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Mon-Wed. 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Wish I could give it 4.5 stars. It's not 5 star, but then I don't think they try to be, just very very good food. The kind of place you can eat at 3 times a week, and never get bored. I come to the area every month on business, and ate there 2 nights in a row, something I almost never do.
Take your gf, your wife, somebody you hope will become your gf, or somebody else's gf, just don't go alone. Split the Porlezza salad. It's the one you want. Then let your female companion order whatever she wants, on the premise that you'll share.....then order the Pollo alla Milanese, and tell her, oops, sorry, you changed your mind. It's seriously good, and a terrific portion.
They lose a brownie point because they have lame bread, which any self-respecting Italian "joynt" should never have. Killer food crys out for killer bread. But they make it back because most of the people there are very friendly, and they're willing to stay at the bar pretty much as long as you are. Uber comfortable. Friendly. Nice without being stuffy, or pretentious. A restaurant comfortable in its own skin. I'll be back.....
On the first Monday night of football season, a friend and I ventured out to grab a happy hour that did not include shouting fans and spilling beer. Thankfully we arrived at Via Italia just in time and we were not the only ones there, shocking! Sitting at my favorite street side table near the big front window, we ordered and relaxed in the peaceful calm this little trattoria offered.
We shared one of their delicious quarto stagioni (four seasons) thin crust pizzas, with olives, artichokes, mushrooms and ham in each four corners of the pie. My favorite dish there is the roasted eggplant parmesan. It is done perfectly with very thin slices of eggplant, lots of ooey-gooey cheese and fresh tomato sauce to satisfy anyone. We also shared the house antipasto with brushetta, arancino (little fried rice balls), grilled vegetables on bread with mozzarella melted on top, caprese salad and prosciutto and shaved parmesan. Yum! Everything was half off too by the way because we were able to order by 6pm, which is the happy hour cut off.
Along with our feast, I had a glass of the house Chianti and my friend had a mojito. The one cocktail that I wish I would've gotten, but I forgot about it, is the caprese martini. It's a vodka martini with a little tomato flavor and fresh basil infused in it and it is deliciously refreshing and unique. Oh well, next time. This place has become a regular meeting place among my group of friends, so I know I'll be back soon.
Good dinner. Place was packed, which was a good sign. The menu is huge and as a vegetarian, I was happy to see so many vegetarian choices. I ended up getting the spaghetti, which was surprisingly delicious. My friend got a seafood platter which was apparently quite good.
The service was pretty lousy. The hostess seemed bored at best, but mainly was irritable. We waited quite awhile before anyone took our order, and when someone finally did, she promptly forgot us. It was so bad that my buddy ordered his second beer when she finally brought the first one over, just because the wait was so long. They got the bill over pretty quickly though.
In short, a solid, red sauce Italian joint with decent ambiance, good food, and lousy service.
The best pizza on 101!! I love simple pizza so I always order the margherita .. Once I tried the sausage.. Phenominal!!
Great staff.. Good vibe.. I like
We just moved into the neighborhood and ate here twice in one week. I can't stop thinking about the homemade gnocchi. This place reminds me of being in Italy and there is only one other Italian restaurant in San Diego that makes me feel this way. Make reservations even if it is a weekday and ask for Petra if you want great service.
Love this place.
Pasta is actually finished at Al Dente.
Love the calamari dish( stewed, I think).
It is an old cliche, that someone who does not know about ethnic food, can still suggest "Italian". Works for the first date. This place is exceptional, hence, my rating. What fake Italian restaurants don't have is gnocchi.
They have it here!!! Three different sauces are available, home made, made you weak in the knees and just want to propose... (Even is you are sitting with your wife of 25 years.) Burgundi and mushroom sauces are available. Want to fall in love all over again? order any of the above and have a 'flight of wine', choose a red, uncomplicated chianti, sangovese, or tempranillo combination.
You will not mind the price, which is reasonable, and they do have some cute waitresses with excellent customer service aptitudes.
