Vincenzo Ristorante Italiano

Seriously had an emotional breakdown when we came here and the place was closed. Prayed it was just renovating but no such luck.
Goodbye, best chicken gorgonzola gnocchi of my entire life! Please re-​open or sell me your recipe, I don’t think I can go on without it.

We came here after the farmer’s market on Saturday. It was a warm day and we sat outside. Management must have read the reviews that mentioned the slow service because the service we had could not have been better. Our waiter was exceptional with great food service and he kept our water glasses full. The eggplant parm isn’t on the lunch menu but I was able to order it and I just loved it. Eggplant parm is one of my favorites (I’m not a meat eater) and I order it often. The preparation and presentation was beautiful. I like that veggies come with it. I find that the usual side of pasta which most restaurants offer is too filling for me. My husband had the breaded chicken breast primavera which he really liked.
The only thing that I object to are the chairs that they have outside. The seats are an odd shape and are a bit too narrow… or maybe my butts too big, who knows! I remember sitting on the same chairs at California Pizza Kitchen’s patio in La Jolla and thinking the same thing.
We have a friend coming to visit this week and we’ll be back for another great meal. Keep up the good work!

you know the tall and handsome football player in your high school that every girl wants? the one that get your heart singing nonstop of the famous stalker song — «close to you»? the one that’s rumored to be gifted with a whole forearm «length»? the one you finally jumped him with butterflies in your stomach but only ended with acid reflux at the end?
yeah, that one.
that one who has 1500 reviews on Unilocal San Diego and still scored a 4.5 star such as Phil’s BBQ, or claimed orgasmic Extraordinary Dessert, or… how about that rooftop blowing Urban Solace? you jumped them all on your SD trip. you jumped them one by one after one or two hours of patiently waiting. and then… you dusted your shoulder and felt that big void in your stomach with disappointment and emptiness, «meh”~ that’s all you could say.
but wait. wait for Vincenzo Ristorante Italiano! did you notice he’s conveniently located at the corner of India Street with greens surrounding the entire premise? that italian brunette is waiving at you with a smile only Carmen the gypsy can carry. dim lights shyly casted on your shoulder without a tinge of tension. long time customer singing opera at the front porch like no one’s watching.
he’s unassuming, but he’s friendly. he might not have been noticed much, but he’s delicious. Try his risotto, try his Gnocchi, god, even try his bread basket! and best part of the deal? no one’s waiting and the smile from the waitress is genuine.
just like the boy in high school who wore socks with sandals, the boy who brushed his hair with hideous style of Ronald Regan and played video games at the corner. he looked at you with flames under his glasses, he is sweet, he’s attentive, and he thinks you as the little prince to his rose.
now Vincenzo Ristorante, you might be the geeky boy that no one saw in high school, but i’m so glad i have found you. because. you are perfect to me, just like me in your eyes.

The service here is notoriously horrible, but I love their spaghetti carbonara.
Facts:
–I love their spaghetti carbonara
–We walked out the last time after we flagged down a waiter because we had been sitting for 20+ minutes without anyone to greet us or take our order
–I have ALWAYS had to be the one to ask for the check, they are just way too slow & inattentive.
Do what you will with the facts above — if you love spaghetti carbonara as much as I do, call it in and take it to go. That’s it.

Started our weekend evening here in Little Italy in San Diego. Had a delicious white wine glass of Moscati with a sicilian appetizer, Caponata. The caponata was definitely sweet, sour and salty –as described in the menu. It made me curious and yes, they were right!
My friends had pinot grigio with calamari (yummm) and burrata with merlot. The burrata was unique… hadn’t had this before. I thought it was similar to caprese but it had a thick piece of cheese in it. The food here smelled great and looked wonderful.
We were planning to just start with wine and appetizers here and then head to Gaslamp district to have dinner but after eating here, we were already stuffed! It was a small intimate seating area with a very simple ambiance. I liked how the windows opened out to the street. It was a beautiful day. There’s also patio dining. We loved the food and enjoyed our time here. The service was great!

I’m so glad I made reservations for two at Vincenzo. Located on an intersection along India Street, Vincenzo is a small and cute Italian restaurant with a classy touch to its décor and a cute, quiet and relaxing place to enjoy a meal.
For our appetizer we ordered the burrata which is a combination of a thick slice of fresh mozzarella (and when I say ‘fresh’ I really do mean FRESH) a slice of eggplant, arugula, and a sweet balsamic sauce. Every bite was so tasty and the mozzarella was so soft with a light flavor that I just absolutely adored! If you like prosciutto, they give you the option of having burrata with that as well.
For our entrees, I ordered the gnocci gorgonzola and my boyfriend ordered the creamy risotto with mushrooms. I loved the gnocci but I have to say the light creaminess of the risotto and the perfect texture of the mushrooms got to me. I’m inspired to look up a good risotto recipe and try my hands at that when I have the time.
Also, free refills! Everyone loves free refills. I would love to come here again. It made for a romantic dinner spot. I don’t think many people know of this place because only 3 tables were filled (including ours) the entire time I was there so it was an intimate and quiet affair. I wouldn’t come all time though because it definitely didn’t go easy on our wallets. A good place to go for special occasions.
Something good to keep in mind is that it’s street parking only so come early! I went on a Monday at 6pm and parking was already pretty scarce so we parked a few blocks down and walked there, which wasn’t too bad. Just a little tip is all!

