Casa Don Alfonso

You seriously cannot beat the patio on a nice day at this restaurant!! The service is attentive, the food is delicious and the drinks are phenomenal! Take a friend or 2, and do yourself a favor, go sit on the patio for happy hour!

The food was… interesting. Our table started with the farmer’s board which was decent. Not a wife variety, but tasty nonetheless. I had the chicken with eggplant which I regretted. It was very…wet and Overall pretty bland. Another ordered the deep fried calamari which was good, but extremely salty. The dip definitely helped and was delicious. Someone else ordered what I believe was stuffed calamari. It was very herby and had a somewhat crab cake filling. No one was very impressive but possibly we ordered the wrong entrees to our taste. Desert was great! We ordered the tiramisu, lava cake, and a berry custard dish. Definitely the highlight of the meal! This was our first time at Casa Don Alfonso and I don’t not recommend it, but I’m not telling my friends about it either.

Our first time we had an epic experience, this time was not up to par. It sure helps to know someone. We sat at the bar for lunch on Valentine's Day. We were one of only two couples to be seated, so it wasn't busy initially. After dropping off my fiancé, I parked the car and felt we would not get the 5 star service we expected. The garage is $6 for 0-3 hrs, so I parked at a meter. We were immediately offered bread with a nice saucer of olive oil, which I usually like with pepper and parmesan added. We asked for gluten free bread which they fresh baked on request and was very nice. The fancy pepper shakers don't work though or were empty. I had to get up to reach and grind my own pepper which I'm sure offended the absent bar server. He was too busy petting the dog at the bar couches, 15 ft away, not sure that is legal? We ordered the soup and asked for another spoon, but never received one. I never received a napkin or silverware until I ordered my sandwich. I got my food but wasn't offered fresh ground pepper for my salad either, once again grinding myself. The bar wasn't that busy, and most ordered soup or a sandwich. It was drafty with the hotel entry just off the bar, not the best design. The bathroom was being serviced at that time as well and the maid cart was left in the entryway for awhile. We enjoyed our food, but for the price, it wasn't worth it for the experience. We even asked about theolive oil, which they sell, last time we received small complimentary bottles. You would think they would have done something extra for the Holiday, but it felt we had to beg just for the basic service. Probably won't return.

We typically don’t eat at the hotel restaurant where we are staying, but we decided to stay in the hotel because of weather. So glad we did! This is definitely a place for people watching. We were 45 min early for our reservation and the host was very accommodating. We decided to sit at the bar and picked a far off spot with views of the full restaurant. We had a great time watching a variety of people come and go. Pre-dinner cocktails were perfectly executed. We weren’t too hungry, so each ordered a soup and shared the Burrata Pizza. Even though the meal was simple, it was exceptionally executed. Wait staff was busy, but attentive when flagged down. Great vibes and wonderful food, can’t go wrong.

Look—I was highly impressed walking through the open bar. I’ve never seen one so low to the ground. The furniture was an elegant mid-century modern style and provided an extra layer of comfort during my dining experience. It was nice to be able to see the chefs making the food in the exposed kitchen. With the day we went being my parents’ anniversary, we wanted to pick a place to match how special the day meant to us. So we landed on this establishment that promised a temporary escape to the Sorrento coast accompanied by the pleasant cultural tastes of Restauranteur Mario Iaccarino’s family legacy. A few minutes after being seated, our table asked for two simple drinks: one glass of Coke and one glass of lemonade. After being hit with the discouraging, “Is Pepsi ok?,” my hopes for quality lemonade lowered. Being in such an upscale location—with a bar—one would expect freshly squeezed lemonade in a place that can clearly afford it. When our server came back with second-rate cola and lemonade, I was expecting the taste of hand-squeezed sweet-and-sour goodness. Instead, I was greeted with the unfortunate familiarity of Minute Maid lemonade from the fountain—something you’d get at your local gas station. Or maybe at a pizza place late at night. Not at Casa Don Alfonso. Along with our drinks came the bread. Two of the six slices were nicely moist and contained flavorful morsels of herbs. The other four, however, were room-temperature, unfinished scraps that looked like they were left from another diner’s table, creating an unsightly mismatch. How does a restaurant mess up bread? It’s bread. Jesus Christ broke bread from the same loaf. Why couldn’t Casa Don Alfonso? After spending a few minutes feeding on the breadcrumbs like the pigeons, we were presented with our appetizer: Vitello Tonnato, a shareable carpaccio. With this appetizer costing what other establishments would price their entrées, we had high expectations. For a cut like veal, it was grainy and dry. I mean, otherwise, it wasn’t terrible. The caviar added a nice touch, even. But the cornerstone element—the meat—prevented this antipasti from garnering a more positive reaction from my family. After washing down the mediocrity of our appetizer with the rest of our drinks, our entrées arrived. The Potato Gnocchi Spheres were delicate. That’s really all that was good to say about it. The sauce was so colorless, actually, that if a tiny breadstick were added, I would think the plate was stolen from a local high school—not exactly in the realm of memories one wants to have on their special day. The Veal Ossobuco was…good. As expected. Nothing more. Nothing less. The New Zealand Lamb Chops (which happened to be the priciest item on the menu) had beautiful presentation. My mouth watered as the plate was set down in front of me. The meat itself was well-cooked to my ‘medium’ request. However, the rich taste of saffron in the velouté was unjustly overshadowed by one other ingredient that scattered the surface area of the plate; now, let’s be fair—I love mint. I love it in my chewing gum, I love it in my Altoids, and sometimes, even my chocolate ice cream. But not in my lamb. Finally, the Tagliatelle Don Alfonso—a pasta dish proudly brandishing the flagship name of this very establishment. I didn’t realize Restauranteur Iaccarino was just the stage name for Chef Boyardee. Once our plates were empty (as well as our drinks, which hadn’t been refilled since we finished bearing the lackluster Vitello Tonnato), we pretended to look at the dessert menu before paying and leaving. But not leaving to go back home after a luxuriously filling meal. 30 minutes later, my stomach was empty. Grumbling. Sweat beads began to form as I gripped my sides in gastrointestinal discomfort. Our food that we paid for failed its primary purpose: to keep us full. We stopped by Chick-fil-A on the way home. At least I could get freshly-squeezed lemonade somewhere. Most definitely an unforgettable experience. A night to remember for sure.

Food, Service and Atmosphere all amazing! The place is beautifully decorated, the tables are spread out and you do not feel crowded which also makes it easy to hear people at your table. The kitchen is open and you can se everything. If you are interested they even have a few seats at a counter overlooking the kitchen. They have spared no expense on the decor, plateware or making the kitchen beautiful and what I think would be a dream to cook in. I wish they would offer cooking classes during the day a few times a year as that would be so cool. Great cocktail and wine list which we enjoyed and we had a variety of dishes including the special Lobster Gnocchi which had an amazing taste and texture only wish the chunks of lobster were just a little bigger. The pea soup was wonderful as was the pizza.

It was our second visit. There was a little confusion at first because our reservation was wrong in their system. But after dinner started, we quickly forgot about the problem. The waiter was very attentive and kind, the bread on the menu starter is divine. Our choices were great, the only thing missing was a chocolate dessert lol.

Amazing waiter, lovely atmosphere. But we went for brunch and the food was not impressive it was supposed to be there better brunch. Mussels were dried out, gnocchi had way too much sauce, other dishes dried out and really not many options I mostly filled up on olives and salami. Desserts were nice but when brunch for 3 costs 600 with tax and tip you expect to be wowed. Disappointed in food for sure