My friend and I ventured here because we were so hungry and thought it might be a great place to grab a bite to eat. Boy oh boy! We were wrong! We were there for a few cocktails and appetizers in hopes of ordering more but with the serious lack of customer service we opted to go elsewhere. I was so disappointed I mean the restaurant WAS EMPTY and our server did not even bother to check up on us.
When another patron came into the restaurant and sat right next to us, the staff was really good in making sure she was taken care of. It made me think this establishment cannot be biased in giving equal service, can it?
Anyway, to add insult to injury, they made sure to accommodate the every EMPTY facility with few guests and really just ignore us. The price tag was not worth it at all for 2 appetizers and drinks.
Seriously, try the place down the street that probably has 100% better service.
Charming ambiance (front of the house manager from Il Fornaio in Coronado), parking lot around the block, completely packed on a Saturday evening (in this economy). Great for small groups as well as a dinner party for 10.
Huge menu -- with homemade gnocchi and spinach rigatoni. I had the spinach rigatoni with lobster cream sauce and fresh crab. The sauce was light (i.e. it didn't solidify at the end of the evening into a chunk of butter). The house special is their gnocchi -- I would keep it simple and stick with their gnocchi with bolognese sauce.
Decent wine list with Sonoma and Italian offerings -- don't be afraid to turn away a bottle. We had a bad chianti (after ordering several bottles) and the waitress kindly took it back without question.
Absolutely my favorite Italian in Encinitas. I am a huge bolognese fan and this place never disappoints. Last time I went with a group of 4 and when we were seated the waiter immediately brought complementary glasses of champagne to each of us...molto bene! I just wish you could enjoy the vino at the outdoor tables.
It is a bit pricey, so come prepared. Buon appitito!
Came here twice before for dinner, and each time everyone in my family left very pleased.
I feel that often times, Italian food isn't greatly appreciated as a cuisine to head out to dinner for. "Pasta? We eat pasta 4 times a week!" is the attitude of some of my friends. But this place is good and reasonably priced, with a wide variety of items aimed to please a wide range of people, enough to make them eat so much they'll be a bit wider by the end of the night. It'll make you appreciate what a good sauce or a good filling can do to a pasta meal.
Sometimes they have live music, but really, the place is so small, that if the place is even a slight bit crowded, voices get drowned out, and it is difficult to maintain conversations between the sounds of other customers and the kitchen -- yet alone some speakers too.
Great Place for homemade pasta, what a change from the other Italian trattoria's in downtown Encinitas.
From the hostess, manger, bartender and the regular server that have been there forr years . It is my choice when I think about going to have pasta. The food is out of this world love the chef. the owner has his own way of making you feel welcome
I'm a little surprised by all of the positive reviews of this restaurant. I dined here last week: Service was mediocre (no food or wine knowledge, tried to pass-off free sparkling wine to mask overall bad service), food was tasty & fresh, but cold and delivered to the table one entree at a time (4 entrees at 4 different times), nice Italian wine list that neither servers nor bartender could speak to, but, even more importantly, the manager/owner disrupted the entire restaurant by screaming at a waitstaff member in front of diners--unprofessional & totally distasteful--we would have given this place a second chance had we not witnessed this verbal abuse of an employee. Wow.
They messed up and brought one dish out of five out after everyone else had finished.
Don't get the butternut squash gnocchi.
Minestrone was ok, vegetables seemed fresh.
Loved the wood fired pizza, we had the cheese and margarita. Loved the carpaccio (dressing was amazing). Loved the Misto salad, again, the dressing was amazing. Too, the gnocchi was really good (we had it with an alfredo sauce), which isn't on the menu, but when we asked our waiter if we could have it made this way, he was happy to oblige. Service was pretty good, though perhaps a tad slow. My only complaint was the fact we could smell the garbage cans out back because both the back and front doors were left open. We loved the lighting and the quaint bar. We went with our kids, but would love to have dinner alone on a 'date night' one evening soon. It's a really nice little restaurant. We are looking forward to going back soon.
