That’s Italian

Very good food, (I had a vegetable soup, linguini with clams, crème brûlée, and my favorite white wine) and the bill was about $ 35. Quite reasonable! I sat outside on a small porch which unfortunately served as the main entrance/​egress route, but despite that, and despite the heat, it was a pleasant setting. My only complaint would be with the customer service and management. I’m not sure what kind of system they have going there, but after being seated and served by one waitress, I was asked by another server and by the manager/​owner if I’d been helped yet. My server was very pleasant and attentive, however.

After a long day of motorcycling in the heat we first checked into our Hotel (which will be a review not as favorable) and about 8:30 decided we should probaly go grab some dinner. Walked over to That’s Italian to see if they were still open. They were closing at 9 pm but they told us no problem come on in! The waitress Jenae was very friendly and helpful and did not make us feel like we needed to rush our order. The food was excellent and we were even greeted with a pleasant «Hello, how is everything» from the manager, who also didn’t make us feel like we neeed to rush, even though by then they were closed.
So if you are ever in Kernville check this restaurant out, you won’t be disappointed.

As local Kern Valley residents we were anxious to visit since the new owners have taken control. The restaurant was clean and cool with some tacky poster art on the walls. Service was timely and courteous. Garlic bread was only so so. Our salads were nice and the house dressing ok. Our entrees were timely, my pasta was tasty with a somewhat thin sause. My wife’s lasagne was cold in the middle but did warm up nicely the next day for lunch. Overall our experience was quite nice and we look forward to our next visit.

Food was really great. Had the salmon fettuccini and a salad. Waitress was soooooo nice and accommodating even though we were a group of like 8 showing up ½ hour before closing. Owner came around to ask if everything was good. Classy. Friendly. Tasty. Love.

Arrived to restaurant around 8:40, (closes at 9) and was assured that it was not problem. «Come in, make yourself comfortable and do not worry about the time»
Jenae, our waitress was helpful, patient, cute and funny.
I only ordered the vegetable soup and garlic bread, both very tasty. But the others at the table had meals that they all enjoyed.
I come to Kernville a few times a year and will definitely be eating here again.

That’s Italian
On Sat ⁶⁄₁₈ after a long day of motorcycle riding to Kernville and then being quite disappointed we could not refresh in the pool at the Kernville Inn (as it was FREEZING)… We opted to go eat.
It was getting late, close to 8:30 so we knew the restaurants would be closing shortly. We walked across to That’s Italian, where we were greeted with big welcoming smiles.
Apologizing for coming late and asking if we could still be served, we were led to a table and assured we’d be taken care of and not to worry.
We were brought yummy garlic bread and water immediately
.
Our waitress, Jenae was a gift. Sweet, sharp, clever and cute as could be. She helped us make decisions and never once rushed us. In fact she kept reassuring us to take as much time as we needed.
A man came out from the kitchen area and walked toward me. I asked if he was the owner and he said sort of… I shook his hand and thanked him for allowing us to stay past closing time and he also assured us they were there to make our meal and stay as good as possible and then he went and shook everyone’s hand and thanked us individually for coming.
Does not get any better than this.
Oh yeah and the food… GREAT!
But the service — IMPECCABLE!

The servers need to practice smiling! Before we could be seated you could quickly see that they did not want to be there — two blond women!
The food was great. They all need a course in guest relations 101 and how to get along with their co-​workers to facilitate teamwork!

Kernville is one of our usual stops when I’m riding through California on the motorcycle and this restaurant is the place we always stop for dinner. On my most recent visit (06−10−16), I had the Penne Arribiata which was very good with the right amount of spice. My riding buddies all enjoyed their meals as well. I may never know how good the other nearby restaurants are because this is the place we always go to!

Excellent food and service. The portions were good size and everything was fresh.
The home made desert was wonderful.

We ordered dinner to go last night for the first time since the new owners took over. It was fantastic. Just like it has always been and we love that. It was not quite ready when he went to pick it up and the new owner chatted with John while he waited. I thought that was really nice and a good way to get to know the community. Thank you for keeping it fabulous and we will be back soon.

This evening we walked into a very welcoming restaurant. Only open for dinner it was excited to sit some where you know was going to be good. We started with a cocktail unfortunately there was someone in it like paper but they remade it quickly. Spaghetti was amazing as well and a very rick fettuccine Alfredo. The service was slow but when the owner came around to see how we were I told him about it and he was apologetic and offered me my desert for free. Which I didn’t get take due to my time constraints. We will go back for another great taste of Italian.

I have always enjoyed this restaurant because of the charm and great food. My family and I have been patrons for over 10 years. Recently, I wanted to surprise my wife with an anniversary dinner of putanesca, her favorite Italian meal. Although it was not on the menu, they were happy to make it with only a few days of advance notice! My wife and I thought it was most delicious! Lastly, they have great prices and quality in food and service.

