Location: San Diego
Top Restaurants in San Diego
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Most Popular Italian food in San Diego, California, United States
Discover Restaurants offering the best Italian food in San Diego, California, United States. San Diego embodies laid-back California culture, complete with a Boardwalk, surfing communities, and outstanding Mexican food. Breathe in the fresh ocean air at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, then gobble down a fresh fish taco at a La Jolla seafood joint. The naval aircrafts at the USS Midway Museum will have you standing at attention. A free Sunday concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion is the perfect way to unwind after a Saturday night bar-hop in the thumping Gaslamp Quarter.
Things to do in San Diego
10. Civico 1845
Overall Ratings
4 based on 916 reviews
Civico 1845 features a new generation of Italian cuisine - fresh, light, authentic, and vegan. Experience flavors that are natural and pure.
Reviewed By JLCCalifornia
There is much to choose from in Little Italy, San Diego. Go here. Nice space, unpretentious but great service, and the freshest pasta you will find! Although we didn't order from it, their vegan menu looked inventive and delicious--not your usual fare. All of the dishes we ordered were so well prepared, and the ravioli were melt-in-your-mouth tender. Don't skip dessert. The tiramisu was light and creamy and the cannoli was amazing. Nice wine list; moderate noise level; good people watching. Can't go wrong. Ciao JLCCalifornia,Thank you for leaving us such a thoughtful and thorough review on TripAdvisor! I'm very happy to read that you enjoyed your dining experience with us (all the way through to dessert!). We hope to welcome you in again soon.-Dario Gallo, Owner
9. Buona Forchetta
Overall Ratings
4 based on 458 reviews
Reviewed By mydaisy
We visited my 2 sisters and their family in San Diego. They decided to take me and my daughter to this restaurant for dinner. My sister didnât live too far away (1.5 miles) and the weather was super nice so we decided to walk there . You can see bright orange chairs with a crowd of guests already enjoying their dinner. We had reservations and waited about 10 minute for them to seat us. We sat outside so we can enjoy the beautiful weather and people watching. I wasnât as hungry so my daughter and I shared a pizza . My daughter wanted her traditional pizza with pepperoni , bacon , etc ... but none of that since this is a fancier Italian restaurant (but dress code is casual). We ordered the Nicola (with prosciutto)pizza . My daughter didnât like it and I didnât think it was all that. It lacked seasoning . My sister also let me try her pasta with shrimp and mussels (not all that , a 3 out of 5 stars) . The version at Carabbaâs was way tastier ! Food wise , the seasoning could have been better but the atmosphere was awesome!
8. Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant
Overall Ratings
3 based on 78 reviews
Just off the Interstate 15 Express, near the Legacy Apartment Homes, in the Mira Mesa Market Center, your Mira Mesa, CA Buca is ready to serve you all your favorite Italian specialties for lunch or dinner all week long. Our chefs create delicious, authent
Reviewed By SoCalOregonian
We ate dinner here on 12/25. We had reservations for 5 people at 1815 but due to an early arriving flight, we were a little early, but were still seated about 1800. Service was a little spotty, but I attribute that to the amount of patrons inside the restaurant. If you did not have reservations, the wait was about 1 hour and 45 minutes. For dinner we ordered: bruschetta appetizer, large entree of prosciutto stuffed chicken that served 4 of us, a childâs fettuccine alfredo, 1 maschio prosecco and for dessert a colossal brownie sundae. Total for entire meal was $84.55 w/tax. Food was hot and good.SoCalOregonian, thank you for choosing to dine with us at Buca di Beppo. We appreciate you taking the time to write this review and provide your feedback about the dishes your ordered and service received on your visit. At Buca, we pride ourselves on offering delicious, authentic Italian food with excellent service and have shared your review and feedback with our management team. Thank you for sharing your concerns so we may address them and better serve you in the future. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to see you again to provide a dining experience that exceeds your expectations. We hope to see you again soon!
