We’ve been going to Pompeii several times a year since they opened. It’s not fancy but the food and service have always been good and as others have noted, it’s family friendly. We went last night(Sunday) and the service was just horrible. That was even more notable because the place was only about half full. We were seated immediately at a table along the side window. It took a very long time — more than 10 minutes — before our server even came by. Because it was so slow, we gave him our order immediately. We still hadn’t received water or bread and dip which he promised right away — but it came about 5 minutes later. My prosecco didn’t arrive until the dinner was served about 15 minutes after our order. My salmon, which is usually pretty good, was clearly overcooked and dry and I ate about half of it. No, it’s not the end of the world but something was clearly amiss at Pompeii last night. Perhaps it’s some new wait staff because we did not recognize three of the people working the dining room. Who knows? The restaurant was still pretty empty as we left. And as we drove out of Los Altos, we happened to pass by Aldo which was pretty crowded. Perhaps people are moving on from Pompeii. We’ll go back but last night left a bad taste in our mouths so it will be a while.
Kirsten S.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Cupertino, CA
The food was pretty standard — nothing to write home about. My boyfriend and I split the meet all pasta and the butternut squash ravioli(a special). The meatball pasta was a little too saucy. The ravioli was ok. Wine was good. The staff were nice but we had to ask twice for water.
Diane W.
Évaluation du lieu : 2 Los Altos, CA
I used to really love Pompeii. My favorite was the Cesar salad with grilled chicken. It’s just awful now. The chicken is dry and tasteless. We shared a gravlax dish and it was so disgusting, we left it on the serving dish after trying it. It is served with two hard croutons. The leftover salmon should have been a clue that it is a bad dish. We told the server it was bad, but this was completely ignored. The bread is dry and heavy and it is served with a terrible olive oil dip that I have never enjoyed. I always ask for butter with the bread. We asked but it never came. Also ignored. Still hungry, we decided to share a custard dessert. It was sweet and pretty but it had that strong refrigerator taste. Two stars… we shared a good bottle of wine. Will this ever again be our«go to» place? No. Never. I’m very disappointed.
Z C.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Los Altos, CA
Try the lamb rack. This heavenly dish is the best I’ve had in my life. Also like the classical Italian? music in the background.
Natalie U.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 San Jose, CA
I love love love this restaurant. The owners are so nice. I adore the carbonara. It is rich but not overwhelming. The bread and olive oil blend they serve at all the tables is so good. I have tried to replicate it but have failed. I will say that I I have not venture through the whole menu as I found a few items I adore and can’t stop ordering them.
Dan K.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Los Angeles, CA
The Italian food here is amazing. Their spaghetti Bolognese is mouth-watering. It is nice that they are generous with the sauce. The appetizer bread is great too, with delicious dipping sauces. Service is fast and cordial. Great place for a cozy dinner.
Cameron B.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Los Altos, CA
Good food. Classic Italian… not really anything very modern. Service is very fast but not engaging — waiters will whip a glass of water down and take your old glass(or refill yours with a pitcher) — sometimes in stride without really even stopping. It’s like«Drive-by» service. But even though they don’t really talk or smile or always even acknowledge you, they do come by very often. It’s a small place with maybe 12 – 15 tables inside(and some more outside). Food, while not necessarily magical, is quite good for the dishes we have tried so far. Wine is good — even the house wine is plenty drinkable and not poorly priced. Overall, good place. Sometimes it’s easy to walk in off the street and get seated right away… other times there can be considerable waits for walk-ins. Best to assume it will be crowded and be pleasantly surprised if it’s not :-)
Cp H.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Mountain View, CA
This is our family’s favorite restaurant. It has a cozy atmosphere. The food is very tasty, especially the home-baked bread. We never had a disappointing meal. The staff is friendly and service is good. Dinner time can get crowded but lunch time is usually no problem. Parking is relatively easy as well. I much prefer this location over the over-crowded downtown Mountain View.
Dave P.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Los Altos, CA
We have been to Pompeii multiple times. The food is consistently good and an outstanding value. We regularly get the tortellini Which is very flavorful and rich. The spaghetti carbonara is also a winner. The pizzas and excellent and the calzone is HUGE! We would recommend this place to anyone who was looking for some Italian comfort food in a casual setting.
Matt L.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Los Altos, CA
We love Popeii! It is our family’s go-to restaurants when we just want to have a good solid comfy dinner. This family owned restaurant and we love the fact they always remember us when we come in. Being our go-to restaurant, we all generally get the same thing. I love their chicken piccata. Chicken is one of those dishes I generally don’t order at a restaurant(I can make it myself). Their chicken is always fresh and their piccata sauce is so yummy. I always replace polenta(I am not sure why they offer polenta) with a side of pasta. Again, perfectly cooked and always delicious. My daughters always order chicken & pasta & pasta with clams. Both are really great. One plate we always order off the menu is the sauteed spinach. It is so good with the pasta and the chicken piccata. Have them pile on the parm cheese and you are moving into heaven. I also enjoy the amount of wine they pour. It is always a full glass. Service is great. The same people have been there for a while and they always treat you right. We are lucky to have such a reliable stand-by in Los Altos.
