I was pleased with Trattoria il Buongustaio beyond expectations. Although their focus is Roman, they have excellent choices from other regions. I ordered the Rigatoni Amatriciana and it was perfect in flavor and cooking They do not make their own pasta as many Americanized Italian restaurants claim, but use the genuine De Cecco brand for all dishes. My research shows that it is a very recognized Italian brand. However, they do make their own gnocchi. I also ordered a glass of House Chianti Wine and they served complimentary focaccia bread with oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper. The server was extremely attentive and educational explaining why they avoid dishes with eggs because they cannot get the flavorful eggs from Italy in Puerto Rico. They are located at a somewhat unimpressive location that is very charming uncomfortable once you are inside. They do not have much parking space, but offer valet parking. Feel confident that this is one of the very few genuine Italian restaurants in the Metro area. read more

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Service by Daniel was great, for appetizers we have the chorizos al vino, for main course we have the risotto with shrimp, scallops and saffron, and the Tortellini Buongustaio. We also had margaritas and single malt whisky. Everything was great. The atmosphere was nice. For sure I would come back! read more

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Small but neat place taking advantage of every inch. We felt comfortable and not too close to our table neighbors. Loved our choices and this time around we went for outside the box. The ravioli with gorgonzola cheese were a home run as well as the bacalao croquettes. We loved this place and definitely will come back. read more

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My husband and I tried to come here last minute for Valentine's Day. They had no seating without reservations. We returned this weekend for lunch with our son. It was a little after noon and the place was nearly empty. however, we were told many table were reserved. Luckily, they had some open tables. The restaurant is charming. I like the decorations. I can see why it is a popular place for dates. It is also good for families. They are kid friendly. The only issue I had was the cold. Maybe it was where we were seated, but I was freezing. I was so cold, I considered telling my husband I wanted to leave but decided to push on through. Next time I will bring a jacket. Good thing we stayed because the food was excellent. The bread was warm and delicious. I ordered the Pollo alla Sofía Loren. It was nice and creamy and juicy. It could have had more mushrooms though. It came with a side. I chose the capellini with gorgonzola sauce. Wow, that was very good. My husband's risotto was perfect. The portion sizes here a generous. The weak point of the meal was the carpaccio de manzo appetizer. The taste was good, it just didn't wow us. We've had much better carpaccio at other restaurants that this fell short. We considered ordering dessert but were too full. Next time. Shortly after we arrived those reserved tables started filling up. I would recommend making a reservation just to be on the safe side. Even though they were short staffed, our waitress was attentive and friendly. read more

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Had a nice lunch here the other day with the family. I read some reviews complaining about the interior design. This is the first time I've been here (I had previously been here when it was a Pizzaiolo). It appears those calls for a makeover were heard because the place looks nice. They even decorated the ceiling. I forgot to snap a photo but somebody else already posted one. This os a very popular restaurant. It is family friendly and also date friendly. Hence, it is recommended you make a reservation. Although it is good for dates, it isn't a quiet place. There are a couple parking spaces in the front. On certain evenings there is valet parking. Being an Italian restaurant, they have a good wine list. The beer selection, however, is not so nice. It is your typical macro brews, no craft beer. Overall, the food was good as was the service. The complimentary bread is very good. It came with butter. I would have preferred olive oil and balsamic vinegar but bread and butter is always good. We started with the beef carpaccio. It was a decent dish but didn't stand out from others we have tried. For the main course, I went with the risotto de calabaza, setas y espárragos. The came in a large bowl. The portion size was plenty. I couldn't finish it. The flavor was there, a solid risotto for my tastes. My wife's chicken , the pollo alla Sofía Loren, was creamy and succulent. Her capellini with Gorgonzola sauce was also delicious. Again, big portion. Our son had a cheese pizza. What I found odd was the lack of kid sized pizzas. They have a kids menu but it doesn't include pizza. The pizza they have for kids is essentially a regular sized cheese pizza. Regular sized means 8 slices. At the end of the day, you take home the leftovers but it would be nice if they had a small personal pizza for kids. FUI, all pizzas are thin crust. No dessert this time around. All in all, solid food and friendly, albeit slow, service. Will return and would recommend. There is a sign on the door that says they offer delivery via foodnetpr.com, but when I checked the website I didn't see them listed. read more

