Search Your Favourite Restaurants.

Name: Acqua Al 2
Address: 322 5th Ave, San Diego, CA, 92101
Telephone: (619) 230-0382
Price range: Under $11
Rating: 3.26

Acqua Al 2

322 5th Ave, San Diego, CA, 92101

(619) 230-0382
Store is closed

Acqua Al 2 Menu

Appetizers

Assaggio Di Primi

Assaggio Di Primi
Cold

Antipasto Toscano

Carpaccio Di Bresaola

Carpaccio Di Salmone

Assaggio Di Formaggi

Antipasto Toscano

Carpaccio Di Bresaola

Carpaccio Di Salmone

Assaggio Di Formaggi
Hot

Parmigiana Al Forno

Radicchio Rosso Al Forno

Strozzapreti Al Pomodoro

Strozzapreti Al Radicchio Rosso

Parmigiana Al Forno

Radicchio Rosso Al Forno

Strozzapreti Al Pomodoro

Strozzapreti Al Radicchio Rosso
Salads, Soup

Soup Of The Day

Assaggio D'insalate

Insalata Della Casa

Insalata Caprese

Insalata Di Cuore Di Palma

Soup Of The Day

Assaggio D'insalate

Insalata Della Casa

Insalata Caprese

Insalata Di Cuore Di Palma
Panini Italian Sandwiches

Pomodoro E Gorgonzola

Bresaola

Parmigiana Di Melanzane

Prosciutto E Formaggio

Panini E Insalata

Panini E Zuppa

Pomodoro E Gorgonzola

Bresaola

Parmigiana Di Melanzane

Prosciutto E Formaggio

Panini E Insalata

Panini E Zuppa
First Course

Rice

Riso Ai Funghi Porcini

Rice

Riso Ai Funghi Porcini
Pasta

Farfalline Alla Zucca

Farfalline Ai Funghi Porcini

Rigatoni Alle Melanzane

Maccheroni Alla Vodka

Fusilli Corti Agli Spinaci

Fusilli Lunghi Alia Fiacheraia

Fusilli Lunghi Aila Contadina

Fusili Lunghi Al Mascarpone E Funghi

Fusilli Lunghi Ai Pepperoni

Topini Al Gorgonzo

Topini Al Radicchio Rosso

Cannelloni Mascarpone E Funghi

Cannelloni Ricotta E Spinaci

Farfalline Alla Zucca

Farfalline Ai Funghi Porcini

Rigatoni Alle Melanzane

Maccheroni Alla Vodka

Fusilli Corti Agli Spinaci

Fusilli Lunghi Alia Fiacheraia

Fusilli Lunghi Aila Contadina

Fusili Lunghi Al Mascarpone E Funghi

Fusilli Lunghi Ai Pepperoni

Topini Al Gorgonzo

Topini Al Radicchio Rosso

Cannelloni Mascarpone E Funghi

Cannelloni Ricotta E Spinaci
Main Entree

Assaggio Di Secondi

Controfiletto Alia Griglia

Controfiletto Al Pepe Verde

Filetto All' Aceto Balsamico

Filetto Al Mirtilio

Lombatina Di Vitelia Alla Griglia

Lombatina Ai Funghi Porcini

Petto Di Pollo Alla Griglia

Petto Di Pollo Ai Funghi

Petto Di Pollo Al Porto

Tagliata All'arancio In Focaccia

Tagliata Alla Rucola In Focaccia

Assaggio Di Secondi

Controfiletto Alia Griglia

Controfiletto Al Pepe Verde

Filetto All' Aceto Balsamico

Filetto Al Mirtilio

Lombatina Di Vitelia Alla Griglia

Lombatina Ai Funghi Porcini

Petto Di Pollo Alla Griglia

Petto Di Pollo Ai Funghi

Petto Di Pollo Al Porto

Tagliata All'arancio In Focaccia

Tagliata Alla Rucola In Focaccia
Sides

Vegetali Alforno

Pasta

Riso

Vegetali Alforno

Pasta

Riso

Healthy Meal suggestions for Acqua Al 2

Appetizers

Assaggio Di Primi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Assaggio Di Primi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Cold

Antipasto Toscano [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Carpaccio Di Bresaola [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Carpaccio Di Salmone [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Assaggio Di Formaggi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Antipasto Toscano [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Carpaccio Di Bresaola [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Carpaccio Di Salmone [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Assaggio Di Formaggi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Hot

Parmigiana Al Forno [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Radicchio Rosso Al Forno [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Strozzapreti Al Pomodoro [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Strozzapreti Al Radicchio Rosso [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Parmigiana Al Forno [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Radicchio Rosso Al Forno [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Strozzapreti Al Pomodoro [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Strozzapreti Al Radicchio Rosso [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Salads, Soup

Soup Of The Day [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Assaggio D'insalate [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Insalata Della Casa [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Insalata Caprese [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Insalata Di Cuore Di Palma [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Soup Of The Day [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Assaggio D'insalate [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Insalata Della Casa [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Insalata Caprese [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Insalata Di Cuore Di Palma [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Panini Italian Sandwiches

Pomodoro E Gorgonzola [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Bresaola [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Parmigiana Di Melanzane [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Prosciutto E Formaggio [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Panini E Insalata [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Panini E Zuppa [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Pomodoro E Gorgonzola [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Bresaola [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Parmigiana Di Melanzane [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Prosciutto E Formaggio [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Panini E Insalata [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Panini E Zuppa [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
First Course

Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Riso Ai Funghi Porcini [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Riso Ai Funghi Porcini [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Pasta

Farfalline Alla Zucca [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Farfalline Ai Funghi Porcini [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Rigatoni Alle Melanzane [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Maccheroni Alla Vodka [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fusilli Corti Agli Spinaci [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fusilli Lunghi Alia Fiacheraia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fusilli Lunghi Aila Contadina [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fusili Lunghi Al Mascarpone E Funghi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fusilli Lunghi Ai Pepperoni [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Topini Al Gorgonzo [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Topini Al Radicchio Rosso [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Cannelloni Mascarpone E Funghi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Cannelloni Ricotta E Spinaci [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Farfalline Alla Zucca [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Farfalline Ai Funghi Porcini [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Rigatoni Alle Melanzane [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Maccheroni Alla Vodka [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fusilli Corti Agli Spinaci [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fusilli Lunghi Alia Fiacheraia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fusilli Lunghi Aila Contadina [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fusili Lunghi Al Mascarpone E Funghi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fusilli Lunghi Ai Pepperoni [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Topini Al Gorgonzo [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Topini Al Radicchio Rosso [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Cannelloni Mascarpone E Funghi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Cannelloni Ricotta E Spinaci [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Main Entree

Assaggio Di Secondi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Controfiletto Alia Griglia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Controfiletto Al Pepe Verde [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Filetto All' Aceto Balsamico [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Filetto Al Mirtilio [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Lombatina Di Vitelia Alla Griglia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Lombatina Ai Funghi Porcini [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Petto Di Pollo Alla Griglia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Petto Di Pollo Ai Funghi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Petto Di Pollo Al Porto [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tagliata All'arancio In Focaccia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tagliata Alla Rucola In Focaccia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Assaggio Di Secondi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Controfiletto Alia Griglia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Controfiletto Al Pepe Verde [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Filetto All' Aceto Balsamico [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Filetto Al Mirtilio [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Lombatina Di Vitelia Alla Griglia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Lombatina Ai Funghi Porcini [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Petto Di Pollo Alla Griglia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Petto Di Pollo Ai Funghi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Petto Di Pollo Al Porto [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tagliata All'arancio In Focaccia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tagliata Alla Rucola In Focaccia [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Sides

Vegetali Alforno [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Pasta [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Riso [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Vegetali Alforno [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Pasta [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Riso [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sorry, We are updating this restaurant blood pressure menu details.

Sorry, We are updating this restaurant cholesterol menu details.

Write An Anonymous Review

Laura L.

Such a wonderful, romantic meal.
(5)
mike o.

Not good food; not good service. Too bad, was looking forward to trying it.
(1)
Scott C.

The most authentic Italian food that I've had in San Diego. A little expensive, but makes for a nice classy night out.
(5)
Arlene P.

One night, after a haircut at a nearby salon, I decided I was hungry, but since it was so hot, I didn't want much. So, I walked by Acqua Al 2 and luckily it was during Apperitivo time! For $5.50 I got a dirty martini ( you can pick your poison) and all you can eat small bites. There were two yummy (albeit cold) pizzas - one that was like a hawaiian pizza and the other a different kind with pine nuts. There were also cold stuffed mushrooms and some meatballs. It was great to have the left patio to myself, an ice cold martini and some appetizers while watching the world go by on 5th Avenue. Apperitivo, I believe it's 5 to 8pm every weeknight. Try it, you might like it!
(4)
Morgan Richelle M.

We came here for lunch one day during Comic Con 2015. We were walking around the Gaslamp with all of our comic gear and really just wanted a delicious, fresh meal... and preferably some AC to get cooled down a bit. A gentleman was standing out front and recruited us into the restaurant. We didn't think twice, and headed straight to our table. The waitress that we had was nice and brought us ice cold waters right away. We were given a little appetizer to snack on, but the dish had meat in it so we were unable to eat it (we are vegetarian). I had the caprese salad, and my husband had the Gnocchi dish. One great thing was that we didn't have to wait long. We were able to relax and chat while we waited, and before we knew it, our food arrived to the table. My salad was very good. I loved the fresh mozzarella cheese, and the balsamic dressing. It was relatively small, though, so I would order another side with it if you are more hungry. The Gnocchi was lovely as well. We were thankful for a great meal, but this isn't our favorite restaurant.
(3)
Sooze L.

Walking around the streets of Gaslamp, I was always drawn to the warm ambiance of this Italian restaurant. I insisted on a special dinner to this quaint spot. However, I was thoroughly disappointed. First of all, while I was excited to soak in the ambiance, we were given a terrible table. Between the french doors into the patio, my boyfriend was sitting inside while I was sitting outside. We had come by about an hour before to put our names down for a table, and at 10 pm, this is the best that they could do? Just unacceptable. We were then served by a bored and rude waitress (with an accent for added authenticity!). If there is anything redeeming in this menu, then she did not make any recommendations. I had a mediocre pasta while my partner ordered the most disgusting peppercorn steak he has ever had in his life. The problem with this restaurant is that the blasÃ© food is not worth the hefty price tag. I will never come to this wanna be place ever again. Are you kidding me? Is the twin restaurant in Italy also a shameless tourist trap? What a joke of a restaurant, and the yelp rating affirms this. AVOID AVOID AVOID.
(1)
Andrew K.

Go to this place with Elias Sladechek and you will be transported to the old world. The blueberry and balsamic filet mignons, spicy pasta, creme brulee, and porto to top it all off were all superb. The service was great. And, we got to meet Joe - the pitcher for the Padres. All in all, a magical night!
(5)
Bryce p.

Great food! The service was excellent!
(4)
Lisa H.

I'm sad to see some bad reviews. I will admit one time when I dined alone, I did not get served very well. However the rest of the times that I have gone, I had a pleasant experience. They give you a bag of bread to dip into balsamic and olive oil. I like the bread. I've had their pasta course, which was definitely filling but fun to try. Before my boyfriend went to Italy, I thought it would be proper to give him a taste test of different types of pastas. It was fun to try the different types of noodles. Food: Steak with balsamic glaze is awesome. They also have a steak with blueberry sauce, also tasty. I've had their ravioli, pasta and lasagna, all great. I like this place better than Busalacchis. Chocolate flourless cake was wonderful. They may have changed the menu since I have been, but I do like to go here to have a nice meal with a great friend or family. Ambience: Plates, plates and plates everywhere. You'll see famous athletes and people that have spent $100 or more to put up a plate in the establishment. They have music that is calming and relaxing. Darker setting. Tables failry close. Bar: Been there once and it was tight quarters but served its purpose while I was waiting for a friend. Wouldn't say the bartender was as friendly like "The Field" or other places, but I wasn't there to hangout with the bartender. Events: They have a lot of events like wine tastings and pairings. I always get invitations to go but have not been. Took my friend for her bachelorette dinner one time and we had a wonderful evening. The chef came out and we thanked him for a wonderful meal. When I visited Florence, I passed by their sister restaurant Acqua Al 2. I wanted to eat there and mention that I frequent their San Diego store but chance did not allow me to. So if you ever dine in Florence, check them out.
(4)
Jessica O.

A friend of mine took a trip to Italy and when he came back, he couldn't stop raving about the best steak he had ever eaten in his life. The catch? It was covered in a blueberry sauce (guh-ross!) fast forward a couple of months and I find myself at Aqua Al 2...ordering what else? the Blueberry Filet Mignon (aka fileno al mirtilio). the conclusion? "hangs her head in shame" yes. yes it really was that good. on another note, someone in my party had some Gorgonzola rice dish and WHOA that shizzle was pungent and takes some getting used to. My recommendation? Go with the Chef's Special...the one that allows you to sample a number of different dishes. It's definitely worth the money and on the night that we went, the special included 3 different types of steak including the Balsamic and the Blueberry filets. all in all, I think the only thing I would come back here for is the Blueberry Filet. pricey, but worth trying at least once.
(4)
Danny K.

We went to the restaurant in Florence back in 2008 so when we moved to San Diego we were so excited to see they had another restaurant here. But its not the same, maybe its the water, maybe its the awesome wine in italy, maybe its just that its not in italy. Whatever "it" is ......its not the same. Not even close.
(2)
Emily P.

I first went to the one in Florence with two friends; we knew it would be a bit pricy but splurged anyways by trying out as many samplers as we could get our hands on (we liked the chocolate cake off the dessert sampler so much we ordered a full slice). When my family decided to vacation in San Diego I knew I had to take them all to this location and we were not disappointed. I highly recommend trying out the samplers, especially the pasta one when with a large group. Though they are just small samples, if you try a few it is just enough and it lets you see what you like off the menu without having to get the full dish. Personally I preferred the balsamic glaze over the blueberry glazed steak, but both were excellent. Next time I am in San Diego I will absolutely go back.
(5)
Shawn D.

The servers were very nice and helpful. The food was fresh but very bland! No flavor and expensive! Do yourself a favor and continue down the road...
(1)
Eric C.

Went there with some friends when visiting San Diego. My one buddy who was living there highly recommended it. Overall it did not dissapoint. We did the dish where you sample 3 or 4 types of pasta and 3 types of meats. We made sure that one of those meats would be the blueberry filet since I haven't had a blueberry steak that I've disliked. This probably isn't an every night type of place b/c of the cost, but for special events and get together is a solid choice. The night we were there the Dodgers happened to be in town so Manny Ramirez ended up sitting at one of the other two tables outside. A few of my friends had pictures taken with him which was a nice plus for the evening* Thankfully the place was accomodating to him and staffed two guys outside the front doors so Dodgers fans and general tourists didn't start flocking into the restaurant in hordes to take pictures of him. *I do not appear in any photo with Manny as I do not endorse the use of steroids in sports
(4)
Mark P.

