They have the best penne ala vodka pasta. And their arrabiata pasta is delicious too. The service is great and they are very nice.

I took my wife to Chianti Reserve on Mothers' Day expecting a special evening. It was anything but. The restaurant was small, cramped and noisy. The service was slow -- took 10 minutes just to get a glass of water. The server brought us a bread basket which consisted of 2-3 sandwich slices of stale sourdough bread -- not fresh italian bread? We ordered the caprese salad to split. It consisted of 3 slices of unripened tomatoes and 3 slices of mozzarella cheese and a few basil leaves. That was $25.00 !! We then ordered our entrees. My salmon entree was small and overcooked with a very unusual topping that I had to remove before I could eat it. The side of polenta was inedible. My wife ordered an eggplant dish. Again, a very small portion that was barely edible. The quality of the food was very disappointing, with small portions. And, very overpriced! This place is a sorry excuse for an Italian restaurant. It's amazing that they are still in business. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anybody.There are too many better options in the area, even others on Main St Pleasanton (ie. Pasta's, Baci's, etc) Needless to say, we will not be going back there again. Ken C. Pleasanton, CA read more

I love Chianti's in downtown Pleasanton. The service is exceptional. The food is fresh. I've been going here awhile and every time it's something wonderful. The specials are delicious. On this day we had the caprese for an appetizer - such wonderful flavor. Then we had our main dishes - we tried the specials. One was a pasta with red sauce and house sausage - delicious! The other a loin. Both dishes were just amazing. Ok, I'm bad at remembering their wonderful descriptions- that's on me . They were understaffed, but you can tell how much they care for their customers. They were explaining the situation and still they were great about refilling drinks and bringing bread to the tables and bustling to get the food and drinks out. Can't say enough about the professionalism. We will be back. read more

Chianti Reserve - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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Food is just not good, like diner food elevated a tad. $10 cup of minestrone tastes like watered down Campbell's. Same brown sauce with mushrooms on both veal scallopini & pork chop tastes like it came out of a can. Not enough servers on a busy Christmas Day. The only good thing might be the bread, but that's because the family was hungry. Much better Italian restaurants elsewhere (eg Benvenuti in Walnut Creek), but this was the only one open on this holiday that wasn't too far. read more

I had never dined at CR but decided to give it a go this past Tue for lunch with a friend. We were the only table there at 1PM so it was a given that service would be outstanding and it was! As expected our server was polite and informative. I don't recall her name but she knows the menu well and was able to answer questions and describe dishes. My dining partner & myself each ordered Caesar Salad to start, I think $11 per salad. I'm a huge fan of CS and am really impressed when I get one that's bright green, this one was unfortunately light green & white. It was flavorful and not over dressed. The pesto infused olive oil dipping sauce was great as was the mulit-grain bread. Next up was the shared main course; Capellini al Pomodoro with prawns ($19). The dish was vibrant and flavorful, the tomato sauce was chunky with the right amount of garlic and I think the cook used a slash of clam juice to sautee with, very nice! My only complaint, 4 prawns on the plate. I was thinking 5 minimum, six would've been better. Overall good experience, good local spot would dine here again! read more

We love Chianti! The food is very fresh and delicious. If you want to customize your order a bit they will certainly accommodate. The staff is so friendly and welcoming. Don't miss their espresso martini if you want a little after dinner dessert drink. Otherwise, if you don't imbibe, their desserts are special too. The limoncello desert is so nice. read more

If you're looking for a charming and authentic Italian experience in downtown Pleasanton, this is your place. The menu has an abundance of options for any taste... vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten free, homemade pasta lover... they seem to aim to please. It feels like an escape to Sicily with all the warmth and character you'd expect. read more

Taste is not good. Some is not well cooked at all, ramb is overcooked too. Maybe they have too many guests at x eve, they can not afford that read more

