Ciao Pasta Trattoria

Excellent food and excellent service. We stumbled upon this place by accident and boy are we glad we did!!! It is a gem in a very cute area with a beautiful setting.

I have been having dinner here since this great Italian restaurant has opened it’s doors. The restaurant has a charming outdoor patio.
Over the years Pasquale has catered many parties for me and my friends! The food is always great quality and the portions are generous. I especially love the feature pasta, Ciao pasta! The veal just melts in your mouth! I always save room for the cannolis. What I like about their catering is the quality food the variety of choices and reasonable prices. All meals come with bread and salad. Pasquale makes you feel like family! Perfection!

Amazing and very friendly service. Waiters very attentive but not to the point of being annoying. The food though… Is indescribable. It’s absolutely rave worthy and there are not enough words that could describe it. It’s delicious and everything came out quickly and hot. This place is a gem and I wish it wasn’t hours away from my city. Definitely a must visit.

Was in San Juan Capistrano for a quick day trip/​sightsee and needed a late lunch with a group of folks — great service, very attentive and accommodating and the food is really good — lots of salads, good primeri and secondi and pizzas. George was our most excellent waiter, be sure to ask for him — such a great guy, the ladies in the group were all over him LOL. The owner also came by to say hello, very gracious dude. This place is worth a try if you haven’t yet!

Great food… super great staff (George)… Owner cool (I asked for a bottle of wine from his special selection, said «no problem» and gave it to me complimentary! Absolutely would not take one cent from me, for it!
The only reason for not being five stars — the parking is a hassle but that’s not something they can really do anything with now. If you can walk a block, then just use the parking structure. The men’s bathroom could use a renovation .
My favorite dish is the Rotelle Di Pasta — I’ve been to many an Italian restaurant, and this is the only place where you will find it !
Oh, and your food comes out pretty fast!

We came last night for a business dinner. Our reservation was early at 6PM on a Saturday night. Our server was pleasant and attentive. Food was good. Nothing spectacular, but solid. I would say that portions here are BIG and the prices are more than fair.
We sat inside and next to the «open» kitchen. The smell of all the food cooking was a little intense.

So i have lived and worked in san juan for so long. We are have our normal regualr resturants we enjoy. Giving we never get nights out we decided to switch it up and try the famous Ciao Pasta.
Called to reserve hostess was not very informative if i made a reservation for 6 or 630. Parkin was awful but i get it its san juan.
Sat at our table that was wobbly, like bad. Broken leg or something. Wait staff did not Smile. After 15 min sitting we were greeted but have no clue what her name was as she mentioned she was not our server.
Still no Smiles from anyone. We placed our order (to the girl was not our waitress, still havent meet her yet) i asked what the house pasta was and what was described i was excited to try. Garlic, mushroom, parm yum!
Food reviews
Bread… cold
Tampenade… good
Lasagna…Hubby loved
side sausage … over cooked and dry
Shrimp, scallop in a white wine caper sauce lacked flavor and the seafood over cooked gross. On top of that the house pasta had no mushrooms and no flavor
I would have turned it away if the waitress came by to check on us… and when she did the busser had taken my plate. (no smile and didnt even ask) when she finally checked on us she said wow you eat fast.
And I explained the over cooked gross dinner I was served.
When I said that she said why didnt you tell me…
You never came by to check on us was my reply
And her response was i should have raised my hand to get her attention… are you kidding me. Am i in school?
I was a server for over 10 years and that is the worst to see customers do that. So no sorry i wasnt going to raise my hand.
The owner comped my meal which I was appreciated for. When it came time to pay i asked for change my bill was $ 47 I handed her $ 60. A $ 50 + $ 10… she came back with $ 3 and $ 10 bill assuming she sould get the 20%. My biggest pet pev. So sorry for the tip but you didnt bring me my change. And we never caught her name because there was no introduction.
With that said we wont be back i would rather go across the bridge to Tannins for good wine, food and service with a Smile!

This review is for lunch. I stopped here because lunch options are limited in San Juan. I did not want to sit outside so headed to the bar where a very attractive woman with a charming Italian accent told me to sit anywhere. She brought me an ice tea that was unexpectedly delicious. Not sweet but not bitter, what kind is it?
I was thinking healthy choices so I ordered the salmon salad. Delicious, salmon cooked perfect. The strawberries and little raisin things were a nice touch.
However the server also brought out this tasty light textured bread paired with a very addictive garlic butter oil that I proceeded to devour. I realize that bread serving was probably sized for two people but I could not stop.
No one ever asked how the meal was but the server did bring me a refill of iced tea.
Over all a good brief lunch. Normally I do not spend $ 22 on lunch but it sure beats getting ripped off by Ramos House.

Not sure how this place gets so many stars. Maybe because San J C has the worst Italian food in OC that it gets high stars for San Juan Capistrano but the best of the worst is still bad right?
Note: I’m a local and have eaten here a couple of times now so this review has officially «given the place a chance».
Another Note: I’m Italian from the east coast so I know all sorts of Italian Food.
Red Sauce: Garlic Powdery
Bolognese: Inconsistant
Pizza: Actually decent
Pasta: Alright but nothing to Not-​go-​to-​Casanova over
Staff: The old guy (maybe owner but def manager) A bit grumpy. I don’t think he likes kids in his restaurant… Waitstaff friendly though.
All in all, drive three miles away to Casanova in Dana Point. In my opinion it’s a very good and consistent Italian eatery and I’ve never gotten a bad meal there.

I don’t know if I should be happy or mad that I finally decided to try this place. The food is UNBELIEVABLE, but that’s the problem… Summer’s coming up and I can’t be falling in love with a new Italian restaurant right now.
Make sure you get the Spumoni dessert, thank me later.

