Buon Appetito means... Good Appetite in English. Well if you find yourself in San Diego and you're smack dab in the middle of Little Italy and suddenly a lil Italian cuisine sounds just about right... You damn well better bring your 'Good Appetite!' And If you come to this part of town thinking you will find let's say a little Mexican or Chinese or a maybe some Thai cuisine... I say..."GTFO hereee!" (Done in my best Italian Maffioso tough guy voice). "This is Little Italy! You come looking for those other cuisines again...I'll feed ya to the F'in fish!" Capiche? ---------------------- O.k., before the F.B.I starts wire tapping my reviews... Let's get into the pepperoni & gnocchi (aka "the meat and potatoes") of this review. The last time we vacationed in San Diego and made our way to Little Italy back in 2018, my wife was pregnant with our first baby. 6 years later, we now have 3 girls and this certified Girl Dad (Me) still loves himself some Italian food. Last trip, we went to one of the many other Italian restaurants on the Little Italy strip and this time around we planned to return to that same place to take the kids, but the wait was way too long and we were way too hungry to wait and so we decided to give another place a shot. As we walked down the street looking into each restaurant to see which one looked kid friendly and which one was not too crazy busy, we finally came across Buon Appetito and agreed it was the one. We were seated right away and after looking over our menus, we were greeted by a gentleman whom we presumed was our server. He took our drink orders and asked us if we had any questions, but we said we needed some more time. After perusing the menu, another gentleman showed up and he landed up taking our food order... ok, this guy is our server, or so we thought. (more on this later) We went with their Insalata Romana (Caesar Salad), got the kids a spaghetti to split, Cannelloni for me (which I always Love), Gnocchi with Pesto for my wife (which she always enjoys), an Arnold Palmer... And, of course some vino for the table. The Food was pretty good, no complaints from us. The service was fine & trust me I'm not trying to be super critical, but it was kind of unclear of who our actual server was as various people came to our table throughout the evening. Because of this, we didn't really get checked in on particularly when we needed refills on our drinks. In most cases, I am pretty patient and understanding of wait staff and their role. But after waiting for someone to come by or even acknowledge our attempt to get someone's attention, I finally decided to just head over to the bar to ask the gentleman there if I could get a refill on our Arnold Palmer... The look I got was as if I had just attempted to steal his first born; trust me, I've got 3 kids...I certainly didn't want his. ;) All in all, it was a decent meal, but not anything to write home about so I'm just going to write it here for you instead. Take this review with a grain of salt, heck with a grain of pepper if you like it spicy. ;) So...whether you decide on Buon Appetito or any of the other Italian restaurants here in Little Italy, just make sure to bring your appetite, always accept the Parmesan cheese they offer to sprinkle on your entree and for the love of Italy, Get. Some. Vino.
Devan Salazar
First time we spent at Little Italy in San Diego. Did a reservation, and we we were in before the time. Ok, food and average price considering. Lots to choose from restaurants in this section. Food came out cold. Service was slower than dirt. The appetizer was good, along with the fresh sourdough bread. At the end, we were charged for someone else's drink.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Lasagna Classica, Famous Cannoli, Penne Bolognese
Vicky L
Absolutely delicious pasta, and sauce. Would recommend to anyone visiting little Italy.Update: I came back during a trip 2 years later, and it is still has amazing pasta and fabulous service. Love it!!☺️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Penne Bolognese
J E
excellent bread and excellent salmon pasta
C Ramsey
The atmosphere of Buon Appetito is typical of the area (Little Italy). There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, but it doesn’t set itself apart from the rest of the restaurants in the area. The same thing cannot be said about their food. They are relatively reasonably priced (compared to the other restaurants in the area) and their food was fantastic. I ordered the cannelloni, which was fantastic and the portions were decent. Their specials menu also contains some things that look great, but will not review as I’ve not had them. Unfortunately, most of the menus for the restaurants in this area all blur at some point…there’s very little to differentiate between them. That said this one has a few items that help it stand out from the herd.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hossein Hajiyan
I wish i could leave 0 start here. Rude staff, zero customer service. Waited in line for 30 min, no single staff asked me to be seated. They are just running here and there for no reason. Ppl are paying dollars here its not free, show some respect to ir customers
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Jorge MR
Although there are many good restaurants in Little Italy we loved this one because of its immense variety of pastas, and all of them very good, as well as their appetizers. The price is not that cheap, but its quality is worth it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
KKK KKK