This place is marvelous! We were undecided about lunch, wound up here. The owner greeted us at the door, took our order and made us the BEST espresso martini we've ever had, EVER! Our food was so good that we dug right in and forgot to take pictures! We will definitely be back and we cannot wait! read more

Don't go here. They don't inform you about prices when splitting dishes and the waiter said his manager told him not to tell customers. Horrible service, money hungry, and devious. Additionally, the food was terrible and super small portions. read more

Hands down THE BEST Italian food in Pleasanton. Last week I enjoyed the Chilean Sea Bass and a Spinach Salad. Both were amazingly fresh and absolutely delicious. The owner, Michaelangelo is a wonderful host and makes everyone feel like they are part of the family.. read more

Had a wonderful GNO dinner last Saturday night. Our waiter, Michelangelo, was very attentive. He checked each wine glass and replaced one that wasn't up to his standards! Very impressive, I rarely see that kind of attention to detail. Dishes were removed from the table in a timely manner. Waters always kept full. Our experience with the food was also 5 star. Everyone's portions were more than adequate. Food was very good and hot. Prices are reasonable. The bread can use some help. It was a sourdough loaf, thinly sliced, not in a basket or covered so it was very dry. Dipping sauce ..... delicious. Will definitely go back. read more

Very nice service, but super overpriced generic food. Nothing special. food was very disappointing.

Great Ambiance with an exciting menu. The Spaghetti Carbonara, Veal Scaloppini, and Chicken Marsala were very tasty. We had a party of 8 and tried several of the items on the menu and all dishes were great. Our Server, Michelangelo, was exemplary and made our dining experience a true Joy. He interacted with our group throughout our meal and his sense of humor along with his excellent service made our visit memorable and super enjoyable. read more

OK - this place is totally legit. It's great. You will not be disappointed if you eat here. Let me share my experience. Walked in after 9 but they decided we could be seated. We were the only 2 top table in the restaurant. It was the chef in the back, the waiter, and the backwaiter. Service was literally impeccable. Again, we were the only ones there. Second, we ordered Bruschetta. This is the best Bruschetta I've ever had. The bread is house made, and the tomatoes were so fresh that they did not fall off the bread, it stayed together like a great big tomatoey sandwich. Freakin' awesome. Then we ordered this prawn and scallops dish, again the tomatoes were so fresh and amazing. Seafood cooked perfectly. I ordered the Bistecca which is a NY cut (chef's cut). Freakin' unbelievable. Served with steamed veggies (perfectly cooked) and polenta (best polenta i've ever had, because it was a creamy polenta). Dessert was house made strawberry gelato and espresso, both of which topped off the perfect meal. You don't even have to be a huge italian food fan to enjoy this place, they have a little something for everyone. Some italian places you go they fill you up and things feel heavy but it is very much not the case at Chianti. I did not leave overstuffed, it was the perfect amount of food, at least for me because I came in hungry. For me, the entire experience could not have been any better. I would definitely go here again and recommend anyone who wants a place to go in Pleasanton. read more

Good food and strong drinks - but pretty pricey. Bruschetta came out to $4 per piece! The restaurant is small, so it looks like they need to raise their prices, as the volume is low. Tough competition in Pleasanton. read more

I do NOT recommend this place at all! We went there for Thanksgiving and oh boy was it terrible. Apparently using seasoning/spices is something that does not happen at this place. I ordered tortellini with a piece of chicken. The alfredo sauce was extremely bland and the chicken was horrible. The chicken tasted like it was frozen then microwaved. Even after bringing up the issues with the manager he didn't offer to cook it again nor did he deduct it from the bill. The staff was extremely loud that I could barely hear my husband next to me. Overall, this was a horrible experience. read more

The atmosphere was very nice. There was customers greeted with a warm smile and a big hello with a thick Italian accent. My husband and I were seated before our friends who had yet to arrive. There was a manager or owner greeting everyone. He was going up to the various tables and holding polite conversations. I notice after our friends arrived he never came to our table. Our waiter was polite but appeared to be a little annoyed that our order for Spagetti and meat balls was not pronounced on Italian. The owner/ manager never came to our table. We were the last group to leave. Others said thank you have a good night. The owner/ manager said nothing. The food was very good. We just did not feel welcomed. We are a group of Black professional. read more

