Ti Amo Ristorante

This place literally took me back and made me feel like I was in Italy. From the peek a boo water view at the table, to the Italian waiter and the most important part, the food & wine. We have the calamari, seabass and beet salad. It was SO good. I would recommend if you want good authentic Italian.

Rip-​off Central. Everything is ala carte and over-​priced, with sluggish «service».
The first time we dined here 15 years ago was the last time. Glad they’re finally closed; no loss to our community.

did this place close? I see that one person said RIP and the website isn’t working.

This is the one of the most romantic, intimate restaurants in Laguna. It’s been around awhile. It’s a treat from the moment you walk in. The food is extraordinary, the chef often comes to the table to say hello. You know you’re on a serious date when you go to Ti Amo. The vibe, the servers, the ambiance is all incredibly romantic. I’m a big fan.

rip ti amo
i will only miss the scotty specials and tapenade.

Was looking forward to a special anniversary dinner here but I just noticed this on their website:
Buonasera!
Ti Amo is now open for Special Events and Banquets only
Please call to inquire or receive more information
949.499.5350
I remember someone mentioning recently that it was closed for remodeling?
Also it appears the review scores had gone down since the new ownership came in.
I wonder if all of that is related.
(I gave a 3 star rating because this was more informational then anything)

Sadly, the flame has died between me and Ti Amo.
For years, my boyfriend and I celebrated our anniversary at Ti Amo and the manager, Scott, always made the experience exceptional for us. 5 stars all around, year after year. Unfortunately, last year we came back to find that the owners had changed and so did the head chef.
Along with it was a completely new menu. Even the best bread and spread I once had was gone! Many of the menu items are actually the same but simply made differently and with different ingredients. Additionally, the new chef could not properly duplicate the special dish we request each year: porcini crusted john dory with mushroom truffle risotto. A dish that I once thought was the best thing I ever ate! We appreciated the chef trying to make the dish for us but it sadly was subpar. Scott, on the other hand, still managed that place like no other. Due to this fact, the bf and I decided we would always come back to Ti Amo. Perhaps not for the amazing food but for Scott, who has always bent over backwards to make our experience exquisite.
This year, I emailed Scott as I do every year to let him know we were coming. No response. That was odd, he is usually very prompt. So I gave the restaurant a call to ask about Scott. On the other end was a hostess by the name of Brianne. An extremely unpleasant and indifferent girl who couldn’t care less about my business or my concerns. She told me she had been working there for months and she had no idea who Scott was. I asked her if there was someone I can speak to who had been working there longer who may know Scott. I know this might sound silly but the bf and I had been going to Ti Amo for FIVE YEARS. That is, we have known Scott for five years so of course we cared to know what happened to him and perhaps inquire about where he went. Brianne responds, and I quote, «Our manager isn’t here so I have no idea who you would speak to.» Pretty much telling me to buzz off.
Appalled by this conversation, I decided to give Ti Amo one last chance to redeem itself. I emailed the general email address I found on their website to tell them about the phone call and, once again, ask about Scott. You would think some sort of a supervisor or owner would manage this account or, at the least, oversee it. And also one that would care enough to address the concern of a loyal patron. NOPE. It’s been months and I still haven’t gotten a response from anyone.
Funny how a restaurant can go from being your favorite restaurant one day to one that you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole the next day. Toodle-​loo Ti Amo, it’s been real!
P. S. If anyone actually knows where Scott went, get at me!

With the fact the service was good (and tried very hard), I really wanted to like this restaurant. Especially after trying to find a restaurant during the Valentine’s Day season that would still have a food allergy/​restriction friendly menu and was hoping Italian would be safe.
Unfortunately, the food quality was inconsistent at best — depending on who you talked to at the table, you had options ranging from overcooked sea bass to bland veal marsala to amazing manicotti.
The service and possibly location (they have a balcony option with only 3 tables with a view) may redeem the place for some — but that’s not enough at least for us to overlook the kitchen’s interpretation of the menu.

I would have voted zero stars, but 1 is as low as it goes.
Booked a table for my wife’s birthday. Normally patronize the Laguna Beach village restaurants as there are so many good ones. Seated timely, with no menus and this is where became a slippery slope. After about 15 minutes of chatting I started rubber-​necking to find someone, anyone that seemed like they belonged to this table. The couple next to us chuckled as they were finishing and basically said good luck.
Finally snagged a waiter who absent mindedly (read as really didn’t care) brought us a menu and we ordered some drinks and rushed through a dinner order to make sure it got in. More wait. More wait. Finally our salads came. Maybe looking up. My plate had finger prints every where, disappearing under the lettuce. Tried desperately to find the waiter. I could look down the stairs and speak to the receptionist. I asked her firmly to ask the manager to come by to have a look. Nada. Asked again, she picked up the phone and called someone then told me she was not allowed to leave her station.
I looked at my wife and said, honey sorry, we are leaving. Stopped at the reception and left my business card and indicted that we were leaving for pathetic service and unhygienic attention to detail. Gordon Ramsey should visit this place. Great location, tired interior, management that is absent. Performance always starts from the top down, and it shows. I received no follow-​up and we will never go back until someone else buys this opportunity for improvement and turns it around.

