Ulivo Restaurant

A truly authentic Italian restaurant that delivers on every level. The warm garlic bread at the start was the perfect opener, golden and crispy on the outside, soft inside, full of flavor. The bruschetta was fresh, vibrant, and beautifully presented. Juicy tomatoes, creamy cheese, and a light drizzle of balsamic that tied everything together perfectly. The clams were a real highlight. Very fresh, served in a rich, savory tomato sauce, with toasted bread on the side that was ideal for soaking up every last bit. Exactly how it should be. The lasagna was outstanding. Rich, juicy, with a deep tomato flavor and perfectly melted cheese. You can taste the quality of the ingredients and the care that goes into the cooking. The steak was cooked spot on, tender and juicy, paired with fragrant rice and fresh vegetables. Simple, well executed, and high quality. On top of all that, the service was extremely attentive, friendly, and genuinely welcoming without being intrusive. You feel comfortable and well taken care of from start to finish. Highly recommended for anyone looking for real Italian food done right. We will definitely be back.

The restaurant has a parking lot that they share with Olive Tree Market that is free. Robert was our server and he was great. We started with a shared Misto salad and a warm basket of garlic knot bread. We enjoyed 3 delicious dishes: the special -filet mignon with mushroom sauce, braised short ribs, and sea bass. The soup special was a Tuscan soup with Italian sausage, spinach and veggies served with cheesy bread. The soup was so good, it should be a permanent item.

We had a great Italian dinner at Ulivo in Ocean Beach! Beautiful, quaint restaurant with a great vibe with indoor and patio seating. We started with the prosciutto stuffed mushrooms and had the sea bass piccata and linguine alla vongole for entrees. Everything tasted great. Nice wine list, we enjoyed the Chardonnay. Excellent service, very friendly and accommodating. Recommend!

Lovely small neighborhood restaurant with a varied menu. Seevice is a bit slow so be prepared for leisurely pacing. Pricing is readonable and portion size is generous, particularly for salads and clam starter. Parking is a major pain though so leave 15 min to circle the neighvorhood before you give up and use the paid lot where the Rite Aid used to be 2 blks north of the restaurant. Plenty of gluten free and vegetarian choices as well as beef and seafood.

This place was incredible - cute patio space, great wine list and the food was unforgettable. We tried the gnocchi with pesto sauce and spaghetti & meatballs and we will definitely go back to try more. Desi was a perfect server - very helpful & kind. 10/10

What a wonderful surprise and absolutely delicious meals. My wife and I enjoyed a local Saturday night dinner date together at a restaurant we have not tried before and what a fantastic dining experience it was. Ulivo’s menu is authentic Italian with wonderful Mediterranean seafood options; the special of the day was a seafood pasta that was nothing short of extraordinarily delicious. My wife Brennen chose the seafood pasta special with the white wine sauce and the dish arrived with a generous assortment of shellfish served over a very light linguini pasta. Super fresh and delicious. Our Server, Robert, who was delightfully informative of the specials, also shared one of his favorite adaptions of my favorite meal, Pollo Parmigiana. His favorite and now mine, this “must ask for” version of Pollo Parmigiana was served with tender lightly breaded pieces of chicken over a bed of creamy Fettucine Alfredo. The fresh mozzarella melted over top the chicken dressed with a very light marina sauce, is as traditional as it gets. The blend of the white and red sauces was perfect. This wonderful meal came with an assortment of fresh vegetables slices, zucchini, peppers, and broccoli. It was so surprisingly delicious I had to stop in the middle of the meal and take this photo to share. We chose to share a desert, which was outstanding, but you be the judge. I do recommend you save some room to try the bread pudding or a cannoli. An almost perfect meal. My only regret is that we did not try this best kept secret restaurant sooner. Thank you for a very enjoyable evening, we’ll be back soon.

Very good ambience to have dinner with friends, family or coworkers. We ordered filet Mignon with risotto and baked eggplant siciliana. Both dishes tasted great. We would definitely consider visiting again when we are in the area again.

Had a great time. Robert, our server, was excellent and the food was delicious. Generous portion sizes and good value for what we got. I had the seafood pasta and my friend got the fish of the day - sea bass. The bread was incredible

The food is incredible. Highly recommend. Try the filet and it will melt in your mouth. And the bread pudding was perfect.

