Another good find. Before we arrived I was taking a little slumber at our hotel. I asked my wife pick a place for dinner.
Thirty minutes or so later she gently woke me up. Unfortunately I was in a deep sleep, that means I woke up with an attitude.
I put on my pants while my wife directed our sons to put some pants on as well.
After a short drive we pulled into a sweeeet parking spot, a little tight for our gas guzzling transport. As I step out the suv I noticed the building was unique. My wife told me it was an old navy training base. Pretty cool, right.
Now to the nitty gritty.
We had a reservation. We checked in at the hostess stand. The wait surprisingly wasn’t to bad. Our table was in the front area in the enclosed patio. It was a bit cold, so we asked if they could turn on the space heater. You probably guessed, it didn’t happen. We sat at our table for about 25 minutes until our waitress came over. The one good thing was that they at least brought water to the table. With the time waiting we had more than enough time to spend on the menu. Finally our waitress came over, no apologies for the wait. She started at her ordering device for a couple of minutes. Them she asked if we wanted drinks. We knew what we wanted already from drinks, appetizers, to main course. Now keep in mind I do not remember the dish names, I will describe them as close as possible for you to know what we ordered.
Here’s what we ordered.
Appetizers: a fried pizza dough it was 3 small fried pizza bread with different toppings. Yummmy! So good. Next was the focaccia, that was a super good, garlicky and great texture.
Wine: Chianti Classico, this was funny because our waitress opened the bottle and served me a taste. I proceeded to taste the bottle and motioned it was good. She then rolled her eyes giving the impression like, “duh I know.”
Now for the pasta, keep in mind their pasta is house made.
Spicy Pasta w/ Chicken: I asked our waitress I wanted something spicy, she directed me to a sauce that would please my palette. I had the parpadale pasta. She was right! I liked it a lot.
Carbonara: also really good, chose the tagliolini pasta.
Pesto penne: yummy the pesto was delicious.
Calzoni: a little different then a calzone as you can see in the pictures. Crust and fillings were delicious.
This place was really busy and we understood that sometimes it’s hard to get to every table. Still I would recommend as a waitress or waiter to check in with your guests and let them know you will be right with them.
I would definitely return, next time I might walk the market. Unfortunately by the time we finished our dinner the market was closing up.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Bethany Nyberg
Not a good place for pickup orders, it puts a lot of pressure on the hostess
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Michelle Mariano
My favorite Italian restaurant in San Diego. I love all the branches of this restaurant but this is my favorite. I love the location and service here.
The pizza is always top notch!
Vegetarian options: Pizza. Always get pizza
Dietary restrictions: Ask
Kid-friendliness: Kids love pizza
Wheelchair accessibility: Ramp available
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi with Shrimp Stracciata Cheese and Eggplant in a Corborini Sauce, Salads, Nicola
Adam Clevenger
Officine Buona Forchetta's expansive menu accommodated our family's dietary needs and left us all well fed! From the artisan pizzas, build your own pasta dishes, to the gluten-free pizza crust, every selection was molto bene! 🤌 The staff were incredibly nice. The only slight criticism is the cocktails were weak.
Dietary restrictions: Gluten-free crust was delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Margherita Pizza
Ann
My partner and I were seated promptly and given menus, but unfortunately, more than 20 minutes went by, and no one came to check on us or take our order. We had to go ask the hostess for someone to take our order, and the waiter came and said he was dealing with a huge party seated next to us. Regardless, even in that time we had been there we had not seen him once since we had arrived.
Later, when we were ready to leave, we experienced further frustration with the lack of service when trying to get our check. Our waiter was nowhere to be found (perhaps he had gone on break?), but no one came to check in on us. We had to ask a server to bring us our check, but after a few minutes, it still hadn’t been brought out.
After waiting a bit longer, we asked another worker if she could bring the check as we had previously requested. Despite seeing the server and the other worker around, the check still wasn’t brought out. Finally, after waiting even longer, we managed to get the attention of another waitress, who then brought over someone different to check us out.
It was our first time dining here, and we had heard great reviews about the food so we had high expectations. However the delays and lack of attention significantly impacted our dining experience, and we left feeling quite frustrated.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
paul foster
They have Frites! The polpotine is fire!
Joe Cuschieri
A bit on the noisy side with aircrafts flyover. Owners should consult a noise control engineer to provide recommendations for the outside area.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Margherita Pizza, Regina Margherita Pizza
Edna C
Came here with family to celebrate my fiancé birthday. Made a reservation and noted the occasion on the notes. No mention was made regarding the birthday, no special attention for the occasion. The waitress was curt and efficient, but not kind or attentive, which was disappointing since we were celebrating.
