Spettro

This place never disappoints. Good food, good wait staff, simple décor and the bread they bring for the table is addictive. I a had a salmon spaghetti tonight, which was very nicely done. My favorite is the mushroom ravioli.

I love this place — been there several times. Love the chicken tortilla soup. Last night I had the gnocchi for the first time– it is listed under appetizer but I had it as my meal. It was the very best gnocchi I’ve ever had– it was baked with this delicious creamy sauce… I couldn’t get enough of it! Highly recommend it!!!

Nice little neighborhood spot. The service is always impeccable. Their menu is a bit eclectic — most everything is a little bit different from what you’d expect at a standard Italian place. For example, they don’t have just normal fettucini alfredo, but they have «spicy» fettucini alfredo. The most conventional thing you’ll see is spaghetti and meatballs. But all of it is good! They have a special dish, the smoked salmon with angel hair pasta in a creamy tomato sauce, that is AMAZING. They also don’t skimp on the portions, which is nice.

#73
What a great place! This wonderful place is like a little secret we accidentally discovered while going to the kosher grocery store next door. We were hungry and decided to stop in and give this place a try. While we are quite familiar with the Grand side of the Lake area, this place is a tiny bit farther than we usually travel on the Lake Shore side of things. Had it not been for difficult parking, we may not have found this place.
We walked in and attempted to write our name on the board for a table but a totally enthusiastic host hollered out to us, «Hey, it’s all good, how many?» He came and gathered us and led us to a tiny little table in a cubby type of area. The place is set up to have the feel of outdoor Mediterranean seating. In the middle of the restaurant are large chef tables where community seating would be acceptable in a busy time, or large parties could easily gather.
Our server greeted us after we had some time to discuss the menu. He offered us fresh water and delicious dinner rolls with butter. So many options, it was hard to choose. We started with the gnocchi to share and ordered a Rose Garden pizza for dinner.
The gnocchi was absolutely amazing. Very light little pillows of potato pasta with a rich and creamy cheese sauce, then baked to perfection – absolute perfection! When the pizza arrived we loved it. The crust was light and fluffy, the pizza was replete with piles of cheese, and toppings.
Great service, exceptional host, totally delectable fair portions of food.
Stephani Smiles for Spettro ;)

An enduring neighborhood friend, a favorite for good salads, interesting pizzas, great gnocchi, and a generous policy about bringing your own wine – though their wine and beer list is both good, and reasonably priced. The neighborhood restaurant scene has grown quite a bit over the years since Spettro created it here, and the lines are not as long. But year in and year out, it continues to deliver its customers their daily specials, their Booberry salad, their Halloween special menu. They are part of what makes Oakland’s restaurant scene special.

Spettro is an old faithful on Lakeshore!
Walked in tonight for a spontaneous dinner with a friend. It was a quiet night – almost an empty house – perhaps due to the Democratic debate being on TV? Our server was a hip, kind soul. She recommended the ravioli, but we opted for the Chicken Marsala and a booberry salad. The focaccia bread was sinfully soft and doughy – great with fresh butta! I had to stop myself at one piece of focaccia since girl’s gotta watch her carb intake. But, our server gave us a paper bag to take our bread home!
The Booberry Salad had loads of goat cheese and huge chucks of caramelized nuts (they were actually too large… we had to break them into smaller pieces with a knife handle). The Chicken Marsala was creamy delicious with big slices of mushroom on top, smooth, buttery mash potatoes on the side, and veggies.
Ambiance: Was romantic with a necklace of lights hanging overhead. We sat in one of the side booths, which are great for catching up and telling secrets. I cried in my napkin, listening to my friend’s latest highs and lows.
Service: Fast, efficient, courteous, and on point. Bathrooms relatively clean. Décor artsy and European-​esque. Lovely on a warm autumn night.
I’m giving Spettro 4 stars for consistently good food, solid service, and being an O.G. establishment in the Grand Lake area. Oh yeah!

My first time last evening! Sangria, Chicken Linguine and freshly made Sangria were awesome! Service was excellent. I’ve found a NEW spot!

Spettro’s food is delicious. The choices are eclectic (peanut butter pizza!), everyone we’ve brought can find something they want to eat. Staff is nice, it’s quiet, and it’s good for kids.

Really yummy comfort food with some upgrades. The last time we went in our waitress waited way too long to acknowledge us, but after asking for a new server everything was just peachy. The staff is super friendly and accommodating, and the atmosphere is comfortable and cozy; good for a date, a family with children, or dining solo. We live close-​by and there are lots of restaurants to walk to, but Spettro’s menu, appetizers as well as entrees, is the most diverse, with something for everyone. Pricing is quite decent, but quality can vary depending on who’s in the kitchen.