Ulivo is the perfect little Italian restaurant in Ocean Beach! I've been a patron for years, and the food and service have always been consistently amazing. It's still my go-to spot for girls' night whenever I'm back in town on business. I've tried so many dishes from the menu and have never been disappointed. The restaurant is great for small to medium-sized groups, making it an ideal spot for date night or small gatherings. It's also super convenient to make a reservation online, and they offer free parking behind the restaurant. Highly recommend Ulivo if you're looking for great service and delicious Italian food in a cozy atmosphere!

We came here for Friday date night. I booked a table earlier that same day and it was ready for us right at 6pm. This is a cozy little spot nestled in the heart of OB, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a parking spot a block away. We started with a cup of the soup special and the Cesar salad. They also brought us some freshly made bread. It all felt like a fancier version of the endless soup, salad and bread sticks at a well known Italian chain restaurant. For my main course I had a pasta dish with creamy tomato sauce and dollops of ricotta throughout. It was so good. It was a huge portion and reheated just as nicely the next day. My husband has the short ribs and thought they would just okay. He would prefer to try something else next time we go back.

It's a small Italian restaurant not far away from Mission Beach. If you are in the area, visit this place! There is street parking with a short walk from basically any direction. The restaurant isn't big. But seatings are comfortably spaced. Modest decor. The place was clean. The service was great, we were treated with welcoming smile and recommendations on their specials. I was glad that I took the recommendation. The bread sticks were soft and warm. Yum.entrenain course was served within a timely manner. The food presentation was simple but it was absolutely scrumptious! Not salty and not too light. The amount of seasoning was just perfect for my taste buds and blood pressure. The food was perfectly portion. We barely finished the bread sticks. Unfortunately, we ran out of space for dessert. Overall, this place gets a 5.0 out of 5. Love it! Will visit again!

Ordered take out. Had a wonderful Pizza and great beat salad. Order was ready on time and got. Service was friendly.

Feel compelled to leave an update! My family was raving about this place to my dad so we had to stop by after a long day at the San Diego Zoo. He agreed it was definitely worth the hype. He loved the caprese salad and meatballs. The rest of us got the same thing as last time. It was empty when we were there around 4:45pm on a Friday. Mark was our server again and was a gem, per usual! While we hope to come again soon, we will recommend this to everyone!

My favorite Italian restaurant in Ocean Beach and there are several of them. Their food is high quality and the prices are reasonable. I usually get their Spaghetti Bolognese, Pappardelle, Antipasto Salad and Margherita Pizza. The service and atmosphere are always good. I highly recommend them.

There were tables available when we walked in and we were seated right away. It's really cute inside and out of this restaurant. I always walk past it and had been wanting to try it for a while since it looked so cute with the lights! Service was fast and the staff member who helped us was attentive and helpful. All the food was pretty good. There are twisted, soft breadsticks that come with the meal and they are good but especially if you dip them into your entree sauce! The bruschetta had a good flavor and a nice crunch (enough to hold it together and make it easy to eat). The Burrata ravioli romano was unique. I've had a lot of ravioli in my life but I liked the addition of the capers and the burrata cheese in this one.

I visited Ulivo with my children and grandchildren. It was a few weeks ago, so I have no recollection of what anyone else ordered. I do, however, remember very distinctly my ribeye with shrimp and crab risotto. It was amazing! The ribeye was cooked perfectly - so tender, juicy and flavorful. The balsamic drizzle really enhanced the flavor. The restaurant is small, or should I say, intimate. The service was very friendly and attentive. And, while I don't remember what the others ordered, I do remember that they all enjoyed their food very much. All around, a great experience.

Date night San Diego: Must have seafood -check! Casual, cozy -check! Wine -check! Support Local -check! GMonkey do specials: SEABASS- huge filet over capellini SEAFOOD PASTA- huge plate of lobster, shrimp, scallop, mussel and clams Amazing dinner after full day of driving and sunset over waves just below nearby cliffs. Night of the Blue super moon, seated at bar facing outside patio. Busy street but indoors, still romantic scene. Service is superb. Absolutely delicious food and seeing other tables enjoying beautiful pizzas, GMonkey plan to return after this unplanned visit. This place is a gem. Terrific find! Wonderful date -check! Happy Girlfriend -check!

