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Filippi's Pizza Grotto
Categories: Restaurants Italian Restaurants Pizza Italian, Pizza [Edit]
5353 Kearny Villa RdSan Diego, CA 92130
Neighbourhood: Kearny Mesa
(858) 279-7240
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 10 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 10 am - 11 pm
Sun 11 am - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
86 reviews for Filippi's Pizza Grotto
Review Highlights
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"Their pizza, lasagna, and antipasto salad are awesome." In 4 reviews -
"...Filippi's location- their wine bottles hanging from the top." In 4 reviews -
"...eaten at 4 different Fillippi's locations and this one is..." In 8 reviews
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86 reviews in English
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Review from Robert R.
Sun City, CA
12/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
I stopped here after taking my family to the zoo for dinner. As a regular at the Filippi's in Temecula, I incorrectly assumed their locations were consistent, I was wrong. It felt consistent up until I opened the menu, it has spaghetti and lasagna as you would expect but the menu is different in that there are things NOT on the menu that I have seen at the Temecula location. That was disappointing since I was hoping to order the 'feast' which is a little bit of everything that two or more can share and you leave full and with some to take home. Not here. Don't get me wrong, the portions are good, but not as generous as the Temecula location. Also, the sauces taste quite different too (not in favor of this location, sorry to say). It's good but no where near the best, I was disappointed.
In addition, there is not a kids menu (you have to order something your kids will like and share it between them or pay for individual regular meals. I ordered them a large sausage pizza and I must say, that was really good. I am not a huge pizza person and hard to impress on pizza but this one did impress me.
I was told by my server that although Filippi's is family owned, the locations are owned and operated by different brothers which apparently accounts for the inconsistency of menu selections and recipes. That's too bad because it appears something got lost or changed from the original recipes and spirit of the family traditions.
I give this place only three stars because all Filippoi's are not the same and you don't know what you are getting until you get there and experience it. The name should bring you in (which it did for me) and tell you its just like other Filippi's (which it is not). One advantage of a chain is you know what you are getting. While it appears to me each brother has changed up some things to their preference (not saying that is bad), is loses the consistency a chain brand should have. -
Review from Edward T.
San Diego, CA
4/22/2012 1 Check-in Here
Although I've heard many good reviews about this restaurant, I'm going to assume Saturday night (21 Apr) was an 'off' night. After practically being given 'the tour' of the dining areas, we were (finally) seated in the rear most part of the restaurant (having walked past many vacant booths and tables). The young man merely pointed at the table, sat the menus down on the table edge and walked away.
Immediately noticed the table had not been set up, so we waited. Few moments later, the waiter came, set up the table, took our drink and food order and left. After a 15 minute wait (yes, I did time) our food was finally delivered. First bite of my dish was a mouthful of COLD meat and sauce as if it was store bought and not nuked, stove cooked, etc...
Well, folks...as far as I'm concerned, this is NOT the way I wanted to have my own frist time experience in any restaurant. Based on my 1st visit, I won't be returning anytime soon; one day, maybe...but surely not anytime soon. -
Review from Jimmy S.
San Diego, CA
1/22/2012
Ok lets get down to it. The food isn't bad, it's ok. It's the typical good pizza where you have to eat it with a fork that you can get at any Italian place.
Now here's the reason they get one star.... the service and what HAPPENED after we left!
Our waitress was horrible. She was really rude to us. I believe some people at another table were giving her a hard time and pissing her off. Well, that sucks.... but she took it out on US! My boyfriend still hadn't gotten something that he ordered and he asked her about it and she said very rudely "yeah, it's coming!" and stormed off.
So.... we didn't leave her any tip. Nothing wrong with that after receiving such bad service.
We went out to our car. We were already backing up and the woman who was the hostess ran out to our CAR and started knocking on the window!!!! She asked "I noticed you didn't leave any gratuity for your server, is there anything you'd like to let my manager know about her service?"
