Testo Pepesto Italian Restaurant in El Cajon, just off Main St., was a great experience! Street…read moreparking was easily available, and the restaurant offers both indoor and patio seating with plenty of space for larger parties. We were a party of eight, including three little ones, and our waitress, Ms. Cindy, was AMAZING! Her service is truly the reason this restaurant is getting a 5-star review from us. Ms. Cindy consistently checked on our table to make sure we had everything we needed. What impressed me most was how attentive she was around the children. When bringing out hot dishes, she was very mindful about where she placed them and made sure they were safely out of the children's reach. That level of attention to detail was phenomenal! If you're looking for amazing table service, ask to be seated in Ms. Cindy's section, and be sure to leave her a generous tip because she is worth every penny! Now, on to the food: Gnocchi Tuscan: Good flavor. Sicilian Lobster Mac & Cheese: Delish! Double Deluxe Pizza: Delicious and absolutely true to its name. DELUXE and packed with goodness! Garlic Cheese Bread: Delish, and the marinara sauce was SO GOOD! Calamari: Well cooked, although there were no tentacles. Teriyaki Chicken Wings: Good-sized wings, but the breading made them look HUGE. They were a little over-sauced for my liking. Shrimp Lobster Linguini: I was told it was amazing! Rigatoni Fra Diavola with added shrimp: AMAZING flavor! Margherita Pizza: I'm normally not a fan of pizza without meat, but this one completely surprised me. AMAZING flavor! Overall, we had a wonderful dining experience, but Ms. Cindy's exceptional service really made our visit memorable. THANK YOU, MS. CINDY, for taking such great care of our family and giving us an AMAZING dining experience!

First time dining here & would definitely come back!! Cute…read morelittle family owned restaurant that gave us very homey vibes. Atmosphere was great, quiet & not too chaotic. Service was also good, we were seated quickly & given complimentary bread soon after we sat down. Menu had a lot of options! We went with the lobster Mac & cheese and the rigatoni. Lobster Mac & cheese was gooood! I will say I love garlic but it was a little too garlicy so if you're not a fan of garlic, I would choose a different option. My fiancé ordered the rigatoni and he couldn't stop raving about the sauce! The pasta itself was slightly undercooked but the sauce makes up for it :) portions were good! We ate till we were full and still ended up taking home leftovers. Overall, super friendly staff & a great experience. They also offer first responder discounts :) It's a yes from us!

Great food great service Have gone there for years…read more Great food and service as well! Never Disappointed yummy

Hey dudes, Captain 619 here, just cruisin' in to share my experience at Marechiaro's Italian…read moreRestaurant. So, this was our first time paddlin' in, and the place was packed with people--always a good sign, right? But, bro, the food? It didn't quite catch the wave for me. I went for the lasagna, and man, the portion was smaller than I hoped for. My wife went with the chicken Parmesan, but the chicken was kinda chewy, like it got tossed around in the surf a bit too long. And the bread? A little dry, like it needed a splash of ocean water to bring it back to life. First impression? Just average, my friends. I was really hoping for an epic Italian feast, but it felt more like a small ripple than a big wave. I'll give it a three for the vibe and the crowd, but the chow just didn't hang ten for us. Catch you on the next wave! Captain 619

I go to this restaurant a couple times a month. Last night I ordered the (10) wings and side of…read moremeatballs. IT WAS SO GOOD. It is a bit pricy but for me the size of the order is 2-3 meals. I will order this again. Highly recommend.

A secret of east El Cajon, or just south of the 8 in essentially Lakeside, not far from Santee--we…read morestopped for dinner after picking up supplies at a neighboring store. They are still sticking to the original recipes and I appreciate the dough of our Italian Sausage & Mushroom pizza. We also shared a Caesar salad. I like that they have a room for private events - they had the Padres game on in that room. Our server would pass by a few times so that we could ask her for anything additional. We skipped dessert this time. Our pizza was better the second day! The way they prepare mushrooms was the way my hometown pizza place did. And the CHEESE! So delicious and melt-y!!!! Enjoy it

Yumminess !! The pizza always on point Quick service always…read morenice people in the front desk 10/10 pizza

Sad but since new ownership this pizza is not the same…read more Time to find a new go to, Chicago pizza fans !

The owner was right this is very good food. After ordering from a different New York Giant pizza…read moreand posting a well deserved poor review on the wrong restaurant I gave this one a try.i ordered a meatball pizza with onions. In my opinion, Any pizza place that serves food needs to have excellent sauce and a meatball worth ordering. This pizza had both. Yummy the first time and yummy when reheated. The breadstick is substantial and sauce on the side delicious. I also had the wings with bbq sauce which I loved Nicely cooked and meaty with sticky bbq sauce. Thanks to all who cooked this and packed it up nicely. You can tell care is taken for the customer.

Sausage Sandwich was crumbled pizza sausage and tasted like breakfast sausage…read more The meatballs in the meatball sandwich looked and tasted like they came out of a bag I will not order again.

