Operacaffe

I was hoping for a much better experience based upon some of the other reviews I have read. While the food was good, it was not great and for the price, I would expect much better. Also, the atmosphere was not as I expected. It felt like they could not get you out of there fast enough to turn the table.
With that, I would say that for dinner it is significantly overpriced and there other restaurants in the Gas Lamp that would offer a much better dining experience at a price point close to theirs.

Delicious fresh pasta!
Focaccia bread with balsamic and olive oil to start.
We had the Penne Speperina and the Ravioli del Fattore. Nutella cheesecake for dessert.
The outdoor seating is nice. Our server had a magnificent mustache. His customer service was superb.

This is easily my favorite restaurant in San Diego. Love it, the food tastes like it was made at some home in Italy, absolutely delicious.

In town for Unilocal Spring Break, I found this place on Groupon — the deal we purchased was $ 30 for food and drink for $ 15.
It’s in the Gaslamp district, which is a cute super touristy place. And is an absolute disaster to navigate around on a Saturday night. Of course, we did not know that so we sat in non-​moving traffic while trying to find parking and eventually ended up paying $ 20 for garage parking.
There is indoor and outdoor seating. Our inside table was so close to the next table that we actually got to know them. That’s all well and good but this was supposed to be our date night. I am not sure Operacaffe, with it’s noise level and super tight seating is conducive to that.
The online menu doesn’t list prices — a practice I abhor. But there are menus with prices on Unilocal and you’ll realize your Groupon won’t go too far.
We started with a very standard and bland Bruschetta Toscana ($ 6.95). It was nothing special.
My vegetarian SO was able to find several options for dinner, and chose the Ravioli Boscaiola ($ 16.95) — homemade ravioli stuffed with porcini mushrooms, sage, pine nuts and a creamy butter sauce. I was looking at that item as well but I hate pine nuts and when I tasted her dish, I could definitely taste the pine nuts. But she enjoyed it and the portion was a decent size.
I ordered the Gnocchi Gorgonzola ($ 19.95) from the Chef’s Specials section on the back of the menu. It was good and cheesy. But again, it tasted like something simple that I can make at home. But also a decent portion and if you like cheese and pasta (and who doesn’t?), it will satisfy you.
We ordered desserts to go. An OK slice of cheesecake in a berry sauce ($ 7.95) and the Limoncello Marscarpone cake ($ 7.95), which we thought was bland tasting and not a high point.
The service varied from solicitous (the super nice hostess who was trying to help us over the phone find the restaurant and give parking advice) to disinterested (our server who I don’t think smiled once).
One glass of champagne, a soda and we were looking at a $ 70 bill before the Groupon. And that’s not outrageous but with all the hassle to get to this place and pay so much for parking, I wouldn’t consider going back. If however you live in the area or are staying in a hotel nearby and can walk, get the Groupon and try it out. It’s well done basic Italian food.

The food was excellent. My boyfriend had spaghetti and meatballs and I had ravioli with a delicious creamy buttery sauce. We came in early so there were no crowds and the service was very nice and attentive. Highly recommend. It is also a really nice romantic setting to bring a date. We sat outside because we wanted to people watch but the inside looked beautiful too

My boyfriend and I had tickets to the opera and thought it was only fitting that we have dinner here first.
The food was great, he had the filet mignon. It was cooked to his liking, had so much flavor.
The only reason for the 3 stars instead of 5 is the service. It was not great, the bus boys were more attentive than the servers.
If you can deal, with servers making you feel like you are bothering them, I highly recommend the food.

Cute place. We got the ravioli with vodka sauce and for me it was to spicy but he absolutely loved it. The margarita pizza was great with the Fresh parm
We found it on Unilocal

Came here today with my boyfriend because I got a groupon. Food was good, service was okay. I went to the restroom after we ate and happened to see a cockroach in the bathroom! Ew! Not coming here again.

This is a very quaint little place opposite horton plaza which means parking is a breeze.
It is not overly crowded so getting reservations has been easy in the past.
It is a very wonderful place, servers sometimes seem a bit too willing to make things wonderful which is a great thing.
Food is rather tasty, and the atmosphere is just wonderful.
This is a great restaurant for a first date. get a table up the front lots going on in the street to keep the conversation going if you are stuck …

Great restaraunt! Enjoyed lobster and spinach ravioli, gnocchi with pesto and chocolate cake and cannolis. The ravioli was the best! Great atmosphere and live guitar music. Would definitely come back.

