Holy mercy... This place popped up twice today, once when my wife was browsing TikTok (😒) but again in The Downtowner newsletter I receive, so we went for a late lunch. We didn't realize that it was a shared space, so we also got to try a slice of pizza and some fries, both of which came out quickly and very fresh, and I had an Old Fashioned, just because. By the time we finished the pizza and the fries, we didn't even get a chance to try the sandwich, so we took it to-go, a bit disappointed that we didn't try it hot and fresh.
Well. I just tried a bite a bit ago, and even cold and a bit soggy, it. Was. Incredible. My only real reference to an Italian beef sandwich is the few times I've tried Portillo's in the Midwest, and this was head and shoulders above their offerings. My bite turned into me finishing half of the sandwich without even realizing it. Their herb/spice blend is amazing, and I am now counting down the days until we have an excuse to get back out to Little Italy--we don't live far, so hopefully it won't be too long!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dennis Rahe
Excellent Chicago Italian Beef. Very authentic and super huge! Garlicand peppers were perfect!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Brooke Gentry-Strohm
The ambiance, food, and service are impeccable! Such a fun dining experience and everything was delicious 😋
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
jasen west
One of my favorite sandwiches is an Italian beef sandwich. When I saw the sign stating that they made those there, I was really excited to try it.
When I walked into that part of the restaurant or store, pour a combination of both. It was kind of confusing, but there was nobody behind the counter, so I had to walk through the store part to the other restaurant pizza spot in order to order my sandwich.
It seemed like the store was mostly a wine spot and yeah, they offer some other italian staples as far as food goes in the restaurant.
I was kind of disappointed in the sandwich. I asked them to make it wet, and they didn't dip the bread, they just gave me a dry sandwich with a little side of au. Ju Kind of reminding me of a French dip. Don't get me wrong. I like french dip sandwiches, but I was there to have an italian beef and I guess the experience was just different than what I was expecting.
While the herb juice that they gave me for the sandwich was good, there was not nearly enough of it. And the rest of the sandwich was just kind of dry. It definitely did not remind me of a chicago italian beef.
It'll probably be a while before I try that again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
David Pitton
Terrible sandwich, The Godfather. Surly service. Won't go there again
G Lee
Woah! I’ve lived in San Jose a long time. How did I not know about Torino Panino? I’d never even heard of, let alone eaten an Italian beef sandwich before! But I really enjoyed it!
There were so many choices and I had zero context so I tried the Chicago Way because it was smack dab in the middle of the menu sign. I like French dip so I got it wet; figured it was similar. Delicious sandwich. Really it the spot.
We also purchased sardines from their little pantry of canned and jarred goodies. We enjoyed those later at home.
I love the little courtyard seating area in the back. They had a tv playing one of the football games (it was Sunday). Just a really nice atmosphere. Looking forward to enjoying it all again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Linda Hereld
Cool place with really good food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Smart
I had the Chicago way, which was beefy, moist, and not overpowered by the Giardineira. Extra side of the sauce to moisten it up when I got home. Only thing that I get miffed about is an automatic “service charge” of 18%. Just include it in the price guys.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Italian Beef the Chicago Way
Scott Snow
Ordered pickup at lunch. As others have mentioned, the price is quite high for a sandwich. However you do get quite a bit of food. I got the Chicken Cacciatore sandwich, "make it hot", with provolone.For lunch, I ate half. The provolone was completely unmelted, chicken was pretty average (drier than I'd hoped for), and it was chicken cutlets, which was a bit disappointing since the website looked liked braised/pulled chicken. "Make it hot" is a joke, there's no heat to be found whatsoever. Not even sriracha level of heat. Not bad, but I didn't find the flavors to really come through all that well.Reheated the other half for dinner. Convection ~325f, ~10 mins wrapped, then opened the sandwich and cooked another ~10 mins unwrapped. Then added some freshly grated parmiggiano along with some hot sauce from a Mediterranean restaurant. The extra salt from the parmiggiano really got the flavors of the base sandwich to shine through, and the hot sauce actually added some heat. Far superior to what I had at lunch.Truffle chips were good. Bread was also quite good.Lunch was like a 6/10, dinner was 8.5/10. The base sandwich is definitely there. But just needs a bit more to tip it past average.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Jason
I always say that the bread is what separates a good sandwich from a great sandwich. Torino Panino understands this all too well. I was walking by and noticed this place that I hadn't seen before. decided I would give it try. man, was I lucky to discover this place. I ordered up the "true romance" (some people say that I resemble Christian Slater from the movie - figured that was right move for this sandwhich)
the sausage and them sweet peppers, perfectly grilled onions all tucked into that incredible Italian roll. forget about it! great food, and service was on point. the surroundings were clean and well kept. prices were fair and reasonable for the portion size. you can tell that the owners really care about this place. from the menu to the arrangement of the patio area - lots of room to spread out and get your eat on.