Recently I tried this restaurant and it's one of my favorite Italian restaurants now. It's a small but quaint Italian restaurant with traditional fare and wine. They use locally sourced ingredients. Their pasta dishes were fantastic but the desserts were simply amazing. I loved both tiramisu and spumoni. If you're looking for a restaurant for a date night, this is it! You can watch the beautiful Sunset Cliffs sunset and then have a nice and quiet Italian dinner at Ulivo.

This place was such a pleasant surprise. We were all very happy with our meals, very delicious! Feels very local, highly recommend for a date or a birthday

- The food was amazing, including the bread to start (garlic knots). There was a large menu and even more specials to choose from. Would recommend the Scaloppine Di Pollo Piccata which was cooked perfectly. - The restaurant ambiance is quiet and no complaints about the service - There is a parking lot right next to the restaurant which makes parking easy and accessible.

Highly recommend for the food, service and wine! Red sauce is amazing. Will be back again soon for sure!

We made a reservation for 7 to celebrate my daughter's birthday. The service was amazing. She lives the garlic bread and there was no short supply, they even bagged some up and sent it home as a gift. The food was great, not a complaint from anyone. Will definitely return! We felt special and were treated incredibly.

Fantastic and authentic. Good ratio of server-to-customer. Enjoyable interior vibe that can be from mellow to a bit festive, depending on groups dining in. All food to-go, especially pizza, has been fantastic! Can't go wrong with saving some for next day, let it season over night!

Great food and very accommodating staff! A hidden neighborhood gem! We were visiting from ojt of town and this place came up on our search for Italian food. It looked like a great local spot and it did not disappoint!

DELICIOUS ITALIAN RESTAURANT IN OCEAN BEACH =========================================== I did my research for a few days before my trip to South Mission Beach for my wedding anniversary. Not saying how many years because I don't want to date myself. My husband and I have been to Little Italy which is great, but after checking Yelp for every possible restaurant I ended up making a reservation at Ulivo which means Olive in Italian. I love that name too as I just planted an olive tree in my front landscape. Easy to make reservations on Yelp and we showed up on time. Our waiter was great and my husband and I decided to go with the featured items for the evening. I ordered the seafood dish with clams, lobster tails, scallops, shrimp and a mussel. My husband ordered the osso buco. We both loved those so much. My husband always has to order tiramisu and we liked that, but my husband is a bit of a tiramisu snob and likes it made a more traditional way. That didn't stop him from eating it though. After dinner I felt like a coffee, but they only have cold brew. This is when I felt really old, but I just went with it. It was good. It added a hipster spin to the restaurant. Let's say it's like Silver Lake at the ocean. I guess I can hang with that.

This place is fabulous. It's small, but cozy. There is both indoor and outdoor seating. We ate outside. The service was excellent--the servers were friendly and attentive. The food is delicious and the portions are generous. There are vegetarian options, which is a relief.

Loved dinner here. Came by Saturday night with no reservation right when they opened. Seated right away - but in the future I would definitely try to get a reservation here if not arriving shortly after opening because it filled up quick. Service was excellent - I wish I remembered our servers name, he was young & blonde. He's awesome. Can tell he's been doing this kind of work a long time. Everything was delicious - the caprese, pasta, garlic bread, & wine. Loved everything about the food and flavors. I will definitely be back to try something different next time. Inside and outside seating available, gender neutral restroom, minimal parking in the back of the building or on the street.

Out of town found this place on yelp. Didn't disappoint . Great food and great service!!

Good Italian food, fast delivery and generous portions. We ordered out so didn't get to visit.

Great restaurant in Point Loma! Friendly snd attentive service. On a Thursday night, it wasn't too crowded, and got a little busier around 7. All of our pastas were delicious, great seasonings and flavor to all of them! The decorations were cute inside as well! It had a modern industrial plant theme going on, very California. Hidden gem, try it out!

5 stars Family friendly service,delicious food, prompt service. My favorite is the chicken piccotta!

We have been to Ulivo many times and it never disappoints. The Service is always great. The servers are always friendly and hardworking. The restaurant is super cute and close to home which we love. The food is amazing. I never ordered a dish that I did not love. The ravioli, lasagna, chicken picata and antipasta salad are my favorites but there is so much more on the menu. You cannot go wrong.

Always the best family style food. Great ambience in OB. Pasta salsicia and their fresh fish always tops my list.

Randomly picked this spot and it was worth the extra drive. Very authentic and excellent service!

