We love it here! Such a sweet family run business. Everyone is so friendly. Their Caesar salad is hands down the best I've ever had!

My wife and I stopped by for a little breakfast as we had to kill a couple of hours. This place was the perfect spot and server Andrew was great! It looked like Andrew was the only server and he did a great job of keeping everyone happy. The french toast was great and the lattes were hot. read more

Dropped by here over the weekend after a visit to Coin Haus, and it was pretty cool. It reminded me of an old school diner on one side, but the other side (which I came in for) was the desserts (such as fudge and gelato). Staff was really nice, and I got to sample a bunch of flavors. Ended up ordering a scoop of pink bubblegum watermelon (sweet with a light aftertaste) and peach tea (refreshing) which were very delicious. If I'm in the area again I wouldn't mind dropping by to visit, and maybe try their food. Thanks! read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Bubblegum watermelon + peach tea gelato. - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

My best friend and I came in for some drinks and appetizers and we had the pleasure of having Isaiah as a server. This was our best experience here ever! He was so kind, thorough, and checked on us throughout our meal! We will definitely be coming back a lot more after this great experience!!! He deserves a promotion!! All the customers around us were smiling and so happy with his service as well. Definitely an asset to this business!! :) The food was amazing too!!!! Love this place!!! read more

I'm so glad this local La Mesa gem is still open and survived the pandemic. They have an amazing menu, AMAZING staff and the drinks are off the chain. The gelato is major as too are the chocolates. So, you will not hurt for choices. My only wish is for the live music to return. read more

Me and my wife popped in here the other day for breakfast and I could not have been happier. The service was fantastic (Adam and one other gentleman) and the food was on point. My wife had a basic egg toast potatoes bacon breakfast and everything was prepared perfectly. I had the country fried steak breakfast and a short stack of blueberry pancakes. Again, execution was solid. The food was great but I cannot understate how great the service was. It's has a quaint type of look from the outside, but don't let that fool you. I regret walking past this place without coming inside as many times as I have. Definitely coming back to check out what looks to be great daily happy hour specials. read more

I'm so happy I found this cafe/restaurant. I wandered in simply to check it out along with each store in La Mesa's cute downtown, but I decided to come back about an hour later just to be cozy with a salad, some soup and my book. I met the owners, who were there serving their customers, and they are so friendly. This place gives me the small town, small business vibes I've been craving. They have a big screen TV tucked into a corner and told me they always have a game on. Hello Padre season! I look forward to being a regular here. I'm so glad I found this place. read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Cozy little table with a view. Perfect! - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

we go here multiple times weekly! the make pretty much everything from scratch. the food, deserts, gelato,& drinks are all amazing quality for great prices! friendly & excellent customer service. highly recommended! read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Handmade Italian Soda & Old Fashioned Rootbeer Float&white chocolate-covered ,Carmel covered marshmallow pop. & 25 beers happy hour. - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

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This is the sweetest little spot! Love bringing my family here. Great food and desserts! Customer service is always on point. Highly recommend the spicy shrimp pasta. read more

Stopped by for a quick Sunday bite. Service was ok, slow at first, but did get better it wasn't that busy so not sure why service was slow. The food was good too, got the pig in a blanket and it was the perfect mix of sausage and pancake, the pomegranate italian soda I got was ok, not the best wver but ok. The italian panini was ok as well, maybe it was not a god day for them. I am willing to give it another try. They have live music which I will certainly be checking out again, and some more items from their menu. Clean place, with outdoor seating, dog friendly. read more

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This place is always a disaster. I am utterly confused as to how they remain in business. Just walked in, there were three people inside and one person outside. Not a table to be sat at in the whole place. Everything was filthy. We keep trying and then we just keep turning around. Let's just put the place to bed and get something else in this Village. read more

I need to add this restaurant in old town La Mesa to the boozy coffee list. Every once in a while I like to go out for a coffee and maybe some Baileys in it and some restaurants just do not offer that. CENTIFONTI does along with a wide variety of regular American dishes and Italian with pasta and also they make their own chocolate and caramel apples and gelato. It's a pretty nice family restaurant that you can go to any time and usual anyone can find something to eat here. We usually get happy hour wings if we get there early enough. The ravioli had a thicc creamy sauce, thicc! Known for the beer boots, they sell all kinds of draft beer options for the boot drinkers. They also have a full bar for those of you that get tired of only being limited to beer and wine. read more

