De La Torre’s Trattoria

We started with the fried ravioli and the flatbread. Both were very tasty. The flatbread had arugula, goat cheese, & a balsamic drizzle. Both were eaten quickly. Ordered a bottle of the Cesari Pinot Grigio to share with my tablemates. Our table ordered the Sirloin Steak, Scalloppine di Vitello, Sausage & onion Calzone, & Gamberoni Saltate (Shrimp Scampi). We ended with the toffee butter cake. We finished everything! It was delicious!

Service is always outstanding. Food is fine, be sure to ask for the homemade food versus previously frozen offerings.

Yummy. Service great, friendly, shows up when you need them, before you have to ask. Food was very good, with all fresh ingredients, even the fish. The specials won the night: lamb risotto and spinach & Gorgonzola ravioli. Veal Parmesan better than Frankie Johnny and Luigi but not the best we have had. The pesto linguini and the linguini marinara were good but not great. Nice atmosphere. It’s not too big, maybe 20 tables. We look forward to returning soon.

We stopped here quite randomly for dinner on our way home from a road-​trip, and we were very happy with our meal. Not completely random– we were steered by Unilocal,and the experience was great. Service was excellent, fresh pastas were tasty and generously portioned, and most importantly– they were great with my kid and very child friendly. I’m seldom in the area but would return for an excellent Italian meal with no hesitation when nearby. 4 very solid stars, great food and great value.

I was really disappointed in this place. As soon as we got their the female server seemed like she was in a bad mood. One lady with us was in the middle of a conversation and asked her 4 times in a row what would you like to drink; louder each time and in a more annoyed voice.
We all shared a lil off each others plate and it all was mediocre. Seemed like it was a reheat form the previous night… Flavor in food was not great. Used the same sauce for all different dishes…

NO BUENO! I found this place on Unilocal and thought it looked pretty good so I just ordered a lunch for pick up and when I got there, no one was at the front to ring me up and the place smelled like stinky fish. Paid 16.00 for the chicken parmigiana and the chicken was HORRIBLE! I literally ate 2 bites and threw the rest away. It tasted like cleaning products. So nasty. So basically I paid 16.00 for some ho hum spaghetti. :(

A friend recommended this restaurant and we followed the lead. I wondered why I had lived in this town for so long, passed by this restaurant so many times, and never really felt like coming in. I should’ve gone with my gut feeling. For starters, our server was a little on the grumpy side. Bread arrived chilled like the butter. It was the first clue. Didn’t send it back because I didn’t want to eat much bread anyway, so it ended up being convenient for me only.
Nothing we ordered impressed us, except for the sliced tomato salad with the balsamic reduction, which was the highlight of the meal, and the check, which for such an unimpressive meal was way too high IMHO.

Whoever designed the booths for this restaurant must work full-​time for the airline industry. I would not want to be in this restaurant when it’s packed. We were in for an early dinner and the first diners of the evening. The host/​busboy seated us at a booth that was so tight, my body was part of the support system for the table top. I actually got out of the booth and compared its space to others and they all looked tight. My bad for not asking to be moved to a regular table to improve my own comfort.
We over ordered because we wanted to try different flavors. The server didn’t try to guide or dissuade us from doing so.
Caesar Salad — (5) We wanted to share a salad and were pleasantly surprised when our Caesar Salad with Anchovies arrived already split on two chilled plates. The lettuce was crisp and dressed properly.
Sausage & Mushroom Pizza — (5) — A very good thin crusted pizza.
Meatball in Marinara Sauce — (2) — Too much filler, too much Marinara Sauce, not enough meaty flavor plus it was served cold. I’m not sure that the meatball had been fried or roasted first to give it more texture.
Linguine Al Pesto — (4) — Pasta was fine. More basil flavor would have elevated the dish.
Tagliatelle Bolognese — (4) — Good while served hot in the restaurant. Excellent as an reheated leftover.
Green Beans — (3) — As a fresh, seasonal vegetable, these were a failure. They were old and stringy.
Affogato — (4) — She gives this score because it involves ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate and espresso and served with a biscotti. To me, their presentation is not traditional. I’m a snob, ice cream or gelato and espresso, done!
Another negative factor of our experience was the timing of the service. With this quantity of food for two guests, either space out the courses in a way that makes sense or ask the guests. We got our salads first, after the plates were cleared, the pizza showed up and within 3 minutes, everything else landed on our table.

