Italian Colors

The spaghetti and meatballs were delicious! I was with 5 other people and everyone found their food tasty. The live music added to the environment. The service was outstanding.

Neighborhood restaurant gem. Live guitar playing by Michael Wollenberg most nights adds a nice touch.

This is one of our 'go-to' places for many occasions - pre-concert dinners, get togethers with friends and special occasions with family. Food is consistently delicious and well portioned, and they have a clever menu, with long-time standbys everyone loves, and fresh, inventive dishes that show they are plugged into the current food scene. Warm, inviting interior, and staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Interior is warm and inviting and the whole ambience makes it a happy, comfortable place to come.

We, like so many others, we know, just love this restaurant. It's as good today as it was 25 years ago. Always a home run with out of town guests or as regular patrons. Excellent food and service always.

As it has been for the last 23 years that have dined here, the food and service are right on and authentically Italian - a very good standard seasonal menu augmented by creative and varied daily specials. It is a go to place for us.

Food was OK - not great. Nice interior decor and a strolling guitarist provided an interesting touch but parking is extremely difficult in a strip mall style lot. Would not drive all the way to Piedmont just to eat here but a serviceable option if you happen to be in the area.

Italian Colors has been our favorite neighborhood restaurant for over 25 years. We like the relaxed open setting. The staff is friendly and helpful. The menu is constantly changing, so we get a chance to try new and different entrees. On sunny evenings, we enjoy eating outside. It is a wonderful place to relax and to have a delicious meal at a reasonable price.

The dining experience starts with breads, vinegar and olive oil for nibbling while you peruse the menu. Food choices are especially good for those who enjoy sea food. Although tables are expertly compacted to include as many tables as possible, hearing your dining companions is not difficult. One can easily hear the guitarist's wonderful music. We had one of the most enjoyable Valentine's Day meals we've had in our decades of such celebrations.

We had not been to Italian Colors for years because it was extremely noisy back then. What an improvement! Noise level was comfortable. We arrived at our reserved time & had to wait for a table along with another party. Big plus...we were offered drinks on the house while waiting. The only minus...the main course dishes were brought to us before we had finished our salad. Food was very good.

My husband and I dined here tonight for an early Valentine's Day dinner. Not what I expected after all the ranting and raving about this place.

To start on a positive note, the host (I think he was the manager, not sure) was super friendly and greeted us with a smile. He sat us quickly but took the waitress 20 minutes to come up to us to place our drink orders. I asked for the wine list and she then said she'll come back in a couple of minutes. Took her 10 minutes to get the wine list dropped it on the table, left us and another 15 minutes passed. By that time we already knew what we wanted so we ordered. She placed our order 45 minutes after being seated. After our food was delivered didn't see her until we were done eating and asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu. Then...took 25 minutes after asking for the check to get it.

Food was okay - not a 5 star rating like I've seen. The fettuccine alfredo with smoked chicken was just ok. The alfredo sauce was too smokey for my liking. I didn't think the chicken would come diced or else I would have ordered something else. I hate diced chicken and definitely was not in the description. I was under the impression I would get smoked savory chicken slices, but looked like pre made diced chicken that came from Costco. My husband ordered the spaghetti and meatballs. That was okay too. Sauce was too thick and cheesy. I took a few bites of my food and that was it. I ended up giving my food to a transient underneath an overpass who appreciated the meal more than I.

Ambience was mediocre - the photos on yelp made it seem super nicer.

Will I go back? No...first impression was not good...only good thing about this place tonight was the friendly man that greeted us tonight...that's about it.

Our whole experience was good. One of our party is a vegan and the waiter went back and checked with the kitchen and then he helped figure out an entree that wasn't on the menu but could be assembled from items on the menu and she was very pleased. My entree, called light, was excellent.

The only reason I lowered the food rate to good was because the special tasted fun - like wine that had turned. We sent it back and they credited us with no problem

We love going here for family dinners. Great food, great staff.

The service was excellent, food was yummy, especially the crane brûlée. We were running late yet they were able to hold are table for an hour. I would recommend to a friend.

Asked for a quiet table and we were seated in the middle of the restaurant - not really quiet.
Waitress was harried, didn't let us order appetizers w/ drinks, brought wrong soup for 2 of 3 soup orders (although did bring 1 order of the right one when we mentioned it). We must have sung Happy b'day 4 or 5 times which was ironic as we'd mentioned 2 of our 4 were celebrating b'days, but nobody sang for our guys. Food was pretty good - porkchop moist, pastas fresh, lemon cake very tender and tasty. 3.5 out of 5, but nice and relatively quiet overall.

We went to Italian Colors during Restaurant Week Oakland. The food was outstanding! I savored every bite of their lobster pasta plate & my husband loved the short ribs. Some of the best flavors from delicate to bold. We'll definitely return!

The host asked us to wait even though we had a reservation and arrived on time. I ordered the veal which was really good, but my boyfriend's duck confit is not as good.

