Went there for happy hour Saturday -- yes, Saturday! (from 3-6) Had some great drinks and apps for really reasonable prices. Looking forward to trying the carmelized onion gorgonzola pizza next time. The only bad thing is their awesome bread and tapenade doesn't come out until dinner time. Gonna have to come back for somadat! Great service and nice, warm atmosphere. Also TVs which is good to know for football season. read more

Food was good. They messed up my wife's order completely on our anniversary. Oops. Then no celebration for our anniversary. Yes it was noted in our reservation. Oops. Guess I'd come for dinner again some time the sausage dinner was tasty but the overall experience was mediocre. I feel like we really bothered our waiter by sitting in his section. He didn't seem to want to be at work. I don't really care what I spend on dinner but I do care about the experience. The margaritas were tasty yup. read more

Visited this place during happy hour. The only thing better than the service was the drink selection. Ah-mazing! I'll definitely return whenever I'm in in town. read more

Best Happy Hour - one free appy with every drink, YES please! Can't wait for Raggae Sunday's to start again!

Stopped in to check out the bar and have a drink. Willy, the bartender is very inviting with a good nature and attentive to his customers. I tried to Avocado Martini which was excellent. The restaurant and bar were both busy but the bartender and wait staff seemed to be handling the crowd easily. The music was at a nice listening volume and they had the Dodger/Giants game on for the bar area. Great place for an afternoon break. They have weekend Happy Hour until 5PM too. read more

Back again, and once again a fantastic dining experience. I had the same thing as last time, wife had the butternut squash pasta, both were excellent. Great service from Seamus as well. read more

Great Saturday night atmosphere (get a reservation!) Really good and unique food though service is occasionally a little slow depending on your server. Big fan. read more

I had met my brother and his wife here for dinner about 2 months ago and forgot to write this review. I love this place. Food is AWESOME and the ATMOSPHERE is GREAT ONE thing, if you have to go for dinner make it a night when they don't have a live band, you'll end up screaming through dinner. read more

This was our first visit and we loved the atmosphere and decorations. Bar looks awesome! We were there for lunch on a weekday, with a small crowd. Please be aware that our portions were huge! The antipasto salad appetizer was large enough for 4 people! Everything was great, service was on a fine dining level. Pricing was very fair, which was a big surprise as the place has an expensive high dining feel. We'll be back to try more of their menu. read more

Nice place to go for some "Northern Italian" influenced cuisine. Have been a number of times. Friendly service. I've tried quite a few appetizers and main courses and all have been good. Little bit of a pretentious feel with the clientele, and the drinks were a bit overpriced, but all in all a nice restaurant to go for a great meal with family or friends. read more

A pleasant surprise in what was predicted to be slim pickings. We started with the house martini and progressed through the lavender martini to the avocado martini. Don't think I drank my dinner. I also had what I thought was the best meal at the table; lamb chops and risotto. I was completely impressed. We also had salmon and pasta dishes that were very satisfying. read more

This turned out to be a wonderful find. My daughter and I were spending the day in Ventura and looking for some place interesting, The vibe was very laid back and friendly. Although we didn't have reservations, we were seated right away. It was also a Monday night. There was a good crowd, but not packed, so the sound level was comfortable. The food was wonderful. For an appetizer we shared the crab cakes, which were tender and flaky and crabby. I had the Lemon Risotto with Beef Marrow and Clams. My daughter and the Risotto with chicken (it was a risotto kind of night). The portions were perfect, not so big that there were leftovers, but plenty to give you a nice full feeling. The risotto was tender with just the right chew. My daughter loved the white wine sangria. And desert was a mint chocolate heavenly ice cream and cake bom. Fabulous. Our server was very good. Attentive without being overbearing. The ambiance of the whole place was cool, kitschy and homey. Perfect for an Italian restaurant. Next time I'm in the area, I want to make sure to stop by again and check out some of their other menu items. read more

A warm day at the beach, followed by an excellent meal at Cafe Fiore. Just what we needed after a long week. Great atmosphere - we were seated at the 'kitchen counter', able to see the care and dedication put in by the chefs. Almost like watching a perfectly choreographed ballet Food was great, do try the butternut squash ravioli if you have a chance, best ever. Save room for dessert too. Service was good too, with a special shout out to young helper Lorenzo. We'll be back next time we're in Ventura. read more

Totally in love with the Key Lime Martini. The food and service I can live without.

