Joey’s California Bistro

Had dinner here tonight and it was so yummy! We started off with bruschetta that was great. I had the lasagna which was better than my Italian daughter’s lasagna! Not a fancy place but the food is worth enjoying.

Food is overpriced and slop. Wood fired pizza? My pizza was soggy and doughy. The environment was awkward and weird. Many different servers and all were not very friendly — just weird. I definitely will not be coming back.

Great neighborhood spot discovered recently. The food was delicious & service was outstanding. The owner was super friendly & very warm & accommodating! Looking forward to going back & trying additional items on the menu.

This is a wonderful neighborhood gem. The pizza crust and the focaccia are made in house daily. Some of the daily specials are hand rolled in house as well. The owner Natale is always on site and very welcoming. I had the housemade cannelloni with spinach and beef topped with vodka sauce. Delicious!

Joey’s was nice family feeling good Italian food. I came for a few brews while waiting for my wifey to get her hair done at the Avalon Salon school down the way from here.
He recommended I try the kronenbourg and it was so perfect I had another, chomping on yummy bruchetta with a mixed green salad thrown in.
To finish it off I had a canoli and cappuccino which together was just wow. About $ 30 for all that, hmm sure a bit pricey but not unreasonable considering the place seemed to have a great handle on what they were doing, and did it right.
Great Italian vibe, unassuming and friendly, like you would expect in a neighborhood New York place, though it calls itself a California Bistro.
I shall return for dinner sometime soon! Kudos to Emily my waitress and the guy behind the whole works for keeping up on everything during my visit.
If you are looking for cheap grub this is not it, but if you have a desire for authentic Italian in the area, I can imagine no better destination. Impeccable, caring service and not rushed.
Parking is plentiful, easy access from Bell and 7^th. No WiFi but I was able to watch the game at the bar, they have few TVs around though def this is for the people and the eats.
If you have well behaved kiddos they would certainly be welcome, though also romantic enough for couples, and bright enough for casual dinner and drinks with the guys or friends after work.

This place was okay only. The pizza was mediocre and service was strange to say the least. My boyfriend and I went for lunch, we were the only people there– 3 different servers were rotating coming to check on us, but didn’t seem that they communicated to each other who was helping us. The food took forever. Probably won’t go back.

My boyfriend and I ate here the other night. We loved the New York feel. Typically when we have Italian, my boyfriend judges the restaurant on their chicken parmigiana. We loved it! We also ordered a margarita pizza which was boasting with flavor as well. Homemade cannoli’s to die for. Fantastic owner who works in his restaurant and really cares about his customers! We will definitely be back

It all started when my husband and I were hungry and decided to give this place a try and placed an order to go. We immediately fell in love with the food! We started coming at least once a week and are always satisfied. Food is amazing! Customer service is wonderful. Owner of the restaurant is extremely nice and friendly. We even brought a few of our friends from out of town and they loved it as well. We will keep coming back. My fave is the baked ziti. Yumm!!! Highly recommend this place to everyone!

Had a lovely dinner here at the bar with a friend. The place was practically empty, but we both had meals we enjoyed. The conversation with the bartender wasn’t so bad. The booze choices were a bit minimal but mostly decent. I would eat here again.

Could of gave a 1 star but that that wouldn’t be fair because I didn’t eat the food. The menu was very small and over priced. I went a Friday night and the restaurant was half dark on one side and half lite on one. He sat my girl and I next to two other tables with people. One a table of 5. your going to crowd all the guests together and dim the other half for your convenience? It felt a little uncomfortable so I dipped my head in the menu to see if that’s put a smile on my face. Unfortunately the menu was horrible and overpriced so we both got up and walked out.
Was excited to try this place giving the fact I’m from California and a bistro type of place would be awesome. More like a guido fest ran restaurant that should be called Tony’s Titanic, because this place was a shipwreck.

Love this cozy little pizza place! You can enjoy a not too pricey candle-​lit dinner with family, friends or a hott date! We started with fried mozzarella for an appetizer. It was delicious. It was pretty much a fancy giant mozzarella stick, but better. My husband got the meat lovers pizza and I had the BBQ chicken. We split a half and half pizza but I wish we both would have ordered our own. The pizzas are pretty small, but really good! There’s also a bar area with a great selection of wines! We’ll be back!

