50 Best Italian Restaurants in San Jose

“It’s the jewel of the east side the food the beer the atmosphere family owned great place to enjoy ❤️“

“They have to best ravioli. My family has been getting them for over 60 years. I live in texas now, I haven't been there in years, I miss them so much! Most of my family is in Sacramento now and will go to La Villa just to get the ravioli!“

“100% recommend, comfort food and great service. Best cannolo I’ve had in San Jose ! The garlic knots are okay, their dough is really nice though. But the chicken with penne was delicious! My fiancé had the veal and he really liked it!“

“My family and I had a great experience. It wasn't busy when we went, so we got seated right away. Our server was attentive and friendly (I wish I remembered her name). We ordered chicken parmigiana and chicken alfredo with all you could eat soup and breadsticks. My son and daughter shared the alfredo and my husband had the chicken parmigiana. I simply had my son's soup 😅. I got to try 2 of the soups and was full after the 2 bowls. For four people, we spent only $56 (tip included) and left feeling full. I thought it was pretty good for a chain restaurant.“

“I love this place I have been going here for years“

“### Palermo Italian Restaurant — 5-Star Review

Had a wonderful experience at Palermo Italian Restaurant! The food was flavorful, fresh, and perfectly prepared, and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming. The service was friendly and attentive without being overbearing. Everything made for a fantastic meal, and I’d happily come back again. Highly recommended for anyone craving a great Italian dining experience in San Jose!“

“The food here is very good but even better is the service. The staff was very genuine, attentive and quick. Maybe the best service I've had in my life. I'm not in the area often but would definitely go again“

“Friendly staff, romantic place, open late, love their lemon 🍋 drop!“

“..finally had a chance to try the new restaurant, wonderful!!“

“My husband wanted Italian for his birthday lunch. We ordered a Locanda salad, polpete, vongole with pasta, lasagna, salmone with puttanesca sauce and vegetables, focacio bread, limoncello pear torte and pana cotta with 3 lattes. The salad came first, nice and refreshing, good dressing. Then the bread, a little dry, nice dipping sauce. The meatballs were flavorful, we took the leftover sauce home. Then the clams, the pasta part was excellent but the clams were not as appealing, no memorable flavor. The salmon was fine but the excellent part were the potatoes, good texture. The lasagna was a favorite, nice melty cheese. The desserts were fun: pear, lemon and a pudding-like pana cotta. The coffee was ok, not as strong as I like. Service was attentive and efficient.“

“Excellent vibe, nice folks classic cocktails.“

“One of the best places to have a big party. The banquet rooms are spacious; you can seat up to 160 guests. I’ve hosted 2 events here already - my parents’ 50th anniversary in 2014 and my 50th birthday this year. Easy process to reserve the space & select menu. Great customer service from all staff.“

“We ordered food from Al Castello for a birthday party and I couldn't be happier. Our order consisted of: chicken parmesan, vegetable lasagna, salad, bruschetta and canollis. The food was delicious and the price very fair. I highly recommend them!“

“I discovered the place by accident. I was next door inside Michaels having some art pieces custom framed when I decided to look for a place to stop by to eat. I was starving. I was craving for pasta. And thats how I got to discover this place. I ordered the chicken fettucine alfredo. Love the dish with its chunky chicken pieces and al dente pasta. The complimentary cheese sticks with that cheese pimiento cheese spread was a delightful surprise. Next time Ill check their lasagna and clam chowder. I heard their clam chowder is as good as Boulins in San Francisco. I dont have to make a drive to the city to enjoy a good bowl of chowder. The lasagna looks so rich as well as their chopino. Im definitely comjng back.“

“Amazing pizza! They have great halal options i def recommend the spicy chicken!“

“This is the shop on the first floor/ground floor of Eataly and it’s amazing. But it’s SO confusing to know where you are because a bunch of different shops are just lobbed onto Eataly. Like Eataly is this Italian themed mini mall inside the Westfield Valley Fair shopping centre. That’s why the star rating is so low and there are three reviews here lol. I have been to Eataly a few times and though their supermarket is great, their indoor restaurant is meh in terms of food and service (haven’t tried the separate outdoor restaurant), the only real reason I come here is for the service at Alla Pala and the gelato at IL Gelato di Eataly. They’re both on the first floor. Alla Pala has a great assortment of meals and sides. The taste can be a hit or miss esp since it’s costly, but I won’t pass up going there cos the staff at Alla Pala specifically are very professional and five star. The service feels so posh and upper class, it’s wonderful.“