I replied "No, that's ok." I was trying to be nice and not say anything. THEN she asks "Well, would you still like to leave any gratuity for her then?" I told her no again and we drove off to escape this crazy woman!
On that note, I've been to the Filippi's downtown and in Chula Vista. They were much better. -
Review from Anthony G.
San Diego, CA
5/13/2012 1 Check-in Here
The works pizza was good, I enjoyed the 7.50 domestic beer pitcher. Service from our waiter wasn't the greatest, but the others were friendly and got us what we needed.
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Review from Darren B.
San Diego, CA
Updated - 5/25/2012
came back same good food.pizza this time good service ,clean bathrooms are a plus too.
1 Previous Review:
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5/21/2012
We had great service and excellent lasagne.We will be back soon.keep up the good work!!
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Review from Jay R.
San Diego, CA
2/20/2012
This place is so Hit or Miss. Tonight was a complete whiff! Service was inexcusable, my wife had her main entree served first before our appetizers, by the time my wife was just about done with her plate, the manager asked how everything was. I told him I wouldn't know because my plate as well as my kids' order hasn't made it out yet.
Avoid this Filippi's at all costs. Go to a different Filippi's. -
Review from Frances S.
San Diego, CA
3/20/2012
Back at Filippi's after a dismal trip to Pizza Port. Love love love the food here.This is where we get together for family birthday dinners, as we have for years. Pizza and lasagna are the best. Loaded with toppings.Ravioli is also good. Not a brewery, but great food for generations. Never disappointed at this location. Better pizza here than the Scripps Ranch location if you like lots of cheese. The lasagna is consistent at both locations. Note, different menus at different locations. We've had excellent service here over the years. No complaints.On our most recent visits, even the manager stopped by to make sure everything was up to our expectations. We also order takeout. Always ready when we get there.
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Review from Joshua D.
San Diego, CA
3/30/2012
I got a chicken parm sandwich. It was so disgusting I dumped the chicken and ate only the bread and cheese. I've been told the pizza is better but no way I'd try it after that nasty mess.
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Review from Lalo G.
12/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
This particular location has been hit and miss. I've been coming here for years and I've never had the same pizza twice. Too much cheese one day and too little the next. The crust will be fluffy and awesome one day and completely flat and cardboard like the next. The same goes for the service. What gives?
I love Filippi's but this one is the worst I've been to. -
Review from Simon M.
San Diego, CA
5/3/2012
The service wasn't bad, it just wasn't good. The girl was nice and did check on us, but forgot my Tabasco sauce, my garlic bread, AND my pizza! Wtf? But my kids got their food (mozzerella sticks, chicken strips, and fries). The only thing that saves this review from being a 1 or 2 is the quality of their food. I would not go here again unless I have a whole afternoon to spare. If u dont care about customer service, you'll love it here.
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Review from David S.
Oakland, CA
3/27/2012
I was in charge of organizing dinner meeting for service organization that I belong to. Booked corner room for under 30 persons. Forty persons showed up...many at last minute. Wait-person Ashley, and her assistant, were totally organized in how they handled the ordering, serving, beverage service, and payment. Trust me they do not have an easy job.
I was not sure how our members would receive this venue because they come from all walks of life.....feedback was that my restaurant choice was a winner in terms of service, menu choices, portions, and taste.
No complaints and we will be back.
David S. -
Review from Cheryll 'n james U.
Chula Vista, CA
12/1/2011 1 photo
Went for a business lunch, and some of our party bailed. Got Fit for a King pizza which was split amongst those who showed up, and chicken parmessian. The food here is not cheap, and expect to spend $10 plus even for lunch. The ambiance is nicer than their Chula Vista location and the lunch crowd showed its local popularity despite it's moderate rating here.
The wait for food was long, but it was worth it. The Chicken parm. was outstanding, the exterior was done just right, and the interior was warm and moist. The pizza was nice and cheese; a blessing and a curse. When hot the cheese was toasty and the crust was just right. By the end of the meal the grease had settled into the crust and it was soggy. The pasta with the chicken parm was OK, but not outstanding. -
Review from Native S.
