Taste of Italy

Drinks were very good, bruschetta had cheese on soft bread — not all that. The salad was old lettuce just staring to turn brown and Very limp.

Talk about kitchen nightmares! We walked in on a Wednesday at about 8:30. Sat for 10 mins waiting to be greeted, we weren’t even acknowledged with over 4 guys standing by the register. There was only one more party of 4 in the restaurant. We got up and walked out. Took my business where it’s appreciated…

A friend and I went here a couple Mondays ago and the place was empty. The workers were all huddled together by the bar and when we finally got someone’s attention, they sat us outside.
We have been here a few times but mostly for lunch. Looking at the dinner menu, it was just amazing to see how much more expensive the items were. I figured lunch menu is always served with a smaller portion so I didn’t mind it too much.
We ordered lasagna with bolgnese sauce and the baked ziti with arrabiata sauce. While waiting we were given a basket of bread which was good but it was almost like the end pieces of a bread loaf. Very tiny slivers of bread with olive and cheese.
So our orders came, the lasagna was exactly the same size as their lunch special for double the price. So that was disappointing. It also didn’t look like how it used to look before. The sauce was so much darker and it didnt look fresh. When my friend cut into her lasagna, she kept trying to cut through this one piece but the noodle on the bottom was so hard that she couldnt cut it. So it seems like that portion of it was overcooked. Like when you microwave a noodle too long. So we requested a new one. Even that one had the same problem but my friend didnt want to complain anymore so she just let it go.
So the baked ziti with arrabiata sauce came up. It surprised me coz when you read the description it mentions white wine in the sauce and garlic. it came with red sauce. Then it was pretty spicy and it didnt say anything about it being spicy on the description. We asked «Omar», who then told us that «arriabiata» is spicy in Italian. Not sure why he thinks we would know this but that’s how he answered my question about why it was spicy.
My friend also mentioned that she smelled alcohol on our server which is no bueno.
I was told that there a change in management, if that’s the case, it is very unfortunate. Food has changed and service is not that great. Also, let me just say that in July we tried to go here for lunch at around 12 and their doors were closed. No sign, nothing. We ended up having to go somewhere else.
So very disappointing. Not sure if I would venture out to this restaurant again.

My husband and I frequently order from here for delivery service thru the Eat app. Tonight, my minestrone soup did not arrive with the rest of the order. I tried to catch the driver but he was gone. I called the restaurant and the gentleman confirmed my address and said he was going to call the driver. A half hour went by and I thought I wouldn’t get my tasty soup. Then, the doorbell rang and it was like the gates of heaven were opened. I was handed a piping hot serving of the delicious minestrone. Excellent customer service and very much appreciated by this hungry nurse!

Normally dont write reviews, but think I need to share this experience of restaurant hell! I add a star for the simple fact of having to. From the point of ordering my food to receiving the food it was 2.5 hours. When the food arrived it was cold and my pizza had zero flavor. I called the restaurant to see what was going on only to be told they would call me back and never got a return call. I called again about 4 – 5 times to get no answer. I called from another phone and they miraculously answered. I asked for the manager and was laughed at and placed on hold. Not only is this place lacking the simple how to of running a restaurant, but also in customer service.

So disappointed!!! I use to live in Hillcrest for 7 years and this place was such a yummy place to go for dinner. I came back to visit and I don’t know what happened! Perhaps they have new management because the food quality is gross! The Italian chips are no longer chips they are just regular fries! What an insult to Italians! I also had the Tour of Italy with chicken and the spaghetti was suppose to be fettuccine not regular spaghetti with fettuccine sauce… not to mention the spaghetti was a bit on the hard side. The lasagna had gross ground meat, seemed undercooked and it wasn’t tasting right. Plain & simple… DONT GO HERE!

Third try…
Great Minestrone! Easy to get a table here. The canelloni’s delish. If you’re feeling bold ask for the spicy sauce. Its amazing.

Do not bother ordering for delivery. They were 45 minutes late and never bothered to call. No more Taste of Italy for me.

