Salvatore's Cucina & Lounge

This restaurant is so cool and service is really good. We’re a large party and our server took very good care of us. The dishes are really good. The group’s fave was the meatballs. We had their burrata salad, bolognese, the sea bass, and great drinks! The music is loungy EDM, the lights are colorful and the place is more upscale. It’s a beautiful place to come on a date, with a large group after work, or solo at the bar. Again, the atmosphere is simply gorgeous! We’ll be back!

Service was amazing. Ambiance was energetic and the food was amazing! I recommend the spicy rigatoni and the lamb chops 😍 thank you for this special evening I will recommend to all my family and friends! ❤️

My friend and I actually ate here a couple years ago, and remembered we had a great meal, and figured we’d come by again. Safe to say, the food is still as good as we remembered! I got the spicy vodka rigatoni, and it was just the right amount of cheesy, saucy, and spicy. My friend got the pepperoni pizza, and the cheese was so gooey she got some amazing cheese pulls. It was a well needed meal after a whole day of walking! As for the drinks, they were great too. I got the purple refresher which was nice and sweet, and my friend got the passionfruit cooler, which was equally bright and refreshing. The space itself is nice and modern, they have a dining area in the front for people who want to just eat, and then in the back they have a darker bar area for those who want to just drink. If you’re in downtown San Diego, give this place a try!

Had an early dinner at Salvatore’s on NYE. The food was so good! Elegantly served, drool worthy aromas, taste buds blown away, and appetites were filled. No complaints on the meals. With the evening complimented with some burlesque dancing, the family was greatly entertained and enjoyed a NYE’s dinner to remember in San Diego.

I am SUPER excited that Salvatore's is open again. We used to go before they closed and now that there are new owners, the place is even better. Such a nice vibe and welcoming staff. We were pleased to see many of the same items on the menu but also new dishes such as the Baja pasta. The drinks were unique and delicious as well. I highly recommend you giving this place a shot. You won't be disappointed.

Food and service was good. We were told happy hour is only available if you sit at the bar or outside which was not clear prior to us going. With kids we could not do that so we did not get happy hour prices.

I had my birthday here in the backroom and I had such an amazing time. They customized a menu for me, had a belly dancer, a photographer and did the whole sign with Happy Birthday with fireworks. The food, service, and drinks were SO amazing. Highly recommend this spot. Big thanks to Esteban, who helped me coordinate my birthday at Salvatore's! 10000% recommend.

Salvatore’s Cucina and Lounge exceeded all expectations! The appetizers were absolutely amazing—each dish was bursting with flavor and beautifully presented. My dinner was delicious, even though I had filled up on appetizers alone. The service was equally impressive; the staff was attentive, friendly, and efficient, even on a packed Friday night. Despite the bustling atmosphere, everything ran smoothly, and I never felt rushed. This place is a gem, and I can’t wait to return!

Great vibe. I had a good time there. The food was very good. The drinks were great and the service was very friendly and attentive. They had an excellent menu too. A reason to venture just outside of little Italy for some italian food.

This restaurant was amazing! We had reservations for 8pm, but they graciously let us dine at 8:15pm because we were running late for a birthday dinner. I forgot the name of our waiter but he was so kind and funny! The drinks and food were delicious. You have to try the fried olives, they were 10/10! I cannot say enough good things about the vibe of this restaurant. The lighting was moody, the neon lights were awesome, and the painting wall was perfect for photos! We will be back!

My friends and I came here during the R&B Love event and we had so much fun singing our hearts out. The whole restaurant is a vibe and definitely IG worthy.. service was good as was the food. We did have to send one of our steak dishes back because it was overcooked, other than that everything was fine.

Fun Fact: selfie wall right in front! - Beautiful lounge, with a great space and lighting. Great for lunch, date nights, or with the girlfriends at night. Service was spectacular here and the vibes are amazing, especially at night Service is also very good. I expected food to be great, and was somewhat disappointed by the quality and authenticity. Ordered the pesto linguine and while the portions and presentation was on point; but the flavors and sauce consistency was lacking. The sauce was slightly too sweet and very very oily, made for a soupy type of sauce vs one that enveloped the linguine. The Spicy Vodka rigatoni was okay, but was disappointed by the focaccia bread add on, which tasted like sourdough vs. focaccia, there was absolutely no herbs in here and the texture tasted more like a sourdough.

