Agrodolce Osteria

My friends, new to Berkeley, were telling me that they loved Italian food, so I told them that we must try Agrodolce Trattoria on Shattuck. I know that Agrodolce has roots going back to Caffe Sport in North Beach which I would go to in the 70's, and more recently Trattoria Siciliana on College which was my buddy David's favorite restaurant. We loved it! The atmosphere was great, including projecting the classic film La Dolce Vita on the wall. The food was fantastic, my Swordfish was cooked, as the menu said" perfectly! The cocktail bar was right out of an old movie. And the bread and dipping sauce was a signature classic. My friends and I were able to catch up on recent trips to India, Normandy France and Budapest. It could hardly have been a better choice. Needless to say we'll be back!

The Gen Z service!!!!! We stopped by this restaurant to celebrate a birthday, but unfortunately, the service fell short of expectations. The wait staff seemed overwhelmed and unfriendly, particularly Julia, who brushed us off when we asked about our drinks after waiting for 20 minutes but when I tried to order a second drink from another waitress (asian, I didn't get her name.) She got my drink within five minutes. barely acknowledged us when she brought the check. The food was a letdown too - it was overly salty and served lukewarm, with some of the meat and potatoes feeling more like room temperature than hot. Overall, we'd think twice before recommending this place. I for sure will not be coming back.

The food was outstanding! Our service was great. We were there to celebrate our daughter’s 7th birthday. We saw several families with young kids and all of them were having a great time. Even though they didn’t have a specific kids menu, they made a kids pasta for our daughter without any issues (pasta with red sauce). We would absolutely return again. Tip: Don’t skip the bread the dip. It was SO good.

Hands down, our favorite Italian restaurant in the Bay Area. The inside is warm and inviting, the staff is friendly and efficient and the Sicilian food is outstanding. Every pasta dish is creative and delicious, and there are many other non-pasta options. This place is lively with vibrant conversations, yet you can easily hear at any table in the restaurant without raising your voice, and their outside tables are great on a warm day. Angelo, the owner & chef, and his family who run the restaurant deserve pride for the environment they have created. When we walked in, Angelo proudly showed us the Chantrell mushrooms picked from the Berkeley hills that morning by their professional mushroomologist (not sure that's a word) and the resultant fettuccine with Chantrells we had was superb. And on the way out, parents and extended family displayed in the classic photos on the wall are highlighted. This place makes for a memorable evening.

My experience here was AMAZING. The owner and staff were so polite. I was here for a friends birthday dinner and had such a blast that i was (now apologetically so)beyond intoxicated. I am so so appreciative and gratefull they put up with me (and didnt appear the least bit annoyed) Thank you all again for a great memory!!! Food was excellent wine was excellent. If you havent been here you are missing out!!!

Bad stuff first—The service is seriously bad. Bad because it is poorly managed and also because the wait staff is of low quality. (bussers and runners were good) Servers are not assigned to tables, instead they drift around the room and make guesses at where to go. You might not see a server for a long time. Or you might have two different servers come to take your order within a minute of each other. The other problem is most of them don't know much about food or drinks. I've had a couple that are one step above drone. Good stuff— The kitchen does good work. Dishes are prepared with care and consistency. Specials vary and usually fit the season.

Since I came back from Italy I have made it my mission to find good, affordable Italian restaurants in the Bay. This one was truly amazing! The pasta was fantastic and the desserts as well! The staff is friendly and the ambiance great (there was a great jazzy band playing outside.) The food did take a while to be served but they fixed the issue by giving us complementary desserts. I’ll definitely be coming back

A small Italian bistro with nice seating. I think our waitress was a new hire because she forgot our drink orders a couple times but quickly corrected. Food was fine. I had the Linguine Pesto. The free bread was ok. I wish the dipping oil had a more buttery taste. The fried seafood and smelt were good too. The prices are a little high but you get a good amount of food.

Nah nah nah. These low ratings are crazy. This may be my favorite Italian place of anywhere. Great food and wine. Great ambiance, though it gets ridiculously crowded with is of course never ideal. But to me, it's a cool, fun place that makes you feel like you're not in Berkeley, but rather Italy I'd town! I could tell you what to order, but instead just look at my pics!

Amazing food, really cute vibe and lovey service. We had lots of apps and everyone ordered a different kind of pasta. I forgot to photograph the deserts, but we had one of each of those as well. Every dish tasted so good! I love a good cream sauce for pasta and this place did it perfectly. My only complaint was that we did end up waiting a while to be seated, even with a reservation, but the staff was really friendly about it, had us wait at the bar and gave us some free shooters to celebrate our friend's birthday, so that made up for it. Overall this place was great and I'd definitely recommend trying it out!

