Wonderful dinner last night at Locanda Positano in Lafayette. Locanda Positano is tucked away on…read moreBrown Street in Lafayette. So much delicious food in a wonderful atmosphere. We savored the Locanda Salad, Fritto Misto, incredible focaccia from the Bread Basket, Arancini, Linguini Alle Vongole, Penne Alla Vodka, and the evening special: rigatoni with braised beef and sausage. Every dish was delicious! I'm still thinking about the Locanda salad; it was fabulous! We enjoyed dinner at the bar. The drinks were fantastic, Danny provided excellent service, and Renato and the rest of the staff made us feel right at home. IG: robinmwood

Their average star rating exactly reflects everything at Locanda Positano. Nothing spectacular,…read morejust solid all the way across the board and in the up and down experiences provided by most restaurants these days, there is something to be commended in consistency. Food is good, potions of pasta are a touch on the small, I recommend ordering a starter for the table to share. Service is excellent; attentive and friendly both indoors and out. Ambiance is right out of the "how to decorate an Italian restaurant" playbook, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Currently sitting comfortably in my #2 Italian Food spot in the area.

I've been here a couple of times for business events…read more Today we had the salmon and lamb, and both were excellent. The wines are always tasty, and the complimentary bread with herb butter is soft and fluffy. The strawberry salad was especially good, even better than the arugula salad. Lemon tart and tiramisu are both great.

We dined here to celebrate my son-in-law's birthday. I have mixed reviews about this place. The…read moreambience is nice, cozy, intimate, and fun. Menu items are on the high side, so be prepared to shell out some dough. We had a nice waiter, pleasant, cheerful, and very accommodating. I would give the waiter a rating between 4 and 5 stars. It was near closing time when we got there, but we didn't feel rushed to order or eat our dinner so that they could clean up and close the restaurant and head on home. We started with an appetizer and garlic bread (see picture). We had about six pieces of bread and as you can see in the picture, it was on the burnt side. I cannot believe that for the price you pay for a bread, they would serve this. I also ordered a black coffee, but it tasted like it had been sitting there since the morning and tasted really nasty. I asked to have a hot tea instead. Food was good. We ordered spaghetti, carbonara, some chicken dish, and a grilled salmon. All the food tasted delicious and we cleaned out the carbonara and spaghetti. After we ate our dinner, they gave my son-in-law a slice of tiramisu with a lighted candle. Overall, it was a pleasant evening and we enjoyed our food (except for the garlic bread). I'd like to see them do me good and give me a nice garlic bread the next time I eat here.

Where the focaccia? My mother, (rest her soul) used to say:…read more"Focaccia is God's scourge on the world". And she was not too fond of Kenny G. She had some strong opinions. However, she would dig this cool spot. What a cozy, lovely, well appointed space this is on College Avenue in Berkeley. Beautiful aesthetic, terrific menu selections, and you can even get half a beer! What's not to like? There's nice music playing and the small space has every possible square foot utilized in a nice manner. And, absolutely delicious focaccia! Today I went for the pesto zucchini which is awesome. Very lovely staff members and an incredible neighborhood for other types of shopping. My mother would have become a focaccia fan here. However, Kenny G still makes John Coltrane turn in his grave!

I always want to like Barotti more than it warrants. I mean pizza on focaccia in gourmet…read morestylings?!? Soups and paninis?!? I'll keep giving it a shot but I just haven't had an experience here that goes beyond convenient, slightly different, speedy. But, maybe all that's just fine. Not bad, just not awesome.

Seriously, it's almost a joke to post anything other than 5 stars. I don't know how it's possible…read morefor Casa not to have at least a Michelin rating, much less a star. It's just shockingly good - EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! Pretty awesome bar too...

so after watching Wild Inside about Flaco the escaped owl from The NYC Central Park Zoo…read more(Fantastic!) @ the Orinda at 5pm, we jetted over to Casa for martinis and prime rib & chicken wings & bisquits and onion rings...... well ......... guess what???? all outta wings!!! first time for that.. after agonizing & x'ed out The Famous Fried Chicken Dinner (which can sometimes be a bit dry) we settled for fried calamari OK! that did the trick for the missing wings! Then as we gobbled the rings & not wings, the what-we- had-ordered of a med-rare BONE_IN slab of beef came naked of bone & med-raw! ...another dilemma! yikes! so the martini played its sly tricks & I accepted a different slab sans bone but it was still too rare...... not a great night for the Casa...I will return, love it even with its flaws just like a close friend who can sometimes be a pain in the butt

We are regulars at this Melos location as well as have visited the one in Pleasant Hill. This is…read moreour preferred location as a few things are different on the menu, most notably the addition of the vegan ceasar which is my favorite salad. Such a simple and delicious addition to their menu, it gets my money every time. Both the service and ambiance can change depending on the day and time, but overall our servers are usually decently friendly. It is a family restaurant so we frequently sit next to crying/screaming children. Not their fault, but a note for those looking for a date night spot. The food is great. We get the fried spaghetti squares as an appetizer every time we visit and they are always a hit, especially to those that are new and visiting. As I mentioned before, the vegan ceasar is also a favorite. For mains I like to build my own circle pizza, and others in my group like the square pies. One of my favorite things about Melos is that I can usually request vodka sauce on my dish, whether it's pizza or lasagna. This makes my experience 10x better than other places. They also have a good ranch, which is key for a good restaurant, especially one with pizza. I do wish their prices were a bit lower, but overall it is a good place to splurge a bit. We will continue to return.

