Isola La Jolla

Absolutely delicious and a great value. We’ve been eating our way through Italian restaurants in San Diego and Isola is the best to date. Using quality ingredients, they don’t simply use an overload of cheese as other restaurants do. Salmon was cooked perfectly and the ragu amazing. You must have the affagato!! We love our veggies so really appreciate the attention to vegetables on the appetizer menu and the generous portion served with the fish. Servers were knowledgeable and very friendly. Also a special shoutout to the Chef for a variety of menu items that help eaters who need to limit dairy and wheat. This can be a deal breaker for us when Italian restaurants don’t have good salad or vegetarian options, over rely on cheese and don’t have gluten-free pasta or alternatives. My husband thanks you too!!! We will definitely be back!!! Sorry for the pics of half eaten food!

We are local and tried Isola for date night because of the good reviews for happy hour. We made reservations for 5:30 and were seated right away. When we asked for the happy hour menu we were told we couldn’t order happy hour from our reserved table. Huh? So we moved one table away where we could order from the happy hour menu. Even after the hostess moved us we had to ask again for the happy hour menu. We ordered the Pinot noir (good), calamari (cold), lamb skewer (good but just a bite), margarita pizza (delicious) - all from the happy hour menu, plus the mixed salad from the regular menu (excellent). We will return for the Pizza and salad and to try some other items from the regular menu. The service was good once we started ordering. The noise level was high but not annoying.

The staff is all very friendly with smiles. The food comes pretty quick. Tried the lasagna special and it was the best I have ever had. Exquisite! Good choice of wines. I'll be coming back.

Amazing Happy Hour

Really amazing food. Great space. Good service. Loved Isola!

We love Isola. The food is wonderful and the ambiance is modern and welcoming. Their octopus is not to be missed.

WITHOUT A DOUBT.........THE BEST PIZZA I HAVE EVER HAD!!! I'VE EATEN LOTS OF PIZZA IN MY DAY, AND THE CRUST FOR THIS ONE IS OVER THE TOP. DELICIOUS AND FRESH. CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK AGAIN!!

I had been before but my family had not so we went on my recommendation for my husband's birthday. We had a very small window of time between kids' events/practices. It was really important that we were able to eat and celebrate in 1.25 hours. For apps, we ordered mussels and calamari. Both were delicious and generous portions. For dinner, we ordered a margarita pizza, two orders of the salmon with grilled veggies, rigatoni al ragú, mista salad add chicken, and the spaghetti ai frutti di mare. Aside from one person really liking the pesto/capers on the salmon, and the other preferring it plain, everyone was thrilled with their dinner choices. All of the portions were sufficient for our family of giants and water polo players. Prices were reasonable and we were able to bring our own cake to the party.

As someone who has lived in Italy fir fifteen years I’m a bit snobby when it come to Italian food. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the great pizza, wonderful homemade pasta and sauce that wasn’t slathered on top but actually tossed... I can’t wait to go back and try other delicious delicacy’s. Great HH menu even on weekends and wonderful HH wine selection... 2 thumbs up

Yummy delish. We liked it a lot. Was a nice quick dinner

We had the speke e funghi (tasty), asparagi e brie (minus the honey)....good but hotter would have been better, and the luca (good). Too chilly to eat outside, but outside is 2 tables on the sidewalk...not appealing. An ok place but I think the reviews are overly positive.

We like Isola so much that we ate there twice during our recent Spring Break trip to La Jolla. Pizzas, brussel sprouts appetizer and budino dessert were outstanding. I sincerely appreciated that the staff took great care to ensure they accommodated my son’s severe tree nut allergy. Last but not least, the red wines from the family winery were very good!

The only improvement opportunity is to fix the temperature of the restaurant. Both times we dined there, the temperature was extremely hot and borderline uncomfortable. Thankfully, the great food and service made up for the heat factor!

Something has happened - not as good as it used to be.

Always super fresh and consistently delicious. Crave worthy!!