An order was placed through doordash and the order was confirmed by the restaurant, Chianti reserve. The doordasher called me saying he arrived at the restaurant but they were not taking doordash that day. I called the restaurant and was "greeted" by a rude person saying they weren't taking doordash orders. I said I understood that but they had there restaurant "open" on doordash and they confirmed the order. He said yeah we aren't doing doordash okay Ciao bbbyyyyyeeeee and hung up. Terrible service from a restaurant who doesn't know how to manage their doordash account. They easily could have marked themselves as closed on doordash. read more

Thank you for making my birthday more special with your amazing food and your contagious energy! Keep up the good work :) read more

My friend and I went there this week. We were very disappointed by the service and the meal. The place was empty at 1pm We were the only customers he had. He brought us plain cold white bread cut in half and a liquid of not known origin. Much later my wine, much later the food, much much later We had to go into the restaurant but couldn't find him to pay our check. The plates were never cleared, I also had to come in to ask him to get our check and cards back. It was warm outside and we were tired of waiting for him. The food was not even close to top quality. At one point he asked if I tasted the fish before I asked for a lemon wedge??? Then he wondered if I didn't like broccoli? Because I wasnt even done yet. Vegies seemed cooked twice. Fish was bland and small in portion. Will not return. He might need some Training or to care a bit. read more

Our service was amazing. The staff was delightful and helpful. They were great. My parent got the prawns tortalini and smoked salmon linguini. They both loved it. My sister the chicken with asparagus and my brother and law and I got the pork chop where we thought our food was ok. There was plenty to take home. We got the tiramisu. It had caramel drizzle. It was too rich for us but I am sure others would love it. I would come back to try other entrees. read more

Chianti Reserve - Soup - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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Really bad quality food! Artisan bread from Costco or similar was served with olive oil. Most awful risotto I ever had!

Food is OK... but paying 3 digits for couple starters and couple main course (with no drinks or anything else)... is way too much. You just don't get value for money. I ordered food online and the food was packed in cheapest styrofoam boxes and cheapest plastic utensils you can get. Like some of the recent reviews... just nothing outstanding for the $$$ paid. read more

Best asset was the energy and upbeat atmosphere! The owner even came and poured us water and asked if we needed anything. It felt like "Cheers" It is a home to many locals. The staff was hospitable and friendly. We loved the veal with mushrooms and rigatoni with homemade sausage. The polenta was delicious. read more

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Chianti Reserve is our favorite, as well as our son and daughter-in-law's favorite Italian Restaurant in the East Bay located in the charming town of Pleasanton. I cannot say enough about Chianti Reserve. First of all, the food is amazing! The menu offers a wide variety of delicious and mouthwatering starters and main courses that will appeal to youngsters and adults alike. The main courses include a variety of fresh seafood, homemade pasta, meat and vegetarian dishes, followed by the most delicious desserts! Their homemade cannolis are to die for! Everything we ate was fresh and delicious. The head chef, Chef Bilarddi Carteli uses the best quality ingredients to produce dishes that are simply delightful. The restaurant also offers a wonderful wine menu and will gladly assist you with pairing. We recently celebrated our son and daughter-in-law's Wedding Rehearsal Dinner at this wonderful restaurant. They just completed the renovation of their beautiful upstairs banquet room. It's like you just stepped into a restaurant in Tuscany. From the moment we walked in, the head server Michael Angelo greeted us with a warm welcome and oversaw the entire evening. Michael Angelo was professionally trained in Italy and his knowledge of the food and attention to detail is exceptional. He always goes above and beyond to make sure that your experience is A+. Michal Angelo always treats you like family; and made sure that everyone's experience was superior, accommodating all special requests. Michael Angelo and the entire staff went over and above striving to ensure that everyone was pleased with their meal. We had a large group and everyone at the rehearsal dinner was complimentary of the excellent staff, service and food. The entire evening was amazing thanks to the caring staff at this restaurant! I highly recommend Chianti Reserve. I cannot say enough about this restaurant and superior staff! read more

This is my second time here. The food, service, ambience, and wine are all excellent!! Grazia!

