Sonny’s Pizza and Pasta

Great Italian food! I had the chicken manicotti which was amazing, and tried my boyfriends Alfredo tortellini which was equally as good! The cannolis and spumoni ice cream are to die for. The service was just okay, and I recommend sitting outside, the inside was a little stuffy but overall this restaurant is worth checking out!

Ordered a pizza for delivery and it was a) very, very expensive $ 30+ for a not so large pizza with a few toppings and b) thin crust was not even cooked except the outer crust (It was very flimsy and doughy, yuck.) and c) the pizza was room temp, could not even consider it warm. The toppings were generous, so they got an extra star for that, but an uncooked doughy pizza almost totally negates the toppings. Totally disappointed, and this restaurant is supposed to be a local favorite. They rushed this one apparently.

Grabbed a quick pizza on our way to LA from SD.
About 10pm and they were kind enough to make us a pizza even though they closed at that time.
Pizza was on a thin crust which was nice and crispy, pretty darn cheesy which concluded in a nice and greasy pizza. But in the good way. The sauce they use had a hint of oregano and its aroma and taste just made you happy.
Was a bit on the messy side but we literally ate it after it got out of the oven!
Definitely try this place out.
Oh! And love the women’s restroom décor! And cleanliness!

Pizza always delicious! Today we tried the calamari & was a disappointment — soggy and fishy tasting. But always our favorite go-​to place when we have a pizza craving. The pizza never disappoints! Also, their little dinner salad is delicious with the Italian dressing & comes with pepperoncinis, garbanzo beans & onion.

Absolutley the best Italian food I’ve had in a long time. The baked tortalini Alfredo was rich and tasty. And the homemade gourmet thin crust pizza was delicious! We sat on the sidewalk patio and it was fun. Service is the best.

Excellent Italian food served in a casual and inviting atmosphere. Family owned.
The chicken Christina is my favorite meal. The pizza is thin crust and people who love thin pizza rave about this pizza. All of the pastas are delicious. The Italian dressing on their salad is so good. Be warned, it is heavy on the garlic and so worth it. Enjoy!

We were in town looking for a lunch spot. We found this cool little place with a nice outside patio. The service was great and they were very attentive. They have a nice lunch menu with many options. We ordered a cheese pizza and some garlic bread. I’m a firm believer that if the pizza is good you don’t need any toppings on it. Let me tell you this pizza was awesome. Great flavor!!! If toppings are your thing or you just like a pure simple cheese pizza you won’t be disappointed.
I will say that they serve a thin crust pizza. Thinner than a traditional N.Y. style pizza. If you don’t like that thin of a crust than they have plenty of other options that looked amazing. I can’t wait to try then. All the lunch portions were very generous. I was thinking I could only eat half of what was on the plates that past by my table. If you’re in the area and in the mood for pizza or pasta be sure to try this place!

Can’t say enough good, come here and eat thier food you will NOT be disappointed. Great service greater with a smile fantastic follow through with delicious authentic Italian flavors and a local staple. This business is as long standing as it is delicious. No wonder it’s been around so long.

Great food, perfect NY style Italian food with a constant waiting line and terrific food. Sara was our server and couldn’t have been better, very attentive, sweet and took great care of us.
This is an annual Mother’s Day dinner, never had a bad meal here, and the desserts are fabulous too!

Best pasta and pizza place ever! We got the baked lobster tortellini and the romano pizza. Both were just absolutely amazing! The lobster tortellini was very cheesy and flavorful with a good amount of chucks of lobsters. The Romano pizza itself is very simple, just some basil, garlic, chicken, and tomatoes. It’s amazing how Sonny can transform this simple dish into something so delicious. Will definitely come back if I’m around the neighborhood!

Stopped in on a whim and was not disappointed!
Their pizza is delicious and the wait staff is very friendly, definitely eat there!