Great tasting food, but pizza is their best bang for the buck

The ambiance was great and the food outstanding. Our server was initially friendly, but did little follow up and we had to keep asking other people for water. Several others brought us the things we needed, and she didn’t come back until the bill, even though she was standing a few feet away. The food was excellent and we will still go back, and ask to be seated in a different section!

A wee bit noisy for us old folks, but excellent. Thank you.

Food and wine were very good. Our server was slow however. Probably would have gotten dessert or coffee if she had been more on the ball.

We split the beet salad and a pizza. Both dishes were terrific. Followed it up with the best tiramisu I have had! Next time we are in San Diego we will certainly go back.

Really friendly service!!! Loved the vibe. Thank you!

This neighborhood gem never disappoints. There pizza crust is perfection. Staff is accommodating. Fun wine list. Be sure to wear layers as if you are seated by the oven, it’s warm.

Very good pasta. Seafood elements of fried appetizer were good but vegetables were limp and oily. Nice wine list with some very good examples of lessor known Italian varietals. Don’t be afraid to try them, they’re good. Service was sub par.

Service was fast but we did feel a bit rushed for the dinner time that we came in. At lunch we have not felt rushed. The noice level is on the high side due to the hard walls and ceiling. The food was very good. We like the pasta and pizza.

Loved it. Loved the food. LOVED the wine list. One thing I would have loved to see is a teeny bit more care from the cooks on display -- especially given there are diners with seating designed to view pizzas being made & dishes prepared in front of them. A bit more personality and care from them would go a long way!

Amazing food and our waitress was a gem

Awesome experience, the food is very good, the ambience and servcie are good, this time we had an awkward experience when we were imposed a 20% tip without asking, that spoiled our dinner.

Looking forward for a second visit, i hope that i can try the pizza this time

Had a nice dinner, good service

We keep coming back because of the quality of the food and service. Alexis and others were terrific.

Food was good overall and our servers were very nice. I wish they had more main courses to choose from that weren’t pasta or pizza. There were only 3 on the menu

I have been here before and it was great again. As much as I want to try the home made pasta, I just cannot stay away from the pizza!

Have glasses of wine because there are several good ones, all Italian. Finally, try a dessert. They are worth the calories.

Second visit. Great staff, very good food (pizzas are super), very reasonable pricing. It’ll become a regular to go place.

We reserved a spot for 12 for dinner and then needed to find room for 5 more after more family decided they could join us. The staff at Isola was super nice, they were able to squeeze us in, they took great care of us and everyone loved their food and the evening. The pesto was the best I've had outside of Liguria and all the pizzas were excellent (look out for the spicy peppers!). We loved it! And we'll be back.

Friendly staff and excellent food. Nice casual comfortable atmosphere.

We live our local Isola!

I brought a group of friends after my opening in La Jolla.Everybody enjoyed the food and service.

Excellent appetizers, particularly frittura. Superb pizza and pasta. Great selection of beer and wine.
Terrific service

It was a lovely experience. The food and wine selection was wonderful

Isola generally is an Italian bistro; menu a bit limited and arranged for quick turn around. The food is excellent, particularly pizza done in a very hot oven. However, on New Year's Eve, they expanded the menu and all went well. We are fans of Isola, find their service and prices attractive.

One recommnedation: Once in a while, perhaps monthly, recapitulate this model of expanded items, taking advantage of available skills. equipment and personnel. We would come and bring friends

I enjoy good wine, fairly often...The wine list at Isola features Italian wines from the winery of the owner's brother, Francesco Rinaldi, from Northern italy. They are quite good and reasonably priced.

Go there!

I was in town from South Africa and needed a last minute reservation on New Year's Eve. The team at Isola were welcoming and friendly. The atmosphere was fun and celebratory and even though the restaurant is closed on Monday's - you could see they had put a lot of effort into making it a fun night for all. I had the salmon which was superb! We found the wine list somewhat limited but it didn't dampen our evening. I like the fact that the restaurant is family run and it was lovely to hear some Italian accents - which made it that much more authentic. Would definitely go back and have their pizza - which looked incredible! A great evening in a classy and sophisticated, yet casual establishment. Thanks, Isola!