Buona Forchetta

Never had a bad experience here. I always order the same thing Lobster Linguini and Montepulciano Wine. I didnt get my server name but he was kind and friendly. Love this place always good friendly service. I feel like i am in Italy everytime i am here.

You guys. This is the best Italian place in SD. Everything there is delicious. The staff is great. Pizza pasta, I’ve had it all, never had a bad experience. The only down side is the waiting time for a table but I hear they take reservations now. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Best service, most delicious food— cannot sing enough praises on my favorite restaurant in San Diego!
Their artichokes are to DIE for. And any pizza with prosciutto is so absolutely delicious.

Woah. Woah. Woah.
The lobster linguini was massive. Tons of meat readily available to you via fork and for the adventurous such as myself, they don’t just give you the tail and claw but extra meat for you to crack and find.
My husband had the nicola pizza and while I’m not a generally a fan of prosciutto on pizza (meh), this was DELICIOUS.
I felt like I was eating pizza for the first time.

My first review must have been on an extremely off night.
I have been back three times, attending birthday dinners, and have thoroughly enjoyed each of my experiences. I’m glad the universe brought me back here to show me that this is an amazing restaurant. …In fact, now, one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego.

Pros: Friendly service,
Nice menus, good size of food, delicious, presentation is nice
Cozy space
Cons: Street parking, line-​up during meal times
Overall quite nice place, I would visit again to try all their menus

I live a few blocks from this place and frequent it weekly. It’s amazing. I’ve never had a bad meal here, and if you ask the servers for help ordering they’re more than happy to oblige.
The pizzas are phenomenal, especially the Angela, Sofia, and Regina. They even have a gluten free crust that is very, very good. The calamari is perfect every time. Gnocchi is amazing. The specials never disappoint. And you can’t beat a $ 20 carafe of their house wine.
I do wish they had some good olive oils, maybe an infused spicy olive oil, to serve with their pizzas & focaccia bread. Anyways, it’s still my favorite spot in San Diego.
I’ve taken people to Buona Forchetta who hate Italian food, and they’ve left absolutely in love with this place. It changes lives.
Tip: Get a group of 6+ together to make a reservation, otherwise plan on a wait & head to Hamilton’s down the street for a drink while you wait.

Food, ambiance, and price was gives this place 5 stars.
Busy place. This place does not take reservations so call when you are on your way to get your name on the list. Street parking is a minor draw back (good luck). I ate outside in the covered patio in the evening. There were plenty of heat lamps to keep me warm.

Where to start?!
Parking… It’s difficult but necessary as you’ll stuff yourself with very delicious Italian food. I suggest parking at the school a block away.
Location… Not too far from Downtown or suburbs.
The first thing I noticed as I entered was a huge fork, which I thought meant be ready to eat large portions… I was right.
Dining room… Small yet adequate, this includes the covered patio that is suitable for a party of two or twenty. Rustic décor and endless bottles of wine line the ceilings. I happened to have a special seat, located between the entrance and the «specials» board. So I felt like everyone was looking at me cause I’m good looking — I was wrong. J/​k I’m good looking the the food specials were more appealing.
Food… Amazing! From appetizers, salads, entrees and dessert, again Amazing! If you don’t know what to order just look around or ask your sever. If you’re fortunate enough to sit next to the specials chalk board, then just pick one! I let my wife choose and she honestly had the magic touch. We started off with a chicken salad that was plenty for the two of us to share. The grilled chicken was perfect and the pine nuts complimented the greens. It was followed up with a heaping order of fried calamari. It was seriously delicious! Seasoned and fried to perfection. I drizzled a little of lemon… Mmmmmmm
Next our pizza came out! It came freshly made from the Sofia Oven. I had no idea what the wifey ordered and honestly the pizza didn’t look as I expected but damn it was good. We ordered it traditional style, not fried which is an option. Also we did not choose the gluten free option. What’s odd is gluten free is more expensive. Lol something about the dough’s taste! The oil they used was perfect the amount of cheese and prosciutto was also on point. By the time we finished our meal, we didn’t have enough room for dessert. I wish we did.
I forgot to mention we came in for a late lunch so there were lots of people dining but we didn’t have to wait considering we did not have a reservation. As we were here for lunch we didn’t have any wine, so we’ve made plans to rerun for dinner and will probably try their lobster entrée as it looked delicious when others had it made. I had a bottle of Coke and my wife had an iced tea.
Service… Excellent. Everything from the hostess to our server and bidders, they were polite, courteous and very hard working.
The restroom… Hilarious! Clean with funny artwork.
I highly recommend this place. It’s a must if you’re in the area. I can’t wait to come back.

Very, very cool spot to eat. Food here is good as hell, man. I went with the Ribeye Porcini and when I come back I’m getting it again.
This has to be the top Italian spot in the town.

