This place is a hole in the wall. The service is mediocre at best. No concept of team. Servers have blinders on in regards to tables that aren't theirs. The food is cheap, and taste is so-so. But hey, my 88 year old mother in law loves their eggplant parmigiana. So we go for her. I would definitely go elsewhere. read more

I went here for my birthday lunch with some coworkers. We all liked our food: pizza, pizza, alfredo pasta and ravioli. It all tasted super yummy and the waiter was very accommodating. He gave us more bread and even split the bill 3 ways onto credit cards. Each dish was only about $5 and we will definitely be back. read more

Awesome eggplant dishes, great place for lunch. If you are in San Diego, you have to stop for some amazing Italian food.

I came here again cause it was so good the first time, everything was great like last time, my friend ordered the seafood combo was a little disappointed it only had 1 little tiny scallop in it and the rest was all fried calamari, we even ordered calamari as an appetizer it didn't come with any Mariana sauce which it did last time, we thought we should have just got one or the other since there was so much calamari, ordered a canoli to go which made up for it, everything is delicious and will go again! read more

I LOVE holes in the wall. I swear by them. BUT, this is one of the few times Yelp has pointed me in the wrong direction! How this place can have anything above 3 stars is beyond me. I got the chicken piccata with a minestroni soup and the "works" pizza. The pizza was fine, nothing to like or dislike about it, just run of the mil pizza. The minestroni on the other had was not good at all. No flavor, too many onions. Just not good. The chicken piccata would have been just ok had they not covered it in mushrooms, I dont like mushrooms...and if I did, id be pissed because these were canned ones, not fresh. I have NEVER had CP w mushrooms, as far as I know its supposed to be pounded chicken breasts with a lemon piccata sauce and capers. I asked for a side of angel hair pasta with my chicken and they gave me angel hair pasta that was overcooked and had a pretty gross tomato sauce on top. The free bread that others have raved about is a french loaf sliced with NO garlic or butter except on the very first piece. Might as well not even be there it is so minuscule. To top it all off, I didn't know the meal was un-edible (I tossed it whole) until I got all the way home. read more

Volare is family owned and operated. Their food is delicious and their pizza is gourmet. I am always treated with respect. Great family and very hardworking people. read more

Strange location but the food and service was great. Been there twice and pizza was good both times. It was much better the second time since we asked for the toppings on top of the cheese instead of under. read more

Eating here felt like being stuck in a time warp. Its like eating in an old school 1950's Brooklyn Italian restaurant. We liked the Chicken Piccata and Eggplant Lasagna. Cioppino was bland. Best part were the desserts. Must try their tiramisu & spumoni! Prices were very reasonable. There were only 2 servers so dont expect 5 star hospitality. We were pleased with the service. Be prepared for at least 45min wait. We're coming back for more. read more

Most amazing food we ordered lasagna and seafood pasta absolutely delicious...we were so happy to discover this pace it's absolutely wonderful will be back the people are very nice there read more

Been looking to try this place out for a while. All the menus were being used, which is fine. After 15 minutes of sitting and no water offered we looked up to see people who had gotten there after us had menus. When we got up to leave the waiter asked us to stay but turned his head and ignored when we tried explaining why were leaving. I'm sure the food is good but terrible customer service, it wasn't even that busy to not give us the time of day. Also my girlfriend and I are both servers so we tried to be understanding but they were straight up rude. read more

I got back from stationed overseas. Saturday night after looking at some desks for me, we were going to a pasta place in Pacific Beach, but they were closed down. So, my husband said lets go to Volare, I have not been there in ages. The food was ok, but the service was bad, they forgot his salad, and my soup, and didn't give us the garlic bread until close to after we ate our ant pasto salad, which was not too good. it had too much lettuces, it seem the waiter was avoiding us, it wasn't that busy which we can understand, nor telling us sorry for the delay, we are busy. They did take a $1.00 off the ticket and didn't include the soup I had ordered. Which was an ok thing to do. I can understand not bothering your customers, but at least do two things, bring their drinks, and come by to see if they wanted anything else while waiting for their food. That is all I would ask of a restaurant. If you like that place go to it, but not for me. read more

pasta putanesca ROCKS here, sometimes i think the bread sucks, i want good bread and oil with vineagar. havent ventured the menu too too much but my girl and i enjoy this place. service is really poop but hey where else can you get italian food and go next door and get a custom fitted gimp mask? oh there is a BIG adult store next to it, you cant miss it, i tell people about this place and they are lost but somehow when i say......its by that big lit up adult shop on the off beaten path......bingo. read more