This is our second time dinning at Agrodolce Osteria. Our dining experience here was nothing short of exceptional. Our servers went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect, and we couldn't have asked for better service. If you're looking for an Italian restaurant that delivers on both food and hospitality, Agrodolce Osteria is a must-visit!

Cute ambience, stingy portions. Came with a friend to satisfy an Italian craving at 8pm on a Thursday evening. The interior ambience is cute and cozy, with a silent movie projecting on the brick wall at the back of the restaurant. We ordered the mushroom ravioli and a fried eggplant and mozzarella appetizer to share. The food was delicious, although I was anticipating more than 5 ravioli for a main course. We ended up eating a lot of bread so we wouldn't leave hungry. Nice place to come for a drink and a snack, but probably wouldn't return when I'm actually hungry.

First of all - food is amazing! We've been a few times, and always good! Lady visit though they had multiple large groups who extended their stays, backing up the restaurant and others reservations - we waited over an hour past our reservation time and over an hour for our orders, we'll go back but probably not on a Saturday, or best if we call ahead and see what the current status is... glad the restaurant is so busy, obviously because food is so good- wait staff was kind and apologetic- manager gave us wine on the house while we waited - so we felt appreciated - again, on a weekend, call ahead is best advice- but definitely go!

I could have just caught them on a bad night, but I was kind of underwhelmed by this restaurant. Parking Parking around this area depends on the time of day, so I'd recommend coming 10 minutes early to find a spot. The restaurant is located off of residential streets so you'll likely find parking close (it just might not be right in front). Service In my opinion the service wasn't terrible, but it is part of the reason why I wouldn't come back. We sat outside because the weather was nice, but as it got colder we asked them to turn on the heat lamps around our table. Even after asking numerous times, they were never turned on. The service overall was slow - our waiter took a very long time to take our order. It didn't take too long for our food to come out, but it did take a while once we were all finished for the waiter to bring us the bill. Overall the staff were very nice and friendly. Food The food was average in my opinion. The bread was cold, hard, and stale. BUT, the garlicy herb olive oil dip they served with it was AMAZING. The Pappardelle Ragu wasn't great. The noodles and meat were overcooked and the meat and sauce lacked flavor and seasoning. The polenta in the lamb shank was kind of soggy and lacked flavor. The seafood risotto was pretty good, but mostly tasted like tomato. Ambiance The ambiance inside the restaurant was nice! It has dark-dim lighting. I don't recommend sitting outside (unless it's a hot day) as you might get cold and it's directly next to the street, so it's kinda loud with the cars wizzing by every 5 seconds. Please note: this is just my opinion (and I very well could have just caught them on an off night), and you may have a very different experience here!

Service and ambiance was great. The food was not very good though. I got the Paccheri San Giovanella which came out with a soup instead of a sauce at first. I got it changed and the sauce was thicker but I still didn't think the pasta was anything special. The mushrooms tasted a bit undercooked. My friend got the basil pasta which I thought was pretty good and had nice flavor. I forgot to take a picture of our appetizer which was the Carpaccio di Tonno. I thought it wasn't good as the sauce they used tasted more like a ranch/ Caesar dressing which paired weirdly with the tuna. I also didn't think the tuna tasted that fresh either.

This is a great restaurant! We were greeted with a genuine smile and seated immediately upon arrival. The servers were extremely friendly and cheerful. Angela, Jude, Julia and Erika were absolutely delightful and sang Happy Birthday in Italian. The food was fantastic with large portions. It was one of the best dinners I have ever had!

Came for a friend's birthday The service was great, staff was on it & as the place got busy they just kept on going. This was our second visit here & this time they / the chef knocked it out of the park. There were at least 3 appetizers: beef carpaccio, fried calamari, pawns & artichokes & the tomato salad, all just delicious. Oh & let's not forget the bread service, fresh bread with olive oil & herbs. For the mains there was: lamb shank, several orders of the mushrooms raviolis / one was a double, a couple of orders of the pork chop aka porchetta al forne, salmon, lasagna; in short there was so much food & getting to taste it all was even greater fun. The mushroom ravioli melted in your mouth & then dipping the bread into the sauce was heavenly. Scrumptious all around. Let's not forget dessert for the birthday girl, tiramisu & cannoli - oh my goodness. The ambiance was casual & as the restaurant filled up it gets loud, yet doable. Word has it the owner is opening a second restaurant in Danville, hoping to open January 20. This crew plans on being there! If nothing else to give him hell, eats his wonderful food & drink lots of wine!

