Was in the area and was really craving Italian food. After some searching, it looks like Leonardo's was high up there and we decided to give it a try. At first we tried making reservations through open table but they only had a few late spots left. Not liking the options we called the restaurant directly and was able to get seated two hours before the time initially displayed on open table. That was nice given that we were so hungry. We liked that this place was a little further down from the epicenter of the Solvang village so there were ample parking. The restaurant was also very easy to locate. Upon walking in you can tell the ambiance was a little more fancier with their white table cloths but still has a mom and pop feel to it. We got seated near the back of the restaurant where they had an enclosed patio with ceiling heaters. Our server was Arturo and he was very knowledgeable about the menu and even given us a few recommendations. We ordered a carpaccio, the pepperoni pizza, cioppino (recommended), Leonardo's penne, the bolognese, branzino (recommended) and chicken Marsala along with a few glasses of wine. Everything was delicious. The carpaccio was good, pepperoni pizza was amazing, the cioppino was light but filling as it was all seafood. The penne and bolognese pastas were cooked and flavored to perfection. The branzino and chicken Marsala were moist and flavorful, they also came with really good potatoes. Really nice family dinner here. The server always made sure we had everything to our liking and was personable. If I visit Leonardo's again I'm definitely coming back for the pizzas and pasta!
Chris K.
Leonardo's is the best most authentic Italian restaurant in the 805 area code they have amazing dishes and use only the freshest ingredients even the extra virgin olive oil they use is award winning. Their brick oven pizza is a must try when you visit Solvang.
Myra A.
Sean, our waiter, was great. Food was delicious. We very much enjoyed the specials for dinner and dessert. Will definitely go again. I forgot to take pictures of our dinner but everyone cleaned their plate.
Elijah C.
Food was incredibly mild and unimpressive. Service was unprofessional and extremely slow. Took 45 minutes to get food and waiter was confused when I asked for more bread.
Madhup J.
Food was delicious! Service was great. Ambiance: Italian with pictures of old time movie stars. 4 of us enjoyed ourselves. Would return!
Travis Morrow
Best of the SYV. Our go-to for good food, service, and ambiance. Don't let the strip mall location fool you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
L M.
We came here on a Thursday at around 2:00pm so the place was not crowded. I felt uncomfortable with the older men working at this place because they kept staring at me a little more than normal. The food was good but I guess with 4.7 stars a was expecting amazing food. It was just good food but the bread was very hard. Our waiter Kenneth was helpful with our food choices. I probably won't be back because of the workers.
David L.
If I could give 6 stars, I would. Sometimes you come upon places that are just special. Leonardo's in Solvang is that place. We had our second visit to Leonardo's with several years in between. It is still absolutely one of the best Italian meals and experiences anywhere. We started with an Elijah Craig bourbon over a single rock and a glass of house Chardonnay. Then we had a Caesar salad, which we split. We love the Caesar dressing they use. A perfect start. They brought out some home made, fresh out of the oven bread that is so delicious, you'll want seconds. We then moved on to their special pasta and shared that as a Primi. It was home made linguini noodles in an olive oil, garlic, butter sauce with local grown Cremini mushrooms, tomato's and herbs. Parmasean cheese topped it off. It was very light but so delicious and a perfect Primi dish to share. Our Secondi was spectacular. My wife ordered the Chicken Piccata. The Piccata sauce is perfect. Not to heavy, or thin. Nice lemon flavors with the capers over top. Chicken was prepared perfectly. I ordered their special rib eye steak with the 3 mushroom sauce that was divine. I could have drank the sauce alone. The steak was perfectly cooked (medium rare), and served sliced. One of the best rib eyes I've ever had, including my own! Of course, with the pasta and steak, I needed a glass of their house Syrah which paired perfectly. Finally, we had to have their homemade Tiramisu. That is what is pictured here. We would drive hours to have their tiramisu. It's light and so delicious, it's hard to explain. Perfect is the only way to explain it. Our waiter Sean was a delight and took great care of us. I can't recommend Leonardo's more. If you go to Solvang, and don't have dinner here, you're missing a spectacular meal.
Mery M.
The food was delicious and the service was great. It's a good choose if you are visiting Solvang. The seafood was fresh and cooked correctly.
Trish K.
