Pino’s Trattoria

Let me just begin to saying this was a first time experience here and was nothing but wonderful!
The food and customer service was like what you would get from a small town locally owned Italian restaurant yet it is located conveniently in downtown Campbell.
We went here for a celebratory late lunch and made reservations to sit on their beautiful and comfortable patio. The owner took our reservations and was incredibly kind and interested on the phone. We arrived half an hour early and they accommodated us without hesitation getting out table ready almost immediately.
We ordered a lunch to remember: bruschetta which was to die for for the table. Order it. Do not skip this step.
I ordered the gnocchi and it was the best I have ever had. Pillowy and light with a gorgeous and succulent cheese sauce. Another person ordered the large panini prosciutto with another person getting the chicken Parmesan. Another person got the spaghetti pescatori and loved it.
Our waitress was what set the afternoon aside though. She was one of the best servers I have had and I used to work in high end restaurants. Do yourself a favor and go here for the gnocchi and bruschetta.

My husband and I have been here a few more times since our initial visit. We’ve brought different out of town guests. Each time the food has been phenomenal. We have become regulars. Last night was my birthday. They provided a free eggplant appetizer for our group of 8. It will definitely be added to our regularly ordered list. My husband and I shared the gnocchi & the filet. Both were perfect. Most of my family had the lobster ravioli. Everyone was happy. They gave us a piece of tiramisu for my birthday. It was the best I’ve ever had. My husband got the bread pudding. It was to die for. It’s good to share for 2 people. It was very popular at the table. Everybody had a couple of bites. Each experience at Pino’s has been personalized & delightful.

Pino’s Trattoria is located right in Downtown Campbell, which has undergone an impressive transformation over the recent years, with the development of many of the city’s best restaurants and bars, as well as being the location for the farmers market. I was drawn to Pino’s for their seafood dishes, which have rave reviews on Unilocal.My family and I ordered the cioppino, spaghetti alla pescatore, rigatoni al salmone, and rigatoni con carne. The dishes embodied everything great about Italian food. The seafood was fresh, the meat was well-​cooked, the pasta was al dente, and the sauce was immensely flavorful. While I thought all of the dishes were impeccable, the most impressive for me was the cioppino. Never have I had a cioppino with so much depth of flavor. I couldn’t get enough of it. In fact, having eaten a bit of all my family members’ dishes in addition to my own, my stomach was already telling my brain that I was stuffed, and yet, some part of my brain chose to keep eating in spite of these signals.
Since I only get to come to NorCal once every few months to visit my family, I consider every meal here a rare opportunity and one that should spent at a worthwhile restaurant. Pino’s is beyond a doubt one of these worthwhile restaurants.

Everything Pinot touches is amazing His former Belogio was wonderful. He had the best pizzeria in town and his smaller, more focused café is really bad his sweet spot.
All these spots represent the best food in town. Most others ate just bars. Take, for example, Aquas, run by folks that could not cook a TV dinner.
Pinot is responsible for the resurgence of this downtown and should be recognized as such

Was not impressed. Went on a Tuesday night. Food tasted freezer burned. The grated Parmesan was also old and tasted freezer burned. Won’t be back.

Excellent authentic Italian food. This restaurant was recommended to me by an Italian friend. We came here for lunch on Tuesday almost at closing time. There was no wait. Service was prompt and good. We ordered the sea food risotto and lobster ravioli. Both are excellent dishes with fresh ingredients, perfectly cooked and well season. Price is reasonable too. Will come back from now on.

Ohhhhh, my husband I love this place. Nick is wonderful. He’s attentive without being overbearing. He makes wonderful wine suggestions and always makes us feel well taken care of. The food is very good. Unfortunately, we haven’t tried to much on the menu because we always order the same thing. We get the ravioli 2-​ways appetizer (pumpkin and artichoke). It is SO SO good, especially the artichoke.
I get the FILETTO AL PEPE VERDE –Fillet with a green peppercorn brandy demi-​glacé, a touch of cream. Served with risotto and spinach. It is yummy and when I ask for medium rare+, it comes out just right.
This place is pretty small, so I’m not sure how they would handle a really large group. You should definitely make a reservation. We do it on OpenTable. I think it’s great place for a romantic dinner. There’s almost never any street parking nearby because it’s downtown Campbell, but all you have to do is drive a few blocks over. There are a few parking lots and a parking structure about 2 blocks away.

