Sambuca Italian Bistro

The filet tasted like roast beef. The pesto sauce was super bland. Wasn’t a fan of the calamari either.
Bread was good. Service was fine as we were offered a free desert because we didn’t like the calamari which wasn’t necessary but very nice.

Luv it!

Walked by tonight, they are now gone. CLOSED. OUT OF BUSINESS.
Hillcrest, it is a tough market. They come and go.

Had a great meal here! I came here to celebrate a belated family birthday with a few of my relatives. The food was uniquely Italian and I loved that the Chef came out to greet each individual table. There is a very home-​style and comfortable feel to this restaurant. You also have the chance of watching some of the food preparation along the wall towards the front.
I have to be honest, I intend to do a follow up review at sometime. When I ate here I was too preoccupied with talking with my company who I hadn’t seen in a long time. So hopefully a more concentrated effort will allow me to make a better assessment.
Overall, I had no problems with the service or food.

You want delicious Italian food and good service?
Then, walk very quickly away from this place. Not only was the waiter who took my takeout order very inefficient, rude, and unprofessional but the food itself was lacking in flavor and presentation.
My family ordered the black squid ink pasta and lobster linguine and we were all saddened to look in the takeout boxes and see globs of pasta just sitting in there like sad little puppies trying to get adopted at a local pet shelter. The pasta was messily placed in their containers and lacked even a courtesy basil or oregano sprinkle. How unappetizing is that? Then, the food itself was bland and flavorless. The black squid ink pasta at Arriverderci is 10 million times better than their version. Go there if you want flavor in your pasta dishes.
Lastly, the waiter on the phone rushed my order when it was only 5 pm (I’m sure that place was filled with customers…) and hung up on me before telling me when to come pick up the food, the total of my order, and asking for my cell number. WTF!
SAMBUCA, never again will I eat your food even though you are conveniently just across the street. :P

I have been to this restaurants quite a few times.
Mostly good, tonight for the second time the food was horrible.
Lobster Bisque that tasted like tomato soup.
Steak with garlic potatoes that consisted of chopped potatoes with garlic. Why I don’t know? Garlic potatoes I was expecting mashed to soak up the sauces, no chopped potatoes that weren’t even like fries so I don’t know what they where trying.
Charged me the full price.
Christmas eve I had worked that day and was by myself with the curt cold waitress. Not a good experience.
Last time for me!

«Meh. I’ve experienced better» totally sums it up. I’ve been meaning to eat here for over a year now. I LOVE pasta, and I LOVE seafood. Well it wasn’t even decent. I got the black linguine pasta. It was totally boring. First of all it’s not ‘lobster’ as they claim. Chains like rubios haves been sued for calling langostinos lobsters. The dish was black linguine, with bland tomato sauce, langostinos, and 2 shrimp. I went when it was like $ 12.95 or something, and it wasn’t even worth the weekday price. My husband had the spaghetti, and it was typical boring spaghetti.
To start the evening we walked into the restaurant at 5:45pm, and were the only people there. No host, no chefts… no one. We stood there for about 10 minutes my husband walked around saying «hello?» until the host showed up. Now I know why the place was empty.

Wonderful food, great service and dining environment! The pasta special on Wednsday nights is a great deal and I highly recommend the Fussili Filleto pasta dish. Yum, yum, yum!
Great job Sambuca!

