Hidden gem!! Vincenzo's Kitchen was a nice surprise! It's tucked away off the beaten path and I was t sure what to expect. The restaurant is quaint and takes me back to Italy. Very cute decor and dark inside- I liked the mood! Service was great. Our server was tentative and friendly. Our food came out hot and fresh. The pizza was the real showstopper. The pizza dough was delightful. Toppings on the pizza were fresh and plentiful. We loved the pizza and would comeback for that alone! The pasta was alright. I got the pesto pasta with salmon. It was alright- nothing special. My husband's got a carbonara and it was just okay as well. We will be back for the pizza. :) read more

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Very friendly service. May be understaffed for dinner. Had to remind staff to clear finished plates. Food was ok. I enjoyed the fried calamari. The orecchiette was creamy and flavorful, kinda reminded me of a pot pie. The shrimp scampi was underwhelming. Shrimp seemed overcooked to me. I was expecting to love this dish but I didn't. Restaurant should play music louder or get a second speaker to round out the dining room sound. Seemed too quiet. Friend commented she felt we were in a library lol Bathroom was smelly and I couldn't wait to get out of there! read more

Vincenzo's Kitchen - Italian Near Me - Lake Elsinore, California

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Really good lasagna. The best that I've had in a while. Highly recommended by me. Nice atmosphere. Must try. Update- after more visits I can report that the pizza is really good and so is the ravioli. My son ordered something else I can't recall but he loved it too. Chef's kiss! read more

Walked in on Saturday night and greeted by a warm gentleman who seated us right away. The foccasia bread they bring out with their marinara dip sauce which was the best sauce we've ever tried for dipping. We ordered Buffalo pizza 15/10 in flavor and no grease. The mozzarella square appetizer was a dream as well you have to order that! Entrees were ravioli homemade with meat sauce unbelievable flavor so so good. Husband ordered the Fusili Fantasia which he absolutely loved. The service was so kind as well. We can't wait to come back! read more

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The two of us came here for date night and mostly enjoyed ourselves. We made reservations via the Yelp App and when we arrived found all ten booths were taken. LOL. They offered to sit us in the middle of the room, but we felt we were in fish bowl with the twenty or so dinners. Grrr We ended up sitting in the empty bar area, under a burnt out light. Yes, it was that type of evening. We ordered some wine and bruschetta, while trying to get a feel for Vincenzo's. It's in a quieter part of Lake Elsinore, just off the I-15 Freeway. Our wine came and we then ordered our entrées while digging in on our bruschetta. Sadly, "dig in" was the right idiom, since the toasted bread was hard as a rock. Not over-toasted mind you, just stale and impossible to cut with a knife. Okay, then why the three stars? Well, our entrées were pretty good. Say, Four Stars good. Our tab came to $95.70 including taxes, but before gratuities. So Three and a Half Stars overall. read more

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Pretty good and romantic restaurant for a first date. Intimate and cozy setting. When we got there the noise level was at a minimum, mainly because we were the only ones there! I'm not a big fan of Italian food but this was a nice change. I opted for the very basic penne pasta with tomato sauce. Service was excellent, shout out to our waiter I truly take care of us and explain everything on the menu from the ingredients to the wine selection. read more

Lasagna- delicious! Service- no complaints. Wall murals- a nice touch. Restaurant- dirty and run down. Carpet needs a shampooing, everything could use a dusting, and unless you reallllyyyy have to go, I'd suggest skipping the lavatory all together. At one point I noticed a chef (on break, I assume), sitting on the ground out in front of the restaurant. Having said that, the lasagna was fantastic though I do not think we will be back. read more

God I love this place - I haven't been here since 2009 when I moved up to Northern California. Today I had extra time before my flight so I stopped by... Everything's exactly how it used to be. The bread with the salsa (it's like an Italian salsa dipping sauce) is utterly incredible. I always get the clams and wine sauce. Absolutely amazing. I miss coming here on a regular basis. read more

Vincenzo's Kitchen - Linguine con vongole - Italian Near Me - Lake Elsinore, California

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Everything I had the pasta preavara. It was cold, 3 pieces of small shrimp, little cubes of chewy scallops, and a few clams. It had too much sauce and it overpowered the taste of the fish. And the price was high for what I received. I will not be going there at all. Service was adequate, ambiance was ok. Nothing to talk about. read more

Pasta was good , margarita pizza was very very disappointing. Waiter seemed respectful at first yet was very mockful . Cut me off when I was ordering , laughed and corrected me when I misheard something he said in a disrespectful manner . Very dissatisfied with my visit , paid for me and my girl to have a good Italian dining experience , but sadly I've gotten a better experience at Chuck E. Cheese . read more