The food is excellent. The service is good. A nice wine selection and bar. On cold nights they light the fireplace! So nice

Aaahh, Agrodolce! Just serve me up those Italian goods, why don't you?! So, I just came back from a trip to Italy about a week or so ago. It really got me to thinking about the Italian spots that I have here at home. Agrodolce is one of the few restaurants that is very reminiscent of my experience there. For starters; the setup is classic Italian. That beautiful back room with the brick wall and black and white portraits looks almost exactly like two restaurants that I dined in at while I was in Venice and Milan. The communal chatter and intimate quarters is also very indicative of Italy. Even the live performer in the front room and the glowing patio parklet setup mirrored what I experienced while I was there. In essence; I got a glimpse of the true Italian experience here before my visit. The one difference though is the service. The service is MUCH better here, of course. If you've ever dined in Italy (or in most places in Europe for that matter) service is not really "service". The American way of service is above and beyond, and the service that I received from everyone that I encountered at Agrodulce was attentive and courteous from beginning to end. When I first arrived, the restaurant wasn't too busy. But that soon changed within a matter of minutes. By the time I left, it was a packed house. This is a popular place and for a very good reason. The food menu along with their wine list is versatile and extensive. Saw the ravioli porcini trifolati on the menu and knew that I had to have it. Normally I'd go for a white wine with this dish, but I couldn't help but to order a glass of Nero D'Avola since it's one of my favorite Italian wines that I don't always see on wine menus. It was delicious. Of course they served fresh Acme bread with the most addicting seasoned olive oil dip. Don't miss this! Also, don't be afraid to ask for more if you devour it fast. Just make sure to leave room for your actual entree because that bread will fill you up quickly. The mushroom ravioli was to die for. The ravioli was so moist and perfectly cooked. The mushrooms were so fragrant and that scream sauce had me wanting to lick the plate clean. So, so delicious. You've gotta save some bread to scrape up all of that creamy sauce on the plate. Don't let your eyes deceive you either. This is a very filling portion of ravioli. Dessert was on my mind but not on my stomach. I was too damn full to indulge. But I did enjoy watching some other people eating their tiramisu. Next up; tiramisu for me during a future visit. Speaking of other people; you'll be in tight quarters when it comes to the seating arrangements. But what's nice is that the fellow patrons here are so friendly. I struck up a conversation with two ladies who were sitting next to me and they were the sweetest. They were regulars of course, and raved about this spot. I understand. I enjoyed it too. Still dreaming about the food that I had in Italy, but I'm so elated to have Agrodolce here to fulfill those Italian cravings. It's a Berkeley gem that you need to try and pronto.

Today is my birthday and on this day, I eat noodles. Eating noodles, as the tall tale goes, equates to long life. As such, my husband booked reservations to Agrodolce on Open Table. He went as far as to indicating the reason for our visit which was to celebrate my birthday. Now I'm not a big stickler about getting freebies or whatnot because of the occasion, but knowing that my husband mentioned this on the reservation, it would have been a nice touch for them to greet me a happy birthday which they did not. I understand that it's a busy night with large parties celebrating graduation at UC Berkeley, but for just two people, I felt as if we were forgotten service wise. Our server went on to attend to a much larger party and we often had to flag down other servers to assist us. I hate to say this as I had high expectations for this place, but the best part of dinner was the free acme bread and the oil to dip it in. I loved the strong garlicky flavor that comes through the dip so much so that we had asked for seconds. My husband got the ragu which was lacking in flavor. The sauce was pretty minimal and there was little guanciale. They definitely skimped on this. I ordered the campangolo and it too was lacking in flavor. Maybe a tad more salt would've helped but salt and pepper weren't even on the table. We had to ask for pepper flakes and Parmesan to add some more flavor to both dishes.

Had a horrible experience here on Valentines Day this year and am just now getting around to writing a review. My boyfriend and I had made reservations quite a ways in advance, so we were very excited to share a nice dinner together. The restaurant was packed and noisy, which is to be expected given the Holiday. The first red flag was our server not checking on us and bringing bread to the table that had sat down 10-15 minutes after us. At this point we asked him for water and he finally returned after about 10 minutes to take our order. My boyfriend and I both ordered pasta dishes. My dish arrived after some time and we continued to wait for my boyfriend's meal to arrive. We were seated close to the kitchen and could hear staff arguing and yelling which was very uncomfortable. We tried to catch our waiter's attention but he appeared busy. After about 20 minutes of waiting, my food had gone cold and we were both hungry so decided to just split my dish. The party sitting next to us noticed what had happened and told us that it was ridiculous that our food never came and to ask for a refund. When we finally got our waiter's attention we asked for my boyfriend's meal to be refunded. He acted confused and claimed that my boyfriend didn't order anything. Are you kidding me??? I literally watched the waiter take down my boyfriend's order. It was utterly absurd that instead of apologizing he tried to shift the blame onto us. I believe we were comped a dessert, but this bad experience really put a damper on our night. I feel as though we were mistreated because we are a young couple. I would never consider returning here and would warn others against dining here. Can't speak to how this place operates on a typical night, but our experience here was abhorrent.