Outstanding little family owned joint. Homemade ravioli and some insanely tender meatballs.
I love that they essentially have a new menu every day with multiple specials, while also keeping the staples on hand.
Good prices, good service. We’ll be back.

Pasta is amazing! We’ve tried almost all of them. We typically order to take home. Friendly, family service and always busy! Not a better place for Italian in Pleasanton!
Quaint atmosphere. Good sized portions!
Not a fan of the pizza, there is better in town. And the bread is too bulky and not appealing.

Forgot to review this until Unilocal reminded me.
Great dinner, excellent service. Been there twice and both times were great. Would highly recommend it!

A hidden gem! Don’t be fooled by the outside appearance, inside this strip-​mall tranformer is a great italian resturant, with excellent food, great service, and very fair prices.

It’s the pizza, silly!
The rest of the menu is a collection of hits and misses. The hits are classics in what I like to call a «San Leandro» style. Heavy. Big flavor. Minestrone. Reds. Frieds. They can miss on delicate tastes. They know big bold, and do it very well.
The pizza is the thing for me. I would sell some combination of my kids to know how they make it. Sourdough. Perfect rise. Perfect age. Perfect crisp. Perfect chew. Top line cheese mix and cured meats. There are no coupons for your pie here. Nor should there be. Check it out.

I’m sad to have to write this review. I visited this place for the first time for my birthday. I chose it because of the amazing Unilocal reviews. I’d like to assume that it was an off night, but I’m not sure how accurate that would be since I tried 5 different entrees from my guests, and they were all mediocre at best.
I had the risotto. Bleh. Tasteless. Kinda just tasted like rice in spaghetti sauce.
The other entrees I took a bite out of —
tortellini… Bland.
Stuffed bell peppers, okay.
Gnocchi. Eh.
Some angel hair pasta dish, also tasteless.
And the worst was the chicken Alfredo.
Two of my friends ordered it. One had me try their chicken, stating that it seemed way too dark to be chicken, and tasted like turkey. The other guest said it tasted like fish. So they both returned it to have it remade. When the remade dish came out, the chicken ACTUALLY looked like chicken this time. Strange? We should have taken a picture. Cause it’s almost unbelievable. It looked like nicely cut strips of white meat chicken, whereas the first time around it looked like round cuts of dark turkey meat. Hmm.
And the sauce was also really watery, tasteless. Frozen dinner Alfredo tastes better I think. I’m sorry.
And not to mention… 7 out of the 10 guests said their food was cold. Not like «the server didn’t serve it fast enough» cold. More like, The middle was cold… So that indicates that… You guys didn’t microwave it fully.
On the up side, the appetizers were good. Calamari was good, but the bruschetta was probably the best bruschetta I’ve ever had.
I’m an easily satisfied food snob, meaning. I’m not picky when it comes to food AT ALL. I like just about anything, so for me to complain about taste. It’s pretty bad. But I also know what good, quality, well prepared food tastes like. And this wasn’t it. I almost want to give them the benefit of the doubt and one more chance cause the reviews were so good. Maybe people in Pleasanton don’t know good food. Who knows. Maybe I’ll come for lunch so it’ll be cheaper. At least the company was good, and the wine!