I must admit that I’m a bit of a regular here. My husband, daughter and I have been coming here for years. Usually, my daughter and I split a pizza while the hubby gets pasta. The pizzas are amazing – well balanced sauce with a crispy, buttery crust. The pastas (especially the Aurora sauce and the baked ziti) are delicious! On a recent trip, however, I went out of my norm and ordered the salmon salad. Amazing! The salad was cold, crisp and fresh… nicely dressed with a light Italian vinaigrette. The salmon was warm and cooked perfectly – the perfect balance to the cold salad. The owner is always present, making sure that Quality Control is key. I can’t say enough good things about this place. When in doubt, try it!!!

First time here, wasn’t sure what I would get and I was really surprised! They waited on yes so well, good was great and served got! Oh and a FULL BAR! awesome place!

Stopped in for lunch service is fast and the guy is very kind! Made it an easy lunch break fast enough so I coukd have a healthy lunch and get back to work
I’ll come back.
Food needs a little bit more seasoning but good option

Love the vibe here. Joey and his wife are amazing hosts. The food is good. I’ve had some great dishes. Pasta Fazol was really good. Nice little Italian spot. Good for date night. Loved the ambiance and the service.

Really good food, and fantastically friendly service! Natal is a great host, as well as his son. Our families favorites are the clams, the lasagna, and the pizza as well. Superb place to be, and a great, peaceful place to go.

Food seemed overpriced. I was expecting better quality. Kids Mac n cheese seemed straight out of a box. Pretty sure the French fries were the exact same ones I buy at Fry’s and stick in the oven at home. Chicken part sandwich was bland. Not all bad — but not worth the money.
The clincher for me though was when my drink came back smelling like a cigarette. Kinda gross.
I will not be eating here again.

Entering the restaurant I was welcomed with a warm smell of delicious food. The atmosphere was very cute. I’d imagine this place probably looks adorable at Christmas time. Sadly I was disappointed with my meal. I got the special: tilapia and artichokes in a lemon sauce with steamed vegetables on the side. The tilapia was mediocre. Fishier than normal for tilapia. My friend tried it and thought so too. I’m willing to give this place another shot, so I’ll likely be back. As of my experience tonight I have nothing to rave about.

This place has been here for years. Very homey and it’s like your in your grandma’s kitchen! The owner is usually our server and very pleasent and attentive. There is usually not a lot of people here so you get extra attention which is nice. The food is very good, has good flavor and doesn’t take to long. The only problem I have is that he seems to be a bit understaffed so I felt bad asking for bread that would usually come out before the meal. Husand had chicken marsala and it was excellent, I enjoyed my eggpalant. Not a five star place but it’s definitely better then Olive Garden or Carrabas!

My boyfriend and I decided to try this place after the gym last night. It was a Friday night at 8pm and their «dinner service» consisted of 4 tables. You could practically hear crickets chirping it was such a wasteland. I think I may have seen a tumbleweed roll by. The staff stood around looking bored out of their skulls. The manager/​owner was some macho, guido New Yorker who kept talking to the customers while they tried to eat. Even though the restaurant sucked you could tell he was super proud of it as well as the menu the way he beamed with pride after each dish that was brought out. I guess it makes himself feel better to tell himself these things so he can get to sleep at night. I’m still not even sure who our server was that night, as we had four different people coming up to our table asking if we needed anything else and clearing dishes.
We ordered mozzarella sticks, garlic bread, chicken Parmesan and the tortellini. The mozzarella sticks were served with marinara sauce in one of those silver gravy dishes. Weird. Everything was sub-​par. As Gordon Ramsay would say it was «Bland. Boring. Uninspiring.» Not to mention overpriced. The bill was $ 50. Carraba’s is better and less expensive.
The décor and furniture is garage sale-​chic. There’s soccer balls displayed in the bar. The chairs were made of wicker and bamboo and looked like something the Golden Girls would have in their house. There was also a broken big-​screen tv from 1996 sitting in the dining area.
I feel sorry for the owner. He seemed very delusional and desperate. I hope for his sake the place closes soon.