San Diego, CA
2/21/2012
Recently I went here with a large group on a weekday evening and the assigned server was fantastic! He was fast, friendly, discreet, and accurate.
I ordered the Works pizza, asking him to bring only two slices to the table and box up the rest for take home. He did this just as requested and the pizza tasted fresh and great, loaded with toppings and lots of cheese.
Years ago when I came here last, my pizza was swimming in oil that I had to blot off before eating. Oily-topped pizza is usually a sign of poor quality cheese. But on this visit, there was no sign of oil, so that redeemed my impression of Filippi's.
My score is only four stars because the dinner menu didn't offer options for ordering less than a whole pizza. Also, the prices are high if you want to add a few toppings on a pizza other than the standard one or two. Even though the restaurant was less than half full, it was a bit noisy. But this Filippi's is in a convenient location for get togethers and I couldn't have been happier with the service the night I went.
If, as a previous poster wrote, a server EVER followed me out to my car to complain about a tip or lack thereof, it would have triggered an all out war of words both to the manager and on online review sites. If this happened as reported, this would be outrageous and the server should immediately be fired. I'm glad my recent Filippi's server was fantastic. -
Review from Brian F.
San Diego, CA
11/11/2011
Tried MANY times to give benefit of doubt.
Kept hopes high again n' again. Really wanted to like this place.
Grew up n SD and went to most all of their locations through the years, but FINALLY...
Have to admit this place SUCKS on many levels!
Rude management & inept and untrained staff. (many instances)!!
Food is just "OK", but how hard is it to make spaghetti?? REALLY
-Bland and sauce could be vastly improved. Menu is limited and the offerings need to be updated. Not to mention NOT cheap for what you get.
Think the place is so entrenched and established, that they don't have to maintain quality. Customers I see there are the undiscerning type, and prob head over to MC Donald's for breakfast & lunch, thus keeping Flippi's in business.
If you have to go, at least go to the Little Italy location. they have some competition, and seem to try to compete on service & atmosphere. Avoid POWAY & MIRAMESA locations. -
Review from Caroline B.
San Diego, CA
Updated - 8/25/2011
This particular Filippi's has changed management but not for the better. Anita, who was always gracious and a joy to deal with, has been replaced by a cocky jerk named, Tony. Tony apparently also manages their Friars Road location. This cannot bode well for Filippis.
Tony has recently gone on some sort of firing rampage. Having been a regular here for years, I had come to know a number of their wait staff. Many of those good people were badgered by Tony on a regular basis. This caused many of the better wait staff to quit.
I was in just last evening, ran into Tony and asked him (in a respectful manner) whether Janet still worked there. The leering fool rolled his eyes at my question. he became defensive, answered manipulatively and was abrupt. He had apparently fired her as well as a number of his other better staff.
Our friend brought her young daughter in with us recently. The baby crawled for a moment on their filthy carpet. believe it or not, her pant legs became so soiled from a brief crawl you'd have guessed she'd been crawling outsi in the parking lot.
This particular Filippis would do well to replace Tony with a manager who actually cares.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/9/2007 ROTD 11/16/2007
There is a lot to like about this Italian Restaurant.
1) The lasagna is delicious. Cheesy, pipin'… Read more »
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Review from Conrad R.
I thought since Filippi's was such an old restaurant that they wouldn't have a baby changing station in the bathroom. Lo and behold, there's the familiar folding shelf mounted on the wall. You have no idea what a lifesaver this thing is when you have a cranky baby with a soiled diaper.
Casual and relaxed family dining vibe, great antipasto salad and meatball, ok pizza and pastas. Stick with their classics. Mangia!
Grazie mille e prego!Listed in: Misadventures of the First…
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Review from Kendall M.
San Diego, CA
9/11/2011
The experience we just had at Fillippis warrants a review... and not a positive one at that.
