Pernicanos Family Italian Restaurant

We stumbled upon Pernicano’s after leaving San Diego airport headed for Yuma, and found an absolute treasure! We started with a HUGE, beautiful salad, and I had the Italian dressing. I’m here to tell you that I have never had a more refreshing salad dressing. Next came the fried mushrooms. They were amazing. Then the main course. I had the Saturday evening special (spaghetti with meat ravioli), and my wife had the chicken Parmesan with fettuccine Alfredo on the side. We quite literally moaned when we tasted it. Now the food was amazing, and the SERVICE! Maddie was an absolute delight, with a wonderful personality, and she was right there as if she could sense we might need something. Really, just top notch service. Now for the pièce de rèsistance: Gary Pernicano came out to shake my hand and personally thank me for coming in to dine at his place. He is a WONDERFUL man, and he took the time to give me the history of the place passed down through the generations. He spoke lovingly about his parents, and told me that he started washing dishes in the place when was five years old. He also spoke of his brothers and other family members all of whom had 10 Pernicano’s restaurants throughout Southern California. If you drive by this place and don’t stop, you are missing a treasure! Six out of five stars.

Food 4/5, service and atmosphere 5/5 for sure. One of the oldest nostalgic restaurants in el cajon. Dine in, outdoor seating. Variety of meals. Very fast and helpful service. Huge food portion. Reasonable prices. Indoor seating is a little dated and could use some enhancements, but with todays economy and fluctuations I don't mind it. I'll be back for sure.

Pernicano's is one of those humble, family-owned joints that sticks around because of its welcoming, un-pretentious nature, both in its interior décor, and in the modest, just-like-Grandma-used-to-make quality of its cuisine. It's down-to-earth, warm, filling, and just what one needs on a cold, rainy day like the one we were treated to during our visit. It won't win any awards, but there is little to complain about; you know exactly what you were going to get the moment you opened those moustache-handled doors out front. This was the location my mother-in-law selected for a small family reunion of sorts, as my wife (and I) were in town for a few days, and there were a lot of people who wanted to meet up with us. What better place to reconvene with family than in a place that honors and cherishes family? A few pizzas and pastas to pass around between loved ones is special thing. Good food, good prices, good service, good company. Good all around.

Ordered a pizza for delivery and it is a thin, oily, mess. Absolute embarrassment that they would allow this to leave their kitchen.

Delicious food and friendly staff. So accommodating and a great place for a warm meal!! Went to momma Rosa’s once and never again. They just couldn’t match up to the service and flavors of Pernicano’s.

Love to dine in and take out. Love this family owed Italian restaurant. Service is great. Food is always fresh. Reasonably priced. Interior is on the older side but gives it personality.

It was my first time in here. Since is an Italian restaurant I couldn't help comparing it with Olive Garden. I asked for my favorite dish. That is the Chicken alfredo. Pernicanos chicken alfredo has no good flavor, the chicken seems to be just unfrozen and the pasta is just plain, I was hoping at least the alfredo sauce to be rich, but no, it was kinda liquid and light in flavor. I left it all. The pizza seems to be very famous there since a lot of customers where asking for it. It was ok, the dough is handmade wich is good and different from others. But the cheese or sauce tasted like if it was made with tap water. Like the soft drinks at the gas station. The good thing was the sampler appetizers and the tiramisú! Definitely it saved the day. It's just my humble opinion and hope it helps you decide what to order when you visit here. Waitress by the way was very kind. Thank you!

Every time I come here I receive the best servic. Hilliary is my favorite server. The food here is consistently tasty and fresh.