I’ve lost count how many times that we’ve eaten at Sonny’s as it’s always been one of our regular spots that our family and friends have always just gone to for all the many years of what’s always that South County San Clemente goodness!
The pizzas are of a super thin type that get a good crisp to the crust it makes for a super delicious pepperoni or you can just make your own adding whatever toppings seem delicious at your choosing moment to make that killer pie!
They have a ton of different pastas as well. I’ve always gotten Tortellini Alfredo w/​chicken and the Penne Bella with the tomato cream sauce because they are just some of what’s always good.
Their tortellini Alfredo has a really yummy cream sauce that goes really well with the delicious garlic bread they give you with your meal. The dish it self is what it is nothing more nothing less just add more Parmesan on to this yummy pile of cheese, tortellini, chicken, noodles, and Alfredo sauce as that can only be make something that is already so delicious just that much better.
Don’t be fooled here as the garlic bread is not something to miss it’s a awesome loaf of bread in it’s own with those crispy onion bits to that delicious crunch you get from biting the bread by dipping it in your pasta sauce when it’s too hot!
The Penne Bella is a bunch of veggies, sauce, cheese, and noodles of the veggies the mushrooms and broccoli just make it the best part as they are covered in that tomato cream sauce of saucy goodness!
The parking is what it is in downtown San Clemente so roll the dice if you want to check out their small parking lot but I’ve always found it easier to park on the street either on El Camino or in the back just use the walkway as an easier path to the front!
Sonny’s has and always will be just one of those spots in the Clem where you know it will always be amazing and you’ll just have to keep coming back again and again so don’t say I didn’t warn you!

I really can’t say enough good things about Sonny’s.
Sonny’s was one of the first places I ate at when I moved to San Clemente in 2013. And it remains one of my favorite spots in San Clemente today. For many reasons.
At Sonny’s, you get an increasingly rare combination of quality, quantity, service and value. The food is truly delicious, homestyle Italian food, featuring generous portions and accompanied by sublime garlic bread. I swear, this garlic bread is addicting. It’s that good.
The service at Sonny’s is also always excellent. Every employee is committed and attentive and just flat-​out cool. Bailey, Sarah, Leslie, Morgan, and especially Jody are all truly fantastic servers. Really awesome. And beautiful, to boot.
Sonny himself is often there to ensure everything flows well. Sonny’s daughter, Julie, is also there regularly, and is a lovely, attentive and gracious hostess and manager who is a delight to know and speak to. They’ve been running this place since 1980, and it’s easy to see why it’s such a staple here in San Clemente.
My favorite dishes at Sonny’s include the cheese ravioli, the chicken parmesan, the sausage ragu, the Italian mac-​n-​cheese, the short rib ravioli and the many flavorful pizza offerings. They also have amazing cannolis, tiramisu, and a great grasshopper pie ice cream dessert. You can even get a half a liter of pinor noir here for $ 12. Fantastico! If you’re tired of Taco Tuesdays, they also offer a Totally Tortellini Tuesday.
If it’s pizza you’re really into, Sonny’s offers a nice break from the norm. Their thin crust pies feel lighter and healthier than most of what you’ll find, and it’s not all greasy and heavy. The specialty pies also have names like «Bada Bing!» and «Sonny’s Roman Orgy.» I mean, how can you NOT love that?
Sonny’s also offers a really warm, inviting, old-​school setting, and it’s located close to the heart of San Clemente, right off of El Camino Real. Both the indoor dining room and the outdoor patio are great places to sit and enjoy a delicious, filling meal at an amazing and authentic Italian restaurant.
Check out Sonny’s. I bet you’ll love it too.

Awesome eggplant Parmesan. Delicious pizzas.
I’ve been coming to this place for years and they never disappoint. They can get pretty busy during lunch. Especially on a hot summer weekend day.
I always order they Eggplant because I really, really like it. Their pizza Romano is pretty awesome and service has always been really good.
This place has been here for a long while and it’s a locals and tourist hot spot.
I see many more visits in my future… And enough eggplant to fill my tummy, each and every time.