My wife and I ate here on a Wednesday evening. Greeted by the young Hostess Janet and, as we were early, basically got our choice of table. Mike the waiter from Sicily was great (maybe an owner?) and took real good care of everyone. I had the special Chilean Sea Bass and my wife had Veal Piccata. BOTH GREAT!! Wine list very good as was the Tiramisu for desert. Will return next time we're in town. read more

My far the worse Halibut I've ever had. So dry and over cooked. Can't believe the Chef let this out of the kitchen. Tells you about them caring. Honestly, non-eatable. Restaurant needs someone in their caring about the menu, service and what's sent out from the kitchen to the customers. Polenta was watered down and running. Will NOT be back‼ read more

This place is AMAZING! I would give 1,000,000,000 stars if i could! The service is AMAZING! Super nice! Delicious food! They gave the puppy shrimp, New York Steak and meatballs no charge! Wow! No words for how amazing and wonderful this place is! You need to try! read more

We went for lunch on Mother's Day to find a limited menu with increased prices. After waiting for 15-20 minutes to put our drink order in we received our iced teas with almost no ice. Our bread finally came pre sliced out of a bag from any grocery store, how disappointing!! Lunch was fine but when we got our bill I was astounded to see a $20 dollar charge for two iced teas, what in the heck? I asked the server about it and he said "you got refills. I asked about free refills and he said normally they refill ice tea at no charge but it was Mothers Day so they were charging for all refills. Nothing was on the menu letting patrons know that this was what they were charging. Talk about taking advantage of a "holiday!" Based on this I will not be back any time soon. read more

Meh. They raised their prices for Mother's day, and then charged us $15 to split entrees - bringing the $45 steak to $60! It was an ok 5 bites of meat, but after telling us they would give us more sides, they skimped on the few pieces of veggies. With 6 in our party sharing 3 entrees, that's $45 extra for nothing, and they never even refilled the bread plate. After leaving, we stopped at a burger place because we were still hungry. Never again! read more

Below standard food with service to match. I ordered the New York steak (medium-rare) Steak was a thin strip cut, warm, over-done and rubbery. It was served with literally 6 pieces of boiled and bland veggies with no seasoning along with less than 2 oz of polenta with tasted as though it was cooked a night before and reheated before serving. I paid $30+ for this meal that tasted like a roadside dinner food. Save your time and money and avoid this restaurant. read more

I'm going to be kind here and offer a little understanding during the Covid crisis. This review comes in two parts -- first the food, then some questions about the experience. Never had tried Chianti before -- one of the few restaurants in downtown Pleasanton I hadn't visited, so decided to give it a try this past weekend. They had set up outdoor dining on a closed-down Main Street along with the other restaurants, which provided for a really cool atmosphere. (In my opinion, this is something that should continue in the summer long after Covid is over.) I ordered the Tortellini with Prawns and Alfredo Sauce, along with a glass of their best Cab (Sempre Vive) -- both were incredibly good and surprisingly played really well on the palette with each other. Found myself scooping up a little sauce on my fork for a quick taste before each sip of wine to keep revisiting it. All in all, dinner was really good. Wasn't much of a fan of the pesto dipping sauce for the bread, but that's simply because I'm not much of a pesto guy. Anyone who is would like it. (Give me balsamic and oil all day long, baby!) My only quibble with the dinner: it was a 90 degree evening and when the wine was brought out, it seemed to be served at..... 90 degrees. It was obvious it had been sitting out in the ambient temperature, rather than kept cooler somewhere. I'm not a wine snob, but warm red wine? You'd expect that at a summer art and wine festival, but not at a restaurant that's named after a varietal. Now, part of the reason I decided to check this out was that I had a gift certificate to the restaurant. The server saw it sitting on the table when he walked up and told me that they aren't honoring during the Covid crisis. Couldn't give me a reason why, told me it would never expire and was still valid..... just not valid right now. I'm going to lean toward the fact that we need to support small businesses right now and they need cash, so rather than trash them here and give them a poor ranking, I'm just going to mention it and let others do what they want with it. However, this gift card was purchased recently -- you have the money it was purchased with already. If you're not going to honor them right now, DON'T SELL THEM. Definitely found this a bit shady. When they honor the gift cards again, I'll return -- the food was good -- but will not return until then. read more