The lasagna is off the chart good, Doesn’t get any better. Always have a great meal no matter what I order. This restaurant is always my first choice in Kernville. Do not pass it up, you’ll be sorry if you do.

First off, I am very appreciative this restaurant was able to accommodate myself as well as 15 other members of my family at such short notice yesterday. The staff was extremely polite and attentive. The owner kept placing bread on our table saying, «I what’s it like to have hungry little ones and a large family»! She was so sweet while accommodating other customers. The waitress was nice as well, however, became a little frustrated at us at times.

Well our party of 16 ate here on Saturday night and Dawn was our waitress. It was excellent all around from her service to our food to our sitting area. The food was truly italian home cooking comin from an italian girl myself. I was quite impressed for this little town of Kernville. We have our annual vacation with all our fams and this is the first time we tried it out. We were not disappointed one bit. They were very accomodating and we all look forward to our dinner here next year when we return. Thanks Dawn and staff… its nice to see restaurants out there still wanting to really provide great service and delicious food!

My wife and I stopped in at That’s Italian on a recommendation.
Décor was nice, and we were greeted by a friendly and attentive staff when we arrived. We were also quickly seated in a secluded corner for two. Everything kinda went downhill after that.
We had the combo appetizer to start. It came out promptly… maybe a bit too promptly. The Mozzarella sticks were lukewarm, and had an obvious freezer taste and the Calamari was okay, but a bit overcooked/​chewy. The fried Zucchini was, however, very good.
Our entrees were preceded by a salad. Nothing special. The house Italian is pretty good.
For entrees my wife had the Lasagna and I had Eggplant Parmessian. The Eggplant was well cooked and came with a small side of very good Spaghetti. The sauce, however, was a bit too salty… but not as bad as the sauce on the Lasagna. That was way too salty. In fairness we cook low salt at home, but this was obviously too much.
Maybe it was because of our ‘secluded corner’, but it was after our entrees were served that we seemed to drop off the radar for the server. She was still there, because she regularly stopped in and chatted with the people three tables down. (They seemed to be relatives of the owners.) However, we were left unattended for 25 minutes. We finally just stood up to go ask for the check. That seemed to get some attention. We paid our bill, left an okay tip, and left. After leaving we decided there was no reason to return in the future.

Still getting emails from this lady, «Anna», calling me names and telling me I can never come back… Wow, not like I ever wanted to or have. Not only is the food terrible, the owner is obviously very aggressive and probably off her rocker… While I love to visit the area I stay far from this restaurant as does my family and friends that live there. It must be kept in business by the tourists; they dont know any better :(

Delicious food. Great atmosphere. Truly enjoyed the whole experience. Will be going back again for sure. Become our favorite place to eat when in kernville.

This small family-​run restaurant scores highly on my CA Italian restaurant scale, and the fact that it’s in a tiny vacation town on a lake makes it even more implausible.
The place itself is adorable and in the same square as most of the other small businesses in town (museum, coffee shop, boutiques). The staff greeted us as we walked into the foyer, and sat us at a nice corner table right by the opening to the kitchen. This room is definitely superior to the side room by the bathrooms, as there is much better ambiance. Hearing all the sounds (and smelling all the smells) wafting out of the kitchen added to our pleasant experience. Our waitress took orders and delivered all food and drinks to our exacting specifications at all the right times. My starter salad was a nice plate of mixed greens and fresh vegetables in a light house vinaigrette. The leaves appeared consciously selected and plated with an eye for detail. This is much preferred to other places that are in the habit of plopping chunks of iceburg or handfuls of boxed greens onto a plate and calling it a day. Our mozzarella sticks were exactly as I like them — crispy egg-​wash battered and piping hot, paired with an insanely tasty house-​made marinara which elevated those sticks to heaven. My spaghetti and meatball dish was made with a Bolognese in that same marinara base, which I was hoping for. SO SO GOOD. It closely rivals any homemade sauce I’ve had at local Italian eateries in New Jersey. The meatballs were meaty and moist, with no chopped parsley to be seen, but nonetheless delicious. My husband’s Chicken Piccata consisted of two beautiful pounded medallions in a creamy light sauce. His plate was wiped clean with the aid of some warm bread rolls. As was plenty of my sauce!
I would highly recommend this restaurant to a broad range of people. Those who like and expect Olive Garden-​style Italian will like it, as well as those who are used to real homemade Italian-​American style food. It’s all good in here!

Great food! The garlic basil bread is a must. Also, they have a few good options off the menu. You need to ask about them. I got a special vegetarian and pasta mix dish recommended by the owner. The owners are real Italian friendly and do a great job. This is the best place in the Kernville area to eat. The next best option is the Kern River Brewing Co. They have good micro brews, entertainment, and food.