Always a busy place on weekends, I recommend to call for reservations in advance. We sat out in the patio area. The atmosphere was great. We ordered a couple of drinks and everyone gotdinner. The gnochi with pesto sauce and it was to die for! I recommend it highly. The service was slow at times, I guess that the number of staff was overwhelmed catering to all tables. read more

I like this place, I really do.theres a few things on the menu that I really enjoy such as the beef carpaccio and a couple of their pizzas. Presentation is always good too! The one thing I've had consistent problems with is the beginning of service, before I've even gotten my table. I admit I've never booked a rez but I get there before dinner rush gets real busy and I sit at the bar until I have a table. Hostess always forgets! I have a glass of wine and have had to go up to em to remind them! Not cool! This has happened four times in a row! I do love the atmosphere whether it's in one of their nice booths inside or outside! read more

Pretty busy for a Thursday night. Bar service was unacceptable. Took too long to get a drink. Ambience was great. Great live band. But waiter service was no better then the bar. He never once refilled our drinks! I will say that the seafood pasta was the best I had ever had. So service wasn't so good but the food was awesome. read more

My debit card was charged $450 instead of $30. That's a HUGE difference. They insisted that this "happens all the time" and that the problem would correct itself. Until that happens I'm just out $450 and their casualness about the situation made it seem like they really didn't give a damn about the inconvenience their negligence causes for me as I wait for it to be credited back. Not sure how confident I feel about going to a business that overcharges their patrons "all the time"... read more

I am gluten free (allergy) and they were very accommodating. I had the tomato caprese salad and a special which was lemon chicken risotto! It was delicious. I will be back. Also great wine selection. read more

Charming, cozy and warm Italian restaurant in Ventura's old town. Very friendly and welcoming, the service is unerringly expert and gracious. This was my first visit and I had pasta fagiole soup and penne arribiata. The soup was rich and flavorful, while the pasta was incredibly well-seasoned and deliciously spicy. I did come upon one super hot chili pepper that was already in the back of my throat before I noticed its flesh-melting, searing burn . I had no choice but to bravely swallow it! That was an experience . But, seriously, this is a terrific place. read more

THIS WAS AMAZING! My wife and i came for our first time and let me tell you...we will definetly be back! We didnt have reservations so we put our names in with the hostess. Didnt catch her name, but a young girl who was very nice. She said she will try to get us a table but its going to be a lil bit of a wait. "Thats fine, we will be at the bar" We sat and ordered two glass of wine from the bartender (Melissa) who was very prompt. Another bartender (Mike) came by a couple seconds later and offered us a menu, which we accepted to look over. He had a very warm smile and seemed very comfortable where he was. Which is honestly something new to me, alot of bars / resturants i go to seems to have bartenders who cant handle a crowd. But these two definetly made it happen. He informed us that there will be live music and dancing starting in about 45 min. We were not there to dance, but just to eat....but that idea changed the more we sat at the bar. After 2 glasses and an appetizer (calamari), which wasnt the best i've had, but still good! I asked the hostess how much longer, she said it was only going to be about another 5 or 6 min. Which was ok, seeing how busy it was, my wife came over and said to just have dinner at the bar. Felt kinda bad, but asked the hostess to take our name off the list. We sat at the bar and Mike gave us our menus back and quickly set up two placemats and silverware and brought bread. We got our Spinach salad, which we shared, Loved it, except the egg... Next, we had two pastas (Penne & Butternut squash) Both were excellent. In the middle of dinner the band started and the whole vibe changed. It was amazing seeing the bartenders and staff be able to switch gears so fluidly. From a nice intimate dinner to a fun and exciting venue. Long story short we came for dinner, and stayed until almost 1am dancing the night away and watching Mike flip some pretty mean bottles, which i've NEVER seen in southern California. The bar staff alone EARNED the large tip i gave them at the end of the night! Congrats guys, Your managemnt knows what its doing! :) read more

