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    Bistro Kaz

    4.3 (397 reviews)
    ModerateItalian, Japanese
    Closed 11:30 am - 2:00 pm, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    BISTRO KAZ ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Intimate
    Good for kids

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    Katarina G.

    I really enjoyed Bistro Kaz :) the food was very delicious and the drinks were great. My boyfriend loves squid ink pasta and their did not disappoint :) the service was okay, I feel like they didn't check up on us a whole lot, but the were nice. The restaurant is also small, so on a busy night you could experience a wait. Overall a good spot for date night :)

    Truffle pizza
    Ashley C.

    I stumbled upon this restaurant while doing some research on beli for Japanese-Italian fusion spots, and I instantly knew that it would be right up my alley. I loveeee Japanese-Italian fusion food. To start, the restaurant was so cute. Although it had limited seating, it was extremely cozy and mellow. After some heavy contemplation, we decided on the truffle pizza and creamy sea urchin pasta. The truffle pizza came out first and it was SO good to say the least. It tasted very creamy and buttery, but it was definitely on the heavier side. I wish they added corn to it--I feel like that could be a nice addition. Shortly after, we were then served with the pasta. First, it looked soooo appetizing. The plating was phenomenal! The pasta itself was very creamy but not greasy at all. It also did not taste overlyyy fishy. Instead, the seaweed paired very well with the urchin & roe. Overall, I had a great experience at Bistro Kaz! The service was also lovely. The only downfall is that it is on the pricier side, so I definitely recommend to bring friends to share & split!

    Eggplant curry
    Curt T.

    The Japanese curry was simply delicious and flavorful. Loved it. The egg plant was cooked perfectly as well. The meatloaf sandwich was also very flavorful and tasty. Breaded and then fried??? Hell yeah. Sign me up!! The cucumber, fresh mozzarella just really added to it. Complimented everything perfectly. The fries it was served with was crispy and delicious.

    Meatloaf sandwich
    Arnold T.

    Looking for a place in SD that offes meatloaf and this place came up. First time here and we absolutely love the food. The meatloaf sandwich was deep fried, came with mozzarella and a side of fries. The Japanese curry was also excellent. I had the fried eggplant and it really worked together with the curry sauce. Place is small and parking can be difficult.

    Jeffrey Y.

    Cozy Japanese Yoshoku Cafe in Kearny Mesa Like a Euro cafe in Japan, Bistro Kaz is a super cozy seeming hole in the wall, bringing the comforts of West meets East yoshoku eats to the San Diego metro area. Nestled in a strip mall in the heart of Kearny Mesa, you are instantly greeted to modern kissaten cafe lounge jazz enveloped in a cute little space of reddish brick and dark woods. For lunch on a Friday, the crowd was small with plenty of seating, which even has a coffee bar. Service was gently slow and actually worked great with the music. I ordered the lunch set, which is a bit on the pricey side, but what you get is an actually great value: main + salad + soup + drink. And with a large portion size! Hayashi Omurice. I love omelets with rice inside, a Japanese comfort food. Combined with hayashi sauce and beef, I couldn't resist. This isn't your classic hayashi sauce, however, being a rich umami tomato base filed with onions, carrots, and sweet-and-sour soaked bamboo shoots. It's a lovely mix, and frankly, it's worth trying. Comes with some red pickled radishes to change it up on the flavor every now and then. Definite recommend. House salad. No extra charge. All green leaf lettuce in a light vinaigrette. Can recommend with combo. Cold barley tea. Served with ice, and it has a nice mild flavor, easy to drink with a hot meal. No extra charge with set, so recommend. Corn soup. Creamy and sweet. Nothing says cozy Japanese food like a hot corn soup. $1.50 extra with set, so a definite recommend. Overall, a great lunch spot if you want to take your time and feel like you stepped into Japan for a cozy bite. Next up: dinner.

    390548. Seafood Doria
    Kristian T.

    Great spot to check out if you're in the area. Reservations recommended. We've been here several times and my recommendations are the Seafood Doria, Cold Cod Roe Salmon Roe Angel Hair Pasta, and Corn Soup. Always have a great time here!

    390488. Crab Meat in Creamy Tomato Sauce
    Jennifer W.

    I absolutely love this restaurant! The crossover between Italian and Japanese is so good and they do it so well. We ordered a Unagi Eel Pizza to share and tried the Crab Meat in Creamy Tomato Sauce Pasta. Both was divine and they give you a good portion! The pizza was very fresh and had a generous number of unagi on there with perfect amount of eel sauce, which paired perfectly with the cheese. The pasta held a very good balance between being heavy and refreshing, which worked well with the huge crab chunks and crunchy asparagus. It's a very small restaurant that's on the quieter side. It felt cozy inside and service was great:) I want to go again already.