Came here since it’s half way between SD and OC, great little italian restaurant in the heart of downtown of San Clemente. They have a cute little outdoor patio area with a small water fountain for you to sit and wait as it does get quite crowded here.
They have a covered patio area outside as well as indoor seating, we sat outside and for the most part it wasn’t that cold until later into the night. A light cardigan would be enough though.
They have wine and beer and can be ordered by the caraffe if wanted. Great selection of all kinds of pizza, sandwiches, and pasta. I ordered one of the specials which I hope they keep on as a permanent dish! It’s on the lighter side for italian food, called the lemon orecchiette pasta– it’s sooo good, comes with broccollini, and a light wine sauce of some sort, and you can order with chicken or sausage for $ 3 more I believe, came out to around $ 17 which wasn’t bad for the portion. I totally forgot to take a picture of the food before I devoured it all, but I do plan on coming back and hopefully it’ll still be an option!!!

Chopped salad and the Orgy pizza ROCKS.
We have been coming here for yeara and love it. Parking is available above the restaurant.
Pizzas have thin crust delicious.
Beer and wine.
Must have full party before you get seated.

Hit freeway overload from an accident ahead on our way home from San Diego. Happened upon Sonny’s and what a treat. Lasagna and spaghetti marinara was delicious.

Possibly the worst pie I have ever eaten.
Have you ever had a pizza experience so boring it made you wonder about the entire genre of cuisine? I had not either until trying a slice of «Sonny’s Roman Orgy» which I assume is Sonny’s personal insult to both Rome and Orgies. This disgrace to one of America’s beloved street foods combines lackluster Onions, Black Olives, Green Peppers, Mushrooms, Salami, Sausage and Pepperoni with a mundane Marinara and what has to be the greasiest pizza crust ever dared to be conceived. Although I would agree the ingredients list is robust, the sum of the parts is not. The only kind words I can muster is that the Sausage was well seasoned and stood out against the rest of the calamity.
Damn it… that was a bad pie.
The real crime committed here is the fact that Sonny’s has a 4 star average with over 400+ reviews which really speaks to how skeptical you to may have to be with a Unilocal rating in this day and age. I was completely snookered and subsequently devastated by the high rating and you, my dear reader, can now consider yourself advised.