Came here for a birthday dinner and it did not disappoint! The decor and vibe were both really interesting, with Greco decor (I think), moody ambiance and lit music lol. But the food! We ordered the broccolini, lobster ravioli, spicy vodka rigatoni + chicken and focaccia bread. Everything was honestly so good. Our server, Emily, recommended we dip the focaccia bread in the lobster ravioli sauce and that was DELICIOUS. Both pastas were fantastic and I actually would highly recommend this place for the pastas. In addition, everyone was so nice, especially our server, Emily. She gave great recommendations, took lovely photos of us and was so attentive. She also brought a complimentary gelato with a huge sparkler. It was fun :) We enjoyed our time and will be back!

We had a 1:00 reservation for Mother's Day and were seated right away, which was great. However, we were surprised to find out it was a brunch menu only -- nothing on the website mentioned that, and we were hoping for the lunch or dinner options. Service was slow. Our waiter took a while to even greet us, and I had to find him at the bar to take our order. It wasn't super busy, so that was a bit frustrating. We ended up ordering everything at once. I had a Bloody Mary (it was fine), and my husband had a michelada. He got the burger without the toppings, and I had the strawberry salad and avocado toast. The salad was pretty good, but the avocado toast was just okay -- I've had better at casual coffee shops. His burger was just fine, nothing special. Overall, I'd give it 3 out of 5.

Service was pretty awful here. The server, I can't remember his name I think it was Fernando, Francisco, or Vincent even, was so rude and condescending and when I asked to add sausage to my pasta he said, "no I'm only doing chicken" in a scolding tone. It was really off putting. 5 minutes later he came back to ask if we wanted to add anything else because the kitchen was closing in 5 minutes and we "came too late" even though we had a reservation at 7:30-8pm and there was 8 more time slots after ours, all the way up to 11pm. At that point we noticed he was more into chatting with the bartender and texting on his phone. People were standing next to him trying to get his attention and he wouldn't get off the phone texting and smiling down at the phone. When our food was ready he brought it over without saying a single word. He walked away and we were trying to ask for Parmesan cheese but it seemed like he was ignoring us on purpose because he walked over to the bartender as I was saying "excuse me" and he started chatting with him. The bartender kept looking at us as we were waving him down and kept telling the server until he laughed and pointed at us. The server turned around with a straight face and with a smirk said "yeah?" After bringing over the cheese he never came back to check on us not even for the bill. Pasta was tasty maybe lacked a little flavor in the sauce and chicken was dry, drinks were good, we were 1 out of 3 parties in there maybe we should have taken that as a sign. The inside is pretty cute for pictures. Definitely tried to make the best of it since I drove from Orange County for a day in SD but the service made it so hard to fully enjoy the night unfortunately.

My friend and I actually ate here a couple years ago, and remembered we had a great meal, and figured we'd come by again. Safe to say, the food is still as good as we remembered! I got the spicy vodka rigatoni, and it was just the right amount of cheesy, saucy, and spicy. My friend got the pepperoni pizza, and the cheese was so gooey she got some amazing cheese pulls. It was a well needed meal after a whole day of walking! As for the drinks, they were great too. I got the purple refresher which was nice and sweet, and my friend got the passionfruit cooler, which was equally bright and refreshing. The space itself is nice and modern, they have a dining area in the front for people who want to just eat, and then in the back they have a darker bar area for those who want to just drink. If you're in downtown San Diego, give this place a try!

Food was absolutely delicious, and service was amazing. We came early for brunch on Saturday morning, and I would say that the ambiance was lacking a little bit. We had a reservation and were the first ones there, so it was a little quiet in the restaurant. I wish more people can discover what a gem this place. Also, you can have special messages put on an espresso martini. We had special message for our bride. It was funny and cute! Not posting a picture for her privacy.

I absolutely love the decor of this restaurant. It is fancy, classy, and modern. I have been to several birthday dinners as well as my own over the course of a couple years. They have an option to bring out wine bottles and your name displayed on a card with fire sticks! The food is all well priced and delicious. I would highly recommend for a girls night out, dinner, or special occasion !