Dined here this evening. Although we had to wait for a table with a reservation, they offered the bar. Nice detour (wink). Because convo with my husband is a pleasure and a glass of bubbles made it that more pleasurable to wait for our table. Ordered octopus and a scampi appetizer… AMAZING! Entrees were prime rib (for hubby) and spaghetti with clams, calamari, mussels in a white wine marinara sauce. I can not handle spicy food. The spaghetti dish was too spicy. The gracious server offered to take it back & make a new one. Sadly, still too spicy. They offered another dish. I went with the one I had my eye on in the first place-​rigatoni and salmon with cream sauce. Let me tell you, in any other restaurant, this could have been a bad experience. The service here is IMPECCABLE! Smiles on everyone’s faces, servers are knowledgeable of the menu and wine. I have to admit, Even though I did not get to eat my meal till my Husband finished his… everyone made me feel so comfortable about the ordeal. From the bottom of my sensitive taste buds, thank you Pino’s! You rock! The owner even came out and apologized. You can see this establishment is the real deal. Hubby & I travel all over the world and experience this same rapport, but here in the U.S. Is a rude awakening. Pinot’s Trattoria is a business that is high on my list. They went above and beyond great customer service. Can not wait to return!

This place feels like it’s aiming to be the «cool kids club» for Campbellites.
If you’re in the «in» crowd, then the chef or manager or whoever comes to your table and loudly greets you like you’ve been soulmates since kindergarten. And you get your food in about 20 minutes.
If you’re not in the «in» crowd, then you’re left alone most of the time (not so bad), but you’ll be waiting a full 80 minutes for your food.
The food’s respectable (thus 2 stars instead of 1). But if you’re willing to put up with such amateurish management and poor service, there are lots of other places where you can get better food for less money.

Where fancy plates meet friendly service!
Chef Pino is the best chef in the Bay Area
Seabass was perfectly cooked and the mashed potatoes were the best I’ve ever had!!! One way ticket to flavor town with an extensive wine list with my favorite Amarone! The Pino’s Trattoria keeps you wanting more!

For me, rating restaurants goes well beyond the look, aroma, taste, and price of the food. Of course service and atmosphere play a big role, but it’s really about how these things come together to make a dining experience. I’m not the best cook, but I can make meals that taste really good. I go out to eat for the social aspects of dining. That’s what makes Pino’s Trattoria such a great restaurant, they know how to put all the elements together to make a great dining experience.
I called them on Friday evening around 7:30 PM expecting to put our name in for a reservation. The nice gentleman on the phone said they had a table open and would hold it for us if we could be there in 10 minutes (unheard of in the Bay on a Friday). The table was small and right near the area where the servers pick up dishes from the cooks. We were fine with that, given the small size of the restaurant and quick seating. Only a couple of minutes after we sat down, this man who looked like he might be the manager said he would look for another table for us (we didn’t even complain about the table we were at). He came back and said he was sorry that he couldn’t get us another table, but joked that we could grab our dinner when the cooks put it up if the server didn’t quick enough. He then asked if we eat octopus. Uh, yes? He told our server to order one for us, compliments of the house. It was delicious, and as tender as octopus can ever be. The sauce is so rich with flavor that I could have stopped there and been happy. As we dined, the «manager» kept checking to see how we were doing. Everything was nearly perfect; the cioppino is definitely something special; baked salmon, delicious; wine, tasty; desert (coffee and vanilla gelato with caramelized hazelnuts, and cocoa powder), decadent.
Overall, it was a very memorable experience, and we found out that the person that we thought was the manager was actually the owner, Pino! Such a nice guy, hanging out and chatting with all the guests makes this seem like the perfect neighborhood Italian place. Can’t wait to go back.