The best dish here is the Chilean Sea Bass, which is outstanding. Otherwise, not much to call out as good. The décor is warm. I believe it’s fallen off from a few years ago.

this place is gross! there are so many good italian places to eat in Laguna, this is not one of them. The portion is small but the problem is that it doesn’t taste good.

Do yourself a favor– don’t go to Ti Amo anymore unless they go back to their old ways. If you sort reviews by date, notice how low the reviews have been since they changed owners (which by the looks of it was march). Sorry this review is so long– I have a lot to explain because so much went wrong.
They sat us at a table that had about a 30 degree angle to it. We were laughing about it and watched our olive oil slide down the plate. We said something and they moved us to a better table by the fireplace, which would have been a nicer place to put us in the first place. I watched them try to fix the table and after a couple unsuccessful attempts they just re-​made it for the next schmucks who might not say anything.
That delicious bread with the basil/​pesto spread everyone’s talking about? They don’t have it anymore. It’s just slices of bread with olive oil and vinegar.
The chicken parm wasn’t nearly as delicious as it was last year. It was comparable to Olive Garden, or maybe slightly nicer. Last year it blew our mind… the breading was amazing and the cheese was perfect. It had flavors I didn’t know chicken parm could have. This was just standard.
I got the Linguini with Artichoke. This is the description from the menu: «Linguini pasta with artichoke hearts, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, roasted garlic and feta cheese in a pesto sauce.» There were about 5 sundried tomatoes in it, and I don’t think there was any feta involved. They must have run out so they put cooked cherry tomatoes in instead. There was also Italian Squash in it. I understand if you run out of items, but before you add in things instead maybe you should say something. What if I was allergic to squash or just plain didn’t like it? Or what if I was looking forward to the certain flavor you described on your menu (and I was.)? Speaking of the flavor, it had ZERO. I could not taste any pesto or any garlic. The sauce had a nice texture… but I honestly had no desire to eat this meal… and for $ 20 minimum a plate, you should damn well be excited about eating it. The only thing that tasted like ANYTHING was the sundried tomatoes and the artichokes (kind of). None of it went together well. The only good thing was that it was a huge portion that could probably be 3 meals for me. Too bad I have no desire to eat any more of it.
The atmosphere is a certain cliché, over the top romance. If you’re looking for something more contemporary, go elsewhere. I enjoy the atmosphere, especially the fireplace.
The service was slightly awkward and he kept having 10 minute conversations with the table behind us, leaving us drinkless and bored.
So we started joking about how this was «Failiversary 2012» because everything seemed to be going wrong (not just at the dinner). We actually had eggs thrown at us as we were walking up the street towards the restaurant. The final straw was dessert. They didn’t have their Banana Bread Pudding anymore, but he did list Molten Lava Cake with homemade Vanilla Bean Gelato as one of their desserts, and I thought that sounded awesome. While we were waiting for it we were joking that they would put down a Hostess Ho-​Ho and call it a delicacy since Hostess is apparently going under. When it showed up it was TINY and we thought it was a cupcake with the paper still on it. It had vanilla ice cream on top– hardly homemade gelato. It was not molten. It was just really rich, thick chocolate cake. I would prefer the molten cake at Chili’s, to be perfectly honest.
We really wanted Ti Amo to be our Anniversary tradition, but after this experience I don’t plan on coming back unless something changes.

My culinary experience this evening left me genuinely satiated and pleased. Although the décor is outdated and stale, the atmosphere remains romantic and warm with dark hues, intimate cozy booths and various Sinatra tunes piped through the speakers… too bad I dined alone. Actually, I enjoy solo meals but the service at Ti Amo had me even more at ease than my usual demeanor. An added attraction is the the 70+ year tree that has made a home in the main lobby… good energy! I want to walk up and hug the old tree.
The outdoor area is a great spot for summer al fresco dining. Should indoor dining suit your fancy request my favorite booth — a view of the upper level dining area and outdoor patio window.
Bread is homemade, warm and fresh with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. The House Salad is a huge mound of organic mixed greens, fresh mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, sun-​dried tomatoes and house made Italian vinaigrette.
My special of the evening, a thick cut bone-​in veal chop was stuffed with jumbo shrimp and served perfectly cooked. Spinach and artichoke hearts were sauteed together and served with my chop. I was pleasantly surprised with thinly sliced fried red beets in lieu of typical mashed potatoes. My entrée was well executed and cooked to perfection.
No dessert for me this evening. Although I can vouch Sicilian Chef Pino, with almost a lifetime of culinary experience, makes fantastic desserts.
Gluten free options are available. Full bar and outdoor dining.