Hands down the best pizza in San Diego. Try the Via Italia Pizza, it's awesome. Now come of think of it their pizzas are better than Pizzeria Mozza up in LA.
How have I not reviewed one of my favorite spots yet!? Unfortunately for me, I haven't been there in the past year (busy, family moved, blahblahblah), but, I'm sure that it is still as stellar as ever. [note to self: get your ass to Via Italia ASAP!]
I can't name any 1 dish off hand that is the best. They are all outstanding. But, a few that I love are the antipasti carpaccio di manzo (?I can never remember the proper Italian names), ANY of the gnocchi dishes, the risotto with sausage, any of the veal dishes or chicken dishes...SO good. Try the specials as well! And, please, don't make me gain weight just *thinking* about the delicious deserts...oh my goodness!
The owner, Paolo, is such a wonderful and attentive person, family man, business owner, foodie. He always makes sure that we are taken care of and happy! Very refreshing in this age of owner's that are never present or visible.
The restaurant is very hip (is that still a good word to describe the vibe...wait, is THAT still a word to, oh, never mind!) and with a wonderful Italian flair (not your chain pizzeria at the mall).
The decor is as others described, something you'd expect to find in SoHo. I think that Paolo is from Milano (hello, fashionistas!) or that area, so this is a spot that I would imagine to be found there. Feel free to dress to impress, but, don't be intimidated if you want to pop in casually dressed either...hey, it's laid back Encinitas! Fresh, Clean, Euro (minus the cigarettes and VAT and other added costs, of course), and they even have the tiny sidewalk tables as they do in most European eateries. Great atmosphere. Great wine and bar selections. Clean bathrooms.
I think that as in all great restaurants, the menu changes seasonally to offer the freshest of items. Via Italia also offers special wine tasting/dinner menus. I've never taken advantage these, but hope to soon!
I feel that the prices are appropriate for this type of food and attentive service.
Think of Via Italia not only for that special Valentine's Day date, anniversary, or other special dates, but also for just a damned good meal. Personally, I'd keep my reservations to smaller, more intimate groups of 6-8 or less. But, also not be afraid to have children attend.
You won't be disappointed!
And, btw, if you want to save on the cost...try it for lunch!
http://www2.sdcounty.c...
This place is amazing. It's in a great location, and has ample outdoor dining tables, and can imagine how cool it'd be to have lunch or dinner here during the summer. Anyway, I stopped here for dinner after a long day of driving, and couldn't have asked for a better Italian restaurant.
Seems like the entire staff speaks Italian, and the interior makes you feel like you are in Roma. There is a ginormous menu selection with pastas, pizzas, entrees, and of course desserts. We didn't have a ressie, but got there before the dinner rush, and they sat us at a table in the back by the kitchen. It was actually a great spot since it was a bit crammed in the main dining area, and I was able to sit back and observe all of the activity.
After studying the long menu for 10 minutes, we decided on the fritto misto (fried goodness sampler of calamari, popcorn shrimp, broccoli, zucchini) with a marinara sauce. This was some of the best fried calamari that I've ever tasted, and didn't even need the sauce! My entree was the rigatoni con polpa di granchio - rigatoni tossed with crab meat in a lobster cream sauce. This was absolutely divine!! It wasn't very rich considering it was a cream sauce, and loved that it had a ton of crab meat and included a crab leg.
My Pops had the linguine allo scoglio- linguini with mussels, clams, calamari, shrimps sauteed in garlic, white wine, and tomato sauce. I know my Pops loved it as he polished off his plate. For dessert, I had the creme brulee (shocker!!), which was decent, and with a solid brulee texture, but the creme part was not as creamy as I usually like it.
Service was great, friendly, and very efficient. It seems like you don't have a single server assigned to your table, as they all help each other out as we had a different person distributing the food, clearing our plates, and refilling our drinks. Our 'main server', the one who took the order, was awesome as he gave us a free dessert wine/moscato to accompany the creme brulee. We also ordered coffee to give us the caffeine fix, and it was strong and brave, just how I like it!