I’ve walked by this place many times but have never dined as there are about 30 Italian restaurants in Little Italy. I eventually went after buying a $ 25 certificate for $ 2 on
. I went there for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. I would have posted this on their site but I could not since the certificate code was never verified and they didn’t send me the link.
Anyway, I expected much more! We were seated and waited for about 5 minutes for service. Our waiter was flirting with the hostess and wouldn’t take our drink order until the busboy served us water. (The busboy was busy cleaning tables and serving the meals.) Our waiter did come over immediately after our water was served. This would be the last time our waiter would interact with us during our dining experience. He would spend the next 45 minutes chatting up the hostess.
I ordered the salmon. Flavor was good but the fish was dry and overcooked. The potatoes and spinach was very good. My friend had the veal. He said it was very good and had no complaints. Other meals that I saw served were well presented.
The best service you will receive is from the busboy that filled and refilled our water (without being asked), brought us and refilled the complimentary bread, brought us our meal, asked us how our meal was and cleared our table.
I expected much more and was disappointed but would return if we had another waiter and another gift certificate. I would not pay full price as the cost did not justify the experience.

Came here for Happy Hour on a Saturday, yes you read it correctly Saturday Happy Hour. Why doesn’t every restaurant do this?!
Needless to say we had 4 appetizers including; Caprese, Carpaccio, Cheese & Fruit Plate and Calamari plus 3 beers for me and 4 for the hus for only $ 48. Total steal if you ask me.
To top it off our server was fabulous and their patio is perfect for people watching and allows for your pooch to sit with you & enjoy.
Not to mention the fact that the food is quite tasty, and not heavy or saturated in oil like many other Little Italy Italian spots. We will definitely be coming back!

I’ve been here a couple times now and I’m happy to go back again but I don’t expect to be wowed.
The complimentary bread is soft and yummy but they premix the oil/​balsamic which isn’t going to be everyone’s preference.
Last visit I got the potato and leek soup which was rich and delicious.
My main was the veal marsala, also tasty but the veal was thin and dry.
Solid 3 stars

We were headed to Buon Appetito, but at 7:30pm
on a Monday and an hour wait, cold outside and very noisy we walked down the street and found Vincenzo Ristorante Italiano.
Service was slow, but we weren’t in a rush. My dining partner ordered Veal Marsala, said it’s one of the best he has ever had, and being raised by an Italian grandmother, that is a good thing.
My Veal piccata was the worst I have ever eaten. Tough as leather, salty artichokes and the entire dish was all salt for that matter, no lemon in sight. That said, vegetables were excellant.
It is all about choices…

I went by myself during happy hour and had a caprese salad, big pieces of tomato and chesse and just the right amount of basil.
The polenta with gorgonzola was great, and the wine glass was big enough to swirl and smell it.
The Argentine server was attentive and the bussboy too.
I have never eaten so good for $ 15.

Cute little place in Little Italy.
Came here last night with 3 or my friends.
I had the Portbello Mushroom salad which was really good. But it is pretty much just spinach, portobello mushroom, and goat cheese with dressing. I liked it, very simple.
I’ve tried my friend’s pasta dishes and they were all good. We ended sharing a tiramisu between the 4 of us for dessert and I loved it!

LOVE THIS PLACE!
Vicenzo Ristorante Italiano is by far my favorite Italian Restaurant. The only reason why I say it’s my favorite is because of the PRIMAVERA. It is a breaded fried chicken breast, arugula, sliced red onions, diced fresh mozzarella, diced fresh tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Ooo my mouth waters for it.
My date had the PENNE MASCARPONE — Yummy too and It’s not to expensive. The restaurant is well lit and the wait staff is friendly. My water is always full (which shows me they pay attention to providing good service.) The bread that they give is some what okay… not my favorite but the olive oil/​vinegar is banging. I mix it with the butter and it’s a good combination.
There are seats outside of the restaurant with heated lamps. You can people watch =). I don’t mind sitting out there but I always get cold but from the inside you can still get a good panoramic view because of the large windows. Valet parking is also available for a nominal fee. (IDK the price because I try to find street parking).
A beautiful and rewarding experience for me.