The food was delicious and came out fast and fresh. We ordered the Sergio pizza, piemonte salad with chicken, Brussel sprouts, and the parpadelle with bolognese sauce. All the food was delicious as well as the Italian spritzer I had to accompany the meal.
They have mostly patio dining. If you're basically looking for good food, this is a good casual spot. Don't expect much more.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Piemonte Salad
Shrinivas G U
Authentic food, prompt service with excellent yummy vegetarian options !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Denise Rodriguez
My fiancé and I were told it was a 20-25 minute wait for to-go orders and a 45 minute wait for a table. We decided to order to-go, however the time we waited for our to-go meal, we could’ve gotten a table. Finally, one of the hostesses decided to ask us for the name of our to-go order and handed us cold food in the to-go boxes. Our to-go order must’ve been sitting there for who knows how long.
Officine Buona Forchetta is one of my Top Five favorites of all time! The pizza is fantastic! The pasta is wonderful! The focaccia is delicious! The burrata is excellent! The best thing on the entire menu, though, is the EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA!! I know what you’re thinking, “Eggplant is mushy and gross!” Not this one!!! We take every single person who comes to visit us in San Diego to Officine and I make everyone try it! I have never had one person say they don’t love it!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Regina Margherita Pizza
Luciana P
Came here for dinner with friends and it was delicious! Tiramisu was amazing. The crust was good and it’s made on a pizza oven so. Some friends ordered their pasta and said it was good; there’s egg pasta options too.
Just when we thought there wasn’t any Parmesan cheese, a lady came with the biggest bowl with ever seen and served us! They have gluten free options (both pasta and pizza) and even dairy free/vegan cheese options for pizza- which is a great option for lactose intolerant people.
Only complaint is that they only had like one bathroom and it took forever for us to use it.
Dietary restrictions: Gluten free and dairy free options (vegan cheese). Some dishes can easily be made vegetarian too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Tiramisu
C J
Food magnifico. A little bit hard to find.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Burrata Caprese Salad, Regina Margherita Pizza
Blair Barnett
Personal pizzas were delicious. Figure 2 pizzas for 3 people, with a side or with a salad.
Parking: Fridays and Saturdays are busy. Get there early.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
QABPROSERV
I really liked this place years ago when I came here with coworkers. But the last experience was a bit disappointing.
The waiter up-sold us on a bread appetizer of focaccia (when regular bread is provided complimentary in the past).
Then he literally started at us while we were tipping.
I've worked in restaurants for years. It was totally inappropriate especially while we were patient with the understaffed conditions. If you're rushing through your shift without grace, it's probably time to consider a career change.
Another good find. Before we arrived I was taking a little slumber at our hotel. I asked my wife pick a place for dinner.
Thirty minutes or so later she gently woke me up. Unfortunately I was in a deep sleep, that means I woke up with an attitude.
I put on my pants while my wife directed our sons to put some pants on as well.
After a short drive we pulled into a sweeeet parking spot, a little tight for our gas guzzling transport. As I step out the suv I noticed the building was unique. My wife told me it was an old navy training base. Pretty cool, right.
Now to the nitty gritty.
We had a reservation. We checked in at the hostess stand. The wait surprisingly wasn’t to bad. Our table was in the front area in the enclosed patio. It was a bit cold, so we asked if they could turn on the space heater. You probably guessed, it didn’t happen. We sat at our table for about 25 minutes until our waitress came over. The one good thing was that they at least brought water to the table. With the time waiting we had more than enough time to spend on the menu. Finally our waitress came over, no apologies for the wait. She started at her ordering device for a couple of minutes. Them she asked if we wanted drinks. We knew what we wanted already from drinks, appetizers, to main course. Now keep in mind I do not remember the dish names, I will describe them as close as possible for you to know what we ordered.
Here’s what we ordered.
Appetizers: a fried pizza dough it was 3 small fried pizza bread with different toppings. Yummmy! So good. Next was the focaccia, that was a super good, garlicky and great texture.
Wine: Chianti Classico, this was funny because our waitress opened the bottle and served me a taste. I proceeded to taste the bottle and motioned it was good. She then rolled her eyes giving the impression like, “duh I know.”
Now for the pasta, keep in mind their pasta is house made.
Spicy Pasta w/ Chicken: I asked our waitress I wanted something spicy, she directed me to a sauce that would please my palette. I had the parpadale pasta. She was right! I liked it a lot.
Carbonara: also really good, chose the tagliolini pasta.
Pesto penne: yummy the pesto was delicious.
Calzoni: a little different then a calzone as you can see in the pictures. Crust and fillings were delicious.
This place was really busy and we understood that sometimes it’s hard to get to every table. Still I would recommend as a waitress or waiter to check in with your guests and let them know you will be right with them.
