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Old 12-14-2011, 08:03 PM
 
6,893 posts, read 8,940,353 times
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City-Data folks,

Please rate/rank these 4 Italian restaurants - mostly on 1) quality; 2) price point; 3) any other feature. Thanks in advance.

Bencotto (in Little Italy)
Jack and Giulios (in Old Town)
Il Postino/Arrivaderci/Buono Appetito (same owner; in North Park/Hillcrest/Little Italy)
Volare (in Sports Arena)
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Old 12-14-2011, 08:34 PM
 
745 posts, read 1,568,798 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bloom View Post
City-Data folks,

Please rate/rank these 4 Italian restaurants - mostly on 1) quality; 2) price point; 3) any other feature. Thanks in advance.

Bencotto (in Little Italy)
Jack and Giulios (in Old Town)
Il Postino/Arrivaderci/Buono Appetito (same owner; in North Park/Hillcrest/Little Italy)
Volare (in Sports Arena)
Bencotto: Good Quality, pricey, distinctive menu.
Jack and Giulios: Never been there
Il Postino: Too noisy, not a fan of the industrial decor, food okay
Arrivaderci: Intimate, I like the food better than Il Postino even though they have the same owner.
Buono Appetito: Never been there
Volare: Never been there

Of the three I have been to Bencotto and Arrivaderci are the ones I would continue to go to. Bencotto for the distinctive menu. Arrivaderci because I like the atmosphere and really enjoy the food.
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Old 12-14-2011, 10:31 PM
 
Location: Wherever I want to be... ;)
2,536 posts, read 9,933,076 times
Reputation: 1995
Look at Yelp. There's TONS of reviews for each one of those restaurants. City-Data (which, don't forget, is primarily a relocation forum) isn't going to be the best place for getting restaurant reviews.

I've only been to Bencotto on you list and personally liked it; but the service kind of stinks, IMHO.
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Old 12-15-2011, 12:28 PM
 
6,893 posts, read 8,940,353 times
Reputation: 3511
Quote:
Originally Posted by thepinksquid View Post
Look at Yelp. There's TONS of reviews for each one of those restaurants. City-Data (which, don't forget, is primarily a relocation forum) isn't going to be the best place for getting restaurant reviews.

I've only been to Bencotto on you list and personally liked it; but the service kind of stinks, IMHO.
Thanks p-squid. I rather hear from our esteemed C-D posters, than sifting through tons of yelps.
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Old 12-15-2011, 12:43 PM
 
Location: San Diego, CA
3,545 posts, read 6,034,824 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thepinksquid View Post
Look at Yelp. There's TONS of reviews for each one of those restaurants. City-Data (which, don't forget, is primarily a relocation forum) isn't going to be the best place for getting restaurant reviews.

I've only been to Bencotto on you list and personally liked it; but the service kind of stinks, IMHO.
I gave up on Yelp ages ago. People giving a place 5 stars because it's cheap and has big portions, even though the food is inedible. People giving a place 1 star because, even though the service and food were stellar, they had a bad time because their date was annoying. I actually saw someone complain that a place only had air hand-dryers in the bathrooms- they wondered if they were too cheap to buy paper towels. And took a star off their review.

There's just too much bullcrap to sort through on that site.
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Old 12-15-2011, 08:41 PM
 
Location: Wherever I want to be... ;)
2,536 posts, read 9,933,076 times
Reputation: 1995
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jenkay View Post
I gave up on Yelp ages ago. People giving a place 5 stars because it's cheap and has big portions, even though the food is inedible. People giving a place 1 star because, even though the service and food were stellar, they had a bad time because their date was annoying. I actually saw someone complain that a place only had air hand-dryers in the bathrooms- they wondered if they were too cheap to buy paper towels. And took a star off their review.

There's just too much bullcrap to sort through on that site.
Yeah, you actually have a good point there about Yelp. A grain of salt *definitely* needs to be taken into account with many of the reviews.
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Old 12-15-2011, 08:43 PM
 
Location: southern california
61,288 posts, read 87,449,435 times
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lido lemon grove hands down the best.
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Old 12-16-2011, 09:34 AM
 
Location: 92037
4,630 posts, read 10,277,162 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bloom View Post
City-Data folks,

Please rate/rank these 4 Italian restaurants - mostly on 1) quality; 2) price point; 3) any other feature. Thanks in advance.

Bencotto (in Little Italy)
Jack and Giulios (in Old Town)
Il Postino/Arrivaderci/Buono Appetito (same owner; in North Park/Hillcrest/Little Italy)
Volare (in Sports Arena)
bloom, they all serve different types of Italian food.

The more refined of the bunch above is Bencotto which leans more northern Italian. I believe the owners are from the Milan area from speaking to them. This is my fav of the lot. Its simple, straight forward and VERY fresh. The atmosphere there is more contemporary or "trendy". Its not like going to "mamas house" for a bowl of pasta.

The owners of the Il Postino are very good as well but I am not a big fan of Roma Italian which this leans more towards. Still fresh, still good. I wouldnt pass down on an invitation there.

If you like more red saucy and lasagna type, the other Italian restaurants are more rustic, southern Italian. Lots of parmigiana and cheese, much larger portions.

Out of that lot, Lido's in Lemon Grove vs Volare is far better. Their meat sauce is excellent and the family style portions always seem to never disappoint. Great place to take a family, but not on a date.

Never been to Jack and Giuolis so cant comment.
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Old 12-16-2011, 11:35 PM
 
6,893 posts, read 8,940,353 times
Reputation: 3511
Quote:
Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd View Post
The more refined of the bunch above is Bencotto which leans more northern Italian. I believe the owners are from the Milan area from speaking to them. This is my fav of the lot. Its simple, straight forward and VERY fresh. The atmosphere there is more contemporary or "trendy". Its not like going to "mamas house" for a bowl of pasta.

The owners of the Il Postino are very good as well but I am not a big fan of Roma Italian which this leans more towards. Still fresh, still good. I wouldnt pass down on an invitation there.

If you like more red saucy and lasagna type, the other Italian restaurants are more rustic, southern Italian. Lots of parmigiana and cheese, much larger portions.

Out of that lot, Lido's in Lemon Grove vs Volare is far better. Their meat sauce is excellent and the family style portions always seem to never disappoint. Great place to take a family, but not on a date.

Never been to Jack and Giuolis so cant comment.
This seems reliable S-G.
I will try Bencotto - sounds very good.
I am suspicious of Jack and Giulios but haven't received any reliable reviews here yet.
Il Postino/Arrivaderci/Buono Appetito are all very mediocre at best, which seems consistent with your taste. Unfortunately, I've been to each one once, somehow.
Volares is a different category - the red-n-white checkered tablecloth one. Founded in the 1970s, it is still there. Heavy style. Better pizza elsewhere. I went there once, but wouldn't go back.
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Old 12-17-2011, 08:32 AM
 
7 posts, read 15,539 times
Reputation: 14
jack and julios is my favorite
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