a better lunch special

Do not go here!!!! I used to go to this restaurant when I was a kid. They were awesome. I ordered a pizza for pick up during my lunch hour. Got back to work to find the pizza crust was not cooked. I reached out to the restaurant and asked to be refunded. I was told I needed to drive back to the restaurant and show them the pizza to get a refund. What!?! Worst customer service ever! read more

This Filippi's pizza grotto in Poway has a good parking lot and spacious restaurant. The staff was nice and the prices can be very reasonable especially during lunch time. The bread was fresh and warm. We ordered the lunch special of all you can eat spaghetti and sauce. It was a gigantic portion of pasta and meat sauce. We also ordered the famous huge meatball. The meatballs here are soft, flavorful and delicious. We also had a carafe of Chianti that was very good for a house Chianti. We enjoyed our lunch here and recommend their lunch specials. read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Poway - All you can eat - Italian Near Me - Poway, California

It would be really nice if Filippi's would ask if we want marinara or meat sauce. As vegetarians it's really uncomfortable to be served meat sauce as the default then get a big reprimand from the staff and up charge for marinara after the fact. I would think a simple query from the staff would solve this repeated problem. We usually get vegetarian Lasagna from Mama Cella's but got there too late tonight. PS the menu does not say that meat sauce is the default; it clearly says meat or marinara. read more

My wife & I hadn't been to Filippi's in a few years & we were looking forward to it, but it turned out we were very disappointed. The Cesar salad was awful, it was drenched in dressing, do NOT order it. It was $11.00 also! We also ordered a pepperoni & mushroom pizza & beware the amount of cheese they put on the pizza is overwhelming. They put so much cheese on the pizza, that we couldn't taste the pepperoni or mushrooms. Unfortunately, with that being said we will not be going back anytime soon. read more

I've been to about five Filippi's locations throughout San Diego County and Poway is probably the worst. The restaurant itself is spacious, clean and bright. Air conditioning was excellent. But I didn't come here to hang out and watch TV, I came to eat good Italian food. I ordered the "Half & Half" with spaghetti and lasagna, plus added a meatball and sausage. Every single thing came out in varying degrees of room temperature from tepid to lukewarm. Nothing was properly hot. The plates, the sauce, the spaghetti, the lasagna, the meatball, the sausage - all lukewarm or less. The spaghetti pasta itself was overcooked well past al dente. If I came back here it would only be for pizza and maybe some wine. In my experience, the best composed pasta dishes I've had at any Filippi's location would be in Santee. read more

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Today there was an unpleasant, strong cologne scent on the take out food packaging. Today my husband picked up two take out bags from Fillippis. After being loyal customers for over 15 years; we had stopped going there because the food quality had declined. Today we decided to try them again. Today the food was good; but, there was an extremely strong mens cologne type smell on the take out bags and on the exterior of the food containers! Please Filippi's owners, this Bronx Italian girl would like to see you spend more time at your restaurant, coaching your employees. It seems things have been too hands off, so that stuff like wearing such strong cologne that it gets on the food packaging is happening in your absence. read more

It's really tough to find much good in the food, or service at this Filippi's 1. The food is just not good. The pasta sauce was very acidic and the taste was very disappointing. It was flavorless. 2. The garlic bread was made with a red sauce that we found strange. The taste was not good. 3. The bread here served with the salad and paste lacked any flavor, and was not Italian style bread. 4. The service was not friendly. The waiter never smiled, and seemed to not want to be at work. I would not recommend any location of this small chain. The food was flavorless, and a true disappointment. To call this Italian food is a disservice to the Italian community. read more

Such a random spot to find Filippi's but no complaints since I live nearby. Go-to's here are pizza, ravioli, and lasagna. Always consistent and delicious. Portions are generous and I often find myself packing to go for my lunch the next day. Very old school dine-in feeling. Great service and lots of bread. Kid friendly place and also takeout orders available if you want to eat at home instead. read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Poway - Italian Near Me - Poway, California

We went there last night...only 3 tables were taken which seemed odd..our food came out 30 minutes after we ordered it...it was bland and medium warm...the lasagna was just pasta and cheese, wtf...0 customer service...it used to be decent but do not recommend now...cmon filippis make some changes for the better read more

I want to like it, I've tried several times. The pizza has too much cheese, the red sauce has so much fennel seed it tastes metallic, I tried the eggplant parm which was somehow both dry & slimy. I could go on & on. On the plus side the service is phenomenal. read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Poway - Overcheesed pizza - Italian Near Me - Poway, California

Filippi's pizza is a bit different than other pizza. Some say it has too much cheese (they are wrong), some say the sauce is different (if you mean that distinct strong tomato flavor, they are right and it is delicious). It is the only pizza that I actually crave. Keep it up guys, I think I love you as I have for a million years! read more

Went to Filippis today. Spent so much time waiting for Chicken parm sandwich and eggplant parm sandwich. It's supposed to take ten minutes it was a lot longer. When it came both were cold. Very disappointing and upsetting. We paid for wine and left. When we were leaving I looked and there were no cooks in the kitchen. read more