We went there on a Saturday night only to find out that if you don't have a reservation you have to sit at the bar with a limited menu. Ridiculous! We planned on going there and ordering many of their specialty dishes, appetizers, wine etc. and we were unable to do that since we didn't have reservation. They are a small restaurant in a small city. No need for that. read more

THE food was absolutely delicious. I ordered the veal scallopino with pasta. The sauce was wonderful. It also came with nicely seasoned vegetables and warm bread for our little group of three. It was a lot of food and I must confess I ate EVERYTHING! No take-home box for me! My husband ordered the bolognese and he took most of it home because he was so full. The next day when he finished it he said it was fabulous. Our waiter, Robert was a terrific server, fun and delightful, but he was also efficient and always aware of our needs. Additionally, the atmosphere of the restaurant is elegant. I would like to mention to the reviewer who complained that he wasn't treated well (had to sit at the bar) because he didn't have a reservation, may have noticed that this restaurant is PACKED for obvious reasons and a reservation is recommended if you don't want to be seated at the bar! Really liked this restaurant and when we return to Chico I will definitely dine here! Recommend highly! read more

Food was decent. Sat at the bar and there was only 2 other people at bar when we did. Large CSU event going on. Bartenders failed to make any eye contact. Bar back asked us if he could assist us then bartender berated him for taking our orders. Then young male bartender was so perturbed by water spots on wine glasses he had to go outside and then proceeded to bad mouth the bar back to rest of staff. Totally unprofessional. Not impressed. Think this place could do better. read more

Best restaurant in Chico bar none. I used to go here when it was on Walnut street back in the 80s and now they have moved but still doing everything right. I left Chico after college and raised a family in the Bay Area. My wife and I moved back to Chico 6 years ago and the first thing I did was take her to the Sicilian Cafe. It didn't disappoint. The food and service is always top notch and the elegant atmosphere makes for a wonderful "fine dining" experience. Everything on the menu is exceptional but we always gravitate towards the calamari appetizer with scampi and/or chicken Americana. This place is a solid gold winner! If you haven't tried it you're missing out. read more

I admit I LOVED the quaint little spot the Sicilian was at over the creek, but this new spot (formerly Christian Michaels) is perfect! The food was amazing. Bruchetta was on point (and I'm picky as I make my own), the muscles were perfect combined with the noodles, and Mty FAVORITE was the calamari. Just ask them to bring out real cocktail sauce, and they will accommodate. Very attentive staff. Can't wait to go back! Ps: they are not afraid of garlic....for me this is a good thing (very good thing) read more

Sicilian Cafe - Capri Brushetta & Calamari for 2! - Italian Near Me - Chico, California

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This is a cute establishment with nice decorations. However the service and food are subpar. When I took my mother to dinner here the hostess was not welcoming and placed us out of sight in the corner of the restaurant. When our server asked us what drinks we would like he forgot them twice and would only remember as he was descending the stairs to the kitchen after spending a great deal of time flirting with the hostess. We did not receive our drinks until an hour had passed. Two couples that had come in after us were served before us and their server made a point of checking on us since our server was nowhere to be found. The owner eventually came out and apologized because we still hadn't been served. After receiving our food, my Fettuccine Alfredo pasta was undercooked. Before leaving I made a point of informing him of our experience and he promised to follow up the next day. It's been two weeks and I have heard nothing. Sorely disappointed. EDIT: The owner reached out, apologized on behalf of one of his staff, and offered to make things right. read more

Sicilian Cafe - Italian Near Me - Chico, California

Our meal was incredible. All the way from how our salad was dressed, to my wife's manicotti with fantastic bolognese sauce (rich, dark, deep flavor) to my Chicken Americana (delightful, and a unique surprising flavor). Truly the most flavorful and memorable meal we've had in months. read more

We had a fantastic dinner. The staff is great. Great setting for a tasty dinner. We will definitely be back! read more

Sicilian Cafe - Our pre-dinner cocktails! - Italian Near Me - Chico, California

Good food, service and generous cocktails . First time at the new location , so much easier to park. All in all a great experience.