Great food. Stumbled across this restaurant and glad we did. The pizza was great and not skimpy with the toppings. The staff was very friendly. Would definitely go back.
We came here without a reservation and the hostess seated us immediately. The ambiance was nice and our waiter was very friendly. A restaurant would not get my 5-star without great food. Their food was amazingly delicious. Many Italian restaurants do not make their risotto right. Its either under or over cooked. Here at Leonardo's it's cooked perfectly.
Ana S.
Food here is amazing! Great flavors and taste! The waiters are very friendly and nice too. We loved it and will be back next time we are in town. Simply, a fantastic place to eat.
Stephanie Mrazik
Leonardo’s is a gem of an Italian restaurant next to a natural grocer in Solvang before you enter the downtown area if you’re going north, about a 5 minute drive from picturesque downtown Solvang.The food is incredible!! Wow wow wow! We were blown away by ordering one of the specials to share, which was a 3 inch pork chop that had been pounded down to one inch thickness, served with pancetta and a light brown gravy sauce. The meat was so tender, juicy and delicious. It was quite large but we cleaned the plate! We also ordered the white sauce pizza and had plenty of leftovers. The Caesar salad was also very good.For dessert, our engaging and hard working server, Sean, recommended the chocolate soufflé, which had a gooey hazelnut center served with vanilla gelato, whipped cream and strawberries.The restaurant is clean and timeless with fresh white linens, classic stemware and a view of the kitchen. The bartenders were hustling; it was fun to hear them sing songs by Selena while shaking their ramblers. It’s nice to see happy staff at a restaurant. It adds to the ambiance.We will be eating here every time we are in Solvang. It was one of the best meals and dining experiences I’ve had in a very long time. It’s like we went back in time to when servers really cared about their customer’s experience.
Rosy G
We were passing by and this place was recommended by a local at a winery. This is off the main drag in Solvang so it's hidden in a shopping plaza. Wine was a bit pricey considering they have so many good local wines to add to their selection. The food was amazingly delicious ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Trudie S.
Randomly found this place as we drove by Solvang. It was delicious. The portions are on the larger side, but I love big portions. The pasta tasted fresh. I had the linguine with clams and it was yummy. They were busy and we were seated in the back and was pretty casual.
Was in the area and was really craving Italian food. After some searching, it looks like Leonardo's was high up there and we decided to give it a try. At first we tried making reservations through open table but they only had a few late spots left. Not liking the options we called the restaurant directly and was able to get seated two hours before the time initially displayed on open table. That was nice given that we were so hungry. We liked that this place was a little further down from the epicenter of the Solvang village so there were ample parking. The restaurant was also very easy to locate. Upon walking in you can tell the ambiance was a little more fancier with their white table cloths but still has a mom and pop feel to it. We got seated near the back of the restaurant where they had an enclosed patio with ceiling heaters. Our server was Arturo and he was very knowledgeable about the menu and even given us a few recommendations. We ordered a carpaccio, the pepperoni pizza, cioppino (recommended), Leonardo's penne, the bolognese, branzino (recommended) and chicken Marsala along with a few glasses of wine. Everything was delicious. The carpaccio was good, pepperoni pizza was amazing, the cioppino was light but filling as it was all seafood. The penne and bolognese pastas were cooked and flavored to perfection. The branzino and chicken Marsala were moist and flavorful, they also came with really good potatoes. Really nice family dinner here. The server always made sure we had everything to our liking and was personable. If I visit Leonardo's again I'm definitely coming back for the pizzas and pasta!
Leonardo's is the best most authentic Italian restaurant in the 805 area code they have amazing dishes and use only the freshest ingredients even the extra virgin olive oil they use is award winning. Their brick oven pizza is a must try when you visit Solvang.
Sean, our waiter, was great. Food was delicious. We very much enjoyed the specials for dinner and dessert. Will definitely go again. I forgot to take pictures of our dinner but everyone cleaned their plate.
Food was incredibly mild and unimpressive. Service was unprofessional and extremely slow. Took 45 minutes to get food and waiter was confused when I asked for more bread.
Food was delicious! Service was great. Ambiance: Italian with pictures of old time movie stars. 4 of us enjoyed ourselves. Would return!
