Pina’s Bistro

This was by far one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had! My girlfriend and I went in and told the waitress that we were on our lunch hour (actually ½ hour) and we sat and then ordered our food of which we split a chicken parmigiana sandwich with salad. The waitress served our food splitting the salad on our individual plates and I thought — Wow! That was very nice of them to split the entire meal. Then, the bill arrived with a $ 4.00 split charge! She never mentioned the split charge and when we asked her about it her reply was «it is written on the menu». She said I even gave you a discount, the charge is normally $ 5.00. How kind of her! I reminded her that this was our first time to the restaurant and how I had wanted to try it for quite awhile. Again, her reply, was «well, it is written on the menu». I politely informed her that it would have been nice for her to mention the charge upfront when she took our order. We paid for the meal in cash and I needed to break a $ 20.00 to repay my friend. The waitress literally grabbed the $ 20 bill out of my hand! It was unbelievable! Then when she handed me the 2 — $ 10.00 bills she made an insincere apology. By then it was too late! The food was not great for the price. We only split the meal because we don’t each that much at lunchtime. But, the waitresses attitude and personality was lacking to say the least. Maybe she is the owner’s daughter? With the restaurant business as tough as it is, I am very surprised that they are in still in business. I will certainly spread the word about my horrible experience and I will never eat here again!

this is, without a doubt, the best Italian restaurant in Orange County! The lasagna is superb, light fluffy and flavorful. The special I had one night, Halibut on angel hair pasta with marinara was the best ever. You must not miss this place!

Friends introduced us to this place, and what a gem! It is very small, so I would recommend a reservation. The food is excellent! I had a special, with a pasta that was like a very large tortellini with their house made sausage. It was great. The dinner salad was also excellent. We will be back soon!

Been here before actually several times and I always think it’s over priced but I dont mind when the food is excellant .Had the baked pasta… and no melted bubbling cheese like a baked pasta dish should have. only ricotta throughout the pasta no melted cheese to be found no baked penne either .lots of good sausage but the sauce was very greasy .oily was separating… and when I questioned if this was the baked dish waitress said yes they melted the cheese well someone forgot the cheese today then. Pina the owner and daughter looked like we were bothering them all my other visits have been pleasent .I know several people have complained how they were treated well I guess today was my turn I will not return EVER EVER …

Writing this second review (last one was in 2012). Outside of Boston’s North End, I’ve not had Italian food this good. I’m not exaggerating — really. Quality ingredients. Family recipes. Sauces are done perfectly. Pasta is very good (though I like it al dente — much more than the average person I guess).
My favorite dish is the Veal ribeye chop. Super tender, garlicky, with a nice char. I’ve tried the Manicotti, lasagna, and bolognese, as well. All are delicious. The bolognese, in particular, is superior.
Wine list has a good variety of wines that pair well with the food, and are reasonably priced. You can also bring your own bottle, though I haven’t done that, yet.
And dessert? One word: Tiramisu. Though the Lemoncello cake is fantastic, as well.
Here’s the bottom line: If you value quality Italian meals, made by someone who knows what she’s doing, in a cozy relaxed atmosphere, why haven’t you come here, yet!!! Go – NOW!

This was a waste of time seemed to be inconveniencing our waitress the whole time we were there. Food was average over priced actually as a Tustin resident our go to place for Italian… Roma’s is a better option. It started with being sat at a table that was off in the distant corner of the restaurant and it seemed like from our waitresses perspective we were there to serve her. After I asked for a water refill and finished a glass of wine I waited another 10 minutes even after putting my empty wine and water glass at the edge of the table in hopes she would see it. Once she did manage to come to our table she asked if I wanted a refill I said no I did ten
minutes ago in over it she says «ohh sorry you didn’t tell me you wanted another glass» and walked away with a fantastic attitude. I’ve had some of the best Italian food growing up and living in Chicago and residing specifically in Little Italy… Rosebud… Carmine’s. Tuffano’s and when I get pasta swimming in liquid it tells me you don’t now how to properly drain pasta and who puts salmon in Fruti DI Mare? Also the linguine with Alfredo (sampled
my wife’s) First Alfredo sauce I ever have had that has a smoky flavor almost as though it had pancetta in it which is fine but not authentic Alfredo that’s called Carbonara. Their prices are way too high but seemed like they had a long list of old patrons who frequent here and don’t know any better which is fine we won’t ever be back.

