Cicciotti’s Trattoria Italiana

We found this place by chance and we’re glad we did. There were flavors in the pasta dishes we had not experienced before. House merlot wine was great.
Very nice service, even when we unwittingly stayed 90 minutes past the closing time for the afternoon. I realized it when I looked around and saw we were alone in restaurant and checked the schedule. The waiter never said anything, but was very nice all the while that we chatted with friends at our table. Gotta give them points for putting up with us.
We’ll be back for sure.

The food was excellent but i recommend making a reservation. The house wine is pretty good.

I’ve been to this place before and it was good. This was a couple of years ago though. I don’t know what happened in between that time and my most current visit but this place has gone down hill. The service was terrible. It was bizarre how rude an establishment could be to their customers.
1: Don’t take the bread away and even ask if I’m done with it. Btw the bread basket still had bread in it.
2: Rude ass hostess. Asked if we could get a table for two. Instead of asking us or telling us there would be a wait for a table she looked at us with disgust and sat us by where they keep extra chairs.
3: Our buss boy took out silverware and never returned them.
4:Waitress was nice but didn’t know anything. Forgot who ordered what drinks so instead of asking she just placed them in the middle of the stable.
Also asked if we wanted our appetizer with our main courses. That was a strange question since it was not a salad or soup. No I didn’t order it as a side of fries.
5: Our food took 40 mins to get to the table after the appetizer.
6:The owners/​manager friends who were seated way after we got here got their food almost immediately.
Now the food was okay but the service was so bad I don’t think I’ll be coming back to this place ever again. I certainly won’t be referring any friends here.
***this is the response to the comment I received from the owner/​manager:
I did express to the waiter and staff that I had to ask a few times for water and silverware. Here’s the problem I had with the place we sat… We weren’t given an option of waiting. I actually told the hostess it would be fine if we had to wait for a table somewhere else. I was told there was no other option. Her attitude she had towards us was the problem. The table would have been okay expect for the loud dropping of chairs, dirty table, and complete disregard that your other staff (minus the waitress) for the patrons that were sitting back there. I also heard a staff member say these are my friends take care of them. Instead of telling your customer that they didn’t do enough to get good service maybe have your staff be efficient so that there is never an issue in the first place.

We love Cicciottis! Excellent authentic Italian food using fresh ingredients, amazing service and very cool laid back Cardiff ambience. Tip: must get the tiramisu :)

Delish! Bought a groupon to this place and so happy I did. The service was great and the food was on point. Will for sure be coming back

Another great meal. I have never been disappointed here. Service is great, food is always hot and tasty it just never ceases to amaze me.

Delicious pizza. The portion is large so if you love pizza you can finish it but if you are a dainty eater you might want to share with someone else. The pizza was served with a side of grated Parmesan and red pepper flakes. Before your meal, your server will bring you fresh warm bread with a tomato dipping sauce.

It just never ceases to amaze me; was there last Saturday with friends who love it there too!
Tonight going back with other friends; no reason to eat at home anymore! Love the food, wine and service. Love the veal Piccata and any of the pastas!
Michelle T.

We just discovered this great restaurant in Cardiff by the Sea. The view is great and the food and service were excellent!
We loved the linguine Maria and the penne pasta with smoked salmon, scallops and shrimp were great! We look forward to our next visit
Rick

Great location, nice interior, so-​so food.
I usually come here during San Diego Restaurant Week because it’s hard to beat a 3 — course dinner for $ 20-​$ 25. I’ve ordered the fillet mignon a few times. It always looks a little smaller than the listed size, but I shouldn’t complain too much given the price tag. The food always tastes pretty good, but I’ve never been blown away.
The setting is pretty warm and cozy on the inside. The pacific ocean is always a nice backdrop for dinner and parking is usually pretty easy to come by. All-​in-​all, a decent Italian place with decent food and a better setting.

I enjoy coming here and happy I did recently. I used to come a lot and then I don’t know what happened. My sister comes weekly and loves it. I like the bar and when they have music. The atmosphere is so friendly and neighborhood-​ly. haha. The cocktails are on point and they offer everything, even some really great craft cocktail combos. I have a really great salad with salmon and the fish was cooked perfectly. I need to come back for their pizza. It is fantastic but i wasn’t in a carb loading mood. We also had a chicken salad that was incredible. Fried goat cheese balls included!

Good place. Mixed Seafood Lasagna is my favorite dish here. Kind of cramped, tables close together. But it never ruins our date nights. I recommend any Italian food fans to try it.