Prices are a bit high for a dinner, but totally worth it for the ambiance, service, and the food. With such an extensive menu, I'd have to come back to try some of the entrees like the gnocchi and risotto.
It seems like many locals are regulars as most of the staff seem to know quite a few patrons. As we were leaving, I felt like a regular as we received a few handshakes from several of the servers and the host! What a way to end the meal, eh?!?
Yep, there's no question about it --- I'm definitely returning to Via Italia!!
Viva Via Italia!!!
Where to begin...
Great location, great atmosphere, better food. Seriously, this is the best Italian food I have had outside of Little Italy, NYC. Please dont mistake that for Little Italy, downtown San Diego....just horrible, but thats a different story for a different review..
Every time I've been here the service has been impeccable and the food has been top-notch. I cannot think of a single complaint about this place, and believe me I can be picky about restaurant experiences. This place has good sized portions and unbelievably tasty food. The lamb ragu is to die for. So is the seafood fra diavola. So is the butternut squash gnocci. You get the point. Not a miss on the menu. Wonderful.
The food here is definitely one of my favorites. My boyfriend brought me here for the first time about eight months ago and I fell in love with the menu. I am a sucker for good food and this place has not disappointed either of us.
The last time we were there, we got to sample new items that they were testing out and I was so very impressed. There was a calamari risotto with this black sauce, it didn't look like much but when you tasted it, it was just incredible. I ordered the lamb chops which is one of the best I've ever had, the meat was just so tender and the flavor was great but not overwhelming.
They have a nice variety of wines and their desserts are wonderful. It is a little pricey but a great place to impress someone on a date.
Good lighting, tasteful decor, great wine selection, attentive servers, and homemade pastas, gnocchi, and risotto. The menu was very extensive which made it hard to decide on what to order. They feature a $30/$40 dollar pre fixe menu which seems like a good deal. The $30 dollar is a 3 course and $40 is a 4 and you get to pick from their selection, but they are tastes not full portions. You get dessert too so it's good if you want a little bit of everything.
The flights were generous and beautiful. I kinda felt like an alcoholic with 3 glasses of wine next to me but oh well.
I contemplated the pre fixe but wanted a full dinner so I ordered some wide noodle pasta in a light cream sauce with prosciutto and asparagus (don't remember and could not pronounce the fancy Italian name). Rich and inviting. It was like a carbonara I've had in Rome. It went very well with the wines. Just don't get the filet. BF opted for medium well and it came out pretty rare. I had to look away to stop from gagging. For $32, you would think they would know how to cook a steak. He didn't send it back because that is just something you don't do in restaurants. Though I think this place wouldn't spit in your food, I think he didn't want to insult the chef. Just stick to the pasta and you can't go wrong. We did reheat/cook the steak in the microwave at home and it was very tender. I swear it melted in my mouth. I barely had to chew!
I would love to come back and try their gnocchi or risotto but it is pricey, definitely a splurge place. They do have some kind of happy hour with 1/2 off Italian pizzas and I think on Mondays they do 1/2 off wine bottles. That is something I'd come back for.
Would eat here every day if I wouldn't turn into a whale.
The gnocchi is SOOOOO good and they'll make it however you want it. The staff is awesome the waitress remembers us and brings us samples of sparkling wine. Love the half price wine nights on Mondays too.
I would say something good about everything on the menu but I'm sure you're close to moving on, but try the gnocchi pomadoro. Yum!
Nothing special. Moreover, this restaurant is pricey! One plus is that it's open during the day and you can eat at 3 p.m.
We were so disappointed by the experience at this restaurant and I'm shocked to come home and see all of the 4/5 star ratings. The service was horrible and the service staff (two women) got into a yelling match behind the bar. Entertaining, at best. it took over 30 minutes to get our meals. My guy had the special cheese gnocci w/veal ragu. He was expecting red sauce and it had white sauce. All he could taste was the thyme. It lacked any other flavor. I had the pasta bolognese and it came cold. When I told the server, she said she could heat it up. I would have expected a service oriented restaurant to comp me somehow or immediately get me another plate of hot pasta. Besides that, the pasta didn't have much flavor. We started with the artichoke layered appetizer and it had very little sauce and tasted like vegetarian lasagne.