I was recommended this place from someone that works at Crush in Chico and I have to admit they messed up! The food here was excellent and the service was great. You will know that your food is fresh because everything comes out with plenty of time between servings. The bread and olive oil, apps, salad and soup, and entrees came out separately within 10 minutes of each other. If you know Italian food, this is how it's supposed to be done. Cheers yall read more

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The scallop risotto is to die for. One of the best restaurants in town. Amazing salads, the steak is wonderful, and the alcoholic drinks are amazing. A must go for a date night. The service is very good as well. read more

This used to be a fantastic dinner house back at the old location. Service was efficient and friendly and the food was always excellent. I don't know what changed but it took OVER TWO HOURS to get served. Our table of four finally received our meals, but the fourth meal was served almost five minutes after the previous three. The three finally started eating before our food was cold. The waitress had no explanation or comment. This was a very special occasion for my grandson and it was ruined because of the delay. The veal dish my wife and I ordered had a tomato sauce that was very strong and overpowering. I scraped it off the meat and are the veal, as I could not wait for a replacement order - it was now 9:30 and we were seated at 7:30. While waiting for our table, a man came out dressed like a cook and asked if everything was okay. Sadly, HE WAS DRUNK! That could have been the cause of the issues, but we will NEVER RETURN!!! read more

Their menu does not offer enough choices since they moved. Went for our anniversary last night and was soooo disappointed, before the move around 30 choices now about 8 so sad. You need to show the real menu online not your old one, bait and switch, We won't EVER be back!! Duane Naslund read more

Food was amazing. Chicken Parm, salmon and veal piccata was cooked on point. Server Danielle and busser Sutton were both very attentive and professional read more

First time here and we sat at bar for a late afternoon couple drinks and apps. Drinks and bar service were good, no complaints there. We ordered 3 appetizers. Calamari, crab cakes and the Spaghettini w/meatballs. After reading several rave reviews about the calamari we were really looking forward to it and it was very over cooked and rubbery. The breading was tasty but overall not good. The crabs cakes were soft and mushy, not crisp at all and not good at all. The spaghettini was just ok. We only saw the appetizer menu and overall there was nothing exciting or inventive on the menu. I've worked in food service and I never understand why some places will allow a dish that's obviously overcooked (calamari) leave the kitchen to be served to a customer. Disappointing. read more

So disappointed been eating at Sicilian cafe for years but won't be back service was horrible food was nothing like it use to be seafood manicotti tasted like tuna & the waiter Robert is in the wrong business Sad just sad !! read more

So glad to see and taste the new location for the Sicilian Cafe now in Downtown Chico where Christian and Michael's used to be. The small plates at happy hour are a great mixture of antipasta and actual real food, ie eggplant parmigiana which is among the best I've ever had. The waitstaff and bartenders are friendly and efficient. It's truly wonderful to have this nice location filled again. It is a key element of the charm of downtown Chico and kudos to the owner for working hard to make it happen. He's been serving Chico a long time offering the best Italian menu for all those years. It's in his family roots. Go support him. read more

The relocation of this eatery is an obvious plus, however the current interior decor seems a bit distracting with the plethora of mirrors. Also making my reservation was a bit jumbled but accomplished and honored upon entry. The meal was good to very good ( busy Friday eve) and the menu choices commendable. The mussel appetizer was outstanding with abundant shellfish, seasonings, garlic and pasta. Our meal was delayed close to 45 min because of a busy kitchen . As a result veal dishes were overcooked and dry. Our server was pleasant and capable though seemingly overextended. Overall I would rate this experience as a 4- and will recommend it to others. . read more

We had a beautiful dinner on the patio. Spaghetti and meatballs and butternut squash raviolis were delicious. We will be back soon! read more

Sicilian Cafe - Bread and antipasto that comes with your meals - Italian Near Me - Chico, California

