The Red Door

Mamma Mia! Best meal in months, if not years! Go, if only for the Beef Wellington, but stay for so much more.
Che grande piacere trovare questo gioiello di Mission Hills. Grazie!

I randomly came across The Red Door on a walk while I was visiting and decided to have dinner there a couple nights later with my partner. You delivered a complete 5-star experience from our first step in the door to our last bite of chocolate cake. The decor, cocktails, wine, food, the knowledgeable staff, and the visit from the Chef/Owner really made for a special evening without any pretension. Thanks for the great experience! We will definitely be back on our next trip to San Diego.

There aren't many restaurants where the chef will come out not once, but twice to check on your meal. Luciano does most of the cooking himself and it shows. Perfectly cooked scallops on a bed of flavors that just pop in your mouth! The wine list is heavily Italian, befitting Luciano's origins. Such authentic cooking is hard to find anywhere, much less in Mission Hills, San Diego. Oh, and the tiramisu is the best we've ever had. Seriously good food!!

The food is always outstanding!! Atmosphere and service is great also!

This restaurant was very nice. It wasn't the "best ever" in any category, but was much nicer than many other restaurants. My biggest gripe was the decor and ambience. For a place with such delicious food and good service, the visual experience was lacking, in my opinion. A little makeover in the decor department would go a long way. I did enjoy the chef coming out to introduce himself and chat with us a bit. We will certainly go back as there were more items on the menu we want to experience.

Food was pretty good. The service was meh, she forgot about us a few times and never did receive my birthday treat. FYI the restrooms were horrible.

Great food and great service it was a great experience

Food was creative and very flavorful. The butternut Brie starter was exceptional. Service was extraordinarily outstanding!

Great food, excellent service, friendly wait staff

Excellent everything

We ate at Red Door one other time and loved it. We loved it this time too, except it was on a Saturday night so was very noisy. It was difficult to hold a conversation. Just a head's up about that. Otherwise, food was great, staff was amazing. We met the chef in person who shook our hand at the door! Very nice restaurant.

The kale caesar salad is delicious. I'm not a big kale fan, but this was something else. We had the albacore tuna for an entree. it was fantastic. It was pan seared with a citrus glaze that was not overwhelming. The fish was basically the size of a steak. You walk away full, but not bloated. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Our food was delicious! The chef came out to check on patrons more than once, and the staff was very attentive. We’ll be back!

It was cold and musty. I love the feel and vibe of the restaurant but it just didn’t seem clean. Food was not great and we had salad, appetizers and main courses. The best part was the desert. The Bananana cream is awesome!

Always wonderful!

Wonderful fabulous meal - one of the best dinners I've had in years in San Diego. Not only was the food absolutely delicious and perfectly prepared, but the service and ambiance were so enjoyable. It's a very small restaurant and we felt we very well informed and attended to. The owner and chef, Luciano, greeted us and brought our meals to us! The sea bass (catch of the day) was simply spectacular, and the short ribs were almost as great. We will be back.

Great little restaurant. Food was delicious, service was superb. Great little neighborhood restaurant.

We started out with the steamed clams and kale Cesar salad, perfect split for two. We had the 50 day dry aged rib eye steak with roasted potatoes, again split and more than enough for two. Excellent. We had a cappuccino and sticky toffee pudding for dessert...everything was excellent and we will absolutely come again!

Food was excellent, but they were woefully understaffed.

Excellent as every time we go!
Personal attention by Chef Luciano and Kasey.
Congratulations

We arrived right on time for our reservation. The whole restaurant smelled bad, like sour milk.
We were the only people in the restaurant and it took the server forever to help us.
When she did help us, she was mistaken about Happy Hour. She said it was only in the bar, but their website states its in both the dining room and the bar for designated hours.
She wasn't sure about the Specials or the Soup of the day. Perhaps because we were the only people in the restaurant, she hadn't had to learn what those were yet for the day.
We ordered the short ribs. I would NOT recommend!!! They were dry and bland. Very boring dish.
The Mac and Cheese appetizer was great, so was the toffee pudding for dessert.
I tried to use my OpenTable voucher, but nobody in the restaurant knew how to use it.
They also forgot that I had told them it was a birthday celebration until after we paid the bill.
At that point, I just wanted to pay the bill and go. I saw amazing reviews, so thought this place would be great. But I won't be back.

Great local gem. Fresh ingredients, excellent preparation. Ryan is a great server.

Super cute place, great service, yummy food. Went for brunch and they are generous with the bottomless mimosas. Want to try dinner.

Amazing food. Tiny place, but they make good use of the space. Great service.

Big fan of the former Red Door. The new owner has retained farm-to-table sensibility and added Italian fare. There were hits and misses. On the food side, the butternut squash brie was more like lukewarm soup, served with very thinly sliced bread (it really needed chunks). Brussels were good, as was the salmon entree, but neither was remarkable. Risotto with scallops was yummy and take-home worthy. On the miss side: the service was AWFUL. We were seated promptly at 7 pm and finally saw our server just before 7:30. He didn't want to take our appetizer order until he brought our drinks (and could tell us about the specials for the day). Got our drinks, ordered our full meal and sat with nothing on the table until 8:20 when I spoke to the manager (we finally got a basket with 4 slices of bread). Appetizers were served and finally dinner. We left at 9:30.

We were regulars with the old owner and I can assure you we will be regulars with the new owner, Luciano. He is great. Came out to our table to introduce himself to us and recommended a few dishes. I recommend everything!!! Thanks Luciano, we will be back.

Quaint little place but the décor is lacking. Pretty austere and cold. Servers were good but sparse when it came to checking up. Chef owner came over to say hello which was charming. Lamb Shank and Scallops are to die for!

The service was pretty bad. It took over 30 minutes before our food order was taken. We had children and were starving. The restaurant appeared to be understaffed that night and we did try to be understanding but the slow service dampened the evening a bit.

Phenomenal food

Great local spot. Owner is wonderful as well as the staff. Little too loud in main room but everything else was great. Can’t wait to go back!!

great brunch!

Was so excited to visit the Red Door and my friend Chef Luciani. The atmosphere was quaint. Decor was homie and inviting. It was absolutely Charming. I loved the corner seating with decorative pillows. Such a lovely place to be. Food was outstanding. Had scallops with risotto. My boyfriend had the eggplant. Both dishes came out hot and definitely made with love. So excited to see Lucciano's dream come to fruition. I will definitely be coming back on several occasions. I really loved the feeling there. Besides being a friend he was so hospitable to all the guests. Taking his time to visit each one and have conversation. Really felt like I was the only one in the restaurant but I can guarantee everyone else felt the same.

Wonderful cuisine and terrific service. Street parking usually available. We met the owner/chef, and he was a gracious host, inquiring about our experience, which we said was wonderful. We'll definitely go back, and take friends!

Our meal was fantastic. The service was great. I can't think of a better meal that I have ever had in San Diego. Far superior to other restaurants in the city.

Great food especially the Beef Wellington and our server Brian was great. Only thing was where we were seated, felt too closed in by the wall in half booth table and table next to us was kind of close to our table. Otherwise everything else was great.

Beef Wellington was perfectly cooked. One of the better meals we’ve enjoyed in San Diego. Nice for a date.

Always great!

Slightly underwhelming, nonetheless, great food spot

The beef wellington was delicious & also the seared scallops. Good service & cute place, but it does get very loud.

Birthday! The chef/owner greeted us and we learned more about Milan and the restaurant. It was lovely