Cesarina is my favorite pasta place ever, and certainly one of my favorite restaurants in San…read moreDiego. You must have a reservation to dine there, as they do not take any walk-ins. The restaurant itself is so cute and intentional with all of the decor. They have beautiful colorful ceramic plates straight from Italy, fun rooster pitchers, and even their to-go boxes and bags are so prettily designed - every detail is well thought out. I would recommend sitting outside on the patio as it is so cute out there! The staff truly care about giving their customers a good experience. Now onto the food - I love a pasta with a creamy flavorful sauce, and Cesarina always delivers on that! I love doing the build your own pasta option, where you get to choose your pasta shape (mafalde is my personal favorite), your sauce (these rotate out throughout the year, but my 3 favorites are the boscaiola, funghi, and the tartufona [truffle]), and your topping (I will say I wouldn't recommend the meatballs, but any of the cheese toppings are lovely). They also provide delicious complementary bread with marinara sauce for dipping! For dessert, if you order the homemade tiramisu, they make it for you at the table and it is so fun and delicious. Truly such a wonderful restaurant! Can't wait for my next visit.

Good food, but overpriced…read more The food is good, and I can see why this place gets such great reviews. The pasta is well done, and the staff was genuinely wonderful--friendly, attentive, and welcoming. That said, for the prices, I expected a lot more. It feels significantly overpriced for what you're getting. The biggest disappointment was the manager, who came across as extremely pretentious and a little too impressed with himself. It definitely took away from an otherwise enjoyable experience. Good Italian food and great staff, but for the price and overall attitude, I'm not sure I'd go back

Bencotto definitely lived up to the hype! Everything we ordered was delicious. I had the cheese…read morewheel pasta special with mushrooms and added sausage--I'm so glad I did because the sausage was perfectly crisp and absolutely scrumptious. My oldest ordered the salmon salad, and the creamy dressing was light, fresh, and full of flavor. The salmon portion was on the smaller side but cooked perfectly. My youngest got a "small" order of spaghetti Bolognese (there's no kids' menu), and she cleaned her plate. We also ordered the house bread, which our server explained is baked fresh to order, so it took a little extra time--but it was worth the wait. The seasoned olive oil dip was incredible, and the butter was rich and creamy. The only thing I personally missed was a side of balsamic vinegar. The drinks were just as impressive: a refreshing lavender mocktail for my oldest, a beautifully presented strawberry lemonade for my youngest, and their take on an Aperol Spritz for me. All three were refreshing and a perfect complement to the meal. Great food, wonderful service, and a spot we'll happily return to!

Came here on a weekend and we were seated outside due to no reservation. Our table was filled with…read moreleaves that had dropped, including on our dishware. We got mozzarella sticks, tagliatelle nere, cheese wheel pasta, and tagliatelle lamb. To our surprise, the mozzarella sticks only come with three small sticks, but the cheese pull on them were really nice. The cheese wheel pasta was not tossed in the cheese wheel table side because we were seated outside, which I wish they would've explained when we were ordering. We substituted the tagliatelle ragu with pappardelle pasta since we already had fettuccine and I liked that a lot. When the pasta came out, our server asked if we wanted cheese on the pasta to which we said yes, and then he forgot to bring us cheese so we had to ask the hostess standing outside. Overall the food was good and the pasta portion was filling. I wouldn't recommend sitting outside because service was not the best. Not sure if it was because we were quite literally the only table outside.

Bf and I had a little date night here, the service and food was amazing! They have a banana…read moreespresso martini that was delicious!

My boyfriend and I LOVE Barbusa! Definitely one of my favorite Italian spots in Little Italy. We've…read moretried several things on the menu, and honestly, you really can't go wrong. Everything is delicious and staff are amazing. The food is consistently good, the atmosphere is lively and fun, and it's such a great spot for date night or dinner with friends. There are so many amazing Italian restaurants in Little Italy, but Barbusa continues to be one of our go-to favorites. 5/5 every time. If you haven't been yet, add it to your list!

They know what they're doing and their client service was perfection. My older friend had a…read moresignificant birthday this year with the passing of her husband nearly a year ago exactly, It was a special birthday considering her failing health and I gave the restaurant a heads up we would be celebrating. Nathan, Sabrina and Johan were a primo team and outstanding on all counts. They made extra sure my guest was comfortable and most importantly, appreciated. The fried burrata was a star as was their caprese salad. Their spinach ravioli was delicious and despite how full we were, it was gobbled up. Their pizza was great as well as their arancini. The New Zealand Sauvignon blanc was delicious with a spicy finish. We ordered two bottles. The vibe is very communal and it got lively around 7pm on a Saturday. It was quiet and intimate when we arrived around 4:45pm so come a little earlier if you typically would like a quieter meal with fabulous food. Again, can't thank Nathan. Sabrina and Johan enough. The entire team was fabulous and humored us with our questions in regard to Sicily. I will be back and will bring others: thanks again!