Amazing food. Lots of flavors. They do even the simple stuff amazingly. Worth every penny. Wish they had IPAs though

Was walking around finding something to eat late at night and stumbled upon this place! Food was delicious and service was good. We got their seafood pasta and the half chicken. Chicken was so moist and had a great sauce. The pasta was also very fresh! They had a fire dancer walking around the restaurant every 30-45 mins which was something we didn't expect. Vibes were chill and lively! There was a 3% service fee applied to our bill.

This place is a must ! Great service, amazing food, absolutely delicious drinks !! Our waiter, Mark, was super sweet and took great care of us ! The place is aesthetically pleasing but I personally feel like it was designed to be dramatic. The theme is a Greek/Roman style but moderately new age version. My only complaint is the pricing compared to the proportions of the food is slightly a gap. We ordered the Salmon Crudo @ $18. While very delicious there was very little on the plate. The portion of salmon was not bad but, I would suggest adding a bit more microgreens. Definitely was not sure of the sauce that was on the side of this dish, while very overall it took away from the overall flavor of the salmon. Next, we ordered the Ravioli. Extremely delicious!! But for 6 ravioli's @ $36 dollars it's a bit overpriced. Maybe in the 20 dollar range would be better. The drinks were extremely good for the price this was expected give this upscale ingredients used. Kudos!! to the bartender I understand this place is more of an upscale bar with bites type of ordeal than actually getting drinks and huge portions of greasy bar food. It doesn't take away from my experience. The service was immaculate. No complaints at all I think the service was the highlight of my experience. Definitely have to try this place again and catch the fire dancers.

Went here for Valentine's Day and had the prix fixe menu. Service was great, our server was very nice. Ambience is fun - there was even a Greco-Roman fire lady walking around twirling fire! Food was standard, though our filet mignon was over cooked (a medium was very well done, a medium rare became a medium well). My cocktail was delicious and fun, complete with smoke. BEWARE THE HIDDEN FEES: 20% autogratuity for a party of 2 (usually places will tell you there's an autograt so anything else is extra - not a peep from anyone that this was on there and there was a tip line so you would not notice unless you inspected your bill) AND a random 3% "service charge" - curious if you get this charge if you order food to go, or only if you dine in because you were served.

The place is aesthetically pleasing but I personally feel like it was designed to be overly dramatic. The theme is decent, its a Greek/Roman style but moderately new age version. The music chosen by the DJ was immaculate but the music is extremely loud as if you're going to a night club. Although it was hard hearing my party/people sitting next to me, I still had a great time. The pricing compared to the proportions of the food is slightly a gap. The drinks are good, and the food was okay. I understand its more of a brunch/mimosa and champagne type of ordeal than actually getting drinks and food. It doesn't take away from my experience but I will let you know its about $20 per item. The service was immaculate. No complaints, the waiter with a strong accent definitely navigated us all around the menu & chose some decent food. I think the service was the highlight of my experience. Definitely have to try this place again.

Coming off an amazing chicken parm in Palm Springs, this one had a lot of to live up to. While it was good, it wasn't as good as the dish I experienced in the desert. It could have used a bit more sauce to really round out the dish but all in all, it was good enough. I liked that the pasta was rigatoni instead of the usual long spaghetti that can be difficult to elegantly twirl. My friend chose this spot for it's Instagrammable ambiance and it didn't let us down.

My friends and I came here for happy hour on a Tuesday. It's from 5:00-7:00pm. Parking in limited in this area, we ended up ubering and walking to the convention center for a concert. The staff were very friendly and the decor is beautiful and definitely instagrammable. We sat at the bar for happy hour and service was super quick. The food and drinks were pretty good! Worth a try if you're in the area. Food review: Whiskey mule: (5/5) Bartender made this drink perfectly. It was delicious. The perfect balance. Margarita: (5/5) Classic, but super tasty! Fried gnocchi: (4/5) These were delicious and came with aioli. These tasted similar to French fries/tater tots in my opinion, but still tasty! Brussel sprouts: (5/5) These were super tasty. We loved that it came with a hint of pomegranate. It was a nice balance and they were cooked well. Margarita pizza: (3/5) Wasn't super impressive, but overall had good flavor. Some of the crust was a little burnt. Yellowtail crudo: (3/5) This dish didn't taste as fresh as I hoped. The ponzu sauce didn't mesh well with the fish. This wasn't our favorite dish and probably wouldn't order again from here.