Come here on a Friday night or a Sunday brunch! It has a wonderful miniature porch out in the front, with heat lamps, when needed. Inside, there are about 12 tables. The restaurant, itself, isn’t big, but intimate in a cozy way. The waiters are thoughtful and continuously checking on you. The service is always prompt and respectful.
Now on to the food, my two favorite dishes here:
Linguine ai Gamboretti — the shrimp is always perfectly cook. The chili flakes are the perfect addition to the cream. The sauce is light and delicious. Using the bread, I always sweep up the delightfulness and never leave a smug left.
Penne Boscaiola — a heavier dish with the best bolognese sauce, I’ve ever tasted.
*WARNING* — This place provide their pasta al dente, so if you don’t like it that way. ASK! Personally, I think it is perfect the way it is. Best pasta place ever!

This is now our favorite Italian restaurant in the Bay Area. Prices are reasonable, ingredients are fresh and dishes are of the right portions. Best seafood pasta I have had. Calamari have a nice thin crust and not too salty. House bread is nice and soft. Must try their spaghetti with Italian sausage pasta (we got the mild sauce and it has a nice kick to it already). Chicken with prosciutto and white wine Demi sauce is also yummy.
Service is excellent as well. The waitress who served us today for lunch is the sweetest ever.
Absolute best!

I have to start with the service. We tried to call ahead of time to reserve a table, but was unable to because we only called 30 minutes ahead. So we still had to wait a bit for a table. That was probably our fault. But the owner was still super nice and tried to get us a table as soon as possible. He even offered to give us an appetizer for free. He ended up giving us 2 appetizers for free; the fried calamari and the octopus in marinara sauce. throughout dinner, he kept on coming to chat with us to make sure everything was to our liking. He even brought his wife to chat with us. They ended giving us 3 desserts for free.
The fried calamari was delicious. They were perfectly fried and the marinara dipping sauce was one of the best I’ve had. The desserts are good but nothing too special. Probably because we will so full from all the free food.
For the entrees, the risotto frutti di mare was amazing. I’ve been craving to go back just for that.
The clam spaghetti with white wine sauce was pretty good. They gave a lot of clams.
The cioppino was very authentic and tasted just like ones I had in Italy.
Overall, i really enjoyed this place. Even without all the free appetizers and desserts, I would still recommend this place.