We chose this place because of the overwhelmingly positive reviews and it was worth the research. We were pleasantly greeted by the hostess, and then by two other staff as we walked to our seats. The food was incredible! I had the veal parm, and my husband had some sort of pasta with lamb meatballs. We had a molten lava-​type cake, filled with nutella, that I can’t remember the name of. Great experience, beautiful restaurant and I cannot wait to go back!

Very happy with the food here! Excellent flavor and hot dishes. .try the calamari Best I’ve had in a while .came here for my boyfriends birthday. .the service was good and they brought my boyfriend a tiramisu OMG DELICIOUS! !!! …The food was 5 star. Hostess lost a star for me when I called to say we were 3 blocks away and she said if we didn’t arrive by 6:10 pm she would give our table away !? RUDE!!!

Great little Italian food place is the Gaslamp district in San Diego! This place is wonderful! When you first walk in you are taken by the décor, very rustic/​modern and big! The staff here was amazing, they were able to get us in with no reservation and no wait on a Friday night. I had the Chicken Al Pest, which was amazing. The noodles were nice and soft, the pesto sauce was delicious and I just loved it. My boyfriend got the rice stuffed meatballs I believe and he enjoyed them very much. Definitley stop by if you are in the mood for Italian food! PS dont forget to order the crème brûlée!

Wanted Italian & picked this place out of the several around Gaslamp. And man, we did good! This place is cozy, has nice ambiance. Service and food were excellent! Hit the spot perfectly! Will definitely be back! Guitarist was very good too!

We had a nice experience for lunch here!
Was in town for a leisure and business trip, and decided to get a groupon deal from this restaurant for lunch. We got a seat outside on the patio which was great for people watching. We ordered a salad and a pasta dish to share. They do charge $ 1 extra for each dish that you split. The food was delicious, another reason why I love lil Italy in San Diego! Our waitress was sweet and attentive.
Parking was pretty easy, lots of metered street parking. Bathrooms were clean. With the groupon deal, our meal was very reasonable in price. Overall I would recommend!

Sooo good! Came here on Christmas — it was basically one of few restaurants that were open on a Christmas Day in gaslamp quarter. Service was great, and the atmosphere was amazing! Food took a little long to come out (since it was super busy), it was worth the wait.

Hostess ignored my request for how long the wait would be, barely glanced inside, and said they would not seat for one. Did manage to catch the couple behind me merit a long check inside. Hope this gives you an idea on the type of staff here.
To the restaurant: I came by at around 7:30 on ¹²⁄₂₅ when there were no other people in line. I was willing to wait and I was turned away in the rude, disrespectful fashion above. The restaurant was still open when I passed by on my way to a competitor about an hour and a half later. I don’t see any excuses for this terrible inferior customer treatment.
I’m a frequent traveler who works in consulting and consistently eats out at high quality restaurants, and the way I was treated makes my blood boil. I’ve seen restaurants give reasons as to why, but the hostess just said «I’m sorry» and gave me a look of «be on your way.» Who treats their customers that way?!

We had a Groupon for this place, so we came here for dinner before a show at the Civic Center — about 6 – 7 blocks away. The walk didn’t bother us — we were expecting it, and, since it was a Saturday night, there was lots of activity to see. We noted several other places we want to try along the way.
We were immediately seated and give menus. Service was slow. The server kept talking to another couple who was going to a show, and would spend 10 minutes at a time talking to them, so we couldn’t get his attention very readily. We didn’t get bread until AFTER my husband finished his Minestrone soup (it would have gone nicely with it), and well into our entrees.
I got the La Tagliatat, which says it’s «filet mignon», but is NOT beef tenderloin. It had more of the taste and texture of a flank steak. It came with a «Gorgonzola Sauce», which was way too salty, and added nothing to the plate. The greens and tomatoes were fresh and nicely dressed. The polenta was DELICIOUS — I could have had three portions of it! My meat was cooked perfectly (I’m very particular), and nicely seasoned. The bread, when it finally came, was delicious with the balsamic and olive oil. My husband’s Minestrone was fine, and he enjoyed his pasta with meatballs (one of the specials.)
We wouldn’t run away from coming, but, with so many great places in the Gaslamp, we wouldn’t run back either.

