"You know that eggplant was very good. Everybody out, I got eggplant on my mind. Costanza get me…read morecouple of those calzones right now, Pronto! Move out, Big Stein wants an eggplant calzone.... Must have one, everybody out!" -George Steinbrenner, Seinfeld The D'Alo Family has been feeding us since the 90's... Starting with Giuseppe & Rosa at La Spaghettata in Pinole to Angelo & Gerry at Tratorria La Siciliana on College Ave and Argodolce on Shattuck. Then Angelo's spot in Danville, Isola Osteria. Now enter Julia and The Sicilian. da Scene: Sometimes the universe just aligns... months ago we went to Crockett looking for BBQ and the joint was closed. Rick saw me peeking through the window and told me to come back in a few weeks for Italian. Fast forward and we show up Super Bowl Sunday and was pleasantly surprised to find a familliar face in Julia, didn't know this was her joint! Beautiful space, high ceilings, family-style/community tables, furnishings were warm and welcoming. da Grub: Starting with a bottle of Nero and very familiar bread with olive oil and spices... nod to Rosa of course! 1st course was the Caponata & toasted rounds - FANTASTIC, hope they retail that along with the Olive oil. Pasta course went with the Penne Norma... yes more eggplant, and it was quite tasty! Did 2 Secondi plates, beef w/peas and pork w/ roasted potatoes... homey, rustic goodness. Finished with espresso and pistachio torta. da Service: Admittedly, we're biased. From Julia's sharp and real wit to her partner's down to earth presence (a local boy like myself from Oahu) you CAN go home again. Felt like having family dinner elevated but not pretentious. Dishes were paced well allowing us to enjoy, not rushed. Take a step into Crockett for a rustic, comfy experience... I hope to see some specials to keep things interesting. Cent'Anni!!

This food is so legit & fresh and has plenty of proud garlic. This is our local favorite now…read more Julia, , our waitress & lady owner is so friendly & knowledgeable about her mommas favorite recipes. She was so enthusiastic and genuine in her care & love of people. The type one loves to see successful. We can hardly wait to try more menu items. And the decor is open, clean, eclectic.

Can't say enough about the food and service at this wonderful little restaurant! Just what Crockett…read moreneeded!

Shame on you, Crockett Cocina. We live local and have had several good experiences with dining in…read moreand take out, love the food quality. But, today my husband and I tried to spend our (very rare) date night on your patio and it was a complete nightmare. There were understandable technology issues that were explained by your host. We get it. However, we sat with warm beers for 45 minutes waiting for food that never arrived. During that time we watched to-go orders and other dine in orders that came in after us be delivered to the table and consumed. No offer of chips or beers on the house. No accountability or apology. When I went inside I told you this wasn't acceptable and not ok to charge us, you did anyway. This isn't a good look for a local restaurant that needs local support. I will not stay quiet while you take advantage of the locals who actually want to support you.

We reserved a table a few weeks in advance for a large party to celebrate a graduation. We were…read moreseated at a window with an amazing view. Our server was amazing. Attentive, friendly, helpful, and constantly bringing food and checking on us! Our group enjoyed the calamari, crab cakes and carpaccio as appetizers. Everyone ranted and raved about all of those, but WOW those crab cakes were absolutely DIVINE! Even those in our party who normally don't enjoy crab cakes had to partake because the rest of us were so enthralled. We had to order three orders of crab cakes - they were THAT GOOD! Definitely the best I have EVER had and I always order crab cakes when we go out to eat and they are on the menu. For dinner we all had a huge assortment of items. All delicious! Chicken parmigiana, cozze & vongole, mushroom ravioli, salmon, two of us enjoyed filet entrees. We were all very delighted with everything that we ordered! We cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough! Delectable! Perfection! Thank you, Bella Siena, for making our loved one's graduation celebration so PERFECT! Service, food, it was all so spectacular! And...those crab cakes!