Where can I start. this was honestly the best restaurant experience I have ever had.
My family had planned to go out for dinner but hadn’t started looking for places until the last minute. Per my sister’s boyfriend’s suggestion, we chose Pino’s Trattoria so I called about 10 minutes before we left the house (about a 30 minute notice) to ask if our party of 5 would be able to eat in half an hour. They apologized and said it might take another hour but since it would take us 30 minutes to get there anyways, we said okay. When we got there, the owner came out and greeted us and apologized saying we might need to wait another few minutes. They had a 4 table spot available inside the restaurant and the owner let us sit there while we waited for a larger table to open up which was nice because it was definitely cold waiting outside. It honestly didn’t feel like that long of a wait so none of us were upset or anything but the owner offered appetizers on the house as an apology for waiting — so unexpected and not necessary. We ordered the calamari while we were waiting so when we were seated at our actual table, the calamari came out promptly along with complimentary bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip (my fav!). However, in another act of generosity, the owner sent out their octopus appetizer Polipo Alla Girglia on the house! Both were really good: the calamari has a unique batter that’s not too thick or too fried and the octopus comes in a nice marinara sauce. If I were to choose one though, I’d probably go with the calamari just because I’m a sucker for real good fried squid.
For our main dishes, we ordered:
–Penne Pesto: Rich, creamy, and oh so good. I could see some people wanting the option to add chicken or something though.
–Cioppino: I really enjoyed this. It was overflowing with seafood and the sauce had just the right amount of heat from pepper. My mom thought the sauce didn’t taste like a usual Cioppino and she eats Cioppino a loot but my sister and I really enjoyed it. The cubes of salmon in here are amazing.
–Risotto Frutti Di Mare: Similar sauce to my cioppino and also filled with seafood (maybe even more seafood than rissotto?!). It comes in a cool iron cast pan. I’m not a huge rissotto fan but it was still pretty good. We had leftovers that we ate the next day and actually it was even better the second time around!
–Spaghetti Alla Pescatore: Really good with seafood again (you can tell my family likes our seafood) and again, white wine marinara sauce. In hindsight I suppose we should have got some dishes with different sauces but the sauce was so on point that I wasn’t complaining.
–Spaghetti Vongole: They do not skimp on the seafood here. This was filled with delicious clams and the white wine sauce was very good.
We definitely all had leftovers because the dishes are more than large and hearty enough but wanted to check out the dessert menus anyways. We were contemplating getting one dessert to share between the 5 of us because we were absolutely stuffed when my dad decided to go to the bathroom. No less than 10 seconds later, he comes back saying the owner had pulled him over and asked what dessert we had wanted, compliments of his wife who he had actually brought over and introduced us to. They are honestly the nicest friendliest people you will meet and my parents spent some time talking with his wife but we were totally not expect any sort of dessert treatment (appetizers on the house was enough already!). And then to go even more above and beyond, his wife came over and asked us what we wanted and though we said we only wanted one thing, she ended up giving us THREE desserts — tiramisu, chocolate mousse, and chocolate tartufo — all of which were amazing! Their tiramisu (the most standard/​normal of the 3 desserts we tried) and chocolate mousse both weren’t too sweet which is so perfect for my parents. The chocolate mousse has a rich dark chocolate flavor but isn’t bitter. I usually don’t like dark chocolate but I loved this. The chocolate tartufo is definitely a must have if you like chocolate hazelnuts. The ice cream is like rolled in cocoa powder and it has caramelized hazelnuts mixed in with it that give it this amazing crunch. And at the center of your ice cream (well technically it’s gelato), there’s a cream filling — so bomb.
All in all, I can’t stop raving about this restaurant. Even if we hadn’t had this amazing complimentary service/​experience, the food alone is a solid ⁵⁄₅. They don’t skimp on the seafood and the flavors just really hit the spot for me. The service here is like a 6 out of 5. Our waiter was so attentive and checked in on us frequently and that along with having the owner and his wife stop by was just the nicest overall dining experience you could ask for. My only con is that the restaurant is a little small and can get loud at times. Despite this, I HIGHLY recommend this place and hope you have as satisfying as an experience as my family did!

Trattoria is an an Italian word defined as a restaurant that serves simple food. Well, simple food is usually better than complicated food, so Pino’s caught both mine and my hubby’s eyes. And as such big fans of Italian cuisine, my hubby decided to make reservations here for our Valentine’s Day dinner.
Pino’s Trattoria is found in downtown Campbell, a lovely spot to walk around with their cute little stores and golden, twinkling trees. The restaurant itself is really quite small and considering it was the Valentine’s day weekend, let’s just say we were thankful we had a reservation. When given the choice to take a table inside or outside, we quickly opted for one outside since the weather was nice (there were also a few heat lamps nearby) and the restaurant was way too noisy for us to hold a pleasant conversation without shouting across the table.
Our waitress for the night was very sweet and friendly, and while there weren’t any problems about her specifically, the large number of patrons dining in that night greatly impacted the service. It took us over 20 minutes for us just to get some house bread and our entrees weren’t served in a timely manner either. But as we looked around, we realized we weren’t the only table having problems.
For our entrees, my hubby chose the ravioli d’ aragosta, a lobster ravioli cooked in a champagne cream sauce while I chose the risotto frutti di mare, a risotto with mussels, clams, scallops, calamari, prawns and bay shrimp in a marinara sauce.
At first glance, my hubby’s dish didn’t look very filling, but after the first bite, we realized the «weight» of the dish was all in the flavor. When the menu described the entrée as creamy, they really weren’t kidding! The ravioli was filled with creamy lobster and then when drenched in that creamy sauce, it was certainly a decadent dish to say the least. And while the first few bites were good, my hubby became very nauseated with the flavor half-​way through and had to leave the dish alone for awhile.
My dish, on the other hand, was WONDERFUL. Presented in a large black skillet, the risotto would make anyone’s jaw drop in surprise from the sheer size of it. There was an abundance of clams and mussels, swimming in a deep, red marinara sauce that was extremely flavorful. I could really taste the fresh basil throughout. Luckily, my hubby helped me finish my entrée because there was no way I could finish it on my own. However, calling it a risotto was a stretch. I’m used to risotto being very creamy and thick; this dish was more like a tomato-​stew with a rice base. It wasn’t anything like the risottos I have had before.
Finally for dessert, my hubby and I chose the crème brûlée which was unfortunately quite cool when it came to our table, even though it was served quickly. The crusted sugar layer wasn’t as crisp as we would have expected and was disappointingly stale. The custard itself, while delicious in flavor, was cold. Even the presentation was lackluster.
Honestly, the only amazing thing about Pino’s was my dish; however, as a risotto, it was definitely strange. My hubby wasn’t too happy with his ravioli and the crème brûlée, which is normally a hard dessert to mess up, fell short of our expectations. While Pino’s Trattoria made for an okay place for our romantic dinner, we definitely weren’t impressed and unfortunately can’t say we will be back anytime soon.