It was around 7:30 on a rainy Friday night when we finally got out from seeing the latest Almodovar film at the Gaslamp theatre. It was an excellent film (Broken Embraces) and we had built up a good appetite. Since Acqua Al 2 was on the way home, we decided to see if there was any chance of getting in. The rain must have kept the crowds light as getting a table there on a Friday night without a reservation is normally hard to impossible. This time though they sat us down right away in what looked like the last open table. First up was the bread in a brown paper bag. The last time we came (a couple of years ago) it was really tasty toasted bread; this time though we were told that it was unsalted Tuscan bread. Unsalted it certainly was (ugh), and somewhat stale and cold as well. This was not boding well for the rest of the meal. We ordered the arugula and tomato salad, and a cup of the minestrone. The minestrone was not much better than you might expect from a can of Campbell's, but the arugula salad was quite tasty. For our main dishes we ordered the filet mignons; one with the balsamic reduction and the other with the blueberry sauce. We also ordered some sides of the gorgonzola riso. The meat was OK, but nothing to write home about. It was a little dry and overdone on the edges, but acceptably pink and tender in the middle. The balsamic reduction was what you would expect but nothing special. The blueberry sauce on the other hand was delicious. The gorgonzola riso was seriously packed with gorgonzola flavor, but arrived a little cold and soon set hard. The first few bites I had before it finished congealing completely were pretty good though. Overall, the food was above average, but for a total bill of nearly $150 for two (including a bottle of Panna, glass of wine, tax and tip), I expected a lot more. On the plus side, the staff were all very friendly and helpful, and the environment wass nicely conducive to a romantic meal.
(3)
Mike R.

Two reviews. 1. For San Diegans: Yuck. The restaurant shares exactly ONE THING with its mother ship in Florence, Italy--its name. Apart from that, those of you middle aged former poor students wanting to relive your backpacking-around-Europe-Let's-Go-Italy days after college, remembering having stumbled upon a terrific little trattoria called Acqua al 2 (pronounced "doo-way") on Via Acqua in Florence, stuck between the incredible rice gelato place and the leather store, will find the food at AA2SD about as gustatorially faithful to the original as Del Taco is to Mexican food. Actually there is an analogy to be found here: When I ate there, the food in AA2SD had a curious Mexican bent. Was that cumin I tasted in the pasta sauce? And Jack cheese on the lasagna? Possibly not , but it sure was suspicious. IMHO, AA2F should come to AA2SD and demand the return of their name. 2. For Conventioners visiting The Gaslamp: This place is awesome! The best Italian food you will ever have. The Spaghetti alla Suga Messicana is to die for. And make sure you try the molten chocolate cheesecake for dessert! Viva Italia!
(1)
Kim P.

i think the only reason this could be a really good place is if you have a really big group. they do groups really well. but singles? i dont know. i think theres better places to meet someone or meet up with someone. its very authentic but in that same vein, it caters to the american glutton. so, i cant say its the best but its certainly not awful.
(4)
Cindy Q.

Was in San Diego on business at the Convention Center. Everything had to be within walking distance for this tourist/former San Diegan on this trip. Acqua Al 2 fit this bill and pleased my full senses-taste, vision, smell, hearing all included. It's been a couple of months, so I will do my best to recall the highlights: -bread served in paper bags and was warm and smelled incredible -fantastic salad with just a perfect hint of olive oil and vinegar (no ranch at this place, thank God) -no frills Italian style setting but very cramped seating and dining area -attentive service -really wished I could comment on wine but it was a business lunch and I couldn't imbibe I would definitely go back to this place with friends, co-workers and even Hubby.
(4)
Anja H.

Went there for dinner on 5/29/2011. The food was okay - the service was not. We ordered a bottle of wine for $32, showed it to the waiter on their fancy iPad wine lists to make sure he sees which one we selected. The wine the other waiter / manager brought later was a Cab, which was the grape we ordered, we didn't pay attention. When the bill came, they charged us $130 for the wine. It was a different one, not the one we ordered. I swear. The waiter / manager didn't care, did not believe us (why the hell would we make that up?!? I know for sure the price of what we ordered was $32! If I would have ordered a $130 wine, I'd know that and I'd pay for it!), They treated us like liars. Really bad experience. Don't go there.
(1)
S R.

I thought this place would be really good, but I just wasn't feeling it. From the spotty service, to the mediocre pasta sampler, to the cramped interior seating, to the loud music playing in a mostly empty restaurant (at least when we arrived), the whole evening just felt "off" somehow. Unfortunately I'd have to agree they must be coasting on their connection to Acqua Al 1 in Florence. I love the Gaslamp, but AA2 isn't one of the reasons why.
(3)
Ben B.

I really love this restaurant, love the tasting menu with the various pastas, and am shocked that the ratings are all over the place here. I called them and talked to them about this (as a business owner myself) just to make sure that they were aware. I agree on the bread, it could be improved, and maybe something as simple as having free, really americanized bread with tons of oil/balsamic, would satiate a lot of people. Otherwise, the food really is great, the service for me has always been great. I've been to both locations, the one in Italy and the one here... the Italian one is pure perfection... this one just needs a little brushing up... then again, we're talking San Diego, not quite famous for great service anywhere you go...
(5)
Michael B.

Just had dinner here and everything was great. The food and service was very good. All the severs were very attentive I was a little apprehensive after reading some of the recent negative reviews but as it turned out none of it was true of our visit. Will definitely return!d
(5)
serina c.

this place does not even deserve my energy to write a bad review. To sum up this place in 1 word is Terrible!!!!!!
(1)
Donovan B.

My lady friend and I went to San Diego for her birthday and I suggested Acqua Al 2. I'd been to the one in Florence about 4 years ago and had a great time. The one in San Diego upheld the high standards of my memory. The blueberry filet was as amazing as I remembered and larger than I expected. My gf got their pasta sampler (I think it was their restaurant week) and all of the dishes they brought out were tasty. The outdoor atmosphere in Gaslamp was great too (we love people watching heh). I strongly recommend this place, especially for date night. They had great steak options for me and the pasta was just what my gf wanted.
(5)
Katie W.

I REALLY wanted to like this place. My fiance's sister ate at the Florence location a couple of months ago and raved about the steak with blueberry sauce, so when the opportunity came to go to a wine tasting we made reservations. The whole experience was like being on an uncomfortable date. The tasting started about 30 minutes late, which was no big deal, but in that time we were not offered water or even the option to make a drink order. The staff seemed like they had no idea what was going on. When we made the reservation, the price for the tasting was $15 and included 6 tastes of different Italian wines made by women, along with a food pairing for each wine and a gift bag. It sounded like an incredible deal and we planned to stay for dinner after the tasting. It turned out to be $20 for 4 tastes, underwhelming food, and NO gift bag. The first food pairing was essentially the porcini white wine sauce listed on the menu as an accompaniment to a chicken dish, on a piece of bread paired with a white wine. Terrible mouth feel, ok flavor. It was like spreading mushroom jelly on toast and serving it lukewarm. Bizarre. And the pairing was no good. The second food taste was veal ragout on polenta. Great flavor, but cold. Decent pairing. The third was a tough, fatty piece of ribeye with parmesan cheese on top paired with a super tuscan. If it is possible to pair beef with a bold red wine and come out with a mismatch, then these folks did it. And I generally love super tuscans! The dessert taste was a vanilla panna cotta with a pice of a CANNED peach on top. Seriously friends, canned peaches on panna cotta in a nice Italian restaurant with a sister establishment in Florence? The muscato paired with the panna cotta saved the day for me. I bought a bottle to take home. We were so incredibly disappointed. Marco, the gentleman who led the tasting was a joy, as was the chef and owner, which made disliking their food even more upsetting. More disconcerting, however, is that it felt like a missed opportunity. This was an excellent chance for them to showcase their menu and they put out crap. Tiny tasting portions of items on the actual menu may have given this experience a little life. Again, I really wanted to like this place so maybe I will give it another try, but certainly not anytime soon.
(2)
Heather W.

Enjoy dining outside here, but the service is very, very slow, and the staff seems a bit disinterested unless you're speaking Italian. Sorry, I only speak Spanish. The chef's tasting is a great way to go, so you can sample a lot of the fare-to include wine and the desserts. The food is actually quite good, and the filet with blueberry sauce or the filet with balsamic sauce are both good choices. The bread in the paper bags...not so great.
(3)
Hotchy K.

This was an absolutely horrible dining experience. My friend and I went there for dinner and waited an hour and change for cold pasta. The experience was so bad I told the manager I would only pay for the wine. We left and went up the street for Mexican. Supposedly they have won a ton of awards. Must have been a long time ago!
(1)
Amy R.

It breaks my heart to give Acqua Al 2 three stars. I hoped with all my heart that the other reviews would be untrue. I've lived in Florence, Italy where the original location is and Acqua Al 2 has an outstanding reputation there. Sadly, I was not impressed with my recent experience here in SD. The service was outstanding, the atmosphere was classic, but the food fell way short. I had the tasting menu which included the pasta sampler and meat sampler. The pasta courses were so/so. The pasta was cooked properly (as expected at an Italian restaurant), but the sauces were nothing to write home about. The meat course was an epic fail. The filet mignon medallions were over cooked, but worse they were drenched in an overwhelming amount of sauce. I couldn't taste the meat, just the overpowering sauce. The chicken part of the dish was also overcooked. I know what good italian food is and this isn't it. Sorry :-(
(3)
Michele K.

Two stars for food quality, zero stars for food service. A whole table got seated, served, cleared, paid and left in the time it took to serve us. The food was fine, but not worth the 2 hours it took.
(1)
Josh B.

So what everyone goes here for, the blueberry steaks, is something I did not get. I went pretty safe and got the Fusseli with mushrooms and cheese, which wasn't bad,. but not the best I've had. The appetizer we had of ricotta and spinach balls with marinara was amazing though. Even though they had a great staff that was very friendly and helpful with tips on other local places for bars and such, I still can't say I highly recommend this place unless you're going for the steak.
(3)
Scott G.

I finally had the opportunity to eat at Acqua Al 2. First after they seat you they put a paper bag on your table with few pieces of grill bread. To me it tasted like stale cardboard . I was getting nervous if I made the right choice of restaurants since the average price for a meal is $25-$35. I heard about the pasta sampler. $13.00 per person (min 2) the portions are brought out one at a time. They bring out on 1 small plate one sample at a time and tell you what the ingredients are. Maybe there are 3 bites per person. I did however enjoy the sampling and surprisenly I was a bit full. After Reading from another Yelp member I had to try the Steak with Blueberry sauce. It very unusual but to me it was very tasty and you could cut the steak with a feather. Acqua Al 2 is supposed to be the exact replica to Acqua Al in Italy except for the Italian waiters - The closest we came to that was our Argentine waiter - They said the last Italian waiter left about 2 months ago - I do recommend this restaurant if you want to taste a bit of Italy. Would I go back? Probally not. There are better restaurants I would rather try for my hard worked dollars.
(3)
David B.

The place has decent food, but the pricing is pretty off in my opinion. Started with the bread, which was amazing. Loved the balsamic and oils at the table as well! Salad was great, simple, and not swimming. but then again for $8 bucks a side salad should be ( see picture) Got the balsamic Filet for entree. $35 for an 8 oz with no sides?? .. ok well it MUST be to die for.... disapointingly it was only ok. To much sauce for my liking, but maybe thats just me not getting along with the style. (if i am going to pay $35 for a Filet with no sides, its going to be from Ruths Chris! I feel bad only giving it 2 stars, but i go by the captions, which i couldnt agree more with. Not a bad place, just expected/ experienced better.
(2)
Adeline F.

I was surprised when I saw that Acqua Al 2 had so few stars. I ate here for lunch and it was delicious. I got a traditional Italian dish and I found it quite tasty. I am usually a hard judge of Italian food as I grew up with amazing homemade Italian all my life. The service was definitely relaxed, but more so you could enjoy your dining experience as rather than the servers just being bad at their jobs. It is a little pricey, but I would absolutely go back if I were craving Italian for a special occasion or maybe just a girls night.
(4)
Justin B.

Professional behaving but inattentive servers. (eg tea was empty for more than 15 minutes twice during my visit) Pollo funghi porcini was bland and the chicken breast was incredibly leathery. Didn't send it back as I was in a quick lunch with a collaborator. Overpriced for this level of service and quality of product.
(2)
Kay K.

The food was good, but a bit overpriced. The main courses don't come with sides, so you are forced to pay $30-40 for a chicken/veal or steak, and have to pay another $9+ for any side order. The service was slow. Not sure I'd go back.
(3)
Britt B.

I came in to celebrate with friends and family. Awesome place to do so! First of all, the workers greeted us with smiles and kind words.... The waiters were on top of their game and the manager was so kind! Bread? YUM! We all ordered the pasta tasting to start with.... great choice! Over all amazing experience...will be back again soon!
(5)
Tommy K.

Love this place, best Italian in the Gaslamp Jessica O's comments 2 reviews down says it best - go for the Chef's special. You get 4 or 5 pasta samplers to share. You get a meat sampler with 2 filet's and 1 chicken, each about 2 oz's large. The blueberry filet and the balsamic filet are AMAZING. I wish they would share the recipe but they aren't stupid! Great food, great ambiance, good staff, slightly high pricing, overall 4-5 stars. Pricing probably is only reason not a 5 star, but this is the gaslamp and they have prime real estate and authentic Italian food.
(4)
Sean S.

Came to this place for restaurant week and it was good. Nothing amazing but it was good. The filet mignon with balsamic glaze was solid but you'd expect better from a place this pricey.
(3)
Rod R.

Went there after walking around the Gas Lamp area for a while looking for a restaurant, the place looks very nice and the personnel is very attentive. We decided to eat there, the service was quick and perfect. We loved the inside decoration of the restaurant, very nice. The place was pretty empty when we walked in around 6pm., by the time we left around 8pm it was completely full. The food was really good, it is Northern Italy cuisine, so it is a little different but great, the desert was excellent as well. I will return once I go back to SD.
(4)
wendy b.

we went for the wine tasting in April. The Place is cute the event was held in the bar and boy did they pack them in we ended up having to crowd 3 girls into a space ment for 2 but hey were hardy and knew wine was coming. I apologize now as I don't remember all that was served and in what order but I am just going to touch on a few things. The host/owner is a witty man with the jokes and offered allot of good information about the wines being served and why they chose to pair them with the dishes. They all paired well even though I didn't care for a couple. the mini salad with smoked salmon was very good and I don't even like salmon but I am a fan of butter and this had a nice healthy slab of it. They served some clams in what I think was a wine and garlic sauce AMAZING!!! I don't think it's on the menu but it should be. They serve the bread that had been roasted in a hefty brown bag which we had not problem devouring and the presentation rustically charming. There was a very good tasting mushroom risotto unfortunately the risotto was not cooked all the way so it ummm well it had a nice crunchy creamy texture (but I am sure that is what they were going for...right???). hmmmI think there was another item but I can't remember. All in all I totally liked this place and plan on coming back for the events but also probably for dinner with my man soon. I missed the may event but my friend went and said they are getting much more organized each time. I will give any update after I go for dinner which will be $$$$ so I am really hoping they wont disappoint.
(4)
CA M.

Fantastic birthday dinner on Christmas Eve. Service was perfect, food was even better. Highly recommend!
(5)
Alan H.

I'd been wanting to go here for years and am glad I finally did! Great food, great service, and excellent atmosphere (there was a gentleman playing acoustic guitar). I had the filetto balsamico and it was delicious. But just beware that it's pretty rich and the portion is huge. (Is that a bad thing?) The roasted potatoes and veggies on the side were good, too. For dessert, I had the flourless chocolate cake and a coffee with cherry liqueur. A delicious combination! And yes. The bathroom is satisfactory with an automatic paper towel dispenser. I would definitely eat here again. And all the plates on the walls signed by sports stars are fascinating to no end.
(5)
Jamie T.