This place serves REAL florentine food (Italian food from Florence, which is the «capoluogo» of Tuscany, for those who don’t know where Florence is).
As, too many places in San Diego claim to serve Tuscan food (while they have absolutely no idea of what that means), Operacaffe delivers the real experience.
The reason is simple really, the restaurant is own and operated by Patrizia Branchi.
Patrizia, born and raised in Florence, operated 2 restaurants in downtown Florence in the same location, for about 20 years. I know that because when I was a kid, growing up in Florence myself, my parents often took me to Patrizia, and her husband Roberto’s restaurants.
Anyhow, back to my dinner.
I started with Coccoli, my favorite appetizer, fried pizza dough, filled with Stracchino cheese
(Look it up) and topped with prosciutto.
Yum! (Sorry I didn’t take a picture of that, I was too hungry .
Then ordered the «penne portofino»
Don’t let the name misguide you, they are not from Portofino (which is not anywhere near Florence) This dish is a seafood pasta dish (hence the name) Made of penne pasta, tossed in a tomato and vodka sauce with jumbo fresh water prawns.
Not shrimp, but fresh water prawns, that makes the whole difference. Local shrimps are pretty much tasteless if you ask me, fresh water prawns are delicious, sweet and rich of flavor.
Peter was my server, very attentive and knowledgeable.
He recommended a good Chardonnay, two really,
To go with my dinner, good choice I must say.
I wish I had room for dessert, but not a chance of that happening, sadly.
Great place! Great ambiance, service, food, and fairly priced.
Luciana, the hostess was very friendly and cute too!
I highly recommend this place to anyone that understand real Italian food.

I popped by Operacafe for a quick bite before a photo shoot on a Saturday evening. Despite being busy, they managed to find me a little table immediately.
The food was authentic, well plated, and generously proportioned. That in and of itself deserves a 4.5 situation.
What made this quick dinner memorable and exciting was my attentive, engaging waitress, Laura. She was knowledgable, affable, and had the cutest Italian accent I’ve ever heard. Between you and I, gentle reader — I think I’m in love.
The ambiance is transformative and relaxing, the open kitchen emits tantalizing sounds and smells, and the charm of the wait staff is all encompassing.
As a cat on the Internet would say — very recommend.
Do it, you’ll thank me.

We wanted to dine in the Gaslamp quarter, so picked this place for dinner during the Labor Day weekend. Tried the Spaghetti di Mare (seafood pasta with mussels, shrimp and scallops) and Spinach Ravioli. The Ravioli was pretty good. The Spaghetti was a little undercooked for my taste. Wine menu was expensive. Food was decent.

If you are looking for authentic Italian cuisine this is the place for you… I found them on Groupon, look forward to paying much more than the Groupon price however worth every penny. Mini and I ventured downtown for a nice din this past Friday thanks to a local’s suggestion that we met at the restaurant I ordered the Mushroom Ravioli specifically called RAVIOLI PORCINI E CREMA DI TARTUFO! Don’t worry I’m not yelling at you I just cut and paste… However mini had the FETTUCCINE PRIMAVERA with vodka sauce, you have to specifically ask for it. Out of the two dishes, which I must say were superb… I loved the fettuccine with vodka sauce… with the added chicken and normally I’m a white creamy sauce girl!

I personally know the history of this restaurant and can reassure all Americans that the food is 100% representative of our cuisine.
Though the ingredients may arrive from different places as they must always be fresh, the very heart of mixing them is left to wise Italian hands and each and every one of the served dishes are simple and tasty as Italian food should always be.
Try their ravioli and treat yourself with some «schiacciata» while waiting for your order, dip it in a bowl of spicy olive oil and… Enjoy

This is one of my favorite Italian restaurants. The GF discovered this place on groupon a while back and we’ve been coming back every time we see the deal back up.
I love the carbonara. It’s creamy and yummy. The bacon is great. You can never go wrong with bacon.
I’ve also had the pizza here and it’s really good. The GF and I will split a pizza and pasta and it’s the perfect amount of food. They’ve got a great wine list to add in a couple glasses also.

