When deciding between fine dining or a casual meal, Bay Area has a large selection of Italian restaurants. The main factors I used for deciding between the best restaurants were taste, price, ambiance, and service.
Frankie, Johnnie & Louigi Too!
939 W. El Camino Real
Mountain View, CA 94040
http://fjlmountainview.com/
My first stop was at Mountain View’s Frankie, Johnnie & Louigi Too!, “where families dine for good pasta or pizza”. The menu here features a large selection of pasta, pizzas, and many “New York” Style recipes as the founders are originally from the east coast. This is known as the “Pizza mecca” of South Bay. Their menu also offers variety of desserts including Tiramisu and a very good Cappuccino. I enjoyed the Cappellini Pomodori or angel hair pasta with locally grown herbs and tomatoes with Minestrone Soup for total of $11.99. Not a bad price for a quick lunch. The service is pretty good though if it’s very busy, this restaurant has quite a wait. The Giorgio’s in Milpitas is owned by the same family.
La Pastaia
233 West Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
http://www.lapastaia.com
A great restaurant for business lunch is La Pastaia at the De Anza Hotel in downtown Santa Clara. This hotel requires reservations which can be arranged from the web by OpenTable or by phone. Limo services can also be pre-booked. I enjoyed the ravioli with brown butter and sage for lunch for $16 with a view of the Alameda Business Center. Appetizers have to be ordered separately.
Pezzella’s Villa Napoli
1025 W. El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
http://www.pezzellas.com/
A great family owned restaurant is Pezzella’s Villa Napoli which has been in the Valley since 1957 owned by the Pezzella family. Their motto is “As long as there are appetites to satisfy and thirsts to quench, your comfort will be our desire, your enjoyment will be our reward.” They feature an extensive Napa Valley wine list. I enjoyed a Fettuccine Alfredo with minestrone soup for about $12 and found their garlic bread to be the best so far.
The Pasta Market
460 E El Camino Real
Sunnyvale , CA 94087
The Pasta Market features Florentine cuisine home delivered via ‘Waiters on Wheels’. With more than 100 menu items, you can also dine in for a casual atmosphere with red-checkered tablecloths! I have tried their lasagnas and “make your own pasta” combinations by mixing and matching various sauces and found these to be pretty good for a lunch price of about $7.
All these restaurants offer a low-calorie, vegetarian options or meat substitutes with their pastas. Their marinara sauce is made from local ingredients and with unique touch of local styles. So whether you are in the mood for casual dining, ordering to go or out for a fine dining experience with you family and friends, an Italian restaurant is the place to go.
References:
1) http://www.pezzellas.com/
2) http://fjlmountainview.com/
3) http://www.lapastaia.com/