We were here for our anniversary dinner last night and thoroughly enjoyed. We had the fried polenta…read more(which was over great except it had a slight truffle sweet oil, without which it would have tasted better. We also had the fried spaghetti, the garlic bread and the mussels which were all delicious! For the main course we had the squares, limited edition corn pizza and the Yukon potatoes, yummm. We ended with tiramisu (one of the best) and the chocolate budino, perfect to wrap it all up.

Party of 12 had great service, great food and drinks and great smiles. Our favorite restaurant.read more

Went for the Valentine's day prix and they were pretty busy, but we had a reservation. Seating in…read morethe main room, outside, or in the back room where it's quieter, but not as cute. Interior is interesting, it's like you're dining at someone's home? Street parking or there are lots nearby with the first hours or so free. Service was good  The Valentines prix consisted of an app, entree, and dessert, some of which are not on their regular menu!!  -bread and marinara (4/5): bread was great, thick slices and nice crust. Marinara was standard -potato-leek puree (4/5): came in a cute little cup to drink out of, good flavor -gamberoni (5/5): prawns were a good size and perfectly grilled. The sauce was a good addition -polette (4/5): meatballs were juicy and the pesto was flavorful and creamy. Interesting thing to have as an appetizer though -fettuccini carne (5/5): I always have an internal struggle about getting a red sauce or a cream sauce, so this was the perfect option as a creamy red sauce pasta. Serving size was good, and there was also plenty of meat and mushrooms, which I loved! Flavor was great! -lamp chop (4/5): good grilled flavor, but one was slightly too raw for our liking so we had to send it back to the kitchen to cook it some more. Our waitress was very understanding though! The mashed potatoes and veggies were also good. -tiramisu (3.5/5): good flavor, but there was wayyy more cream than ladyfinger, so the textural balance was off. And I love cream! -peanut butter chocolate brownie (4/5): really good but also pretty sweet. Loved how thick the whipped cream was, but didn't taste as much peanut butter as I would've liked Overall, I had a great experience for their valentines day prix menu. Food was great and I would definitely go back to try their pasta!

my uncle recently treated us to a nice meal here in Belotti…read more Can't tell you enough how authentic this meal was The ambience was an indoor and outdoor seating italian restaurant! The food here was great. The service was awesome.

I tried the pappardelle here and the pasta was perfectly al dente. I ordered an Aperol spritz and…read moremy partner ordered the elderflower spritz. The elderflower was probably my favorite out of the two. The place was super packed on a Friday evening so make sure you make reservations. I wish the spot was a little bigger since the small space can make you feel a bit claustrophobic. Aside from that, it's a cute date spot to try out!

Solid food, friendly service, and a fun space. Worth a return trip on a busier night to catch the…read morelive music. Good neighborhood spot, would go back. Hit it on a Sunday late afternoon, which turned out to be the move if you want a quiet early dinner. We ordered the grilled fish tacos, the beet salad, and the mushroom pizza, and everything was tasty. The fish was cooked right on, flaky and clean, with fresh pico on top. Plenty of food for the three dishes between us. Service was good and the staff was friendly without hovering. The space has a cool wood and corrugated metal look, with sports gear and brewery signs on the walls. There's a full bar with a solid beer list, a decent wine selection, and indoor or patio seating depending on your mood. Valet parking out front is a nice touch. Our server said Friday and Saturday nights get packed, with live music and good people watching, so the vibe shifts depending on when you go. Sunday afternoon was mellow and easy. If you want the energy, hit it on a weekend. If you want to actually hear the person across from you, go when we did. Going back to check out the live music for myself.

The food was good, but unfortunately the service left a lot to be desired. We ordered appetizers…read moreand were never given silverware or appetizer plates. When we asked our waitress for silverware, she responded by asking if we needed more, even though none had been provided in the first place. We also had to ask for straws four separate times and never received them. When the appetizer plates finally arrived, they were still wet and we had to dry them ourselves before using them. Throughout the meal, our waitress rarely checked on our table, making it difficult to get anything we needed. While we enjoyed the food, the poor service made the overall experience disappointing. Unless there are significant improvements in service, we will not be returning.