We were a party of 4! Service with a smile Delicious fresh food, the pastas, sauces, seafood, lasagna, loved the Sautèd mushrooms save the sauce for everything Old world roomy ambiance Great for large parties, Do yourself a favor & save room for the Spumoni Best ever! Thank you Pernicano's for 78 years of deliciousness thank you Gary for being a gracious host

There us room for improvement in every area. The food wasn't fresh or tasty. The service awful, there is no enthusiasm or positive attitude. This place it's not clean, the a/c was off and no music. The owner and food server used derogatory comments on my guest without reason. My guest told these people that it's not nice talking behind costumers with no reason for it. The owner replied you Mexicans" my guest it's from Colombia. Just make unnecessary rude statements without any reason or explanation. I can't believe that people who's running a business for many years are having a poor behavior. We have never been treated so poorly.

Pernicano's is one of those humble, family-owned joints that sticks around because of its welcoming, un-pretentious nature, both in its interior décor, and in the modest, just-like-Grandma-used-to-make quality of its cuisine. It's down-to-earth, warm, filling, and just what one needs on a cold, rainy day like the one we were treated to during our visit. It won't win any awards, but there is little to complain about; you know exactly what you were going to get the moment you opened those moustache-handled doors out front. This was the location my mother-in-law selected for a small family reunion of sorts, as my wife (and I) were in town for a few days, and there were a lot of people who wanted to meet up with us. What better place to reconvene with family than in a place that honors and cherishes family? A few pizzas and pastas to pass around between loved ones is special thing. Good food, good prices, good service, good company. Good all around.

Passing through town I wanted a good sandwich and found this place. What a great choice. My torpedo was delicious! The young ladies working there were very nice and professional. Will be back to try the pizza looks delicious!

Food was good and hot! This is an older traditional pizza restaurant. Needs a renovation as the interior is pretty old and carpet was very dirty. Great customer service and good to see the pizza man throw the pizza up!

The service was amazing and the food was delicious. I've been wanting to come here for a long time now. My mom has told me stories of Pernicano's for as long as I can remember. Every time we would drive through Hillcrest, we would see the sign, but it was closed down. So two years ago when I saw that there was this location open in El Cajon, I knew I had to dine here. And I'm so super happy I did. They close relatively early, and we arrived before anyone was there...but sure enough, the dinner rush came on and the place was filling up quickly. I love the classic nostalgic vibe. It reminds me of a slower more intimate feeling, which I adore.

Love Pernicano's, been eating here for many years. Love the weekly specials. Always gigantic portions as well. Prices are fair too!

Used 2 work 4 em too...got white 14'pizza...bla.overdone crispcake.barely anything added to reffer it pizza

Well I finally decided to try a local restaurant that everyone seems to have something to say about how good this place was back in the day and I passed this restaurant numerous times throughout the day as I'm running errands in my neighborhood. I'm a big supporter of local restaurants and mom and pops, especially. This one I cannot support and please don't waste your money your hard earned money. I would love to give them a great review but I can't. This place has been around El Cajon for years and I think the recipes as well as the establishment are made with meats and cheeses from that error, we ordered an antipasto salad and got sliced cheese and sliced meats that you could tell we're not fresh and did not get any salad dressing nor was there any in the bag. I should've Yelp them before but I wanted to try it because my wife's dad used to frequent this restaurant many years ago. He probably would be very disappointed today. The pizza we ordered was OK but for it being a Italian restaurant, you think the sauce would've had some flavor it did not sorry to say I rate this establishment because of the poor food, the poor quality and more important the poor tasting of products that we ordered a ONE. The hostess and waitresses were all polite and nice.

Ordered LG antipasto salad. Specifically asked if dressing on salad she replied YES. Got to our picnic NO DRESSING on the salad or in the bag. Called and she replied sorry I didn't prepare it. That was a big waste of money!

This is authentic Italian cooking and it's delicious. I the first pizza place in San Diego. Amazing

Sadly one of the worst neighborhood Italian restaurants ever. George Pernicano wouldn't dare serve this food. Pizza: no salt in the very thin crust; burnt Calamari, or should it be called, "flouramari"? Awful. Frozen, flavorless, was there even calamari in there? And sprinkled with Parmesan cheese???? Caesar salad: tangy bottled dressing and standard grocery store rack bagcroutons. Lasagna: not bad. $70 Go to Filippis and get the family meal deal for $30. Great food, fresh, good price.