Delicious Italian food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jeremiah Hoehner
Charming and romantic Italian restaurant in Little Italy. They have gluten free pasta and several gluten free pasta and gluten free entree options. My gluten free pasta was the best I have ever had from a restaurant. They also boast an excellent wine list! We sat outside and enjoyed a beautiful evening. There is a great view of the skyline. Our server was friendly and outstanding. Highly recommended!Dietary restrictions: Gluten Free options
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
chris snyder
Great authentic Italian spot in Little Italy. Excellent food excellent service excellent atmosphere. Sitting outside at a little table drinking some wine eating some great food here is truly a pleasure on a warm night
We walked up to Buon Appetito on a Friday evening without a reservation and everything fell together wonderfully and smoothly.Things you should know:I. PARKINGLittle Italy can be a little difficult to park at. You're going to want to keep your eyes peeled for parallel street parking spaces.II. SERVICEAttentive and accommodating. Our drinks were never empty! The food comes out in a timely manner as well. If you're splitting dishes, let your waiter know so they can plate them separately for you.Also, there's complimentary bread to snack on as you wait for your order.III. QUALITYWe ordered the Linguine Neri and were pleased to see the dish was packed with seafood and not "filler" materials like extra noodles or extra sauce. Great value for what you pay.IV. CAPACITYFair amount of available seating for Friday dinner hours. We were pleasantly seated right away without a reservation!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rebeca Polo
We loved eeeeeeverything about this restaurant, here is where your pasta dreams come true! Excellent service as well and a gorgeous cozy setting.
Sung Kwon Hong (Davis)
This is a restaurant where you can keep reaching for the bread while chatting with your friends about how delicious the warm aperitif bread is served when the store opens. Sometimes it's not warm, but overall the food is delicious.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Kittu Rao
Excellent food and service. Lasagna melted in mouth. Fresh food. Wine was delicious.
Buon Appetito means... Good Appetite in English. Well if you find yourself in San Diego and you're smack dab in the middle of Little Italy and suddenly a lil Italian cuisine sounds just about right... You damn well better bring your 'Good Appetite!' And If you come to this part of town thinking you will find let's say a little Mexican or Chinese or a maybe some Thai cuisine... I say..."GTFO hereee!" (Done in my best Italian Maffioso tough guy voice). "This is Little Italy! You come looking for those other cuisines again...I'll feed ya to the F'in fish!" Capiche? ---------------------- O.k., before the F.B.I starts wire tapping my reviews... Let's get into the pepperoni & gnocchi (aka "the meat and potatoes") of this review. The last time we vacationed in San Diego and made our way to Little Italy back in 2018, my wife was pregnant with our first baby. 6 years later, we now have 3 girls and this certified Girl Dad (Me) still loves himself some Italian food. Last trip, we went to one of the many other Italian restaurants on the Little Italy strip and this time around we planned to return to that same place to take the kids, but the wait was way too long and we were way too hungry to wait and so we decided to give another place a shot. As we walked down the street looking into each restaurant to see which one looked kid friendly and which one was not too crazy busy, we finally came across Buon Appetito and agreed it was the one. We were seated right away and after looking over our menus, we were greeted by a gentleman whom we presumed was our server. He took our drink orders and asked us if we had any questions, but we said we needed some more time. After perusing the menu, another gentleman showed up and he landed up taking our food order... ok, this guy is our server, or so we thought. (more on this later) We went with their Insalata Romana (Caesar Salad), got the kids a spaghetti to split, Cannelloni for me (which I always Love), Gnocchi with Pesto for my wife (which she always enjoys), an Arnold Palmer... And, of course some vino for the table. The Food was pretty good, no complaints from us. The service was fine & trust me I'm not trying to be super critical, but it was kind of unclear of who our actual server was as various people came to our table throughout the evening. Because of this, we didn't really get checked in on particularly when we needed refills on our drinks. In most cases, I am pretty patient and understanding of wait staff and their role. But after waiting for someone to come by or even acknowledge our attempt to get someone's attention, I finally decided to just head over to the bar to ask the gentleman there if I could get a refill on our Arnold Palmer... The look I got was as if I had just attempted to steal his first born; trust me, I've got 3 kids...I certainly didn't want his. ;) All in all, it was a decent meal, but not anything to write home about so I'm just going to write it here for you instead. Take this review with a grain of salt, heck with a grain of pepper if you like it spicy. ;) So...whether you decide on Buon Appetito or any of the other Italian restaurants here in Little Italy, just make sure to bring your appetite, always accept the Parmesan cheese they offer to sprinkle on your entree and for the love of Italy, Get. Some. Vino.