Amazing service, but unfortunately the food didn't live up to the hype…read more Ossobuco: 5.5/10 I've had a lot of ossobuco over the years, and this was honestly my least favorite. The meat was fairly tender, but it lacked flavor almost entirely. The sauce didn't add much either, and the risotto underneath was just okay. Nothing was necessarily bad. it was just surprisingly bland. For a dish that's usually rich and comforting, this one felt forgettable. Pesto Pasta: 7/10 This was decent and definitely better than the ossobuco, but it wasn't anything I'd go out of my way to order again. The pesto was enjoyable, and I appreciated that it wasn't overly acidic. Beyond that, it didn't really stand out. The cocktails were good, the service was fantastic, and the complimentary limoncello cake was delicious. That said, when there are so many great Italian restaurants in the area, I don't see myself returning. I left feeling like the food was more hype than substance. Food: 5/10 Service: 10/10

The food was so good and very rich. Our server was Giacomo and he was so friendly and made the…read moreexperience very fun!

I'm vacationing in SD and have many allergies. I have basically been surviving on PB and rice…read morecakes cuz every restaurant we've been to has not taken me seriously and I've gotten sick. Buona Forchetta took it seriously and no issues. plus. all of our meals were outstanding. we agreed this was best meal we had on vaca. Cosimo was our very attentive ...great service

You need to visit this wonderful place! The authenticity, atmosphere and welcoming family members…read morewho made our experience one of a kind should not be missed. We enjoyed every bit of our food, the service; and Giovanni and his family didn't hesitate to chat with us in Italian. My friend and I met in Naples, Italy over 40 years ago in high school. We had a mini reunion at Siamo Napoli because we craved an authentic experience. We couldn't be more delighted with our choice. Grazie mille!

From first glance, the ambience was very welcoming. From the Parpardelle con il Ragu D'Agnello to…read morethe Lasagna Della Nonna, each bite was made with exquisite quality. Giovanni, the owner of the restaurant, personally came by our table to make sure we were enjoying my our dining experience. Overall, this was one of the finer Italian experiences I had the pleasure to enjoy!

This restaurant is so delicious! The service is excellent and the food is impeccable quality…read more Alessandro and Gabriel are so sweet! We sat by the window with a nice view and some breeze. Very cute place!

This food was a religious experience from the first bite. I saw god in this Italian restaurant…read more Free bread/olive oil and balsamic vinegar was fantastic. Everything made in house and you can absolutely tell I got the Alfredo and it was outstanding, each bite better than the last Gluten free pasta options as well! Didn't try it myself but I would be willing to bet it's great too. Fantastic service, our server was kind and attentive. Reasonable prices! A wonderful dinner had by all, I will definitely be back!

Cucina Urbana's Sunday offering is great. It feels like an excellent home cooked meal without the…read morework. The meal includes *Family chopped salad - light and fresh * Focaccia + herbed butter - nice and warm bread with flavorful butter * Bucatini amatriciana - perfect seasoning; al dente * Polenta - rich and creamy * Seasonal roasted vegetables - very good side; lovely char on the veggies. * Spatchcock chicken - moist inside but crispy skin. Not a lot of flavor but if you add the pesto and the lemon & with the bed of arugula- I think it's wonderful. * Tiramisu/dessert- they have peaches and added hazelnuts on top- a good variation. We also had Lavender lemonade which was a bit sour for me but the other people at the table liked. Service and food were great. The restaurant is very clean and modern. Overall, highly recommended.

Came here on a Friday night for a friend's birthday and was able to find street parking a few…read moreblocks away. The squash blossoms were the best thing we ordered. I'm a cheese lover, so these were right up my alley. The sauce was so good that I ended up dipping the focaccia in it. The focaccia bread itself, though, was pretty plain with just butter and not worth paying for. The food was pretty hit or miss. The Beef Brasato Pappardelle was flavorful with a good amount of meat, while the Bucatini Amatriciana was sour and not enjoyable. The Parmesan Truffle Fries were disappointing- they were hollow and airy with barely any potato or truffle flavor. The burnt Brussel sprouts were actually burnt (ha), the grilled octopus was dry with very little meat, the hamachi crudo was okay, the wagyu carpaccio was alright but didn't taste like wagyu, and the Jidori chicken fra diavolo wasn't worth the price. We also wanted the steak, but unfortunately they were out that night. Service was good. They waived the usual $3/person cake-cutting fee since we cut our own birthday cake. My biggest complaint was how hot it was inside. It took about 45 minutes to an hour before we could even feel the AC, which made dinner pretty uncomfortable on a summer night. Overall, there were a few standout dishes, but just as many misses. It wasn't a bad meal, but it wasn't a delicious one.