I'll be back downtown in a couple of weeks, and this is my new spot. I'm eyeballing the 'like mike' meatball sub for my next visit. go sharks!
I always say that the bread is what separates a good sandwich from a great sandwich. Torino Panino understands this all too well. I was walking by and noticed this place that I hadn't seen before. decided I would give it try. man, was I lucky to discover this place. I ordered up the "true romance" (some people say that I resemble Christian Slater from the movie - figured that was right move for this sandwhich)the sausage and them sweet peppers, perfectly grilled onions all tucked into that incredible Italian roll. forget about it! great food, and service was on point. the surroundings were clean and well kept. prices were fair and reasonable for the portion size. you can tell that the owners really care about this place. from the menu to the arrangement of the patio area - lots of room to spread out and get your eat on.I'll be back downtown in a couple of weeks, and this is my new spot. I'm eyeballing the 'like mike' meatball sub for my next visit. go sharks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: True Romance
Michael Achach
The new sandwich shop and italian goods retail here is amazing. I've tried a few different sandwiches as well as the items from the full menu. Everything is delicious. Service is great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Italian Beef the Chicago Way
Scott Hereld
We've eaten in previously, service was fast, friendly. Very informative about the beers available. Simple menu is all delicious, can't miss. We do Slice(s) and Salads (Caesar!!!!) to go, heat up the slice while bangin' down the salad, perfect!!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
KnowsHowToTravel
We were so excited to find this place advertising "authentic Italian sandwiches"! I grew up in Chicago and I know an authentic Italian beef. This should have been good, but it was disappointing. First of all, the price was shocking! $16.95 for a sandwich is high, but then when you add an 18% "service" charge to it, our 2 sandwiches came out to $43.05 (with about $3 tax). $43 for 2 sandwiches and NO SERVICE! You order at the counter and they bring it to your table when it's ready. $6 for bringing it to our table - geez! And it's not like we were in a proper restaurant - our sandwiches were served in paper baskets (like a fast food place) with plastic utensils (we had to ask for). We ordered the "Chicago Way" beef sandwiches. It was NOT an authentic Italian beef sandwich. The beef was cooked right, sliced right, looked right - but it lacked the flavor you get in Chicago. It needed pepper and whatever spices that are normally used. And then, there was no giardiniera! Instead, they used flavorless garlic cloves (we couldn't identify them; thought they were some cubed tuber vegetable). And some little red sweet peppers:( Wrong, wrong, wrong. The au jus was almost flavorless, too. The only thing they got right was the bread - it was perfect! Their menu says it's freshly baked. It tastes like the classic Turano bread. I also went next door and got a glass of 2015 Nebbiolo wine. It was good, but the pour was stingy. And my $14 glass of wine, ended up costing me over $18!!! Because again, they charged 18 or 20% "service" charge. Since when do I need to pay someone $2.80 to pour a glass of wine? My husband and I are people who tip well. But we pay for REAL service. In Summary: We left feeling ripped off by Torino Panino and Ancora Vino. We will vote with our wallets and we will NOT be back! I suggest that more diners start refusing to pay these ridiculous NON-SERVICE fees and go to the restaurants - there are many - that don't charge these fees and give you value for your dining dollars.
Michael McWalters
Ordered two Italian beef sandwiches, potato salad and two lemon drinks. $65.00 including the 18% service charge. The sandwiches were average, potato salad not my favorite. There is no table service and you order at the counter, but they charge an 18% service charge, which I felt was a bit excessive. It's these excessive service charges that are turning people away from restaurants. I won't be returning anytime soon!