7. CUCINA urbana
Overall Ratings
4 based on 915 reviews
Dining + design form the perfect union at San Diegoâs highly acclaimed CUCINA urbana, a California-inspired Italian kitchen and wine shop, located in the heart of Bankers Hill since 2009. CUCINAâs cuisine is prepared with a focus on California seasonality
Reviewed By 148carolinemcn
Mike and Theresa really are pros in the hospitality industry. Food is always top-notch and beautifully presented. Fast service, attention to detail such as lighting candles, pleasant surroundings with best lakeside view in Cobourg. Sundays they have live music on the patio which is an extra bonus! Gotta love it!
6. Piatti
Overall Ratings
4 based on 821 reviews
Reviewed By unhappytraveller123
Weâve been here several times but maybe because itâs always busy, a neighbourhood fav, the standards have dropped. We start with grilled calamari and shrimp. Itâs light and fine and actually no big standout complaint. But the mains arenât great. I have shrimp with tomatoes in pasta and itâs just so-so. My husband has scallopini and itâs O.K. Lots of spinach and a pie made from risotto- interesting I suppose. Itâs just that Iâve had such good pasta here- food that used to sing with the freshness of ingredients and great combo that we think they are resting on their laurels. Likely we wonât return. Sorry.Also itâs really noisy here.The evening isnât a total waste as we do a beach walk and itâs beautiful.
5. Basic
Overall Ratings
4 based on 494 reviews
Reviewed By William Y
A little on the hip side but our server was on top of her game and the pizza and salad were top notch. Our server suggested splitting the salad between two people and she was right in the mark.We order the So Meaty and the addition of the ricotta made the overall pizza taste very creamy. Good toppings and a nice thing, crisp crust.I highly recommend.
4. Enoteca Adriano
Overall Ratings
4 based on 296 reviews
Reviewed By Lynn C
Celebrated the last night of a terrific beach vacation at Enoteca Adriano.Wonderful service, wine and food. My sonâs dish was not quite ready when the rest of the partyâs orders were ready so he was presented with a delicious bowl of pasta while he waited. Soda? Only Italian served... loved the authenticity and tradition this restaurant serves up. Definitely returning next year.
3. Parma Cucina Italiana
Overall Ratings
4 based on 1110 reviews
Parma Cucina Italiana was voted repeatedly "best Italian restaurant in San Diego". Nice cozy little location in the hearth of Hillcrest San Diego; only few minutes away from Little Italy, San Diego. Parma offers down to earth ambience and fantastic Italia
Reviewed By Lpofbrisbane
Back in SD after 3 years . Same personal attentive service and delicious food. Prosciutto burrata amazing Lasagne was superb and pappardelle with braised beef and porcini exceptional. So good returned with friends for last night. Tartufo delicious. Excellent prices for huge portions. Everyone walks out with containers of leftovers. Until next time
2. Ambrogio15
Overall Ratings
5 based on 245 reviews
An authentic but unique Milano gourmet pizza, a special dough recipe, an innovative pizza-making process, high-quality Italian ingredients, a holistic approach to the food and beverage world, a focus on sustainable agriculture and farming, along with a de
Reviewed By 2beans2000
I went based on great recommendations from friends.Itâs a cute place, most tables are inside... the menu is primarily pizzas and cheesy food options. The noisy surroundings are what pulled it down to an average rating for me.The service was good, really nice guys waiting on me and my friend. We werenât familiar with any if the wines so they brought same tastings and we each found something we enjoyed.The noise just kept amping up though. My friend and I both thought there could be ways to dampen the noise to make it easier to hear one another (and we are not old people, only mid-50âs).We selected two pizzas and they were tasty... the server worked with us to make a white pizza-vegetarian creation to our liking so that was really nice.Thereâs a small parking lot that is difficult to turn around in, and it fills up early so itâs best to just find street parking.It looks like itâs well-supported by locals and families... all are good signs.Again, the food was good and the service was great! Youâll just have to weigh the noise factor. Some people would call it good energy....to us, it would have been more helpful to absorb some of the noise so we could hear one another better.Enjoy!!
1. Solare
Overall Ratings
4 based on 244 reviews
Reviewed By VanillaAce
Great ambience and service. Sat at Chefâs Table and was amazed at the precision and passion by Chef and his staff when preparing meals. Well prepared appetizers and Italian meals . Bread is amazing also. Would definitively visit when in San Diego again.
