Location: Salinas
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California, United States Food Guide: 7 Italian food Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Salinas
Best Italian restaurants nearby. Discover the best Italian food in Salinas. View Menus, Photos and Reviews for Italian restaurants near you.. Salinas /səˈliːnəs/ is the county seat and largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is an urban area located just outside the southern portion of the Greater Bay Area and 10 miles (16 km) east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River. The population was 157,218 as of 2016. The city is located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley roughly eight miles from the Pacific Ocean and has a climate more influenced by the ocean than the hot-summer interior. The majority of residents live in single-unit detached homes, built between 1950 and 2000, while one third of the housing stock has three or more units per structure. Salinas serves as the main business, governmental and industrial center of the region. The marine climate is ideal for the floral industry, grape vineyards, and vegetable growers. Salinas is known for its vibrant and large agriculture industry and being "The Salad Bowl of the World" as the hometown of writer and Nobel Prize in Literature laureate John Steinbeck, who based several of his novels there.
Things to do in Salinas
7. Little Sicily
Reviewed By mikegrattan
There are definitely some things to like about Little Sicily; the home made gnocchi, the tasty sauces, and the flavorful pizza are all very promising. I feel, however, that there's also definite room for improvement. Meat Sauce: We ordered the gnocchi with the meat sauce, but the sauce hardly had any meat in it. It also had a few stray peas. If you're going to call it a meat sauce, please make sure there's a good portion of meat in it, like a bolognese. If there's supposed to be peas in the sauce, maybe a few more would be nice. If not, then please make sure no stray peas get in the sauce at all.Pizza: We tried the combo pizza and it was very tasty. However, the crust was quite soggy in the middle, even fresh out of the oven. I noticed that when they were prepping the pizza, the sausage was cooked separately in a sauté pan. The fresh vegetables were added at the beginning though, and they were not precooked at all. I suspect that the water from the fresh vegetables seeped into the crust and prevented it from cooking up to the proper texture. Perhaps you could sauté the vegetables first and then add them to the pizza during the last 60 seconds of cooking?Overall, definitely worth checking out but I hope they make some improvements with time.
6. Angelina's Pizzeria
Overall Ratings
4 based on 18 reviews
Reviewed By KPdvmandJannieP
Nice Family Pizza Joint. You feel the sense of community when you visit. Lively and friendly atmosphere with good Pizza and Calzones. Two large areas and a game room. One side next to the bar with lots of Big Screens; the other side more quiet with booths and no TVs... Raffle on the 1/2 hour during Happy Hour to win a Free Appetizer was surprisingly super fun!
5. Olive Garden
Overall Ratings
4 based on 58 reviews
Reviewed By bettysmith3359
Highly disappointed in overall experience. Was seated at a dirty table with dirty wine glasses. The waiter ignored our party after saying he would be our waiter. He asked if we would like to sample the Sangria and it took 30 minutes to bring it to us. Then he left and never came back. Come to find out he left his shift and no one was assigned to our table. Food was horrible. Ordered the never ending classics and the alfredo was gritty and dry. The Lasagna was so salty I could'nt eat it. The speghetti sauce tasted like it came out of a can. I highly recommended Olive Garden to my friends because it use to be so good. Such a dissapointment. Won't be going back there again.
4. Casa Sorrento Pizza
Overall Ratings
4 based on 32 reviews
Reviewed By Siaubas
Came here for lunch as a group of 6 without a reservation. Not a problem. Seated right away. I ordered the spinach salad for lunch, which was ample. Fresh spinach, bacon, red onion - perfect portion. Others in our party had more hearty item, pasta, etc. All were very pleased. Very friendly service. Will return for dinner next time I'm in Salinas.
3. Giorgios at 201 Main
Overall Ratings
4 based on 49 reviews
Upscale, California fresh cuisine by Executive Chef Santos Bautista. We invite you to take a seat in our show kitchen or in our old-world Tuscan Piazza. Featuring an award winning wine list, a highly renowned mixology menu and 4 fire tables, we offer 104
Reviewed By gdncd
First of all, we have been here one other time, several years ago. The first time we had a good experience overall. This time was not good, sadly, due to poor service. The server was really not good. He apologized to us over and over, but did not do anything to make it any better service. We could hear him apologizing to others as well. He was slow! He could not seem to get anything from the bar to us. Even the manager came by asked us how things were and headed off to get a drink and never came back. The bread server came to ask us if we wanted bread and then never brought us any. He was too busy flirting with the hostess. Everyone was really nice, but really had no interest in getting anything to the table??????The soup was amazing, I will say; It was Artichoke in a tomato bisque style. Sadly, the Blackened Chicken Pasta had too little sauce and must have sat under the heat lamp for a long time, as it had a kind of hard outer coating to it. The taste was okay in terms of the chicken, but the broccoli was overcooked. The atmosphere is interesting, but does make it very loud.
2. Patria
Overall Ratings
4 based on 225 reviews
Reviewed By ngg999
This was a wonderful find on our way through Salinas. We happened up this restaurant by chance and we were thrilled that we found it. The service was perfect and the food was exceptional. The restaurant is beautiful inside - tastefully decorated and welcoming with multiple rooms to choose from. If you happen to be in Salinas, be sure to head here for a lovely dinner.
Where to eat Barbecue food in Salinas: The Best Restaurants and Bars
1. Gino's Fine Italian Food
Overall Ratings
4 based on 312 reviews
Reviewed By roadwarriorstwo
A great steak for my husband on his birthday. And excellent Calamari steak for me. All good ,except I do not particularly like mashed potatoes with that meal. Will probably ask for substitute next time, maybe ravolis, but still loved that calamari and will have it again And their house salad dressing is the very best.
Most Popular American food in Salinas, California, United States