Holy mercy... This place popped up twice today, once when my wife was browsing TikTok (😒) but again in The Downtowner newsletter I receive, so we went for a late lunch. We didn't realize that it was a shared space, so we also got to try a slice of pizza and some fries, both of which came out quickly and very fresh, and I had an Old Fashioned, just because. By the time we finished the pizza and the fries, we didn't even get a chance to try the sandwich, so we took it to-go, a bit disappointed that we didn't try it hot and fresh.
Well. I just tried a bite a bit ago, and even cold and a bit soggy, it. Was. Incredible. My only real reference to an Italian beef sandwich is the few times I've tried Portillo's in the Midwest, and this was head and shoulders above their offerings. My bite turned into me finishing half of the sandwich without even realizing it. Their herb/spice blend is amazing, and I am now counting down the days until we have an excuse to get back out to Little Italy--we don't live far, so hopefully it won't be too long!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent Chicago Italian Beef. Very authentic and super huge! Garlicand peppers were perfect!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
The ambiance, food, and service are impeccable! Such a fun dining experience and everything was delicious 😋
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
One of my favorite sandwiches is an Italian beef sandwich. When I saw the sign stating that they made those there, I was really excited to try it.
When I walked into that part of the restaurant or store, pour a combination of both. It was kind of confusing, but there was nobody behind the counter, so I had to walk through the store part to the other restaurant pizza spot in order to order my sandwich.
It seemed like the store was mostly a wine spot and yeah, they offer some other italian staples as far as food goes in the restaurant.
I was kind of disappointed in the sandwich. I asked them to make it wet, and they didn't dip the bread, they just gave me a dry sandwich with a little side of au. Ju
Kind of reminding me of a French dip. Don't get me wrong. I like french dip sandwiches, but I was there to have an italian beef and I guess the experience was just different than what I was expecting.
While the herb juice that they gave me for the sandwich was good, there was not nearly enough of it. And the rest of the sandwich was just kind of dry. It definitely did not remind me of a chicago italian beef.
It'll probably be a while before I try that again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Terrible sandwich, The Godfather. Surly service. Won't go there again
Woah! I’ve lived in San Jose a long time. How did I not know about Torino Panino? I’d never even heard of, let alone eaten an Italian beef sandwich before! But I really enjoyed it!
There were so many choices and I had zero context so I tried the Chicago Way because it was smack dab in the middle of the menu sign. I like French dip so I got it wet; figured it was similar. Delicious sandwich. Really it the spot.
We also purchased sardines from their little pantry of canned and jarred goodies. We enjoyed those later at home.
I love the little courtyard seating area in the back. They had a tv playing one of the football games (it was Sunday). Just a really nice atmosphere. Looking forward to enjoying it all again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Cool place with really good food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had the Chicago way, which was beefy, moist, and not overpowered by the Giardineira. Extra side of the sauce to moisten it up when I got home. Only thing that I get miffed about is an automatic “service charge” of 18%. Just include it in the price guys.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Italian Beef the Chicago Way
Ordered pickup at lunch. As others have mentioned, the price is quite high for a sandwich. However you do get quite a bit of food. I got the Chicken Cacciatore sandwich, "make it hot", with provolone.For lunch, I ate half. The provolone was completely unmelted, chicken was pretty average (drier than I'd hoped for), and it was chicken cutlets, which was a bit disappointing since the website looked liked braised/pulled chicken. "Make it hot" is a joke, there's no heat to be found whatsoever. Not even sriracha level of heat. Not bad, but I didn't find the flavors to really come through all that well.Reheated the other half for dinner. Convection ~325f, ~10 mins wrapped, then opened the sandwich and cooked another ~10 mins unwrapped. Then added some freshly grated parmiggiano along with some hot sauce from a Mediterranean restaurant. The extra salt from the parmiggiano really got the flavors of the base sandwich to shine through, and the hot sauce actually added some heat. Far superior to what I had at lunch.Truffle chips were good. Bread was also quite good.Lunch was like a 6/10, dinner was 8.5/10. The base sandwich is definitely there. But just needs a bit more to tip it past average.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
I always say that the bread is what separates a good sandwich from a great sandwich. Torino Panino understands this all too well. I was walking by and noticed this place that I hadn't seen before. decided I would give it try. man, was I lucky to discover this place. I ordered up the "true romance" (some people say that I resemble Christian Slater from the movie - figured that was right move for this sandwhich)
the sausage and them sweet peppers, perfectly grilled onions all tucked into that incredible Italian roll. forget about it! great food, and service was on point. the surroundings were clean and well kept. prices were fair and reasonable for the portion size. you can tell that the owners really care about this place. from the menu to the arrangement of the patio area - lots of room to spread out and get your eat on.