It’s not just the excellent food. It’s the service and the friendliness of the staff…
Haven’t written about Spettro in over five years, but after yet another great experience there, I’m writing again.
My wife and I have been to Spettro many, many times in these intervening five years.
We no longer live in the Lake Merritt area, so we purposefully find occasions to make it back (to Spettro) when we can.
Recently friends from Hawaii visited us again and more or less demanded that we all go to Spettro. Having introduced them to it during one of their previous visits, it has become a favorite for them when they are on the mainland.
You feel welcome and at home at Spettro.
Perhaps part of it is that you may be seated alongside others at one of the middle longer tables, or it is the open dining area, but it is easy to feel relaxed.
We’ve never been rushed at Spettro, and I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed with anything I have ordered there (and I have a few favorites such as the Spettro Poblano Chiles; look at the menu for details).
Just as I had written five years ago you’ll see anyone and everyone at Spettro; first dates, birthday celebrations, couples, families with kids; a true melting pot of the Bay Area as the restaurant’s clientele.
Despite our love for this this restaurant, its food and its staff, I will warn that it can be loud if it is crowded (due to the open floor plan with lots of tables close together), but this is not a complaint, just a fact.

This is the second time I’ve been here with the most recent time with my girlfriend. We were hungry and I wanted to take her somewhere with a little more pizzazz than a burrito place or a burger joint, so I decided why not Spettro? It’s Italian food and from what I remember it was tasty and on point. While the food was decent there was something that bothered me from the moment we walked inside. Working in the food industry myself I know that it sucks when «last minute customers» come walking in so I avoid being one of those customers myself – yes I took the time to look up their hours of operation before making any plans whatsoever. Online says they close at 10, we arrived at 8:50pm, a full hour before they «close».
We walk in and are greeted, the dining room was empty save for another party of two. The Hostess asked us if we were going to be ordering from the bar menu or ordering food, I told her we would be dining in to which I got a puzzled look on her face and a «well our kitchen is closing in 10 minutes so…» comment. In my mind I was thinking «why is the kitchen closing in 10 minutes if it says you’re open until 10pm» but I didn’t want to make a big deal about it in front of my girlfriend so I go along with it and we sit down. She brings us the menus and for something that should have been a nice, relaxing dinner turned into a rushed, disappointing experience. I talked this place up to my girl too, I felt a little dumb and «unwanted» actually and that’s something a customer should never feel when they walk into a restaurant.
So after browsing through the menu for a minute or two I decide what I want, my girlfriend was trying to decide between two entrees where we were interrupted by a different hostess saying that «the kitchen was closing soon so…», uhh, why don’t they just suck it up and tell us to leave at this point? It’s obvious they were so troubled and bothered by us being there that I almost wanted to give up and go somewhere else for dinner but we ordered and I was watching as she took our order to the kitchen where I heard her tell the cook that «I’m sorry I know» in a very sarcastic manner. Oh goodie, now the cook is probably irritated now, but why should he be? We still had an HOUR BEFORE CLOSING. So let’s think about this for a second actually.
The restaurant claims they close at 10 pm. Spettro, as far as I know, isn’t known for it’s «bar menu» so closing the kitchen at 9 pm seems kind of absurd. If we were just people off the street looking for a place to eat and we see an Italian restaurant with the «We’re OPEN» sign up, and their hours posted that they are open until 10 pm, why is it so hard to believe that people would want to come in at eat until 10 pm? My girlfriend and I actually had a conversation about this afterwards since we were both puzzled by it, but whatever, we got our food and it was obviously rushed however it was still edible. My chicken parmesan was not as good as it was the last time I was here, but my girl enjoyed her food so that’s a plus. I still want to know what the deal is about closing the kitchen at 9 pm but leaving your doors open until 10 pm. I can only imagine the upset hungry customers at 9:01 onwards.

This place is amazing and usually not crowded (for some reason)! Everything is delicious and the servers are very friendly. One of my favs is the mushroom ravioli. I’m absolutely in love with complimentary rosemary dinner rolls. Yum! I’ll definitely be back…

I love this Oakland treasure. The ambiance reminds me of a backyard party!
I always get the small Caesar salad with salmon. Never fails and super garlicky. And the lamb shank with mashed potatoes and veggies is BOMB! Makes me feel like I’m getting a home cooked meal minus the dish cleaning.