I used to love to go to Sicilian Cafe`. The atmosphere is currently wonderful. I went for a birthday dinner not long ago and I was very disappointed with the food. The restaurant is so very lovely for Chico. All the servers there are very, friendly, wonderful, and knowledgeable. The service was great, the food on the other hand wasn't very special. The fish that was ordered was mushy and it tasted over cooked, not at all fresh. We had ordered a lasagna with meatballs. The lasagna had a very odd flavor, and not in a good way. It did not taste like any lasagna I've ever had from the great restaurants in the wine country or in the bay area where the restaurants are owned and run by the Italians themselves. I've had great lasagna and the lasagna I had at Sicilian Cafe` was not even as good as it is at The Italian Cottage or Frankie's. I just wish the food was better so I could enjoy going to the restaurant again. read more

Had small plate dinner here with friends. We didn't have reservations, but there was seating in the bar area, service was fast and the small plate selections were great. Got plenty of food and left content. Glad to see them open in a new location, convenient to downtown and parking. read more

Arrived at 7:30 on a Saturday and my main entree arrived at 9:10. It had great flavor and I would order again but ask it to be hot, it came barely warm. Unfortunately I will not be back. We were told there was a large party and they were going as fast as they could. I appreciate their honesty but with these prices I feel everyone should get the same service. Our party of 3 could not hear each other for it was so loud we gave up after the first hour. Maybe they do better in the bar but again there are so many other places in town we will not be back. They did get 2 glasses of wine from me since I drank the first one in the first 45 minutes and wanted wine with my meal. Others in the party got the Butternut Squash Half Moon Ravioli and both did not like it. Update: Robert came to take our parties plates away and wanted to get boxes to take the Ravioli home. We said no and casually mentioned we did not like it. He took the 2 Ravioli's off our bill. read more

We've eaten here many times. In our opinion it is the best Italian food in Chico--Crush being a close second. The food is absolutely delicious, top-notch. Hands down the best chicken piccata, the best calamari, the best fettuccini Alfredo, and the best tiramisu in town. They are pretty pricey, as any great Italian restaurant is. Their old location on Main Street had a tiny, difficult-to-access parking lot, so we're looking forward to going to their new bigger location when that opens, where the old Christian Michael's used to be. This is one of our go-to places, especially when we have out-of-town visitors. read more

One of the best places I've tried in Chico so far. By far the best Italian. Everything was great. For some reason even the salad tasted amazing. Every person in my group ate every bite of every plate, which is rare. We will go back prob once a month or to complete the menu. Another visit here and it is still excellent. Everyone tried something different and all were pleased. I don't know why they have salt and pepper on the table because everything is always seasoned perfectly which is rare around here. No one used them. Don't come if you are short on time. It is a place to enjoy the company you are with alongside great food. read more

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Delicious Italian food and wonderful service. They even accommodated my vegan diet with

What a pleasant surprise! Patio is the perfect hideaway. The service is faultless! The food is the perfect compliment for the setting! read more

Best eggplant parm ever! Lots of food, traditional Italian, plan on taking your time to enjoy.

The food was plentiful and delicious! We enjoyed everything we ordered, and would have loved to try their desserts, but were too full! I had the scallops over risotto and my husband has two appetizers for dinner: the calamari and eggplant parmesan. The portion of eggplant was enough to be considered dinner. We are definitely looking forward to our next visit. read more

The wait staff is amazing!! Very attentive, but, not intrusive. Everything was delicious from the appetizers to the main entrées. Their fettuccine Alfredo was creamy, cheesy deliciousness!! We'll be back for sure! read more

Anything here on the menu is great. Came in multiple times and the service was always great, and everything I have eaten was delicious. Their kitchen is small and they have a lot of tables to serve so it is understandable that the food does not come out right away. It was well worth the wait! The last time I went in I had a chicken picatta and it was delicious. They had a great spicy Italian sausage soup that made me happy. I am going there many more times love that place. read more