I've been here on 2 occasions and both times it was disappointing. The first time was on a weekday evening (not Friday). The service was extraordinarily slow. 30 minutes after ordering, we had no food and had not seen our waiter. We were seated outside, so I walked inside to find someone to ask about our food. When the food finally arrived after we had already been there for about an hour, it was pretty decent, but not worth it for the extended period of hunger. This summer we made a Friday reservation and decided to try it again. Restaurants in this area are usually not as busy in the summer since undergraduates students are not around. The inside dining room was mostly empty. To our surprise, a walk-in group (same size) who came in after we checked in was seated before us. We were seated right next to the host stand as they were taken directly to a table. So we left and will not come back again.

My group of friends decided to celebrate a friend's birthday at Agrodolce Osteria and we booked a reservation with them ahead of time. After about 15 minutes of waiting, we were seated outside. The waitress was nice and gave us several recommendations for what we should order. We ordered several dishes and shared them family style. My favorite dish out of the bunch we ordered had to be the Paccheri San Giovanella. The sauce was creamy and coated every noodle. The Frittura Mista was also crispy and delicious. The Lamb Shank and Salmone alla Griglia were not bad. The only dish that was only okay was the Ravioli Porcini Trifolati because the sauce was very watery. Although the food was decent, the service was okay at best. The waitress was hard to get a hold of, especially when we were trying to see the progress of our order. In addition, if we needed additional napkins or utensils, it took a while to get their attention. However, they were very nice to give my friend a drink on the house for her 21st birthday, which was a plus!

This has been a favorite date night place ever since splitting off from Elmwood's Trattoria La Siciliana in 2016. The food is consistently wonderful, the atmosphere is great. Not for everyone, but perfect for me, the crushed sardines pasta dish BUCATINI 'CHI FINUCCHIEDE from Palermo is unique and thankfully was carried over from the old Trattoria. We love this place!

On a Saturday night this place was too busy and even though we had a reservation, we didn't get seated for over half an hour and we didn't get served for an hour and a half. We were with a group that just wanted to enjoy each other's company, so waters and waiting was fine. But ordinarily, I wouldn't expect this type of service from such a great place. We had the lamb shank which was great and we also had a pasta which was cooked very well.

Took an hour to see us after having had reservations. Food was good in the end. Big shout out to Sam for pouring us wine while we waited and went the extra mile to make up for the snafu. He's a gem at your restaurant and deserves credit for his professional service.

Agrodolce is the sister restaurant to Trattoria La Siciliana, the latter which sadly shuttered during the pandemic. While I never had a chance to try their flagship location, I was excited to learn that their family recipes live on in Agrodolce. We stopped in for a casual date night for our three-year anniversary. Lively, bustling atmosphere with cozy, rustic decor and traditional Sicilian fare-- equally lively staff. With our weekend reservation, we were seated immediately. After seating, the service is a bit mixed. Dishes were slow to come out (40+ mins), servers rushing about-- we had to flag down servers pretty hard to get anything done (where are they running to?). I didn't really have an issue with management yelling, kind of reminds me of service at dim sum places. At least everyone who helped us was nice? PACCHERI SAN GIOVANELLI: Oh... This was actually a bit underseasoned. I'm usually a big fan of tomato cream sauces, but this wasn't particularly flavorful. The paccheri was cooked well, at least. TIRAMISU: This is real old-school tiramisu! Just a hint of coffee; overall airy, soft, and dreamy~ I think one of the best tiramisu I've had so far. PANNA COTTA: I prefer my panna cotta more like the texture of silken tofu, this is more like a... Jello? A bit rubbery? And the fruit preserves on top were too syrupy, tasted like Smuckers LOL My bf had nothing but positive things to say about his Linguini con Vongole Bianco... I tried a bite and was immediately jealous. Their dishes are a bit of a hit or miss.