Sheesh! This had to be the worst dining experience of my life. And I try to be understanding, but this was just terrible. First, yes, the bread is pretty terrible, as other reviewers have said, like something from Vons. The wine by the glass list is sparse, and even from their limited options, they were out of our first choice. The wine list horribly overpriced. We dithered a bit on deciding on food, after the second check to see if we were ready I believe the server either gave up on us, or went on break. It was awhile before he came back and we finally ordered. We ordered the pasta tasting menu for two, even after being warned that it would be way too much food. The first pasta dish was mediocre, and we were taken aback at the tiny portion size after having been specifically warned we were ordering too much food! The second was bland, bland, bland! I ran out of wine at this point, and when our server returned to dump off the next plate of pasta, which looked suspiciously like Kraft mac n cheese, he completely ignored my empty glass. Being not a little passive aggressive, as my date ran out of wine as well, we stacked our empty wine glasses and carafes in the spot where he had been setting down our pasta plates. Amazingly, he dumped the next pasta down (which was actually cold!) and still ignored our glasses! Wait a sec', I'm being punk'd, right? Where are the cameras? This is like a TV show where everything goes wrong, this stuff doesn't happen in real life!!! I got up and tracked down the busboy to get the wine list. When our server returned, picking up our half eaten tiny portion of cold pasta without asking us if we were done he finally asked if we wanted more wine. We ordered and set about eating our last portion of pasta, which he failed to describe to us but was very, very spicy. I didn't have very high hopes for our entree. At this point I was sure they wouldn't be able to cook a steak properly, and figured they would overcook it, but I was completely blown away when they brought me a completely raw steak. Raw! Raw all the way through and cold in the center, not even room temperature, but cold! We sent the steak back, and refused any more food when they attempted to fix it. We nibbled on my date's steak (which was on the rare side of medium rare even though he had ordered medium and was absolutely swimming in a sickly sweet balsamic reduction) and waited for the check, on which, they didn't even comp us anything. We asked if there was some particular reason the food was substandard and the response was it was restaurant week and they were very busy. Ironically, the place was not full, and there was no wait for a table, yet they were still (per the server) serving four times the normal amount of customers. Sad.
(1)
Steph D.

There isn't much good to say about this place. I've been to Florence where AA2 was first established and competes with the likes of Il Latini (an experience you can't miss!!). Frankly, I don't know how they stay in business! My husband and I have travelled all over Europe and the U. S. and this may have been one of the worst restaurant experiences ever!!!
(1)
joe r.

been by this joint countless times, but never felt the urge to go eat...what did get me in the door was a gift certificate. went for lunch last week w a foodie friend of mine who had been to the wash dc location last year. there wasnt a lot of people dining for lunch, but they only had 1 waiter so we had to wait to be seated. after being seated and seeing all the empty seats it didnt make sense till the waiter told us he was the only server. james was our waiter, he was great. he wasnt all stressed out like youd expect. with a limited time and $50 to spend.. we went with the samplers they had. we started with a chefs choice pasta sampler -gnocchi w light gorgonzola cheese sauce was the bomb! could eat those all day. -spiral pasta w zingy gorgonzola sauce was excellent -pasta shells in some sort of brown sauce was ok, pasta was a bit undercooked, -rigatonni w eggplant and a creamy cheesy sauce. sauce was delicious, but again pasta a bit undercooked -spiral pasta w zesty tomato sauce. this was excellent! we had the trio of meats sampler. 2 petite filets -1st with signature blueberry reduction. the sauce was way too sweet. it was good but not on a great piece of steak. the filet was cooked med rare, PURRRFECT! got the sauce off, it was delicious. didnt care for blueberry sause. -2nd filet had balsamic reduction, again another signature dish. meat was med rare, but the meat wasnt nearly as good as the first. unfortunately sauce, eh! couldnt done without im all for signature dishes and being original, but smothering great hunks of steak w sauces! thats for folks using sub-par meat trying to hide the fact that the meat sucks. the filets dont deserve the smothering of sweetness. -the 3rd meat was a ny strip, med rare. that was great! in some ways better than the filets cause it was cooked without any gimmicks. yum! we finished w the dessert sampler, why not all was good. nothing outstanding, just good. thats not a bad thing. the waiter, james, was great! he is the main reason this joint is getting 3 stars and not 2.. if i could i would give them 2.5 stars if i could, or 3.5 because of james. i dont think you could go here and ask for the steaks without the sauces, since it there schtick...but it has a nice overall feel and vibe... get the ny strip. skip the saucey steaks.
(3)
Andrew W.

Love the ambiance. A laid back Italian joint that doesn't compromise on taste. We loved the food. I'm one who tends to stay with the standard pasta and tomato or meat sauce at Italian restaurants and this did not disappoint. My fusilli pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was light and exactly what I wanted. The bread comes in paper bags, a nice theatrical touch to the regular bread basket. Nice, crispy, crusty, and soft on the inside, fresh baked bread is so often the hallmark of good italian places and this bread was definitely wonderful. Highly recommended!
(4)
cari b.

The service and ambiance were both very good, but the food was disappointing. The cannelloni were not hot on the inside and far too small for the price. The tomato sauce was excellent -- fresh and not too sweet. The steak was more rare than medium rare and even after sending it back to be more cooked, it was still underdone. It was a thick piece of steak. Regardless, it didn't have much flavor either. Good bread, arugula and tomatoes.
(2)
Dee N.

We enjoyed our meal here. Great location, and good food. Thanks!
(4)
Elizabeth F.

YUM! Although I went to 'Acqua al 2' in Florence, Italy...they share the same menu of that in lovely San Diego. What an experience! I have eaten at the Florence restaurant 2 times...and I can guarantee I will return many more times(I am living in Italy currently).... The restaurant is absolutely packed out on any given night of the week... and after eating my 1st bite I understood why! I had the 'tagliata di manzo'-slices of beef with ruccolo, reduced balsamic vinegar, and a fry foccacia on the plate. Amazzzing|! More than enough to eat with bread, the main course, wine, and of course dessert!-had the cheesecake and that was amazing! The ambience is great...they have signed plates from famous people on the walls, and some of the tables are 'family style'-where you sit with people you do not know. This can be fun, but if you are looking to have a intimate dinner date or quiet dinner with a friend---can be somewhat of a problem. I loved the noise of the kitchen behind us, and saw them preparing the 'antipasta' dishes...so yum!!! If the S.D. location is anything like the one in Florence, I highly recommend this establishment for a true Tuscan style meal. Afterall, they do have the same menu as the sister restaurant in Florence, Italy!!! Although, service is different in Italy so I hope that the waiters are more friendly and more attentive than in Italy! Italy waiters tend to look annoyed if you ask for anything, or if you are a 'needy American'(I have been labeled that!)--but afterall, who cares if they are annoyed...I am paying their salary!!
(5)
Edward K.

My wife and I were very disappointed with the food here. The service was excellent and the decor attractive, but the food was horrendous. We should have realized we made a mistake when we got the bread--I've had better bread from Safeway. This was followed by really bad, burnt (or very old) coffee, which my wife replaced with cappuccino, the only thing all night anyone enjoyed. Her chicken entree was mediocre, at best, tasting similar to a microwaved t.v. dinner. And my lamb was fatty; certainly not what I expected from a $34 entree. As I said, the service was excellent, but this was one of the worst Italian restaurants I've ever eaten at. I won't go back if the meal were free.
(1)
Thi N.

I came here for restaurant week with a friend and was extremely disappointed. The food was not that great. My appetizer came out cold and it was suppose to be a selection of hot pastas. I ordered their special filet with the balsamic dressing and it came out burnt. I then asked to get it changed and the waitress question if I was certain that it was burnt or was I mistaken by the coloring.. So I simply said perhaps you should try it, or better yet hear this when I tap the steak. She finally agree with me that it was burnt and managed to change my steak for me. The service deserves no more then 2 stars.. I definitely would not recommend this restaurant.
(1)
Keyth D.

Fantastic!....nothing much else to say.
(5)
Stabby R.

Been to the location in Florence and so it is a MUST! Especially when delicious, Florentine steak is topped with a balsamic/blue berry sauce! I can only remember the steak. All other details are inferior and a mere distraction from this heavenly candy called STEAK!!!!
(5)
Ashley P.

Love this place. You must try the assagi dishes, chef chooses the samplings for you. Restaurant is from Florence, this is the real deal!! Only bummer, decor does not live up to Italian tradition of great design. Overall it's a hidden gem and under appreciated in SD!!
(5)
Sammich C.

A friend recommended this place and made reservations for our large group. They seated us right when we got there. The service was good. They had a reasonable corkage fee, but the food just wasn't up to par with the rest of the package. For our carb loading usual selves, we stuck with the pasta. Plus the meat selection consisted of just filet and chicken breast. There were some unexciting seafood choices too. My gnocchi tasted like it came out of a plastic bag. It had a bland tomato sauce mixed in with radicchio = bitter, nutty, rubbery dish with a plastic aftertaste. I was pretty disappointed. My husband had a slightly better dish. It was fusilli in the same bland tomato sauce and some cheese. But still not any better than a lean cuisine.
(1)
Hannah D.

Wow! Hands down the worst italian food I've ever eaten. This place makes Olive Garden seem like an authentic rustic dining experience (and I don't even like Olive garden). Where do I begin?? The bread was stale and dry, and the pasta tasted like something out of a Chef Boyarde can. I thought it was just my dish, but when I tried the pasta my friend ordered it was actually worse. She thought we were on Punk'ed, and someone was playing a joke on us. Sadly there were no hidden cameras and Ashton Kutcher did not appera...this was actually real!
(1)
Joe A.

Weekday lunch is my only experience, but I was pretty impressed. Both the carpaccio appetizer, and the pasta entree (vodka something or other) were very good. The only thing holding them back from a 5th star, based on my single dining experience, was that our server was a bit overbearing at the beginning of our meal. This guy went on for what had to be 5 minutes, about how their the best in the Gaslamp, how well-known they are in Florence, etc. Tap the brakes, buddy, just keep the vino coming.
(4)
Raj S.

I liked it. The food was fresh and the ambiance does have an Italy feel about it. They do serve fresh bread with oil and balsamic vinegar as dipping sauces which was really good. This filled me up. As an appetizer for five people we ordered the "choose a sample of 5 different types of pasta" app and this was just the right amount. The cheapest entre on the menu is $23.00. Plan to spend some cash. All in all, It was good. This is definitely a special occasion type place. A good place for a date. A date that you like!
(4)
Michael A.

What a horrible lunch experience. The waitress was okay, not great, but okay. She and the other busboy/servers seemed obsessed with taking stuff off our table. When she brought a steak knife to one of our party, she made him give her his other knife! Wine glasses off the table the instant we didn't order wine, bread plates off the table the second we finished the bread, etc. Normally this would be good service, but it felt like they were trying to get us out of there as fast as possible. We ordered four dishes: CANNELLONI - The best of the four, if only because the portion was decent, but still not a $15 entree. TOPINI AL RADICCHIO ROSSO - A half plate of a la cart lukewarm gnocchi - Average at best, and the tiny portion was NOT worth the money. TOPINI AL GORGONZOLA - Another half plate of a la cart lukewarm gnocchi. Again, average, and the tiny portion not worth the money. And the most insulting - PETTO DI POLLA AL PORTO. A TINY piece of chicken with sauce, a la carte, for $23!!!! Literally, a piece of chicken small enough to make a chicken breast sandwich and NOTHING else for $23. The four of us had a main course, a soft drink, and one person had a side salad = $100! And we all left hungry. I complained to the manager, who did absolutely nothing to make us happy with our meal. "Those are portion controlled" was his excuse, which wasn't the point. The point is the portions are too small!
(1)
Lance B.

I think anyone writing a positive review for Acqua must be an employee or investor. I'm surprised they are still in business today. Go anywhere but here especially if you want a great steak.
(1)
Rebecca B.

This is the only restaurant I have eaten at in the Gaslamp that disappointed me. The food was terrible and overpriced. Don't eat here!
(1)
Erika M.

I lived in Florence for a year in '03-'04. I ate at their location there and always wanted to try the San Diego location. Well last weekend, my dream of having my balsamic steak came true....and it lived up to everything I could imagine! Both restaurants are decorated the same and the ambiance is one of just having a wonderful time. A good place for a romantic dinner or special celebration and also a great place to come with a group of friends and Mangia! So I ordered the balsamic steak (which was just as mind blowing as I last remembered it four years ago!!!) and my boyfriend, who doesn't crave Italian food half as much as I do, got the tasting menu and rolled his eyes into the back of his head with glee at every bite of his meal. I, of course, tried all of his pastas (5 in total) and then he got the blueberry and balsamic steak and the lamb for an entree. The food is just so incredible. And I say this having lived in Italy for a year which caused me to become a bit of an Italian food snob. The great thing about this place is the first restaurant was in Florence, not San Diego. Just a really fanstatic meal, fresh flavors, and the desert....OMG! He got 5 miniature ones and that plate we licked clean. Actually I think every plate was licked clean. Just one thing to note - they do serve house wine. House wine is just that....not anything special, but not terrible. If you want a nicer glass with the tasting menu, you'll have to order it seperately. Buon Appetito!!
(5)
Erin M.

I'm surprised to see a series of bad reviews. I dined here with a coworker while we were in town on business and we both enjoyed it very much. The bread was served in a bag - which honestly is quite strange. I asked the waiter why it was served in a bag and he said for "sanitary & rustic purposes". Whatever. It would have been nice to have it warmed. To start I had the zucchini soup - very good, but the spoon I was given was GIANT. Literally. Then I had the caprese salad which was excellent. For an entree, I ordered the Rigatoni alle Melanzane which was quite tasty. Overall, great food and reasonably priced pasta dishes. The waiter was a little negligent and even after 2 reminders of needing separate checks he ended up bringing one check. If the wait service were a little better, it would have certainly received 4 stars.
(3)
Chris M.

I noticed that people have referred to the original restaurant located in Florence. Um, yeah, I guess. It is. To be specific, Its located only a few meters from the David! (How someone could conveniently leave that out makes me skeptical they actually ate there.) I know its not the original David, but that isnt material. You cant earn a reputation as an amazing restaurant on such prime real estate without delivering. Florence is known for its exquisite cuisine. And the original Acqua is a stand out. I eat at #2 because my Waiter in Florence told me he helped the owner open the San Diego location. It is indistinguishable from the original. If you rate this anything other than 5 stars you are F-ing clueless about authentic Italian food. If this isnt exceptional authentic Italian food, what is?? Admittedly, I have never eaten at Olive Garden. Perhaps that is why I have over-rated this place! Elitists - are you kidding me? Im not discrediting how the role of ambiance contributes to the overall experience but come on. Its analogous to people who could have sashimi carved from a still-breathing fish that just jumped out of the ocean in the US and still say youve had fresher sashimi in Japan. Gaijin OUT!
(5)
Yigal A.

Great food high price!
(3)
S. I.

This place was awful. AND the service was crazy rude. It's so not worth wasting time writing a long review but suffice it to say that from the time we walked in the door, had the awful bread (which we were told was "supposed to be that way"), waited for our menus for ever because they have to "explain the menu," ordered with the rudest waitress ever who actually insulted one of the people in my party, and waited 1.5 hours for our food; I ended up having to send my disgusting meal back... then had to ASK them to remove it from the bill. Don't go here - you will be disappointed. And hungry.
(1)
Kim N.