Scott C.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Cupertino, CA
I took my mom here for lunch and we both ordered the Salmon Picatta. Excellent! It paired well with their homemade sangria. The bread was awesome with the dipping oils. The service was very attentive and they made us feel at home. The outdoor patio is nice on warm days. We will be back.
Kathy W.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Windsor, CA
There are too few café’s in Los Altos that stay open after 2pm & because I no longer live in the area I was not sure where I could plan a family get together for my son’s graduation. Pompeii is an exception. I’m thrilled to say, our party of fifteen celebrated with a wonderful meal. The Salmone Picatta was exceptional. The staff was polite, the service outstanding, and everyone loved the party.
Murali P.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Los Altos, CA
This is our favorite go to pasta place. Kids love pesto pasta and we love their salmon dish. This place is not too crowded and service is quick, which are important to us. If you like wine, and who doesn’t? This place has good selection of domestic and international varieties. Overall, a good family restaurant. You should definitely give it a try.
John D.
Évaluation du lieu : 1 Los Altos, CA
Don’t go here! I love Italian food and decided to indulge ourselves with seafood pasta, so we went here. Clams were overdone, pasta was too much creamy, we ordered pasta and not a cream soup. Pizza was so hard, maybe it was frozen and then someone melted in the oven. Overall, very bad experience!
Ken K.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 San Jose, CA
Pretty good Italian Food. Located in downtown Los Altos near the Wells Fargo bank. The restaurant has good ambience. The customers were made up of families with small children and old folks. We ordered several different pasta dishes and agreed that they were all good. Prices range from about $ 13.00 up past $ 26.00 for pasta plates. The small Pizza price is around $ 13.00. The service was good until it got busy and we did not have any staff stop by until it was time for the check. I’d recommend that the management train the bus staff how to check on table when it’s busy. There seemed to be plenty of staff but I think they were not empowered enough to help.
Kim N.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 South Bay, CA
considering I live so close to this place, Im not sure why it took this many years to go. Had a Friday night dinner witha group of friends right before close. It’s a small crowded place with tons of Los Altos locals. Carpaccio Ciprianni, Lasagna Di Carne, and VItello Piccata filled the roster. Fairly good, though it’s more like old school homecooking to me in some ways, which isnt a bad thing. Waiters are decently friendly though they seem a nit rushed when it’s crowded. 3.5 stars
Roy S.
Évaluation du lieu : 2 Takoma Park, MD
I had high hopes for this place, most of the restaurants here in CA are better then they are in DC but sadly I was mistaken about Pompeii. Having a host would be good, we were seated quickly but I bet when its busy there are issues. The bread and olive oil can be skipped. The bread is quite doughy and to soft for me. Also, the olive oil had some sort of tomato paste which was not a good combination in my opinion, it was flat and lacked flavor. The spaghetti and meatballs were decent. No grand flavors or seasonings here. Just solid fare all around. the spaghetti carbonara was rated as «meh» by my guest. The best meal was the red snapper(which is over fished and not sustainable, if you care about that) I was really mad at the bread pudding! It did not say it had raisins inside which is terrible. Besides the raisins the pudding was not special and I did not finish it. The waiters were very friendly, but there was some lags when they were conversing with regulars. Otherwise no complaints with the staff.
Sarah K.
Évaluation du lieu : 2 San Francisco, CA
I have lunch meeting here time to time which means I always go for something quick and easy– salmon Greek salad. I am not rating on anything else. Light dressing that doesn’t overwhelm, salmon is always cooked consistently, moist but not anything out of the extraordinary.
Kai Y.
Évaluation du lieu : 1 Cupertino, CA
Yep ratings fooled us — this is not the first time and certainly won’t be the last time. We went there for dinner because this restaurant has such a high rating on Unilocal. This is one of the worst Italian restaurants in town. We ordered artichoke, ham, and ricotta pizza, seafood fettuccine, and steamed clams. All of them were disappointing. The clams were overdone, the pizza was soggy, and the seafood pasta was lumpy and gross. Furthermore, the wines we ordered were tasting bad. My sauvignon blanc the waiter recommended was bland with no flavor, all I could taste is overly high-density of alcohol — this could be either the wine is bad or it has been opened and decanted too long. I know how bad Italian food this place has because I have been to Italy multiples times and I know what good Italian food should be, which is what this place is lack of for sure. What topped the bad experience was when the bill came, it turned out the waiter charged us a bottle of sauvignon blanc while I only ordered one glass.(He rectified the error when we pointed out, but enough damage had been done) Ciao, Pompeii, you won’t be seeing me again ever.
Schelly Y.
Évaluation du lieu : 3 Santa Clara, CA
A great casual Italian restaurant in downtown Los Altos that seemed to be open a bit later than other restaurants in the area. We went around 815pm and although busy we did not have to wait. They have both indoor and outdoor seating. Service was friendly and attentive. We tried the steamed mussels, tomato soup, mixed salad, and chicken parmigiana. The tomato soup was rich and hearty. Mussels were fresh and came in a tasty broth. The chicken parm had a nice crust and was juicy. It came with a lovely side of polenta as well.