I came to Agrodolce for date night with my husband. It wasn't terrible but I was sorely underwhelmed. I'm sad that I don't have a go-to Italian eatery in Berkeley because Italian is my absolute favorite especially in the summer. I was hoping Agrodolce might become my new spot but they missed the mark. Service was pretty lame. Our young (maybe Italian accent?) server completely forgot about us. Forgot our bread, forgot our wine, just didn't feel like we were taken care of that night. Food was ok, not spectacular so there wasn't much to offset the poor service. The live jazz music and my Aperol spritz were the only highlights of my evening.

Incredibly good food and service. Had my retirement party there and they were amazing in all aspects to make it a wonderful experience. 5 stars!!! In all areas

I came here for a Valentine's date and was disappointed. The service was incredibly slow. It took around 40 minutes for us to receive our food after ordering. I got the risotto zucca and my date got the lasagna. Both came out warm, not hot as if they were sitting out for a while before arriving at our table. It took another 15 minutes after ordering desserts (tiramisu and cannoli) to receive them. I would not recommend the cannoli, and the tiramisu was ok. The waitstaff and manager created a very tense / stressed atmosphere. It seemed that they were spread thin for the night and I could hear him yelling across the restaurant to get the attention of different people. If looking for a romantic dinner, I would recommend finding a different restaurant.

Agrodolce was recommended by a co-worker who has been going there for the last 17 years. So I finally had to check it out for myself. I'm actually giving 3.5 stars and would've given 5 stars, had it not been for the subpar service. We were running a little late so I called letting them know and was told no problem. However, when we got there, the gentleman at the front, who I believe was the owner, seemed bothered and was a bit curt with us. We were seated after a short wait and given the menus, but it was about 15 minutes or longer before a waiter came to take our order. I had to ask for a glass of wine as they had moved quickly to getting our food order and didn't ask about beverages. It took 15 minutes or longer for them to finally bring our wine. I noticed that they brought wine to the table next to us, and to a few tables across from us, but ours was delayed in coming. I ordered the Petra Lava Etna Rosato Sicilian wine which was pretty darn good. Surprisingly, the food did not take long to come. We started off with bread with a wonderful dipping oil/herb mixture (which they sell). I ordered the Carpaccio di Tonno which was amazing. It was a rather large plate, probably to be shared, but I ate the whole thing myself. It had the thinnest sliced tuna with a little salad in the center, capers and a lemon aioli. My husband ordered the octopus salad, which was also super amazing. I liked that the grilled octopus was cut in small pieces along with the potatoes and mixed with the greens. It also was a hefty serving. My husband ordered the fried calamari, shrimp, artichoke hearts, which is an antipasto, but he ordered as dinner. It was a large serving as well, but it was a little too greasy. I ordered the porcini ravioli in a white wine sauce, which was really good. We were both pretty stuffed with just those few plates. The menu was pretty extensive and I would love to go back and try some of their other dishes. But now, back to the service. A waiter came over and asked if we wanted dessert. He started reciting some of their availabilities and then finally decided he should bring us a menu. Then another waiter showed up with our tab. I told her we were planning on ordering dessert. She asked what I wanted, which was the affogato, and went away. I saw her making espresso but then my dessert didn't come for another 15 minutes or so which I thought was odd because I saw her making espresso and thought how much work was it to pour that over a scoop of ice cream. After we ate our dessert, the tab came. I asked the waiter if I could get a box to take my leftover raviolis. I had seen people leaving with plastic containers and assumed that's what I would get. But instead he put my raviolis in a paper box which was soaking through and he didn't give me a bag. He had also asked my husband if he wanted to take what I suppose appear to him to be leftovers but were in actuality the leftover pieces of shrimp tails and the tough, chewed artichoke pieces. My husband said no but the waiter brought them back in a takeaway box anyway. My daughter had made the reservation for us and informed them it was my birthday and asked them to please do something special for me for dessert, so when I got home and she asked me if anything was done and I told her no, it was one more strike against them. Overall we had at least 3 different waiters attending to us and I think the inconsistency attributed to the poor service. As I said, I'd be open to going back to try some of their other offerings and to see if the service is any better. But somehow I doubt it will be.

My friend and I went to dinner here Thursday night and were completely blown away by the quality of the food and service from the establishment. First of all, as soon as we stepped into this place it smelled DELICIOUS. We wanted to try EVERYTHING on the menu because everything sounded amazing. We finished everything we order basically except our Espresso Martinis (because we had to drive, but if we didn't that would've been the first thing gone). I typically do not try Italian places unless they're very well known, because typically restaurants these days rush the process of Italian food and neglect the quality of the ingredients. The pasta was all very well seasoned, their seafood is so fresh, and the tiramisu is to die for!!! My friend does NOT like tiramisu but she ended up eating half without knowing. I will definitely be coming back for lunch, dinner, dates, birthdays basically every chance I get!! The ambiance is very classy and traditional I feel, def can come for a date night or just a Thursday night dinner. Waiters were also super friendly and helpful. Also this place is locally owned!!! Support your locally owned businesses!!