We should have gone to little Italy down the road, next time... We ignored the negative reviews and went because of two acquaintances' good review of the place. They were wrong. Our reservations were at 7pm, July 4th. The place wasn't that packed, two big parties in our section, and our four top. For about ten minutes we had menus, no server, two bustboys, and confusion about the samplers on the menu. When the server came back, he was nice and pleasant and sweaty and out of breath. He was the only one working this section. At 8:21, our appetizers came out. The five pasta sampler was good in taste but not worth the 20 minute for the entire thing to come out, one damn pasta at a time. Each pasta was about four spoons worth of food. The seabass special tasted fine but the fish was dry. My boyfriend's veal came out well. Our friends compared their food to Olive Garden (which could be a good thing but price wise not equal). We finished our meal after 930 and missed the fireworks. The food was ok and pricey, the service was too relaxed and not consistent. We ain't coming back!
(2)
Gary M.

Great food and good service, but felt a little out of place with the Mexican Servers at an Italian restaurant.
(4)
Melissa D.

Not very impressed with the service nor the food. I ordered the Cannelloni Mascarpone e Funghi, which was good (not great) and is SMALL (comes in a small soup bowl). Overpriced at $18 for what it is. The boyfriend ordered the risotto which was average. The only stand out about dinner was the dessert. I highly recommend the baked cheesecake. Stop by for dessert but go elsewhere for your main course.
(2)
Matty C.

This place is horrendous! No other words to describe the crap the put on my plate. Their pasta tasting plates left me confused! Start off by saying its chefs whim and you dint know what is coming out? How bout letting your servers know so i can have a better interaction with them, instead of making them look like idiots! So you give me boxed pasta in different shapes and sauces that taste very similar and by very similar I mean by adding a little cream to a marinara does not change the flavor! Next we did the steak sampler. Now here we are again with not knowing what's coming on our plates. Now any REAL chef would know you do not drench a nice piece of steak with sauce because all you taste is the sauce not the steak. And as for the decor hire a cleaning crew or even a demolition crew to take those signed plates and break them. This place is stuck in the 90's and food wise this place should close down and go to Siberia, this may be considered authentic there!
(1)
Ginger M.

Disappointed. Last Fall I studied in Florence for a semester, and Acqua Al 2 was the restaurant of choice for my friends and me. The pasta and meat sampler were unbeatable deals. We were so excited to find out that the Florence restaurant had a sister location in my hometown of San Diego. We promised ourselves in Florence we would make it a point to go to Acqua Al 2 in San Diego and we finally made it tonight. What a let down... The service was awful. From the unwelcoming hostess at the front, then the uninformed busser, right to the uncharismatic waitress...a bunch of UNs! The servers made us feel like a bother and told us we were not important enough to paint a plate. Apparently you have to be VIP like Tommy Lee, a recent patron of the restaurant. The food was served cold and was of little comparison to the Florence location. My soup came out the same time as my plate and the bread was microwaved.... oh and so overpriced! I could go on but I would just be blabbing. This experience was just such a let down because the other location is so wonderful. They need to hire new staff and get on it, because there could be a lot of potential here. My friend had the courage to politely speak to the manager so if there is a next time it better be better!
(2)
jason e.

Worst service I've experienced at a restaurant in years. Food is pretty good, nothing to write home about. But seriously, the service was SO bad that all four of us really didn't give two shoots about the food. Really, really frustrating experience. Pick another place.
(1)
Loxie G.

Amazing Italian food in Gaslamp District. A fun date destination for the big spenders! Its easy to rack up a bill, but the food is worth it.
(4)
Terrence M.

I went to this restaurant when I was in Italy a few years ago. I was surprised to see it in San Diego, and was even more surprised that the food was just as authentic as it was in Italy. The filet mignon with blueberry sauce was delicious. Will be returning, yelpers.
(5)
G. Michael M.

Roaming the Gaslamp Quarter on a Friday nite without agenda, we luckily walked into this fine establishment for dinner. I'll admit I was a little skeptical as it was pretty late, sitting at 10pm. In fact, the hostess kinda gave us a half-ass welcome and bolted for the door to party down the street even before she properly seated us. I guess it turned out to be a blessing in disguise that we decided to stick it out because the food was magnifico. The portions were perfect, not too little and not too much where you felt like a super beefy heifer after. I had the Fusilli Cord agli Spinaci (Spinach Fusilli) with a glass of San Giovese '03 which was absolutely delightful. The Fusilli Lunghi a! Mascarpone e Funghi (Mascaropone Fusilli with Mushrooms) was equally wonderful. But the one dish ordered among my group that I will definitely be coming back for was the Topini al Gorgonzo! (Potato Dumplings with Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce). Ahhh, the smile on my face... Ear to ear baby!!! And in case you're wondering about the name of the place... Aqua Al 2 is the actual address of the ristorante in Firenze, IT (via dell' Acqua Ni 2). If you're in the mood for Italian, put this one in your GPS navi... Buon appetito!!!
(5)
Kate S.

I lived/studied in Florence for a few months and had dinner at Acqua Al 2 a handful of times for special occasions. The friendly, laid back, comforting, atmosphere in Italy didn't seem to transfer over to the San Diego location. The first time I ate at the one here I was turned off by the service; my friends threw an intimate surprise dinner for my birthday and they were fairly rude. There were 8 of us and I understand when more than four people can seem big, but the restaurant wasn't crowded and we were not being obnoxious, drunk, or loud. Maybe they were just having a bad day? Regardless I would still go back b/c it brings back fond memories and the food is tastefully appetizing. If you find yourself indecisive I'd suggest the Specialty Menu which gives you samples from each of the three courses. If you have a group the Assaggio di Primi is good for the first course to share. For the second course I'd highly suggest the Fileno al Mirtillo, the blueberry sauce gives the palate a sweet and salty flair that's heavely. Another savory favorite of mine is the Filetto al Aceto Balasmico.
(3)
Lisa M.

I found this restaurant to be "hit or miss." Some things good, others not so good. We started out with the red Italian cabbage appetizer. Was not very good. Most of the cabbage wasn't cooked all the way. It would have been good if that were not the problem. I had the chicken with porcini mushroom, garlic and white wine sauce and it was SUPERB!! Best chicken dish I've ever eaten in an italian restaurant. Other party member had a seafood pasta special that was just so-so. We also had a side of the pasta with the broccoli cream sauce and it hardly had any sauce on it. I'm a sauce freak but this dish was mostily pasta with very little sauce. The server was pleasant she just was very slow and inefficient. I wouldn't race to go back here but would probably give it one more chance.
(3)
Danny W.

I've got my favs for italian so its tough for a restaurant to break into my restaurant circle of favs in terms of amazing food but I'll give AA2 credit for a few things. It has a cool idea for its interior. You know those restaurants that have pictures of celebs all over the place AA2 throws a curveball at this idea and instead of pictures filling the restaurant walls there are plates with autographs and drawings and all other sorts of stuff on them. I thought it was a nice change from the same old idea restaurants have been doing for years. The restaurant also has a pretty cool story. It is the only Italian restaunt in San Diego with a sister restaurant in Florence. The Owner studied there as a chef and then came to San Diego to open his own. The manager told me that 80% of their guests are referrals from the AA2 in the old country. The food was good but not great. It is bit more moderatley priced compared to some of the other Ital spots in Middle Italy so if your hard up for cash and need some carbs to soak away all the beer you drank at a Padres game earlier, AA2 may fit the bill.
(3)
Greg M.

Wandered in for lunch this week with my friend the Judge. Sat at the bar to watch the world cup game. Bartender/waiter was nice and friendly. We both ordered the appetizer sampler - chef's choice. The Bartender told us that it would involves five pastas and/or risotto. Okay, we say, bring it on. Well, each of the five was just adequate. But the shocking thing was that they were each in exactly the same tomato sauce with things added (once mushrooms - not porcini as touted but regular old button cap from the supermarket, once sausage, one had some spinach-like substance). Olive oil and garlic? Nope. Butter? Nope. Rendered fat from pancetta? Nope. Cream? Nope. Oh come on. I can open a jar of sauce and boil some different shapes of pasta We ate it, paid, and immediately started to complain and laugh. Stay away.
(1)
Jennifer P.

We had extremely high expectations coming to this place. I have been here once before and 3 out of our group of 9 have been to the sister restaurant in Florence Italy. The one in Italy had been the best Italian I have ever had in my life and some creative, delicious plates. The previous experience here, had been average. Our group of 9 with reservation on Saturday night was a non-issue. We were seated right away. We sat in the very back of the place with an interesting view of a florence slide show. The ambiance and feel of the restaurant is great. As you would guess, it took a group of 9 quite awhile to decide what we wanted. There are interesting plates where they do samplers of pasta, meat and desserts. The pasta is 5 different pastas, the meat is three, and the desserts are 4 or 5. These are all chefs choice, so you really do not know what you are going to get. This is an excellent way to stray from your norm and to sample many dishes from the restaurant, especially if you are here on vacation and not likely to be back any time soon. They also did a price fix menu where you got a pasta (primi) sampler, a meat sampler, a dessert sampler and a dessert sampler for $50. With one glass wine is $54. We had several twosomes sharing a price fix and then adding a side or something to fill it out. Steve and I knew that we LOVE the blueberry filet mignon and the balsalmic filet mignon, so we chose to go with the pasta sampler and then each get one of the steaks (all to share). They bring very yummy bread to the table and replenish frequently to keep everyone going..... I think because the service is so slow. It seemed like it took awhile for the pastas to start coming, but then they would start and the next ones would arrive after the previous was completed. We all found several that we might not have ordered that were very good. Wish I could tell you what they were, but my brain is fixed on the filets. The next course after the pastas were finished, took over 40 minutes before getting them. This might have been fine if we did not have one in our party that did not get the primi sampler. She was STARVING!!!!! Thank god for the bread. Our next course was enjoyed by all. Everyone seemed to enjoy the filets (which both came on the sampler this time) and their chicken selection on the sampler. Everyone complimented how delicious everything was. And I dont think it was just because we were starving at that point. Our filets were so perfect. The recipes are just to die for. Our service on the other had was less than optimal. I do not know if it is just the group size (last time I was here we had a group of 6 with a bit of the same problem) or if the service here is just darn crappy. Our waiter was a bit snooty and he was not all that receptive to our needs, nor appologetic for the delay. Now, we all are familiar with the very relaxed eating style of the Italian dinners. BUT, there should not be a 40+ minute delay between courses 1 and 2. Usually they just delay after the meals and before dessert. Then you have time to have coffee and dessert and really just relax. The issue is usually that they do not bring your check, since they do not want to rush you out. Also when we got our check, it had an extra price fix and another pasta plate ($60 extra). The waiter made sure to tell us that this was an accident when we pointed it out and that they were from another table of people that were still there dining. Not all that appologeticly, he corrected the issue. We wonder if this was a slip in to our bill on a large group in hopes of getting to pocket all the extra. Maybe an accident. Maybe not. Overall. The food definitely a 5 ++++++. It is just plain great. Some creative ways to get it to you as well with the samplers. The service..... lucky to be a 3. Maybe even more like a 2, hence the 3 overall. I hate to give this place that low of a rating, but I just cannot excuse an establishment like this for that type of service and behavior. Treat your customers better and maybe you will get a $60 dollar tip.
(3)
Jessica G.

The service was good and the food was good, but the portions were really small and way over-priced. The chef's sampler was literally 3 bites of really good meat for $32.
(2)
Dallas T.

The blueberry and the balsamic filets are absolutely to die for. The pasta sampler can also be good, depending on what comes out. Overall, great food, with a caveat for their stale burned-bread-in-a-bag. It is overpriced, though I get around that by getting their half-priced gift certificates from mighty1090.com when they are available. Make reservations online.
(4)
J L.

In the summer of 2005, my ex-girlfriend and I were in Florence and tried this restaurant since it had been recommended by my Let's Go Europe book. The food at the Florence location was unbelievable, so when we discovered that they had a San Diego location, we were excited to try it out. My favorite dish is the Fileno al Mirtilio, which is "a hand carved fillet mignon topped with a blueberry sauce. " I initially thought that blueberry sauce with my steak wouldn't taste great, but I was mistaken. Although the San Diego location wasn't quite as good as the Florence one, this place holds a special place in my heart (and stomach).
(4)
Tim Z.

So we have been waiting over an hour for our food. We have seen the waiter twice?? Eventually got our food I don't know where our waiter was. The manager eventually came out and gave us half off our bill. Food wad good but by re time it arrived none of us felt like eating anymore. If you don't mind taking a chance on waiting over an hour for your food go ahead and try your luck. You may find the food worth it.
(2)
David G.

The food in this place is good. The service is OK. The last time I went there the waiter apparently thought I had not tipped enough and added to it after I left. At least the amount on my credit card statement does not agree with my receipt
(1)
Lia T.

I have worked around the corner from here for years and finally went to eat after many recommendations by lots of different people. We had great service. A sweet, petite, soft spoken Italian girl was incredibly helpful and described many of the choices and explained sampler plates. They were out of my friend's first wine choice but she was satisfied with her next option. I had a lovely Pinot Grigio. The three of us started with the three salad sampler. Very good, but the house salad was so average I wished they'd included the caprese instead. But we did get a hearts of palm salad and something with really great arugula. One friend had an appetizer for her entree and it was huge. Plenty of food. The other friend and I each had pasta. We both enjoyed ours well enough. For me, Italian food is comfort food so it doesn't have to be super fancy, just fresh and well composed. We were just happy to be in a nice setting with very good service. You can eat relatively inexpensively here if you don't need meat and be extremely satisfied. We really had no room for dessert.
(4)
Y D.

Nice place for lunch during the conference.
(4)
Heather T.

I found this place in Florence and decided I had to see if the San Diego place was up to par. It is! The gnocchi and balsamic vinegrette steak are superb. I liked the brea they used to have better, more like nanna's, but other than that I'm a huge fan.
(4)
Tom H.

My Favorite Italian restaurant in San Diego.. the menu is amazing with different dishes.. The balsamic Filet is ridiculously good. I was fortunate enough to discover this place the first week it opened and having been back consistently ever since. If you like buffalo mozzarella cheese this is the best I've found outside of Euope.. the pizza is great and try the chef's pasta sampler. I think Thursdays they offer a happy hour with free food samples so I highly recommend you try this restaurant.
(5)
A L.

Horrible customer service!!! Upon entering the restaurant, we waited 10 minutes before being greeted by the hostess. Several waiters/waitresses came by, looked at the group of people waiting for the hostess and walked off. As the small groups were about to leave, the hostess comes up and advises of a 50 minute wait even though there were several small and large empty tables available. After questioned why the wait was so long when there were several tables available, the hostess became even more arrogant and rude. The end result... several groups left and went to Masala next door.
(1)
Lauren L.

Loved their blueberry filet! I've had friends eat at the restaurant in Italy and loved the food in both places. Would definitely come back if in the area again.
(4)
CJ B.

The stale bread was not a good kickoff to the meal. It was served in a brown paper bag which probably would have been more appropriate to taking it out to feed the birds in the park. The vegetarian pastas were good but over priced - my zuchini, rosemary, and garlic side had 1.5 pieces of zuchini. The filet with balsamic reduction was good, appropriately cooked, but seemed to lack the real flavor of a good cut of Angus beef. I would not recommend this restaurant to a friend.
(2)
Andrea T.

Um...no. Nice restaurant, nice location. The sidewalk dining is reminiscent of Mulberry St. in the summer, but that's about it. My cannelloni in red sauce was like an $18 bowl of acid.
(2)
John H.