“Service with a smile, toppings on toppings on toppings, very kind owners. Enjoyed some pizza and wings, the only thing I would change is the sauce ratio :) I’ll be sure to ask for a lil extra sauce next time. Looking forward to tasting more of Jennie’s Pizza in the future.“

“Delicious! First time there and had a meal on the outside towards the back of restaurant. Had a few different appetizers but I'd say go with the calamari as it's lightly breaded yet had the crunch and the squid soft and easy to eat. Great wine selection. For my main meal was the Filet Mignon dinner special. It was supposed to come with veggies and the meat in truffle sauce. Everything in my order was correct except the sauce on the filet mignon didn't taste nor look like truffle sauce but it looked and tasted more like a balsamic vinegar glaze. It was unique, as it had a vinegar flavor profile which was ok, though I really wanted more of a meaty taste. Dessert was great, had a pistachio cake that was mild in sweetness and more of the nutty flavor. Overall, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for me even with the little hiccup.

Parking: When you get to "Little Italy" one side has free parking but that gets full quickly, and the other side has parking meters that was active until 10PM (Yup, the meters are from 9am to 10pm in Little Italy, the rest of San Jose the meters stop operations at 6pm) which of course the parking space on the meters are available during the late afternoons but these spaces are full by 7/8pm.“

“I got the Wrigley and Chicago beef. Great taste. Think it would be better fresh. It smelled really good in there. I seen others plates and it looked really good. Next I'm going to eat in. They also have pacman arcade games for free! Big place 2 sides, bar area. Parking is scarce.“

“I discovered the place by accident. I was next door inside Michaels having some art pieces custom framed when I decided to look for a place to stop by to eat. I was starving. I was craving for pasta. And thats how I got to discover this place. I ordered the chicken fettucine alfredo. Love the dish with its chunky chicken pieces and al dente pasta. The complimentary cheese sticks with that cheese pimiento cheese spread was a delightful surprise. Next time Ill check their lasagna and clam chowder. I heard their clam chowder is as good as Boulins in San Francisco. I dont have to make a drive to the city to enjoy a good bowl of chowder. The lasagna looks so rich as well as their chopino. Im definitely comjng back.“

“The best Italian restaurant in the Bay Area! Fresh outstanding delicious food! Never disappointed with whatever I order! The staff are very professional and so kind and enjoyable atmosphere! Love the pear salad!“

“Excellent take out place. Reasonable prices for the portions.

We ordered through food delivery service and the food came piping hot and nicely packed.

We ordered penne a la vodka with sausage, meat lasagna, caprese salad, and Ceasar salad. Everything was well cooked and tasted delicious. The portions are a good size for the price. The 4 dishes came out to just over $100 with tax, fees, & tip.

Would absolutely order from here again.“

“Very good quality of foods and very friendly personel. I'm often ordering foods from there. One of my favorite take-out kitchens! Recommended

Parking: There is many food delivery restorants and half of parking lots during day were busy by doordashers, but, still many free spots to park.“

“Best Italian food and best steaks“

“Been coming to Tony Albas since 2012, food and service has always been great, family owned and comforting dining ambiance, usually get the Linguini red clam sauce or Tony’s Special Pizza. If you’re a Paesano member they will send you coupons in the mail, deals are pretty good.“

“This is a restaurant with a very stylish decoration. The classical decoration makes people feel like they are back in the past era when dining. I think everyone can experience it. At the same time, the food in the restaurant is still very delicious.“

“So Delicious! I will be coming back when going through San Jose.“

“Amazing food. Great prices. Love helping the local mom-pop place stay in business!“

“I can't eat dairy and I had asked our waitress if the mushroom ravioli's had cheese in it and she said no it didn't and then so I ordered it. So then a few minutes later she came back and she's like. I'm so sorry the ravioli doesn't have dairy but the sauce does and so she helped me pick out something else which I ended up doing to build your own pasta. While that was going on. The manager came out and was very nice. Very helpful. Apologized about the miscommunication with the dairy on the first thing I wanted to order showed me on the tablet that's at the tables where you can find allergy and dietary restrictions so you can tell like everything it was super easy to read. It was so great and they were just. I can't remember when I've ever been to a restaurant that has been that helpful and that nice about a dietary restriction. They were amazing.“

“Great meal as usual. Friendly service“

“Excellent food and service. Everything was so good.