Worst food ever. I should have known. When I walked in. I noticed how extremely old and dirty carpet was. Possible over 30 years old and never cleaned. To cut to the chase, the food was worst possible ever. I'm sure nothing was freshly cooked more than likely straight out of the freezer microwave for some old meat sauce on them. I was belching that crap all night long had to take a lot of Tums never go back there again never recommended to anybody. It'll probably close them out of business soon. read more

The family has been here a few times and we love it. We are always greeted when we walk in and have experienced good service. The food is delicious and the homemade desserts are excellent. Best of all the prices are reasonable. read more

Delicious. We love the service Ambiance could use a little TLC BUT other then that you're there to EAT and it's worth it. Fresh, delicious & friendly service. Had a wedding dinner here. Absolutely fabulous read more

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We gave Vincenzo a try after hearing amazing things. Food was great overall and everything tasted fresh, but unfortunately the cheesecake we received had mold on it. Just a heads up for others to please check your desserts carefully. Hoping this was just a one-time oversight because the rest of the meal was good. read more

Vincenzo's Kitchen - Cheesecake with mold - Italian Near Me - Lake Elsinore, California

Food is amazing. Authentic. Our favorite Italian place in the valley. Always surprised to get a table so quickly. Place should be packed! read more

We had an incredible experience here tonight! It's now our favorite place and we can't wait to return and experience more of their delicious dishes! Roy attended to us. He was phenomenal! So attentive, helpful, informative and friendly. He started us off with some yummy bread and Salsa Cruda and it was so delicious! I practically licked the bowl that the salsa came in, unbelievably delicious! They had specialty cocktails that were also super yummy! They also had specialty meals that sounded incredible but we ordered off the menu and we were very pleased with our choices but we want to go back and experience more! We ordered a pizza to go. They use a specialty dough that is healthy. We were stuffed but we took a bite of the pizza when we got home because it smelled so good. It was also amazing! We can't wait to return! We also will think of them in the future for catering. read more

Great food great service amazing chicken parm and fried mozzarella All kinds of win! read more

Wanted to try this place for a while. Went for dinner the other day and loved it. I can't wait to go back and try other menu items. Sorry no pictures, we ate the food too fast to think of taking pics. read more

Absolutely delicious homemade authentic Italian food, great presentation. The service was outstanding. the servers were quick, responsive and thoughtful. Great environment with great music, clean building, and beautiful Italian decor. A must for good Italian food: pizza and pasta were delicious. read more

The food delicious and authentic the service was great and the music was fantastic. Everything I've tried here so far has been delicious. Highly recommended. Today we had salami and mushrooms pizza. read more

I've been coming to Vincenzo Kitchen every year and have always loved the food, which is why this experience was so disappointing. On December 31st, the quality was noticeably off. The cheese ravioli and pasta were hard and did not taste fresh at all. My husband's veal was also tough and unevenly cooked. This is not what we've come to expect from a restaurant we trusted for years. The service was not good, but I want to be clear--this was not the waiter's fault. There were only two waiters working on a very busy holiday night. One even apologized and said he was extremely busy. That's a management issue. On a day like New Year's Eve, the owners should be prepared and properly staffed, and food quality should never suffer. This was not a small mistake--it was a complete letdown compared to past experiences. Sadly, this visit changed how I feel about this restaurant, and I won't be returning. read more

If we could give this restaurant zero stars we would. My husband planned for weeks for a Mothers Day dinner for us on This past Saturday with a few close friends. There were 8 of us. He booked the Godfather table. We have been coming to this restaurant for 20 years. First we got there and another party arrived 5 minutes before us. Took forever before we were even asked what else we might need. Water on the table. They gave us 2 menus. No introduction from the waiter who took care of us. Finally bread to the table. We requested the magnum of wine we brought with us to be opened. Took 30 minutes. 30 minutes later he took our order for appetizers. Took 30 minutes to get those. The other table beside us already had their food. Service was non existent. We had to go find the waiter to take our food orders. Food then took 45 minutes. My husband was absent from the table when the food came out. The waiter said he would put his in the oven to keep warm, even though I told him he was returning. My husband's food was brought to the table. He ordered chicken Parmesan. There was no cheese on it. Then my husband went to eat some of his angel hair and it was not cooked well. It was hard and crunchy. My husband mentioned to the waiter. The waiter proceeded to argue that they had a fine chef from Italy and that it was because they had put it in the oven. Offered to replace it. We had already been there over 2.5 hrs. My husband declined the offer. The other table had paid and left. He refused. We had our food packaged to take home. Another person in our party received chicken fettuccine that all the chicken was hard and chewy. My fish had 5 small shrimp that tasted like it had been previously frozen and the red sauce was nowhere close to our previous visits. We were still sitting there. No bill. We had to get up and go to the door of the kitchen to ask for the bill. They brought the bill. We had to go back to the door of the kitchen to ask for them to come process the bill. It took another 15 minutes to do that. I would not recommend anyone to go here. Ruined a special occasion. The waiter kept smiling and was very condescending to my husband and a couple of the guests. I believe they are on the 3rd ownership since the original owner retired. It is very sad. We will never return to this restaurant. As a side note the bathrooms were dirty and disgusting. We never even saw the new owner. If you want crappy service, subpar food and staff that argue with you go ahead and go here. We should have just left as it was like we weren't even there. Service here use to be awesome and we were never disappointed with our food. We were there well over 3hrs. Never again will we go there. read more