We have eaten here I think 3 times, maybe 4. Each time has been really great. The pasta is good, and I highly recommend the caprese appetizer. The service is good, which is very important to us, and the prices were in line with the quality of the food and the ambiance. Nice wine list. Good people watching — sit outside.

GO FOR THE HAPPY HOUR
Happy hour was good, $ 5 wine and $ 5 appetizers. The calamari on the appetizer menu was awesome! Really good, and even better when you know you’re only paying $ 5 for it. We did ordre an entrée and shared it since we already had a couple of the appetizers… Happy hour was valid on the weekend. I think it was from 3 to 6, and we were there on a Sunday. Food was really good and service was great.

Pretty good Vincenzo!
My boyfriend and I usually go to Buon Appetito, but we decided that maybe branching out and trying something new wouldn’t be horrible. We walked up and down India Street on Saturday night looking at different menus and trying to decide where to go. Vincenzo was one of the first menus we looked at, and after looking at a few more we looped back and decided to go back there.
It was 7:45 on Saturday night and we had no reservation, but the hostesses we VERY sweet and nice, and we only had to wait about 30 minutes… a bargain for Little Italy!
Inside was very nice. Nothing to fancy, a few simple tables. They had outdoor seating as well. It’s a relatively small place. I’m not sure if this would be a good choice if you are with a big group. A group of 7 actually asked the hostess for a table while we were waiting outside, and the hostess told them they sadly would not be able to accommodate them.
We had already decided on what we were going to order by the time we got to sit down, (since we had been waiting for a while outside). We split the polenta for an appetizer which was DELICIOUS. It was with a rich but not too heavy cream sauce and mushrooms. The polenta itself was very light and tasty. My boyfriend had penne marscapone with pancetta and sun dried tomatoes which was DELICIOUS. I had linguine with the same cream sauce and mushrooms as was on the polenta. (I was really in the mood for mushrooms apparently)
We also had 2 glasses of wine, and the check total came to about $ 55. EXTREMELY reasonable for wine, apps, and 2 delicious entrees in Little Italty!
The only downfall was that we never saw our server. She literally took our order and never came back. She never even asked us if we wanted dessert or coffee or anything. However, the busboys were all very attentive and helpful when we needed something, so it ended up being okay that she was kind of a space case.
I think we would definitely come back here for more! Was nice to branch out for a change!

I was recently in San Diego and at a friend’s suggestion I went to Vincenzo, 45 minute wait on a Saturday night wasn’t too bad in my opinion. It was great to sit across the street and smell the food being prepared by the restaurant while we waited, although this was tough because it just made me even more hungry.
I come from a large Italian family of phenomenal cooks so I’m very critical when it comes to Italian food. I ordered the Cioppino, it was absolutely the best thing I’ve put in my mouth in a long time, each fish was properly cooked and the sauce was exactly the right amount of spicy. One friend ordered the Gamberi which was very tasty and very lemony, the other friend ordered the Fettucini Funghi, excellent as well.
I can’t wait until my next trip to San Diego to eat at Vincenzo’s again, hopefully whoever I’m with orders something other than the Cioppino because I will be ordering that again but still want to taste another dish.

I wanted Italian food and I got good Italian food. The dip for the bread was really good, it had this extra spice that made you want more.
I got the clams and linguine, it was fresh because it came out steaming. The clams were cooked right and it came off the shell. They actually give you a decent amount of clams, it was like 4 bigs ones, it was a lot of medium sized one, and they had clams in the sauce as well. I thought it was really good!
Nice small place, intimate for dates and late italian food. I would definitely go back.

50 orders later I finally get to my Vincenzo review.
I was lucky at the start to have a friend’s recommendation before picking my Little Italy dinner spot. What I have learned from many orders later and Unilocal reviews taken into consideration is that this place has fantastic cooks, a great menu, and friendly service BUT sometimes you need to personalize to your tastes.
As an example, the gnocci gorganzola was highly recommended but the smoked chicken completely ruins the dish for me. Since I am not a «smoked» anything fan I chose to take that out and also ask if I can instead have my favorite noodle, fettuccine, over the overly-​filling gnocci. They were very accommodating and I have been ordering this ever since. Fettuccine Gorganzola! YUM YUM!
Additionally, I can comment on some of the other dishes such as the lobster ravioli which is actually the REAL reason we continue to choose this venue for our italian feast. Frequent evenings there has been cravings for this creamy vodka-​pink sauce and lobster filled pasta ravioli. Lastly… or at first, the Bruschetta is a favorite beginning to our Little Italy meal.

Sunday night dinner. Hostess was warm and friendly. Wait was 20 minutes for party of 4. Bread before dinner needs improvement — it’s just not good. Bruschetta was good as was the carpaccio. The entre dishes were very good! Gorgonzola sauces are fantastic and filet was good.
Overall the wait was worth it! Service was good even though the food took a while to be served. Keep the conversation going and you will enjoy this restaurant.