We made reservations for a pretty large party since it's close to UC Berkeley. They were able to accommodate us and gave us the back room to ourselves. Our waiter recommended that we should order family style but since it was for a work event, everyone ordered their own entree's to be more covid friendly. For family style ordering, they're able to make the portions a lot larger. Their pasta was delicious! Appetizers were also really good. This would've been a 5 star but minus one since there was a girl working there that was pretty rude.

1/27/24 - I came here with my cousin & a friend. My cousin had been here with her daughter and she loved it!!!! We were out for the evening away from adult children & grands out to a concert to see a young, aspiring singer, October London who is already has a fan in me. When I first walked towards the restaurant I noticed this neat little car, that you always see in Italian movies, then I noticed the empty tables because it was dinner time and some eat earlier than others. We were greeted and sat down with menus. The waiter gave us time to browse the menu and came and took our drink orders. I ordered Peach Bellini, they also brought us some sparking Pelegrino water which I needed. We were so busy talking we had browsed our menus but had not really decided on a meal. I reread the menu looking for something that didn't have too much cheese. The lasagne was my choice since I have not had it in a while. My cousin chose a pappardelle & my friend chose a seafood risotto. While our food was being made it gave us time to catch up on things, my peach bellini put me in the right mood. Our meals came and we dug in, everything looked good. I forgot that while we were catching up they brought us some bread and some oil & garlic it was delicious. My lasagne was hot & flavorful and was exactly what I wanted; not too cheesy. We were too full to order dessert even though I did think about some delicious tiramisu with coffee. I skipped it because we had to walk back four blocks to University Ave. I wanted to walk and not feel like a rock. We paid & left a nice tip, and I couldn't believe how packed that restaurant was because my back was turned while enjoying dinner. Every table even the ones outside were taken. I could tell that some were repeat customers by the smiles on their faces as we passed. What a wonderful experience!!!

Came to Agrodolce on a Friday evening around 5:30. Since we didn't have a reservation, we were offered a spot at the bar. We were served bread with a really delicious spicy garlic olive oil. We also ordered some burrata with tomatoes, fried artichokes, and linguine with pesto. I really loved all the appetizers; the pesto pasta was good but not particularly memorable. While the food was good, I doubt I'll be returning here since I felt the target audience was definitely an older, wealthier crowd than other Berkeley restaurants I go to and I am a student and didn't feel the most at home here!

I loved this restaurant! A friend and I had risotto allo scoglio (aged arborio rice, pan sauteed with shrimp, clams, mussels, calamari, prawns, baby octopus, seafood stock, tomato reduction, white wine, and butter) and ragu di maiale (pappardelle with slowly braised pork, homemade sausage, ribs, hock, and guanciale with fresh herbs in a tomato sugo). I have three words for the quality of the food: super yum yum! The waiter was excellent. He knew the menu and recommended selections and alternatives. He paired an excellent Etna bianco Petra Lava wine with the seafood risotto dish and a lovely reserve sangiovese wine with my pappardelle. For dessert we shared a tiramisu (one was plenty after our rich and generously sized meals). And of course, Italian coffees are available. I can't wait to come back.

We ordered the entire appetizer menu- octopus was great as were the salads. Most of our 10 person party ordered "Primi" from the menu- pastas and soup. They accommodated my toddler age grandsons with a simple, off the menu pasta and butter. We ordered a half dozen wines, San Pelligrino water too. Not many families in the restaurant that night and our large party appeared to tax the wait staff. Being patient and having dined in similar places in Italy and Spain, the wait was fine and like Europe we enjoyed opportunities for conversation Two things requiring attention 1- The sunroof leaked on a rainy night. 2- One rest room for a place that size seemed inadequate. We enjoyed our meal.

Brought my two kids here when visiting the Bay Area and had an awesome experience! Personable and friendly staff that went out of their way to make a custom mocktail for the kids. Food was traditional Italian and delicious. Nice atmosphere with indoor and outdoor seating options. Delicious EVO dipping concoction with lots of garlic to go with the fresh bread!