This review is for Pernicano's El Cajon, California location and not the Mercy Road Mira Mesa/San Diego location which, may or may not be better as I've never been there. The El Cajon location is the absolute worst Italian restaurant in San Diego and sadly, honestly the very worst restaurant I've ever eaten in and that includes many years in Chicago and over 30 years in San Diego. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the dull, drab lighting. Flat lighting with no atmosphere or personality. I was seated in a booth near the front door which was too low and it was lumpy. Very uncomfortable. My waitress (Katie) brought me a salad with Italian dressing which turned out to be horrible tasting red wine vinegar and oir so I sent it back and got a fresh salad with ranch dressing which was actually edible. The problem here is that the second salad (small house salad priced at $4.25) was actually sitting in water! I've never in my life have eaten a salad that's sitting on a layer of water. The waitress explained that sometimes there's water in the salad after the vegetables are washed and cut. That is completely unacceptable. That's still no excuse as Katie should have known that one can get very I'll from lettuce sitting in water and remember lettuce, especially head lettuce, is loaded with water in the first place. Katie explained why the water was there yet didn't offer to take it back and try for three strikes. Needless to say, I only ate a tiny portion of the salad to avoid getting sick. I ordered a large pizza with sausage, onions and anchovies. The sausage in all fairness was delicious and Katie explained that it's fresh ground and home made. The pizza itself was so thin that it was like eating pizza toppings on a cracker. Absolutely horrible! I ate two and a half slices and then couldn't force myself to eat more. The pizza also seemed to have a watery/greasy layer on top that was anything but appetizing. I've had frozen pizza better than this! My buddy ordered spaghetti and wound up with angel hair pasta. Absolutely unacceptable! His salad was watery as well. The carpeting was dirty with pieces of paper and debris on it which needed to be swept and/or vacuumed. My favorite Italian restaurant of all time was Demille's, formerly located on Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. This Chicago style Italian restaurant set the standard for quality on every level. Unfortunately they closed in late 2021 with the onslaught of the Pandemic.They were in business for 43 years, since 1978. I had been hoping to experience something very special at Pernicano's in the way of a fine dining Italian pizza house eatery that offered an experience akin to the atmosphere and quality of Demille's. Not a chance! This restaurant is the absolute worst restaurant I've ever been in. Places like this should be condemned as the food is barely edible and the place is dirty and dingy. Even my Pepsi had no taste. (It was probably watered down) Avoid this place like the plague!!

My husband and I decided to finally try this place. I had been here about 30 years ago and wasn't impressed then so never went back. We moved to the area about 3 years ago and put off coming here because there are others Italian restaurants we prefer. We came tonight and thought the entry door looked cool but as far as the decor, that's where it ended. Once we walked in it was a bit confusing as to where to go but the young lady in the middle of the restaurant helped us. The decor was bland at best, looked like it hasn't been updated in a while. We were seated in a booth that had a loose back so the very animated person in the booth behind me kept bumping into it so I could t really sit back comfortably. We were hoping the food would be amazing. The service was fine, our waitress was very sweet and food came out quickly. We were hoping for a good specialty salad to share but the salads seem to only be lettuce, tomato and onion or a combination of those ingredients. We went ahead and ordered a dish to share and a side of marinara so I could try it as marinara is my absolute favorite thing to try at Italian restaurants. It was full of big pieces of onion, like it was very onion-heavy, I've never seen that before but ok...the flavor was missing that classic robustness that comes from a sauce that has been on the stove for hours with the right ingredients and it was a bit bland sadly. Overall though, the sauce with the item we ordered with it was edible and not horrible if you look past the sauce alone. The front of house staff was very sweet but I noticed older men walking back and forth from the dining room back to the kitchen area, one of the men, I'm guessing the main chef was chewing gum! He eventually spit it out but...eek. Overall this was a three because of the quick service and not horrible food. Management should really look into updating the décor and refreshing the menu. Idk - I'm glad we tried it but probably won't be back soon...