Thankfully I got a $100 gift certificate for $50. If I did not my meal was no where what a $100 meal for 2 people should taste for. The service was alright besides the fact that they brought out the salad and left it on the stand for 15 minutes almost before finally giving it to us (which was returned) We both got a meat and pasta. They were both cooked to out choice but had no flavor what so ever. The pasta was the only part of the meal that actually made you want to eat there again. I will choose not too though.
(2)
Jill H.

Avoid this place like the plague. The food is flavorless and the prices are insane. I ordered the grilled chicken thinking it would be seasoned with italian flavor but it was not only not seasoned with italian flavor it was not seasoned at all, served with a slice of lime and a few cherry tomatoes. A side of pasta served on a small plate is $9 with less flavor than Kraft M&C. I paid $19 for a 2 dollar piece of chicken. Other diners ordered veal which was horrible and the famed blueberry steak that was just okay IMO. We brought our own Napa Valley wines ordered four entrees two salads 3 cocktails and the bill still came to $220.00 for four. AWFUL
(1)
Rich G.

Cozy place without the rush if other places in the Gaslamp. Fresh tastes with each dish. Service less than good. Waitress not at all professional. Hopefully next time we will have someone who actually knows what they are doing. But, all in all quite worthy of a second look
(3)
Andrew M.

Very good meals! I had the swordfish special and my gf had the steak with a balsamic reduction. Awesome! Service was a touch slow, but not annoyingly so. A bit disappointed with only one biscotti with the vin santo. Definitely want to try location in Firenze!
(4)
Kathleen S.

Food was good and nice atmosphere but service poor. The sampler platters are a cool idea but very small portions and chef selects. Went on a Thursday nice and waitress was frazzled due to being over committed. She literally stopped at at the table four times in the two hours it took for dinner. It was during Comic Con but you would expect the management factored that into the staffing plan.
(2)
BGrace G.

Went this past week, on a week day. Service was alright. A good server however will give you hints on what to order and what to avoid, and ours didn't (and there was plenty to avoid!). To be fair though, the rasperry lemondrop drink I ordered was wonderful. The food was so disappointing. I ordered a seafood pasta dish described as having a garlic and white wine sauce. How hard can that be to do passably? It was bad. Too salty and skimpy on seafood. The worst dish was the dessert - we chose the 'flourless chocolate cake'', which turned out to be something like you'd make as a kid out of the Easy Bake Oven, more like a sponge you'd wipe your counters with. I can shrug off a bad meal, but I felt bad because my companion was from out of town, and to have such a mediocre dining experience was a shame.
(1)
Tara C.

I have eaten at this location 3 or 4 times and the Florence location twice. I do agree that I might have liked the Florence one better, but I mean, they have access to true Italian ingredients, so what do you expect!?! The best of all is the sampler! You can do the whole meal, or just a course. If you're on a budget, do just the pasta course. I'm a picky eater and I always love 4 out of 5 of the samples. And whichever one I don't care for, there is always someone at the table that LOVES it and is happy to take it off my hands! Last time I ate there (2 of us), we shared the full menu sampler (includes wine, too!) and then a second pasta dish. SOO much food! We definitely did not need the pasta dish! My advice, split the sampler if you want some meat and order a few glasses of wine. If you're on a budget, get the pasta sampler for around $14 and the $5-6 house wine and ENJOY!
(4)
David B.

I do not understand how this place stays in business. The service is terrible at best and the food is a close second to the service. I should have taken a picture of the portion sizes to post. Much better Italian restaurants near by.
(1)
Kyle M.

i opted to go here because i always see them win awards in magazines for "best italian restaurant"... boy are they DEAD WRONG. I wasn't impressed by this place at all... the simple carpaccio was cut too thick and tasted and looked like it had been sitting out for quite some time... then my date and i shared the canneloni with tomato sauce...and let me tell you..it was one of the most FLAVORLESS pasta dishes i've ever had... WHATS THE FUSS ABOUT?...this place isn't very good.
(2)
Courtney B.

Yum - gnocchi in a gorgonzola sauce. Light, airy, and delectably creamy. I also really liked the grilled (and almost burnt - but I like eating carcinogen products, seriously) bread served in a paper bag.
(3)
Scott S.

the first course (pasta and rice) sampler was fantastic. it was very authentic italian. the main course chicken in port sauce was a little meh. next time i'll skip the main course and get more pastas. seriously, get this: "Riso al Gorgonzola e Martini." it's amazing.
(4)
ben A.

The entree i had was good everyone else liked there's i was with. the balsamic filet awesome, the chicken was great. BUT ....... The Tiramisu was runny and the lady fingers were hard and crunchy really gross. SERVICE WAS AWFUL!!!! I will never go back ever again. They screwed up my bill as we were walking out came outside and told me the deleted the charge on my friends card and they need the card back to recharge it. My friend left they wanted me to call her and have her come back so they could rerun the card cause they dont know how to use the credit card machine. they are a bunch of idiots. so i had to give them my card so they could run mine to pay the bill. Come to find out they ran my friends and mine. They are a bunch of door knob humping monkeys. if you go here plan on spending two to three hours minumum. I BEG YOU DONT EVER GO HERE!!!!!!!!
(1)
Joel G.

pros...acqua al 2 is a great italian restaurant. they say this is the only other one in the world, the original being in florence, italy. it is in the gaslamp quarter of downtown so it is quite a bit of a tourist attraction. but food here is just wonderful. i have been to italy, and this place is a little taste of italy here in sunny san diego. though it has been a while since i was last there, i am sure the food is still excellent. the atmosphere is just like being there. i went with my friends and we just had a blast, the wait staff were attentive and very knowledgeable about the menu and always had great recommendations on what to order. i am not a big fan of american-italian cuisine, this is real italian cuisine, simple, fresh, tasty and flavorful. is that giant candle still in the hallway? cons...sorry to say, if you are not used to dining or eating in europe, especially mediterranean europe, (read, italy, spain and france), you will be chomping at the bit. the food comes out of the kitchen when "it is ready", not before not after. so be prepared to have that appetizer or some wine. please don't "whine" at the table cause the food hasn't materialized in 5 minutes. good food takes time to prepare, especially when it's made to order. this is meant to be a place where you go with friends and family and enjoy the conversation and the fact that you are all here together. so this is really not a con. the only other is that it is downtown so you will have to find some kind of parking...luckily there is a lot just across the street, which actually takes credit cards, so you don't have to fuss with paper money/change.
(4)
Kara N.

We came upon this restaurant on accident (its located next to a strip club, yay for family dinners) and were so happy that we did! At around 630 pm we were able to get in without a reservation, but this place was TOTALLY packed by 730/8. The food was excellent, the service was excellent. They have an appetizer that lets you sample all of the first course pastas and I highly recommend it (ordering it for two people was more than plenty for four people though). Apparently it got best italian in san diego this year also.
(5)
Ria A.

Edited Review: 2/18/08 We went back here again last night for 3 of our friends' birthdays and the food was still as amazing as I remembered. Well I figured out I was pronouncing the name wrong too. It's aqua al doo-eh. We drove down from Orange County and were so disappointed when we realized that they are only opened for dinner on the weekends so we had to wait until 5pm but it was so worth the wait. The service is pretty good and friendly but it's all about the authentic Italian food. Funny though that I discovered the chef/owner is actually Mexican but went to culinary school in Italy. Either way, you'll see things on the menu that you don't typically see on an Italian Restaurant menu. My friends and I opted for the pasta sampler, which is actually an appetizer. It is a sampling of five of the pastas from the menu. All the pastas are vegetarian and the sampling of pastas began with a light sauce and progressively the sauces became heavier and richer. The pastas varied as well as the ingredients and each one was unique,tasty, and very well prepared. Although it was an appetizer it was extremely filling so I can not imagine how someone would order the sampler plus a full on entree after. For me the sampler plus a caprese salad was just enough to put me completely over the top. I absolutely love this place and wish they had one closer to me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Â~~~~ We went here this past weekend by chance, I was really looking forward to something new and as we walked around the Gaslamp District, I noticed Acqua al 2. The hostess was a bit of a ditz because she told us to wait for about 10 minutes. We waited at the bar for a good 15 minutes, so I decided to walk back to the host stand and she apparently had left already- since it was past 10pm. I was a little agitated but just mainly hungry. We talked to a waiter and he found us a table immediately. Once we had some wine, I recommend the Sangiovese- all was better. Once the food arrived- it was official- this was the best Italian food I've had here. All the dishes we ordered were delicious! The fusilli pasta with marscapone cheese and mushrooms, the spinach fusilli, and the gnocchi (small potato dumplings) were all superb dishes! The gnocchi dish (Topini al Radicchio Rosso) was my favorite dish. The menu was filled with great choices and the pasta was cooked absolutely perfectly. I can't wait to go here again. I loved this restaurant, despite the little mix-up with the hostess. Oh and there are only locations: one in San Diego's gaslamp district and the other in Florence, Italy.
(5)
Steven O.

Ate here only once, and that is for good reason. The atmosphere is traditional Italian, located in the uber-trendy, uber-crowded gaslamp district. The food was solid Italian fare and, of course, uber-pricey. The major stumble here is the service. It seemed there were approximatley 3-4 people to every waiter, yet we could never get our waiter's attention. We were given water and a skimpy basket of bread for our table of 5, then we were on our own. I had to repeatedly (six times) ask different waiters for more water, and then I had to clear the empty wine bottles off our table and place them on an empty table because all the waiters disappeared for an extended period. Three times I asked for another basket of bread and got another skimpy order each time. The restaurant is so small that I can't understand how so many waiters can disappear for so long, yet they mysteriously do just that. I have no plans EVER to give this place a second try.
(1)
R L.

Came here with a group of friends and family after a day at Comic-Con and enjoyed some excellent Italian food. The appetizer of salmon carpaccio was awesome - silky pieces of perfectly seasoned smoked salmon dressed with arugula and capers. I had the "Farfalline alla Zucca" for dinner - bowtie pasta with a zucchini and tomato sauce. Tastes a lot better than it sounds! The pasta was cooked al dente, the sauce well-seasoned. Others in the group had various steak and veal dishes; all commented on the delicious flavor of the sauces. Also, the side of roasted vegetables is a must try - they are sweet, caramelized and so good! The restaurant was pretty crowded (lots of Con attendees!), but the service was still good. Our waiter was polite and attentive, but did not remember to list the specials until asked to. Restrooms were clean. Portion sizes were so large, no room for dessert. There's always next time though..
(4)
Caitlin K.

By far the best Italian food I've had outside of Italy! Could be that their only other location is actually IN Italy... My friends had stumbled across it while studying abroad in Florence, and mentioned that they also had a spot in SD. So I had been wanting to try it for a long time. After a mother-daughter outing to the theater, we stopped in for dinner. It was fabulous! We shared some wine, and split the pasta sampler (which is quite possibly the best idea ever!). It was just enough pasta to start us off and a great way to try all their fabulous sauces and homemade pastas! Such a difference. Then, I was so intrigued by the filet mignon in a blueberry sauce that I had to try it. I knew it was a bit odd so it had to be phenomenal, well, it was!!! I absolutely melted!!! My mom ordered veal with mushrooms, which she loved, but I have to say, get the blueberry filet!!! Oh, and our service was wonderful! Very attentive, Italian accent, wonderful advice. I can't wait to eat here again!
(5)
Daniel D.

This is my favorite Italian restaurant in town. Try a glass of wine (or two) and the first course sample plate -- five different pastas served family style to the table, all with five different sauces. Don't worry, there is enough food for everyone.
(5)
Chelsea S.

I highly recommend trying their sampler dishes (= chefs choice) that they offer only during dinner time. Don't miss their desserts even if you are really stuffed. While having dinner there, I felt as if I was in Italy! Their service that some people are complaining about was not a big deal to me, considering the tasty food and their prices.
(5)
Mo M.

As San Diego goes the local Italian restaurants are sub-par. This is the one Italian joint I have eaten at that I would return too. Few reccomendations for Primis are the Farfaiine ai Funghi Porcini and the Rigatoni alle Melanzane. The Secondi of Filetto ali'Aceto Balsamko aka Filet with a Balsamic glaze was way too sweet. The meat was drowning in that sauce. Pricey place but definitely worth a visit for the pastas.
(4)
Sean E.

For some reason there's 2 entrees for this restaurant so I will post here as well This has got to be one of the worst experiences eating in San Diego. The plan was to go to Dizzy's to watch some Jazz, figured on grabbing a bite to eat before the show. I would say we (me, my father and girlfriend). Got to Acual Al 2 about 2 hours before the show. No problem right, place was pretty dead for a week night? Barely got out of there, place wasn't crowded and we were seated right away. After being seated and seeing waiters/waitress walking by for about 15-20 minutes. I finally got up to ask for service. Took another 20 minutes just to get our drinks...NOBODY was even at the bar and we had beers Food came out 45 minutes or more later. 1 dish luke warm other 2 dishes COLD. I didn't want to send the food back because now it was getting a little late. But told the food deliverer...(not our waiter because he disappeared) that we were in a hurry and if the would ask them just to heat it up....30 minutes later we get the food....only after I had to talk to the manager. This whole time nobody came by to check if we needed drinks...because our waiter disappeared. Had to get up and ask a different waitress Anyway after all this and speaking with the manger twice about poor food a service, he offered Desert!!! Whoopty F'n Dooo THIS PLACE SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!
(1)
Andrea B.

My dinner experience here was terrible. I came here with my boyfriend and my sister and her husband who were visiting San Diego, with hopes of enjoying a nice Italian dinner before venturing to the gaslamp. We did have a reservation (4 people total) and were seated immediately. This was the only part of the evening that didn't move in snail -in-molasses- super-slow motion. There is no reason why the waiter should take 30 minutes just to show up to the table. I started timing everything after this. It was another 30 minutes just to get our drinks, 35 minutes for our salads, 45 minutes for our food (the pasta sampler) which was LUKEWARM and mediocre at best. The place was busy but there is just no excuse for such slow service. There are many better Italian restaurants to choose from in San Diego that I can't see myself ever giving this place a second chance.
(1)
Ashly M.

Hands down, my favorite Italian restaurant in the WORLD. I am half Italian, I lived in Florence for awhile, and I must say I have never been more impressed. There are only 2 of these restaurants in the world- one in Florence and one in downtown San Diego. I frequent the one in SD and enjoy celebrating special occasions there. They start you with bread accompanied by olive oil and balsamic vinegar-yumskies. My favorite appetizer is the pasta Sampler, where the Chef chooses 5 pastas for you and you get to same each one- $12 per person. The beef carpaccio is also quite delicious as is the cheese plate if you are enjoying a nice red wine. Only downfall- the service is mediocre. They offer many pasta dishes and several steaks. But what is unique about this restaurant is the selection of steaks. My 2 favorites are the Blueberry Steak, garnished with actual blueberries and the Balsalmic Vinegar Steak with a delicious balsamic sauce and strawberries on the side. I am not even a big meat-eater but I crave this steak. OMG. Rarely (steak-pun intended) do I refer to food, especially meat, as orgasmic. But this dish truly is one hell of a screamer. Finish this meal with some grapa- an Italian delicacy made from the skin of grapes- it is an after dinner drink that you sip, intended to aid in digestion. Bonus- it will make you INSTA-DRUNK. Orgasm? Yes please. Buzz? Yes please. Acqua Al 2? Hell Yes.
(5)
Susan L.