At first glance and sitting down I see that it’s a little cramped with spacing. That in mind I would say it is not kid friendly. Atmosphere gives me a cute villa romantic vibe which worked well since I came with the husband:). Parking is limited in the whole area, which you pay for at certain hours so be careful!
First off. The bread is amazeballs!!! So yummy I wish we would of had some during the entrée but it was great alone as well.
Please forgive me Italy I’m about to make a disaster out of your words. I believe I had a chicken callepiloni??? Capellolini???(Can you tell I’m not Italian .??)
I didn’t really care for it was pasta with chicken and Alfredo sauce, thus the reason why I took back a star. It was way too hearty/​cheesy for me I really didn’t enjoy it, but my husband enjoyed sharing my entrée. His dish was DIVINE. Pasta, tomatos, spinach, and walnuts, there were probably other things I didn’t notice I was stuffing my face and full of envy that he chose a great dish.
Lastly our waitress was sweet and respecful, I hope the rest of the staff is the same.

Have walked past this place a bunch of time strolling down Lakeshore and finally decided to come in late on a Saturday night. The place wasn’t very busy and the 2 of us got a seat in one of the very cozy booth seats!
Traditional Italian menu as well as a list of specials. I had the chicken kabobs (is that Italian?) and the portions are generous. Nothing fancy, good olé comfort food served up by a staff that seems more family than staff.

Stopped by our favorite neighborhood restaurant Saturday before Easter. Surprised to find it half empty. I know there are now other good options in the hood, but Spettro still has great food, good value, friendly staff and relaxed ambience, especially for families and groups.
We started with our fave, the mussels in coconut lime sauce, which was delicious as ever. We shared the crab ravioli special with mushrooms and pine nuts — also very good. Many of the old standbys remain on the menu.
We are guilty as the rest, but let’s get out there and support our local restaurants, especially those that have been there for a while and still deliver!

This was originally Plan B after the first choice of venue was not available.
The arrangement of the ‘booth’ tables is kind of weird — for two people to sit comfortably, you must sit across, and the tables are juuust large enough to make that less than ideal for a pair. Bring a third, and you will do just fine, as long as at least one of the diners is skinny enough to sit between the round table and the flat wall. The décor itself was also a little strange, but not necessarily in a bad way. «Spark Plug Blessed Virgin statue» describes the wall hanging closest to me at dinner last night.
The service was alright, although clearly we arrived at the end of a long day (an hour and a half before closing). I was a bit thrown by being served ice water without asking — are we not in a drought? — and when I tried to decline it, the busboy was so offended, I told him to leave it. No refills of coffee or diet coke were offered until the very end of the meal, although the waitress did ask us about mid-​way through if our meals were good.
The food was mostly okay, although, my god, avoid the coffee. JUST SAY NO. It is atrocious, and so full of grounds that you end up crunching your way through each mouthful. Also, it is served in a super thin clear glass mug that leaks heat so fast you will wonder if you got an iced cuppa by mistake.
The complimentary bread rolls were also… odd, but again not terrible. Some kind of dried herbs lurk within the slightly undercooked doughy bits, and overall, it was decently tasty. I would prefer the bread to be warm and a little better cooked, though.
The fried calamari could have been amazing. They have seasonings in the batter which is great, but the oil was obviously past its prime, and that reflected in the taste. Edible, but not incredible. I will order it again when I visit next — however, I do not expect to go out of my way for a round two.
My linguine veracruz was really, really, really good (although the prawns were eeever so slightly overcooked) but the portion was so huge, I had to box half of it. Companion ordered the jalapeño alfredo, but they were out of the spinach noodles, so it was instead jalapeño linguine which was apparently pretty palatable. We passed on dessert, but I found myself intrigued by the offerings.

Best Caesar Salad in the neighborhood! TONS of garlic.

Went here for a birthday party.
The décor is really odd to me.
The lamb was delicious.
I haven’t been in awhile (2010), but after reading fellow reviews, I am craving some peanut butter pizza.
The free corkage is another awesome offering.
We’ll see, may have to give it another chance.

My sister use to take me here back when we lived up in the Bay Area. I actually totally forgot about it until she suggested we go there for dinner on a recent trip up there. As soon as I walked in I remembered the place, even though they no longer have all the cute lights hanging about.
We shared the Heather’s Boo Berry Salad, their soft complimentary bread, the Pesto Eggplant Lasagna and even though they don’t have it on the menu anymore, they were gracious enough to make us the Potato Pesto Pizza. The food was delicious, just how we remembered it to be. I’d recommend all of the items we ordered, especially to vegetarians. The waitress was super nice, the place was cozy and warm, just a great dinner spot for a rainy night out.