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3.5 stars to be exact.
Siciliano is a small cozy cute restaurant @ downtown Redwood City.
Food is decent but nothing too unordinary. The taste reminds me of something homemade. Love their eggplant Parmesan, it's rich but not too salty. People are friendly and polite. The atmosphere is a bit laid back and casual, but somehow it's kind of romantic as well.
We enjoy visiting Siciliano every once in a while. Don't forget to check out their http://restaurant.com certificate before you come.
This is OK and will do for Lunch, nothing special.
This place is in downtown Redwood City and seems to exist solely for the office worker that doesn't want to venture out for fast food.
Some good points are that the place isn't crowded at lunch and service is quick. Prices are reasonable and the spaghetti or veal is good.
If you go to lunch expecting to be "full", this is NOT the place for you. Portions are skimpy and you'll need to load up on bread to get reasonably full and make it to the dinner hour. I'm not some fat guy or someone who insists on waddling out after eating, but just be advised. Consider it a decent snack and not a "real" meal. Still, not too shabby for a quick lunch downtown.
Don't go out of your way to eat at this restaurant.
My S.O. and I went here for the first time last night, and I will definitely be back. I'm surprised there aren't more reviews for it.
It's a warm and cozy Italian place, and our server was super nice and professional. The pasta is very fresh--you can tell it's homemade and made fresh. My BF had the crab ravioli and said it was excellent. We shared the espresso mousse for dessert and it was delicious.
The prices are quite cheap, too. I was surprised--very good prices for dinner. I encourage you to patronize Siciliano Ristorante, as I was impressed with the food and service.
Came here for lunch with my brother which we hardly spend any time together alone just like when we were growing up. Nice location with easy parking access. I ordered the Ceasar's Salad which to me was fabuloso!!!!! My brother had the spinach salad. Lunch was great, we both had hot sandwiches. I had the Panini con Pollo ( chicken ) and my goofy brother had the Panini con Meleneza. ( breaded chicken)
The service was good and the bill was less than $45.00 with Tip.. Not bad. Will go again.
Redwood city's best
Olive Oil pasta's my fav
tastes like bruschetta
This used to be my favorite in town, but the quality of the foods has gone down. Not sure if they're cutting corners. The last 2 times I went, I was disappointed. I still love their Penne Santa Rosalia, which is hard to find anywhere else.
We loved this place: a cozy & warm, comfortable & comforting place to eat good food, especially on a cold dark night when you want some TLC.
Reasons I rate this a full five stars:
- Prompt and friendly service
- Quiet but pleasant atmosphere
- Solidly enjoyable food at a great price
- Tempting looking deserts
- Excellent bread and dipping oil
- Great lighting and nice decor
My husband and I found Siciliano Ristorante on yelp / urbanspoon, wanting Italian food but being unfamiliar with Redwood City. We were both surprised that we liked our food as much as we did, as we typically think of Strings or Strizzi's as "eating out at Italian" which neither of us feel is worth even going to. So we were pleased to find this authentic family-owned restaurant.
I had the Tortellini Cappriccioci with asparagus, ham, and mushrooms, and he had the Fettuccine vio Pino; we both liked both dishes, which despite sounding similar on the menu had wholly distinct tastes (another thing that is hard to find at some Italian places). The Mozzarella Caprese was great for starting, and the espresso finished our meal well.
I will come back here again when we're on this side of the bay, after a long day or running errands and dealing with crowds, and I look forward to feeling like I've stepped out of the busy Bay Area and into a cozy family restaurant nestled in the Italian countryside. :-)
Tonight we took my Mom out for her birthday dinner. My Mom likes Italian food and so we wanted to take her some place that would have vegetarian Italian food for her. Plus, we have a preschooler which means it has to be able to handle an antsy kid.
I researched a bit on Yelp before deciding with Siciliano which is next door to New Kapadokia in RWC. They took us into the restaurant without asking if we had a reservation which I appreciated. We were quickly seated and bread with dipping sauce brought to us immediately. Which our preschooler dived into.
We started with the bruschetta which was a nice quick bite with zesty tomatoes, cubes of cheese and a soft, yummy bread. We asked if it would be possible to have a penne with melted mozzarella made for our son who is a picky eater. My husband had the tortellini, my Mom had the penne Santa Rosalia and I had the linguine with clams.