Me and my bf were wandering around downtown La Mesa and looking for someplace to eat when we came across Centifonti's. As soon as we walked in there was a sign saying we could seat ourselves. We were waited on right away. Our waitress was nice and she was on top of it, getting us refills and checking on us and asking how the food was shortly after bringing it out. I ordered the mussels and it was served in a white wine sauce and came with garlic cheese bread. It was all very yummy! Will definitely be coming back here and next time save room for some ice cream and whatever chocolatey goodness they have such as the toffee or the chocolate or the caramel apples read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Mussels in white whine sauce served with garlic bread - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

Walked in to Centifontis today and was saddened by my experience. My wife and I were very thirsty after hiking Cowels mountain and Happy Hour seemed the perfect time. No people in the restaurant, it was empty. Carol, who was a super nice owner to me in the past, said we could not use our coupon since there was a "special event.". Malarkey, want to lose customers? This is how you do it. Loved this place, not going back unfortunately. Btw Swamis took our coupon. $12 off. You can do better guys, cmon. read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Coupon rejected - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

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The apple pie with ice cream was incredible. Not only was the food incredible the service was amazing as well. Also the house coffee was very similar to Brazilian coffee, it made me feel like home! read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

Our favorite breakfast restaurant! Service is always superb and they actually cook eggs just the way you order them. read more

I gotta agree with Griffin F. here. In fact, I was one of the other people who ate the dreaded fried calamari and puked my guts out! Certainly not a good first impression for Centifonti. The whole 112 oz boot of beer concept is cool as Hell, but the place reeked like TOTAL ass when we got there- it literally smelled like a stopped up septic tank. Maybe all the people puking has sunk in the stank... I was doing fine with my beer boot until our appetizers arrived and I sampled several. Within 5 minutes I was feeling that uncomfortable tingling sensation in the corners of my mouth and had to make a dash for the bathroom to yuke. I mentioned to the bartender later that night that I had vomited after hardly drinking any of my beer and was suspecting one of the appetizers. He seemed a little pissed off that I would suggest such a thing. The next day I found out that everyone who ate the calamari puked also. I guess I was right all along, huh buddy? I would come here again maybe for the beer boot, but certainly not for the food. Sorry Centifonti, but I gotta be real here- your staff is friendly and cool, but there are better options in La Mesa (that's saying a lot!) and I'm really not a fan of food poisoning. read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Das Boot!!! - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

Like the others have commented, the place is really declining, quality-wise. The huge beer boot and desserts rate 5 stars. However, the food rates a solid 3 and the service remains terrible at a 1. I know they're short of staff -- that's what we've come to expect in this economy. But with the competition by restaurants in this economy, PROVIDING GOOD SERVICE is a must. This place fails in that regard and it just spoils the entire dining experience. I'm going to pass on this place until they work on the quality of their food and service. read more

I used to love this place when it first opened. Good service, great food, nice family atmosphere etc. But I've eaten there 3 times in the last month and all have been a disappointment so I can no longer recommend it. Long wait for service, no more friendliness from the owner, now that they have the bar they seem to pay more attention to the barflies than the food customers, long wait for the food even though the place was nearly empty each time (my companion said what, do they have to go kill the turkey for the club sandwich?). Last time we had to ask them to bring us menus after sitting and waiting for a few minutes (Only one other table occupied so they weren't busy) and I had the worst BBQ chicken wings I've ever had. The waitress wasn't even going to bring me the celery and blue cheese dressing till I asked for them! The menu said they were included but she looked at me like she'd never heard of such a thing when I asked wasn't I supposed to get them after she brought the wings. The BBQ sauce tasted like they poured out a bunch of ketchup, added a dash of Tabasco and drenched the wings in it. The wings and the breaded chicken on my companion's salad tasted like they came straight from a bag of frozen. Uck. They do have good soups but always the same ones, rarely any different. For the price--$8 each for just the appetizer and her salad--we probably could have had lunch at Anthony's or somewhere quality. They used to pride themselves on fixing everything fresh. Stick to their ice cream and candy store down the street. Update: Now I can't recommend the candy and ice cream store either--just went there and while the soft serve ice cream was very good, it was only available in vanilla and chocolate. No more candies here, still some caramel apples, no flavor swirl or varied flavors, just keeping it open because they still have a lease to honor. They used to have wonderful hot chocolate made from chocolate syrup they made themselves--no more. read more

I went in yesterday to purchase my wife some chocolate cake for dessert. It wasn't until I got home that we realized there was mold on the bottom. read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Cake - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

The whole experience is great! Fantastic food, prompt friendly service. Family atmosphere

I was going to update a review about this place. I was surprised I haven't already wrote something about this restaurant. Been here a bunch of times. I even have pics of eating here with my family on Yelp. This place is a great family owned restaurant that serves real good food at a good price. This last time I ordered a chicken quesadilla, philly cheesesteak and $2 PBR's. I also had some coffee gelato for some dessert. There is also a full bar. They have a monster beer boot like in the movie Beer Fest. They are known for the that. There is also a full on candy display of sweets that are made in house. I mentioned earlier about the gelato. First time trying it. The coffee gelato was awesome. Great neighborhood place to eat. If your in the area. You should come here. read more

Went in for lunch on Monday and the two guys working did an awesome job, super nice and fast. I just wanted to give them a shout out.

