thin crust-easy-on-the-cheese w double onion as close to ny/north jesrsey pizza as I have found living here for years in So Cal. reg crust is a little too loaded with a thick layer of cheese...still delicious though. read more

Thank you, Jessica! We had my grandmother's 87th birthday party here tonight. It's her favourite Italian spot. It was a 13 top that turned into a 14 top and Jessica had minimal support staff. She did great. The bill issue was easily resolved once we uncrossed the wires of two in our party having the same first name. The food was fantastic (and HUGE portions, for real, after the soup and a bite of salad I was almost full before the chicken parm even came out). Clean, quiet atmosphere, patient staff, relatively well stocked bar. Jessica served us on Mother's Day, as well, and did a fantastic job then, too! Thank you! read more

This is the second time in the last two months we've ordered pick up and the order isn't ready until 15-+ minutes after the pick up time. Food is decent but it's hard to make plans when you need food at a certain time and they're inconsistent. read more

I love Filippi's. I don't get to this location too often but today was fantastic. It was not busy and we were seated right away. Our waitress was so friendly and warm. I felt completely comfortable. Of course you'll always have the Chianti bottles hanging everywhere at a Filippi's, along with the red and white tablecloths. I always get lasagna and this time I got it with meat ravioli and a meatball on the side. All of it was delicious, but the lasagna steals the show for me every time. Best lasagna on the planet. I love ricotta lol. And their meat sauce is so good. The meatball was giant and perfect. Exactly what I've come to expect from this establishment. The chicken parm was immense. I could not believe the size of this thing. AND it was amazing. Just enormous. Thank you. Leftovers! Yessss! read more

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I've been to Filippi's Pizza Grotto a few times and have tried both the pasta and pizza, and both were really good! The pizza was cheesy and flavorful, and the pasta was filling and delicious. I also love the cozy, old-school Italian atmosphere--it gives the restaurant a really welcoming feel. The service was friendly and attentive, and overall it's a great place to sit down and enjoy some good Italian food. I'd definitely come back! read more

Great value for the $$$.... If they put enough sauce on your food. So make sure to ask for it. I did not this last visit. Next, the Sports Room with the wide screen tv's is where I am going to be from now on. The Lasagne Dinner with Italian Sausage substituted for the meatball (Extra Sauce Please!) is for me. Now TO GO for later is the Large Pizza with Pepperoni, Meatballs, and Bell Peppers... and/or the Torpedo Sandwich. Waiter Richard and Benny are very solid servers. read more

This time around for dinner I just went and got myself a cheese pizza for my wife and I read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Santee - Italian Near Me - Santee, California

Ordered large pizza and large antipasto salad. I would think I would get tomatoes in my salad. Good counter help Salad not so great for $21.00, more lettuce than meat and vegetables. Sometimes the salads are great sometimes not so great. We should not have to ask for a good product, lettuce soggy, no tomatoes, no Vegetable's , salad too watery. I've been to this location for over 10 years now!!! I should get a better product, I can't tip for a bad product watered down. Service was average. But overall bad experience. Pizza did not taste cooked . read more

This place is great food, and it is worth a drive if you're looking for a place to eat, and you'll like Italian. I really enjoyed the anti pasta salad that I had tonight, I'm sure I'll try something else the next time, some of their meatballs, pasta, and some other goodies that I'm sure as good as a salad. read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Santee - A great anti-pasta salad - Italian Near Me - Santee, California

Love the pizza don't get the antipasto salad 16.00 won't order again. Not worth it!!!!! read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Santee - Real side in a Walmart bowl - Italian Near Me - Santee, California

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This place has got pizza but pricey food it's been expensive since Covid I haven't been here in a while usually the staff is mehh. When I go to this location I always hope they have new waitresses but that's never the case. Every time I order a salad they never give me enough salad dressing. By the way this is the only filippis who doesn't give enough salad dressing for an anti pasta. Now from my understanding the ani pasta feeds 2 right? So why you pull shyst on the dressing?The other Filippi's gives you more dressing . Anyways when I get charged for extra salad dressing don't be surprised it comes out of your tip. Also the sodas are 4 bucks over here. read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Santee - Here's the dressing they charged 2 bucks - Italian Near Me - Santee, California

Our family went here for dinner and then joined the Karoake singing in the bar area afterwards. Service was awesome, food is delicious as always, portions are (omg) huge! All in all, we've been to the other locations and this one was our first time. Well worth it! Will return again. Thank you Filippi's staff for making our visit so enjoyable! read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Santee - Half order lasagna and meatball. - Italian Near Me - Santee, California

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Pizza is always good. Lots of cheese. $32 for a pizza is alot but it's worth it as 1 Slice is usually enough to fill you up! read more

I ordered a pizza for delivery. I live less than three miles from Fillipi's. Door dash delivered. I paid for a delivery fee and I left a good tip. The pizza was delivered ice cold! read more

Overprice and not much flavor. We had a table for 7 and the food just didn't make the standard Italian taste. We ordered several dishes and pizza but the worse was the house salad. 14.75$ for literally lettuce a 5 tomatoes pieces and 5 olives. A total rip off. Waitress never checked on us. Management do better! read more