We love Fillippis. For me, it's my favorite pizza in San Diego. However, as I review my experiences at the Fillippis in Pacific Beach, Kearny Mesa and Mission Gorge, I realize most of the experiences have been quite negative.
Here's a quick synopsis:
- Both times I've ordered pasta, I've had to take it back. Once because the ingredients they stated would be in the pasta, wasn't there and the other time the pasta literally... tasted awful. How can Italian place screw up pasta? And if it's not bad enough to send something back, they charged me for it!
- The customer service we've experienced every time at the Kearny Mesa location has been unacceptable &, come to think of it, quite appalling. Today, for instance, we called ahead an order (to save time) & when my husband went to pick it up, it was wrong. They did apologize (kudos to them) & then proceeded to inform my husband that he was going to have to wait another 15 minutes (defeats the purpose for calling ahead) for them to re-make our order and then charge us full price or they were gonna just deduct the "thick crust" price. The point my husband was trying make was they were ok with us walking out of their restaurant with a pizza we didn't order & barely any compensation for the trouble!!
- I've noticed this is one of those chain restaurants that nickel & dime you for everything. Pick up a pizza & ask for some Ranch dressing- you're gonna get charged!
-As yummy as I think this pizza is, it is VERY expensive
Unfortunately, I believe today was the final straw. It doesn't look like we're going back... Anyone know of a good pizza place??? -
Review from Chris C.
La Mesa, CA
3/21/2012
Excellent pizza for the money. Medium pizza, 6 hugs slices and a large was 8 slices. The freshness and quality of the antipasto salad was beautiful, and Solidad, our server, was polite and really took care of us. Very impressed and had a wonderful time.
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Review from Neil P.
San Diego, CA
6/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
The food is excellent!! I ordered mozzarella cheese sticks and a med works pizza. The mozzarella sticks were the best and the pizza with or without anchovies was very good!
The waitress who served my wife and I was very good! Especially since the person that sat behind us kept flirting with her, trying to get her number! lol -
Review from Tuyen N.
1/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
I wonder what Filippi's was like when it was good. It's always sad when a family business falls by the wayside when it expands. Even though it is still a family owned and operated restaurant, I wish it still operated like one.
Tonight's dinner was actually decent quality. Ok family style Italian food but the management may need to bulk up on their dinner staff. Our server was obviously overwhelmed with her tables which affected her customer service. We waited for drink, waited for straws, waited to order, waited for the right food to be delivered, waited for the bill, waited for the bill to be corrected and waited for to-go boxes.
We ended up taking most of our food to-go because while we were waiting, we filled up on the bread. Not a fan but maybe I should come back for better service when it's better staffed. Maybe then, the dining experience and food will be better. -
Review from John D.
San Diego, CA
11/12/2011
One of my favorite pizza places in San Diego. This is a down-home and solid establishment for Italian food. If you crave great Italian food that leaves you happy and satisfied....you got to come to this place. The beer selection is a little weak, but overall food and experience was great. It is a very chill place, so simple tables with checked table cloths, servers are busy and service is so-so...but they have some serious busy times during lunch hour and certain days for dinner.
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Review from Don O.
San Diego, CA
12/13/2011
Have been here before but last time the lasagna was horrid. I asked if they changed the ingredients and the waitress said there was some changes...Service was okay but I am done with this location.
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Review from Paul J.
San Francisco, CA
12/13/2011
I like this place but.... The waitress was very nice on the first visit but after that I found the service lacking. I would make this a comfort food place on my list. Even with the many locations they have in SD it is still has a homey feel to it (Which means you get the good and the bad). Food is generally OK. Nothing exciting here. You can't really compare it to upscale or chain BEPO Italian places nor would you want to. I have had better Italian in many many places but it is a solid good food place. Calamari was good. Red sause was OK, average. Obviously I am spoiled on other locations but for a neighborhood Italian place it's fine. Now that I think about it when I was in Sicily I ate in hundreds of places just like this and many of them were much worse than this place.....
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Review from Steven M.