I was Si anticipating eating at this restaurant! The look, feel, decor and energy are amazing! The place is packed and I think they need more servers. We were greeted and reminded we were there to celebrate a few special occasions. The problem is that's the last thing we heard if it. No birthday celebration. No anniversary celebration. Nothing. The bread and the oil was fantastic. The grieve shrimp, artichokes, and calamari was pretty good. I was excited for the whole branzino but disappointed that it had no flavor nor did the kale and potatoes with it. I will chalk it up to them being understaffed but that should not affect quality.

The food here is beyond delicious, it's so authentic tasting and the pasta was very fresh! The apps were a delight! Love the burrata and calamari! We also had a few diff kinds of pastas and the salmon and steak! The service was great too! They had really good customer service and the food came out so quickly! The ambiance was more for family than date night, it was a bit noisy but who cares!? Enjoyed their yummy food!

Ok, so I foolishly read the single star reviews before going to this restaurant. I get it. The service was on the fence and there was some intensity from the management. My family wanted to try Agrodolce, so we went anyway. This place was hoppin' on a Friday night. Single star ratings be damed! The outdoor seating was packed, enjoying the entertainment. We were lucky to get a table inside within minutes of arriving. It was clear to me from the start that these guys are short staffed - so who isn't these days? Waiters, bus boys, hostesses were practically running to keep up with service. It looked to be an owner that was tending bar, taking orders, and hustling himself back and forth from the kitchen to the front of the house. It took 15 minutes for our order to be taken and, sad to say, 45 minutes to an hour for the food to be delivered. But what we had was fantastic and worth the wait. The wait and kitchen staff were very apologetic. You could tell they felt bad. But it's the FOOD, and nice people, that made the experience worth your while. It was like a cult following of locals and families that were familiar faces to this place. We had the tuna carpaccio, arugula salad, Polpette Siciliane - the meatballs and rigatoni and the pesto bucatini. My kids were all over that food. The carpaccio were these amazingly thin and flavorful slices of tuna with capers and a little salad in the middle. The pasta was cooked al dente and the sauces made with love! Too easy to eat. I couldn't help but notice the empty plates of the people sitting next to us - they had the lamb shank (I could only tell by the bone on his plate) and the seafood risotto (also pretty sparse). I chatted with these folks and they had been coming... following this family business for 10 years! I guess they had another spot on College ave before coming to Shattuck. So yes, they need to fill their vacant positions so their service matches their food, but based on the liveliness and dedication of the patrons, they don't care! They are coming back anyway.

My favorite Italian restaurant in Berkeley! Frittura mista is excellent and unique with the addition of prawns and artichokes. Salads are large portions. Absolutely loved the branzino.

4.25 Very nice dinner celebrating my niece getting into Cal. We were a party of 10 and were greeted and seated as soon as the restaurant opened for the day. The owner came over and recommended a family style dinner for our group. We have a few kids in our party so we tried some delicious but but non complicated dishes. The aromas and flavors were very nice and complimented each other nicely. We will definitely be back in the future.

Melezane Impanata (3/5): The dish came with three pieces of breaded eggplant. Despite the generous amount of mozzarella and tomato sauce, I found the bitterness from the eggplant to be a little too much. Polpette Siciliane (2/5): I opted for a classic rigatoni and meatballs as my main entree. For such a simple dish, the tomato sauce was very watered down and underwhelming. The meatballs were also fairly dry inside. Ravioli Porcini Trifolati (4/5): I had a piece of my friend's ravioli and wish I ordered this instead of the meatballs! The white sauce was creamy and rich. The stand-alone mushrooms were delicious, but there were only a few pieces outside of the ravioli. The interior and patio seating is beautiful, with exposed brick walls and soft lighting. There was quite a crowd, so I recommend calling or using their website to make a reservation. The staff were all very busy and we did feel a little rushed to finish. Despite Agrodolce's lovely ambiance and popularity among locals, I'm not sure I would come back.

Have been here about four times over the last few years. Best time was mediocre at best the rest were horrifying always because of service. Servers are extremely rude, easily the worst I've ever dealt with in my life. I can forgive someone for messing up and order and even taking 30-40 minutes for food to come out (which has happened 4/4 times), but being treated like you're less than is awful. Generally this is a symptom of mismanagement which would make sense because the owner gives off major perv vibes. Food and ambiance are ok, would order for take out, but given the horrifying experience I've had with service people will not return. Edit: also owner stop being creepy and weird.

I went here for my birthday and genuinely had one of the best restaurant experiences I've ever had. Had to wait a little for a table but staff was so friendly and welcoming to our large party - gave us complimentary appetizers and wine! Truly amazing food, service, and ambiance 10/10

We went here when it was super busy so it took a very long time for them to take our orders or even acknowledge that we were sitting there! They served us cold bread with side sauce which was alright but just very cold. The espresso martini tastes alright but the peach Bellini was amazing! The food was also really really good! We got the calamari, a salad, the mushroom ravioli, and the eggplant pasta. Very delicious food and would love to come back for that!