I rate this pizza 2/5 because the pizza was very salty and dry. My favorite food is pizza and I had high hopes. I'm not sure if it's because their closing soon. I would like to give the pasta a try.

After thirty years plus of going here as a great,classy, family restraunt with great food,service,enviroment it is now a complete Dive?? Went there with a group of ten people again and its has gone to the pits. First, the waitress was dressed in skin tight pants that were totally out of place .Most woman might wear them in a biker bar at best not a restraunt...We all thought we had to be a candid camera or shocked that the place would allow such dress ware.What did you do with the great waitresses we have had for years??Rehire them quick. Second ,the food has gone down hill with either a new cook or new owner. Example..Four of our crew were vegatarians and we requested the sauce to be meatless sauce for those meals..Meat sauce given after asking for marinara sauce. Horrible service,drinks not refilled, check dumped at table before our plate was half emptied.We did all want dessert but the clueless waitress I dont know. Every single person in our group agreed it has gone way way down hil all around. Let me say nearly all of us have been going there over 30 years as a awesome place to eat ,take family and relax for a good meal. I doubt you will stay in business with you horrible food and service..Wake up. ,

I ordered have meat ravioli. It was greasy. Wasn't what I was expecting at all. I MIGHT give them another chance. I haven't decided yet.

The pizza is small, overpriced, dry and like licking a salt shaker. It's the like of pizza you'd take a pass on even if it were offered for free.

I don't understand why they can't make a vegetarian pizza that isn't soggy in the middle! It's either totally mushy or they burn it! Why? This restaurant has really gone downhill in the last few years!

Woww this pizza was SO good !! First time here & definitely will come back for this half ricotta half handlebar pizza!!

I love this place! We are there last night & the pizza was delicious, large, crisp fresh dinner salads, outstanding service & so reasonably priced!!! We had a pitcher of Karl Strauss beer too which was excellent. Highly recommend.

This place sucks.... the pizza is always under-cooked and just poor food and service in general.... I've been disappointed here the last couple times.

I came here for dinner since we had a coupon from the Entertainment book. We all got waters to drink since they had Pepsi products. I liked how they put lots of ice in my water. I ordered the eggplant Parmesan which came with spaghetti and a salad. I got my salad with ranch dressing. Salad had croutons, cherry tomatoes and sliced up cucumbers. I definitely liked the cucumbers. So refreshing. The eggplant Parmesan was hot and had cheese on top but the seeds in the eggplant was inside. Normally I see the seeds gutted from the eggplant. Not happy about that. The spaghetti was okay. Food was descent. The bread was hot and moist. I liked the bread and put butter inside. So good! Food overall was okay. Service from our waitress was good. She checked up on us. I needed a water refill and asked. The inside was clean but looked old. The restroom was clean. Only one stall inside. They should have multiple stalls. Overall just an okay place. I was full from the food.

Made my order wrong. Didn't notice until we were home. Called them to let them know and all they offered to do is have me drive all the way back there and remake the entire order. Not customer service driven.

The mushroom sauce is unbelievably delicious! Pizza is always great! I get the pink sauce (don't think it's on the menu) but it's delicious!! Great service, great family dinner place!

Awesome food and service. First time visiting the place a few weeks again and I was extremely satisfied with the food and most importantly the service. Very friendly and owner was there and great man! Highly recommend and will be going back soon!

Very first time here. Young Lady, Gracie, assisted me. Very nice, professional, and sweet. Assisted me with several suggestions, and questions I had. After, quite a stressful day, after work, Gracie was my Super Heroin. I'm sure, I'll be returning soon. I've lived in various areas of East County, for about 25 year's, but have just never tried this place. Today, will be the day. Thanks, again, Gracie, for making the latter part of my evening, fantastic. Looking foward to returning, with some of my residents, who appreciate great Italian food, as do I.