Amazing dinner last night ! So happy we found a great pizza place downtown. The cute little restaurant took us back to our time in Italy 2 years ago. From the very friendly hostess and waiter, to the quick service, everything was perfect ! We even loved the Italian accents ! Such a genuine treasure in South Park, and the best Italian pizza we’ve had since being back in the U.S. We definitely want to go back for the pasta. Everything looked and smelled amazing. We got the meatball and focaccia appetizers and they were great! We then ordered the Regina pizza and enjoyed it so much! We had plenty of food and practically took home a whole pizza (½ pizza ½ focaccia) we can’t wait to go back! Thank you for the great service and dinner !

I had a startlingly uncomfortable experience at Buona Forchetta, which is unfortunate as my Unilocal Idols love this place.
A group of six of us visited on the South Park walk about evening last weekend, and were even able to make reservations in advance for 9 pm. From what I hear that is pure luck, as this place is always packed with a significant line and typically reservations are hard or impossible to come by. We were seated immediately (huge plus for BF), and water was on the table in no time. Our drink orders were taken, and we were left with the menu. I would suggest looking at the menu/​yelp pictures in advance because everything looks AMAZING. Knowing they make their own dough/​pasta is a nice plus.
We all ended up going different directions with our orders; 4 different Pizzas, one Calzone, and a pasta dish. Those at the table that ordered the Pizza and Pasta were thrilled with their order… Leave it to me to be the one with the calzone.
When the calzone came out the server tilted the wood platter a bit as he set it down, it fell into my lap and then onto the ground. I was beyond shocked and admit I screamed, though I was only being attacked by a calzone. No apology was uttered, I only received a dirty look from the server, seeming to imply it was my fault that it fell or that I shouldn’t have screamed. I was stunned silent and they took the calzone back to the kitchen.
The next one came out lickety split (less than 5 minutes), and as the (new) server brought it out he made a comment about giving me a bigger plate this time. Ouch… I didn’t knock the last one off asshole. I dove right in, and found it to be not fully cooked (left with a lot of gooey dough in the thicker edges. I get it, they rushed it because my last one hit the dirt, but come on, you’re a successful PIZZA business, that is a rookie mistake.
Overall I was very disappointed. If I try it again I will update my review as I hope this was a one off experience at this well known restaurant.

My boyfriend brought me here for our Sunday lunch date. After seeing Unilocal San Diego’s Instagram post of the lobster pasta, we knew we had to come here! We were seated right away and I saw that they had a huge list of specials. There was so much that I wanted to try!
We got the Bresaola appetizer, he ordered the lamb shank with risotto, and I ordered the lobster linguine. Everything tasted so good and the portions were large. I had half a lobster on my plate! The presentation is awesome and I was so happy with my choice. The lamb shank was so tender and the risotto was perfectly cooked. There was so much food that even though we had shared a lot, there was still food to bring home!
I can’t wait to come back and try some of their pizzas.
Great service and a great meal. We will be back!

My family brought me to BF about 6 months ago. I was searching for food in SD and was quite happy to see this restaurant doing so well.
We ordered multiple pizzas which we all loved and a plate of meatballs. The pizzas had an excellent crust and the flavor was on point. My favorite was the arugula and prosciutto. There were three meatballs that came on that plate. I really wished I ordered my own plate. They were delicious.
There is a real need for Italian places with fantastic food. 4.5 stars upped to 5.

This place gets a solid B+ … Great fast service and wonderful patio and ambiance. Service was very nice. Food was very good just not AMAZING. However I just tried the pizza and not the other menu items. The meat looked good and the lasagna looked AMAZINGGG!
Pizza and pasta place and very authentic. A lot of pizza options and we tried a few. The margarita was my favorite. I’m simple when it comes to pizza and don’t need all the bells and whistles. I appreciate good dough, a good sauce, and good cheese. The flavors were all there but I would have thought this was a perfect pie if I just got a BIT more sauce and cheese. The crust was a little doughy. I liked it but it would have been better with a little bit more toppings.

Taste– ****
Service– ***
Ambiance– ***
Parking– ***
Really enjoyed my meal at Buona Forchetta. The food was really delicious, and I get the feeling that this is a really authentic Italian joint. The menu offered all the classic Italian dishes with a few curve balls. I went with a classic– gnocchi and bolognese and my friend went with the special– jumbo prawn pasta. Both dishes were well seasoned and well prepared, but the serving size was a bit on the small side and I was still a little hungry after finishing my dish. :(We couldn’t resist trying out the tiramisu and we were very happy we did. It was AMAZING! Love, love, love! I almost ordered another piece.
Overall I really enjoyed my experience. The area was a little crowded, (my chair got kicked a few times) but it’s just like some of the Italian restaurants I really miss in NY. The food was delicious, wish the serving size was a bit bigger. Try the tiramisu!