Have been going here for many years and it's like going to grandma's for Sunday dinner. Yes they can be a little slow, they make it from scratch, yes it's a little shabby but the best old Italian songs are always playing and bring back great memories. I love it all! The simple lettuce salad, just like grandma made. I know to ask for the meat sauce on my sides of pasta, a little more flavor. I love their stuffed eggplant and lasagna. I also crave their pizzas, awesome! Always a pleasant experience. To each their own! read more

I have been taking my wife to this place for 20 years and I see no light at the end of the tunnel. Dishes like spaghetti and lasagna are prepared in advance because they're the go-to lunch plates, so they sit for a while -but if you like the leftover taste, these are a good starter. However, this is an authentic trattoria italiana, so buck up and get adventurous with dinners like veal scallopini picata, calamari marinara (my wife's and my favorite) and the seafood combo (my NEW favorite with fried jumbo shrimp, clams, squid and scallops with dipping sauce). Dinners come with a delicious homemade minestrone soup, salad, a side of spaghetti and bottomless garlic bread basket (bring the pasta home for the kids; you'll be too full). And don't forget the antipasti selection; appetizers are plentiful and diverse (try the cozze [mussels] or the funghi [garlic-sauteed 'shrooms]). We top it off with a carafe of the house chianti, but their wine list is surprisingly eclectic. Prices are unbelievably low for the tremendous quality in this hole-in-the-wall, mom-and-pop ristorante; MANGIA BENE! read more

When visiting San Diego, we were craving something other than Asian inspired food since we've been eating home-made food and at Asian restaurants during most of our vacation already. Reading the reviews for this place, we figured we should give it a try. After all, the reviews were really good and it was nice to support a small family run business. We should have turned around once we saw the place...but we were so hungry we decided to stay. Big mistake. The restaurant was empty. EMPTY. Not one table was filled when we got in so seating 15 people would be no big deal right? Wrong. They took 10 minutes to set our tables, which were 3 different tables by the way, and then took more time to give us our menus and even more time to get us our drinks. Our orders were taken long after we were ready to place our orders and our food took incredibly long to come out. Mind you, by this time, there was only 1 other couple in the establishment. We were all a bit upset having to wait so long for food when we were so hungry and thought it wouldn't take too long because the place had no customers. Not to mention, I had to wait an additional 10 minutes after everyone received their food because they forgot my order. 1 star for the decent shrimp alfredo pasta. That's it. read more

Coming from an Italian girl who is used to my grandpa's and mom's home made pasta fagioli, meatballs and spaghetti sauce I couldn't wait to eat some authentic Italian food to remind me of home. As soon as I walked in I felt like I was at my house, as a little girl, with my Grandpa cooking in the kitchen. Even though everything on the menu is super cheap the food tastes homemade and delicious! We ordered the 1/2 liter of Chianti , spinach ravioli, lasagna (our meals came w/ garlic bread and salad), tiramisu for dessert and our bill came to only 30 bucks. The only thing my bf and I said to each other during our pasta dishes was, "Mmmm- this is good. MMMMM! Wow- do you want to try this? Yes, but mine has to be better than yours- taste it! Wow- that is good. Mmmmm. Yum!" The service was a little on the slow side but when you are eating pasta, drinking wine and listening to Sinatra- who cares? I can't wait to take my mom and dad to this place when they are in town. read more