This restaurant is actually about 13 miles from our home. We were in the neighborhood to visit a friend. We randomly picked a place to eat. The server was very friendly and made some good suggestions. I had beef stroganoff she suggested, it was absolutely delicious. My wife ordered fish dish was also excellent.

Now, we will have to drive over here more often.“

“Great service and Pizza. Every time I have called, service is always friendly and free delivery over $15 and pizza is great! I was told it would take about 35min for delivery but i almost think they were faster than that! I would definitely recommend over more expensive pizza places. Thank you for you great prices and great pizza!“

“Great pizza! You won't be disappointed, stop by and see for yourself.“

“Fresh ingredients and friendly, fast service. Line out the door on a Friday night - happy to see them so busy 🤗“

“Went at lunchtime because of an ad for a Vietnamese coffee place that came across my FB feed. No idea what to expect. It was in an old office building or warehouse, busy parking lot, and oddly full of older Priuses. Guys standing outside around the door. I went inside into a small undecorated waiting room with more guys standing around waiting, phones out, There was a wall of maybe 40 white lockers on one wall, and a little counter window with a person sitting there. The strangest to-go place I’d ever seen.

Drivers came in, held their phone up to a reader, and if their order was ready, one of the locker doors popped open automatically. The driver would grab their order in a brown paper bag with handles and leave. I just had to ask someone if all these guys in athletic type wear driving Priuses were all Door Dashers. They said yes, mostly everyone was doing delivery.

Where were the kitchens? I could see a hallway of closed doors behind the lady sitting at the counter window. Guess that’s where the magic happens. I wondered if they were separate businesses or just one huge kitchen with chefs that cooked many foods.

I placed my order on the one kiosk they had there for walk-ins. Quite a variety of vendors and cuisines to choose from. No one else used the kiosk during the whole time I was there haha, so it is clearly an on-line business model.

In 20 minutes I had my food, after phone notification came through. Kinda slow. Waiting inside or on the sidewalk among the door dashers was not optimal. Somewhat sterile and impersonal 21st century dining experience. Best to sit in the car to wait i suppose but i parked looking at a large trash bin. Not a garden spot, not a date destination. Definitely grab and go. I did like my Viet coffee and sandwich for $10. Banh Mi was smallish but tasty.“

“Definitely get the garlic shrimp fettuccini Alfredo. It’s the best thing I’ve eaten there!“

“Best cappuccino in town.“

“FOOD
i got the carbonara and i feel like it didnt have much flavor. kinda just tasted like cheese and black pepper. the little meat bits were great though. the pasta just needs some salt.

SERVICE
pretty quick— less than ten minutes. ordered from a kiosk

ATMOSPHERE
cozy and busy. feels really homey“

“Genuinely the hottest, freshest pizza/pasta I can order by a wide margin. Everything is to order when it comes in and you can tell. Toppings are not stingy, and the bread it comes with is always a great extra.

And a strangely giant selection of individual canned sodas. Cant complain about anything.“

“I love Bibos and the young lady that helped me and recommended the sour beers is wonderful!“

“Their housemade sausage is a Christmas eve tradition!“

“This is the closest to REAL Italian pizza pie I’ve had in the Bay Area! The owner (who might be making your pie) is from Naples!
I had the Joe’s Special. You Can’t go wrong here. It’s located inside at the San Pedro Square Market.
They usually have live music out on the patio at night or you can sit inside and watch sports. There’s is also a full bar in the food court.“

“One of the beat if not the beat at all Highly recommended“

“Highly Recommended this Place“

“Great food.. excellent customer service people are very friendly and they’re great at what they do. I highly recommend the food and I’m coming back. Your taste buds will have a dance party. I hope you try.. Hi great excellent customer is the name of“

“We wanted a beautiful place to share dinner before event at the CPA. It was perfect. Nice ambiance and delicious food!!!“

“I love Bibos and the young lady that helped me and recommended the sour beers is wonderful!“

“Shame on me for not stopping by this gem of a small family owned business sooner. Finally had a chance to try this place and it was AMAZING! I ordered a simple cheese pizza and I wasn’t disappointed. Something special is going on in the back of the house and I can’t wait to try the rest of the menu.“

“This was our first time and on Mother’s Day. We were seated right away on the patio (by choice) next to a heater. We ordered and our food came pretty quick and was delicious. I had the California Eggs Benedict and boy did the homemade hollandaise sauce blow my taste buds. It’s was so good.“