I don’t consider Sonny’s a pizza joint. They have great pizza too, but they’re more than that. Every pasta dish I’ve tasted has been great so far and I’ve been coming back a great deal. I’ve rated below the dishes I’ve liked and listed their ratings based on visit dates as they are better some nights than others.
Their bread is awesome! Make sure to indulge but don’t let it get cold and order it with your salad as they don’t bring it until they bring the meal. The food always comes out HOT. Don’t touch many of the dishes. Atmosphere is great with comfortable (a little tight) outdoor seating available. Expect a wait, grab some wine and chill. Prices are fair. Servers are busy so don’t expect fast. (It’s still 3x faster than a meal in Italy).
LOCATION and AMBIANCE (Rating 4) I love the low key, hole in the wall charm of this place. They’re located on a main thoroughfare in SC and have been there for ever. They’re patio area is great for summer night (I.e. all year round, sorry out of towners) and they have heaters if it’s a little chilly.
SERVICE (Rating 3) The service is always OK. They are almost always busy.
Visit 2÷24÷2015: Service was great. (Rating 5) Very attentive, raining out, so it wasn’t as busy.
HOUSE SALAD (Rating 2) Hate to say it, but the dressing is just not that great and the quality of the lettuce is not all that. I usually always order a salad with dinner elsewhere, but I often pass here or share one with my wife.
LASAGNA (Rating 4) — The lasagna at Sonny’s is very good. They use a great sausage that has plenty of flavor and can be a tad bit spicy. Some nights more than others in my opinion. They are heavy on the cheese which is great as well. The portion is a bit small for me as I always wish I had just a little more and the dish it comes in is small as well. The lasagna however, is a good choice for a «To-​Go» dish as it can be re-​heated when you get to the house very easily.
Suggestion for Improvement: change the meat from ground beef to Italian sausage.
Visit 6÷24÷2015 (rating 4): Consistently good, but not quite enough.
GARLIC BREAD (Rating 5) — Their famous garlic bread (Rating 5 when it’s fresh, Rating 1 when it’s not) is incredible when it’s straight out of the oven, but like In and Out’s fries, they self destruct in about 10 – 15 minutes. So if you’re lucky enough to get it fresh out of the oven and get home quickly, it’s not bad. Otherwise it’s toast. «Pun intended».
CHICKEN LOMBARDI (Rating 4) The first time I had this I rated it at a 5. I’ve had it 3 times since and it has not been nearly as good as the first night. So I have to say, it is better some nights than others. It’s still one of my favorites at Sonny’s, even if it’s not a healthy choice.
Visit 3÷2÷2015 (Rating 5): It’s a chicken cutlet baked in sherry cream sauce with spinach, artichoke hearts & mushrooms served with a side of pasta. There was a ton of chicken surprisingly and the cream sauce is extremely rich and flavorful bordering sinful. This is now one of my favorite dishes at Sonny’s, but plan a good work out for the following day!
CHICKEN SCALLOPINI (Rating 3) I’m usually a big fan of Chicken Scallopini and while theirs is good, it could be better IMO. I still will order it again as it is still a good dish.
Visit 7÷20÷2015: (Rating 3)
BADA BING PIZZA (Rating 3) This is a new menu item with SPICY Italian salami and Buffalo Mozzarella cheese. OK, did I say SPICY! If you love a SPICY pizza this is awesome. I like spicy, but this was a little too hot for me so I didn’t enjoy it. If it was less spicy, it may have gotten a rating of 4. I feel a little guilty letting it affect the rating as the menu warns you, but oh well, it’s my revue.
Visit 2÷24÷2015 (Rating 4)
RIGATONI POMODORO (Rating 4) — I love lasagna, but I don’t love Sonny’s because they use hamburger meat. So I found the Rigatoni Pomodoro. Some similarities to lasagna using the ricotta cheese, spinach and a yummy tomato cream sauce. The best part was that it was topped with Italian sausage. The sausage was mild, but clearly Italian and added what was missing from the lasagna. Not quite enough ricotta cheese, but plenty of other cheeses. Check out the picture of this dish.
Visit 2÷24÷2015 Rating 4
CHIANTI (Rating 3) My wife and I got the ½ bottle of Ruffino Chianti at $ 11. A much better choice than going with a ½ carafe of the house Chianti IMO.

Tired from a long day at Disneyland, my toddler began crying out for mac and cheese from the back seat as we drove through the last bit of Orange County on our way back to San Diego. A quick Unilocal search turned up Sonny’s.
All reviews point to the tomato cream sauce, you know why? It’s perfect. Perfect spices, perfectly cream, not too much or too little of anything. I had vegetarian lasagna, which I «Hylton halved» and had the second portion for lunch the next day and filled me up. My husband had gnocchi in the same sauce and devoured it.
My son had mac and cheese as you may have guessed. Our server, Sara, was kind enough to put the order in as soon as we sat down. The mac and cheese was a failure for our little guy. He can eat «fancy» restaurant mac and cheese, but he won’t do it with seasoning, which in this case was garlic. This was the time when we realized why he would, on rare occasions reject mac and cheese. Sara made him buttered pasta, removed it from our check and moved on.
Sara was wonderful. My husband made one of the worst mistakes customers can make and asked for something new every time she came to the table. «Can we get some extra napkins?» She returned with the napkins just in time for «might I have another drink?» Cold glass in her hand she returned for the conversation about the mac and cheese. She greeted us each time positively and seemed genuinely happy to serve. If she was frustrated, we never caught a hint from her face, words or body language.
Great food, great service, the restaurant had their own parking lot on the north end of the building which is worth checking. We got there on a Sunday evening past prime time and sat at a table for four quickly.

Top Pizza, top lokal und ein sehr sehr netter Betreiber.
Das Essen ist günstig und qualitativ gut.
Ein alt eingesessener Familienbetrieb, der Charme hat. Daumen hoch!