Well what can I say about this wonderful little gem in a small strip mall in Santa Ana. We were staying not far from Pina’s and found them on Unilocal.Pina is so wonderful. She is such a mensch. We had such a wonderful experience. What a wonderful meal. Please stop in and experience a wonderful meal of homemade delights. We will most definitely be back the next time we are in the area. Grazie Mille Pina :-)

I was craving a pizza hardcore and came upon his cute little place. It’s hidden and there were people there in the middle of the day so I was really hoping this could be a new regular spot of mine. I was a little taken aback at the prices but decided to order anyways because I was there. I ordered a calzone which ended up costing me $ 16 and was soooooooo disappointed. There was absolutely no taste. I felt like I was eating cardboard. The girl there was so nice but I will never be back here

When I say mom os in the kitchen cooking and making sausage, I am serious and the food here is the same. A small and cozy family owned strip mall location in Tustin, this joint knows it outta the park.
I ordered the homemade Italian sausage and peppers sammy and could not believe the aroma, flavor and texture. The casing is very light and easily sliced with a fork. The grind of pork and veal combined with spices make this a hell of a lunch entrée.
Bonus, check in with Unilocal and get a free small tomato basil bruschetta appetizer.

Very nice place. Very good food. Outside patio area was quite comfortable in the evenings with the heat lamps and windshade. Wonderful family-​run restaurant. Call for reservation. They have limited space.

Always had good food here. Take out today cus it feels so good to be home after the NYE never ending parties.
Ordered their infamous fat tortellini with the house sauce and homemade sausage. It was really good but a bit on the salty side. $ 28 (quite steep for a small dish in this neck of the woods)
When I picked up food there were a lot older people dining there and I always have had the experience that when you see a lot of seniors it’s prob good inclination/​tell tale that the food is really salty since most seniors lose their taste buds and tend to love salty foods at that age.
Well I was right. Flavor of tortellini was great! Spinach and everything else was pretty darn good but again a bit too salty. Lasagna was better than all places around here and they use better ingredients than any other place around here as well but it’s still only a 3.8. Tomato sauce was a bit sour. Not sure if they buy canned or use organic but sauce was a bit sour, nonetheless probably the best quality lasagna around here.
Order the homemade tortellini vs lasagna and ask them to go easier on the salt and you’ll probably love it.
Bread that comes with the meal was so cute and looked identical to a baked potato. Family run and people are really nice :)

The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again — George Miller
Pina’s has such lovely food that you will be sad when you are full. Established in 1995, which makes it even worse that I only started visiting the place in 2015, Pina’s take on the cuisine of her native Napoli has been «lovingly and masterfully recreated and served to her loyal patrons’ (at least according to her website and my tummy).
And more internet info: «Using only the freshest and finest ingredients available in the marketplace Pina handcrafts all of her sausage, manicotti, cannelloni, lasagna, gnocchi, bread and sauces, not to mention her luxurious and sensual desert offerings as well as all of her other exquisite dishes.»
Being stuffed on pasta I never did try the homemade desserts during my first two visits. what I did try that was so wonderful was gnocchi with sausage, lasagna, butternut squash ravioli and the chilean seabass with pasta. The chilean seabass was merely «good», the other three were just wholesome, hearty goodness with each bite. Everything in harmony and balance with soul; did not make me sleepy and tired like most Italian joints make you feel.
Wine list is serviceable. And one occasion I had their barbera by the glass, on another occasion I brought a Clos Pepe 2012 Pinot that was absolutely perfect with the gnocchi. Corkage is $ 15
If you haven’t been to Pina’s, make up for lost time and go. Yes it is next to a 7 – 11 but after winning the food lottery you can also make go buy a ticket for the real lottery ;-)

This place is so adorable and such good food! Everything is made from scratch. It’s sort of set up like you are sitting in the middle of someone’s kitchen. Friendly staff. I had a large party of 8 people and the waitress remembered everyone’s order without writing it down. This always makes me nervous and I think ‘Oh great with my luck, my food will be the one that gets jacked up’
Everyone got exactly what they ordered
I was impressed
It’s very humble but amazing

Great family run Italian food. The homemade sausage is a must have… so good. The mom (Pina) runs the kitchen and it shows. Great food… period!
One of my favs is the Penne Arrabiata, make sure you add the homemade sausage.
I’d get there early if you want a table inside, its small.