Our picky eater son resisted until he had a taste of the buttery pasta on his lips. Then he wolfed down ten bites before remembering that he doesn't eat new foods. For this, we like the restaurant.
My Mom loved the penne which had a tomato sauce and eggplant. My husband thoroughly enjoyed his tortellini with ham, asparagus and mushrooms in a cream sauce. My linguine was lovely with a light sea flavoured broth and thick with clams (not three or four clams but at least ten +).
The waiter and the associate waiter were simply wonderful. We appreciate any establishment which is willing to work with us with our child. It's a nice homey place where you come to spend time with your friends and enjoy a relaxing meal.
Came here for a work lunch. The prices were reasonable and the service was great and the portions were very fair, but the food wasn't up to the rest of the restaurant. Not that it was bad, but it was just blah. The "minestrone" was just a bowl of boiled vegetables in a tomato-y broth, and while that might sound like something approaching minestrone, believe me, it had a ways to go.
In a pinch I wouldn't object to a repeat visit, but I'm more likely to hit up the $7.99/lb. salad bar at Whole Foods, to be quite honest.
Ode to Siciliano Ristorante: Nevermore
Average food,
this place makes me what to brood
Service was super slow,
to the point I wanted to go
Ridiculous price,
even for a cup of ice.
There's no excuse,
for this recluse
to return.
It still is one of my favorite Italian restaurants...
UPs:Delicious warm bread served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar...My favorite dish still is the noque al pesto. I also tried fettuccine with asparagus sauce and it was delicious. The lasagna was also excellent. I also recommend the bruschetta.
The waiters were friendly, service was not slow.
I love their nhoque al pesto!!!! All the other stuff I tried was also very good..
And the waiter is…
Read more »
Not particularly remarkable.
But not so terrible either.
I can think of a few instances where you might want to come to this restaurante.
You have a craving for some Ravioli and you are in downtown Redwood City on a boring week night and Pamplemousse is closed for the day and the neighboring mediterranean resto is somehow full and you just found out that Beard Papa's by the theater shut its doors permanently.
Based on reviews I wanted to try something new. Went with recommendations and was very surprised. My 2 stars is because of the wait staff, very nice. The food is another story. My wife had the home made crab meat ravioli special. Salty crab meat and topped with a tomato cream sauce that reminded her of Campbell's cream of tomato soup. My Shrimp/Calamari Fra Diavolo was ok, did not like spitting out rosemary but the flavors worked for me I could taste the seafood and it worked well with the spicy marinara. Caesar salad was good, a little too much param but was ok. If you do go please DO NOT get the Cannoli. The worst ever. They should take it off the menu (Sorry I travel to Boston and NY where cannoli dreams are made of. 'Sorry, I can not go there again, I'll make my own Vodka Pink sauce at home.
I was going to give them three stars, but thought better of it and went with two...
This is a cute location in the downtown area of RWC - street parking can be found pretty easily and it's a nice walk if you have time to browse the nearby shops. The interior of this small restaurant is pretty cute and it was filled with a mix of suits and older ladies, when we stopped in for lunch..
Hands down the best thing we had was their fresh bread (which is free) and dipping sauce. Yum! Super tasty... We tried two different lunches (one was a lunch special, which is pretty reasonable at $10 for a good sized entrée plus soup/salad) and we were both pretty disappointed. Everything (including the soups) really lacked flavor and seasoning. Both pasta sauces were really blah and the meat was pretty tough/overcooked. It just seemed pretty tasteless and generic :-/
Prices are reasonable and the staff was nice enough, but I just wasn't impressed with the food. I might go back, I might not. Maybe you'll have better luck.
I have been here about three times for dinner with family.
The service and atmosphere is roughly four stars.
The food, however, is hit or miss. While I always like the Caesar Salad and the bread the pasta dishes have been hit or miss for me. Same goes for a meat dish.
The best thing to do is to toss a coin. If its heads then I know it's going to be good. If its tails then I know I'm screwed. :)
Lunch Review
I would actually like to give this place a 3.5, but I have to choose between 3 or 4. It was a good value for the money. The service during lunch was stellar, but the restaurant was not very crowded so that may be why.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes Italian restaurants. I did find the bread good but seemingly overrated based on the reviews I've read on yelp.