If you are looking for an inexpensive old fashioned style Italian meal; this establishment should satisfy those with a bit less concern for food greatness. The meals here are very filling, low cost and fairly satisfying. That being said the Volare tortellini was extremely salty but still quite flavorful; with the exception that they sprinkled an entire handful of dried parsely on top. Way too much garnish made me think I was eating pasta with dry tobacco on it. Garlic bread is included but is totally underwhelming and tastes like buttered bread. Pasta here is NOT made fresh in house. Tortellini and Ravioli are obviously purchased pre made; but then again what do you expect when prices are below $10 bucks for most all pasta dishes. Here's the one thing...if you are in a hurry for a quick meal, fuggetaboutit!! It can take as much as 45 mins for them to boil tortellini and throw already cooked sauce on top. These dishes should take them no longer than 20 mins to prepare; even during busy times. A good choice for a cheap old school style Italian meal. read more

hmm.. could it be u guys just exaggerate?? =_= i went to volare coz my fren yelped an italian restaurant.. some points : 1. i love the seafood pasta they offered.. it was with a seafood sauce.. in italian name around $8 2. i didnt love the seafood combo with alfredo sauce.. 3. scalopitini or smth which was veal meat was completely shitty.. 4. first batch of garlic bread was like totally AWESOME!! 2nd batch was overbaked, and BURNT.. for some awesomeness i gave them 2 stars.. it was a family restaurant and the place was not good looking BUT.. there's a potential in there.. read more

Awesome food!!!! Friendly staff!! Home cooking family owned great place! My husband ordered the eggplant lasagna and I had the linguini with red clam sauce and oh man was it good!!!! read more

I think the people who work here pay people to give them good ratings. First when my bf and I went, there were no customers. And ALL the tables except for one or two were dirty. How lazy can these people be? So we sat down and ordered, only one more person came into this place after us. And our order took forever! They barely had anyone to serve to! And even then they didn't clean all the tables. We got our order finally, and the salad dressing tastes like burnt oil. The soup tasted like it came straight from a can and then heated. Our pastas were bland. You can tell that they don't serve you good quality cheese, or anything at all because my mushroom was canned to. The raved cannoli was alright, and the spanolli is a gross cherry flavored rainbow ice cream. This place was just disgusting and had nothing good to offer. read more

So I've been to this restaurant with my b/f last month because we live in the area. We drive by it and thought hey, "...it looks like it maybe great!" I've been bugging him to take me!! We went to the restaurant and greeted by the waitress. The Restaurant was not full at all! It seemed it could at least seat 35-40 customers at any given time. Instead of the first available area, we were thrown into a corner or what seemed like the emergency exit! We sat down our waitress arrived who smelled like as if she just rushed back in from her usual smoke break. We ordered our drinks, she returned with the menu's as if she was doing a "drive-by" threw it on the table and quickly left to serve another table.The waitress served us our bread sticks, which was burnt. Than she returns to see if we needed more bread. But instead of just asking her fingers DOVE into our basket molesting what bread was left in it. I ignored it and opened the menu and immediately noticed the strangest thing. The whole menu's price list was crossed off with a marker and INCREASED to up to at least $1.50-$2.00's!! Than I was distracted by this violent pounding that was coming from the kitchen followed by this stomach turning hacking from the KITCHEN!! We ordered the sauteed mushrooms and i immediately regretted it!! The mushrooms were weeks old and seemed it was just thrown into the microwave while the cook continued with whatever he was violently pounding and thought, " Oh my mushrooms." I ordered the chicken catchatore i don't know what my b/f ordered all i know is when our meals hit the table we got a to go box!! It was awful it was distasteful and nightmarish!! Volare needs to redefine its definition of what Italian food is. For those of you who are considering Volare for a Italian dinner than I hope your ready for a steamed card board extravaganza!! read more

Found this place by sheer accident. We aren't SD locals. We stay in Point Loma during Comic-Con and are always looking for new places to try. On our way to CC, we noticed this tiny dilapidated building that represented a restaurant. That evening we decided to try something other than Phil's BBQ, so we headed to Volare. We were skeptical about the joint, so my girl asked some of the patrons if it was worth it. Their overwhelming response was YES. So we pulled the trigger and sat down for some Italian chow. The interior is old school. I'm talking Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets decor here. However, that was part of the allure. I personally like that. It makes a place feel like...home. Like Sunday dinner at Aunt Lisa's, if you will. It was also very loud inside. People chatting away about who knows what. I also didn't mind that. Again, it gave it that touch, that feeling of family. The service was a tad slow, but understandably since it was pretty busy. No complaints there. The food finally arrived and it was not disappointing. The dishes were pretty massive. Large portions and cheap. As far as taste goes, well, it wasn't the bets Italian I've ever had, but it was good enough to warrant another visit. We were definitely satisfied. The bill was unbelievably cheap and the food was good. If you're looking for a high-end Italian joint, this is not the place. If you're seeking a place that reminds you of the old 70's mafia movies with good food, then seek no further. Who knows, you may even walk out a made man. read more