One of the best Italian restaurants that I have been to in San Diego.
First off, I already got a sandwich and dessert from bread and cie and was not hungry at all but i ended up finishing a play of pasta.
I came around 5:30 P.M. in gym clothes and looking like a homeless woman with my bf who had bandaged arms from just coming from the hospital (he was really craving a warm pasta meal). They immediately greeted us like any other customer and welcomed us into their restaurant. At this time there was only one other couple dining other than us so they were not busy at all.
They came with complimentary bread and butter, olive oil, and balsamic. We went on a Tuesday and they had a promotion that if we bought a drink then we could get any pasta dish for like 10.95 $ (for the exception of their popular black linguini seafood pasta dish). I ordered the black linguini and the bf ordered filet mignon pasta with a white sauce. Both were SUPER delicious. I think it says a lot that I finished my whole meal right after I had a whole sandwich and passion mango mousse at Bread and Cie. The seafood in the black linguine were cooked perfectly and there was a lot of tomatoes along with great tasting pasta noodles. The filet mignon dish was very tasty as well because the sauce was so tasty!
The service was a A+++++, always refilled our beverages when they were running low without me having to flag them down and they were just very nice overall. I will definitely be back for more especially on a Tuesday!
The parking however is not very nice and most likely you will have to pay for parking in one of the nearby lots ($ 2 per hour).

I went here the other night with my girl and was really just kinda not expecting anything that great, I was like ok another Italian restaurant big woop… Nope I was wrong this was very reminiscent of the wonderful Italian food I’ve had in Italy and the east coast I was sooo fu****g amazed by the quality of food I ate here that I ended up having a foodgasm but seriously, I ordered the Fusilli Filletto which is chopped up filet mignon in a mushroom brandy sauce.
I had my dish with a cab sauv wine that complimented my dish just perfectly. For dessert we ordered the Tartuffe which was oh so delicious, will definitely be heading back there again. The service was great and we even got a complimentary cannoli thanks to my girl having frequented this restaurant twice in the same week.
«This Guy» is speechless

I came here a couple of years ago and had a fantastic experience. The service is still awesome! It’s hard to stay disciplined when you are served really good bread. The appetizers and bread ruined my dinner… I was too full to really enjoy my jumbo shrimp linguine with spinach. I think the price is pretty reasonable for what you get. Anyways, if you plan on getting creamy pasta with white sauce, you should skip the appetizers. Your meal will taste better.
Food-3.75 stars
Service: 4 stars

Don’t expect housemade pasta here; it obviously comes out of a box. Nevertheless, Lana’s ravioli in lobster cream sauce was very good. However, my beef tenderloin with penne in cream sauce was poor. The sawdust-​in-​a-​can, fake Parmesan cheese was a kneecap offense, especially as it had been transferred to a bowl to disguise its origin. I tasted two wines and selected the Valpolicella, which was poor, and rejected the cabernet, which was worse. The tartufo and the port were both mediocre.
The tablecloths covered with kraft paper apparently reflect management’s inability to decide whether it wants to serve food or children. The menu prices are regularly discounted. The service was good.

I have a confession to make.
I actually watch what I eat. ;(
Part of my feeble attempt to watch what I eat means avoiding pasta, refined grains, and other sources of empty carbs…
But you’d never know this based on the crazy pasta binge I had last night. Pasta is a drug, and Sambuca is my pusher.
…and I think I’m an addict.
I wasn’t *trying* to go on a pasta binge. It just happened. It started after a round of happy hour cocktails at Mo’s across the street, where we decided that the «$ 12.95 for any pasta dish on the menu» special at Sambuca sounded awfully appealing. So off we went.
Sambuca is a lovely little Italian restaurant that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. It’s very minimal on the inside. The tables are spaced far apart, which is good if you happen to be on a date, and the open kitchen is tucked to the side and barely noticeable. The glass walls are perfect for watching the city pass by. But it’s really about the pasta here.
Our lovely server came by with some gratis bread, butter, olive oil, and balsamic, and we decided to each have a glass of a Chilean chardonnay while we perused in menu. I went with the special of the night, which was mahi mahi and linguine with a spicy tomato sauce (and also qualified for the Thursday night pasta discount — win!). My guest opted for the fusilli filetto (filet mignon with fusilli in a creamy mushroom sauce).
I tasted both, and they were both out of this world.
My mahi mahi was cooked perfectly, and the tomato sauce packed just the right amount of spicy punch. The filet was also delicious, with the perfect amount of cream and mushrooms to complement (but not overwhelm) the beef. The serving sizes were also perfect. There was enough to lap up the extra sauce with the bread, which is key.
Can you see why Sambuca is very dangerous for pasta addicts?
You WILL eat carbs here, and love every second of it. :)
Consider yourself warned!