They had a lot of different options for dishes with some great sounding specials! The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable and the service was very prompt. Very cute vibes for a little date night

The food was delicious!! We had the Seabass, seafood pasta special, Ravioli, Pesto gnocchi, Bruchetta and Antipasta salad.. And the bread knots were amazing!

Great little restaurant located in OB. It seems like a perfect date night spot or even dinner with the gals. It is right on a busy road so you could sometimes have trouble finding parking. I live in the neighborhood and I always call in to order the pizza to go. On Saturday night, we ordered a the Prosciutto e Pera pizza and ate it down at the cliffs for a little sunset moment. The pizza was divine- perfect for two with a drink that rhymes with fine (no alcohol on the beach). I was back again for a Sunday night sunset Kate Sessions moment and made my own personal pizza which turned out to be a hit! The ingredients are fresh and the service is fast and polite. A must visit in Ocean Beach!

Craving Italian food and we found Ulivo. We made reservations and upon arrival were immediately greeted and sat. The service was great and our food was excellent. Homemade food with top quality ingredients. Very nice establishment and outdoor seating available as well.

Best food we've had in a very long time. The special was delicious. The wife had the scallops and I had the salmon, both dinners were great. We wish this place our local restaurant!!!

This little place is so great! My wife and I came here while we were on our honeymoon. The inside is clean, well decorated, and the exposed brick is such a fun addition to the atmosphere. The food is delicious, as well. My wife got the gnocchi with the vodka sauce, and she couldn't speak enough good things about it. It was cooked perfectly, and the sauce was creamy and sweet. I got the filet mignon special, that came with a goat cheese and asparagus risotto. I ordered the mignon medium rare, and it was perfect. So flavorful I almost melted in my chair right then and there. We also ordered a bottle of wine (riesling) and desert (cannoli's). Both were just what you'd expect from an italian place like this! Absolutely divine. The service was fantastic, too. I can't remember her name, but the younger gal with dark hair was such a joy to converse with, and everyone that was working made a point to tell us congratulations on our marriage, which was so kind of them! 10/10, whenever I get back into OB in the future, I'll be stopping by here again without question!

Well we ran out of food in our Airbnb and I was responsible for cooking so I suggested we get Italian. Although I was thinking delivery of pizza, upon looking I found this little gem 2 miles away and thought we would try it. I'm glad we did!! We had seven of us walk in the small quaint Italian restaurant and they had two tables right in the middle that they put together and made us a table quick and got us seated . You can see the end of the kitchen and smell the garlic in the food in the air was just full of flavor. We ordered some drinks then decided to order three large pies and most everyone got a salad. The salads were wonderful. I got the stuffed mushrooms and they were fantastic!! Nobody would share them with me so I ate them all and they were tender in a port wine reduction with scallions and I ate all the sauce with a spoon dipping the bread to get the rest. I have one piece of pizza as I was full from lunch but we took an entire pizza home and had a thin and crispy and a regular crust pepperoni and then a regular everything on it and they were fantastic. This is the real deal these are the real people it was a really good night!!! I apologize for keeping you late but we really appreciated your food and your passion. Highly recommend!!!

My husband and I had dinner at Ulivo in Ocean Beach on our anniversary based on a recommendation from a lady we met at church that night. A quick review of the Yelp reviews and we were in! I am SO GLAD we gave this restaurant a try. Everything was delicious! We started with a Caprese Salad as an appetizer with crostini on the side. The waitress also brought out garlic bread, which was basically braided pizza dough. (A bit heavy for my taste but my husband loved it!) I had the Chicken Piccata which was so tender and flavorful. Lots of fresh veggies and a perfectly sized side of angel hair pasta. My husband had the Linguini Alla Vongole. He said the broth was flavorful and delicious. Clams were plentiful. It was just a bit messy/splashy with all of the broth and noodles. For dessert we shared a Spumoni which was seriously the best spumoni I have ever had! It had chocolate chips in it and the flavors were all combined (instead of in layers per usual) and it was so good. I guess it's from a local gelato shop in Little Italy. I can't say enough good things about this restaurant and hope we can come back soon! We sat outside as we did not have a reservation, which was fine because it seems pretty tight inside the small restaurant. (Next time we'll make a reservation to ensure we have a good table). Thank you to our sweet waitress, Desiree, for all of her recommendations, sharing some of the restaurant back story with us, and making our anniversary a night to remember

Great little spot. My family and I tried this place out after seeing a review from a gluten free blogger. My son and I both have a gluten allergy and finding an Italian spot with gluten free options was so amazing! My husband had the lasagna, my son had GF pasta with pesto and I had Orecchiette Gorgonzola with GF pasta. We each thought our meals were delicious. I also appreciated the wait staff's knowledge on what was gluten free and not.

