Word of mouth and a quick search led us to Cucina Italiana Illando and it did not disappoint. We…read morecame in search of a great carbonara (my husband's favorite), and it absolutely delivered. The meal was outstanding from start to finish, but what really elevated the experience was our server, Luca. He was attentive, knowledgeable, and paired our dishes with a fantastic wine (Pian delle Vigne Rosso di Montalcino by Antinori) that complemented everything perfectly. If you're looking for authentic Italian flavors, excellent service, and a memorable dining experience, this spot is a must. Highly recommend!

Great little place with relaxing service & excellent food. We love the ambiance. Rustic, casual…read moresurroundings. Luka and Mauricio (we've been twice on this vacation) are excellent. Our favorite place.

Have been here a few times, the food quality is amazing. It's truly the only place I've been able…read moreto find where the pasta tastes exactly like the one I had in Italy! Along with that when we went, we were celebrating my mom's birthday and the service felt extra attentive and kind! Overall, this place is amazing, it has a great ambiance for going out with friends or family to enjoy some great food!

Last time we were here was a night after a 3 star Michelin chef meal. It took too long to be…read moreseated and I must've wrote this place off. That was unfair. Monday night we drove down from OC to grab a bite to eat before heading back to Louisville the next day. They've opened more patio seating on the side of the building and everything was fantastic. The vibe, the food, the service, impeccable. My wife does the build your own pasta, and I order the gnocchi special. This time the special included truffles, beef sauce, and a side (!!!) of bone marrow to put in the pasta. Honestly, that pasta was the best thing I've had all year and would like to relocate to Ocean Beach so this was more accessible. Maybe in a few years when I retire.

Bencotto was an outstanding fine dining Italian experience at a reasonable price. I had the cheese…read morewheel pasta and it was of an extremely high quality. On top of that they allowed me to take a video of them mixing my noodles and chicken in the cheese wheel itself which I thought was a nice touch. Additionally they had a large selection of bottled Italian beers as well as wine. The service was fantastic and so was the ambiance which was less Tuscan and more modern with some references to Italy which I appreciated

On a Monday evening in San Diego, we stopped by Bencotto Italian Kitchen for dinner. Located in…read moreLittle Italy, I was surprised by how busy this part of town is. Restaurants and bars filled to the brim. Lack of street parking availability. With that being said, after circling around for a while, I found a free parking spot on the street five minutes away by foot. Ambiance (4/5): While Bencotto has a nice interior, I went with some al fresco dining on their front patio. There are 20 or so seats available right off the street, so it's not a large patio by any means, but it's nice. The weather was a little chilly by San Diego standards, so they had some heaters out there. It always reminds me of Europe when I'm dining al fresco. Service (3/5): A little slow at times, but overall, pretty good. My waiter was friendly, he just could have stopped by a little quicker. Still solid though. Drinks (4/5): They have a nice selection of wine. I ended up rolling with an Italian beer I had never had before instead. It was a lager and they served it with a chilled glass which is always a nice touch. Food (4/5): The reason I came delivered. Their most popular entree is pasta cooked in a cheese wheel. The pasta is in a creamy truffle sauce with mushrooms. No protein but you can add some for an additional charge. I added grilled chicken. What's awesome about this dish is that they cook it for you inside by the hostess stand. So you can go there and see it happening. My server didn't give me a heads-up (shame on him) but luckily, someone at a table close to me did after me, so I joined to see their food being prepared. I also ordered the gnocco frito which is puffy fried bread. You get four pieces and I had never had this type of Italian bread. Not amazing, but it complemented the pasta well. All of their pasta is made in house and you can taste the difference. The cheese wheel pasta was absolutely delicious. I was pumped to cross this bucket list item off my list.

Legit Italian restaurant right in the heart of little Italy in San Diego…read more We came on a weekday night but it was already bustling around early on. We were fortunate to be seated within a few minutes at their outside patio. Overall plenty of seating and good ambiance inside and outside the restaurant. Excellent service. We ordered the garlic bread, pollo parmigiana, and frutti di mare. All were exquisite! He garlic bread was perfect. The parmigiana was a good blend of chicken and pasta. The frutti di mare had a generous portion of seafood. Would definitely come again!

Someone told me they once cried (of happiness) after eating here so I had to go check it out for…read moremyself. We got the: - Lollipop chops: lamb was good, sauce was AMAZING - Dolce e piccante pizza: crust was well baked and loved the sweet, spicy, and salty mixture, very heavy though. - Frutti di mare: seafood wasn't fresh unfortunately Overall came to a conclusion that this is an okay spot, not my first choice in Little Italy. Maybe if I try the pesto gnocchi i'll change my mind since that looked pretty good.

Marcello and the rest of the staff provided really proper service and the food was great. Would…read morehighly recommend

Delicious food and great espresso martinis. Our server Nathan was amazing and took such good care…read moreof us!! 10/10

Second time at Buona Forchetta, and it brought back such good memories, plus instant dopamine from…read morethe chew of their pizza crust! I came here with a big group of friends on a Thursday night, and the place was packed. The restaurant is located in a quieter area of South Park with plenty of street parking available (no dedicated lot, though). We made a reservation, and they seated us right on time. We ordered a little bit of everything, including appetizers, pizzas, and pasta. What surprised me most was how light everything tasted. The brightness and freshness of the dishes really made the overall experience stand out. Our favorite dishes at the table were the Nicola and Juna pizzas, along with the gnocchi carbonara. By the way, this is a fork and knife place for everything. This place is definitely a carb overload, but absolutely worth it. Come for the classics, stay for the vibes :)

We come here to celebrate my birthday every other year, I bring my out of town friends here so they…read morecan get a taste of local favorites... they do have a location at Liberty Station which is worth checking out! We usually order a few pizzas, pasta and antipasti for our small group of 6. It is usually quite enough to share. The service is great and it is nice to hear Italian being spoken.