I would definitely return, next time I might walk the market. Unfortunately by the time we finished our dinner the market was closing up.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Not a good place for pickup orders, it puts a lot of pressure on the hostess
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
My favorite Italian restaurant in San Diego. I love all the branches of this restaurant but this is my favorite. I love the location and service here.
The pizza is always top notch!
Vegetarian options: Pizza. Always get pizza
Dietary restrictions: Ask
Kid-friendliness: Kids love pizza
Wheelchair accessibility: Ramp available
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi with Shrimp Stracciata Cheese and Eggplant in a Corborini Sauce, Salads, Nicola
Officine Buona Forchetta's expansive menu accommodated our family's dietary needs and left us all well fed! From the artisan pizzas, build your own pasta dishes, to the gluten-free pizza crust, every selection was molto bene! 🤌 The staff were incredibly nice. The only slight criticism is the cocktails were weak.
Dietary restrictions: Gluten-free crust was delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Margherita Pizza
My partner and I were seated promptly and given menus, but unfortunately, more than 20 minutes went by, and no one came to check on us or take our order. We had to go ask the hostess for someone to take our order, and the waiter came and said he was dealing with a huge party seated next to us. Regardless, even in that time we had been there we had not seen him once since we had arrived.
Later, when we were ready to leave, we experienced further frustration with the lack of service when trying to get our check. Our waiter was nowhere to be found (perhaps he had gone on break?), but no one came to check in on us. We had to ask a server to bring us our check, but after a few minutes, it still hadn’t been brought out.
After waiting a bit longer, we asked another worker if she could bring the check as we had previously requested. Despite seeing the server and the other worker around, the check still wasn’t brought out. Finally, after waiting even longer, we managed to get the attention of another waitress, who then brought over someone different to check us out.
It was our first time dining here, and we had heard great reviews about the food so we had high expectations. However the delays and lack of attention significantly impacted our dining experience, and we left feeling quite frustrated.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
They have Frites! The polpotine is fire!
A bit on the noisy side with aircrafts flyover. Owners should consult a noise control engineer to provide recommendations for the outside area.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Margherita Pizza, Regina Margherita Pizza
Came here with family to celebrate my fiancé birthday. Made a reservation and noted the occasion on the notes. No mention was made regarding the birthday, no special attention for the occasion. The waitress was curt and efficient, but not kind or attentive, which was disappointing since we were celebrating.
The food was delicious and came out fast and fresh. We ordered the Sergio pizza, piemonte salad with chicken, Brussel sprouts, and the parpadelle with bolognese sauce. All the food was delicious as well as the Italian spritzer I had to accompany the meal.
They have mostly patio dining. If you're basically looking for good food, this is a good casual spot. Don't expect much more.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Piemonte Salad
Authentic food, prompt service with excellent yummy vegetarian options !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
My fiancé and I were told it was a 20-25 minute wait for to-go orders and a 45 minute wait for a table. We decided to order to-go, however the time we waited for our to-go meal, we could’ve gotten a table. Finally, one of the hostesses decided to ask us for the name of our to-go order and handed us cold food in the to-go boxes. Our to-go order must’ve been sitting there for who knows how long.
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Officine Buona Forchetta is one of my Top Five favorites of all time! The pizza is fantastic! The pasta is wonderful! The focaccia is delicious! The burrata is excellent! The best thing on the entire menu, though, is the EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA!! I know what you’re thinking, “Eggplant is mushy and gross!” Not this one!!! We take every single person who comes to visit us in San Diego to Officine and I make everyone try it! I have never had one person say they don’t love it!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Regina Margherita Pizza
Came here for dinner with friends and it was delicious! Tiramisu was amazing. The crust was good and it’s made on a pizza oven so. Some friends ordered their pasta and said it was good; there’s egg pasta options too.
Just when we thought there wasn’t any Parmesan cheese, a lady came with the biggest bowl with ever seen and served us! They have gluten free options (both pasta and pizza) and even dairy free/vegan cheese options for pizza- which is a great option for lactose intolerant people.
Only complaint is that they only had like one bathroom and it took forever for us to use it.
Dietary restrictions: Gluten free and dairy free options (vegan cheese). Some dishes can easily be made vegetarian too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Tiramisu
Food magnifico.
A little bit hard to find.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Burrata Caprese Salad, Regina Margherita Pizza
Personal pizzas were delicious. Figure 2 pizzas for 3 people, with a side or with a salad.
Parking: Fridays and Saturdays are busy. Get there early.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
I really liked this place years ago when I came here with coworkers. But the last experience was a bit disappointing.
The waiter up-sold us on a bread appetizer of focaccia (when regular bread is provided complimentary in the past).
Then he literally started at us while we were tipping.
I've worked in restaurants for years. It was totally inappropriate especially while we were patient with the understaffed conditions. If you're rushing through your shift without grace, it's probably time to consider a career change.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Regina Margherita Pizza
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