This is always the place to go to when you just want to have good food, prepared well, very good service and bar. With an environment that is cozy and inviting> the two of you, a group or even by yourself......

Nothing wrong except small parking area. Food , service etc just OK. There are many better Italian restaurant . just OK place

Great friendly wait staff. We loved the musicians!

Starting with the good: the live music was great and our server was very sweet.

My complaints: I went for restaurant week and ordered the prefix meal offered for $40 (the cost was not advertised). This included a cup of soup, braised short ribs, and a dessert. My date ordered the braised short ribs from the menu (so we would each have our own entre). The soup was great, hearty, delicious! Now, our meals arrive and we notice that the short ribs ordered from the menu were beautiful, lean, and delicious! The short ribs from restaurant week menu were not only ice cold but they were mostly fat and accompanied by veggies and sweet potatoes that were so awful I couldn't believe it. My thoughts: the short ribs from the menu were $27. If I ordered each item from the restaurant week menu individually I would have had a quality meal for the same prefix price. Why serve terrible food during restaurant week? That is the best way to advertise your menu. I'll never go back.

I really loved their wine and the guitarist that played the background music. Service was excellent and the food was good, but not mind blowing authentic type of food. Overall, great date night!

I was disappointed. Components of the fish stew tasted "fishy". There was supposed to be polenta on the bottom of the stew and the waiter came several minutes later and said the kitchen forgot. He put a plate of tasteless polenta on the table. It tasted terrible. When I mentioned this to the waiter, he was unapologetic and did not offer to discount the meal. When I brought this to the attention of the restaurant host, he did not offer a discount for the meal but rather a free dessert the next time we go there. I doubt I will ever return.

Italian Colors is back! For awhile there, they had a different chef and the food suffered, but the original chef and menu are back and the food is excellent. It's a go-to place close to home. Love it.

This restuarant is warm and friendly -they had live music which was unexpected and really enjoyed! The food was excellent. Prices reasonable. Kind of reminds me of an old school Italian place. Will definitely go back.

Very good food with excellent service! Short ribs prepared differently but outstanding!

We had two daily specials - del giorno seafood with homemade pasta, and wild Alaskan salmon on a bed of spinach with butter sauced ravioli. Third entree was spaghetti with Neiman Ranch meatballs which were excellent. A Homey relaxing restaurant in Montclair Village. Was visiting the area and will return on my next visit.

Siri, Steve, the duck and steak -- all were great!
We are frequent diners at Italian Colors, have been for as long as it's been open.
Count-on-able, always.
Our visit was on NY Eve -- also something we've done more times than we can count -- and it never disappoints.

Had a delicious dinner on New Year's Eve. Our server was friendly and unrushed. Food came out fast. Brussell sprouts and tuna appetizers were excellent as was main course. The restaurant is unpretentious and serves tasty food at reasonable prices. Very positive dining experience.

Overall, our meals were quite good. We were a group of 6 with reservation, so I was disappointed to have a table so close to the kitchen and service pathway. Other than that, it's a little pricey, but it is Montclair. Service was very good.

Salty! I ordered the sea bass; it was dry. The risotto was more like overcooked rice than the creamy wonderfulness I expected. The greens were so so. The kitchen could not tell me what was in the accompanying salsa verde since the chef on duty did not make it. My husband ordered the beef with mashed potatoes and it was also too salty.
On a prior visit, all of our dishes were great so maybe this was just off night.

This is a great neighborhood restaurant. The salads in particular have always been good. Great thin crust pizza. The daily specials are almost always great. Friendly service. Tends to have an older crowd, but that's Monclair.

Went with friends, looking for a quiet place. Noise level was OK. Service was very attentive. Easy to share dishes; they brought extra plates without asking. Food was good. We lingered talking and they did not rush us. Recommend for group.

The service was lovely but the food was not the quite the authentic Italian food I was expecting.
It was a nice cozy environment on a rainy Sunday evening but I am not sure I will make it a weekly stop.

We have been regular visitors to Italian Colors for as long as it's been in existence.
We love the food (the Caesar salad has been a mainstay of our dining from the beginning - it's superb, especially with the added anchovies which we always order.
The duck confit is marvelous! Steve, the owner, is wonderful, warm and hospitable.
We highly recommend this marvelous neighborhood restaurant.

This is the 2nd time I dined here in less than 3 weeks. The dishes are always great. I loved my Lobster Americana. The fried calamari was very delicious too. The service was pretty good, but it might feel slow if you're hungry! LOL! The reservation on google map was surpringly easy.

Food was fine. Not too noisy. I probably won't go there again.

Filet was mediocre

Great food in a good friendly atmosphere. A great neighborhood restaurant and bar.

This is not our first time and it won't be our last. We brought friends who were first timers and they were very happy with their dinner. My husband had the short ribs and loved them, our friend had the duck confit and enjoyed it and our other friend and I had the Brodetto which is always excellent. The appetizer, fried calamari, was a bit over cooked. I'd skip it next time.
The service is friendly and excellent - you always feel welcome!