Oh my god this place is good. Tonight we ordered the roasted beet salad, gnocchi and Cavatappi dishes. Garlic twisty breads came with it all, which was perfect since both were extra saucy. The roasted beet salad, had yellow and purple beets and a layer of cheese with fresh mixed colorful lettuce mix. So delicious, I have not had a salad that good in a long time. Then we tucked into the green sauce with pesto sand tomatoes and pine nuts. I chose the walnut sauce upgrade. Was glad I did. The Cavatappi was actually penne but it had chunks of long strips of chicken and mushrooms and a soft white cheese blobs on top which were like goat cheese not sure if it was but very goo, so much garlic as well.

Delicious food! I got a beet salad and my husband got some pasta. They were both very good. It's a very small restaurant so eat early or make reservations.

Love this place. Clean, quiet and authentic Italian dishes. The gelato is amazing as well.

The first thing you need to know--they have parking available for you! I spent 15 minutes trying to find parking in the neighborhood and was late for our reservation, but the staff was kind and forgiving. The restaurant has nice ambiance, with indoor and outdoor seating. Service is good. I ordered the Caprese salad and my teen ordered the spaghetti and meatballs. Both were excellent! The flavors went above and beyond. The garlic breadsticks looked better in the photo (pizza dough?), but we still ate them all. I think they'd be improved if you dipped them in marinara. The teen got the chocolate lava cake which was also delicious! Highly recommend if you're looking for a great Italian meal in a cute neighborhood.

My wife is very fussy on places we dine out at, Ulivo has been one of our favorite places for years! Between the outstanding service and superior food, we frequent Ulivo often. Happy wife, happy life!

We had dinner here with our five-year-old and nine-year old. My nine-year old was the one who insisted that we leave a 5-star review asap! All the food was delicious. We loved the meatballs, and I had a delicious seafood-loaded pasta with heaps of seafood including a lobster tail! My husband's buratta pasta was also delicious. And the desserts! My five-year old was obsessed with the lava cake and the cannolis were massive and so good! Last but not least, the service was great and everyone was so nice. We really loved al fresco dining on the patio and pretty much everything about this place! Looking forward to coming back on our next visit to SD :)

Amazing food and service! Our party of 7 thought everything was top notch! We would highly recommend Ulivo. The lasagna could be the best I have had. The beet salad was also outstanding! We are traveling from Ohio or we would make this place our go to dining experience.

Delicious Italian food and attentive service. And while some of my favorite San Diego Italian restaurants, (I'm looking at you Buona Forchetta), are shrinking their proportions and raising their prices to fight off inflation, I was impressed with the portions at Ulivo and thought their prices were reasonable. My wife and shared the beet salad and eggplant parmesan and we left both full and delighted. I like the cozy ambiance too, but I went with 4 stars vs 5 because the cozy, packed space--at least on the night we were there--was so loud we had to shout to hear each other.

I ordered the chicken piccata. Really disappointing. I ordered to go, (if that makes any difference) but my container was full of water, zero flavor that is a chicken piccata. A sauce of butter, wine and capers. Noodles were bland, (maybe because they were sitting in water. Best part of this dish was the bread twists.

The quality of the food is far beyond what one expects when they walk in the door. The ambience is pleasant, the staff is efficient, and the food is out of this world!

Absolutely fantastic food and service! Enjoyed our entire evening. The dining room is small but it feels cozy rather than cramped. Servers recommendations were spot on and made for an even better experience.

Had a lovely meal here. The pizza was a tad wetter than I like but perhaps the tomatoes were just extra juicy. We sat outside on the sidewalk and the ambience was laid back and chill.

Delicious food and wonderful service! We stumbled upon this place to kick off our holiday weekend. The food was delicious from appetizers to main course and lastly our drinks. Bring a extra stomach coming here, large portions that at sharable, the pasta is cooked perfectly, sauces are Delicious. Generous portions of food, and they don't skip on the proteins included. Definitely come here on your next beach trip, we will definitely return.