My boss mentioned that this place has great food. Since I was craving for real Italian my friend and I decided to come here. The location is the oddest place. 7 Eleven is next door along with a nail salon and a massage parlor.
The family business restaurant is very elegant with the atmosphere of being in lil Italy. I visited Italy 2 years ago and this place brought back memories.
The food we ordered taste so good that nothing was left on our plate. I had the lasagna it was the best lasagna I ever had. The $ 18 price in the other hand is a bit high for a plate of lasagna. No matter I will be coming back here again.
FYI, they do get pretty busy. So I suggest calling in to make a reservation.

Everything is made to order, so be prepared for the wait time! We ordered:
calamari fritti
gnocchi Gorgonzola w/​sausage
giant tortellini with spinach and ricotta in creamy tomato sauce (today’s special)
Spaghetti with shrimp in marinara sauce
Calamari fritti were in thin layer batter, fried to perfection, with a warm marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
Gnocchi was so good! Chewy and flavorful. It’s a bit dense so we didn’t finish the plate, took it to go.
My favorite was today’s special: freshly made giant tortellini filled with spinach and ricotta, the sauce was so yummy, creamy tomato sauce, kind of like Vodka sauce.
I’ve asked the kitchen to make something simple for my daughter, so she got her yummy spaghetti with shrimp, a smaller portion. She was very happy with the food!
It’s a family-​run little bistro, everything is homemade (even the bread!!!), everything is awesome!

I had a huge itch for Italian food that had to be scratched, so I looked up Italian restaurants around the vicinity using my Unilocal app that offered take out and came across Pina’s. The place seemed like a hole in the wall, which it is, and since I love discovering places like such, I thought I’d give it a try. Who knows. maybe I might find a diamond in the rough. Unfortunately, no diamond was to be discovered that day.
I decided on the spaghetti bolognese after reading how they described it was prepared on the menu. The description read «A true Bolognese with carrots, celery, and sautéed onion, ground beef and a splash of cream over spaghetti». Who could not fall in love with these words? This is exactly the traditional way it’s prepared. The only problem was, it tasted nothing like how it was described. There wasn’t just a splash of cream, it was more like a tidal wave. It was quite terrible. Probably one of the worst pasta dishes I’ve had in awhile.

On behalf of _​grEATings_​,
First time coming here and it definitely had a family feel to it! We figured out that the mom is the chef and two daughters (?) are servers.
Service:
Friendly and welcoming. Brought us water and warm bread right away!
Food:
A little on the pricy side, but it comes with a house salad.
Linguine Alfredo $ 14.95
Cannelloni $ 19.95
We heard great things about this place, but it was a tad bit salty for our liking.
Overall:
Will definitely come back to give it another shot. Really enjoy family restaurants.
*Checking us out on Instagram!*

Must have been pretty good.
All gone.
W had the homemade Lasagne and the
Pizza Margarita and two Meatballs on the side.
But the prices are bit on the high side
With Pellegrino $ 45.-

This place is next to a 7 eleven and it is in a strip mall… and not in a «fine dining» area. That being said: no clue how this place isn’t packed all the time. The food is awesome.
I had the veal chop. It danced and then melted in my mouth. It was a really, really good steak experience. The pastas I had from other people’s plates were equally fantastic. The homemade spaghetti special was light and flavorful. All of the saucy entrees (topped with sausage is necessary) were also worth every bite.
The chef (the mom) came out and spoke to us. Asked about everyone in our party, and was all things perfect. Her daughters help serve and keep things flowing back in the kitchen as well.
I am so, so happy we ate here.