I've frequented this area a lot and have seen this restaurant only from the outside. I finally decided to step inside to dine-in and I was beyond impressed. For starters, the atmosphere is impressive. Lighting is nicely balanced along with the feeling that you're in the heart of Italy. They gave me for starters some homemade Focaccia bread and the dip it comes with adds an element that works nicely. I ordered a rack of Lambs that was lightly cooked, sauced along with broccoli & carrots. Included were mashed potatoes that fit the dish perfectly. Lamb was tender and the taste was very different from anything I've had. Their menu consists of a little bit of everything for everyone. I believe this establishment has had new ownership for 2 years now and he's done a spectacular job making everyone feel at home. I will definitely be returning to Vincenzo's Kitchen to try their Chicken Parmigiana. read more

Vincenzo's Kitchen - Focaccia Bread - Italian Near Me - Lake Elsinore, California

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We went to Vincenzo's Kitchen for early Mother's Day. The food was incredible! I had cheese ravioli with their vodka sauce. It was delicious. Then we had a cannoli for dessert. It couldn't have been better. The service was impeccable. Best meal I've had in a long time. read more

This place used to be great until Covid or sold it, something changed and never recovered. During Covid they changed their menu and quit serving my wife's and I favorite dish. We still ate there a time or 2 but quality was definitely gone. The love and quality they use to put into the food has unfortunately gone. Would not recommend. read more

EXCELLENT SERVICE!! From every single employee here. We came to celebrate my mother's 66th's birthday and they really took care of us. Great service, great food, great wine and great atmosphere. We will definitely be back. read more

Food was fresh and tasty and affordable but the place does need a little freshening up and I'm glad they were busy but the service was a tad slow but super friendly! read more

This is another spot in this city, praised by the locals that I decided to give another try to. Bought the Alfredo some years ago, didn't make much of a dent in it before throwing it away. I was somewhat full so I didn't give it a fair try. Tonight, thought I'd give it another try. Ordered the Alfredo and the eggplant parmigiana. Here's the lowdown... -afredo-the sauce doesn't bring cheese to mind. I taste cream, I taste butter. If I'm not supposed to taste cheese then this is excellent. If I am, this is a fail. Idk but people say it's authentic here and I'm only used to the Italian of chain restaurants. I'll say that I definitely prefer the Alfredo from Olive Garden than that of here. -eggplant parmigiana-I love all the sauce and cheese here. You just can hardly taste any eggplant. Maybe its hard not to have the eggplant solid and not mushy but this is loads of marinara with cheese with bits of eggplant throughout. Also, I ordered via ubereats so I can't comment on ambiance and all that other good stuff. read more

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As a reward for finalizing moving into a new place my wife and I ordered Italian delivery. The menu here looked good, and it was close so we were all "bet." Food arrived within a reasonable time, but that was where the good stuff ends. My order was... not my order. Mine was supposed to be Fettuccine Genovese, but I got Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken that had some shrimpy smell to it. My wife's Penne Calabrese was more Penne in red watery sauce and nothing else. The garlic bread was pitiful. Our appetizer, Mozarella al Forno was ok, but nothing to write home about. Perhaps if we had gone to the restaurant, but screwing up one order completely does not give me high hopes. read more

We have been coming here for many year's, unfortunately recently the food has gone from a 10 to a 2, the service is top notch, but the food has no flavor its portions have gone to a kids meal size and bland.the restrooms where dirty no paper towels, bread was like biting into a piece of rubber it was do stale. It's sad we probably won't be coming back, we used really enjoy eating here. read more

If you are the owner and you are reading this you are rude asf, you made my entire family feel uncomfortable and we won't be back. Sad part is we heard you were rude and still gave you a shot but you lived up to the standards that you are known for. Sell the business if that's the way you treat people, food was nasty asf no flavor nothing but you don't care. Goodluck because you will continue to lose more customers. read more

First time visiting Vincenzo's Kitchen here in lake Elsinore. I will say it feels like a traditional warm Italian classic restaurant. It's really hard to come across these places nowadays. Ambiance of the classic Italian music playing is fantastic. Customer service provided from the server was very kind. Food was 10/10. I enjoyed the spaghetti with meatballs and Fusilli Fantasia. The lunch special was enough food. Highly recommend trying this gem. read more