Visiting family in the vicinity and Filippi's is a favorite of my sister and BIL so we came with them. Love, love, love the ambiance/vibe - there are chianti bottles hanging from the ceiling EVERYWHERE! Of course we had to buy a bottle to share amongst the five of us because we had to write our names on it and have it hung with the rest of them. Places with dollar bills stapled to the ceiling have NOTHING on Filippi's!! Now for the important part - the food. We ordered a huge antipasto salad that came with bread/butter and the BEST salad dressing. It's not your average Italian or oil & vinegar. This dressing has a tomato base I believe and is exceptional. So good that we were dipping bread in it too! Several pizzas were ordered and if you eat a pizza at Filippi's, you better like cheese. I've never seen a pizza like it in all my life. The layer of cheese on top is like a half inch thick! No joke. After enjoying wine, salad and bread I could only manage to eat one slice of that ooey, gooey pizza. It's a little much for me but I can see how people might love it. Just be sure to eat a couple of prunes or something afterwards because that cheese could have an impact! LOL read more

What an excellent surprise today. We were getting our car fixed and walked to Filippi's. I'm used to walking by the Little Italy location and forgot they have other locations. One word: old school. From the red gingham tablecloths to the bright Color bread baskets, and why mess w a good thing. We enjoyed a torpedo, soup, and salad lunch special. Everything was spot on and very fresh, as was our server, Cheryl. Please stop by and say hello; she's been there for 14 years With 50s music playing and tasty lunch specials, what else is there? Oh, and they have a full bar, so my next trip will include a cocktail to go with my slice. read more

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I really wanted to love this pizza because it is local and family owned. I ordered a large cheese, a large white, and a medium cheese with bell pepper. My order was $91. If the pizza had been great I would have been able to justify the cost because I would be supporting a small business. But the pizzas were awful, The white pizza was dry without any flavor at all. The proportion of cheese to dough to sauce is so out of whack that the other two pizzas were just not good. It felt like a waste of my time to go pick up, my money and my appetite. read more

It's a San Diego Pilar of what's good in life. Unchanging unwavering good people and great food. Take the ones you love.

Love their antipasto salads, pepperoni cheese pizza (pepperoni is hidden beneath the cheese) Great for family dinners and good service. Excellent parking choices. read more

Filippis is hit and miss, but recently the Santee location has been on its game. Tonight the food was amazing, service was great. It's a family tradition to dine here, keep up the great work! read more

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The pizzas are simply really good. We usually order takeout, this has been our go to spot for our late night pizza crave. Most importantly my kids love the pizza. But just a pice of advice ask for easy cheese. Everything else is simply amazing. You won't be disappointed. read more

I ordered Chicken Parmigiana that comes with spaghetti. The chicken was very tough and uneatable. I will only go back for the pizza. read more

Wow!! Absolutely cheesy tasty pizza and breadsticks. Bread was fresh and perfect amount of pasta and meats. Customer service is A+++!! The girls in the front were so sweet and really know how to provide customer service. I will definitely be going back. read more

Food is overpriced and not good. Pizza's are too thick and greasy. They're not sliced all the way and they overdo with the toppings. The quality is not the same as it was before. read more

A favorite of my family for years. I've only been to this particular location once but it was great. There were 4 of us, on a Saturday and we got sat right away, the food came quickly, and the overall quality of the food was delicious. The portions are huge so you can definitely share everything and if you love cheese, and I mean LOVE cheese then a pizza is definitely a must. That's what they're known for! read more

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If you're a true San Diegan, you've gotta love Filippi's. Why four stars then? Well, I have to compare apples to apples and this particular location doesn't quite compete with the Little Italy vibe, which I do understand is a hard act to follow. What I do love about this location is the full bar. Keep my vodka/sodas coming and I'll keep a smile on my face. Mission accomplished. The pizza is always great, totally different, but one of my favorites... like ever. The cheese is aplenty, and the price is right, especially in comparison to what you get around town for a much steeper price. You really can't go wrong. Oh, grab yourself a side of meatballs and cheesy garlic bread, you won't regret it. read more

The food is terrible and the service is worse. It's gone way downhill, the meatball tasted like a breadcrumb ball.

I drove out of my way to get here since I come from San Ysidro. This place looks old. The girls in the front gave me a warm welcome and especially more since I was wearing my Taylor Swift jacket. Our server was very nice and the food came out in a timely manner. I decided to try the cheese ravioli and lasagna, half and half, which was very good. I liked it more than Olive Garden's. Olive Garden's lasagna tastes like it is frozen. Never fresh. Filippi's once again, hits a home run. read more

The worst torpedo I have ever had! No flavor no cheese was not toasted and no dressing.