I really wanted to like this place more! I came here on a Saturday night with a reservation at…read more7:30. The place was packed so there was still a bit of a wait. Staff wise everything was on point except for the guy who didn't come back with my Parmesan cheese. Food wise the calamari, arugula salad and crème brûlée was on point. But I got the lobster ravioli with shrimp and it was super dry and salty. As a dish that was advertised as being what this place was known for I was very disappointed. However since this was a first date I didn't want to seem high maintenance so I did not tell any of the staff my opinion of the food. My date did ask me at the end I was honest. Would I be back? Yes, but won't be getting the raviolis again, what a let down!

happy hour starts at 3pm weekdays try all their happy food…read moreand drink specials plenty of free on site parking

My Husband's "Special" was anything but... The lamb chops were overcooked and tough! He gave me a…read morebite and I was less than impressed... The sauce was good but the meat left little to be desired. Maybe hire someone who understands how meat needs to be cooked: 1) In a broiler, 2) In a pan, 3) In Cast Iron! The only reason I'm giving it 2 stars was that the lasagna was as expected: hot, saucy, and flavorful! Don't advertise "Specials" if you can't deliver on your promises! Shame on you!

This has the most amazing Italian food in Benicia!! The…read moreservice has been absolutely amazing also!! Annette on Thursday night does a terrific job. They serve Rombauer Wine, which is really delicious! The owner chef Romero is amazing! You will definitely have the best meal here!!

This cozy small Italian restaurant is something anyone visiting or living here should try. This…read moreplace had a very warm atmosphere in the inside with only a few table but luckily it wasn't too busy when me and my girlfriend came by. From the looks of it, there are many locals who show love to this place because everyone seemed to know everyone which was a nice thing to know. Our waiter was very nice, I forget her name but she was such a nice lady. The food was amazing. You start off with a sliced bread thats warm straight from the oven and is presented to you with a secret homemade sauce that was super delicious. If you love garlic like myself, you will be scraping that sauce till its gone. We got the calamari to start with and share and I think that was the best calamafi I've ever consumed. I usually dont like the firm texture and fishy flavor of some calamari but this was super tender and super flavorful without the fishiness. A really great starter to share. We each got out own dishes and I got the Frutti di Mare. This dish was super flavorful and exactly what I wanted from a seafood pasta. Their mussels were HUGE though so I got kinda turned off from that (just a personal thing). Everything else was amazing and you also get a choice of soup or salad before your main entree which is a great format for eating. My girlfriend got the Pasta Gabriella and it was a VERY large portion. She said it was good but we both agreed there was a very strong bell pepper flavor. If you love bell peppers definitely get this pasta. Overall we had a great experience here and would love to come again!!

From the moment we walked in, we were greeted immediately and seated within seconds. The service…read morewas excellent ;our waiter was elegant, attentive, and made us feel well taken care of throughout the entire meal. The food was absolutely delicious!! so good there weren't any leftovers. Everything tasted fresh, authentic, and clearly made with care. The owner, Pedro, even came by our table to greet us and share his story and passion for Italian cuisine, which made the experience feel very personal and special. We had a mojito and a hibiscus margarita, and both were amazing. The new bartender is extremely talented, and if this is the level of drinks to expect , especially with their upcoming bar remodel, it's going to be a must-visit. Amazing food, great service, and a welcoming atmosphere. Can't wait to come back!

The pasta was very delicious and they gave 2 different types of bread when I ordered for takeout…read more The sauce is all homemade and very creamy and rich. I really enjoyed it and would come back again.