Parking:
If you own anything bigger than a Schwinn, good luck parking in their «parking lot.» My girlfriend and I incessantly mocked the dude who literally had to do a seven point turn to get out of his spot. When my gf comments on YOUR driving ability, you know you suck.
The Crowd:
Once you manage to get into the restaurant, it is very entertaining. Being in Hillcrest, you get the mix of different romantic dinners going on:
–Two similar looking, clean cut, GAP-​ad-​ish skinny guys,
–One dude fresh out of Gold’s, and his date fresh out of fasting
–One woman who could beat the crap out of me mixed with a small Asian tourist.
And then there was us: Just finished running, smelling of sweat. They probably had to clean the chairs after we dripped all over them with our hot mess. I’m surprised they let us in!
The Food:
Awesome, awesome food! You don’t just get bread… you get warm and soft bread! Why don’t more places do this? I love it!
I got the black linguine with lobster and shrimp and it was BOMB! I didn’t start the day thinking I would be eating squid ink, but there I was! We started wondering how they came up with «milking a squid» to create the noodles… and no matter what the real reason is, we believe it has to do with foreplay.
It is a little expensive, but a very cool little place. I would definitely go back… and I might even shower first next time. I wonder what the cleansing properties of squid ink are… hmm…

Dined here last night with my dad and we both enjoyed our meals.
I wouldn’t say it is the best Italian I’ve ever had but I come from Chicago where there are a lot of American Italians running their own restaurants so perhaps I have been spoiled a bit.
We ordered the grilled shrimp sambua appetizer which was actually really HUGE and it came in this creamy tomato sauce with tomato chunks of zucchini. The shrimp were perfectly cooked.
Everytime my dad eats Italian food, he scans the menu but he knows from the very start he is going to end up ordering spaghetti with olive oil and garlic. Heavy on the garlic. With the bit of appetizer left over, he incorporated some of the shrimp into his pasta and he was a satisfied man.
I had the famous black linguine with shrimp and lobster. They had a deal going on Tuesdays for 10.95 all pasta dishes with the exception of mine which was 12.95 but I still went for it. My one complaint of this dish is that some of my pasta was literally stuck together as if it were thrown into the boiling water and didnt get stirred quick enough because it was clumped together… that was a little annoying. But flavor wise, it was bold and the shrimp and lobster were plentiful and delicious.
Like others have said, their bread is tasty and I brought home the two slices left in the bowl to eat with some of the pasta I had leftover.
It is worth coming here for the special deal and I would come back again. The service was friendly and what stuck out most was that the chef was watching and timing our plates so that when we finished with our appetizer, he started working on our pasta and it came out hot and steamy. The kitchen area is slightly open to the dining area and the wafts of garlic hit your nose as he starts up another dish.

Came here last week on a mini date with my bf. It was a very cute and small restaurant. We came foe the $ 12.95 any pasta special. I ended up getting the daily special which was chicken and sirloin in a spicy marinara with penne i believe. He got the Sambuca seafood linguini.
Their bread was really good! I loved the softness of the inside. My pasta was alright. I felt it was too salty but bearable. The best part of my pasta was the sirloin bits. They were tender and juicy! I have never been a big fan of chicken. I feel that chicken is always too dry, as was with this pasta. My bf loved his seafood pasta! They give you a really big portion, yet he ate it all! He can’t wait to go back. I am willing to try it again, ordering a different dish.