Came in, they weren't that busy, had my date sit and save us a seat in the lounge area...asked bartender (whom i had to flag down to get a drink) for two drinks, she was very rude and stated that my date needs to come to the bar, I'm sorry but we don't look like were teenagers both of us are managers at a local upscale hotel who recommend this restaurant all the time...the bartender wouldn't serve me the two drinks, very irritating, trying to have a romantic drink with my date and wait on her a little but instead this bartender ruined it...we decided to not have a drink and went to anacapa brewing company where the servers are always nice and food was excellent...DONT GO HERE! read more

Great food and atmosphere for dinner or some cocktails and music. service is lighting fast and friendly. Prices are about what you would expect read more

Place is awesome, I am a huge fan of pizza and this place does pizza right. Also they have an amazing appetizer that is a bacon wrapped shrimp or prawn so delicious when I am not eating sushi this is the only place I go for great italian food. Literally went to italy not too long ago and I would rather Cafe Fiores pizza any day so amazing. read more

One of my favorite restaurants! The happy hour is amazing, as is the homemade lasagna and pizzas. It doesn't get much better than this! Friendly service, great live music and pretty atmosphere. Love this place! read more

Horrible service. Waited an hour and a half got water and a attitude from the hostess. 35 min was our projected wait time. Waited 55 min then saw 3 people get immediate seating. Asked to be seated then sat a half hour. Order was not taken. Received only water. No one came to take order. Asked to speak to a manager. They said no manager was working, we could speak to a bus boy. We left never to return. Got the owners number. Was told to basically f off. They didn't seem to care. We ate else where. Smdh. You call that service. I will tell everyone I know to not go here. read more

Amazing italian bar/restaurant (authentic and prefect) the vibe here is warm and welccoming! The owners are lovely sisters and you can tell how much they love giving you that Italian hospitality! Employees all are exceptional! Caio! Dont miss this spot.... Its a MUST if traveling or being a regular. read more

I came to Cafe Fiore with a large group of 14. We were in town for the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon event. We came here for our pre-race dinner. We had made reservations far in advance. They had a table for ready for us in time. The place was rather busy, there wasn't empty table in the joint. That being said, it took them an extremely long time to take our order. Once they did, we waited for nearly an hour and 20 minutes for our food to arrive. In that time, we waited for someone, anyone to come to our table, check on us, bring us water, bring us bread, and at the very least apologize for the delay and let us know how much longer it would take. After about 45 minutes, we started to grow impatient. Finally, the staff brought us some bread, refilled our drinks and let us know that the food would be out. I understand that the kitchen was slammed, but they should have checked on us without being prompted. Once the food came out, all was well. Everyone enjoyed what they ordered. I decided to go with the Risotto Con Pollo E Funghi with a glass of cab. It was absolutely delicious and the perfect pre-race meal. I was absolutely pleased with my order. I would've loved to give Cafe Fiore a higher rating, but the staff did a terrible job waiting on us and the delay in getting our food was just unacceptable. read more

Cafe Fiore - Risotto Con Pollo E Funghi with a glass of Cab. Perfection! - Italian Near Me - Ventura, California

A few things I need in a restaurant: Good atmosphere , amazing food and great service. I received all 3 tonight!!!! My overall experience was absolutely unforgettable , all thanks to KATO at the bar and LAUREN the server. Even though the restaurant has a full house these individuals went above and beyond to give me an authentic Italian experience. Thank you to you both. I wish every restaurant had employees like LAUREN AND KATO! They truly made the experience one of a kind. I will be back Cafe Fiore. read more