11/29/2010 1 Check-in Here
Filippi's....Filippi's.....Filippi's....oh how I used to love eating at your stores as I made my way moving around San Diego in the 80's and 90's.
Visited the Kearny Mesa location today for lunch (Sunday afternoon) about 3pm. Heck, no one was there and the place was pretty empty so why the off beat service? Here's a quick run down;
* Got sat as soon as we walked in the door
* Drink order within a few minutes
* Waiter brought the salads. More items in the salad than appeared on the menu. Wish I would have known as I would have had items held.
* Bread came at the time of salad, perfect.
* Garlic bread I ordered came towards the end of having our salad. Not bad but would have enjoyed it more with the salad.
* Waiter did not remove the salad bowls when he brought the lunch dishes.
* Slow on refills....almost went and got my own
* When he brought refills he brought 2 new drinks and did not remove any plates still or the empty beverage cups from the other drinks. The table was getting crowded at this point.
* Sat around and waited for the check. Watched an old guy yell at our waiter for taking .20 minutes to bring a salad out.
Food....4 stars. Service....2 stars....end result....you do the math....3 stars.
Filippi's....its a love it or hate it kind of deal. I'll go back you can count on it but I'm going to their Downtown location or Escondido...never had a problem there. -
Review from Samuel B.
San Diego, CA
8/1/2010
Where to begin?
The waiter - who I will call Moron 1 - was more interested in his larger pre-tipped (18%, may I add) tables of more than 8. Moron 1 took approximately 25 minutes to ask my party of 3 (4 if you count the infant that was with us) for our DRINK ORDERS. Strike 1, fucker. Within 3 minutes of sitting down, if I haven't at least ORDERED my drink, you're gonna be on my shitlist.
Now, here comes Moron 2 (The Absent-minded lady at the front desk) to ask if everything was okay. I was basically gagged at this point by my partymates as they know my tendency to be overly rough with bad service people.
Finally, the drinks show up. I had ordered the house chianti - it's house chiant; I wasn't expecting the finest grapes from the finest vineyards, but what I do expect is a fucking decent sized glass of it and for it to not taste of cat urine. I late found out that it was doled out from a jug. REMEMBER KIDS: JUST SAY NO TO JUG WINE.
The food shows up no less than an hour later (I am NOT exaggerating) and to my eternal horror, my food was prepared incorrectly. Instead of sending it back to the usual treatment of spit and ass-sweat, I decided to eat it anyways. Lo and behold - it was cold. Moron 1 shows up again to ask if everything is okay and again, I am summarily gagged with a garlic bread chunk by the person sitting next to me.
Time to pay the bill. Oh look, Moron 2 is at the counter. She won't shut the FUCK up about something inappropriate for work (I think she was banging one of the busboys or something stupid) and rude as can be about it. She hands me the wrong receipt, takes a moment before I say, I can't sign this one, and then says to me "That's your receipt." I said, "okay then" and walked out without signing my credit card receipt.
Filippi's PG in Kearny Mesa, may the health department shut you down and everyone working there be sent for psychiatric counseling. You are by far, the worst run business I have been to for a long time.
Rot in hell. -
Review from Ace D.
10/12/2009 6 photos
I have been a fan of Filippi's for as long as I can remember. Living in the South Bay, my favorite was the one off Broadway. Then for business lunches, this would be the spot to handle it.
But yesterday wifey was craving some pizza and we didn't want to wait in line for their main one in Little Italy. Hey, we are hungry now! Let's skip the line and visit Kearny Mesa's location.
As predicted there wasn't a few people here on a Sunday afternoon. No worries, I like to kick back in any restaurant that is slow paced but not in service. Right when we got to our seats our waitress was tentative and helpful.
We opted for Antipasto salad and "The Works" large with onions so we could have some left over for dinner. I don't ever recall having the best Antipasto salad as delicious as ours way. I loved the thick cubes of cheese. With extra bread to dip in the sauce, all that was required some a side of thousand island dressing.