Vincenzo's Kitchen - Italian Near Me - Lake Elsinore, California

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Good was delicious service was great. Home made bread and sauce was made from fresh tomatoes so it was perfectly flavorful. read more

Vincenzo's Kitchen - Bread - Italian Near Me - Lake Elsinore, California

The customer service and food was great. Very authentic. I had the spaghetti and meat balls along with a salad. Will definitely eat there again. read more

We were in the area and wanted something authentic and fresh so we decided to try this place and so glad that we did. The food had a phenomenally great taste. We ordered the chicken fettuccine alfredo and fried mozzarella. Definitely coming back soon! read more

Chicken fettuccine Alfredo and sausage Ragu with a vodka cream sauce, we asked for this specially made off menu. Glass of Moscato. Our server was Marcus. He was very knowledgeable on the menu, and very accommodating. It was a nice atmosphere. No wait to be seated. Fettuccine Alfredo was good, it was a more authentic sauce, so it's thinner than traditional Italian. The other dish was was not as good . All in all, we will probably come back because it is the only Italian place in Lake Elsinore. read more

Vincenzo's Kitchen - Keto friendly Splenda lemon drop martini. Chicken Alfredo with veggies instead of noodles. Minestrone soup. - Italian Near Me - Lake Elsinore, California

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My review is very very late as I didn't realize I did not write it. I often come here to see how things are going before I want to come in. That's why I noticed I hadn't written my last review. We came here when the third owner took over a few months ago to be somewhat exact. It was over the weekend and it was spectacular!!! 5 stars on every level! Only thing we were disappointed about was no more salad with your meals. They did add one serving only one serving of complimentary bread since the new ownership. I noticed they clams with pasta was not the same but I did make it work and asked for extra broth and taste wise our meal was exceptional. So exceptional we came a few days later in the middle of the week. That's when we thought we will never come back. I obviously still have hope for this place. But I'm leaving this review now mainly for the owner if it's still the same guy as he was very cool. I ordered my usual which was clams with the pasta and my boyfriend the chicken parm. Parm was fine and my boyfriend enjoyed it however the clams were beyond fishy and utterly made me want to vomit. They were also filled with empty shells with no clams hardly inside the pasta. The broth was horrible to where I really thought I was going to be sick. Waiter offered to change it and I chose the Alfredo with no protein. How wrong can Alfredo go? Well, laymen tell you. It was fishy too! It's like they took the juice of my clams and mixed it with flour (definitely didn't taste an ounce of cheese). My boyfriend never complains about anything so for him to say both dishes were rancid was a confirmation for me to know that it wasn't just me. I had to return this too. Then the water told me the chef that is experienced and good is on the weekends. Now I can't remember if he said Mario was the name of the chef to avoid or if Mario was the chef we should call and ask for if we come in. Sadly I'm still not seeing rave reviews here but I can tell you, these prices for the quality can't be justified. I love supporting local businesses especially because I also really appreciated the new owner going table to table checking on everyone the first visit after he took over. This dish I usually order is the only thing I have ever ordered over the years. I know how it's supposed to taste. It was completely inedible. I did end up getting sick. I was fine after I threw it up even though it was a small amount. Unless it was the bread and bruschetta salsa thing. Couldn't be because my boyfriend ate that and he did not get sick. I'll have to dig up the photos as I typically do take pics of my food. I'm hoping the owner will take what I say into account because we really loved coming here. We live in Canyon lake and going a bit above and beyond and not being stingy with bread and salad will keep people coming through your doors and then some. Everyone is looking for the taste, feel and customer service of the original owner. Nobody can match that yet. read more

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We went to the restaurant for a birthday party, I ordered a split of sparkling rose wine. When it came it was a split of Italian champagne, I tried to tell the waiter it was the wrong item but I got a mumbled excuse that it was the right item. I ordered lasagna and it was the worst lasagna I ever had, it was so bad I couldn't finish it. It was layers of noodles filled with ground beef, no sauce and no cheese just noodles and beef topped with a melted slab of mozzarella cheese. The person next to me felt the same way about his and his wife's order sub- standard at best. I should have know something was off when we arrived on a weekend night at 6 P. M. the place was empty and it was empty when we left. read more

Vincenzo's food is below mediocre, though the server was very polite and did his best. Everything was overpriced, the quality of food was not as high as the prices. Maybe at one time it might have been a different experience, for my visit, it lacked taste and quality. Other than the name, I didn't find anything that said remotely authentic Italian food. read more

Food was great especially fresh fish! Owner and staff are very gracious and attentive! Very nicely decorated in Tuscany theme. read more