I'll be back downtown in a couple of weeks, and this is my new spot. I'm eyeballing the 'like mike' meatball sub for my next visit. go sharks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: True Romance
Restaurantji Recommends
I always say that the bread is what separates a good sandwich from a great sandwich. Torino Panino understands this all too well. I was walking by and noticed this place that I hadn't seen before. decided I would give it try. man, was I lucky to discover this place. I ordered up the "true romance" (some people say that I resemble Christian Slater from the movie - figured that was right move for this sandwhich)the sausage and them sweet peppers, perfectly grilled onions all tucked into that incredible Italian roll. forget about it! great food, and service was on point. the surroundings were clean and well kept. prices were fair and reasonable for the portion size. you can tell that the owners really care about this place. from the menu to the arrangement of the patio area - lots of room to spread out and get your eat on.I'll be back downtown in a couple of weeks, and this is my new spot. I'm eyeballing the 'like mike' meatball sub for my next visit. go sharks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: True Romance
The new sandwich shop and italian goods retail here is amazing. I've tried a few different sandwiches as well as the items from the full menu. Everything is delicious. Service is great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Italian Beef the Chicago Way
We've eaten in previously, service was fast, friendly. Very informative about the beers available. Simple menu is all delicious, can't miss. We do Slice(s) and Salads (Caesar!!!!) to go, heat up the slice while bangin' down the salad, perfect!!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
We were so excited to find this place advertising "authentic Italian sandwiches"! I grew up in Chicago and I know an authentic Italian beef. This should have been good, but it was disappointing. First of all, the price was shocking! $16.95 for a sandwich is high, but then when you add an 18% "service" charge to it, our 2 sandwiches came out to $43.05 (with about $3 tax). $43 for 2 sandwiches and NO SERVICE! You order at the counter and they bring it to your table when it's ready. $6 for bringing it to our table - geez! And it's not like we were in a proper restaurant - our sandwiches were served in paper baskets (like a fast food place) with plastic utensils (we had to ask for). We ordered the "Chicago Way" beef sandwiches. It was NOT an authentic Italian beef sandwich. The beef was cooked right, sliced right, looked right - but it lacked the flavor you get in Chicago. It needed pepper and whatever spices that are normally used. And then, there was no giardiniera! Instead, they used flavorless garlic cloves (we couldn't identify them; thought they were some cubed tuber vegetable). And some little red sweet peppers:( Wrong, wrong, wrong. The au jus was almost flavorless, too. The only thing they got right was the bread - it was perfect! Their menu says it's freshly baked. It tastes like the classic Turano bread. I also went next door and got a glass of 2015 Nebbiolo wine. It was good, but the pour was stingy. And my $14 glass of wine, ended up costing me over $18!!! Because again, they charged 18 or 20% "service" charge. Since when do I need to pay someone $2.80 to pour a glass of wine? My husband and I are people who tip well. But we pay for REAL service. In Summary: We left feeling ripped off by Torino Panino and Ancora Vino. We will vote with our wallets and we will NOT be back! I suggest that more diners start refusing to pay these ridiculous NON-SERVICE fees and go to the restaurants - there are many - that don't charge these fees and give you value for your dining dollars.
Ordered two Italian beef sandwiches, potato salad and two lemon drinks. $65.00 including the 18% service charge. The sandwiches were average, potato salad not my favorite. There is no table service and you order at the counter, but they charge an 18% service charge, which I felt was a bit excessive. It's these excessive service charges that are turning people away from restaurants. I won't be returning anytime soon!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
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