I went to Gaslamp for my anniversary on 9÷20÷15. I had never been in this area or to this restaurant. It was a Sunday night and not busy. I found a Groupon for Operacaffe and thought I’d give it a try. I paid $ 11 for a $ 30 value. Great deal! I love Italian food, especially when everything is made in house. I am also a vegetarian and I was quite pleased with how many different options there were on the menu.
I ordered the Ravioli Del Fattore. It is stuffed with spinach and ricotta in a vodka sauce with porcini mushrooms on top. I had only ever tried vodka sauce at a Brazilian restaurant and I hated it, so I was hesitant to order this dish. It was DELICIOUS! The sauce had a little kick to it. I love spicy food, but it wasn’t too much, it just left you wondering what was in it! I could really tell that the ravioli was homemade! I was afraid I would leave there still hungry since there were about 7 pieces, but I honestly couldn’t even finish the last piece, but forced myself because it was THAT good. Excellent dish!
My boyfriend ordered the Farfalle Campagnola. The noodles had a light cream sauce, chicken, sun-​dried tomatoes and broccoli. He seemed to really enjoy it, but my only criticism for that dish is to be more generous with the ingredients. Specifically, the meat. That’s what makes a dish expensive in the first place, so make sure the meat is visible, satisfying and worth the price.
Definitely worthy of 5 stars, but I’m giving it a 4 because my boyfriend had to «dig» for the chicken pieces. He would have loved more broccoli and he really couldn’t even find the sun-​dried tomatoes. He isn’t the type to complain at all, so we didn’t, but I could tell there was SOME disappointment there, not a lot, just more of an observation. All in all, a great experience, tasty food and worth trying. Excellent location, too. Thanks to Peter, the manager/​co-​owner, for taking care of us that night. He really takes pride in his food. We will definitely go back next trip!

Food was pretty decent but nothing was screaming amazing here. It’s good Italian food in a bistro style restaurant at a convenient location in downtown. There’s a stage at the very back so make sure you sit closer to the back if you want to see live performances up close as the restaurant space is quite elongated and deep.
We had the shrimp penne, ravioli and spaghetti di mare. Everything tastes delicious and their portions fluctuate depending on what you order. My friend had a simple ravioli dish (not from the specialty pasta section) and the portion was quite small. If you get the dishes from the specialty or fancier section with a higher price tag, then you will have leftover to take home for sure.
Service was very friendly and attentive.
You can park at the Westfield mall parking structure across the street and have 3 hours of complimentary parking with ticket validation inside the mall.

Love this place! Found on Unilocal,liked the reviews and we were not disappointed. Love the décor, warm dark wood makes me feel like home.
I don’t normally eat bread but the bread, olive oil and balsamic were simple and delicious. I had angle hair and Bolognese, others were pizza, ravioli and chicken kim one — all were great. Excellent service and must try.

Love the food here!
Went for our 2^nd time and both meals were great.
OSSOBUCHI DI CINGHIALE ($ 27.95): Worth every penny. Delicious. Slow cooked, very tender, well seasoned, and it comes smothered in a flavorful gravy that’s not too rich. I really enjoyed this dish and would get it again
Buc Carbonara + Chicken ($ 24): Also very good, one of the best carbonara dishes I’ve ever had. it wasn’t too creamy or rich, so you can really enjoy the quality of the fresh pasta (made in-​house), and the bacon flavor. Not only would we order this dish again, if BGH is in the mood for carbonara Opera is going to be the first choice.
Baba ($ 7.95): BGH liked it, it was a little too sweet for me
Chianti Classico ($ 10): great wine for the ossobuco, flavorful, not too dry, but also not too sweet and fruity. I enjoyed this wine and will order it again

We saw the menu online and decide to give this place a try. It small but quaint establishment
We started off with a summer salad that had strawberries and watermelon. Unusual but, it was very refreshing. My wife had the Farfalle Campagnola, a delicate dish with chicken, sun dried tomatoes, bow tie pasta in a light cream sauce. It was seasoned just perfect and a fairly big portion. I had the veal milanese which was big as the plate and was delicious. We finished up by sharing a tiramisu that was light and airy. Our server was very friendly and attentive. A terrific dinner.

Found this place on groupon and it was incredible!
Operacaffe has a quaint and comfortable feel in the midst of the craziness that is downtown SD. The restaurant offers delicious and most importantly, AUTHENTIC Italian cuisine. Everything was absolutely mouthwatering. I had the carbonara and the BF tried the gnocchi. Perfection.
I have nothing more to say. It was just absolutely delicious and everything about the meal was perfect. I highly recommend this place if you’re in search of an authentic Italian meal.