My wife was tripping how old this place looks. I told her this place was probably built in the 80's, but the food is just as good then the original location. Our pizza came out hot and steamy that it was nearly impossible to take a picture. We were too busy diving in our first slices.
After relaxing and slurping down ice tea, I started to browse on the trademark of any Filippi's location- their wine bottles hanging from the top. What, what...did I just see? A heart enclosed with "CK"....awww, someone out there love's CK. How sweet life is.
The fat: Wanna get away from the crowds?
The skinny: Then come here to be the crowd.Listed in: Best Pizzas Spots
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Review from Wanugee N.
Pleasant Hill, CA
12/30/2009 3 photos
In 1950 the DePhilippi family moved from Philadelphia to San Diego where they opened a deli grocery on India Street, which was called Filippi's Cash and Carry. This was the beginning of what was to become a successful line of family restaurants. Today Filippi's Pizza Grottos are owned and operated by family members of the original founders.
There are 11 locations in the greater San Diego area, from Chula Vista north to Temecula. There is also now a location in northern California, in downtown Napa, in the heart of the wine country.
This location is totally Old School Italian. With red checkered plastic table cloths and a brick-like ceiling, the most noticeable fact about the decor is the hundreds of straw-based Chianti wine bottles hanging from the rafters througout the 3 dining rooms, all written with customer's graffiti.
Fillipi's Pizza Grotto also serves more than just Pizza, including Spaghetti, Ravioli, Lasagna, Macaroni, Antipasto, Salads and Sandwiches. ALso Linguini, Fettucini, Veal Parmigiana or Scallopini, and Eggplant Parmigiana. A 13 inch cheese pizza costs $11.60. Their "works" with Cheese, Sausage, Pepperoni, Mushroom and (Anchovy or Onion) is $15.15. Most pastas are from $7 - $12.Listed in: Wanugee! San Diego, Wanugee! Italian
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Review from Princess Kim R.
San Diego, CA
11/18/2009
With the recent weather changes (hurray, Fall!), my husband and I both wound up with raging headaches somehow. I managed to conquer mine with some Advil, and then I became very, very hungry. However, my husband just wanted to lie in bed in the dark. So, we compromised: I had to pick somewhere dark to eat. By dark, I mean that the restaurant had to have a dark interior as a requisite to our dining there. Filippi's Pizza Grotto was the only place I could think of that was both cheap and dark. That sounds like a great description for the type of place a player would love to bring a date, but we're old and married, haha.
We arrived and were seated immediately, having chosen the Kearny Villa Road location over the more crowded Pacific Beach location. (I'm so over Pacific Beach, and sometimes people, too, but that's a story for a different review.) Solidad was our server, and she was friendly and had an accommodating demeanor throughout our meal.
I ordered the spaghetti with meatballs. My husband ordered tortellini with alfredo sauce. In a word, YUM. I don't normally eat Italian food (cheapest food ever and I'm not paying some fool 9 bucks for a plate that would have cost me 25 cents to make at home), but I was under the weather and needed carbohydrates! My spaghetti was perfect, cooked more than al dente. I don't get the hard-pasta love. I want soft, mushy comfort food. The meatballs were well-seasoned and LARGE.
My husband's tortellini was delicious, although a little on the heavy side for me. I had a bite that was rich, creamy, slightly cheesy...mmm.
For dessert, we split the chocolate cake. It was decent, but nothing to write home about.
Solidad was friendly from start to finish. She welcomed us, seated us, and served us quickly, all with a smile on her face. I know that restaurant work can really blow goats, so when someone can be happy while serving other people, I really respect that.
If you're looking for a quiet evening that's better than fast food and not too pricey, try Filippi's Pizza Grotto. -
Review from Brittany G.
San Diego, CA
9/20/2011 5 Check-ins Here
I think this place is decent. A lot of people love it. I'll eat here if I'm with a group that wants to go but would never opt to go here. The only thing I like is the beef ravioli with meat sauce. Everything else I've tried I wasn't a fan of.
