Ahhh, Osteria Romantica conjures up images of a small, intimate, very romantic eatery in my mind, but alas, there isn’t anything THAT romantic about this place at all. It is a casual, cozy restaurant. Comfortable — yes! Romantic — ummm NO!
Not being familiar with San Diego, I naturally went to my trusty Yelp app on my phone to find a place to dine. After calling around and finding either restaurants not open, or requiring a wait, we settled on this place. Obviously, we didn’t have a reservation but it wasn’t at all busy so when we were shown to a table in the center of the front room, I asked if we could sit in the back instead.
The hostess told us that the tables were reserved and with that in mind, we opted for patio seating instead. It was a little cold so they moved the space heater closer — which was a nice gesture.
Hot crusty bread arrived in a basket with some tomato sauce — and I say tomato sauce because it had the consistency of salsa and was served cold! It would’ve been nice had the dipping sauce been warm or hot as well.
I had noticed that the portions at neighboring tables were huge and it was just as well we decided to share.
Fried calamari and zucchini was a whopping plate of calamari rings, tentacles but only 3 small sticks of soggy zucchini.
The marinara sauce served alongside was a great accompaniment and I was glad that this was served piping hot!
Our main course of Fettucine Ubriache was very tasty with chunks of chicken and mushrooms but there wasn’t enough sauce so the pasta stuck together.
It got drier and drier with each bite and I didn’t care for the frozen peas in it after being spoiled with the lovely English peas I’ve had of late.
Luckily, we ended with some delicious tiramisu — and I not being a tiramisu fan thought it fabulous!
If not for this ending our meal, I think I would’ve been even a little more ticked off, especially since I noticed that those “reserved” tables were still empty throughout our meal and even when we had paid and were ready to leave.
Osteria Romantica
2151 Avenida De La Playa
La Jolla, CA 92037
Tel: 858-551-1221
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