First time we spent at Little Italy in San Diego. Did a reservation, and we we were in before the time. Ok, food and average price considering. Lots to choose from restaurants in this section. Food came out cold. Service was slower than dirt. The appetizer was good, along with the fresh sourdough bread. At the end, we were charged for someone else's drink.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Lasagna Classica, Famous Cannoli, Penne Bolognese
Absolutely delicious pasta, and sauce. Would recommend to anyone visiting little Italy.Update: I came back during a trip 2 years later, and it is still has amazing pasta and fabulous service. Love it!!☺️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Penne Bolognese
excellent bread and excellent salmon pasta
The atmosphere of Buon Appetito is typical of the area (Little Italy). There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, but it doesn’t set itself apart from the rest of the restaurants in the area. The same thing cannot be said about their food. They are relatively reasonably priced (compared to the other restaurants in the area) and their food was fantastic. I ordered the cannelloni, which was fantastic and the portions were decent. Their specials menu also contains some things that look great, but will not review as I’ve not had them. Unfortunately, most of the menus for the restaurants in this area all blur at some point…there’s very little to differentiate between them. That said this one has a few items that help it stand out from the herd.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
I wish i could leave 0 start here. Rude staff, zero customer service. Waited in line for 30 min, no single staff asked me to be seated. They are just running here and there for no reason. Ppl are paying dollars here its not free, show some respect to ir customers
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Although there are many good restaurants in Little Italy we loved this one because of its immense variety of pastas, and all of them very good, as well as their appetizers. The price is not that cheap, but its quality is worth it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious Italian food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Charming and romantic Italian restaurant in Little Italy. They have gluten free pasta and several gluten free pasta and gluten free entree options. My gluten free pasta was the best I have ever had from a restaurant. They also boast an excellent wine list! We sat outside and enjoyed a beautiful evening. There is a great view of the skyline. Our server was friendly and outstanding. Highly recommended!Dietary restrictions: Gluten Free options
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great authentic Italian spot in Little Italy. Excellent food excellent service excellent atmosphere. Sitting outside at a little table drinking some wine eating some great food here is truly a pleasure on a warm night
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Excellent dinner
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Calamari D' Orati
We walked up to Buon Appetito on a Friday evening without a reservation and everything fell together wonderfully and smoothly.Things you should know:I. PARKINGLittle Italy can be a little difficult to park at. You're going to want to keep your eyes peeled for parallel street parking spaces.II. SERVICEAttentive and accommodating. Our drinks were never empty! The food comes out in a timely manner as well. If you're splitting dishes, let your waiter know so they can plate them separately for you.Also, there's complimentary bread to snack on as you wait for your order.III. QUALITYWe ordered the Linguine Neri and were pleased to see the dish was packed with seafood and not "filler" materials like extra noodles or extra sauce. Great value for what you pay.IV. CAPACITYFair amount of available seating for Friday dinner hours. We were pleasantly seated right away without a reservation!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We loved eeeeeeverything about this restaurant, here is where your pasta dreams come true! Excellent service as well and a gorgeous cozy setting.
This is a restaurant where you can keep reaching for the bread while chatting with your friends about how delicious the warm aperitif bread is served when the store opens. Sometimes it's not warm, but overall the food is delicious.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Excellent food and service. Lasagna melted in mouth. Fresh food. Wine was delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lasagna Classica