My wife and I got the ice cream last month to get a break from the heat, and I was very impressed with the ice cream they server there. We did not have the food yet but we will return to share my findings. It does not look like there is ice cream but it is to the right after walking in. I got the vanilla ice cream and there is only one other place in San Diego that this vanilla taste is similar to - Mariposa Ice Cream off Adams Ave. The ice cream at Centifonti's is tasty yet does not leave have a waxy consistency as other ice cream vendors I have experienced. The place is kid-friendly with a lot of seating inside and outside. There is parking behind Bo Beau's if the street parking is full. We have yet to taste the menu items but I will return here to sample both the hot and cold food. I recommend the ice cream here and look forward to my return visit. read more

On a recommendation, I came to Centifonti's Bar & Restaurant in the village of La Mesa. They have a no time limit 12 hot wing challenge. It comes with vegetables and dressing as it should. It wasn't easy but the sauce is hot as hell but very very tasty. Not just stupid hot but a deep smokey Hobanero flavor with a hint of lime and seasoning. I recommend paring it with a couple signature homemade Bloody Marrys. If your not into hot hot wings everything on the menu is homemade including the deserts. The Gelato is to die for. I sampled several flavors and found them all to have very distinctly diffent but very rich and creamy complex flavors. Way beyond anything I've had in San Diego including anything in Little Italy. Come by and support a great family business. With great food and fabulous staff. You wont regret it..I'll be back again very very soon to write another review. Thanks Eric.. read more

We were planning on having dinner across the street but noticed Centifonti's happy hour was till 7pm so we gave it a try and are glad we did. We have lived in La Mesa for years but never tried this place. At first we thought we'd just have a couple drinks and go elsewhere for dinner. Then we saw they had a HH appetizer special (chose 3 off appetizer menu for 9.99) and figured we'd eat too. Stacy was great giving us the scoop on the menu and mixing a good cocktail (only 3.50 during HH). They have drink and food specials daily. We had chicken wings (5) potato skins (4) and mozzarella sticks (4) on the appetizer platter. All flavorful and satisfying. We decided to share a burger off the special board, a cobb burger. It was great! Hand formed beef patty with a little crunch on the outside and topped with bacon, bleu cheese, avocado and a fried egg. Fantastic!! We liked the food and drinks a lot and loved the service and hometown feel of the place. Best of all was when it came time to pay. We would have spent 2 or 3 times more across the street than we did at Centifonti's. We will certainly be back soon. read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Cobb burger with bacon, avocado, bleu cheese and topped with a fried egg. - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

Not too sure why this place has some bad reviews. Always had a great time at Centifonti's. I've stopped in and ate here off and on for years now. Usually come in on Sundays for mimosa breakfasts. We are always greeted when we walk in and finding a seat is usually quick and easy. The head brew master knows his craft beers, which they rotate often. I've always enjoyed his recommendations. The breakfasts have big portions for the price and they have different flavored mimosas besides the regular OJ. Their red country potatoes are my favorite for sure. Along with their gelato (it's bomb) and homemade fudge, it's a weirdly comforting eatery with one of the most eclectic menus I've ever seen. They also have a large screen tv with smaller ones placed about so you can watch football while enjoying a brew at the bar. Great place. My girlfriend and I plan on moving into the La Mesa Village area soon and we are thrilled to be able to visit more often than we do now. Will always come back. read more

What a joke of a place went in there for lunch no one there and had to wait nearly 10 minutes before anybody helped us and then once they did the service was a joke waiter did no anything about the menu and the food tasted terrible. Top it off we split a rueben sandwich tasted like rubber and they charged extra to split it never told us anything what a joke.. Never go back here again. Don't waste your money here! read more

Came here to hang out with friends. It was pretty cool they have live music going. I got the California burger and wings, absolutely delicious. To drink I got this 2 Towns ciderhouse pacific pineapple drink, so good. Despite being busy, the staff is on top of service and friendly. read more

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This place is small and has a comfy feel to it. The service is excellent and the food is I had chicken marsala haha if you order it just tell them to lay off on the wine haha that sauce got me buzzed but the lasagna was great that's what my fiance had I took his plate but yea good stuff. And all Mexican beer is $2.00 !! read more

