filippi's pizza grotto little italy

often called a san diego institution which usually means a place to be avoided. portions are large, butfoodis bland. if you like meatballs and spaghetti this is the place for you. quaint interior with deli at front. large lines at weekend 7:00pm.

well, if i have to (go there). every so often a friend will say, "hey, how about filippi's for lunch?" to which i respond, "do i have to?" it's not like the place is bad, there are just so many places that are better!

thefoodat filippi's is unremarkable -- the pizza's are ok, the subs are ok, the baked dishes are ok. the environment is ok, kinda dumpy, worn and tired. the service is ok (wait-persons always seem harried and curt). the entry is awful -- you enter thru a grocery store and the smell is horrible! the prices are quite reasonable, you're not paying all that much -- and that's what you're gonna get.

there are worse places you can go to grab a bite to eat. well. sorta. if you have to ...

this is my absolute favorite place to eat in the city! i have been going there for years. the atmosphere is wonderful and thefoodis delicious. it keeps me going back again and again!

the perfect pairing of service and food

we had a excellent experience during an early dinner. fillipi's always has very good italianfoodand this time they shined for the service we received from "randall." he has a wonderful ability to interact with the customers as if they are family making everyone around his area very "at home" in the restaurant. he does this in light a hearted way with good knowledge of the menu and wine offerings. he timed the courses of our meal with a restrained hand so that we could enjoy our wine andfoodwithout feeling at all rushed.

filli['s is a very popular and therefore a busy restaurant in the heart of little italy, the service "randall" provided to us made our visit to this iconic location a very comfortable evening.

this place was in little italy inside a market. plan on leaving 30 minutes prior to the time you want to get seated. parking is hard to get.foodwas good, large portions- family style. staff was nice.

ate here and it was good. thefoodis served family style and very large portions. we ordered a child’s spaghetti, salad, and pepperoni pizza for 4 of us. more than enough food. we brought some back to the hotel. the service was great and the staff were more than accommodating. this restaurant is located at the back of a store, so google map it, and trust that the restaurant is there. go into the italian market and you will see a small hallway. that’s the entrance to the restaurant.

this is the most interesting of the chain of filippi's pizza grotto. little italy is a great neighborhood but many of the restaurants are pricey and/or fancy. this is a casual family style affordable restaurant. when you walk in its like an old italian market. they sell lots of italianfoodthere. you wait in line to be seated so depending on the night its quick or slow... the decor is old with brick and murals and old wine bottles hanging from the ceiling. thefoodis good and filling. the pizza isn't that big but its so cheesy and thick you will be full. the pasta dishes are good. the service is ok. they always say they have one size, medium (which is funny because that would be between large and small ?) this is a great spot for families.

good, but needs robert irvine. thefoodwas good, not great! the overall look of the place needs a serious overhaul. thefoodwas good, but did take very commerical. stopped in because of the history and just knew it would be freshly made. not sure i will go again. if you are looking for a place to dwell in history...this is your place.

a little italy favorite!. one of my favorite spots in san diego is little italy. there are so many great restaurants in this area of town. i've been coming to filippi's for many years. they claim to still be family-owned even though they have locations all over southern california. this one is the original that started in the 50's. thefoodis good and it has a fun family atmosphere to it (the portions are huge). i love walking through the italian marketplace at the front of the restaurant.

why didn't i listen to the many negative reviews? thefoodreminded me of school lunch spaghetti. they also got our order wrong but i don't think it mattered much- all of it tasted like canned food

yummy. one of the best italian restaurants i've been to date. will be going back there every single time i'm in little italy.

while i don't know what the specific circumstances were for those of you who hated this place, all l i can say is wow!! that's got to be the first time i’ve heard anything bad regarding filippi's.

our server was very nice; we even tipped her double the normal amount because she was that good. she was very knowledgeable, knew everything on the menu, and also could provide an on-the-spot wine recommendation for some of us at the table (a wine that went well with thefoodwe ordered). pasta was perfectly cooked and it was the best-tasting pasta i’ve ever had. i swear i could have eaten the pasta without the alfredo sauce, if it had come to that.

there's a restaurant of similar quality here in my home state that charges about double what filippi's does, and they make basically everything from scratch. while this other restaurant is very good, i'd say i would even prefer filippi's over them.

i'm sorry some of you had a bad experience, but all i can say is try it again. maybe they had an off night or something...but, they certainly wouldn't be on the list of top restaurants of 2012 nor have basically all positive reviews from the critics on this website if they weren't doing something right.

big hype. do not waste your time standing online for a big disappointing experience unless you have no taste buds at all and don’t care what you eat or how long you have to wait for it. this place is only for tourists who know nothing about italian food.

i brought out-of-towners who had heard about the place and asked to go. we got there in the early afternoon (3:30) to beat the lines. we were seated in 5 minutes. after our order was taken we waited over 1⁄2 an hour for our food, which did not come all at once, and 4 tries to get the salad right. the chicken parm was over cooked and burned. the cheese ravioli tasted like it came out of a frozen box and reheated. not sure what the mystery meat was in the meat ravioli. the veal parm was over breaded, over cooked, and not sliced off the veal properly.

instead of a normal side, like spaghetti or a pasta dish, they actually give you a second dinner portion either lasagna or ravioli. the dish is piled high with too muchfoodand they are standing by with the go-dishes and bags when you finish.

i am sorry, but quantity will never trump quality in my book.

in the heart of san diego’s little italy, when we left the line was around the block, but many of the fine restaurants on the block were almost empty. ???

p.t. barnum had it right.

p.s. we took other out-of-towners there by request about 8 years ago. there is absolute no difference.

thefoodis excellent. can't beat the price for the quality and quantity. when ever we fly in from edmonton,canada we drop off our luggage at the hotel and head there for lunch or dinner.

tourist trap and bad. this palce is just horrible. the only reason it gets buisness is because the bus tour tells all the tourists its the best in sd. it's insulting to real italian food, the alfredo sauce tasted like margerine and chalk. growing up in philly, i've come to love good italianfoodand this place does not have it. also the place is a giant cliche, you can tell that they try to hard to seem "authetic"...do not eat here!

food is decent; you can get in and out pretty quickly. con:foodis imported from china.