I have to say I was impressed and I rarely get impressed :) This was a girl night for a Birthday party I will talk about the vibe. Cool and calm and honestly perfect for a girl night out Service: although there was only waiter and she was busy and hard to find but she was very nice and friendly Food: Very good ans we tried alot of dishes Only one that no body liked was the fried olive although this seems to be popular dish Birthday: they have this cute package with different type of cake, a birthday sign and some fire lighting cool and cute Decor is so authentic and cool We had a ton of fun Also it looks like they have a small room for party and they had a party going on

The service was excellent. Shout out to Maya for making our experience so enjoyable. She really went out her way to make us comfortable. I wish i remembered the name of our waitress but she was also amazing. She even was kind enough to take some photos of us with no hesitation. Thanks for the great service and staff. Beautiful decor as well. Ambiance was nice.

Incredible food and service!! Wow the place is amazing and it was so good. Highly recommend, the place is gorgeous and there was no minimum for big parties.

I came across Salvatore's on Tiktok and my group was in the mood for Italian food, so we ended up choosing Salvatore's. We made a reservation ahead of time, so the wait wasn't bad at all. I ended up getting the Rigatoni Bolognese and was unfortunately underwhelmed. It was good, however, I felt that the sauce was too much on the sour side, and found there were more diced tomatoes than meat. I was also bummed there was no complimentary bread as that is one of my favorite things about a lot of Italian restaurants. I will say the restaurant is very aesthetic, especially with a photo area right before you enter, but in terms of food, I would try other Italian spots in San Diego.

My experience at Salvatore's was definitely not what I expected. First off, with the restaurant being located in Downtown, you already know that the parking situation isn't great. Luckily, my friends and I managed to grab street parking after a couple of tries. It took a few minutes to walk to the restaurant and then we quickly got seated for my best friend's birthday dinner reservation. The atmosphere is so lively, full of classy art, statues, and luxurious decor. The lighting is incredibly dark in there however, with neon lights illuminating the entire restaurant. It was oftentimes hard to even see in front of us, let alone attempting to flip through the menu. I ended up ordering the Linguine Al Pesto, while my friends ordered the Sausage & Cranberry Pizza + the Braised Short Ribs. While we were waiting for the food, we were shocked to see a "fire eater/dancer" pop out and perform a live show for us! Definitely a cool + exotic experience that we did not expect at all. Soon enough, the entrees came out and we all dug in. One thing I cannot deny about this restaurant -- Salvatore's has excellent food! Everyone at the dinner left feeling satisfied and full! My linguine al pesto was delicious, seasoned perfectly and was so flavorful. The pizza and braised short ribs were just as good, and the portions were quite big and filling -- you could definitely share an entree between 2 people if you don't have a huge appetite. A lot of us ended up taking leftovers home! Overall, Salvatore's is a good restaurant but it honestly wasn't my favorite. I feel like their theme was a bit much/all over the place so I couldn't really tell what the restaurant was going for in terms of design and ambiance. Either way, I would still recommend giving this place a try if you're ever craving Italian and are in the area.