We came here on recommendation of some friends and really loved our food...we sat outside, even though there were cops all over from a fight down infront of the Little Fox...
I'd been wanting to try this place for awhile. While I'm not a big pasta fan I was in the mood and my boyfriend said he'd been once before and it was good.
The inside is nice. Quite larger than expected. It was quite empty inside which is not necessarily a bad thing but I felt bad for them..no customers =no money..
Service was very good. Prompt and friendly.
I had the seafood special and my boy had some veal dish. He started with the tortellini soup. Man what a poor excuse for soup. The blandest soup ever with about 6 mini tortellini in it. Thats it. My dish wasn't bad but it wasn't that great either. Some prawns, Ahi Tuna, and Cod.. Came with a side of vegies. My boyfriends dish looked and smelled delish. But he found 3 of the thickest black hairs I've ever seen. The server apologized and took it away. Brought him spaghetti and meatballs at his request. The spaghetti was decent but I've had much much better.
All in all...Service was good. Food was pretty bad. Probably won't return.
***update***
Lunch here was a much better experience than dinner. It was quieter and the servers were much more attentive. They graciously handled our request for an extra chair when we had a late addition to our group. Appetizers were brought out quickly and were delicious, calamari and the antipasto plate (the zucchini stood out here).
I only heard minor complaints about the amount of lemon in the veal piccata and the slight runniness in the lasagna but other than that everyone was very happy with their lunches which ranged from linguine with clams to veal parmigiana. Throughout the meal, the multiple servers kept our waters filled and cleared away plates quickly and were quite gracious and friendly.
They have a few tables set up outside and it was a lovely day, would to love to come back for a nice quiet lunch in the sun!
***original review***
Avoid this place on a Friday night from 6:30-9:30 unless you really like loud, live Italian music. We walked in here at 7:30 on Friday night and were nearly blasted out of the restaurant by the music. The guy singing was quite good, but it was just *way* too loud.
Had about a 20 minute wait, it was very crowded. Luckily we got a table away from the singer at the front of the restaurant (though he frequently strolled through the place).
We started with the mozarella caprese (sliced tomatoes with sliced mozarella and basil) which was nice, but lacking...something. It was borderline bland. Hubster had the trout special and I went with the farfalle (bow ties) with salmon in a vodka tomato cream sauce.
The food took about 20 minutes to arrive, which gave us plenty of time to watch the singer dance around the room and a few times the owner got involved and sang also. He even encouraged patrons to sing with him!
Our dinners were good, not really any complaints there. After we finished, a dessert plate was brought over (love that, I want to be able to see what all my options look like) and we decided upon a gelato filled orange shell. It was quite refreshing and yummy.
All and all, I'd like to come back but next time I'll call ahead and find out if they're having live music!
Lunch review only.
There were two lunch specials today, one was chicken Marsala with porcini mushrooms, which I got, and the other was a gorgonzola ravioli in a vodka tomato cream sauce which my girlfriend got. Specials came with a choice of soup or salad and a beverage. We both got salads.
The bread and herbed balsamic vinegar olive oil were good. The small salad was ok except some of the lettuce was brown on the edges. My thin slice of chicken breast was a little tough and I couldn't detect even a hint of Marsala in the sauce. I make veal Marsala at home and trust me, you'll taste Marsala. My girlfriend's pasta was tasty. All portions were small. The service was fine and the decor was pleasant.
The only parking in the area that I could find was metered street parking, a minor nuisance.
Friends of mine took me to Siciliano's 2 nights ago for some celebratory dinner for your's truly. Promotion and moving up in the city soon. (As soon as I can find a "cheap" studio in lower pac heights area) I'm an optimist!
I had a spaghetti porticello, w/c is yummy.
Glass of Chianti that I have was weak.
Chocolate for dessert was good.
Plenty of parking, location is in downtown Redwood city.
Service were great but for some odd reason the restaurant smells, maybe the weather.
Surprisingly good. I'm not often impressed by Italian restaurants. My husband likes to say that my Italian food is better than anything we can get in a restaurant--I don't know if I believe him (he loves me rotten, after all)--but I still avoid going out for Italian.