cute little family run joint, simple and good. my faves are the cioppino and the shrimp, scallops and calamari.

it reminds me of the family style italian i grew up with!!! :) & cost efficient!...these are recession-proof prices & perfect large sizes for leftovers...so 2 meals for the price of barely 1!!! :) i loved the eggplant parm & house chianti! :) by the way i can't remember the last time i didn't have to choose between soup or salad...yay soup AND salad included! :) & adult superstore next store...post dinner entertainment! :) fun times last night and our waiter was super nice!!! :) ann, when are we going back? :) read more

This is the best Italian food on the planet... Being Italian it is so hard to find a place that makes real authentic food.... Volare for sure is one of the best places to eat with your family, boyfriends, or even friends... you feel like your at home and that Mommy is making dinner.... I recommend everything there, the seafood is delicious and the garlic bread is to die for... go check it out yourself, JUST LIKE FAMILY!!!!! read more

seriously the bomb food! and a price that cant be beat!

We're just in town for the night and were going to try a BBQ place with great reviews but the line was out the door. Decided to give this place a try instead and it was incredible. We asked other customers what was good and were told to try the pizza, stuffed eggplant, lasagna, and grilled shrimp. They were all so good none of us wanted to quit eating. My youngest son and I were the only ones with left overs and we can't wait til we can finish them. It was very busy which caused the service to be a little slow but it's a quaint little restaurant and well worth it. read more

awesome food i got the baked lasagna and ravioli, and fettuccine both were great fast delivery too

holy smokes! there was a wait but the food is way worth the wait. i had the most amazing fet alfredo in my life ever. will have to ask for it at tomasso's since it's an off the menu by order item only. before the house bread hit the table, i knew this would be a 5 star food place and they didn't disappoint. very impressed with the super quality of the food and the low prices they have. i don't know how they do that. please, please go eat at this place and tell me if i am wrong. going back before we head back to sf. what a find! read more

Coming from an Italian background, I generally have higher standards when it comes to Italian food. To specify, I think that there are 3 kinds of Italian food - traditional, and Americanized and traditional Americanized. Traditional of course is the food you get when you're in Italy and some places in San Diego possess this - Bice for example. Americanized are your olive gardens and bucca di beppo's. And then there is traditional Americanized. It's an era from the '70's/'80's that is associated with mob movies, dark wood paneling and essences of maroon. Of course, I'm a fan of traditional (from Italy), and traditional Americanized. The Americanized version I don't even acknowledge. Being that Volare' serves the ladder of the three, I will comment on the traditional Americanized version. I ate here for the 1st time twice in a week. The throwback family owned Italian restaurant appeal is definitely felt here... The wooden paneling, old shag carpet and those pleather metal seats. Don't think of this as your traditional franchise restaurant or even one that is managed by a consulting firm, because as you know when it's family operated, they go by their own rules and you have to pretty much take it - à la Seinfeld's "soup nazi". If you can't put up with lack of formality, it will be better for those of us who enjoy their food as you're taking up our precious access to this traditional Americanized gem. 1st experience: Ordered the small antipasto salad (suggested by the waitress as it was pretty big for a small - however, I can eat lots of food). I ordered the fettuccine with meat sauce and a meatball. This was good - I prefer my meat sauce a little thicker and meatier, however, the meatball made up for it. I then finished off about 1/2 of a fettuccine alfredo that my girlfriend couldn't - the alfredo was really good. The pasta in both dishes is obviously bought from a distributor, but was all the same pretty good. We finished it off with a canoli and tiramisu - you can tell both homemade (the canoli shell was most likely bought elsewhere but still homemade somewhere). My only complaint about the canoli is when i broke into it, the filling was missing in the middle. The tiramisu was homemade - you can tell by the espresso used, and this was actually really good.... total bill was under $50 (this included 2 beers and 2 wines)!!! 2nd outing: Pizza. Now, I must say, the only place I have ever known to do this on their pizza was my own family's restaurant growing up. They put their pizza toppings under the cheese. I couldn't believe that someone out there still did this and I instantly knew the pizza was going to be great. It's not quite New York style or Chicago or not even a mix of the two. Again, this food/pizza falls in a particular class of food as I mentioned - traditional Americanized. (we got 2 pizza's as we wanted different toppings) - total was $18. Final comment: Good food at low prices - if you can wait and don't mind the un-franchise family style restaurant, I definitely suggest you try it out. read more