The food was great--the atmosphere reminded me of an italian villa with lots of tables in it. If you eat at this location and the location in Italy, they let you decorate a plate which they'll hang on the wall. Unfortunately, they were out of the special decorating pens when I was there, so my friend who's dined at both locations wasn't able to make his mark.
(4)
Sean L.

thought it was a little overpriced for what they offered. bread in a bag was different... i had one of their specials, some seafoody thing. not bad food, just not one of my favorites. and i don't remember the service being all too stellar.
(3)
Toshi K.

The Caprese was very good, but Assagglo di Primi, a sampler of five pastas, didn't really impress us. We should've probably tried some Secondi next time.
(3)
Joanna B.

Great service and a beautiful setting. I thinkI ordered the wrong thing. I don't think that pasta and vodka are meant to be mixed on a plate. I think I'll give it another try one day.
(3)
Tasha S.

What a mess. I decided to try this place out for Restaurant Week, and it was a HUGE mistake. First, the hostess had no idea what to do when we walked in. Their reservation system is completely automated, and she was unable to find our reservation even though it was right in the center of the screen. The automated system had already assigned us a table, but leave it to the hostess to have given away our table (that we'd had reserved for a week) to a walk-in group of 12. Despite the fact that the place was only half full, it still took five people and fifteen minutes for them to figure out where to seat us. We were told that they were "constructing a place for us to sit" and that it would be "a little while." We offered to wait in the bar, and by the time we'd ordered our drinks our table was ready. The bartender and the hostess stared at one another for about 15 seconds, with no idea how to handle the situation. Eventually we just canceled our order and went to our table. We were then told that, although EVERY single other restaurant that participates in Restaurant Week allows you to choose a menu option from each course, if we chose "Option 1" we would get the "Option 1" from each course (not cool since the website failed to mention this restriction and we'd come with our order combinations already decided). First course was actually pretty good, but they brought the second course when we were only half-way done with the appetizer. They stood there, staring at us, waiting for us to tell them what to do. We asked them to come back when we were done with the appetizer. They came back again, we STILL weren't done, we forfeited our appetizers. Bad idea. The food was terrible. Boring, bland, dry, overcooked, ugly, and salty with a horrible presentation. I hoped that the dessert would make up for the terrible food, but it didn't. The chocolate "cake" was dry and the cheesecake was actually CHEWY. Disgusting. When it was finally over, I couldn't believe they actually expected me to pay for what I'd received. I will never go back to that place...and I recommend that others avoid it as well.
(1)
Karen H.

I live downtown and also work in the bar/restaurant industry downtown, and have been wanting to try this place for a while. IT WAS AWFUL!! Iv'e never written a bad review on yelp because I like to support my fellow industry people but I had to this time. Way over priced and terrible food. There's so many good places to eat downtown, don't even bother trying this one.
(1)
Dave H.

I've only been here once, but loved the blueberry steak. I'll go back for that when I'm in San Diego again.
(4)
Frenchie B.

Maybe I'm biased because I used to live in a mecca of amazing Italian food, or maybe because I find most of the restaurants in the Gaslamp to cater to tourists and therefore serve either mediocre or really subpar food. The pasta dish I ordered here was really really mushy. I sent it back or attempted to send it back and I got well less than friendliness from the waiter. Short of it, if you want baby food like quality pasta, and service that is not so great, come eat here!
(1)
Bruce S.

Six of us wne t there based upon it's closeness to the Hilton and checking out their web site online. We all normally like Italian food. First, the bread in a bag was stale/old/tasteless. We asked for new bread and it seems that they only slightly toasted the same bread, which did not work. The salads were OK. Nobody liked their entrees. Two people ordered something off the menu (both asked for the same thing) that the waiter said was fine, no problem. Just pasta with oil and mushroom. Instead, they got dishes with wine and cheese sauce. They are vegan. One sent it back, one changed to a salad (they did deduct the pasta from the bill). I asked for the Chef's choice sampler, after asking what it was. I got only three small pieces of the same meat (steak) each with a different sauce and with nothing else for $32. Everybody is still talking the next day about how bad this was, considering the price and where we could have gone instead. We all gave this place a big thumbs down.
(1)
miles c.

I am a San Diego resident and we ate dinner at Acqua al 2 on February 2, 2008. I had reviewed the Restaurant's reviews beforehand and had noticed that there was a mix of both good and bad reviews (more good than bad); but we decided to give them a try. We (4 of us) were disappointed with our meals. The server brought one incorrect meal; for pasta, the meals and quality were not worth the price; the wine (though good) was overpriced. For two (2) pasta meals (one which was meatless), a salad, and two (2) glasses of wine to cost $88 (before the tip) is out of the norm; and the pasta meals were only average/OK in quality. This will be the last time that we eat in the Gaslamp District. In general, I feel that the restaurants there are overpriced and with parking costing $20, there are too many other excellent restaurants in the San Diego area to bother with the Gaslamp. Obviously, we won't return to the Acqua al 2.
(1)
Danielle M.

The staff and ambiance are fantastic. Their menu is the same as in Italy so I really feel like I'm getting authentic Italian cuisine. I haven't even had the food yet and I'm already amazed.
(5)
Phatthason M.

I came to this restuarant about a year ago (Its takene me a loong time to write my review, but I wanted to recognize a good restaurant). I really loved the coziness of the restaurant. The set up of the restaurant is nice an intimate. You have enough space away from the next table that you arent listenting to their conversations. Its not a small or huge restaurant, but the feel of the establishment when you walk in, is warmth. The decor was homey and rustic. I've never been to Italy, but I felt like I was there when I walked in. This restaurant is located on 5th Ave, the heart of the gaslamp. There is a nice big patio you can sit out at The service was outstanding. Our hosts, waitresses, and other staff were very attentive and made the experience even more pleasurable. The food was delicious! My best friend and I always go family style when we dine. Sharing is caring! We shared the Carpaccio, gnocchi, melanzane rigatoni, and the sampler dessert. We loved all of it! Overall, Acqua Al 2 is definitely a go to Italian restaurant I would revisit!
(4)
Kenneth H.

Arrived 9:45 Friday night. Sat outside. 5 stars for Excellent Veneto Pinot Grigio bottle for only $25. Penne vodka excellent. Fagioli spread for the bread was great. My wife had delicious bowl of carrot/bell pepper soup and then pollo alle giglia. I had a perfectly cooked 30 oz Porterhouse steak (bifstecca fiorentina). It was all excellent. Kristin took great care of us. Will definitely return. Wonder why it's not rated better and I am very picky.
(5)
Trevor W.

Honestly not sure why this restaurant continues to carry such a high rating. What I found was an average Italian restaurant with traditional decor, horrendous service by young, inattentive staff, and very little to write home about save the one unique blueberry filet mignon. We had a party of 10 with a reservation. Were promptly seated and noticed there were only 2 or 3 other tables occupied in the place. And that's when it started... super slow service with mistakes, unordered dishes, incorrect dishes. Will say that the Insalata Caprese was very well prepared, but outside of that not much going on. I tried several of my colleagues dishes and they honestly weren't much above any other place I've been to. Had to try the Fileno al Mirtilio, a hand carved fillet mignon topped with a blueberry sauce. Was amazingly different, but not enough to salvage the evening. Would have to summarize with "forgettable".
(2)
Kimberly R.

My husband and I went here to celebrate our anniversary and our meal was delicious! Our waitress Olivia was fantastic! We would definitely come back !
(5)
Alan H.

We received a coupon from travelzoo, which paid for 2 dinners, several side dishes and 2 glasses of wine. We ordered the steak topped with blue berries and believe me it was the most tastiest, juicy, tender steak I have ever ate. The service was over board with kindness, quickness and all done with a smile. The wife and I loved the soft Italian music and the wall decorations.
(5)
Jamie Y.

Second time here and like I said before that I was going to order the New York steak with creamy peppercorn sauce, I did! And I. Have. No. Regrets. My perfect medium steak came out, covered in the beautiful creamy sauce. I tried to take it slow, but it was just too good....every cut was deep pink. Just perfect. I finished off with the creme brulee... ah-ma-zing. Forget the blueberry filet mignon - why isn't the new york steak with the creamy peppercorn sauce a top favorite?!
(4)
Stephanie W.

Absolutely fell in love with the cheese plate and the blueberry sauce accent! The veal with mushrooms, garlic, and white sauce was okay.... But the chicken with port sauce was yummy! We Enjoyed the glasses of Malbec and Shiraz wines. Delicious sides of spinach cream sauce pasta and Gorgonzola vermouth rice dish. Am I full? Yes, delightfully full... Tummy is happy, very happy! We enjoyed the patio seating... Great ambiance. John was a great server with wonderful pairing recommendations. We will be back!
(4)
Yair H.

Came here a few days ago and tried the Filleto al Mirtillo, a hand carved fillet Mignon covered in blueberry sauce and wow it was amazing. I also tried the pasta sampler which is a must for anyone trying to familiarize themselves with the restaurant. The service was ok , I've had better. Overall the experience was worth it. I'm looking forward to my next visit real soon!
(4)
Jennifer S.

I came here for lunch in June with some friends and really enjoyed it! We were seated outside in a prime people watching location. Our server was great...attentive and helpful. But, the food stole the show...we tried four different items - a caprese salad and 3 pastas and everything was delicious! You have to save room for something sweet too!
(4)
Colleen B.

Expensive for the quality of food. Ate here out of desperation, everywhere was booked downtown. $18 for noodles, mushrooms and sauce. Not even positive they were homemade noodles. Carpaccio salad was nice. Poor bartender/server was way overworked. Would never go back.
(2)
Dmitriy S.

I'm very tempted to give AA2 1 star, but I tend to save those for the most atrocious dining experiences. This place comes close, but not close enough. Let' just call it a 1.5. My brother was in town for a conference and needed a quick bite to eat near his hotel. I decided to join him, knowing pretty well that Gaslamp doesn't have much to impress with when it comes to dining. Acqua Al 2 features your typical Italian menu. You've got your soups, salads, pastas, and traditional Italian entrees. In addition, there are some specialty items not found much elsewhere, but they don't stand out as anything extraordinary. Upon seating, you're started out with a few pieces of bread and an amazing hummus-like dip. I still don't know what it's called but I couldn't stop munching on it. Don't be afraid to ask for more because they'll gladly bring you some for free. That set the bar pretty high but it all just went downhill from there. I had a hard time picking which entree I wanted, so I went with the Assaggio di Secondi, which is a sample platter of three (it was four when I went...) entrees. Word of CAUTION: these are entrees the chef picks. You have no say in this, so your ongoing mental battle between which dishes you want will be meaningless. 30 minutes later, you're served a plate with miniature versions of all four dishes. In my case, it was two filet mignons and two chickens. The chicken tastes like a 10 year old took it out of the freezer because he was hungry and no one was home, put it on the grill, and let it sit there until it was done. It had no flavor whatsoever and was completely dry inside and out. I'm sorry to say this, but I can get 10x better chicken at KFC. The filet mignon was no better. Although it had some juiciness to it, it also lacked flavor and was as plain as you can get. It's like marinating or adding herbs & spices to meat is a foreign concept to the chefs here. However, it's a very typical American way of cooking, so I'm not too surprised when I see the 5 star reviews by people who look like the only cooking tool they've ever used is a microwave. The sauces added on top of the meat, such as the blueberry sauce for the filet mignon were pretty good, but they couldn't mask the lack of flavor. To make things worse, this platter will leave your hungry. Now that they cut it down to 3 options, it'll probably make you even hungrier. To compensate we ordered a side of Topini al Gorgonzo, advertised as gnocchi with a light gorgonzola cheese sauce. This fancy schmancy cheese sauce tastes worse than powder sauce you get with Kraft Mac & Cheese. Imagine the most processed, cheap, generic cheese dumped in huge globs, completely ruining the somewhat well prepared gnocchi (hard to screw that up). The service was pretty good, and the slow moments were understandable considering a night of hungry conference attendees swarming Gaslamp. However, this place reassures my notion that dining in Gaslamp, especially at such places catered towards generic American taste, will almost always be an unpleasant experience.
(2)
Nicole N.

I am shocked that this place only has three stars...what is wrong with you all?! If you're looking for a traditional "spaghetti and meatball" place, this is not your restaurant. But, if you're looking for amazing, traditional Italian food, this is definitely the place to try. They are well known for the Filetto al Mirtilio (blueberry fillet) which is a must try. I know it sounds strange but trust me, it's great. Even more amazing than that dish is the Filetto al Aceto Balsamico (balsamic vinegar fillet). If you can't decide, get the Assaggio di Secondi (chef's choice) which will give you four samples of entree dishes. Their pasta is also great. The Rigatoni alle Melanzane (eggplant) is delicious. Their is also a chef's sampler of pastas too which is a great way to try the different types. Don't skip dessert at Acqua Al 2 or you'll regret it! Again, the sampler dish is a great way to try everything. The Torta di Cioccolatta (flourless chocolate cake) is one of the best. They also have a great happy hour on Thursdays. While there are no drink specials, they offer FREE food in the bar area. They don't skimp on the free food either...they have pizza, pasta, salads, etc. continuously coming out so you can try everything. Random side note - if you use Open Table to book reservations, this is a 1,000 point reservation too. Try this place now!
(5)
Big Al J.

Don't get the three star rating. Just goes to show you can't depend entirely on ratings. A very quaint, hole in the wall place. Good service, food and atmosphere. Go for the chefs five course mini pasta sampler.
(4)
Jason M.

The perfect place to bring your date if you're looking for ambiance. Jake the server /bartender is very professional and informed. The food quality is top notch. I will definitely keep telling others of my experience in a very positive way. Thanks again for the awesome food and service!
(4)
Gail J.

So this isn't Florence, but San Diego isn't so bad. I stopped here before my friend's marathon for some pre-race carbo loading. Note: For nostalgic reasons, I was trying to get into the Old Spaghetti Factory, which, get this, had a 1-2 hour wait. UGH! Mi amiga and I stumbled upon this cute little restaurant, experienced zero wait, and were immediately seated in the lounge area. Lounge = bar. While the ambience could use some overhauling (sports much on tv), the food was delicious. I had the gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce and it hit the spot. Note: The spot is mighty large these days due to an aversion to working out, but still. The dumplings were prepared perfectly--just the right level of firmness. My friend had penne pasta with vodka sauce and it was above average. The fresh bread in a brown bag was a quaint touch and they don't mind giving you as much as you want. I'm a glutton for carbunishment so I reaped and I sowed. No, I don't have any idea what I meant by that last statement either.
(4)
Amanda D.

My obsession with this restaurant is mostly driven by nostalgia for the days of Firenze... that being said, I would still enjoy it even if I hadn't stepped foot into my beloved Vigna Vecchia location, but likely at more of a 3-4 star rating. Eat the BLUEBERRY STEAK. Seriously, don't waste time with anything else.
(5)
Maria A.

My BF & I went here a couple of weeks ago. We had a coupon from Insider San Diego Hookup and its basically $30 for $60 of food. I ordered the Steak with Blueberry Sauce and BF ordered pasta. The steak was very very good. Surprisingly good. I would like to try other stuff here.
(4)
Irvin H.

Food and drinks are great. Service was a bit inappropriate and hasty for a non busy Sunday evening. Waitress kept coming over to take our plates away when we were barely finished. And btw since when is chicken acceptable for one of the three steaks on the steak trio platter?
(3)
A P.