Came here with my boyfriend for Valentine's Day! Made a reservation for 8:30 and got there 5 minutes before to check in. We were asked if we would be interested in outdoor seating because it was a 30 minute wait for indoors and we said it was okay because we were starving. 10 minutes goes and we hadn't been seated yet. Then a couple that checked in for their reservation after us got seated indoors first? Then another hostess came up to ask us if we had a reservation again. Luckily we got seated indoors but maybe it was because of the holiday, but the hosting and seating system this day seemed a bit unorganized. Once we got seated it took quite a while for us to get waters and our drink orders taken. Our server was friendly but when he dropped off our drink orders, he forgot to take our food order like he said he would. We saw him checking other tables and taking new orders in the same area but wouldn't even look our way so we could get his attention. Took us about 30 minutes to get a food order in. We ordered the fried gnocchi, lamb chops, and pesto linguine. The fried gnocchi was the best thing out of all the food. It was cheesy and crispy and the malt vinegar aioli was so delicious it got us googling where we could purchase it. The pesto linguine was nothing special, but my boyfriend really enjoyed the lamb chops. Honestly would probably come back just for the gnocchi! For these food items and two drinks, it was ~$145 including tip. The inside of the restaurant gives me club/restaurant vibes. The music is pretty loud and they have neon decor with lights all around the restaurant. They also have a really cool Medusa lounge which I think is for private parties or bigger parties. Would definitely love to check that out if I ever need a space like that. We also got lucky enough to see the fire dancing which we thought we had missed. Honestly would've given this place 5 stars, but the slow service and seating knocked it down to 4 stars. Overall was a great experience and would like to come back some time later!

Ambiance was great. Beautiful decor. Felt very fancy. Service was very good and prompt We ordered appetizers, drinks and bread and we split an entree. Appetizers were the fried olives and octopus. The octopus was delicious. Might have been roasted or grilled but it was very tender and tasty. The Fried Olives though were not good to my taste. The combination of savory green olives with a sweet, honey cream just felt wrong. We didn't care for it at all. Ate about three of them and left the rest. Couldn't eat any more of those things. The entree was Ravioli and that was very good but the serving was very small. We each got 1 and 1/2 ravioli. Drinks were delicious. Had a Lavender Refresher and for desert had their Chocolate cake and Expresso Martini. Both were delicious. We may or may not go back but if we do, we will stay away from the Fried Olives.

I had my birthday here in the backroom and I had such an amazing time. They customized a menu for me, had a belly dancer, a photographer and did the whole sign with Happy Birthday with fireworks. The food, service, and drinks were SO amazing. Highly recommend this spot. Big thanks to Esteban, who helped me coordinate my birthday at Salvatore's! 10000% recommend.

What a fantastic 5 Star Upscale Italian restaurant. The restaurant is eye-catching from the doors to the rear bar and dining area. Be prepared for an amazing dining experience. The staff are great. The servers are well versed in menu and drink specials. I am definitely a fan of the seafood pasta. Seafood was fresh. The cheesecake dessert was a perfect finish. Generously portioned with fresh fruit and garnish. Will definitely visit here again.

This is my 2nd time here! The first time I went was a little later in the evening and the music was great, and it even had a belly dancer go around during dinner which was such a vibe! We ordered an expensive steak which was shareable! Decided to go the 2nd time to take my goddaughter out, early in the night.. although the music wasn't as it was when I first went, this place is pretty.. (later on as we were leaving, music was starting to get bumpin, we just got there too early hehe). Everything we ordered was bomb!! The drinks were good and our waiter was attentive given that my goddaughter had allergies. The percuitto pizza was delicious! Fried olives a Must! Watermelon salad was ok, but there's really nothing to it for the price. Vodka pasta was delicious and was so creamy! And the chicken Parmesan hit the spot! Will def go back but maybe at a later time for some good music and the clubbing vibe!! Highly recommend!

Can you let restaurant been here before about two years ago when it first open said that maybe they would step up under food quality specially in the location where they're at very apart from many other establishment happy hour was OK. $10 martinis was pretty good too bad they didn't have, blue cheese stuff olives but I will live. Service is very friendly impromptu food was just OK. Specially the fish since it was one of their feature items. It didn't really leave any memorable taste or experience. Pizza was whatever almost same quality as little Caesars.

great place for bubbles and brunch, the chilaquiles were great! I pass by here at night and the place seems very lively and loud .. but the vibe is perfect for a date night. If you like the slower speed, make it out here for brunch and order a bloody mary!

I like the ambiance (tonight, there was a lot of R&B music). I've been told by the hostess that they offer "spoken word" and music in the back of the restaurant (blocked off/unseen). Each time I've gone, I've been a creature of habit when it comes to the appetizers-I love the fried olives soooooooo much! The sweet, crunchy salty tastes really work well together. Tonight, I ordered the Beef Bolognese-it was a bit salty and spicy, but I liked it. The Cesar salad wasn't good-I forgot that I didn't like it. The three pieces of Focacia bread ($5) were good. We also liked the pizza and Pesto linguini. However, the filet mignon and lobster for Father's Day was just mediocre... Sadly, they don't sell any Alfredo dishes. The menu is pretty small, but overall, it was a good experience.