This little restaurant has a great staff, and a good wine selection--we had a great cheap Chianti that was one of the best I've ever tasted for the price. Our food was good--Italian standards executed well. I would definitely recommend this place for a quiet dinner.
I stumbled upon this place a few years ago after moving to Redwood City and I would have to say it is a pretty decent Italian restaurant. We have dined here many times and often times brought others with us ~ never a bad thing to say.
Between us and our guests we've sampled various entrees: your basic pastas to the fish and meat dishes. Very good wine selection. The service is always friendly and attentive. You have to watch yourself though that you don't fill up on the bread!! 90% of the time I end up bringing 1/2 my meal home for lunch the next day because their portions are very generous!
Friends told me this was a good place and we had to try it. Went there on a Saturday evening (5:30) and there were only a few diners. Parking was very easy. Quiet Redwood City. Well, but 6pm, the place was packed, Luckily we got there before the rush.
Ordered fried calamari appetizer and it was excellent. A bit undersalt, but that's fine. Wife had veal and I had Seafood. Both excellent. The portions could be a tad larger though, but at least it tasted good. Ordered Tiramisu for dessert. That was excellent as well.
Service was very good and parking was easy. Downtown Redwood CIty is still quiet but I guess that works to her advantage. It sure beats driving to SF for dinner (high gas prices, high parking, traffic, etc). I much rather go to Redwood CIty. Downtown RC has changed much. I am glad to see it.
As generic as the name. Geriatric crowd.
Here's yet another amazing restaraunt, or in this case we can say ristorante, that is suffering with the best of them while the constuction guys scratch away at their rear sides figuring out an accurate time of completion for the new and improved downtown Redwood City. It's the only reason I could come up with to figure out why this place was as slow as it was on a Friday night.
A quick run down on our meal:
1. Carpaccio (as in raw beef): Well prepared and well presented.
2. Guazetto (steamed clams): Yummmm. Excellent and fresh, fresh, fresh.
3. Ceasar salad: The only thing they screwed up. Too creamy and not enough anchovy flavor. Could have benefited from fresh anchovies.
4. Linguine Trapenese (pasta with tomatos, garlic, and a couple other accoutrements): Fresh and simple-- in a less-is-more kind of way--pefectly porportioned. Fabulous.
We also had two (count 'em, one, two) bottles of Italian wine, and capped off the meal with espressos. The damage? $63. Yes, you read that correctly. I had to read the check twice to make sure I had it correct.
The service was attentive and friendly and the atmosphere was authentic Italian, particularly with the small group of Italian-speaking couples in the restaurant communicating with the Italian-speaking waiter and the ristorante-made wine sitting on the counter available for testing. In short, the place talked the talk and walked the walk.
The only reason I rated this gem of a ristorante four stars and not five was their slip on the ceasar salad. Wonderful exercusion for a date or just a fill up on Italy.
Wow, what a joke. I cannot believe I fell for these reviews. My parents were visiting me from out of town, and I took them here, based on these reviews. What a mistake! It was terrible. I could have made better pasta at home. All of our dishes were average at best. On a good note, the bread with the dipping oil was great, and I ate a lot of it, since I could barely eat my entree. Oh, and the worst part: the wine. I got a glass of merlot, and it was the worst glass of wine I have ever tasted. Do not order the merlot!
Service was pretty good and I really liked the ambience. Not very pricey. But perhaps you get what you pay for in Redwood City.
Great dinner
ambiance - 4
bread - 4
apps - 5 (Carpacio)
Dinner - 5 (Fuccili w/ sausage & chicken pasta with cream sauce)
wine - 5
I had lunch here today, and had a lovely time. My associate and I ordered the lunch specials. I got the pasta one, and it was divine. The service was great. As another yelper mentioned, my iced tea and water glasses were never empty. The bread and dipping oil were really good. The place was spacious and ideally situated. Parking in the area was not an issue. I will definitely return if I'm ever in the neighborhood.
Pretty solid Italian joint in the ever evolving downtown of Redwood City. Great bread to start and I noted the just under $10 lunch specials. Although I saw a calamari steak on the menu, so I had to get it and my co-worker went for a pasta with chicken and asparagus in a cream sauce. The veggies for my entree were pretty tasty but I felt the calamari was a bit under salted. A few dashes and it was perfect. My co-worker cleaned house on his plate so without even asking I think he liked it. I think the specials make for a more reasonable lunch but I think I was pretty happy with the $16 lunch I had. Lot's of stereotypical Italian tunes playing in the background and the staff are very attentive. The menu is a bit small on the lunch side but I'm willing to return and try some of the other items.