    50325238. Crab Cream Croquette, 50325475. Garlic Bread
    Raquel S.

    The food was good. The pasta is al dente and the sauces are creamy but light. The bread was perfect. The corn soup was super yummy.

    50322806. Omelet Rice with Hashed Beef Sauce Lunch Combo
    Amanda N.

    Such a good value for their lunch set! Comes with a drink, a salad, soup and the main meal. I got the omlet rice and WOW was the sauce on top super flavorful. The meat was so tender and elevated the omlet rice. The soup was also very yummy it had lots of veggies in it! Would love to come back to try one of their pastas.

    50327495. Miso Marinated Salmon Belly Specialty
    Nina S.

    Bistro Kaz is an absolute gem of a restaurant!! Their fusion of Japanese and Italian flavors were done so incredibly well, we were practically dancing in our seats from how flavorful some of the dishes were. We started with the miso salmon belly, and wow wow wooow this was hands down one of the best bites I've had in a while. The salmon was incredibly soft, practically melted in your mouth, and the miso enriched flavors were spot on. We also tried the pork belly served on a bed of mashed potatoes with a sweet sauce, and it was absolutely delicious! A good portion of a pork belly with such a unique and tasty flavor and texture combination. My boyfriend had the chicken doria, which to us was tasty, but didn't quite compare to the other two dishes. To me it was a little lacking in texture, where I feel like it would've benefited from a little crunch, but honestly still very comforting and flavorful. The restaurant is a bit small, so if you're with a bigger group, you might need to wait, but they do a fantastic job accommodating everyone. The service was super quick and friendly, and the atmosphere felt cozy yet elevated. Almost like we were dining at a hidden fine dining spot. Bf and I will definitely be back here for more date nights.

    50321789. Cod Roe Cream Pasta Lunch Combo
    Pam B.

    Disappointed. We really wanted to like this place. I read all of the reviews and was hopeful even though they were mixed. Overall the only reason for a 3 star was the ambiance and curry, it would have been maybe a 1 or 2. Food was not anything worth while to fight the parking traffic for. Waiter messed up on our order, even though it was repeated 3 times and my daughter even pointed to the item on the menu and the waiter supposedly 'looked' at it. He even tried to correct us, even though my husband and I heard her right order all 3 times! SMH. Pizza had more cheese than anything else. We ordered the Unagi/Eel pizza and I swear it was just melted cheese with a few small eel pieces and a gang of unagi sauce. If you just wanted flavored melted cheese, order this. I got the Uni pasta at $36 MP. Never again. It was very al dente pasta, water and a few small pieces of Uni. It was so extremely watered down and flavorless. I absolutely do not recommend. Only item that may have been worth it was the fried pork curry. It was a really good portion and son said it was actually really good. It looked good too, but he started scarfing it down before I was able to take a picture of it.

    Fried Chicken Curry ($18)
    Grace L.

    This place is a small and intimate restaurant. There was only one server, so he was the only person that we interacted with for the whole time. He was quick and efficient. We ordered the: -Unagi Eel Pizza ($20): This was delicious, and the first time I've had unagi on pizza. The unagi was cooked perfectly, and all of the flavors blended together perfectly. It was the first to arrive on our table, and we all finished it before trying anything else. -Spaghetti with Crab Meat in Creamy Tomato Sauce ($18): This was actually quite filling, and came with two pieces of garlic bread. There was a good amount of crab meat and tomato. -Fried Chicken Curry ($18): The chicken was fried well, and there was a good portion especially for the cost. -Black Squid Ink Paella ($32): It had a nice assortment of seafood. The plate was pretty small though, so it seems a bit pricy. -Miso Marinated Salmon Belly ($20): The flavor of the miso was good, but the salmon was a bit dry. Overall, we enjoyed the dishes that we got. At the end of our meal, the four of us were all full, and even took home some leftovers. The next time that I return, I am going to order the Creamy Sea Urchin with Salmon Roe spaghetti. The couple that was next to us each ordered one, and said that it's their favorite dish here.

    50324001. Cream Cod Roe Pasta 390539. Unagi Eel Pizza
    Jeslyn L.

    The atmosphere of the restaurant is very nice, quiet, and calm. We ordered on of the cream cod roe pasta and the unagri eel pizza. The pasta was okay, but the eel pizza was delicious! The crust was not too hard or filling and the toppings were plentiful. The eel and sauce tasted slightly sweet and was very pleasant. Would definitely recommend the eel pizza.