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Not my favorite restaurant on La Mesa Blvd. We honestly came here on a whim. We intended to see 'Christmas in the Village' but the parade was just so sad. No one was watching, weird groups were actually in the 'parade' -- i wasn't even sure what they were promoting. Whatevs. Centifonti's known for their das boot and desserts. I was starving so dinner it was. We shared the garlic bread -- comes with a lot of pieces and it was only $4. I enjoyed this a lot more than my actual meal. My dinner was a patty melt. It wasn't the worse, but it wasn't the best. The TV's were also on...the TV's that were facing us were showing old football stuff...the one that sits in front of the bar had the basketball game. I asked a waitress if she could change the channel, because we would much rather watch the Laker Game...she said 'I'll ask the bartender, he's really busy'...i didn't even see him standing there. He was either not there or socializing with people. The channel was never changed. I stress a lot of concerns when it comes to customer service. The workers were much nice than the other guests in the restaurant though. They were just attracting the wrong people to come and eat. I'm not one of them though, lol. Maybe next time I should just come back for beer and/or ice cream. read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Garlic cheese bread $4 - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

This a great breakfast place with an old fashioned "feel" Love the French toast special with bacon. Service is slow. There is usually only one waitress, but that's ok because it's fun to sit around and talk. Also got TV's all over the place as it's also a sport bar. Lunches are good also. I like the quirky vibe here read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - Yummy! - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

Literally one of my family's favorite places to eat in la Mesa, If not in all of California. It's got a family style atmosphere and a massive beer selection not to mention the chocolates or to die for and if you're a pecan fan you got to try a slice. read more

Took my wife there last night for dinner. Service was extremely slow. We sat inside. I had the Lasagna that was lacking in flavor. Side salad was very good. My wife had the carbonara dish which she said was fine. Not really interested in coming back. read more

First time going to this place today. The tomato bisque was Divine!!! Pesto Chicken sandwich on Facocia Bread was super tasty! My sister had a great looking bbq chicken salad, my other sister had a fabulous Patty Melt. Oh, I also asked for a side of Cole Slaw, one of the best tasting slaws ever!!! Portions were sizeable, 1/2 sandwich of any sandwich on their menu and any soup was a great deal at $13--other places offer a half sandwich and soup, but only a select few of the sandwiches are usually offered and the cup of soup is tiny... this was a choice of anyof the many sandwiches on the menu and the cup of soup was generous to say the least. The service was terrific and OMG! two Candy Cases!!!!!! I even found my very, very favorite chocolate covered raspberry jellies AND THEY WERE SUGAR FREE!!!!!! I didn't try it, but they also have ice cream and gelato... What?!?!?!? I cannot wait to go back! Kierstin was our server, but Emma also helped, both were awesome... and it's nestled in that really cool, friendly area of La Mesa Blvd... You'll have to pay for metered parking-and I hate metered parking-but its SO WORTH IT ! It's a nice looking place with ample seating, nicely decorated/put together. Just typing this makes me want to go back all the more, but I'm still stuffed lol read more

If you want home style cooking my suggestion to you is, Get your hungry self down to Centifonti's ASAP! Saturday night they'll be hooting and clapping to the local talent. Grab a seat early because the place is packed with locals! The rest of the week is filled with people who enjoy good food and great service. Daily Specials. Gelato. And those grilled cheese sandwiches that will make you forget about mom. Opened for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I haven't tried a third of the menu. Hopefully someday I'll get the chance. This place has that certain something special. If you visit you'll understand what I'm saying. I don't know the owner. I think it's a family owned and operated. None of my friends or family members work for them. I just wanted to share my review. Maybe it will keep those kitchen doors opened!!! read more

Amazing ! I went in for some sweets a few days ago and ordered some delicious fudge (I should of bought more) and a Apple Pie. If you are lucky and can get yourself a pie from here and serve at home with ice cream you are going to be happy trust me. The flavor of their apple pie is perfect for this holiday season. The girl that checked us out was also super appreciative of our business during these hard times. Also very happy to see a place following protocol and still making the best out of the situation currently. Coming again soon so make sure y'all have a pie ready for me ;) read more

So you can probably already see from the reviews that this place is amazing. I was talking to our waiter isaeh and I'm like you guys are al so nice here and he's like, we'll we're all related. Don't know if it was a joke or not but we're new to the area and another waiter was like if you need to know about anything, we're here to help. We're from pacific beach so to meet genuine people like this is rare from our experience read more

Everything here is mediocre. They did have a band playing that's the main reason for the 3 stars. They were actually good read more

Centifonti's Restaurant - BFF's out for dinner - Desserts Near Me - La Mesa, California

I love this place. Service is so good. Food is very good. I wish I lived closer. But totally enjoy it when I go there.