The waiter was nice and the wait was not long at all. We had a reservation for 5pm, once we arrived there was only a couple seating and the bar area was busy. After 10 – 20 minutes the place was full.
Delicious food! It’s good Italian food. :)
There’s parking behind but only for about 15 cars. There is street parking as well.
Casual place, good for couples and families :)

I’ll start this off positive: My meal was great. I had the Risotto Ai Funghi Porcini, and it was rich and decadent. I would definitely go back and order this again. It was late evening when I was there, so I didn’t get to really take in any great views, but the patio seemed cozy, and the overall décor inside was what I expected. Our server was overall friendly and helpful, but didn’t seem to speak English fluently so we had a couple of communication issues.
I’m rating this restaurant 3 stars simply because it appears they chose to squeeze as many tables into the restaurant as possible, with no regard to their customers’ comfort. I was there with a large group and they are just completely unable to accommodate groups due to space issues. I spent the night crammed in against the wall, unable to get out to use the restroom. The number of people also causes it to be very noisy. I felt like I had to shout all evening. Also, if it’s raining, prepare to stand out in the rain to get to the restroom — it’s outside of the restaurant and there’s no way to tell if it’s vacant or not.

Dinner at Cicciotti’s comes with a gorgeous view of the Pacific.
We were seated in the dining room to the right immediately upon entrance. Our table offered the perfect viewpoint to catch the sunset, timed seamlessly with the start of the dinner service (5−9pm on Tuesday nights).
My mom and I came here to redeem an expired groupon. Cicciotti’s was very flexible and still granted the $ 45 groupon value even though it called for a party of more than two people. The majority of the plates here run $ 15 and upwards, so I’m glad they let us use the deal!
We opted for the Caprese and the Crème Brulee for an appetizer («Dessert first!» is my Mom’s motto). I can’t speak about the taste of the Crème Brulee because I’m not a fan of the dessert in the first place, though I can comment on how generously-​sized the ramekin was. My mom had no complaints about it, although she did only eat less than half.
The Caprese was pretty standard and came with three portions. The tomatoes were nice and thick, the basil leaves big, and the mozzarella cheese fresh. It was a good way to start the meal, accompanied by the warm basket bread and tomato sauce.
For my entrée I ordered the Portobello Salad (spring mix greens, pecans, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and sliced portobello mushroom) with the balsamic reduction dressing on the side. I only added one thin streak of the dressing, the flavor on the portobello mushroom slices and the goat cheese was enough! I would order and/​or recommend this salad. There was a perfect ratio of all the components, so I didn’t end up with a surplus of one ingredient over any other at the end. Each bite was full of flavor and fresh. And best of all… no wilted greens, huzzah!
Overall, Cicciotti’s was A-​OK. It’s a good place to catch standard, authentic, Italian food with the view of the coast if you’re in the area or have a groupon. We’ll definitely be back to redeem the other expired deal — perhaps I’ll have a go at their pasta!

Came here for restaurant week and it was packed!
Ordered the butternut squash ravioli, lamb, and chocolate soufflé for appetizer main and dessert respectively. Was initially eyeing the salmon for main, but the lamb looked like it gave the biggest portion of food so i got greedy. 3 hours later and there’s still too much food in my stomach and i’m going to sleep and i’m gonna get fat. Should’ve gotten the salmon. No complains though, food tasted good and it was worth more than $ 20.