Pernicanos is a classic example of "you get what you pay for." The prices are low, so the quality of the food is too. In fairness, the staff is very friendly, but when you consider the area this restaurant is in, you really can't be surprised that it appears ownership has made no attempt to upgrade the amenities, remodel or make an effort with their food in decades. The people that live in this area simply don't know any better. The salads look like large versions of what you were served in elementary school, the pesto ravioli I had was way too salty, the cheesy garlic bread looked like the slabs of provolone melted on some toast, and overall everything felt cheap and dated. If you're looking for great (or even just decent) Italian food, your're best bet is to start at the 125 and head west. The further away from East County you go, the better the food will be.

This review is for the lunch buffet only . Because I have not dined here besides the buffet . The lunch buffet is only 7.99 . It has a salad bar with a few options . I wish they had croutons and red onions . But because the produce that they do have is so fresh and good , you don't miss it too much . They have 2 kinds of pizza , sausage and pepperoni . They have gigantic and delicious meatballs in a good sauce . They have manicotti, lasagna and cheese raviolis and a very good sauce. They have cheese tortellini in a delicious white sauce. They have some vegetables and really good dinner rolls . Their buffet is such a great value and really good . Our server Brittany was fabulous. She's super cool , friendly and attentive . How she makes you feel so welcomed really makes your day . Thanks Britney you're awesome!! My kids and I are super excited about coming back here again .

Awesome place to have dinner locally. My second visit and I'll be back for more. Delicious food, fast and courteous service. Do your self a favor and try the spinach tortellini.

You ever been to a restaurant that leaves you full but unsatisfied...just go here. Everyone must love the mustache door handles and I do as well. That's about it. When I think of family Italian restaurants I think food with robust flavors. They just have busted flavors. The bread that comes with the spaghetti and meat balls are warm on the outside but frozen in the inside. Seriously, it's hella cold. The meatballs in the spaghetti has a strong liver taste, which I love liver but not for spaghetti. The sauce lacks that hearty tomato flavor...and salt. The Friday special which was tortellini with either cheese or spinach was disappointing. It was boiled noodles and marinara. Chef Boyardee could have done it better. The calamari was the only thing that came close to something tasting okay. The servers and service was great though. The time in between when food came out was on point. But the food was just....bland and disappointing.

Gary is the most welcoming host, as if you were entering his home. And the food! Oh so good! Our party of four had: pepperoni/sausage pizza, 2 ordered Breaded Shrimp Sicilian, and one Rosemary grilled chicken. Everything was so delicious. And for dessert - fresh homemade cannoli! We've gone here many times over the years, but now want to make the effort to go more frequently, as there are so many more items on the menu that I want to try.

We've eaten here a few times and always have a great experience. The servers are nice and the food is delicious. We love the angel hair pasta with Alfredo sauce and combination pizza. Takeout is pretty quick and the quality is outstanding.

We loved it here! One of the owners came up and talked to us. He was super nice. The food is awesome. Classic Italian. The waitress was super nice too. I'm very happy to come back. It's a comfortable atmosphere.

This place has gone downhill. Our usual favorite is closed on Sundays so we went to the backup. Alfredo sauce was separating by the time I got the order home. My calzone was a lot of dough and very little other ingredients. We both agreed that it was way too salty. I understand the Mercy Rd location is owned by another member of the family but the El Cajon location has fallen from the reputation. Won't go back.

I do not recommend because they give water for three dollars and the garlic bread had no flavor the owner kept on looking at us because we had a friends night and the he said to all of us to behave or you will get kicked out.