Very good Italian food and one of the few places left with affordable prices. There's a full service bar with TV's and music on one side or the traditional dining setting on the other - both have table service with full menu. The homemade Italian dressing is the best I've ever had! I love the White pizza, order it with fresh tomatoes on top and the lasagna is moi bueno! Family owned (for multiple generations), family recipes, locally owned and operated. They can also accommodate large gatherings. read more

Sigh....this pizza can be really great if they'd just make it with some care for takeout. I just had a Red Baron frozen pizza that was way better. 3 different issues with pizza every time: 1) An appropriate amount of sauce on it. It's actually its just cheese and meat on bread with sauce color on the dough, not any sauce in any bites 2) Knead and spread the dough so that the cheese and meat don't migrate to the center with 3-4 inches of "crust only" around the edge. As it is now, pizzas have sloppy, gooey cheese in the center on an extremely thin, usually uncooked dough with a 3 inch chunk of plain crust around the edge. 3) Cook the pizza evenly to proper doneness. As it is, parts of the pizzas are dough, other parts charred crust and pepperoni cold. This issue may disappear when the dough and appropriate amount of sauce is properly spread so that the distribution of dough, sauce, cheese, meat and vegetables is even. read more

Wish the food had some flavor. No I don't have COVID, but this food literally made me test myself because the flavor was that non existent! read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Santee - Spaghetti with no sauce - Italian Near Me - Santee, California

Restaurant is cold and could use a good cleanning ! Maybe when restaurant is not busy the hanging wine bottles and spider webs hanging down from the dirty vents above the tables where you seat customers and serve food could get cleaned by lady's /gents that hang out by front entrance could make them self useful with a rag , 4 of them hanging out chatting , no room for customers walking in for pick up orders or being seated ! Maybe a lack of adult management ! Shame on you Santee Restaurant Take some lessons from Kearny Villa Rd read more

I've been here a handful of times and i almost always get pepperoni pizza, maybe an antipasto salad, and a meatball. I know some people may knock their pizza because it doesn't fit the mold of all the YouTube pizza reviews, it's not trendy and cute, but I just like it. It's pretty thick, it's heavy on the cheese, and the cheese is pretty salty, which I absolutely love.... Just my taste preference I guess... maybe it's not for everyone but if you're down with lots of cheese, maybe a slightly thicker and dense crust, you may enjoy it too. The servers have always been friendly. The atmosphere is dark an old school feeling and I like it... Again, it's just my description, maybe not everyone's cup o tea, but I really enjoy it, and their pizza is a guilty pleasure for me and a great treat. read more

Great place for Italian food. I have tried Filippi's locations across town. This one has one of the better customer service experience. Full bar on site. One dinner meal can feed 2 people easily... it's an Italian dinner here folks. This is a pretty large venue with a main dining room and a separate dining room where the bar is. The main dining room tends to have a wait time where as the second dining area does not. They still have full service in the second dining area. I enjoyed my Veal parmigiana meal. read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Santee - Veal parmigiana - Italian Near Me - Santee, California

We were running errands and decided that we were all starving. We checked on Yelp for a little guidance and decided that Filippi's Pizza Grotto fits the bill! As we walked in, there's a sign to wait to be seated. Shortly someone came and took us to our table. The lady who helped us was very cordial. She gave us our menus and took our drink order. By the time the drinks came, we were ready to order. Too hungry to be fussy. They have a wide variety of choices on their menu. They offer pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, salads, wines, beers, sodas, and more. I had the pizza, my one friend had the meatball sandwich, and the other ordered the lasagna. They offered bread and butter to hold us over. OMGoodness!! My pizza was FANTASTIC!! The pepperoni was on point and lots of OOEY GOOEY CHEESE!! I was in HEAVEN!!! My friends enjoyed their meals as well!!! Overall, it was a very pleasant experience. I will be back... read more

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Came in with my bestie for lunch. We were greeted by Cheryl and seated quickly in a booth. The restaurant itself has a homey Italian theme to it, charming in a comfortable atmosphere. Cheryl was friendly and made a few suggestions while she took our drink orders and gave us menus to look over. We started with the fried zucchini. Very crisp, hot, perfect crunchiness, yummy! I had the veal with spaghetti and meat sauce and my friend had the lasagna with a side of meat sauce. I have to say the food at this location edges out the other Filippi's locations! The veal was tender and cheese to sauce ratio on point. I tried the lasagna and oh wow- so delicious! The cheese was perfectly balanced against the noodles and the top was crusty perfection. They're getting it all right here, the food, service, value for your money. Come in and ask for Cheryl! read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Santee - Lasagna with Meat Sauce - Italian Near Me - Santee, California

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Always BEST pizza ever!! Always my first stop to eat when in San Diego. Downtown or Santee delicious!! read more

Filippi's Pizza Grotto Santee - Tried the Hawaiian pizza while in town and loved it! The ham, pineapple and cheese perfect combination!! - Italian Near Me - Santee, California

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I've been ordering from filippos for years. I noticed it slowly going downhill. I never gave up on them though I ordered a Pizza on New Year's Eve. And I don't know what's going on with these guys? The Pizza was basically a Cheese Pizza. I was searching for the toppings, which is frustrating because I've never had to do that with filibusters, but that was the case. It's a lot of money for a Cheese Pizza. I don't think I'll be ordering from them ever again. I think I'm in a stick with diamados. Because they actually give you what you pay for. read more