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Review from Joe C.
La Mesa, CA
10/15/2008
I prefer the India street location, the staff and ambiance are better there. But this location holds true to the menu and taste. I particularly like their Alfredo sauce. The prosciutto tortellini with the white sauce is to die for.. OK I will probably die from it ant the heart disease, but you only live once. Live with Alfredo Sauce!
Also try the sandwiches for lunch. The Torpedo blows away anything Subway can put out, and the meatball sub ranks with the best.
If your into a healthier fair... the antipasti salad is always a good bet.
Good location, great food, service weak. I will be back! -
Review from Robert B.
La Mesa, CA
6/15/2010
Filippi's Pizza is as good as it gets. It is the cheesiest most delicious pizza ever. Ok Downtown is slightly better. They are the flagship location so what are you gonna do. But my god the works here with onion is amazing. The pepperoni, the sausage. Oh my it is the cheesiest awesome pizza. Yeah the decor is old school and a little dark sometimes. It's definitely not upscale Italian. But if you like thick cheesy pizza with a slightly herbed crust you cannot go wrong here. Oh and the submarine sandwich is pretty good too. Also old school Italian but very good.
Side notes:
If the pizza slices are too big for you, they are pretty wide, ask for double cut.
The pepperoni comes under the cheese normally, and they put a ton. Ask for pepperonis on top if you prefer that style. -
Review from Lyn P.
11/8/2007
I haven't been here in forever, but in my post-debauchery haze, all I could think about for lunch was pizza. I dragged my favorite pizza lover with me because we didn't want to deal with the slow service at the other place we go to (that will remain unnamed because we love that place, we just deal with the fact that it is slow.)
The parking lot was pretty full, so I didn't think that was a good sign for us as far as getting seated and getting out of there in under an hour. I was pretty surprised when we were seated right away and we didn't have to wait for someone to come over to get our drink order. Great service from the get-go. We ordered "The Works" pizza - pepperoni, sausage and mushrooms. You can get this pizza with your choice of anchovy or onion but we opted out on that.
Our pizza came out and it just looked perfect. I love that their pizza doesn't have too much sauce - they really emphasize the toppings, which is a good thing. I was good for two pieces which is a perfect portion for lunch. And yeah, the pizza was good and I have no complaints.
I'm definitely putting this place back into my lunch rotation.Listed in: Lunch Faves near 92123, Pizza Pizza, Yum-o.
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Review from Julia N.
San Diego, CA
7/30/2007
Ok - I am still a work dork because I am new in town and have only gone out with colleagues. Filippi's was chosen and I went, although I am not a fan of Italian food unless it is top-notch.
This one was not so good, I just can't lie. The pizza was so cheesy that we all decided in the parking lot on the way out to go dairy free if we didn't die of cardiac arrest first. And not the good kind of cheesy, the thick grody kind.
My friend was upset that the only "healthy" thing on the menu - a chicken salad - came with fried chicken. -
Review from Daniel W.
San Diego, CA
2/18/2010
Not a huge fan. I've been here many times. My family loves this place, but I personally do not. I haven't enjoyed their marinara sauce ever...which is key for Italian.
And when I asked if they do baked ziti the people were all confused and never heard of it.....how do you run an italian spot and haven't heard of baked ziti! -
Review from Christa C.
San Diego, CA
7/22/2009
I had fond memories of Filippi's from when my parents were first dating. We used to visit @ this location all the time when my brother and I were kids but this time it all went wrong.
I gave this place a 1 out of 5 stars on my experience. I'm sorry I even had to give it 1 because it wasn't deserved. It was a Saturday night and I had tickets to a show @ The Comedy Palace right across the street (which I highly reccomend you check out for hilarious local stand up). So I figured we'd grab a bite @ Filippi's before the show. When I called ahead to get an estimated wait time for a table of 2, the woman on the phone told me the wait would be 45 mins.
