We made a reservation. Arrived on time and were seated right away. Waiter gave us menus and then disappeared. We waited more than 15 minutes and no one came to take order. We asked to see server and still no one came. So we left. We felt ignored and slighted and disappointed.

I used to love this place, great food and ambiance but the service is always poor. I brought a friend visiting the last time and it took 25 minutes for anyone to come up to us since being sat. The manager made up for it by buying us an app but other than taking out order we never saw our waiter other than when he dropped the check and came back quickly moments later to grab it. The fastest and best service we had received all night except we hadn't even looked at the bill yet.

So when my friends suggested to come here last night, I was hesitant but willing to give it another shot. Again great food and ambiance but by far the worst service I have had ever. We were rushed the entire time. Three bus boys tried to take our app with a full squash blossom on it and the same thing occurred with our main dishes. It felt like anytime our fork was down we were asked if we were done. At the end my friends glass which clearly had sangria in it still was picked up by the bus boy again and she was asked "are you finished with this?". I was appalled. He also cleared away our recently refilled water glasses we were still drinking. Three of the four of us myself included have history in the industry and could not believe how pushed out we felt. We get the need to turn the table but how much is that next table worth when you have four customers leaving with a bad taste in their mouth which will be shared when asked about this place.

And on a sidenote, my friends first asked about your neighbor Cloak and Petal and I said no because of the awful service (and overpriced menu) but sadly I did not avoid that experience for my friends.

Service was good. Starters and entrees were average. Salad arrived with only half the ingredients and servers brought what they could in separate dishes. I wouldn't bother returning on a weekend when the kitchen is overly taxed.

The restaurant was chaotic and loud. Very crowded and unappealing, with a “turn and burn” atmosphere . Management has sacrificed quality and customer service for the bottom line. Our server didn’t know what the fish of the day was. She was nice enough but you could tell the restaurant was understaffed. The fish was over-salted and over-peppered, and the Osso Buco was just ok. If all the reviews about their pasta are legit, then they should just stick to what they do best. For an Italian Restaurant in Little Italy, it was a bit underwhelming.

Excellent food and service, outstanding customer service by Stefano, bravo

Pretty good service, very friendly and kind server. Food was good, just not amazing. Overall a fun and great spot to go!

Special family trip!

Our waitress was horrible, the whole time she was too busy flirting with male took a long time for her to come to take our order , we got our appetizer and soup but never got our pasta

There were four of us and we each had a different meal. All were excellent. We will be back.

Great experience as always!!

The place is nice and has a very good service and ambience.
However, 3 out of 4 dishes were tasteless. Pizza was good but not great, the complimentary cake was worst than a Walmart cake. All four people in my party agreed with this.
You need to add flavor to these dishes. I have been in Italy and many other Italian restaurants and certainly food has much more flavor.

We had a reservation for 7 people for my birthday. They accommodated my request for a round table. Vince our server was great - I'm sure we were a handful. The food is delicious with lots of Gluten Free options. Atmosphere has a good vibe.

We were a bit early as we had tickets to the ballet. The sun was initially in our eyes, but they took care of it. The service was charming and the food was terrific. I had the lobster with fennel on black squid linguini and I would definitely recommend it.
The waiter, Stafano was absolutely superb. He even slowed things down so we wouldn't be too early for the theatre.
Marla G

It was our first time there, the servers and food were great. Also it has a great atmosphere
I would go back

Myself and three girlfriends went to Barbusa to celebrate my friends 40th birthday. We had an amazing time and the food was wonderful! The service was impeccable! I can't say enough about this place. Very lively and fun atmosphere. I highly recommend the Granchio and the Funghi E Tartufo. Both are excellent dishes that all of us really enjoyed.

Can't ever get enough of this place!!! Delicious food, friendly and attentive staff, and fun atmosphere!

I absolutely love this place. From the service to the ambiance everything is perfection and I feel like I am the most valuable customer in the restaurant.

Great food. Service a bit disjointed

Not very impressed with the restaurant, we were seated to then wait 12 or so minutes till someone finally came over to ask us who our waiter is... How are we supposed to know... no-one had seen to us... he then discussed this with his colleague in front of us for 5mins before deciding to just serve us, the restaurant smelt and the food was not very nice considering the price, it is not like me to say this but we did not enjoy our experience at the restaurant

Easter Lunch - Great Service. The service was simply outstanding. Great recommendations for Dinner & Drinks. Treated specials for the kids no problems.