The food here is great! And the gluten free pizza is unbelievable! The crust is so doughy and gooey and unlike any other gf product, idk how they do it!
I docked a couple stars for the noise level and price. Also the servers put our meals in front of the wrong people which is especially worrisome when you have a gluten allergy.

Yes, it’s true. Italians have a higher «conversational volume» when compared to Americans. Also true: the best Italio-​eateries sometimes appear to be a mass of catastrophic confusion. Don’t be deterred. You might discover… Mama Mia… thats-​a-​good!
The dishes at Buona Forchetta, or «The Good Fork», are simple. The menu doesn’t offer up anything you haven’t already seen (except maybe the «Pizza in a Jar»). But the ingredients are incredibly fresh and crazy-​good. The delightful salads, handmade pastas, and Neapolitan pizzas would compete with the best in Italy.
They hand-​stretch the pizza dough and top it with bright San Marzano tomato sauce and buttery mozzarella. It is then crisped up in the wood-​fired oven (hand-​built in Naples) at temps above 900°.
Your order will be prepared in a-​few-​to-​several minutes. But, you may not see it for a while. Staff will be running around in choreographed chaos before bringing it to you. And it can arrive before, after, or during the appetizer course.
And — as true Italiani, there will be yelling in some vaguely familiar ethno-​dialect all the while. Why is it done this way?
Because «passion» is what you feel and what you taste in this family-​run local favorite. It’s in every single kicking, screaming, and yelling bite.
#MamaMia
#ThatsAGood
#PizzaInAJar
#ScreamingBites

Buona Forchetta
SD Golden Hill
7:30pm Wednesday 26^th August 2015
Five Stars
I came here expecting to wait 30 – 45 minutes especially seeing how many people were crowded around the place but we were seated immediately on their outside patio. The have a bunch of daily specials: Pasta, Gnocchi, Ravioli, etc. The wine selection was a good mix of Italian and Californian averaging around $ 30 a bottle. We opted for beer. I had the Boulevard Tank 7 Saison on draft ($ 5). Matt and Taryn had 16oz cans of Modern Times Amber ($ 7 each).
The polpettine ($ 7) was three deliciously moist beef and pork meatballs covered with marinara and parmesan cheese. The Bresaola ($ 10) was an arugula salad with aged beef, marinated artichoke, parmesan. There was a bit too much green for me but the combination of saltiness of the meat and cheese against the spiciness of the arugula was delightful.
For pizza, we decided on the Puttanesca ($ 13) and the Amanda ($ 14). Basically all of the other pies cost $ 14.
The classically cooked pizza made in their imported Stefano Ferrara oven made a perfect Neapolitan pizza. The super hot oven (700‑1000 degrees) crisps the crusts with a bit of char but leaves the sauce and cheese hot and bubbly. The puttanesca was a bit intense with the brine since the pie combines Anchovies, Capers, and Olives. The distribution of the toppings were a bit overloaded on one side which is only bad thing I could say about this place.
The «fried» Amanda pizza was equally delicious. The crust was buttery and ultra crispy. For toppings it had scamorza, ricotta, and prosciutto di parma. There is always something on an Italian menu that I don’t recognize and its either a meat or cheese. Scamorza is a fresh curd cow milk cheese similar to mozzarella with its elasticity and saltiness. I like this cheese better because it melts better and has a stronger flavor profile. (Did you know that Ricotta is not really cheese because it’s made from cheese byproducts?). The ricotta gave a fresh taste and contrasting texture. The post oven Parma was of the highest standard.
The best part of this place was the value. The $ 65 price tag was super cheap for all of the delicious food.

Buona Forchetta, or the good fork, was high on my list of go-to’s in SD so when I was in the area I gleefully hopped on the chance to stop in. As expected, there was an hour wait for myself and a fellow diner so rather than sit outside and watch the other peoples’ food go by, we walked through the charming North Park neighborhood and indulged in some cheese and crackers at the nearby park.
This place was packed, as it should be, and sitting inside I really got a first hand view of the commotion and stress taking place between the kitchen and servers (it started to stress me out). We ended up ordering the Toscana salad and sauce less Isabella pizza. The Toscana salad was right up my alley — spinach, goat cheese, juicy, flavorfully seasoned roasted chicken, pine nuts and balsamic. A great simple salad but the chicken took it over the top. The pizza was good but not my favorite. I’m still unsure if the raw onions amidst of the buffalo mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes were on purpose, but they kind of steered my taste buds in the wrong direction. Additionally, I’m a burrata fanatic but for some reason the cheese didn’t seem to be the creamy rich concoction I’m used to. It was almost … Rubbery. But the crust!!! Fluffy, pillowy, slightly salty; I’m a fan.
Overall I like this place and I plan to come back (with over 6 people and a reservation). Although I am no cutlery expert, I deem this one good fork.