I don’t want to oversell this, but the Italian chopped salad is quite possibly one of the most delicious and tasty salads in the world. I feel like Donald Trump when I talk like that.
When I’m in the mood for some tasty Italian, taste if Italy is my go to place. I would say the manicotti is probably my favorite item on the menu. As I’m a fan of take-​out (yes I’m anti-​social) I find their baked dishes to be great. They travel well and always taste delicious. Although the food is a little pricey I am always happy with the quality with the food that we receive.
If I had one complaint I just wish they had a more standard system for substitutions. I like to sub in the Italian chopped salad in place of the dinner salad that comes with my meal. I don’t mind paying extra, I just hate that every time I call they have to put me on hold to see if they can do it. They do it everytime, it just feels like a weird formality. Just say yes and that it’s extra. Good by me! :)
Anyway. Definitely a tasty spot to hit up!

I was really excited to try this place out but sadly I left disappointed. First off, the service was exceptionally slow. It took a long time for the food to arrive. So Don’t come hungry.
We ordered calamari for appetizer, the first piece I picked up had a piece of hair stuck to it. Politely, I set that piece to the side and gave it another chance. Overall the calamari dish was very bland and there wasn’t much taste to the dipping sauce.
For the entrée, I ordered the «spicy Antonio fettuccini with chicken «which was not spicy at all but the sauce was still good. However, the chicken was hard and dry. I should of ordered it without meat.
My husband had the chicken Parmesan, he said it wasn’t so good either.
So, yeah we will not be coming back here. I think 2 stars is me being generous.

Review based only on taste and delivery, as we never visited. Ordered sausage an mushroom pizza, a calzone and Caesar salad. Took 1.45 hrs to arrive. Pizza was not hot, just slightly warm, kinda bland. Only a few bites and trashed the rest. The salad looked great, but the dressing is cheap and tasteless. The calzone was just thrown away, cold calzones just don’t work. Too many other options in Mission Valley, skip this place.

First I want to say that I will always try and not order pizza from a chain. I love mom and pop places or just locals. Review is based on the pizza and delivery. Pizza delivery was fast (that was really the only positive from this experience) and the pepperoni pizza was just Ok. Not good but just «ok». Also ordered the chicken pesto pizza and it was extremely dry and bland. Even the person that recommended the pizza was like…“this isn’t very good”. Sorry guys but overall the pizza needs a lot of work. Italian restaurants should get at least the basic pizzas right… no?!
2.5 stars

First time here and it was tastehhh.
Ordered bruschetta that came out pretty promptly and had lots of basil, good amount of cheese and garlic and was toasted to perfection. Not the kind of crunchy that cuts your mouth at least lol
I ordered the baked rigatoni with the arribiatta (spicy or angry in Italian) sauce for my entrée. Came out on hot plates and the cheese was melted nicely. I loved that they put lots of mushrooms in it and chunks of tomatoes. Ate part of it there and saved the rest for a great leftover meal. Yum!
Waiting time was not bad at all for the food. Server was nice. Nice atmosphere. Very quaint and home feeling. Sat on the side of the walls in the booths next to the kitchen so it was fun watching the chef making the pasta and the pizzas.

There are 2 reviews here, and together they yield a 2.5, but I’m rounding up to 3.
First review: Wife and I have been coming here for years. The pasta and other entrees are great. Their vodka sauce is the best we’ve had anywhere. Yes, the service can get a bit slow when they’re slammed. This is a 4-​star review
Second review: Wife and I had their pizza for the first time. Never again. Pizza crust was under-​cooked, not much sauce and the topping slid off the pizza easily (even Pizza Hut gets that right most of the time). This is a 1-​star review.
So, 4+1=5, 5÷2=2.5 stars. As long as you avoid the pizza, you’ll have a great meal.

Been a fan of Taste of Italy for quite some time. Their lasagna is great among many other great selections. We don’t dine in all that often, mostly take it to go or have it delivered just for convenience but dining in is always nice, it’s quiet and the staff is wonderful.

