Apertivo, San Diego, California Restaurant Details

Food:

What amazing foods! The service is great as well! Sample many different foods for your sensory enjoyment, alone or with your friends, and your belly still won't swell up unpleasantly (and at the same time, your wallet doesn't go into a sad fasting mode)! There are also many vegetarian food options. Even organic and local beverages are available, aside from Italian beverages.
AND!: This is one of the few restaurants in San Diego that has outdoor seating! This means you can bring your dog with you and enjoy great food with your best friend (you can just go there without a dog as well and just enjoy the beauty of San Diego!) What a waste of San Diego's climate it is that only a few places have outdoor dining options! I lived in Austria for many decades, and although it can be cold and rainy there for much of the year, everybody finds a place to serve/eat/drink outdoors without walking far. (Maybe that's why these otherwise naturally sun-deprived guys get more vitamin D than we who are lucky enough to live in 'sunny San Diego'???) We love to end our family Sunday 'pack' walks on this restaurant's patio to think about the past, future and maybe most importantly, presence - without leaving our dogs at home! This restaurant has surely improved our living experience in University Heights! And our dogs keep pulling there every time we walk by!

Food:

I had been here a couple of times about a year back, and enjoyed myself, so we came back on 10/10/09 to have dinner with friends. We had four people, and we ordered a lot of dishes. The cooking quality was -- at best -- mediocre. Figs with prosciutto that had been cooked completely into submission -- the figs were cooked into mush and were oozing out of the cardboard prosciutto. Tasteless, gooey egglant parmegiana. Tough, dry lamb osso buco. Tasteless (frozen) calamari. All four of us were salting the food, to try to pry some taste out.

Our waitress was pleasant, although I would point out that a plate of braised chard sat alone on the table for almost fifteen minutes before it was joined by other dishes. Braised chard just doesn't jump out at me as a solo kind of dish, you kinow?

It was Saturday night, and 2/3 of the tables were empty. We quickly discovered why. By the way -- our bill with tip was $190 for four, so dinner was not only medicore, it was also disproportionately costly. You have been warned.

Food:

We tried to eat there at least once a week. Great food. Great prices.

Highly recommended!

Food:

I have been frequenting Apertivo since they opened about 4 years ago. Jane and Ken have created a great place for food, wine and fun. Unlike other reviewers I have found their food to always be flavorful. I like the fact that they cook with less salt leaving me with the option of adding more if I see fit. Their lasagna is the best I have ever had. Even better than my mom makes which is saying alot!! Also love the shrimp scampi, pasta with affumicato sauce, chicken parm, and ceaser salad. Their prices are so reasonable during these troubling economic times. Tapas plates are around $7-9. They have around 40 wines by the glass with prices ranging from $4-9 a glass. Sundays are great there. They have a waiter who is a singing tenor. While he waits on tables he will occasionally burst into song. Great wine specials on Sundays also. $2.75 a glass or or $11 a bottle. I have found this to be my favorite wine bar in San Diego.