Very disappointing experience. My family and I came for the R&B with Love event on 7/7 for my birthday and this is absolutely not towards the DJ because he was so fun but apart from a beautiful interior, that's all that was great for us about the restaurant. Our server was nice but he dropped coffee on the table resulting in splashing my boyfriend and staining his top. After helping us clean, not once did he apologize and literally disappeared for an extended amount of time before barely checking on us for the rest of the brunch. He seemed mortified but to not even apologize is horrible customer service. Not only this, but he over charged us for 3 pancakes on our first receipt rather than the accurate 2 and I only noticed JUST as he had our card in hand to charge. The food didn't make up for the service either. The pancakes were kid's sized pancakes and so dense. We also ordered both steaks medium well and both came well done and tough. Can't say I'd go back for another try.

Made reservations because I saw a post on IG of how amazing brunch was at Salvatore's. What I saw on IG was very misleading. When we arrived the place was empty... we even questioned ourselves if it was closed before we walked in. IG shows this restaurant being very lively and busy and with live music or a DJ. We walked in there was only one other couple there and no DJ. Yes there was music and this place does have potential. The girl that seated us didn't give us enough menus, took her a few to bring us enough. Waiter came by explained the menu to us. He was nice but the whole experience was kind of awkward. Like him suggesting a bottle of Rose for mimosas. The food all came out at different times (which is crazy because it was not busy) They also forgot one of our drinks until we reminded the waiter after we got our food. Food was not bad, it was actually good. Just the service and the misleading experience is what throws everything off. Not sure if we will return.

My friend and I have unintentionally started a tradition where we come to Salvatore's for dinner when I come to visit every year for a conference. We've been grateful that every time Andrea has been our server. The decor inside is fun and eclectic- but your typical traditional Italian restaurant decor. The food and drinks are phenomenal! They have the greatest cocktails and their fried olives are amazing. I dream of it throughout the year and look forward to it every single visit. Andrea was sweet enough to remember us even though we only come once a year. The service, food, drinks, and ambiance are all amazing here. Highly recommend!

We absolutely love Salvatore's! The food is incredible, very tasty and a great selection. Their happy hour is the best in town. The people are also wonderful. Good music and atmosphere. Their brunch is also delicious. I had the chilaquiles and they were some of the best I've had. Highly recommend!!

such a great experience and would 100% come back again ! our server carissa was so kind and such a girls girl!! she continuously catered to our requests and took all of our pictures! although it was a bit of a slower evening so she was able to make take more time on us, we still appreciate all her hard work! food was also great! my friends and i are a bit pickier when it comes to fine dining but we enjoyed every bit of it. nothing beats a cute aesthetic and delicious food! can't wait to come back in the future, thank you

Salvatore's was such a vibe. The food was surprisingly really good. I loved that our cocktails came with a lil show. There was a table having a birthday and they brought out sparklers and signs; some of the sparklers got on our table and the manager brought us free shots for the mishap. We weren't even complaining but that was such a nice touch. Will be back. Thanks for an amazing night.

Went here with a crew of 16 for bachelorette weekend dinner! We were so thankful they were willing to get us a table on a Saturday, let alone in the evening. They had us on the patio which was totally fine - they even had heaters around us and lamps on the table. The ambiance was phenomenal - from the décor around us to the live saxophone player! With being a higher end place, the drinks were a bit pricy but with that was a higher quality drink! The bride got one of the smoking drinks and really enjoyed it. I got a glass of wine - I was overwhelmed with the list being that I am not a big wine person but the server helped me find the perfect one based on what kind I typically like and the price range I wanted to stay in. I don't think anyone in our party didn't LOVE their drink! The food came out surprisingly fast for us having such a large group with the perfect amount of time to nibble on bread, chat, and enjoy some of our drinks prior to eating. The food...oh the food....YUM! I got the mushroom pasta and our group got everything from pizza to pasta to fried gnocchi. I was surprised by the large portions but in the best way. I could have used more salt to mine which they did not have on the tables but was delicious by itself regardless. There was not one complaints on the food and even jokes about how to get it delivered to Minnesota when we got home and were craving it! Again, higher prices but higher quality! We got the bride the tiramisu and sign package option ($50) and the server did great at asking when the bride had went to the restroom so it was a surprise. They came out with lights and clapping and cheering! The bride loved it and the dessert was so yummy! Overall great experience! We were pleased with the service, food, drinks, and atmosphere! Highly recommend for any events, anniversaries, girl nights, etc.