We took the risk and went there anyway. We were seated immediately at a decent table but were asked to move 5 mins later to make room for a large party of 25. The second table we were seated at was right across from a screaming baby and comotion in the kitchen. We were greeted by our waitress who I could tell was a bit "off" from the moment I met her. She took our order but was very anxious and twitchy. I felt rushed. We ordered a pitcher of beer, a caesar salad and 2 plates of pasta. She brought us our salad, our bread, and our beer. 40 minutes later where is our server? Hiding out in the kitchen and flat out ignoring us.
So we're waiting and waiting for our food to come out (without being checked in on once by our waitress) before we realized everyone who was seated after us is almost done eating and we're about to get kicked out of our spot AGAIN to make room for another "big party".
Another waitress noticed that we looked distressed and offered to grab our waitress....who finally emerged from the kitchen. She said the big party's order was going out first and we'd have to wait for their order to come out before we got our food. How does that make ANY sense?! We paid for our beer, salad, and bread before leaving. We barely had time to eat at Denny's across the street before the show. Filippi's was a clusterfuck of nonsensical human beings, sheer chaos, and poor service. AWFUL. -
Review from Christina K.
San Diego, CA
10/19/2007
My friend always raved about this place so I was very disappointed when I came here one night, famished, and left full, but not satisfied.
I will give to them that it was a very busy night, however, it is unacceptable to be seated and then not even acknowledged for at least 20 minutes. We kept watching for our waitress but she'd invariably run by every time (and we'd always have this sad little hope that maybe she'd be coming for us). I'm not going to lie, my patience was not what it typically is due to being so hungry, but still, that is a ridiculous amount of time to wait. Finally, we had to flag her down just to put in our drink orders. Later, we ordered the Hawaiian pizza which, I thought, was not good at all. I don't know what kind of cheese that was or what was wrong with it (if any), but the cheese was gross and chewy and a bit hard. Needless to say, I was not a fan. My friend ordered coffee and they served him bad cream, so that was gross as well.
With the plethora of options of other places to eat in San Diego, I will probably not patronize Filippi's again. -
Review from S H.
San Diego, CA
5/27/2008
Obviously this is NOT the Filippi's to go to.
You know it's bad when you're sitting there talking about all the other places you could have gone to. -
Review from Henry T.
10/13/2007
My dad swears by this place, but his vote is biased only because it was the closest Filippi's to the place where he worked for 20 years. It was how he first heard of the San Diego institution. His co-workers would recommend that they go and get the pizza on their lunch breaks and dad would tag along.
My family has eaten here a couple of times, mostly when dad tires of the Friars Rd. location. It's not as good as that location, however. The service was actually slower than the Friars location and the pizza had way too much cheese and tomato sauce in it. I didn't mind the cheese, but the extra tomato sauce is not cool in my book. We also, for some unknown reason, ordered lasagna. Well, my mother wanted to try it. That too, had way too much cheese in it.
Plus, the access to the location is just ridiculous. You could take the 163 and exit Clairemont Mesa, but most times that was a mess to get to the place. You could approach from the eastbound of Clairemont Mesa, but the restaurant is in this little curved out street that you would miss if it didn't have sharp eyes or that there was a light there. -
Review from Michael S.
North Las Vegas, NV
4/25/2009
Went here for lunch on a Friday. It wasn't crowded, but the service was still fairly slow. Ordered Fettucini Alfredo, which was OK, but it took a long time to get it. My friend ordered a salad, and the server didn't bring the salad until right before bringing us our entrees. HUGE peeve of mine. How can you enjoy a salad when your main course is sitting there getting cold? Can't stand that.
Anyway, the food itself was good, it's just that the service left a lot to be desired. Maybe it was because of the lunch rush or whatever, but that always can't be an excuse for poor service. The food gets four stars, the service gets two, which averages to... three stars. -
Review from Brian V.
Carlsbad, CA
8/31/2011
Lunch time, fair crowd seated fast, drinks and food were quick to the table, food was fair, but we didn't get the usual Filippis item...overall nice and we'll return