What brought us in was a restaurant.com certificate. Street parking next to the restaurant was already taken, so I circled the block and found a lot in the back (Free street and lot parking). When we arrived, we're immediately greeted by one of the waiters. Since the weather was nice, we dined on the patio. Our drink orders were taken, and bread with oil to dip it in was brought. I decided on breaded veal with marinara sauce, and a side house salad. The wait for the food wasn't bad; besides, watching the foot traffic on Main Street was a distraction. They have their daily specials posted on a sidewalk chalk board, which drew in some customers. The veal was tasty and cooked to perfection, and the mixed vegetables were fresh and cooked properly. While we were eating, one of the owners came out and chatted with us, and made sure everything was okay. With the great discount, first rate service and yummy meal, I can't help but Yelp it five stars. Next time I'll be back to try one of their pasta dishes. read more

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If I could put zero stars I would. I guess I will credit one for them being open on Thanksgiving. The service was HORRIBLE. There was a party of 20 that seemed to be monopolizing the staff to the point to where we waited more than an hour to receive our food and when we asked for things like bread they would forget. And our 3 glasses of wine for the adults took forever yet they never asked the young gentlemen in our party what he wanted to drink. The food was sub par. You pay $26 for a plate of bland hospital type food worth not even $12.00. The food was cold when we got it too. Oh I forgot to mention the flies buzzing all around us. We were swatting them away yet one still took up residence on my mother's Thanksgiving plate. Yum. That's sarcasm. Disgusting. The strange part was after it stood on the chicken for a while it proceeded to walk across the table cloth and in all that time nobody noticed or came to say anything even as I took this photo. Lovely. That too is sarcasm. I would never recommend that anybody that I care about eat here. I say avoid this way overpriced nighmare. Especially on one of your favorite holidays because it will leave a bad taste in your mouth. Worst Thanksgiving meal I've ever had. I think a lot of the positive reviews here are fake. My Italian friends would not be impressed. Olive Garden has better Chicken Marsalis then this place! read more

Chianti Reserve - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Amazing LOBSTER ravioli (special), with HOMEMADE tomatoes. I want to live here! Great service, and plenty of room for our entire 12-person group. read more

I had the most delicious experience here. From the wine to the food it was mouth watering. I have been to Tuscany and the Italian wine they serve here takes me bk there. I ordered the Penne alla Moglie, which was delicious paired with this wonderful red wine. I felt I was in Tuscany. If you want to experience Tuscany food & wine then come here!:) read more

Chianti Reserve - Delicious red wine - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Great place for lunch. Not busy and great food. I had their special - Lobster Ravioli. Delicious. Will definitely go back. I live Downtown Pleasanton and the restaurant is located right in the middle of the historic buildings. read more

I have no idea why or how this restaurant can have less than 5 stars. Food was excellent and the pricing was on par with any good (and this food was great!) Italian restaurant. Went there with my Father and ordered the Chianti Classico, bruschetta, petrale piccata and the chicken Caesar, and all of it was excellent! Alas, the tiramisu was still being prepared (was there for lunch when they opened) but ordered the biscotti and gelato, and was a great finish! I will definitely be back, love the quaint atmosphere, food, and authentic experience! read more