The best Italian restaurant ever!! Personal and family dinners, business and company events, all handled with a personal touch by the Balistreri Family.
Very good restaurant , beautiful ambient , food excellent and the owner is very Sicilian !!! I recommend it !!!
Excellent food, wine, service and pianist. Love, love this place!!
Wonderful service to our table. Great food,semi formal attire,and a great date night idea. :) I would reccomend everyone eats here at least once. Please make reservations and get here early as it is popular especially around holidays.
It's been a long time but I like how I have been there 6 times in 5 years and Anthony remembers me by name every visit.
Anthony and his crew are five stars
Food is spectacular
My friends love the place great food and companty
Excellent food, entertainment and service.
Just stopped in without a reservation and wearing jeans and T-Shirts. We felt a little underdressed, but that didn’t affect the level of service. We were greeted and felt very welcomed and escorted to a table right away. Our server; Sean was very personable, professional and attentive. We loved the ambience and all the staff seemed very Classy. The fried zucchini was a delicious start. The fettuccine Alfredo with large tiger shrimp was excellent. The Sea Bass was very juicy and fresh and was so mouthwatering that I’m craving it today.
This restaurant is truly the best. The service was outstanding. The food was amazing and delicious. This was the best meal we have had during our 2 week stay in San Diego.
We really loved the piano player. He was so talented and he even played our wedding song by ear after hearing a short clip of it. We felt so spoiled. They brought us a dessert with Happy Anniversary written on the plate. This was a wonderful way to celebrate our 30th Anniversary. I just wish we could take this restaurant home with us.
I was pleasantly surprised at just how good this restaurant is. Everything I had from the bread, the butter, the salad, the freshly grated cheese, the size, the quality, the service, etcetera, exceeded my expectations.
Highly recommend this place if you want stellar service, old-world atmosphere, and delicious food. The sea bass is a definite must-order!
Had our annual Christmas party there this year.
2nd time and just as great as we remembered.
Our server, Sean, was awesome! This is my second visit and my husband’s first and we had a great time! He adored the fried zucchini appetizer. Cesar salad is a favorite starter as it is beautifully prepared. We got some eggplant Parmesan and chicken Parmesan for the entrees. I got a cannoli to go for my kid and they marked his cannoli on the to go “luggage” just for him. Warmed my soul.
The service and ambiance here are spot on! Their service is attentive and professional which is a nice change since quality service has been lost in most restaurants these days. The food however is mediocre at best, it was lacking a lot of flavor. Our table had 3 pasta dishes. Maybe the entrees are better here.
Old World Italian restaurant that's been in a strip mall for 50+ years, and we finally discovered it. Waiters in suit coat & tie, excellent food and service. Complimentary fried zucchini and one of the best filet and shrimp scampi I can remember (and I lived in Italy briefly). Focus is Sicilian & southern Italian dishes. Very good pianist on weekends, but it can be too noisy to enjoy.
Very delicious Lasagne al Forno – Chef Isidoro Balistreri’s family recipe and Tiramisu – house-made recipe! Wonderful ambience, with a pianist!
Great service, great place, amazing food. We came right after the restaurant opened up, at 4pm and got busy very fast. The host was polite so was the waiter. We were given a complimentary appetizer, fried zucchini which tasted nice. Other appetizers we have ordered were great, large portions too. Fettuccine was amazing; one of specials-steak was also great, cooked as ordered and well presented. We have ordered for the delivery in the past but dining in experience definitely was great. We will be returning. Reservations are required though, this place gets really busy. Parking can be very tricky though-it is small parking lot outside the restaurant which also shared with other businesses.
Authentic, Italian, romantic, and old-world charm all in one place. Step back in time to the days where servers actually care about a diners experience and will do pretty much anything to make you happy. All the pasta was so delicious and the tiramisu was to die for!! Highly, highly recommend!!
I love The Godfather! Everything is always fresh and delicious the food never disappoints. The desserts, OH MAN... the desserts are so good and rich in flavor. You must try the lemon cake it's moist with a fresh zesty kick ( not to much though). We love going to hear the piano on the weekends it makes for a perfect romantic date night spot (hint, hint gentlemen lol). Customer service is always top notch and the owners are amazing. We love Anthony and his sweet mother, she's the gorgeous very fashionable classy lady that greets you as you walk in.
Enjoy!
Honest review… As previous posters mentioned, the parking lot situation is not ideal, but valet is only $4, making it relatively inexpensive. Wine list is good, nice options to make it attractive. Live piano music was a nice touch. Limited bar seating, believe only 6-8 spots, but still good to have available.
Gluten free pasta is an option. It pains me to write this but the carbonara, albeit gluten free option, lacked flavor, the pancetta was not cooked enough to give you the crisp bite you expect to have… and while OK, they drowned the dish in the superficial parmigiana.
Mussels were excellent, sauce is a bit thicker but lots of garlic.
The homemade pasta sauce was good, nice bite and could taste the peppers.
Salad with blue cheese was excellent.
Service was good as well, very attentive and friendly.
The Godfather Restaurant might be the best restaurant in San Diego! To start Godfather's Marinara (Non-meat) sauce is velvety and stimulates you your senses with its aroma and taste! The kitchen is accommodating with dietary needs and customizations for those needing modifications. The Cannoli and Tiramisu are made in-house, and for me, are some of the best desserts on the West Coast. In short, Godfather's is an amazing culinary experience tucked away in the Kearny Mesa area! Please, give it a try if you are curious or in the area, I can't imagine you would be sorry!
Traditional Italian food with an elegant dining experience.
Great atmosphere with a live pianist playing classics, good wine selection and tons of great pasta dishes.
We started with the fried zucchini, got a bottle of wine. We ordered the spaghetti bolognese with meat balls, linguine with clams, pasta carbonara, pasta carbonara (gluten free), Cesar salad and mussels.
Food is beautifully portioned, enough to feed 2 per dish. We ended up taking some home.
Well worth the price. Will be returning soon. Great for a date night, dinner with the family or just want a quick bite at the bar to eat.
The food and service is outstanding! Took my Mom here to celebrate her 80th birthday and could not have had a better experience. Ricardo, our waiter was excellent! We had the Eggplant Parmesan and not only was it the best I’ve ever had, it was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. The atmospheres is awesome and the piano player a beautiful touch. Highly recommend. Can’t wait to go back soon.
Luke was one of the best waiters I have ever had. Was exactly right with his recommendations, answered all of our questions and always checked on us with out it being bothersome. He was very quick, knew the menu well and just an awesome person. Hope to get him next time we visit again. If you're thinking of getting the lemon cake, it's delicious. Thanks again Luke.
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