My favorite Italian restaurant by far. always consistent quality food.

Good food, wonderful staff, great food. My family had a nice dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Pasta was fresh, seafood was yummy, meat and cheese selections were delicious.

Was very 'pleasantly surprised, the pasta was amazing, prices were reasonable, will be back

Food no flavor. Service slow. Very slow. Would not recommend.

I've now come here for an anniversary and a birthday! The food is divine and very reasonably priced - happy hour is amazing if you can get there before 6, but it is served in the bar area only. I love their selection of fresh seafood and handmade pastas, it makes for a nice mix of light and hearty dishes. My only gripe is that it is VERY noisy! Both times I came it was way too loud for me. I think the food is worth enduring the noise, but if you are looking for a quiet romantic Sicilian dinner, this is probably not the place for you.

Food is amazing. Service is good. I wish there were more options for someone with celiac.

Great food!

The food is superb and the staff is very friendly. We come for Sunday lunch sometimes and sit on the patio with our dog. Barbusa is also great for a date night or for an outing with friends or business colleagues.

Food was good. The baratta and beets were delicious as well as the squid ink pasta with lobster. The chicken main course dish was meh...

Place gets very packed and loud. Good for casual dinner or first date.

pasta is good here as well as the apps, but have had issues with correct temps for steaks-often very over-done.

food, ambience, service, first class. From the appetizers to the main course we loved it all.

It was good.

One of our favorite places in Little Italy. Highly Recommend!

Food was top notch. Proscuitto pizza was amazing. Canolli chips were the best dessert we've had in San Diego. Unfortunately the service was probably the worst we've ever had in our life. I had to order drinks from the bar and we ordered desert from the host. Noise level was on the louder side, but that is expected from little Italy. Wish our waiter even pretended to care about us and this could have been the best dining experience we've had in San Diego.

Vacation dining

Split on service because our waitress was absolutely wonderful and patient despite two friends with dietary restrictions, but the hostesses were a little self-important and rude. Despite making a reservation, they told us we still had a 15 minute wait and to go to the bar. Frustrating because 1. they didn't really seem at all apologetic, and 2. the bar was completely packed and we had to stand awkwardly trying to find an opening while the waiters frustratedly tried to get around us.

Considering all the buzz I've heard, and the extraneous wait, the food was just a little disappointing. There was nothing THAT wrong with it per se, it was pretty good - it just wasn't exceptional. The tiramisu was a little runny, the fra diavolo was mostly salty and fishy without any other complexity of flavor, and the squash blossoms were just "nice." This seems like more of a vibrant "scene" than somewhere that will be remembered for truly outstanding food. Nothing wrong with that necessarily - just not quite what I'm looking for.

Authentic and unique Italian cuisine. Delicious and reasonably priced. Service was above expectation. Even though we had a reservation, we had a short wait for our table. The manager generously offered flutes of Prosecco while we waited which was a very nice touch. Our server was also very attentive. The restaurant has a bit too many tables squeezed into its floor space, thus the noise level was very high.

We went back after visiting last year and it was as good as before! The food is exceptional and great staff. Not much to say about our waiter Mario, however, Vincenzo was terrific!! He took great care of us and was very professional and helpful. Will go there every time we’re in town! The meal was authentic Italian and unique, from the salad starter to dessert!

Nos dieron nuestra mesa a la hora que la reservamos. La persona que nos atendió nos recomendó muy buenos platillos, todo estuvo riquísimo y los precios muy razonables.

Wow! All I can say is WoW! to the food, to the service. This is a gemstone in Little Italy, San Diego. We brought cousins from Illinois to eat there and they were very impressed. I must say, this place is ALWAYS full unless you want to be first in line when they open or try to get in 5 minutes before they close. Reservations way ahead are a must, especially for the 6-8 pm time block. We were lucky to get reservations of 8 pm. Because we had to wait, the staff took great care of us at the bar. The food and service was well worth the wait. I have eaten in many Little Italys including Boston, NYC, San Francisco, not to mention across BIG Italy, north and south. The food was well prepared, fresh, scrumptious, authentic, and presented beautifully. They have an extensive wine list and a full bar. Am I going back? I just returned from a 3-month eat-across-America trip, hitting all of the trendy and famous restaurants I could and I can truly say that this restaurant is worth traveling to San Diego. Five stars is not enough!