We come here often for family gatherings and always sit on the patio.
The food selection is great. Pasta, seafood, pork, steak, and child size portions available too.
The Ciao Pasta entrée is our usual go to dish.
Calamari is great. Bread is wonderful. I am giving it 4 stars because I don’t love every selection on the menu and I wish the Cesar salad had a different dressing. Salads not included with meal anymore.
*HONEST SERVERS! Last night I paid with credit card and left a $ 50 tip in cash. While I was leaving the waiter caught me outside and said «did you look at your bill the tip was already included» and gave me back the $ 50 cash. Nice! I gave him back $ 10

Happy hour is always great here! Everything on the menu is fantastic pasta, pizza around $ 7-​$ 8. Appetizers $ 5 love the fried calamari, fried mozzarella, & caprese salad. Wine $ 5 house cab ¾ body pairs well with the nice sauce. Everything on the menu I’ve had at least once & I’ve never been disappointed. Enjoy! Saluti

It may have been the multiple glasses of wine, but I really loved the chicken Parmesan from this restaurant! The desserts were also quite delicious and the crème brûlée is worth saving room for! Very happy we came here for my dad’s birthday!

This is really good Italian food. Well, maybe a bit Americanized, but really good food. Our party of 8 with orders from vegetarian to seafood to steak was all satisfied. I ordered the shrimp and scallops and savored every bite of scallop. I don’t order them often as they’re a favorite and I rarely find restaurants where I enjoy them. The bread was also really good. they supposedly have a good wine selection, but we elected to bring our own and pay the corkage. I did sit at the bar while waiting on family to arrive, but had a cocktail. The bartender was friendly, helpful, and made a stiff drink.
There’s a parking lot in the back. Take the time to visit the mission and some of the local stores. Strange to mention, but I’m a big fan of their selection of mints.

Best Italian you’ll get in south county. I’ve spoken with the owner who is Swiss Italian about his menu — it has been altered a little to suit the American Pallet, but still pays homage to the authentic Italia.
I am extremely picky about Italian food because I am an Italian citizen and often feel I can cook it better myself. However, Ciao Pasta is my go to when I want a nice Italian spot and not have to work for it. Have also used their catering which was great for a big party.
Pizza’s are very good. Only Mozza is better but that’s all the way in Newport Beach. Calamari is in fact the one stand out. Fried calamari is an art and this one is so light and crispy, it reminds me of my Nonna’s!
Pasta’s are all Al dente — not mushy.
Will continue to be a patron.

The food is average. The owner was extremely rude. The service was slow and unapologetic. Save your money and go elsewhere. I would never recommend this establishment to friends.
In response to Pasquale the owner:
Fact, I ate at your restaurant 3 weeks ago. The staff and you were both insulting and impolite. I didn’t leave a review then because I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. My sister was part of the so called «baby shower crew» that was inappropriately and unprofessionally disrespected by you. When I heard of their experience, I felt socially obligated to leave my original 1 star review from when I dined at Ciao Pasta 3 weeks ago.
Check yourself or become irrelevant. The customers (who keep you in business) don’t want to be treated like this.

We love Ciao Pasta and have been coming there for years. The food is divine and you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. Pasquale the owner makes you feel at home. Hands down the best Italian around. Pastas, pizzas… everything is amazing. Eat here, be happy!
They also have a great happy hour and a live musician on Friday nights. Our favorite!

This is one of the best Italian restaurants in oc! The restaurant is nicely decorated inside. love the open kitchen, romantic ambiance and Italian theme! The outdoor patio is also very nice. The complimentary bread and olive oil tamponade is incredible. The predinner salad included with your entrée is fresh and delicious! Loved the dressing! Now, the food is the reason to come. Every dish is phenomenal. you can’t go wrong! I had the zucca de pesci and it was one of the best seafood pastas I’ve ever had!
The service was OK. Our waitress was very friendly and sweet but she got too busy and slightly forgot about us which was OK this time but I wouldn’t have been satisfied had I made plans afterward…
I will definitely be coming back here!

The staff here is very patient and accommodating. We were with a group of I’d say about 60 people (with a reservation) or more, taking up probably more than half the restaurant. They had a set menu with a small selection of entrees chosen from their larger menu. Kudos to the staff. The main waiter was very welcoming, treated us like family, and made us laugh. He was very patient while taking all of our orders and making sure we were all satisfied with our food.
I ordered the lasagna. So delicious and flavorful! I finished the whole thing. It was very fresh, with a perfect balance of meat, sauce and cheese.
For kids, they had either pepperoni or cheese pizza. I thought it would be a small, personal pizza, but it was huge! More than enough for a child. The diameter was probably close to a foot. If I had known, my boyfriend and I probably would have ordered one pizza and one entrée to share.
I highly recommend this place if you’re celebrating an event. If I lived in the area I’d probably make some frequent stops here when I’m craving authentic Italian food.

Yummmm. I already can’t wait to come back. Their menu is chock full of great options, with lots of choices for vegetarians. The pizzas looked good, but I decided to go for one of their pastas (it is called Ciao PASTA Trattoria, after all). Again, so many choices! I was torn between the Farfalle Spinaci Ricotta and the Panccheri Melanzane. The waiter recommended the Farfalle and I’m a sucker for suggestion, so that’s what I got. I wasn’t disappointed. Usually, when I get pasta at restaurants, I’m underwhelmed. I mean, I can make decent pasta dishes at home, so it’s gotta be GOOD for me to be impressed. This was delicious. I may play around at home in an attempt to replicate it.
Oh, another thing: The table bread is AWESOME (and comes with deliciously flavored olive oil). I had an entire mini-​meal of bread before the pasta came. Each entrée comes with a generous salad, too.
Like I said, I can’t wait to come back! We sat inside this time. We’ll have to go outdoors next time. Great atmosphere.