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Wow! Just wow!!! Highly recommend this beautiful spot! We arrived before the dinner rush on a Saturday thankfully! We were seated immediately. Service was amazing! Drinks were good. Food was outstanding! We ordered a seafood appetizer that was the evening's special (don't remember the name) and beef carpaccio. Both amazing! For dinner (3 of us) we all had different meals and we couldn't stop sharing! Absolutely delicious! Chicken piccata with olive oil pasta, seafood risotto with saffron, and my meal was shrimp champagne with pasta. Can you say food coma?! It was so good that in the middle of the meal we made reservations to bring friends back the next day! Dessert was good too although I wasn't crazy about their house tiramisu. I'm picky and I like rum in mine since it's what I'm used to at other Italian restaurants in the states. That won't deter me from returning. Not one bit! My parents had the bread pudding with guava and they enjoyed it. Portions for all things are pretty big (we had leftovers even after stuffing our faces LOL). This spot did fill up after our arrival so I would suggest reservations. Don't miss out on this great little spot in Guaynabo! read more

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This restaurant used to be my favorite for years. I stopped coming because i moved and then suddenly after few months im back and unfortunately it seems they changed the chef. Overall all our courses were not as expected. Sadly they don't make the tomato sauce anymore either. read more

Great food and great service from our waitress. Very popular so it's always full for dinner.

Service sucked. Efrain (waiter) was absent at most (I'm being nice). From the hostess to the waiter and the bartender , everyone was complaining of how overwork they were( came in for dinner, not to provide group therapy). Food was good (it only took 2 1/2 hours). I had to beg for water and drinks as well. It is a shame, as the idea is so promising. Hope they improve read more

Excellent service and great tasting food. Even though we came in late(30 minutes before closing) we were treated with the most cordial hospitality and polite attitude. The atmosphere felt like family and our waiter Misael went above and beyond to take care of our needs. I 100% recommend this restaurant and will definitely return in a near future. read more

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Muy bonito y acogedor, fui viernes y estaba bastante lleno pero no tuve que esperar mucho por la mesa (5-10 min), el servicio del mesero fue rápido y diligente. La comida llegó rápido y con las especificaciones que pedí, estaba todo muy bueno. Es un restaurante con ambiente familiar, lo recomendaría. read more

Everything is wonderful! My favorite place The fish is amazing. The service is great.Wonderful staff. The place is cozy. read more

Wanted to celebrate my birthday on Nov 16, 2024 at this restaurant because I know the food is good, but little by little it turned into a nightmare. Our waiter, Efrain came to our table twice in the two hours that we were there. They did not pick up the empty plates from the appetizers for 55+ minutes, never offered another bottle of wine, and didn't even bring water to the table. I had to ask another waiter if they were kind enough to pick up the plates and bring water to us. After 1 hour and 30 minutes of waiting for the food, it finally arrived, but no sight of our waiter, Efrain. Finally, at the end of the night Efrain came to our table to ask if we wanted dessert or coffee. What a "caradura", I wanted to use a different adjective, but wasn't publishable. Had to tell him that I really wanted to celebrate my birthday, but his unprofessional service , made me change my mind. All I wanted was to leave this restaurant and never come back, btw, this was my third time at this restaurant, but never again. Slow kitchen and the worst service I had ever received at a restaurant anywhere in the world are good enough reasons not to go back and neither recommend this place. Cero Stars!!! read more

Excelente comida y servicio. Ambiente tranquilo. Buena localidad. Definitivamente vuelvo los visitar .