Really good italian food. I feel in love with this place after the butternut squash ravioliis: Creamy and savory with the perfect texture. The drinks are also pretty good, however, I do not recommend the Milky WayMartini -- even though it does sound good. The bread and tomato-like salsa (no idea what's it called) is pretty gosh darned good. I do enjoy how there's a healthy side of the menu-- however the regular menu is just too delish and easily tempting enough to cheat on your diet. The dessert menu is pretty good, however, the strawberry shortcake is sometimes hit or miss you never know if it'll ever be good. The atmosphere is a little on the older side (30+) but the live jazz and romantic al fresco dinning is good times. read more

Service at the Bar for Happy Hour was great! I recommend this place for its fantastic ambience,menu and friendly staff for sure!

We had a nice meal here when my father in law was in town helping us to get settled in Venture, our new home town. The food was pretty good, the ambiance was terrific. We were a little disappointed in the service, as after waiting a really long time after ordering appetizers and entrees, everything showed up at once. There was no room for it all on the table, plus, a place like this knows that appetizers come out first or why bring them at all? Prices were pretty good. I would give it another try. They did comp us the appetizer for the trouble, which was nice. read more

This was my first time at Cafe Fiore and they totally exceeded my expectations. They have a beautiful space outside with tons of delightful twinkle lights, very intimate and romantic. The music was light and classy. And the waitress absolutely blew me away when she correctly interpreted my questions and offered vegan choices, which were lovely by the way. House salad with vinaigrette, lentil entree, and watermelon sorbet. They serve bread and sauce, absolutely delicious. Already looking forward to my next visit as I didn't even get to try any of their cocktails which sound very enticing. read more

Lunch. Chkn parm salad. Delightful spot day or night due to skylights and warm vibe. Only downer is wait on busy nights.

The osobuco was well prepare, the pumpkin ravioli amazing, good wine and most certainly the best dessert :)

Excellent sangria. Food and service was great. I loved the ambiance.

Sad to say, Cafe Fiore has gone down hill over the past few years. We used to come regularly and really enjoyed the ambiance, service and food. Unfortunately our past few visits have been sub par and our most recent visit has confirmed that we no longer enjoy it there. The service was lacking, I think maybe our server was overwhelmed or on break or something. Two different people came to take our order. Our drinks took nearly twenty minutes, they forgot one appetizer and the other one took 40 minutes. Our entrees took an hour to hit the table!! We didn't get water refills and didn't even bother ordering another drink or dessert (who has time for that??) We ended up missing the movie we planned to see because EVERYTHING took so long! The food was alright, but unfortunately not worth the wait. We were in no means in a rush, but I can't see why it would all have taken so long. Isn't this like "upscale dining" ? Service should be on point! One star for the still pretty ambiance and one star for decent food. Thanks for the memories, but there's so many other great restaurants downtown, not gonna waste another date night here. read more

Went for my birthday on Oct 2nd and was disappointed...I've lived here in Ventura for all my life and have been going to this restaurant since it opened...Have always been our "go to" for the best high-end Italian food...osso bucco, risotto, and their Mother's Day buffet...We sat in the tree house room, that has the best atmosphere...took forever to get drinks, we were there at 6:30 before the big date nite rush...Wow, the bottle of wine, that we buy at the store for 8 bucks was 28 there...so NOT cool to mark up booze like that...Caesar salad was as good as usual, but serving of osso bucco was small and the risotto was SO underdone and under seasoned. Hey guys, I don't have money for a sub-par birthday dinner anymore... read more

I'm only giving it 2 stars because if it were as bad as I think it is it would have been out of business a long time ago. Terrible service (longer than a 10 minute wait both times I was there). Subpar bread. Avoid. read more

Amazing as always! The one thing I will say is don't come here if you don't have time to sit and enjoy your meal/company as they are very popular and sometimes the kitchen can get a bit backed up. Great live music and wonderful drinks to fill your wait with :) read more