I'm so happy to have visited Nicolosi's Italian Restaurant's new home in Santee! In business since 1952, Nicolosi's has been a legendary Italian food institution in San Diego, alonside the likes of Filippi's, Ottavio's and Pernicano's. Over the last 70 years Nicolosi's has continued it's incremental move east. Starting in Mission Hills, then El Cajon Blvd, Grantville, San Carlos and now Santee. I suppose at some point they'll be in Alpine or Descanso. Who knows. Anyway, they've been around for generations and they're steeped in rich history. I just love places like that.
The new Santee restaurant is interesting. I believe the former occupant of this space was a Pizza Hut, so it's pretty small. The vibe is very much "sports bar" throughout. Big screen TVs on all the walls, even in the dining room. It feels like a small Oggi's. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just don't go expecting romantic or intimate. All the servers and staff were so nice and patient. They do seem to be suffering from staffing challenges like many other businesses. There was only one server on duty at the time we visited on a Saturday afternoon. Had to wait to be seated despite a mostly empty restaurant.
My experience with the food was a mixed bag. Everything came out in a timely fashion. The dinner salad was outstanding. Liberally dressed with a delicious Italian dressing, just how I like it. Tasty croutons that were somewhat airy. Pasta dishes are served with a warm bread basket and a few small packets of butter. Bread service was very good. I ordered the Chicken Parmigiana. It came out piping hot which I appreciate. Unfortunately the chicken was quite salty and the spaghetti pasta was overcooked, well past al dente. The marinara was thick, sweet and fairly unremarkable. Jr FoodObs really enjoyed his pesto pasta dish. Lady FoodObs liked her manicotti, however half the plate consisted of steamed vegetables! Kind of a small portion.
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