We ordered for Admin day. Came early, piping hot…read more Very fresh ingredients. Over all very tasty and will order again for sure. The regular crust comes a little sofy soggy since we had delivery. the Thin was good but not crispy so will have to try again eating there. But overall the taste was amazing. 4 pizzas and all gone in 10 minutes so that tell you something LOL

My friends ordered delivery from Bambino's for their going-away party, and everything was…read moredelicious! I love how accommodating they are with dietary restrictions. I tried the cheese-free option and the vegetarian pizza, but my absolute favorite was the Margherita pizza. It was so good with the ricotta cheese!

There's something so satisfying about a hearty, traditional Italian-American meal, especially on a…read morecozy, rainy afternoon! Di Leone's Italian Restaurant was exactly what we were craving. We took full advantage of their lunch specials so we could sample a wide variety of dishes, including Di Leone's Special Pizza, gnocchi with pink sauce, a meatball and mushroom calzone, manicotti, garlic bread, minestrone soup, tortellini egg drop soup, and a house salad. Everything made for such a comforting, satisfying feast! The tortellini egg drop soup was a particularly unique and memorable surprise, and absolutely perfect for the rainy weather. Another standout was their house-made salad dressings. Both the Italian dressing and ranch dressing are prepared from scratch, and they're phenomenal! It's always wonderful when a restaurant puts that kind of care into even the simplest accompaniments. The restaurant has a charming, old-school Italian-American atmosphere that feels warm and welcoming. It's the kind of place where you can settle in, share generous portions, and enjoy a leisurely meal with family or friends. We especially appreciated the variety and value of the lunch specials, which allowed us to explore so much of the menu in one visit. Di Leone's is a lovely option for classic Italian-American comfort food in East County, and we're looking forward to returning!

We ventured to the other side of El Cajon tonight to try out the early bird special and 1/2 price…read moreappetizers. Opening the door we were greeted with the old school charm of a restaurant that has been around for over 50 years. Our server was delightful and very fast. In fact the entire staff had a warm energetic family feel. And, happily we beat the rush giving us the ability to hear each other and take our time enjoying the meal. Dad and I started with the chicken tortellini soup which was a little too salty for us. Tortellini was slightly overcooked making it flowery and missing meat or cheese. Mom's house salad was ok. She did comment on being disappointed in the oil served with it. Our appetizer was shrimp scampi. This was good, full of flavor. Shrimp was slightly overcooked giving it a semi rubbery edge. On to the entrees. They were huge! I had lasagna. I think when you see it delivered in a sea of sauce you need to be a bit wary. The sauce was spicy, as it should be. Noodles were thick and prominent . Sadly that left little to no room for my favorite part - cheese and meat which were limited. Dad gave the manicotti a try which was ok. Mom had eggplant parmesan, one of her favs. Her sauce was a little bit tart. Eggplant was a nice moist and tender slice with just the right amount of cheese. She loved how the strands of spaghetti wrapped around her fork so she could dip it into the sauce without a spoon. Yup, she really liked the Pasta. Overall she felt it was a nice Italian meal. Very popular spot as it filled up before 6pm and a party of 30 was expected! You can see it's a neighborhood

This pizza place is a family owned business in the corner of a shopping center, it's a hidden gem!…read moreThe family who owns this place they are all very nice people and I can tell they take lots of pride in their restaurant. Two things that I absolutely love and recommend would be the Fettuccine Alfredo and Rigatoni Pesto, the sauces are made in house and are fresh and creamy. Not pictured but the pepperoni pizza is also really good as it replicates that's feel of authentic new york pizza. Most times I take my food to go so I don't really get to eat that much inside the place, but when I do they always serve my food with care. Absolutely love this place, me and my partner frequent here often!

Delicious homemade Italian! Family run business!…read more I had the Lasagna w/meat sauce and a side of meatballs. Sooo good! A definite favorite now.

Thank you so much Rita and Sivan for great pizza and hospitality! This was our first visit and its…read moredefinite that we will be back. We came late in the evening as the shop was closing. But Rita gladly welcomed us, gave advice about different types of slices, and then custom made the best slices. We had a Greek slice to go along with a pepperoni and a cheese. Highly recommend this hidden gem to anyone looking for quality pizza served by friendly folks!

I absolutely love this pizza joint. The pizza is perfect every time. The cheese bread is so…read morebuttery. I am not joking when I say it almost brings me to tears it is so yummy! And the people there are super sweet and just really kind people. I recommend Monavalas pizza to anyone who wants a great slice, wonderful salads, and the cheese bread that melts in your mouth. Also they have a great selection of different sodas. Like Birch Beer, Spruce Beer, Bacon Maple Beer and many others not the typical boring sodas. I really love this place. And again the owners are great people in the community. Thank you, Monavalas. You are the best.

The food was delicious and the service was excellent, the Turkish coffee was outstanding, thank you…read moreMirna for the coffee.

I've visited Botani for the third time so far. I have nothing but positive things to say about…read morethis restaurant. It's family owned and it shows that they take pride in the quality of their food, customer service and hospitality. Their breakfast is amazing, I enjoyed their Flatbread, meat and eggs. My absolute favorite item was bread stuffed with melting cheese, can't recall the number but it was fantastic 10/10 I highly recommend Botani.