El sábado pasado visite este restaurante y tuve una muy buena experiencia y decidimos volver hoy. Me estacioné en el mismo espacio del sábado y para mi sorpresa cuando voy a entrar al restaurante, el valet me indica que tenía que dejar la llaves. Le dije que no estaba pillando a nadie y que tenia documentos importantes en el carro por lo que no podía dejar las llaves, este me dijo que tenia que sacar el carro del parking, le informé que me tendría que ir y me dijo que me fuera. Entré al restaurante y le informé al que estaba en la barra y me dijo que estaba bien que me fuera. Así se pierden los clientes. Una lastima. read more

Good excellent.. Ambiance great. Service good. We waited quite a while before someone came to seat us ..Recommended food was great

Our recent visit this summer to the enchanted island of Puerto Rico, brought us to Il Buongustaio, a charming Italian eatery in Guaynabo. The restaurant was packed, not a table to be had, and it was approaching 9:30 PM on a Sunday evening. Without a reservation, and rather hungry we thought we were out of luck. However, out luck changed quickly...off to the bar we went, meeting Veronica. Even behind the mask, you could tell there was a smile, and three well poured cocktails soon emerged before us. No sooner after our initial toast, we were alerted that a table was available. Julian was our server, an aspiring chef who is hell bent on making sure he learns to prepare all the items on the menu before he starts to launch his career! A fine young gentleman, eager to please. Patiently he answered our questions about the menu, water and delicious warm bread soon arrived at the table. Grilled Mahi-mahi, a pasta Bolognese dish, and a classic veal scaloppini was ordered. The meals were delicious, and the servings plentiful. These have been difficult times, however one can easily deduce that the guests we having a nice evening at this restaurant and the staff made every effort to please their patrons. Well done. We'll be back upon our next visit. All the best, Andrew G. read more

Love Il Buongustaio! My favorite dish is the Salmon Buongustaio, salmon with a roaster red bell peppers shrimp and heavy cream sauce....delicious!!!! read more

The best Italian food in all metropolitan area of the Capitol of Puerto Rico. The veal Marsala , ossobucco and the Rissotto's are awesome . Do not forget the Paolo SangrIa recipe. read more

You can't go wrong if you want some great Italian food or some Criollo. Great service and reasonable prices. read more

Trattoria IL Buongustaio - Interior - Italian Near Me - Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

This place is subpar. Needs an urgent makeover as far as ambiance is concerned. They offered a Rissotto with Curry for the Daily Special ($23...ouch!), which seemed to be a great idea, in concept. What they brought us was a "Paella" with seafood (NO Arborio rice). Totally dissapointing. The only good thing was the Linguini with Salsa Alfredo. Stick to the Pastas if you don't want to leave the place with a bad memory. read more

A good place. Not the most luxurious place in the world, but good food at a decent price. Inside is sort of dark but i would return. We started with the sampler and ten had fettuccini bolognesa and lasagna. Parking is tight but thats everywhere in PR. read more

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The sangria is very good. The food is all around very good italian restaurant. The service from the waiters was Great. The best part for me was the ambient, which my date and I found perfect. Didnt get to order main dish since i actually stayed with sangria and appettizers. In all the restaurant is a place I would visit again. read more

Went here after purchasing a Gustazos, it's definitely a perfect spot in Guaynabo for a date night. The place is very cozy and quiet and they are very attentive. Food was delicious. Actual prices are a bit on the pricey side though. read more

Been here before and the quality of the food has suffered. Ordered the prosciutto and mushroom pizza and wasn't impressed. The dessert, a tartufo, was good but not as good as other times. The prices are going up but the quality is not up to par. Service was good but they took forever to bring the check. read more

This place is very substandard. I'd you want Italian, try Picolo Posto off of route two.

best neighborhood family italian food in San Juan!

Neighborhood family restaurant, relax atmosphere, ok service. Prices have gone up a bit which for us is not good since it starts to be too expensive for a neighborhood outing, since for the same $ there are fancier meal options. read more

Best carbonara pasta, true italian.