    50323965. Chicken Cream Pasta

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    Bencotto Italian Kitchen - Lamb Ragu pasta

    Bencotto Italian Kitchen

    4.1(3.6k reviews)
    6.3 miLittle Italy
    $$

    Bencotto was an outstanding fine dining Italian experience at a reasonable price. I had the cheese…read morewheel pasta and it was of an extremely high quality. On top of that they allowed me to take a video of them mixing my noodles and chicken in the cheese wheel itself which I thought was a nice touch. Additionally they had a large selection of bottled Italian beers as well as wine. The service was fantastic and so was the ambiance which was less Tuscan and more modern with some references to Italy which I appreciated

    On a Monday evening in San Diego, we stopped by Bencotto Italian Kitchen for dinner. Located in…read moreLittle Italy, I was surprised by how busy this part of town is. Restaurants and bars filled to the brim. Lack of street parking availability. With that being said, after circling around for a while, I found a free parking spot on the street five minutes away by foot. Ambiance (4/5): While Bencotto has a nice interior, I went with some al fresco dining on their front patio. There are 20 or so seats available right off the street, so it's not a large patio by any means, but it's nice. The weather was a little chilly by San Diego standards, so they had some heaters out there. It always reminds me of Europe when I'm dining al fresco. Service (3/5): A little slow at times, but overall, pretty good. My waiter was friendly, he just could have stopped by a little quicker. Still solid though. Drinks (4/5): They have a nice selection of wine. I ended up rolling with an Italian beer I had never had before instead. It was a lager and they served it with a chilled glass which is always a nice touch. Food (4/5): The reason I came delivered. Their most popular entree is pasta cooked in a cheese wheel. The pasta is in a creamy truffle sauce with mushrooms. No protein but you can add some for an additional charge. I added grilled chicken. What's awesome about this dish is that they cook it for you inside by the hostess stand. So you can go there and see it happening. My server didn't give me a heads-up (shame on him) but luckily, someone at a table close to me did after me, so I joined to see their food being prepared. I also ordered the gnocco frito which is puffy fried bread. You get four pieces and I had never had this type of Italian bread. Not amazing, but it complemented the pasta well. All of their pasta is made in house and you can taste the difference. The cheese wheel pasta was absolutely delicious. I was pumped to cross this bucket list item off my list.

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    Bencotto Italian Kitchen - View from window seating inward

    View from window seating inward

    Bencotto Italian Kitchen - Gnocchi neri

    Gnocchi neri

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    Buona Forchetta - How did they get this pizza in a jar?

    Buona Forchetta

    4.4(3.8k reviews)
    6.6 miGolden Hill, South Park
    $$

    Second time at Buona Forchetta, and it brought back such good memories, plus instant dopamine from…read morethe chew of their pizza crust! I came here with a big group of friends on a Thursday night, and the place was packed. The restaurant is located in a quieter area of South Park with plenty of street parking available (no dedicated lot, though). We made a reservation, and they seated us right on time. We ordered a little bit of everything, including appetizers, pizzas, and pasta. What surprised me most was how light everything tasted. The brightness and freshness of the dishes really made the overall experience stand out. Our favorite dishes at the table were the Nicola and Juna pizzas, along with the gnocchi carbonara. By the way, this is a fork and knife place for everything. This place is definitely a carb overload, but absolutely worth it. Come for the classics, stay for the vibes :)

    We come here to celebrate my birthday every other year, I bring my out of town friends here so they…read morecan get a taste of local favorites... they do have a location at Liberty Station which is worth checking out! We usually order a few pizzas, pasta and antipasti for our small group of 6. It is usually quite enough to share. The service is great and it is nice to hear Italian being spoken.

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    Buona Forchetta - Sergio pizza

    Sergio pizza

    Buona Forchetta - Smoked salmon, Brie, tomatoes, and capers. Are you kidding me? Best pizza in San Diego.

    Smoked salmon, Brie, tomatoes, and capers. Are you kidding me? Best pizza in San Diego.

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    Piacere Mio - South Park - Calamari

    Piacere Mio - South Park

    4.5(2.3k reviews)
    6.3 miSouth Park
    $$

    This is my favorite resturant okay I said it. Great times here, what a great vibes…read more What Great staff here, so happy & kind too they are amazing here! I had pasta Orecchiette We raviolis with crab and shrimp Chicken parmigiana And a smoked mozzarella ravioli with eggplant Di Melazame everything was delicious And we had Caprese to start with a large heirloom Tomato slices the was so tasty too We all enjoy every bite until we couldn't And they bought out a dessert Nutella cheesecake That was sweet of them Plus tiramisu we ordered It was funny there was 2 ladies celebrating by our table their birthday's too same day also It was a perfect birthday