Very disappointed in the food and pricey at that. I don't mind paying good money for good food but it is like salt in the wound to pay good money for bad food and service.
Would never go back.
I love this place. I am dismayed though to read their long time chef has departed, if that is true.
I've eaten there on numerous occasions, and always enjoyed it. Love the chestnut gnocchi. Very extensive menu.
One time (last year) when I was at the bar, there were a few employees of the nearby Italian restaurant eating there. That says a lot.
It's a small place and nice atmosphere. I love one of the current female bartenders who works there now. She is so friendly, interesting and helpful, and she also sings wonderfully (accompanying the guitarist).
I guess my sentiment plays a large role in the places I like, but I think niceness is hugely attractive!
I Love this place!!
My husband and I have always tried to get a meal here when we are in the area, because they never fail to amaze.. the wine is great, the service is lovely, and the food is fantastic.
They are very accomodating, even for large parties on busy nights.. Ive been here with groups with babies, children and my elderly grandfather and everyone was so pleased with the food and service. Its a great place, with great customer service. There seems to be an abundance of Italians in Encinitas, because Ive had a number of great Italian meals at different places within blocks of VIT, but I think this place remains my top pick..
Being served your meal with a genuine" buon appetito" is the cherry on top of a great meal at this great spot.
What a great feeling to know that I can be two doors down from a great Italian restaurant that is so service oriented and proud of their food .I am a hairstylist at Divinity and whenever I am providing a long service for my clients I can count on Via Italia to deliver the tastiest of food wether it's Pizza or Pasta it's always consistantly great food.
Jacques @ Divinity Salon & Boutique
Yet another Old-Town Encinitas Italian Trattoria. I think we have at least 8 on S. Coast Hwy 101. This is one of the nicer places that offers a modern and stylish approach to Italian dinning. Via Italia is on the upscale side with entree prices in the 20-30 dollar range.
Owned by first generation Italians, you'll find the atmosphere quietly friendly with the decor urban-Soho. Adorned with candles and beautiful cutlery it is a great place to bring a date so dress nicely or at least in your designer genes accented by your stylie Italian leather shoes.
All of the dishes are nouveau Italian-style and the presentation is in that vain. The last time I was there I had a wonderful appetizer featuring shrimp.
The service is good and the owner is present during dinners. You'll also find a great selection of fine Italian wines.
Went during happy hour a month or two ago. Shit initially went wrong when we chose to sit outside (after a waiter who disappeared for the rest of our meal, probably just having got off his shift, told us to sit anywhere we like) and we were ignored for about 10 minutes forcing us to move inside where we would be noticed.
My friend and I split some bruschetta, and each had a pizza that both sucked. In addition I quaffed several beers. The service was intensely slow, I have never been so studiously ignored by a server, who mostly just sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender. Whenever he did get up he kept his eyes on the floor avoiding my eyes and my wave.
At one point I was told by the bus boy who must have been around 30 that he couldn't take my order for another beer because he wasn't our waiter. So tell the waiter I want a beer then. But I guess it isn't that easy.
When I got the bill it wasn't happy hour prices, very frustrated I approached my server who was predictably stationed at the bar. After asking him why the bill was so much, he responded, "Oh you wanted the happy hour prices?" Seriously what the fuck.
My mind is blown at the positive reviews, so I guess take mine with a grain of salt. I work at a restaurant so I can understand about a server not giving a shit about a slow afternoon but some common courtesy would have been nice.
My experience was so bad I will never consider going back, so one star.
Good location. A little pricey about $100 for 2 people so not your everyday Italian eatery. A great place for a nice date. The food was okay not amazing but I'd go there again.