I really wanted to love this place when they remodeled. It's walking distance from my residence. The food is average and the menu gets boring as it never changes. The happy hour is good but you are limited to sitting at the bar. The service is average. Go there after 7pm and the music is blaring. They really want to be a nightclub & fine dining and are missing the point on both. They cater to a younger crowd. They really don't want the older residents who live in the area. The decor: cheap plastic flowers everywhere! Even on the ceiling. We will probably stop by for convenience but it will never be a neighborhood restaurant like it was.

literally the best Espresso Martini i've ever had. It's my go to everywhere I go, and this beat them all. Prosciutto Pizza, amazing. Service impeccable.

My friends and I were in the mood for Italian and chose to check out Salvatore's. We had a reservation for Sunday night, but it wasn't that busy when we arrived. The menu wasn't too extensive. I decided on the penne all arrabiatta. While it was good, it was disappointing that it didn't come with any protein without an extra charge. My friends had the bolognese which they said was decent. We were all also disappointed that there wasn't any complimentary bread, which is pretty standard for Italian restaurants. The restaurant's decor is very nice, but it's not enough for me to want to return.

Ambiance: Very cute place. You can tell the owners tried to create a nice vibe for their customers. Drinks: I was struggling with picking a wine bottle to share, but our waitress was kind enough to let us try a couple tastes before we committed. Ended up choosing the Zenato rosso veronese. Delicious. Ripe yet light in the overall profile. Also got 1 cocktail at the end. Went with the ash and diamond cocktail. It was balanced but felt kind of boring. It tasted pretty similar to another drink on their menu, the Barrio Logan. Food: Skip the bread. The butter it came with is topped with salt, and boy did it blow out my palate. Could not take another bite. Got the octopus to start, and it was surprisingly salty as well. It was kind of tough as well. The potatoes it came with though were great. For pasta, we got the spicy rigatoni and lobster ravioli. Definitely get the ravioli. It was perfectly seasoned, and the sauce was so tasty. Tomato seafood umami. The spicy rigatoni was good but not as good as the ravioli. Could use a touch more salt to balance the cheese it came with. Overall, the restaurant is not on the top of my list for Italian restaurants, but I am glad that I stopped by.

Food, service, and ambiance were wonderful. Had a wonderful Waiter named Caesar, he gave us great recommendations!

This is a very instagram-able restaurant, as far as the decor goes. Great for girls night out or brunch with the girls if you want cute pics and your standards for food & experience are low. Service was good not great but I guess you can expect that from a college student on a Sunday morning. Food felt like a rip off. 1 Waffle with some strawberries sprinkled on top for $18? And it wasn't even an exceptional waffle, tasted like something out of an ego box. Bacon was dry AF. Bacon scramble was just scrambled eggs & Benedict was on the thinnest pieces of bread with no garnish or side? ZERO presentation. For an average of $20 a plate, either that's the new bare minimum for restaurants or this place is just thinking instagramable decor & a DJ makes a restaurant cool & trendy enough to smell their own farts At least pretend like you're trying lol Also, I was there on Easter and the DJ was blasting EDM (not even good EDM) which imo, just didn't fit the vibe. It actually made it feel like a tacky restaurant that was trying to be cool. Overall, If you're looking for the Walmart version of The Rustic Root, this is your spot.

