Todd Elliot
this incredible Italian establishment has been around for a while, and we have visited before and make it every time we’re in town. Dining outside or inside dining room with beautiful decor. They have some great salads, including with prawns and melon. The other are not to miss the baked eggplant Parmesan And a variety of pastas and other entrées, but it’s hard to find a place that has squid in pasta with shellfish done well and this is the get it. Just fabulous and end with the tasty
… moreNing An
I know this is a historic well regarded restaurant. On this night I felt it fell quite short of its reputation. It was a Monday night and no greeter was there for a while. After I got seated I also waited a while to get a waiter. The bread while food was cold and when I ordered the daily special appetizer I was told it was roasted beets and prosciutto. But it actually was mostly burrata. I wish the waiter told me it was a cold appetizer. It was already a cold evening and then cold bread and appetizer didn’t help. My pasta, the Scorpio with a big prawn was very hot. The pasta was overcooked and soft. The prawn although quite flavorful was also overcooked. The sauce however was spicy and flavorful. Overall I felt the cooking was unrefined. I will not be returning.
… moreJinny C.
We sat on their dog-friendly patio for dinner and had a lovely experience. The service was accommodating and we enjoyed our food.
We shared the beet / prosciutto appetizer special and I enjoyed my steak and Italian DOCG wine. All four of us enjoyed our entrees (others had a chicken dish and one loved the salmon special). The bread pudding dessert and decaf cappuccino were a nice finish. Thank you!
… moreC Araujo
The service and atmosphere were excellent. No complaints about the servers or the place. However, the food was pretty mediocre and definitely not good enough for the price. Not even the free bread was good (it was too dry and hard to enjoy).
The first dish we had was a “special”: tuna carpaccio (as you can see in the picture, the pieces of fish were microscopic and the avocado was brown).
I had the ravioli. They were too salty and lacked personality (no other flavor besides salt).
For dessert, we shared a cannoli that was filled with a chocolate chip (?) cream. It felt more like a cheap, childlike version of a dessert that needs no modification.
If you want to have good Italian food, go to Ca’ Dario or Toma.
… moreCharles Burggraf
Great food and service. Wonderful start to our symphony evening. We both had vegetarian options and alcohol alternatives because it is lent, and we were just as happy as we would have been with wine and meat. Staff was a attentive without being sycophantic or doting, and the food left nothing to be desired. ( I would caution that the pumpkin tortellini which my wife ordered wat too sweet for my taste, but she was warned of this in advance and went for it ( and loved it). The bread was also delicious and very generous. They even brought us a second basket without having to be asked mid way through our meal, and we ended up taking that home for a great evening snack. Look forward to our next visit. I plan on ordering the prawn pasta, which I saw going to a number of other tables and was quite beautiful.
… moreAlvira K
This was a great find, Italian restaurant, so tasty and fancy with really reasonable prices.
They have patio as well. Good bread before the meal with olive oil. Our server John was wonderful, and Adan, our second server, was so attentive, and Eva, who we meet at the restaurant, helped and explained all 3 different locations.
… moreRichard Woo
We had a really great meal here. The pesto linguine pasta was flavorful and well constructed. The salmon was well cooked. The burrata, bruschetta, and angel hair pasta were also solid. The waiter was very friendly and accommodating as we had some toddlers with us. The host and one of the bussers didn’t seem that enthusiastic and almost a bit annoyed as we had a few toddlers with us. I understand that it was a white table cloth restaurant and having children isn’t ideal but we ate at 5pm and there was only one other family eating dinner at the time. In any event, the food was solid.
… moreGeorgina Curry
Friendly staff, and good food. Didn’t sit down and eat here. We ordered take out and we’re happy with all the food. Very tasty and the order was correct. Staff was friendly, parking was easy, and the pick-up was relatively speedy and smooth. Overall, if we are back I n the area and are craving some good Italian, we will definitely be stopping in to grab a bite.
… moreCynthia
This is the best restaurant in Santa Barbara! I had the best experience with service, food and the overall experience! They are very familiar with gluten free options! I highly recommend it and will be back! . Eva was so welcoming and lovely. Omar was an outstanding waiter and very attentive!
… moreAnthony Sarria
Fine authentic Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is just a beautiful little city. The city already has a holiday Christmas feel. The lights and decor are up, giving the city a beautiful romantic holiday hallmark feel. The restaurant has al fresco dinning and is set up nicely. They have heat lamps out, as its winter in California. This only means its below 70 but the heat lamps give it a cozy feeling sitting outdoors. The food was good. My wife got the duck stuffed ravioli with a cream sauce. She really enjoyed it. She believes it’s the best ravioli shes had, and she states that on her Italian heritage and having ravioli’s in Italy. It was so good, she had to break some bread to finish the sauce with it. She left a clean plate. I had the rack of lambs with sauteed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. I enjoyed it, it wasn’t the best, but it was good. It had good flavor and was tender. I also got a side of thier polenta. It was grilled and covered in mazzola cheese. It had a weird flavor. Can’t say I enjoyed it. I mainly got it to try out and I’m going say wasn’t enjoyable. For desert we got the raspberry creme brulee and lemon tart. The creme brulee was fresh creamy with the sweet crunch, it was good. The lemon tart, tasted store bought and old. The crust was dry and did not taste fresh. It was tart, but tasted as if it was sitting out for days. So, the location is a big plus. Very romantic, great date night location. The food, I would have to say, stick to the pastas as its something they do great. I would try this place again.
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