At the recommendation of a friend I tried it last night. So many choices in the Gaslamp, but this was worth the visit. Very friendly hostesses dealt with my multiple changes to my reservation without a complaint. Very helpful. Went to the bar to start, drinks were good and bartender was friendly and accommodating. Finally decided to sit outside. Appetizers were really good. Started with the charcuterie board very good. Also another dish with spinach and cheese forgot the name, but it was really good. Next the salads, the caprese was enough for two, as was the arugula and grape tomato salad that I had. Main course for me was chicken with mushrooms. It was flavorful and moist. Others had a pasta dish and loved it and the filet with what I think was a balsamic reduction. Nice size portions, nice service. Overall a good experience. Definitely a worthwhile stop while in the Gaslamp.
(4)
Karen A.

Where do I even begin? I assuming this place is only in business from the tourists and convention people. Our bill was $120 and it looked like to 2 plates of Kraft Mac and cheese. Now I know why the rest of my friends who live in San Diego NEVER go there.
(1)
Melissa W.

Disclaimer: This is from when I visited in August 2012. The closest to authentic Italian that I've found in the US! The server was friendly, but I did find it a bit weird that he put my napkin in my lap for me. It was nice to be offered the option to order side portions of any of the pastas - perfect for those of us who enjoy smaller portions! The ambiance was definitely on the romantic side, which was a tad awkward since I was eating with two other colleagues.
(4)
Su-chun H.

Overpriced and uninspiring. Had rigatoni with eggplants in tomato sauce. Pasta was cold when it came out. Sent it back even dispite of being super hungry. They remade my dish and second time came out piping hot. They earned two stars for that. Service was not impressive, the wait staff is probably over tired from comic con crowds, They lost a local customer. Won't be returning.
(2)
amy s.

Don't waste your money or your time as this place is worth neither. We had a party of 7 and we were close to the only ones there (I can see why, now).The risotto was crunchy and had very little taste. The chicken was so dry my friend could only take 2 bites. The steaks (4 of them) were all ordered medium and they came out just over raw and barely lukewarm. Nothing was seasoned and even the pasta was bland. You'd think our service would be quick as it was so empty, but our drinks ran dry and it was obvious no one there gives a crap about the customers. I will never, ever again ignore negative Yelp reviews!
(1)
Sara O.

I visit San Diego once every couple years and this place is on my must eat list - even if it means eating solo which I recently had to do. My book and I had a nice bar seat where we were given amazing service and of course amazing food. I always get the cannelloni with mushrooms. This year I paired with a great chard from California. My night was complete. I am just sad I may not eat here for another three years!
(5)
Dan R.

Walking by we were summoned In by "authentic Italian food " by the stand out front hostess and told of how the original is in Italy so we thought , let's give it a try ! Ambiance was ok hostess was nice and polite . The waiter / server was extremely authentic so much it was a little bit of a challenge understanding him. On the table is an advertisement saying check in on yelp and receive a free appetizer , well OK then ! So this is where the language barrier becomes the issue . We were served an interesting 5 little tiny dish pasta appetizer sampler which was ok. We then ordered dinner , which was also just ok ! Authentic , well I have never been to Italy , but to me Olive Garden equivalent . When we received the bill our appetizer was $26.00 hmmmm. . Well after speaking with management and explaining this obvious language barrier ,they gladly took it off our bill . The restaurant service was average and food the same. Ambiance was ok as well . A little pricey for Italian . Will not return .
(3)
Gilles M.

Nice place but food is not generous and pricy. Could be better
(2)
Krystal A.

For the first time I'm glad I didn't judge a place based on Yelp reviews. I had a great experience at this place. The waitress we had was very attentive and thorough when describing the menu, the timing of dishes was great as well. I think I was mostly relieved that they paid attention to our water glasses (I honestly dislike asking waiters for a refill). The food was to my liking. I would highly recommend ordering the "Assaggio di Primi" as you get samples of 5 pastas (and yes, they will fill you up). I'd also recommend the "Filetto al Aceto Balsamico"..looks can be deceiving but the dish tastes really good! We went here on a Wednesday night and they had a live singer/guitar player. The lighting, the set-up, the food--it's a good place to try!
(4)
Vincent M.

The most authentic experience it feels like your in Italy. We had great service and the food was excellent I highly recommend this pale for all ages very expensive but worth the money
(5)
Brianne G.

Acqual Al 2 has an old world charm that felt very authentic. The service was very good. Our waiter was very accommodating and our waters were always full. I ordered off the specialty menu in which the chef selects a variety of pastas, meat entrees and desserts for you to try. The price was around $50 for this tasting that included a glass of wine, 5 pastas, 3 meat entrees and 4 desserts! This was definitely the way to go! We really enjoyed trying out so many different selections of food. My favorites were: Maccheroni alla Vodka (Pasta w/vodka sauce) Lumaconi ai Broccoli (shell pasta with creamy broccoli sauce) Filetto al Mirtilio (Blueberry sauce topped Fillet Mignon) Petto di Pollo ai Funghi (chicken with mushroom sauce) Creme BrÃ»lÃ©e Pannacotta with blackberry sauce Now I want some Pannacotta!
(4)
Coca L.

10/19/13, my husband had the filet with balsamic and he loved it. We split a caprese salad, the bufala mozzarella was very good, and I liked how they stacked it instead of tossing it around on a plate. I had the frutti Di mare with pasta and it was fresh hot and plenty. We went here for a late lunch and it was quiet but starting to get active. We were both starving and lethargic. Our waiter was patient and service was good. Loved the prose com and the bread with garbanzo bean spread with olive oil. It saved us.
(4)
C C.

We didn't find this place that enchanting. We were 8 of us. We felt like we were sitting in the foyer, Drinks were bad, and the food was okay. Bottom line, it didn't feel like one of the "best" Italian Restaurant in San Diego. My rating for ambiance, drink and food quality will be 1. Restaurant hostess was very nice, professional and presenteable.
(1)
Quasona C.

My dinner was great here! Very cozy and intimate restaurant right in the heart of the Gaslamp. We were able to grab a seat outdoors and enjoy good wine and Italian food. Yum Yum!
(4)
ShopperLA D.

I'm giving this place 5 stars b/c I had, hands down, the best al dente Rigatoni pasta to date. The pasta was cooked to perfection, the eggplant was sauteed just right and the tomato sauce was light and delicious. My friends ordered the Risotto and the famous Filet with blueberry sauce. They liked the steak but didn't think the blueberry sauce was a good combination. The did rave about the Risotto. The staff is accomodating and nice and restaurant is in a great location. When we were there, the majority of guests around us were Italian as well. I think it's very telling when Italians visit an Italian restaurant. Would go back. Thank you!
(5)
Lee D.

Always delicious. The sampler platter is the wavy to go. We eat here all the time and it is always a quality dining experience.
(4)
Nate M.

I got invited to try the sister restaurant of Toast - Enoteca and Cucina, Acqua Al 2. The website was really nice,the menu was exciting, and I'm always down for fine dining! Acqua Al 2 is rated 3/5 stars on Yelp. --------------------------------------------------Â---------- *Pros -The food is really good. Flavorful, great presentation, and cooked perfectly! -They made sure the water was always filled *Cons -The service was lacking! We ran out bread quick and it was never replenished. We ordered a second bottle of Pellegrino and it never came out. Our waiter had a bad cold, should of stayed home, I'm not trying to get sick! I told manager that my strawberries were bad and she kind of brushed it off. -At about $40 a person this place is pretty pricey for most people. It's what i expect from a fine dining spot, but the service better be on point. --------------------------------------------------Â--------- The Bottom line The Blueberry Filet Mignon is the shit! You have to try it! This is definitely a place to come to for a special occasion! Step up your service and this will easily be a 4/4.5 star spot. I think service is like 3.5 and food is a solid 4. Full review with pictures: natedoesfood.tumblr.com --------------------------------------------------Â---------
(4)
Kari L.

It's really hard to find quality Italian food in San Diego. Good Mexican food? No problem. But that Italian food. Most people's idea of good Italian is your typical pasta chain (ahem, Olive Garden). I thought finding delicious Italian eateries was like finding a unicorn... until I went to Acqua Al 2. First and foremost, the food was fantastic. I'm a self-described cheese-aholic. My boyfriend and I started off with the Strozzapreti al Pomodoro, which is basically a spinach-ricotta ball covered in tomato sauce and gooey Parmesan cheese. OMG I was so impressed. Cheesy goodness melting in my belly. I got the vodka pasta and it has such a rich consistency and a nice balance for those who like a creamy, but subtle tangy sauce. It was really good alternative to Alfredo and not too heavy. My boyfriend got the Controfiletto al Pepe Verde, which is described as, 'a hand carved New York steak sauteed and topped with a green peppercorn, brandy, dijon mustard and cream sauce'. He said it was the first steak he has had perfectly cooked medium from end-to -end. The steak almost melted in your mouth and the house wine was such a good addition. I highly recommend this entree and would get it again in a heartbeat. Service-wise. Everyone was so nice from the get-go. From the smiling hostess to the servers and the General Manager. Our table was touched by at least 4 different individuals to check up on us. They were extremely knowledgeable about the product and even told us this San Diego location mimics their Acqua Al in Italy! How cool! Acqua Al 2 was very impressive and I consider it a gem in the Gaslamp. I would definitely come here again to get my carbohydrate fix!
(5)
Saeed R.

Happened here for lunch during a conference and at the suggestion of the waiter ordered the Filetto al Mirtillo (Fillet with rich currant sauce). Not too bad, and rather pleasant lunch, however, in retrospect, I realize I'm not much of a meat and sweet guy when it comes to my filet. The 5 pasta sampler was a real treat and I definitely enjoyed it. All in all, it's really traditional, authentic food from Florence.
(4)
Dave B.

Wouldn't have tried this place based on the 2 1/2 star rating, except it is dog friendly and we were desperate as we were staying at the Hotel Solamar with our lab. Our waitress was a bit flighty, but we sat outside near the hostess station and she (the hostess) gave us a good tip on the menu. Get the pre-fixe menu ($50) for one, which is chef's choice of multiple pasta, protein and dessert items, but have them double up on the pasta course for an extra $13. Perfect! First we had the pasta course, which is the chef's choice of five different pasta dishes. They were all cooked perfectly - al dente - and were the star of the meal. Penne Vodka was my favorite, but here was what we got: Farfalline ai Funghi Porcini - Bowtie pasta with sauteed porcini mushrooms and imported mascarpone cheese. As above, pasta cooked perfectly, good sauce taste. Rigatoni alle Melanzane - Tube shaped pasta with a tomato eggplant sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. "Martin's favorite". Yum - tasted like a light mac and cheese. Maccheroni alla Vodka - Penne pasta with a milk and vodka sauce and a touch of tomato sauce. Perfectly cooked pasta in a fantastic vodka sauce. Topini al Radicchio Rosso - Small potato dumplings(gnocchi) with our house tomato sauce, Italian red cabbage, mascarpone cheese and Parmesan cheese. I love gnocci, but most places screw it up by overcooking it. The cabbace made it a little tangy. Yum. Fusilli Lunghi ai Pepperoni - Long fusilli pasta with a tomato and bell pepper sauce finished with a touch of cream. I am not a huge fan of bell peppers, but this added a lot to the pasta. Next we had the protein course - which is three three ounce portions: Filetto al Aceto Balsamico - A hand carved fillet mignon topped with a balsamic vinegar glaze. The reduction was great but the the filet was a little fatty and slighly overcooked. Fileno al Mirtilio - A hand carved fillet mignon topped with a blueberry sauce. The steak was cooked to perfection - medium as requested - but the blueberry sauce was too sweet, as I had originally feared. But my wife loved it. Petto di Pollo alla Griglia - Grilled chicken breast on a bed of arugula, served with cherry tomatoes. Boring and not a lot of taste. Kind of like chicken on skewer. Finally the dessert course - Pannacotta - Cream Custard with fruit coulis. The star of the desserts in my opinion. Torta di Cioccolatta - Floureless chocolate cake. Too dry. Cheesecake - Ricotta cheesecake with a walnut crust. Meh...kind of boring. Tiramisu - Ladyfingers dipped in espresso, topped with light mascarpone cream. Also good. The food was surprisingly good, we liked the location, tand hey were very good to our dog. All the food above, plus a Sapphire martini was $77. Great deal and really good food. Give it a try.
(4)
Joe D.

My wife and I decided to go there the other night. Having gotten married in Italy we're big Italian foo lovers. We were greeted by a very friendly hostess that seated us. Our waiter was an extremely nice guy and very knowledgeable. He recommended the Chef's sampler platter and we were sold. Oh but forgot we started out with a great bottle of Lucente vino. One of our favorites! Great wine list by the way. We were served 5 different pastas dishes one right after the other. All I can say is that they were all amazing! Just like being back in Italy. Next came the meat dishes, 2 steak and 1 chicken. Here's the only part of the meal I was not completely pleased. One steak was served with a balsamic glaze and the other with a blueberry glaze. I could tell that both were very good cuts of meat but unfortunately both glazes were just too rich for my palate and overpowered the flavor of the meat. Last was the desert tray that included 5 incredible deserts. All in all it was a very enjoyable evening that reminded us being back in Florence. We'll certainly go there again but think I'll stick with all those incredible pastas!
(4)
Kelcie B.

Came here per a recommendation. The food was incredible! We tried the 5 pasta sampler appetizer which was really great. I only wish they had given us a little more of each. We then tried the blueberry filet and the balsamic filet. They were out of this world! The ambience is cozy and the servers are very friendly. Now I want to visit the restaurant in Florence.
(4)
Kevin S.

I second the other review that this place is always amazing. The Filets are ALL absolutely amazing!! Top 3 in San Diego and we eat like no other so trust me when BOTH my wife and I give a top 3 rating you are getting the BEST quality and tasting steaks around. The Balsamic was our favorite, but the other are very close too. The service was excellent too. Thank You, Kevin and Cyndi Smith
(5)
Dana O.

I can't agree with Nicole more, three stars is insane - this is hands down one of our favorite restaurants in San Diego!! First of all, it's BYOB, which makes it amazing if you want awesome dining experience without the outrageous prices of wine. I think it was a $10 corkage fee (reasonable) as long as you don't bring a bottle of wine that they sell (also reasonable). The steak is also one of the best - ever!! They sound crazy (blueberry or balsalmic), but trust me, amazing. The pasta appetizer, where you can try 4 pasta samples from the chef - also amazing. They don't rush you, you can sit all night and enjoy your food and wine, and they don't mind at all. This place is romantic (but not stuffy), great service, great food - a little pricey (if your like us and order everything on the menu), but not extreme - totally reasonable for the experience and the food! This place is a must!!
(5)
Tiffany H.