Came here for my husband’s birthday dinner last night. From the minute we walked in to the time we left, everyone had a pleasant smile and attitude.
We ordered.
Pinot Grigio — Very good!
Grilled Eggplant, Tomatoes with Mozzarella and Salad — Delicious!!!
Penne Arrabbiata — Penne was slightly undercooked (and we like al dente) but that
sauce was AMAZING!
Branzino (Chilean Sea Bass and clams with mushroom and black olives in garlic wine sauce — OMG! SOOOOO GOOD! Everything was fresh and perfectly made.
Our waiter, Emile was a pleasure. He was helpful, pleasant and fun to watch. He was very animated when describing the food. He made everything sound so good that you wanted to order everything. He was very attentive and made our dinner fun!
I just feel lucky to live so close to Ti Amo. This will be a regular spot for us.
They have seating inside and out. It’s equally good for romantic dinners and groups/​parties.
I had a great time and look forward to coming back!
Bravo, Ti Amo!

This place gets 5 Stars for ambiance and décor. All the pretty lights outside are well pretty. The food is so so… I almost feel I get something better tasting at Macaroni Grill. The prices can get steep… Nice place to go with your sweetie. Workers are nice.

Much better than last time. Waiters seem confused and do not know the menu and seafood origin but they are nice enough.
Had the shrimp stuffed swordfish over broccoli rave it was very good.
The wine list needs updating and so does the décor.
I will def give it another try as the last time I was there I got sick so this time wa a nice refreshing experience. Give it a try…

When I saw the sign advertising a new owner and new chef displayed prominently on PCH, I knew there was trouble.
Walking into a room with confused décor, somewhere between an Italian grandmother’s house and bachelor pad, flat screens didn’t help matters much. I felt the need to reach for some ADD medicine.
The décor was the hottest item however as the Italian food suffered from lack of taste. Overpriced and tasteless risotto cause me to reach for my fiancé’s rosemary garnish. But even rubbing it on moverlock oked salmon could not cause resuscitation. It was dead. Grilled, but by some miracle, flavorless.
Steer clear.

I really don’t understand all the 5 star reviews here. This place is mediocre at best!!! The hostess was raving about the food but seriously, dishes here are WAY overpriced and not that good. Sadly, this was our alternate dining option as Eva’s is closed for fire damage and Thai By the Sea was a 1 hour wait :(
The atmosphere is kind of cute. Lots of décor and things to keep your eyes busy. Our server had a bad accent so it was hard to understand her. She was nice but not very attentive. I ordered the Eggplant Parm as I saw it on their Specials board in the front entrance. The server didn’t even know that it was part of the menu– fail! Worst of all I didn’t know it cost $ 23! Really? For 5 pieces of frozen eggplant parm (It was definitely not fresh or homemade at ALL!) and some linguine marinara? What a rip-​off!!!
I would never come back here or recommend this place.

Just dined here last night, but am still drooling thinking about my dish…
Their penne pasta with eggplant and olives in a marinara garlic sauce was piping hot and melt-​worthy. It is the most comforting and delicious thing in the whole world.
And their cannoli was just right and the best way to end a meal.
We had made reservations in advance and they seated us in a private raised nook which made it a perfect romantic dinner.
They also have valet for $ 5. You won’t regret dining at Ti Amo.

ROMANTIC! Celebrated my anniversary with my hubby here and was very impressed. Request the rooftop table. It’s private and feels like you are in your own private paradise with beautiful ocean views. Inside looked nice but the tables were a little to close together for me
Our order:
Blue cheese stuffed dirty martini– yumm they can make a great martini!
Appetizer– scampi with sambuca– try this the sambuca is lush and fragrant paired with the buttery shrimp– it’s heaven in a bite.
Entrees–
Paella — huge portion with clams, fish, shrimp, sausage and chicken. Served in traditional paella pan. Great flavors.
Short rib tortellni– tender rich and amazing. Hubby was happy.
Finish w chocolate sin– flourless Choc cake w chic gelato… Decadent, rich and delicious.
Highly recommend for a romantic night!
Can’t wait to return.