This was our first time visiting SC. We were finally able to get a reservation (which speaks volumes). Our server was Jack, he was fantastic. We had the mushrooms as an appetizer. They were cooked with garlic, butter and a sort of broth. They were a simple yet, delicious way to start. I had the scallops and risotto and my boyfriend had prawn siciliano. Both were incredible. If you can get a table, you have to try this gem of a restaurant! read more

We were traveling through Chico and discovered this place next to the creek. This is an intimate Italian restaurant. Everything was perfect: the staff, the food, the setting. Perfect. read more

Hot new restaurant in Downtown Chico. The bar has "good bones" and used to be our beloved Christian Michaels.

Soooooo...this is both an updated review and an apology to my husband! I must have been a real "cranky pants" the day of my first review. Sorry it was hot! We returned after all these years and WOW it was amazing. We got the prawn appetizer, the chicken parm and chicken piccata and everything was great! The service was attentive and timely. We will surely be retuning. read more

We've driven past this place a hundred times, and I always said, "I want to try this place", so we finally went. We were seated right when we arrived, and although the description on the site said "dressy", it wasn't as dressy as I thought it would be (which was good). We started off with a calamari appetizer, very tasty and the dipping sauce was really good. Our entree selections were the seafood manicotti and the spaghettini. Both were very good and the salad that came with the meal was light, but very good. A nice job of spacing out the delivery of the food, we didn't feel rushed at all, and we were able to relax and enjoy our meal. I normally take lots of pictures of the food, but I decided I would just enjoy the experience and skip the photos. The staff was very attentive. I'd give this restaurant a thumbs up ! The only thing I'd say is parking is a little scarce, but we parked across the street. But, they are moving soon, apparently, so maybe this won't be an issue. Thanks for the nice experience! read more

Had a wonderful meal at Sicilian Cafe last night. The food and service were excellent.

Meh.... Walked in and were looked at like what are you guys doing here...then instantly questioned by multiple people if we had a reservation, then it was if we wanted entrees or small plates, it's like umm we are 3 adults here for dinner. No smile or welcome. Then we were somewhat rushed on ordering even though there was only 1 other table there. Food took foreverrrr to come out, was there for almost 2 hours before our entrees came out and we didn't order appetizers, waited forever for the salads that are included in our meal to come out, however they were delicious. Mind you this is a slow Tuesday night, not a busy weekend. Then a loud party with 2 whiny kids were seated. Not a place for whiny kids when you're paying $30+ for an entree... Dinner was good, we all liked our entrees. Portions were good. Service was eh, barely asked once after a while if food was okay, not any personality. Prob won't come back. Actually yeah, I won't. read more

To start, the Caesar salad was bland and an additional $5.00 which was totally not worth it. I chose the seafood manicotti as my entree. When it was placed in front of me, I could have sworn for a split second I was sitting at a Mexican restaurant! I was served with what resembled 2 cheese enchiladas. It was heavy, tasteless and swimming in cheese sauce. Disgusting! And my last gripe, if you want your "Sicilian" food prepared in traditional Sicilian style, you have to pay $5 to $7 more per entree. Now why would I pay that if where I'm eating purports to be Sicilian cuisine? Makes absolutely no sense. I rather dine at Olive Garden and get my money's worth. read more

We celebrated my husband's birthday at Sicilian Cafe last night, along with his parents. We had a great experience. The food was fantastic, and our waiter, Wilson made the evening. He was enthusiastic, attentive and made great recommendations. Although we've been here before and always loved it, last night was beyond expectation. read more

Sicilian Cafe - The special seafood dish - Italian Near Me - Chico, California

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Another great meal at Sicilian Cafe. This place has been my favorite Italian restaurant in Chico for a long time. It comes down to quality food. I had a simple plate of spaghetti and meatballs. It was delicious. My wife had the Chicken Piccata. Again delicious. If you want to wade into the dining experience slowly, try the small plates served in the bar area. Enjoy! read more