    Came for a late Mother's Day lunch. The calamari was really good. Perfectly cooked and crispy…read morepairing well with the marinara sauce. I got the Orecchiette Con Salsiccia ($24) with ear shape pasta finished with sautéed garlic, olive oil, Italian sausage, pesto , chopped tomatoes, parmesan and mozzarella cheese in white wine cream sauce. It was very savory, creamy, and cheesy. It's one of the heavier pastas I've had but it's probably because I removed the rapini because I don't like the bitter taste. I thought the sausage quality was just okay and not the best. I loved the Al dente pasta. I would probably opt for a tomato base sauce here because I think they do the flavors so much better. My family got the Taglierini Neri Ai Frutti Di Mare ($27). Plenty amounts of seafood with really well cooked pasta. The portions here are massive! All of us had to take our dishes to go so I highly recommend coming here if you want to bring home seconds. Service was also attentive and I appreciated that the kitchen plated the panna cotta to celebrate Mother's Day. I never get panna cotta but this one was creamy and not too sweet with the blueberry sauce. Highly recommend.

    Photos
    Piacere Mio - South Park - Spaghetti alle Vongole

    Spaghetti alle Vongole

    Piacere Mio - South Park - Caprese

    Caprese

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    Cucina Urbana - Mushroom goat cheese pizza and short rib pappardelle

    Cucina Urbana

    4.4(4.9k reviews)
    5.8 miBanker's Hill
    $$$

    Fab time here - I don't know why I hadn't come in a while…read more Current version of the patio is not huge - but it was sweet & comfy and on Laurel toward the park (not on 5th or toward the corner). So nice views into the park too. Josh was our server and he was super nice! I started with the pope's delight cocktail. It's listed online as "aged rum + amaro romana + salted cantaloupe olio + lime, $17." But they had decided to add a proscuitto crisp and make it $21. I didn't want the proscuitto so that was a little annoying. But it was a tasty little cocktail. Bread: it's amazing here. They change exactly how they do it from time to time - this version was so yummy and with great butter. App: I got the burrata + pluot | cherry tomato + arugula + almond + coriander + mint + toast appetizer. Very yummy! Huge also. I took half of it home. Definitely recommend. Entree: I always like when the corn agnolotti comes on the menu, but it changes each year. This version was pretty good - I think my pasta was just a tad undercooked, not quite al dente on the parts of the agnolotti on the edges (not the pillows holding the filling). Still good though. Also, if you're going to the theater, do you know they have a FREE shuttle that takes you to the Old Globe and back? We decided to walk there after dinner (easy, pretty) but take the shuttle back after the show. So easy! And then I ordered takeout dessert from Josh. Overall, a super meal and great vibes. Looking forward to coming back soon!

    Large, inviting, high ceiling, dark dining space that always seems to be busy. Came here to try…read morebecause it's Michelin bib gourmand. roasted delicata squash + farro salad: deep fried delicata squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and served with a cilantro salsa verde. This was the most unique thing we ate and quite good. red wine short rib mafaldine (short rib pasta): this dish is kind of a mess and there's a lot of things going on. I like short rib, but I think it would taste better not in this pasta. Nothing stood out. roasted half chicken fra diavolo: a well done dish cooked to perfection. Flavorful but chicken can only be so good. Service was excellent and very attentive.

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    Cucina Urbana - Inside

    Inside

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    Grilled octopus

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    Parma Cucina Italiana - Lasagna

    Parma Cucina Italiana

    4.6(1.3k reviews)
    4.6 miHillcrest
    $$

    I walked into this little Italian restaurant and found it completely packed. I asked the gentleman…read moreat the front how long the wait would be for a table for one. Without hesitation, he poured me a glass of Prosecco, invited me to wait outside, and assured me he'd have a seat for me in just a few minutes. Sure enough, about two minutes later, he came out and seated me. This restaurant made you feel like you were in Italy with the ambiance and vibe. I had done my research beforehand, so I already knew what I wanted. I ordered the lasagna, and it was absolutely incredible. The portion was generous, and my server let me know it would take a little extra time to prepare, which was perfectly fine. It didn't take long for me to realize that the man who seated me was also the owner. As I watched him greet guests throughout the evening, it was obvious that he genuinely loves what he does. We had a great conversation, and he was warm, welcoming, and personable. After finishing my meal, I ordered a double espresso and tiramisu for dessert. The tiramisu was easily one of the best I've ever had. Exceptional food, outstanding hospitality, and a memorable experience from start to finish. I will definitely be back the next time I'm in town.

    savignon blanc 4/5…read more clam linguine white wine pasta: 3/5 white sauce was alright but not the best i've had and kind of too thick of the sauce, good large portion, noodles were amazing lasagna: 4/5 so delish. large portion, meat and cheese was so good

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    Tagliatelle alla Bolognese

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    Seafood Risotto

    Bistro Kaz - italian - Updated June 2026

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