Happy New Year Unilocal,this is my last review of the year.
Holy Cr*p…“Janell” compares this place to Olive Garden. I am glad that she won’t be back because that means more pasta for me. I ate the wh*re outta my Pasta Con Pollo with Vodka and Garlic Olive Oil sauce. I have seen Great White Sharks show more mercy to their prey than what I showed that dish…
Hey, I appreciate the fact that they substituted those pesky ‘shrooms for a green veggie. My allergies like the men I seemed to attract are weird so go figger.
Monday night is 10.00 pasta and a drink night. So being a wino, I had a DeLoach Cab with my din din which came to less than 20.00 until I ordered yet another wine… Anywho, if you are not an alkie like me, you can get out of there for about 12 – 14.00 bux and have a decent meal that is FAR better than Olive Garden.
This place is quite charming inside, I love the décor and Rebecca my server was not only hawt but very friendly and helpful. Ima gonna be back there next Monday night. I think I found my «I gotta case of the Monday’s» spot from now on. ‘Sides, I think Paesano and Alexander’s could use a «patti p» break from time to time.

Came in starving, left full and happy.
Cute little place with their own parking lot (big plus in Hillcrest, but it is $ 3 for first 2.5 hours). The server/​host was pleasant and friendly. Their crusty bread (with olive oil and balsamic) was amazing. Crunchy and crackly on the outside, super soft on the inside. Their linguine fresca (vegetarian with pesto) was chock full of a variety of vegetables (mushrooms, spinach, asparagus, eggplant, zucchini) and tossed with a pesto that was tasty enough to flavor the veggies, but light enough to not over power. I was totally satisfied!

My new favorite Italian place! I love coming here on a Wednesday or Thursday, when they have their «all pastas $ 12» special.
Dishes I’ve tried:
1) Black linguine with lobster and shrimp — this dish has huge amount of seafood and is definitely the best deal. It comes in a red sauce — I’m more of a creamy sauce type of person so it was a bit light to me, but good for dipping bread in!
2) Shrimp and linguini in a lemon dill sauce — I think if I were a fan of dill, I’d go gaga for this dish! Almost as much seafood as 1).
3) Gnocchi with chicken — wonderful chewy pieces of goodness with a very flavorful mushroom garlic sauce. My top pick out of the 3. Too bad they don’t make a seafood version of this!
One thing though is every time I come here I end up with an uncomfortable stomach afterward, probably due to massive garlic overload. But it’s all right, makes the dish so much more flavorful!

Once again, we know why we never go out for Italian. It’s hard to screw up Italian food at home so it boggles the mind when one goes to a restaurant, pays about 4x what it would cost to make it at home and then find that the end result is something you could make better.
At first when we sat down, I thought it was a really good sign that their bread was crusty and warm. However, when the soup of the day — lobster bisque — arrived, the texture of the soup was just wrong. Instead of thickening with cream, they used potato purée. YIKES! Lil guy didn’t even want to finish it and this is his fave soup of all time.
Hubby got a Caesar salad and I kept saying to him that there wasn’t enough dressing on it. I’m generally the first person to say that there is way too much dressing on a salad, but although I could see the dressing, I think when they made the dressing (as I’m sure it was a homemade dressing), they didn’t add enough anchovies or flavorings. There was just a hint of anchovy but it tasted so bland.
Hubby got the pasta special of the day which was penne with ground filet mignon and shrimp in a gorgonzola sauce. This was WAY too creamy. They should’ve put some of the cream into the bisque instead of ladening it in this pasta.
I got the jumbo shrimp with linguine with sundried tomatoes and it was bleh! There was no flavor whatsoever even with a generous helping of parmesan cheese sprinkled over it.
The others in our party had the restaurant’s signature squid ink linguine with jumbo shrimp and lobster. I’m guessing because they were preparing 4 portions, they overshot the sauce factor so the pasta was drowning in the sauce. Still, this dish had the best flavor out of everything we ordered even if it was over-​sauced.
A bottle of Ecco Domani Chianti retails for anywhere between $ 8 to $ 10 so I felt seriously ripped off when I saw the bill and it was priced at $ 29!
The place is definitely romantic and is a great place to bring a date, but if you’re looking for great Italian food, this ain’t it.