We took our mom for her Bday Celebration and the staff was so attentive on the service. The owner…read morepersonally cooked my mother's meal and made it to perfection upon her request. Every thing was so perfect even the food and ambience was really amazing. I do highly recommend this restaurant . Thank you very much. We enjoyed every moment being there.

We had a really great dinner at Siamo Napoli. The place is nice and has a great, authentic Naples…read morevibe to it, and Giovanni looked after us and was super welcoming. We ordered two pizzas: a Margherita and a Piccante. Both were excellent, with a really good, authentic crust and high-quality toppings. We also wrapped things up with the cheesecake, which was really good. Definitely a solid spot if you're craving actual Neapolitan-style pizza in San Diego. We'll be back for sure

This is my favorite resturant okay I said it. Great times here, what a great vibes…read more What Great staff here, so happy & kind too they are amazing here! I had pasta Orecchiette We raviolis with crab and shrimp Chicken parmigiana And a smoked mozzarella ravioli with eggplant Di Melazame everything was delicious And we had Caprese to start with a large heirloom Tomato slices the was so tasty too We all enjoy every bite until we couldn't And they bought out a dessert Nutella cheesecake That was sweet of them Plus tiramisu we ordered It was funny there was 2 ladies celebrating by our table their birthday's too same day also It was a perfect birthday

Came for a late Mother's Day lunch. The calamari was really good. Perfectly cooked and crispy…read morepairing well with the marinara sauce. I got the Orecchiette Con Salsiccia ($24) with ear shape pasta finished with sautéed garlic, olive oil, Italian sausage, pesto , chopped tomatoes, parmesan and mozzarella cheese in white wine cream sauce. It was very savory, creamy, and cheesy. It's one of the heavier pastas I've had but it's probably because I removed the rapini because I don't like the bitter taste. I thought the sausage quality was just okay and not the best. I loved the Al dente pasta. I would probably opt for a tomato base sauce here because I think they do the flavors so much better. My family got the Taglierini Neri Ai Frutti Di Mare ($27). Plenty amounts of seafood with really well cooked pasta. The portions here are massive! All of us had to take our dishes to go so I highly recommend coming here if you want to bring home seconds. Service was also attentive and I appreciated that the kitchen plated the panna cotta to celebrate Mother's Day. I never get panna cotta but this one was creamy and not too sweet with the blueberry sauce. Highly recommend.

Fab time here - I don't know why I hadn't come in a while…read more Current version of the patio is not huge - but it was sweet & comfy and on Laurel toward the park (not on 5th or toward the corner). So nice views into the park too. Josh was our server and he was super nice! I started with the pope's delight cocktail. It's listed online as "aged rum + amaro romana + salted cantaloupe olio + lime, $17." But they had decided to add a proscuitto crisp and make it $21. I didn't want the proscuitto so that was a little annoying. But it was a tasty little cocktail. Bread: it's amazing here. They change exactly how they do it from time to time - this version was so yummy and with great butter. App: I got the burrata + pluot | cherry tomato + arugula + almond + coriander + mint + toast appetizer. Very yummy! Huge also. I took half of it home. Definitely recommend. Entree: I always like when the corn agnolotti comes on the menu, but it changes each year. This version was pretty good - I think my pasta was just a tad undercooked, not quite al dente on the parts of the agnolotti on the edges (not the pillows holding the filling). Still good though. Also, if you're going to the theater, do you know they have a FREE shuttle that takes you to the Old Globe and back? We decided to walk there after dinner (easy, pretty) but take the shuttle back after the show. So easy! And then I ordered takeout dessert from Josh. Overall, a super meal and great vibes. Looking forward to coming back soon!

Large, inviting, high ceiling, dark dining space that always seems to be busy. Came here to try…read morebecause it's Michelin bib gourmand. roasted delicata squash + farro salad: deep fried delicata squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and served with a cilantro salsa verde. This was the most unique thing we ate and quite good. red wine short rib mafaldine (short rib pasta): this dish is kind of a mess and there's a lot of things going on. I like short rib, but I think it would taste better not in this pasta. Nothing stood out. roasted half chicken fra diavolo: a well done dish cooked to perfection. Flavorful but chicken can only be so good. Service was excellent and very attentive.

I walked into this little Italian restaurant and found it completely packed. I asked the gentleman…read moreat the front how long the wait would be for a table for one. Without hesitation, he poured me a glass of Prosecco, invited me to wait outside, and assured me he'd have a seat for me in just a few minutes. Sure enough, about two minutes later, he came out and seated me. This restaurant made you feel like you were in Italy with the ambiance and vibe. I had done my research beforehand, so I already knew what I wanted. I ordered the lasagna, and it was absolutely incredible. The portion was generous, and my server let me know it would take a little extra time to prepare, which was perfectly fine. It didn't take long for me to realize that the man who seated me was also the owner. As I watched him greet guests throughout the evening, it was obvious that he genuinely loves what he does. We had a great conversation, and he was warm, welcoming, and personable. After finishing my meal, I ordered a double espresso and tiramisu for dessert. The tiramisu was easily one of the best I've ever had. Exceptional food, outstanding hospitality, and a memorable experience from start to finish. I will definitely be back the next time I'm in town.

savignon blanc 4/5…read more clam linguine white wine pasta: 3/5 white sauce was alright but not the best i've had and kind of too thick of the sauce, good large portion, noodles were amazing lasagna: 4/5 so delish. large portion, meat and cheese was so good