For our apartment’s first dinner/​get-​together for the new year, the perfect opportunity arose with San Diego Restaurant week, and Cicciotti’s Trattoria Italiana’s amazing $ 20 dinner deal!
Though we came early for our reservation at 6, we were seated quickly at the restaurant and some of us got to watch the sun as it set over the Solana Beach coastline. Our waitress was great with waiting on us, and the food soon came out for all of us. For SDRW: I got to try some of this restaurant’s delicious offerings– including an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert.
I got the butternut squash ravioli, the lamb shank, and the chocolate soufflé respectively.
As a starter, we all got to try the complimentary house bread with a fresh baby tomato topping on the side. Though I wasn’t too excited about the bread since I think the bread could have been better with a crunchier type rather than a soft type with the topping, the tomato topping was absolutely to die for: it was tangy, sweet, refreshing, and full of flavor.
The butternut squash ravioli (Agnolotti di Zucca) was very delicate, light, and creamy– a consistent theme for the whole night’s offerings. I noted a slight cinnamon taste in the filling.
For my entrée, I had to try the lamb shank (Ossobuco di Agnello alla Milanese) with saffron risotto. I was absolutely thrilled at how tender and flavorful this dish was– with the meat practically falling off the bone! I highly recommend this choice if you should have to choose an entrée from the SDRW dinner menu.
I got to try a bit of my friend’s salmon (Salmone alla crema di Crostacei), and I thought it was a pretty solid pick as well: the salmon had a great, light citrus taste was not belied by the creamy lobster and crab sauce. The mash on the side was so-​so to me!
Finally, for dessert: all of my apartment mates ended ordering the chocolate lava cake (Soufflé al cioccolato). It wasn’t exactly a lava cake since the chocolate didn’t spill over with a cut, but dang, it was still soft, fudgey, and chocolately– the perfect sweet note to end the night!
My tip for if you plan on coming here:
— Ask for a table facing the Solana Beach coastline. I didn’t, and only a few of us girls got to see the beautiful sunset.
Come here if you want a dinner with a light, refreshing flavor profile! This place is very nice, and I would not be opposed to coming back.

I recently planned a birthday dinner for myself and 12 friends at Cicciotti’s and I’m a bit torn on the experience. After much consideration, I’d give Ciccioti’s two stars for a large dinner party but will average it to three stars overall since my previous date night experiences were largely positive.
While service was pretty good, especially considering our large group, I don’t think the restaurant is really made to host large groups. Our table was rather cramped and very close to other tables. So close, in fact, that a few people couldn’t even scoot their chairs back and were unable to get up during the course of the meal. The waiters couldn’t even make it to half the table and we had to pass down waters and menus. The experience would have been much better if they didn’t try to cram so many tables into such a small space.
As for the food, it was also a mixed experience. My Ravioli al Pollo Genovese was good but not what I had expected based on the menu description. It’s listed as being served in a creamy sundried tomato sauce, which I thought would be a light pink color based on previous experiences with a similar sauce at other Italian restaurants. Something like a mix of a tomato sauce and white sauce. Instead, it was a white sauce with pieces of sundried tomato mixed in. The ravioli was supposedly filled with chicken and pesto but it seemed the pesto was minimal. I feel like the dish had the potential to be great but failed to live up to my expectations.
Unfortunately, my boyfriend’s experience was even less pleasing. He ordered the Vegetali alla Piastra mainly because it was listed as having gorgonzola. However, when his meal arrived, he found no gorgonzola on the entire plate and was surprised to see that the plate was just a bunch of grilled vegetables. Needless to say, he was not impressed. We’ve since gone back to look at the menu online and there’s no mention of gorgonzola on the website menu. However, I did find a photo of the menu on Unilocal that does list the gorgonzola as part of the polenta. I tried a bite of his polenta, though, and it was very bland and definitely didn’t have any gorgonzola. I would know because I can’t stand the stinky cheese and would have immediately washed my mouth out.
I didn’t take a full poll of all of my friends but it seemed that some dishes were definitely better than others. And I know from past experiences that chicken fettuccine and cheese ravioli are delicious.
My friends surprised me with a chocolate lava cake for dessert, which was delicious. I especially loved the raspberry sauce.

I came here for restaurant week and quite honestly the food was great and the service was awesome :) I had the lobster bisque which was so good, had salmon fillet which was comes to perfection and the chocolate lava cake to finish it all off. I also had this melon prosecco drink and it was effervescent. The view is amazing. Great date place. Go here for restaurant week!

This Italian Restaurant has a fabulous location right by Cardiff. The night I came I had made reservations for my friend’s birthday and was accommodated quickly. I’d recommend this spot for a special dinner or to satisfy pasta cravings.
–sweet service
–nice coastal fine dining vibe
-*scrumptious homemade ravioli stuffed with artichoke and ricota cheese finished in a creamy brandy sauce*. so amazing with that sauce!
-*7oz filet mignon* which I customized with the creamy lobster and crab sauce which is from the salmon. it was delectable and awesome how they let me customize my order
–also sampled my friend’s *gnocchi ai funghi gamberi*, that plate was filled up!.. the potato dumplings were cooked to perfection and the creamy brandy sauce with wild mushroom and shrimp made it hard to decide if it was better than my order. maybe a tie ;)
–the sweet tooth in me got the *homemade cannoli shell stuffed with ricotta cheese and chocolate chip*. creamy, crispy and heavenly !
–4 STARS!