Went two days ago as our last place to visit in Pleasanton. Server was super sweet, she really took the time to check on food items and give us adequate descriptions.
The food, however, was really mediocre. Three of us ordered entrees. I was going to order the caesar salad, which I cancelled once I saw my companion’s side order. He said it wasn’t very good and it looked like pre-​chopped, average romaine.
I then switched my order to the braised short ribs. Not sure if you can tell by the photo, but the sauce had an unusual glow to it — and it was super clear. Yep, basically, tomato sauce poured into what little braising liquid they had from the chilled product. The meat tasted fine. Tender, not dry, but the sauce was a shocker. It really tasted canned or processed.
The other two dishes ordered were the Tortelloni alla Panna and the Eggplant in Carrozza. Neither cared for their dish, but the person eating the eggplant touched so little of it that the server asked if she liked it. We didn’t want to complain, as that isn’t our style, but the server could tell it wasn’t up to her liking. She was kind enough to remove it from our bill without pressing further.
I really expected more from this restaurant with the Unilocal reviews I read. I may be totally off here, but the amount of pre-​made food/​sauce here was what surprised me the most.

I’d go 4 and a half stars. The clam chowder was out of this world. The service was friendly but we were served after a lot of people who were seated after us. The fish was good, the pasta sauce was a tad bland. Judging from the food we saw others eating, I think we just didn’t order very well. We’ll be back.

From the outside this restaurant doesn’t look like much. Nothing really stands out from the rest of the shops in the plaza, except of course the name. The second we walked through the doors we were hit with the most amazing aroma. We were also greeted by three employees at the hostess stand; one of them seating us right away.
The dining room is very dim, and the vibe is very casual. Bread was placed on our table within minutes; a combination of Focaccia and warm sliced wheat bread it looked like. On the tables are bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Both the bread tasted great, however I finished off the Focaccia because I can’t get enough of it.
We started the meal with the polenta fries we have heard so much about. When they arrived on our table my first thought was that they looked like fat steak fries coated with parmesan. Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, served hot, and so damn delicious. They are served with a side of marinara sauce that taste like it’s made in house.
The menu is pretty vast but I settled on my default Italian dish; Lasagna. When they brought it out it looked fantastic. Steaming hot, melted cheese covering the top, it looked and smelled amazing. I loved the big chunks of meat, all the cheese, and their amazing sauce. The middle of the dish was nice and solid. But the edges were a little more soupy than solid; however it did nothing to take away the amazing flavor.
A pretty decent Italian restaurant for a pretty decent price.

My mom and I tried this place out one night when we were craving Italian. Solid place. I ordered the gnocchi which was really well made. It’s sauce was fresh tasting but could have been more flavor and kick.
My mom ordered the sole filet. Reallyy tender and well cooked, great seasoning.
We also tried the toffee cake. OMG to die for! This review went up from 3 to 4 stars solely due to the dessert. I want to come back and try the other dessert options, they all look great.
Sweet, family environment. I felt like I was sitting in someone’s living room. I might come here again but wouldn’t suggest it as the #1 Italian in the area.

I’ve only gotten takeout from De La Torre’s, but it has been delicious each time! The first time I ordered, I was interested in gnocchi, but the menu only had one with pomodoro sauce. I mentioned I was looking for one with a cream sauce and the person taking my order said that they could make one for me with gorgonzola sauce… perfect! That was so delicious and there was plenty of it for leftovers. Bread is included along with a decent amount of parmesan cheese, so it was a very filling dinner. I really enjoyed my food and thought the pasta was cooked perfectly. I’ve had the linguine al pesto and that was really tasty as well.
My food is always ready when I’m there to pick up and the staff is very friendly. I will definitely continue picking up my food from De La Torre’s.

I have put off writing this review for awhile… but it just had to update.
It was a sad day in local cuisine… I had invited the group of family attending DGD’s dance recital for a meal prior to the event… so there was 8 of us. We had a reservation when they opened at 5:30 PM. It was very empty.
I was literally embarrassed by the food that was served.
Fish was a nasty fail… both an unevenly cut fillet, and it was breaded with mounds of dry breadcrumbs, and not well cooked.
Side pasta tasted like it was tomato sauce and lemon juice… ick!
No one complained, but I could see by what was eaten it was bad for them too.
I hope this was just an off night, but have not dared to come back to one of my used-​to-​be local favorites.