Wine is great, food is good and the service (that I have experienced so far) is good. I noticed two of the servers not at our table didnt seem so into it, but ours was very nice and always asking is we were ok. I always walk past this place thinking it would be a great place to take a date. I ended up going there with a couple of friends. A little pricey, but food was really good, especially the pasta sauces. All pastas are fresh - which could be good or bad. From the taste of my friend's pasta, it was pretty good, but I didnt think as good as my ravioli. The Bolegnese sauce was unreal. I finished my friend's dish after eating mine, but just at the sauce off the plate. Wines, again, are good and not too pricey. I know they have a Monday night 1/2 off wine. Gotta go back for that!
I used to go to Via Italia quite often. The Fritto Misto was incredible.
However, ever since the Sicilian chef left to work in another restaurant, I found the quality of the food declined dramatically.
I find Firenze in Encinitas a much better restaurant if you are looking for good Italian food.
So I was walking past this restaurant looking particularly cute that day as Marcus just coiffed my hair when I was accosted by the maitre-d and told to come in for dinner. (it was 3p.m.) I told him I wasn't hungry yet but took a gaze at the menu anyway. To make a long story short... I made a reservation for four people at 7:30 that evening fully not intending to honor it. (My bad but he wouldn't let up) Needless to say at 6:45 my husband called to say he was on his way home from delivering a baby and where would I like to meet him for dinner? I didn't care so I deferred to his choice and he said Italian, So Wa la, I had it covered. Showed up a tad tardy for the ill made reservation and was treated like royalty from then on... The chef sent out a tasting of the Braised short ribs on a small spoon of savory polenta. Oh my goodness I drool to think about it even now. So gooood! Everything that followed was sensational. 5 stars! I don't even care that much for Italian because the are an over abundance of these restaurants around not to mention to easy to make yourself so much better. When I later tried to tell my other "Foodie" friends about it they had been there 3-4 times already. WHAT? Where is the love? I now share my love with my YELP foodie friends. Sex on a plate!
I thought the seafood pasta here was just terrific- lots of seafood and the sauce and the noodle were tasty.
Great atmosphere, you can also sit outside if you have a small party.. (2-4). Kinda small inside, but that's what makes it intimate and great for a date. GREAT soup. Also great deserts. I ha vent been therein a while, But i used to love the chicken lasagna, which was on the specials page. It was opened by the same owner as arividerchi in Hill Crest.
The atmosphere is great here but I wish the food was better. My four stars is really just for the arrabbiata sauce which was delicious.. and cause they brought us free tiramisu birthday cake. The rest of the meal was nothing special but I still enjoyed this place.
Great personal-sized Italian-style pizza with an ultra-thin crust. And conveniently located right next to the Clairemont movie theater.
The hostess working the sidewalk in front of this restaurant sold us on food and she was on point. I had special antipasti: Guazzeto di Capesante: fresh sea scallops, bay shrimps and cannellini beans stewed in fresh tomato sauce, served over soft corn meal polenta nest...excellent...for dinner I had pasta...Gnocchi Gamberi e Zucchine...handmade potato dumplings, with shrimps and zucchini, in light cream tomato sauce...Awesome. The ambiance and service was great and I complimented the owner on my experience on the way out. This restaurant deserves its Zagat ratings.
this is a cute little italian restaurant serving italian italian (not american italian) food. the prices are very reasonable ($10-$20 entree) and the portions are generous. this place reminds me a little of "la dolce vita" in downtown la jolla.
personal-sized pizzas are a good deal! if i remember correctly, they are about $10 and quite large. (12" diameter?) definitely could not finish it by myself, but it was a tasty breakfast the next morning! the gnocchi is also very good, but the chicken marsala was a little bland for my tastes. (but olive garden is my gold standard for chicken marsala, so i may not be a good judge. :D)
oh and they are zagat rated!
Neighborhood: Encinitas
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Carlsbad
Category: Hotels
Neighborhood: Encinitas
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Carlsbad
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Encinitas
Category: Restaurants
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