This place is the best for Italian food in all of San Diego - unless my Italian mom comes in town and is cooking at my house! It's small though and gets pretty crowded on the weekends. Also, don't come in if you're in any kind of a hurry. It's family owned and there's usually only one waiter in the whole place. read more

this place was really good and inexpensive. went there on a whim, or a coupon, or something. i can say we left COMPLETELY stuffed. everyone seemed to be regulars there. we had to wait a while for a table but there was a couple who say=id they had been going there for about 17 years. authentic, basic, italian food! :^) read more

I visted this place while I was on vacation in SD with my three kids. After reading the reviews on Yelp I was prepared to wait a little and expect that the service was a little slow for great food. When we went there on a Mon night, we found the place half full with one waiter. He sat us down and we waited a bit for the him to come back to order our drinks. Since the reviews stated about the service we quickly decided to order everything at once with our drinks. Everything else surprised us from ther, The waiter appologized for the wait and that he was the only waiter/buser for the night. He was friendly, helpful and had all of the food arrive in a timely manner. The food was really good and I appreciated that we had a relaxing meal after a hectic Zoo filled day. I would def go there again the next time I'm in SD and recomend it, but by the sounds of everyone else possibly go on a weekday in stead of the busy weekend crowds. read more

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this restaurant! It's a hole-in-a-wall restaurant, but this place definitely takes you to a foreign place :-) Minestrone soup was on the spot, and the cioppinno with pasta fit nicely in my belly! If you're looking for highly-processed food, this is not the place for you. But if you're looking for fresh, low in sodium and delicious Italian food, this is the place to go! read more

I love this place. It truly is a hole in the wall mom and pop Italian restaurant with GREAT prices! We are here on New Year's Eve and fed 3 adults, 2 teenagers and a 4 year old for $45 bucks! So cheap. And the food is delicious. I always tip really well when I come here. The customer service is great and the food always comes out fast and piping hot. The portions are big and the quality of the food is great. The only reason I'm giving this place 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the decor. It is seriously due for some TLC. It needs a remodel. But regardless, we'll still come here because other Italian restraints charge double to triple what this place does and the food quality isn't any better anywhere else. read more

Would be five stars if they focused a little more on customer service. Food was amazing and extremely affordable. My boyfriend and I had an appetizer, meal, and dessert all for under $30! Service was slower than your average restaurant (we had to wait a while to even order drinks) but the food was definitely worth the wait! Definitely would come back as long as I'm not in a hurry. read more

Third time ordering from here and very disappointed this go around, good was great as always and driver was very nice as always, the crap part about this order is that it took two hours to arrive and by the time it got there we had to sick it in the oven so it would be hot again. We h had called three times asking about our order and all three times they said the driver just walked out with our order, how many times did the driver leave with our order before delivering? read more

We have driven by this place a million times and always wondered how it stayed in business. We now know why. The food is incredibly authentic and delicious. We will definitely be back. read more

They deliver!!! Best Italian food in San Diego!! Friendly service and great people! Love this place!

I love Volare! I am here at least 2-3 times a month. Fantastic Italian food at great prices! I love their baked dishes and pizza. I've never been disappointed and if my waistline allowed it, I'd be there everyday! read more