My wife and I went a few days ago, admittedly for the first time in about 6-9 months, and we…read moreunfortunately were disappointed in the food and the menu. In the past, I would have always rated the Dead Fish as a five (5), but could not this time. Not sure why the change of all the pasta dishes are now macaroni. It seems cheap in my opinion. I was a big fan of the angel hair crab lasagna but now it was made with macaroni and was overloaded with butter. Just not good. My wife had the crab sliders which each had less than a tablespoon of crab in them and therefore seemed more like crab flavored bread. We sat at the bar and had to be served by the bar back as the bartender was nowhere in sight. By the way, he was very helpful and did his best to make the experience good for us. The venue of the restaurant is tremendous and well worth the visit. I do feel all of this can easily be corrected and look forward to trying again to see if they can get back to what it once was.

Went here again for a date last night I tried the mixed…read moreseafood black pasta with cioppino sauce Also had the brussels sprouts which my girlfriend loved I did as well Also had the beef carpaccio appetizer it was an amazing early evening with great weather, and we dined during a quiet time outside.

The food was great. It also had really nice staff and the atmosphere. They also give EXTRA sauces.read more

Quick visit to Vallejo on a Friday night. Bambino's stays open after 9 PM which seems rare compared…read moreto other options in town. The street it's on was super quiet, but inside was hoppin'. There were several diners inside. The hostess was friendly. She greeted and sat us right away. The menu had great variety. I went with cannelloni with a dinner salad. I hadn't had a salad thousand island on a salad in a long time. It was tasty! My dinner companion ordered pizza. We were given bread sticks with butter AND oil and vinegar that we could dispense ourselves. That's an option a lot of places don't offer. The servings were very generous. Server was friendly and helpful. They have a lot of space at this location as well as a nice sized bar. We were pleasantly surprised and sufficiently stuffed with great comfort food.

Gelato perfetto! I imagine the same can be said for Naia's sorbetto. But having just discovered…read morethis brand trying the sorbetto is still on my 'to do' list. Also on that list is trying every flavor of every gelato and sorbetto in pint sizes and bars before Summer's end. It is good to have life goals! This Hercules CA location is for their main office, not a retail storefront, but this HQ page is the only place I could think of to post my "Bravo" comments because my discovery of Naia was at Boise's Whole Foods. Happy surprise it is there given most of Naia's distribution is in Northern or Southern CA. Some flavors of both Naia sorbetto and gelato can be had in bar shapes and are displayed in a little freezer case. (In the Boise WF store it was near the coffee bar on the cusp of produce.) I note this same case, so it is Naia provided, in social media for other retailers and on Naia's FB page. Look for it at your retailer if they're in your area because the bar we chose, Recchiuti Burnt Caramel, was fantabulous for flavor and texture. And at only 150 calories in the bar it is guilt free to boot. (And yes, 'that Recchiuti' as in the famous SF located chocolatier and candy maker.) My Italian on both sides hubby thought it was delicious too and he is pretty-picky about gelato. I did peruse all the flavors of Naia pints in the freezer case in WF ice cream aisle but I had another errand after shopping and I knew my choices wouldn't stay frozen so I was going to leave empty handed. Then I literally said "yahoo" right out loud (seriously) when I saw the frozen bar little freezer display as I left produce for check out because a bar could be eaten in vehicle on the errand route. Next week's errand will be taking a cooler with ice packs in it to WF to load up one of each flavor to bring home along with a supply of different bars and park all in my home freezer to work my way through them between now and Labor Day. Who will judge? Life is short. PS If you're looking for retailers that sell Naia their map is here: https://www.gelaterianaia.com/wheretofind

I think people really need to understand how good their products are. Obviously hasn't been the…read moresame as when you could order it off of Shattuck in Berkeley but this place was always a staple when I had friends from out of town visit. They all wanted to come back to the Bay Area just to have another taste and see their new flavors. In 2012 (or around then) when they closed, I was completely heartbroken and devastated. A part of my childhood gone. Had gelato at another location tonight (10 years later) and reminded me how much I missed this place. I was telling my cousin about it when my Facebook memories showed me this picture. They still manufacture and I'm grateful for that but I will say, it's not the same as when you went in person to pick your flavor. However, if you haven't had this before, it's worth trying!!