GREAT PASTA. Small/​cozy restaurant.
Good italian restaurants are really hard to come by. It’s hard for me to justify paying over $ 10 for pasta, but this place really hit the spot. Bottom line is they give LOTS of meat with their pasta, so I didn’t feel like the ratio of noodles to meat was 7:1, as I feel at most other places. This was probably like a 2:1.
FOOD:
Lobster ravioli (⁴⁄₅): Very stuffed ravioli with lots of baby shrimp on top. Delicious. Comes with 8 pieces.
Seafood spaghetti (4.5÷5): This may have been a 1:1 ratio of noodles to meat. SO GOOD. The dish came in a bowl because the sauce was more soupy than normal pasta sauce. It was nice to drink! kinda like tomato soup that wasn’t too salty, it was just right. They were so generous with their mussels/​clams/​scallops too.
Chicken wrapped in prosciutto (²⁄₅): I really didn’t like this one — it was way too salty. The prosciutto was like dipped in salt or something. But the chicken itself was alright. Thought the sauce was kinda weird though. Don’t order this one. I think pasta is the way to go.
Tiramisu (⁴⁄₅): Good. (I don’t eat tiramisu often so can’t compare this to others.)
SERVICE:
Waitress was alright. Came round a few times to check if we were doing alright. But at the beginning she sounded super confused for some reason when I ordered the lobster ravioli. Almost made me change my order lol
The table we (party of 4) were placed at was way too small. It was like meant for 2 people only. We could not fit all our plates all on the table.
Delicious pasta though.

The vibe I got right off the bat upon entering and getting sat is that it’s meant for intimate dine-​ins based on the close proximity of the tables and the dim lighting. I went with a party of 8 people and it was obvious that their layout wasn’t meant for big parties since they had to put three tables together to accommodate us. It wasn’t an issue but if you’re looking to have room to comfortably stretch out, this place might not be for you.
I ordered their infamous Gnocchi Formaggi (homemade gnocchi with cheese) and was blown away. The portion was pretty big for one person and had the right texture, creaminess, and cheesiness. I also tried the Ravioli D’Aragosta (ravioli filled with lobster meat in a Champagne cream sauce) and I thought that dish was mediocre. Although it did take a while for the food to come out, we were given complimentary bread to dip with the tasty balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil. I’d definitely come back here for a dinner date or with a small party and request to sit outside with the heating lamps since the restaurant is centered in the middle of the downtown Campbell strip.

Very cute restaurant and good food. Excellent service and everything on the menu is a must try.
My favorites are penne gamberetti and tilapia with cous cous. A must try if you in the area, you will not be disappointed!

Came here late Sunday afternoon. They were still serving lunch and I didn’t see what I like in the menu. Still, I ordered the whatever was in the menu. While browsing Unilocal,I saw the seafood pasta and it looks delicious. I asked the server if they can change my order to that instead. He asked the chef and he agreed! Yey!
I’m so glad that I changed my mind. That seafood pasta was really something. I loved the presentation, I loved how they cooked it, I just simply loved it! I tried the soup for the day as well, and it was quite delicious too. It was lentil soup that was cooked with the special broth they have, with grounded meat and Italian spices. I might come back here again to try the spaghetti. Oh, I can’t wait!