filippi's pizza grotto little italy

a must go to!. i love this place. there are many other restaurants in little italy. however, this is by far the best. consistently verygoodfood, large portions, and fair prices. looks/feels like you are in new york, chicago, or boston. as there is a market/deli in the front, and the restaurant is in the back. red and white checkered tablecloths, chianti bottles hanging from the ceiling, open kitchen. i have had almost everything on the menu, and have never been disappointed. i am a big eater, and rarely can finish my plate. which is fine as i know i will have a tasty midnight snack, or tomorrows lunch. the front deli has yummy italian cookies, and fresh/handmade cannolis. this place is family friendly. a great place to bring a date, especially a first date, as it's not expensive, but very nice. i often go there by myself. no problem. you can bring your kids here, your grandma. you know it'sgood, as there is always a line to be seated. if you are looking for fancy, upscale italian food, then this place is not or you. but if you want authentic, like mama made italian food, then this is the place to go.

worst service in town. there are plenty ofgoodpizza places to come and suffer here

the perfect pairing of service and food

we had a excellent experience during an early dinner. fillipi's always has verygooditalian food and 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 withgoodknowledge of the menu and wine offerings. he timed the courses of our meal with a restrained hand so that we could enjoy our wine and food without 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 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 italian food there. 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. the food isgoodand 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.

had a great meal here. nice atmosphere andgoodfood. pizza was solid. if you only like thin crust new york style pizza then don't come here.

not bad but not great. pizza isgoodbut not great. waited a while to get a menu and drink. ill go again if its not too busy but wont request it.

oh and the ravioli are sogoodtoo. and don't miss the pizza. you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. if you are in a hurry, get take-out and eat it in your car. or just decide not to be in a hurry and enjoy the crowds. just make sure you go there to eat if you are ever in san diego!

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. the food isgoodand 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.

worst meat lasagna of my life. they served it two minutes after i ordered. it was eight layers of dough with biiig chunks of cheese with a lot of tasteless sause on top. server was not too friendly either. maybe the pizza isgoodhere, i dont know, but the lasagna is the worst.

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 lovegooditalian food and 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!

worth at least one visit, but maybe not more. we walked up and down little italy as the typical hungry tourist on a saturday night. we checked menus and prices, inquired about wait times, and given our clothing (shorts and sandals straight from the beach), our options were limited to a handful of restaurants. given the extraordinary number of "likes" and reviews here, i knew we had to try this legendary place.

the wait was only about 15 minutes on a very busy evening so that wasn't that bad (plus, i always feelgoodabout my choice of restaurants when i have to wait in line!). but it is very strange and even somewhat frustrating to wait in line in a deli with tall racks of smelly foods when you are undoubtedly hungry in anticipation for agoodmeal.

we tried the lasagna based on the glowing reviews here and we were somewhat disappointed. as you can see in my picture i uploaded here, the "meatball" is a mega meatball and somewhat inedible unless you break it off in smaller pieces and dunk it in the bounteous marinara sauce that covers the lasagna. the lasagna is nothing worth writing home about except that it is an enormous portion that could feed a small family. there was so much sauce covering the plate that it even spilled off the edges.

my wife wasn't very hungry so she thought she would try a small antipasta salad. there was nothing "small" about her portions as well. the plate was piled so high that she had to use a second smaller plate to empty off small portions that she could manage.

the garlic bread was ok, but was also very large.

don't get me wrong... i appreciate large portions, and the actual taste was generally pretty good, but i would rather smaller portions with more exceptional tastes. even the root beer i ordered tasted watered down.

i suppose i should just accept the fact that the meal was relatively low priced so i shouldn't get a 5-star meal, but i expected more from such a highly acclaimed restaurant.

our waitress was a sweet girl that helped us with a smile, but that didn't help the dining experience. the cliche red-white checkered table coverings are cheap plastic. the lighting is too dim. the bottles hanging from the dark ceiling make it feel like a dark tavern. and we happened to be seated right in the main pathway where all the servers and table bussers ran back and forth. they even dumped food in buckets (literally a large bucket) just a few feet from our table. i understand they need to clean the tables and put the leftover food and dirty dishes somewhere, but in plain sight of customers trying to enjoy their meal?

overall i would probably return if somebody wanted a cheap italian meal, but with so many options up and down little italy, i would like to try others before returning.

its chill,goodfood, a little the same as other places, but still good

mama's food. filippi's has been busy for sixty years for agoodreason. great southern italian food at a great price and lots of it. the lasagna is to die for. the antipasta salad will fill up two people. the sausage is homemade and the pizza is wonderful. you enter through the deli where authentic italian aromas entice your senses while waiting to be seated in the back rooms. on your way out stop and buy some fresh macaroons for dessert, you'll be pleased.

good verygoodi like the pizza it was delicious the lasagna was good

i remember loving the pizza here back in the 80's. when my husband & i arrived this afternoon (2:45pm) we waited in line for about 15 minutes, tempted by the yummy smells before getting seated in a nice spot. pizza looked like i remembered it but hubby was in the mood for lasagna. portions are substantial, flavor lacked depth. in other words, it wasgoodbasic italian food at a fair price. 3 out of 5 stars. service was on the ball and came with a smile.