This place is for people who like to post pics on insta or celebrate their engagement. Because there were engagement light up boards and sparklers popping up left and right during our 3 hour time there. We had a reservation for 7:30PM showed up 10min late (trying to find parking) and even though they said it was a 15min grace period we still waited a long time. We were then told that they go in the order of which people show up instead of reservations, even though they still sat people who showed up after we did. They finally called us about an hour later, and one of the hostess who sat us literally said "oh sorry you guys should've been sat a long time ago I don't know why that took so long." Once sat, it took a while for the waiter to show up. Then I realize he was one of 2 waiters in the entire restaurant, and was overworked. But, he was still very nice and attentive. The restaurant itself was pretty small with like 15 tables inside which is why I guess it took so long to be sat, but the vibe was nice. The music sounded like it was one of those preloaded beats from the windows media player from 1997. There was also a fire dancer/breather She was entertaining to watch and super talented. I got 1 drink it was a Mezcal mule it was good. For our appetizer we shared octopus and the Caesar salad it came out pretty quick and was okay the flavor on the octopus was good along with the other accoutrements, it came with. For our entrées, my friend got the 8 ounce fillet medium it came with mashed potatoes and asparagus but she subbed for broccoli instead...it still came with the asparagus and it was rare. I got the linguine al pesto, and added red pepper flakes. It was really good but could've used a green vegetable so I took the asparagus my friend didn't want with her order and chopped it up and put it in there, delicious! All in all it was a nice ambiance but a "we came, we saw, we're not coming back experience."

Excellent service by Fernando, we arrived earlier, yet we were seated right away. We ordered chicken parmigiana pizza, and 32ounce ribeye steak to perfection. Food was flavorful and delicious. I totally recommend for you to try Salvatore's Cucina!!!

This place exceeded my expectations. It is beautiful and clean. The food is delicious! Service was amazing, our server was very kind and made great food recommendations. I highly recommended their pizzas, that crust is something I haven't had before, exquisite!

We recently had our wedding reception here and it was GREAT! We planned about a month ahead and it was a easy process and Tommie helped a lot to make the process smooth! He opened earlier for us and we had the private room. It was such a beautiful and cool space that my guest could not stop complementing it to me. Our waiters were excellent and attentive! The food was amazing and my guest were all pleased with the quality of food! Our bartender was AMAZING! She was so attentive to not only the guest but my husband and I! She never let us have an empty drink for too long! Didn't even need to ask for another one, she just came by with one! Overall a great restaurant for any occasion if you're looking for an easy planning but for a beautiful spot!

The food was nicely presented and tasted great. Good textures and well done. We came for a birthday and the place did not disappoint. It's in downtown, so parking can be a challenge, there is a LAZ parking structure just around the corner from the restaurant or valet parking. We walked in as the fire dancer was doing her thing, it was so fun. The waitress was so super patient and nice, she made great suggestions about the food and drinks. Speaking of presentation, the Golden Hill was awesome, definitely be ready to record when they bring that over. The ambiance is dark and cozy, but the music was so damn loud. We could hardly talk to each other. I did not enjoy that at all. The music was so loud and chaotic. I would have been fine with it if it was turned down some. I would not want to sit in this area during a date. The restaurant seating, interior design and decor was very well thought out. So many photo ops for the social media. There are several different areas to sit and they all offer a different feel. I really appreciated the decor and attention to detail. Everything was well thought out, from the food, the spaces and the staff. Since it was a birthday, they came out with a big sign and sparkly lights with a slice of tiramisu. The two people that came out with the sign, cake and sparklers were fun and happy. It was really an enjoyable experience all around, other than the deafening volume of the music.

We had a great experience here! We were headed to SD to start our anniversary weekend. We walked in about 10pm on Friday night. The restaurant was not crowded and we were sat right away. The decor was really nice - a lot of IG worthy places to take photos. There was a DJ playing club music. I usually don't like music playing that loudly in a restaurant though because you can't hear the person next to you talking, but it was fine. My hubby and I ordered the watermelon salad, grilled octopus, and fried gnocchi. We were really impressed and everything tasted absolutely delicious! To drink I had the Mt. Lychee and my hubby had The Last Flight. They were also goid and very strong! Our waitress was really friendly and attentive and the staff cleared our dishes quickly. Unfortunately, when we tried to use the 10% Yelp discount they said it was only valid Mon-Thurs. Oh well! Still had an awesome late dinner. Definitely worth trying!