Hhhu

My review leans slightly toward 3.5 stars, but the service and my boyfriend’s input raises it to a 4 (instead of getting bumped down to a 3). We ate dinner here last night (so 9.9.13) because we were thinking Italian and it’s a 20-​second walk from our house.
When we arrived it was empty. A few more tables filled up while we were there, but it was a slow evening. We chose to sit outside. Our waiter quickly brought us ice water and, when it took us a while to decide, he didn’t forget about us. That’s been a problem lately when we take ‘too long’ to decide, our server doesn’t come back for obnoxiously long.
We decided to forgo appetizers since the prices here are higher than we usually like to pay, and the pasta and baked dishes come with a dinner salad or soup.
The dinner salad was small but fresh and delicious. I had the Italian dressing and at first look, the very green color was slightly off-​putting. But it was so delicious!
They also brought out a few pieces of garlic bread. I normally don’t go for bread at restaurants, but this was good! It was flavorful and crunchy crust/​soft chewy inside.
My boyfriend got a half-​and-​half, of cheese ravioli and spaghetti bolognese. With an extra meatball added in. He really enjoyed it. I tried a little and the sauce was spicy for my taste, but I am a wimp when it comes to spice. Boyfriend expected a larger meatball (since you only add one) but it wasn’t small, per se, just average.
I ordered the pasta (which I love how they do, because you choose your pasta type and your sauce separately), and got angel hair with Alfredo sauce. The sauce was very smooth, nothing like what you’ll get at Olive Garden or a number of other Italian-​style chains. Sadly, that’s what I’m used to, so I was slightly (embarrassingly) underwhelmed by the subtle flavors. It wasn’t bad, it was very good, just it took me a few bites to adjust my taste. My boyfriend ate my leftovers today and said they were great the second day.
Our server was very attentive, but didn’t hover or hurry us. Overall, I’m pleased with this place, especially since it’s so convenient. We don’t get Italian very often, but Taste of Italy is a great, small place, that makes good food. It’s a little expensive for us, but maybe when we’re making more at our jobs, we can eat here more often!

I have 2 separate ratings for this one:
Service– A BIG FAT ZERO
Food– Phenomenal but over priced.
There were hardly any tables in the restaurant besides us-​maybe 3 others. It took my table of 4 forever to get our first glass of wine. The server kept hounding us to order; I could feel him breathing down my neck.
When the food came, I’m not gonna lie, I was disappointed for the amount of food I received for the menu price. The average entrée cost is $ 17, so I would expect a little bit more to the dish.
The damage finally came and it was a total of $ 85. Never once did he mention to us before that the credit card machines were down-​so if we couldn’t pay cash (which I don’t know who carries around that much cash anymore)-we had to go next door and use the ATM at Flicks (bar next door).
…excuse me? I’m supposed to walk over there to the bar, pay for DOUBLE ATM fee that my bank charges me when I don’t use their ATM’s. Needless to say I was livid.
One of my friends said he over heard the server tell the table next to us about the issue-​but never bothered to tell us until the end.
Overall, I was disappointed. I’m a HUGE Italian fan and I’ve been wanting to try this out since I moved to Hillcrest. Whata bummer :(

I would actually give this place three and half stars, if I could. But, as you probably already know, dear reader, we Unilocalers can only rate in full stars. So, due to the excellent service my better half and I received here just the other evening, I’ve rounded it up to 4 stars.
We sat outside — it was very late afternoon and a beautiful day — and had a cocktail before ordering dinner. The place wasn’t busy but — still — our waiter was *exemplary* in his attention and service. The salads — which are included with the entrées — were out-​of-​this-​world delicious. My entrée was pasta with a bolognese sauce: it was good but not great. I admit it, though: I’m a picky eater and spoiled rotten (as a kid, my Mom used to cook us homemade Italian dishes from the «old country» — dishes like homemade manicotti and zuppa di pesce).
I would say that this is a perfect place to have a relaxing drink and meal when you feel like going somewhere casual yet want to be treated like you’re a treasured guest.
Buon appetito!

I don’t know if I came by the night the chef had off and they threw someone random on the line, but everything we ordered was just… not quite right.
Started with the caprese. It comes with prosciutto, which I like by itself, but not on a caprese! It’s just weird and it didn’t go. The typical drizzle of balsamic was doused all over the caprese. It was overwhelming and just too much.
Then, the minestrone soup… incredibly salty and over seasoned…
We figured our simple enough Primavera dish was pretty un-​screw-​up-​able. I mean, pasta, veggies, marinera sauce with ‘a touch of cream’ as the menu states. We were wrong. The ‘touch of cream’ was basically the only thing you could taste. There was so much white liquid on the dish… I wasn’t even sure there was any marinara.
I don’t know if it’s inexperience or just laziness, but the chef got it all wrong…