Best of the SYV. Our go-to for good food, service, and ambiance. Don't let the strip mall location fool you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We came here on a Thursday at around 2:00pm so the place was not crowded. I felt uncomfortable with the older men working at this place because they kept staring at me a little more than normal. The food was good but I guess with 4.7 stars a was expecting amazing food. It was just good food but the bread was very hard. Our waiter Kenneth was helpful with our food choices. I probably won't be back because of the workers.
If I could give 6 stars, I would. Sometimes you come upon places that are just special. Leonardo's in Solvang is that place. We had our second visit to Leonardo's with several years in between. It is still absolutely one of the best Italian meals and experiences anywhere. We started with an Elijah Craig bourbon over a single rock and a glass of house Chardonnay. Then we had a Caesar salad, which we split. We love the Caesar dressing they use. A perfect start. They brought out some home made, fresh out of the oven bread that is so delicious, you'll want seconds. We then moved on to their special pasta and shared that as a Primi. It was home made linguini noodles in an olive oil, garlic, butter sauce with local grown Cremini mushrooms, tomato's and herbs. Parmasean cheese topped it off. It was very light but so delicious and a perfect Primi dish to share. Our Secondi was spectacular. My wife ordered the Chicken Piccata. The Piccata sauce is perfect. Not to heavy, or thin. Nice lemon flavors with the capers over top. Chicken was prepared perfectly. I ordered their special rib eye steak with the 3 mushroom sauce that was divine. I could have drank the sauce alone. The steak was perfectly cooked (medium rare), and served sliced. One of the best rib eyes I've ever had, including my own! Of course, with the pasta and steak, I needed a glass of their house Syrah which paired perfectly. Finally, we had to have their homemade Tiramisu. That is what is pictured here. We would drive hours to have their tiramisu. It's light and so delicious, it's hard to explain. Perfect is the only way to explain it. Our waiter Sean was a delight and took great care of us. I can't recommend Leonardo's more. If you go to Solvang, and don't have dinner here, you're missing a spectacular meal.
The food was delicious and the service was great. It's a good choose if you are visiting Solvang. The seafood was fresh and cooked correctly.
Great food. Stumbled across this restaurant and glad we did. The pizza was great and not skimpy with the toppings. The staff was very friendly. Would definitely go back.
Restaurantji Recommends
We came here without a reservation and the hostess seated us immediately. The ambiance was nice and our waiter was very friendly. A restaurant would not get my 5-star without great food. Their food was amazingly delicious. Many Italian restaurants do not make their risotto right. Its either under or over cooked. Here at Leonardo's it's cooked perfectly.
Food here is amazing! Great flavors and taste! The waiters are very friendly and nice too. We loved it and will be back next time we are in town. Simply, a fantastic place to eat.
Leonardo’s is a gem of an Italian restaurant next to a natural grocer in Solvang before you enter the downtown area if you’re going north, about a 5 minute drive from picturesque downtown Solvang.The food is incredible!! Wow wow wow! We were blown away by ordering one of the specials to share, which was a 3 inch pork chop that had been pounded down to one inch thickness, served with pancetta and a light brown gravy sauce. The meat was so tender, juicy and delicious. It was quite large but we cleaned the plate! We also ordered the white sauce pizza and had plenty of leftovers. The Caesar salad was also very good.For dessert, our engaging and hard working server, Sean, recommended the chocolate soufflé, which had a gooey hazelnut center served with vanilla gelato, whipped cream and strawberries.The restaurant is clean and timeless with fresh white linens, classic stemware and a view of the kitchen. The bartenders were hustling; it was fun to hear them sing songs by Selena while shaking their ramblers. It’s nice to see happy staff at a restaurant. It adds to the ambiance.We will be eating here every time we are in Solvang. It was one of the best meals and dining experiences I’ve had in a very long time. It’s like we went back in time to when servers really cared about their customer’s experience.
We were passing by and this place was recommended by a local at a winery. This is off the main drag in Solvang so it's hidden in a shopping plaza. Wine was a bit pricey considering they have so many good local wines to add to their selection. The food was amazingly delicious ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Randomly found this place as we drove by Solvang. It was delicious. The portions are on the larger side, but I love big portions. The pasta tasted fresh. I had the linguine with clams and it was yummy. They were busy and we were seated in the back and was pretty casual.