Daily lunch specials are a good deal here - $9.99 for a soup/salad and entree (pick 1 of 2). The bread is delish with the olive oil/vinegar dipping sauce. Attentive service and good timing of dishes. Apps were brought out promptly and dishes were cleared just as quickly. Water glass was *never* empty. Definitely would return.
I ate here last night on my way home. Someone at work suggested it. It wasn't bad, although the lasagna might have been fresher. Attentive service and excellent decor. I could imagine Don Corleone walking in any minute and it would fit right in in Palermo. But it's not in Palermo -- it's in Redwood City. Anyone know what the house wine is and where I can get a bottle of it? The service was very attentive, probably having more to do with the fact that I was the only one there for most of my meal and there being 4 waiters.
Given the reviews on Yelp, I was positively impressed. I expected an above-average Pasta?-type place but was rewarded with really solid home-made Italian cooking.. In other words, I expected a 4-star and got, for its price, a 5-star meal.
The beef carpaccio was excellent, better than at Nob Hill Cafe in SF, where I ate a couple of days ago. The Bruschetta was comparable, though this one was more to my tastes (better bread). Speaking of bread, the complimentary bread and dipping olive oil is AMAZING. Their bread is some of the best I've had, period, and the olive-oil and peppers was addictive and very satisfying.
I then had the veal parmiggiano which was also excellent, easily a 8 or 9/10, though it's not that hard to get parmiggiano right; the cheese and sauce do most of the work. Honestly, it was comparable to Nob Hill Cafe at a fraction of the price. Granted, ambiance and presentation-wise this place comes up a bit short but when it comes to food, Italians know what they're doing.
Their service was attentive, though this might have been because I came close to closing time and their usually busy restaurant was only quarter-full.
Yesterday, I was in search for something warm and comforting. I had gone to several places in DT Redwood City but none struck the right feel for my tummy so I went walking around for a bit. After several minutes of walking my tummy delivered me to Siciliano Ristorante Italiano. I thought to myself, "Italian Food, hmmm? Sure why not." I went in and was amazed how big the place was inside and nicely decorated and was meet by the one of the owners. He sat me down. Within a few minutes I had gotten bread and water. The bread was delicious, hard crispy outside with a moist soft inside. Yummy! I ordered the Fusilli Vulcano. I figure it had sausage and red bell peppers which struck my interest and it came out right when I was about to finish my list two pieces of bread. This dish was just what I was looking for - my tummy approved of it as well. I give this place 4 stars for quick and friendly server, excellent bread and fresh pasta, and the environment was great. I wouldn't mind going to eat lunch here again.
Skip the extra-weak pinot grigio; the cheese ravioli was pretty tasty, but not stellar, even accounting for my preference for stronger flavors. Service is good, ambiance is fine. It's serviceable, and if that's your expectation you won't be disappointed.
Cute little place, very friendly waiters. Service was good, the calamari was a bit chewy but still good. Eggplant didnt look so hot. The motz appetizers were delish. Not too pricey.
Como estai? Bellisimo! That's how you'll feel after you eat here. This place is good for both one-on-one and group dining. The service is always great and the food is mangia-rific. Yes. I said mangia-rific. Pace yourself on the pleasantly textured bread or you'll fill up before you get to the best stuff.
I like this Italian place. Once again, my mission is to find quality outside of the hustle and bustle of downtown SF. This definitely meets the criteria. Who would think that you could find such a great baked lasagna in quiet ol' Redwood City. Bellisimo indeed.
The lasanga here is awesome!!!! I ate at 12:30 and its now 9:00pm and I'm still stuffed.
I went here last night with the bf and just thought it was okay. The service was excellent, very nice waiters, and I loveeeeed the bread and olive oil that came out before the meal. But my pasta was reallllyyyy bland (I even added salt to it, and I don't think I have used salt in over 2 years.. I usually hate adding salt to anything) and my boyfriend's veal was alright, but he said it was a little bland as well. Oh well =(
Redwood City, CA
Category: Italian
Redwood City, CA
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