This is my moms review....ordered 2 hot sandwiches they were both cold bread was soggy. The taste was nasty. I wasn't given my salad. So to make matters worse food gross and missing item. I've eaten here before and once it wasn't good but I wanted to try again. That was my last try. I would definitely not recommend this place. Service when walked in for pick up was good but that will not be enough for me to come back

They do not honor hours for the $8.95 salad bar, my sister invited me here today, just remnants of food left, I asked @ 1:25 about fresh food, one waitress said it is coming, it never did. I confronted other waitress, she said it goes until 2pm, but really at 1:25 PM food was gone, they do not care that I am not happy about it, she said well what do you want, Well I just want to leave, no room for a zerro star!

I have been driving by this place and haven't tried it. I get scared of trying new places. But I saw that they delivered on Grubhub, so I tried them out. Ordered the 10'' cheese pizza, Chicken Parm, Half order of Lasagna/Raviolis. Very impressed, great food, good amount of cheese and sauce. The only thing that I wish that you could change was the meat to cheese raviolis. But everything was very good, will go back again to try something different.

Stopped in for the lunch buffet. I must say this is, by far, nowhere close to a large spread. Although, it is all you can eat and quality is better than quantity, right? Meatballs, pastas and pizzas, plus a salad bar. The salad bar was fresh with a few dressings to choose from. Again, not a massive selection, but quality tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, etc. The pepperoni pizza was good, as was selection of pastas and sauces. They were also serving up some nice sized meatballs. The waitress could have been a little more attentive when it came to beverage refills, but the service wasn't terrible. The buffet also included warm dinner rolls which were absolutely incredible. They package these warm little morsels to go at $3.00 per dozen. I know what I'm taking to the next family dinner! The buffet is AYCE at $7.99 per person, with beverages being an additional charge. I would not hesitate to return for the buffet and will definitely be back to check out the dinner menu.

Definitely not coming back!!! Very bad service waitress just gossiping not paying attention to the tables I have to ask for stuff because they were to busy talking to each other , bad food no taste at all and expensive. * frozen food *bad service *dirty place *cheap quality *expensive

So yummy! Loved the food and staff was great too. So happy we found a good Italian restaurant nearby so we didn't have to travel to Little Italy.

Gary and his staff are all Great . My favorite dish is Chicken ala bafi is the best. Great drinks Great service and Great air conditioning . Jim Carmichael

Pepperoni/Mushroom still my favorite pizza from Pernicano's Gary's place in particular, best anywhere nothing even comes close to being this great! Thank you for the Best Pizza Ever! Seriously, I was sampling pizza's all over East County and this is by far my Favorite! I love the crust and toppings..I can go on an on...so happy!

I've been here twice, and both times they (the entire staff) allowed the "buffet" to run out of items, not just one item, or just some salad, but three (3) count them, THREE different hot tray items simultaneously, the Manicotti, Lagzana and the Fettuccine, Unheard of sloppiness. This happened to me twice.

I order with doordash; everything was amazing! My meal was fresh and crispy! I will come and visit whenever the restaurant dine in ban is lifted. I will support your business throughout theses uncertain times. Thank you

They made a good first impression,for starters the salad was fresh and main course was better than what I expected Shrimp scampi was excellent along with Lasagna daily special was a deal and a half.Most definitely come back!!!!

Another hidden jewel in East County! The mozzarella sticks were a delicious starter paired with a nice glass of merlot. The dipping sauce was so tasty you wanted to eat it with a spoon !Our entree's came with a large salad, warm bread and a huge side of pasta with an amazing sauce. Portions are generous and we all left with to go boxes but still managed to make room to share their tiramisu style cake. Looking forward to trying their lunch buffet now that I stumbled on this long time family owned business!

This was our first time eating here and all I have to say is the food was amazing. The sauce was so flavorful on my husbands Calzone and also there Sunday special the Lasagna was great. Our hostess Riley was super sweet and very accommodating and that's one thing we always appreciate from a restaurant. This is now one of our to go spots for Italian food.