I made reservations for this restaurant and mentioned that it was a birthday dinner for my friend, Jo. We met each other there on Sunday. She heard about Agrodolce and wanted to go there. She is Sicilian and heard this place had great food. As we entered the restaurant we were greeted by the owner who was so welcoming and set the tone for a great time. I had lasagna and my friend had a dish with sardines and other types of fish with beautiful thick noodles. We also had salads that were so delicious and a glass of wine and enjoyed the great food! Probably the highlight of this evening was when we had delicious cannoli's with a birthday candle glowing in this cozy restaurant and the waitresses surrounded my friend and sang Happy Birthday in Italian with had beautiful voices. My friend was so jubilant that it brought a tear to her eye. Just a fantastic dinner, ambiance and wonderful service. As we were leaving, the handsome owner thanked us for coming and gave us a kiss goodbye. Kudos to Agrodolce Osteria. We will be back!!!

I have had a few experiences with Agrodolce. I missed a planned retirement for a coworker but heard about what a fabulous time everyone who attended had. They all raved about all the food. After that I had to experience it myself. My husband and I spontaneously went one evening and were able to be seated without a reservation. My first impression was met with a super welcoming and friendly fellow in a fun rustic environment. We started with cocktails that did not disappoint. The carpaccio was classically prepared and delicious. My husband had the braised pork which was a generous portion and also tasty. I had the seafood risotto which was fresh and seasoned perfectly. We shared the. Cannoli. A nice way to top it off. More recently we had yet another retirement event. This time I helped coordinate for a party of 40. They setup a private room in the back and allowed us to come in early to set up decorations. Angelo was super accommodating and was helpful in selecting the menu for our family style feast. There was wine at every table and needless to say our 5 course meal was AMAZING!!. The staff was really attentive and even accommodated last minute dietary needs. We were all super impressed and had such a fun time. Sometimes servers can be overwhelmed with a a large group but not in this case. The bartender was able to keep up with all the no host drink orders at the bar and during dinner. Again, we were well taken care of. If you haven't been go check out this great local spot. I will definitely be back. A new restaurant is being opened in Danville, Isola Osteria. We will definitely check out that location too.

Service was amazing! We were waiting for a bit even with a reservation but the wait staff treated us really well and made up for it. Additionally the food was great.

The food here was ok, nothing special. Two big problems that I had with this place was that it was dangerously crowded in light of Covid and that the parking down that way is terrible. LaStrada in San Pablo is a much better choice.

I came to this restaurant at the insistence of a coworker who is apparently a former neighbor/friend of the owner. The aesthetic is really nice and I assumed the meal would be as well but due to the service I can't even remember how anything except the dipping sauce tasted. The servers are incredibly sullen (I assume they're students that don't want to work) but they also only seem to 'light' up for certain people. While this is absolutely a Berkeley thing, I still expect better. The owner is all over the place emotionally which can't help. I really just fail to see the appeal of the place and assume its reputation is more legacy than current.

Our favorite Italian restaurant - great authentic food, not too pretentious. I love their olive oil with herbs!

Indoor and outdoor dining. Superb service both times I have eaten there. Similar to food I have had in Naples. Lots of seafood. Clean bathroom. Friendly folks working there. Had a l party there for my Bday and had a great time.

I've eaten at Agrodolce 4 times now and each experience is just as spectacular. The food has good portions, you definitely get what you pay for. I've worked with Angelo hosting a few events and the staff are so friendly and easy to work with! Definitely recommend, it's a great date spot in Berkeley.

SHOCKINGLY BAD EXPERIENCE. We wanted to celebrate something together as a family with our 10 yr old. Made a reservation for 7.15pm. There as a line to check in that wasn't moving for about 10min. I went up to the front to ask what's up as I have a child to consider who will get hungry. The hostess literally tells me "I have no solution. We have no tables. You can sit at a table outside, but it's a cold table no heating". (February, 53 degrees). What an f**ed up front of house. Shame on you. We went home.

Ambiance: we had a reservation and even then we had to wait 20 minutes before being seated. The decor is nice I guess. Food: the most tasteless mess of solid mixed with liquid I've ever tasted. Such a huge disappointment considering the great reviews everywhere. My friends all felt the same way even though we all ordered different dishes. It was such a disappointment I repressed the memory of what it was that I ordered. It's pictured below but nobody enjoyed their food regardless of what it was.