The first sign of how i knew I would like this place was their wine list. I appreciated the fact that they had a wide selection of wines available by the glass (another cool thing was that their wine/cocktail list is viewed through an iPad). They also immediately set us up with complimentary bread and a specialty white bean spread while we perused the dinner menu. Our waitress was very nice and knowledgable about the menu. The other staff members (hostess, manager, waiters) also went out of their way to check on how we were doing and clear any plates. The waitress informed us of Acqua's specialty menu, modeled after their flagship restaurant in Italy. This tasting menu can be ordered with or without a glass of wine and includes a sampler of five items from the first course, three items from the entree menu and four selections from the dessert menu. Although my friend and I didn't order this (we were sure we would be stuffed!), I thought it was a clever offering - especially for diners that want to taste a little bit of everything. To start, I ordered their soup of the day which was a cream of pumpkin soup. Normally, pumpkin soup is a little on the sweet side but Acqua's version was definitely more savory (which I like because I wasn't expecting it). It was a perfect start being that it was a cold and rainy evening. My friend ordered the Carpaccio de Bresaola (thin slices of dried filet mignon served with arugula, Parmesan cheese and olive oil) which I had to have a taste of. This dish was light and the dried filet mignon was a touch on the crispy side, giving a depth of texture to the dish (we are used to Carpaccio being a little soft and on the fattier side). Being that we felt like we were in Italy (the decor was very rustic and warm), we had to go with pasta for dinner. I ordered the Rigatoni alle Melanzane, a basic pasta with a tomato eggplant sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese (it was also noted as "Martin's (owner) favorite"). The pasta was just slightly more al dente than I would like but the sauce was delicious! I forgot that there was no meat in it because it was so hearty! Dessert was solid - we ended up ordering the tasting sampler of four desserts (pannacotta, tiramisu, torta de cioccolatta (flourless chocolate cake) and the cheesecake. While all the desserts were good, the standout definitely had to be the tiramisu (although I wish it was served a little colder). It was a more modern interpretation of this classic dessert and I appreciated that I could not taste any liqueur (seems like everytime I've tried a tiramisu elsewhere, the licquer overpowers it). I also always have to have coffee or an espresso with dessert so I ordered a cappuccino - my only recommendation is that the barista finish off the cappuccino with one of those cool decorations in the foam ;) Overall I feel like Acqua al 2 is one of those staple restaurants you can go to for solid food and to enjoy the company of others.
(4)
Allan K.

A delicious fine dining experience! I ordered the Caprese salad and the mozzarella cheese was absolutely fresh fresh fresh! My Pasta main course perfectly cooked and the sauce amazing. Our server Amanda did a nice job and made the dining experience memorable.
(4)
Jen W.

This is such a cute place. It feels like you've been transported to Italy with the outdoor seating and the interior decor. We came here with a large group for lunch. Most of us ordered off the lunch menu, but it took awhile longer than anticipated to get our food. The server was inundated with our large group and she could have used additional help. We tried the chef's tasting menu - five different pastas. The pastas were interesting like basil-cheese, creamy tomato with radicchio, creamy tomato with squash. The pastas were little too soft and mushy for my taste. The white bean dip and bread appetizer was nice and garlicky. Thank goodness for a fun group - it made the time pass quickly and the meal wasn't a complete loss.
(3)
Briana M.

Dinned here last night with a group of nine and had a great meal! We were seated at a large table in an area that had no other diners. This was nice because we were able to chat and not worry about disturbing others. We brought a bottle of wine and also selected a bottle of their iPad wine list. Corkage was $20 for the bottle we brought. The table started with the Assaggio di Primi, a sampling of five pastas from the first courses. All five came out hot and delicious! For my entree I had the Canneioni Ricotta e Spinaci, yummm-o! On the side I had the Caprese Salad, large enough to share! I also tried by finace's Controfiletto al Pepe Verde (NY Steak w/ peppercorn sauce) and it was cooked perfectly and the sauce very complimenting. Thumbs up to the bartender for making a killer old fashioned too. By the time we finished up we were too stuffed to try dessert, but I am sure we will be back and next time I will save room!
(4)
Jerry L.

Oh My... this place was INCREDIBLE! We started with the 5 pasta chef choice sampler. Very lovely! Then for dinner I had the filet mignon in the blueberry sauce. W-O-W! I think I came a teeny tiny bit in my pants. It looks a little gross, but the taste was incredible. On my next visit to San Diego, and when "The Man" is paying for it, I will DEFINITELY be back.
(4)
David F.

The swordfish was $37 and rubbery. The steak was tasty but tough. We had to ask for bread- at an Italian restaurant...and it was boring.
(1)
Neil W.

I ate out on the patio Saturday afternoon and enjoyed the 5 taster size pasta samplers and the chef's choice 3 entree sampler which consisted of fillet mignon topped with a blueberry sauce, fillet mignon topped with a balsamic vinegar glaze and the porcini sauteed chicken breast topped with a porcini mushroom, garlic and white wine sauce. The bread they served with a warm chick pea dip was also good for dipping in the sampler sauce. When I asked for more they brought us a whole bag full lol. All the food was very good...especially the filet & blueberry combo. Just enough for 2 in my opinion. Service was very attentive and knowledgeable. I have no reason not to recommend this place.
(4)
John D.

3.5 Stars Nice Place. The pastas are vegetarian. Try the plate that samples five of different past dishes. Very good and you will like it.
(3)
Steve W.

Good homemade pasta. Had to wait more than an hour for our meal. Charges for a refill of tea or soda. Nothing special.
(2)
Devin B.

Lined up aside a plethora of other restaurants and bars, Acqua Al 2 may get lost in the hustle and bustle of the Historical Gas Lamp District, but is not a place to be overlooked by any sense of the imagination. The ambiance inside the restaurant is cozy and warm, with that delicate kiss of Italian romanticism we all fantasize about. The staff are all friendly and outgoing - whether you're in their section or not. And the food...to die for. Putting our taste buds in the capable hands of the cooks by ordering a sampler of 3 EntrÃ©e dishes picked by the Chef - What we ate was pure poetry: * Filet Mignon with blueberry sauce (Amazing balance of sweet & savory) * Grilled chicken breast w/ porcini mushrooms (So simple - yet so good) * New York Peppercorn Steak done the Italian way (Need I really say more?) The food and service were so wonderful, Acqua Al 2 received our business two days in a row. I don't remember the gentleman bartenders name, but he was one of the major reasons we decided to forgo trying another restaurant that weekend and the fact that he could come in on his day off, during the craziness of Comic-Con, and still be as pleasant and accommodating as he was...that alone speaks to the class this place has.
(4)
Sami M.

My boyfriend and I came to San Diego on our Anniversary and came to this restaurant per recommendation of our hotel's entertainment services concierge. I'm not one for Italian food, but decided to give it a try. He and I got chef's choice: 5 sample entrees of First list (pastas), 3 sample entrees of Second list (meats), and 4 of desserts. I've got to say, I've never had such exquisite food! and I don't even like pizza! So me saying that this Italian food is better than ANY food I've ever tasted is saying something! Service wise, they are very polite and somewhat knowledgable of the food. Ambience wise, (we sat outside) it was a nice candlelit dinner. It is in a good spot. It's in the gaslamp district. So take it as a good thing as far as being Sunny San Diego. Down side, because it's in the gaslamp district, few cars blaring music and motorcycles being hogs. Overall, the food and service is 5star worthy, but the placement (take it as good or bad for yourself) brought it down a star.
(4)
Yolanda Y.

Apparently this restaurant is a big deal in Italy, so when my cousin saw it in San Diego, we had to go. The wait wasn't bad for a busy evening, but we came pretty late and the place we got seated didn't get a lot of attention from the waitstaff. When the waiter did pass, he was attentive and got our food/drink orders right, he just didn't come around often. The caprese salad was great, as was the dish that I had that I cannot remember now. Sorry. The atmosphere here is loud but I think most people would also find it cozy. The live music was a really nice touch too.
(4)
Geoffrey L.

I wrote a Union Tribune review on this place two years ago, and it still has not improved. In fact, it is worse. It is still overpriced by $10 to $20 per dish, especially for the mundane pasta dishes. The steaks are cooked right, but not worth the money. The anti-pasta and wine are about the only good things I can mention. (Indeed, Wine Spectator magazine gave it high ratings for its wine offerings). But the service was atrocious and slow. The waiter took almost 20 minutes to bring our cocktails. We complained to the manager, who did not seem to care. The waiter then sprung into action but brought the wrong drinks. The second round of drinks took just as long. Even the busboy seemed to be stoned as he peered out into space pouring water into our glasses while we tried to make eye contact and ask for more bread, completely non-responsive. And this was not a busy night. The two YELP stars are rightly deserved. Despite the promotions and Groupons this place desperately circulates, I fear it will not last the winter.
(1)
Maryann C.

First course was the Fusilli Lunghi ai Mascarpone e Funghi (creamy mushroom pasta) and a broccoli pasta with white sauce that's not on their online menu. Second course (entree) was Filetto al Aceto Balsamico (filet mignon with balsamic sauce) and Petto di Pollo ai Funghi (mushroom smothered chicken with white wine sauce). To drink, we had specialty coffees; the Acqua al 2 specialty (with Amaretto di Saronno and cherry liqueur) and the peppermint patty (also not on the official website). The filet mignon was incredibly thick and therefore a bit rarer in the middle than expected. My Acqua al 2 coffee was extremely potent, it needed a full pitcher of cream to make it drinkable to me (although once it was lightened, it was excellent). It was all a little saltier than expected. Other reviewers have complained about the bread, and I echo their complaints. It's served stone cold with no butter, and it's so hard and crusty that it barely even serves as a sauce mop. I actually hurt my mouth with it. Still everything (except the bread) was very tasty and we were full to the point of bloated. The service was also excellent, friendly and attentive but casual and not hovering. But here's the thing. We had an inconveniently wobbly table, the paper towel dispenser in the women's restroom was broken, there was some repetitive music playing, and the food was good but not magnificent, let alone perfect. There were only two of us. We didn't have an appetizer or dessert. We didn't order the most expensive courses on the menu. We had a $100 gift certificate, and went $40 over including tax and tip. For prices like that, a restaurant should hit somewhere between excellence and perfection. Acqua al 2 doesn't even come close. The kicker is that there must be a dozen Italian restaurants in the Gaslamp. I honestly don't know how Acqua al 2 is competing. Maybe it's the wine list, or the authenticity. But if you walk half a block, the Old Spaghetti Factory is right there. Their food isn't as specialized, but of a comparable quality, and for a third the price of an Acqua al 2 entree, you'll get three courses and a drink in a much cooler setting. If you're looking for something fancier, you won't find it at Acqua al 2, but they'll be happy to charge you for it. Bottom line, Acqua al 2's prices make promises that the food and setting don't keep.
(3)
Juan L.

The food was fantastic. The service was somewhere between "good" and "the shits",. Why such a contrast? Our waiter was somewhat disinterested in serving us. We relied on the busboy who brought us everything from drinks to other table items to finally the take home boxes. Bus boy was awesome. Waiter.. not so much... Well, he Maker's and Ginger Ale I ordered came right on time. The food was indeed excellent, especially the antipasti slab.Had the very famous Fileno Al Mirtilio (Blueberry filet) and it was tremendous. The pasta that I ordered as the side was delicious as well. But should have ordered some dessert to really fat out. And just to round out the dining experience to 2 hours, rather than the hour and 45 minutes it took.
(3)
Mikey L.

Great food!! I took my family there with some friends and they gave us great service. The owners were there too and greeted our table! Great place!
(5)
Louise A.

Very quirky--claims to be authentic--Italian food. No fish on the menu, although it was offered as a "special" at a significant up charge. We had 2 diners in our party with allergies--once was adamant about no dairy. Twice she was brought the entree she ordered with cheese. The waiter claimed the problem was a language barrier in the kitchen....really? What part of no cheese is hard to understand? Generally very slow and neglectful service. Had to ask for bread 2-3 times before it was brought and then they forgot to bring (and never did) the spread. There are so many other really good Italian restaurants in San Diego; skip this one
(1)
Michael P.

Okay so I checked this place out after walking by. They got me in quick even though it seemed pretty busy. This is going to be a short review because I dont really have anything good to say and as far as the bad, well, none of the food was good at all. It was very bland. I don't think i'll be coming back.
(3)
Jen K.

As soon as I figured out that this restaurant was affiliated with the one in Florence, I was on a mission to try it the next time that I was in town. I got the tasting menu which came with 5 different samplers of pasta- AWESOME. And 2 small fillets, the favorite balsamic glazed and a blueberry one. The balsamic was amazing, and the blueberry was pretty good. Service was outstanding, our waiter was the best.
(4)
Ed F.

It's good, not great. Forgettable, but that also means it wasn't bad nor did I feel gouged. Good italian.
(3)
Scott M.

My wife and I went to Acqua Al 2 during a recent trip to San Diego. I vaguely remember visiting the Florence location and chose to eat here based on that recollection. I was hoping for a nice, delicious Italian dinner, but the result was the complete opposite. First of all, the service was amazing! Everyone was very helpful and attentive. I believe Joe was our server and he was never very far away. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed all the sights and sounds of Gaslamp. The service and surroundings are the only thing bringing this review up to 2 stars. If it was for the food alone, it would be 1. They started us with the standard bag of bread and white bean spread. Not much flavor with the beans. My wife ordered the soup of the day and I had a pesto zucchini and white bean salad. The soup was decent and the salad just ok. I reached pesto overload pretty quickly. My own fault, I guess. For the main course, my wife ordered their "signature" balsamic glaze fillet and I ordered a New York steak, over arugula and focaccia bread. We each order medium. Hers arrived hot and cooked well. Mine was medium-well to well done, dry, tasteless, and luke warm at best. It appeared to have been cooked, cut to check for doneness, then placed back on the heat. All the juices had run out. It was grey on the the edges with very little pink in the middle. I took one bite and sent it back. That is something I RARELY do. Each entree ran $30-35, so I was expecting something much better and was extremely disappointed. If I'm going to spend that kind of money, the steak should be prepared correctly and have some flavor. Joe returned to check on us and I told him I wasn't satisfied. He agreed that the steak was overdone and quickly offered me another option. He recommended the veal chop, so I went with it. It was decent, but not great. Again, not much flavor. At least it came out cooked properly and still hot. Most of their meat dishes came on a bed of arugula, which did not do much for the taste. When you pair a tasteless cut of meat with a bitter green, that's all you'll get. I ate the veal chop, but that was about it. We also ordered a side of gorgonzola risotto, which was pretty good. Again, the service was great. I don't want to take anything away from the staff and the service. They did a great job. As an apology, our server brought us a dessert sampler. It has to be hard to serve at a restaurant with sub par food. I don't know if it was a coincidence, but on another table near where we sat, there were two dessert sampler platters that had not been cleared yet. It made me wonder if someone else had had a bad experience. Our bill was $135. I think we were paying for the location in the Gaslamp, as well as being walking distance from the convention center. We definitely weren't paying for the food quality.
(2)
Annik D.

The filet with balsamic sauce is Fantastic! Yummy!
(5)
Allen D.

We went here with our family and high hopes having seen the list of awards it has won in the past (should have noticed that the years they were won in were at least five years ago). Food was very bland an truly not flavorful. Actually, the most flavorful was the filet in the balsamic reduction. But then again, it was just a piece of meat smothered in a sweet syrupy sauce, meh. Chicken in white wine sauce was also bland, tasted like a piece of chicken with some mushrooms on it and a sauce that looked good but left much to be desired on the palate. Service was lacking as well. I've been to Italy and loved the food and this place didn't even come close. Don't bother going.
(2)
Kara P.

After boozing it up at a couple of happy hours, we decided to stop to see if we could find any thrill on blueberry hill. We ordered (and split between 3 happy from happy hour girls) the chef's special 5 course risottos and the Trio of Filet mignons (3 oz each) prepared with; 1. Blueberry reduction (3 stars) 2. Balsamic reduction ( 4 stars) 3. Gorgonzola & capers sauce (3 stars). I preferred the balsamic reduction sauce. I could drink balsamic straight from the bottle, I love it so much. I love that that there's a huge bottle of it on the table along with the olive oil. The riso al Funghi with mushrooms and marscapone was my favorite. Our server, Ana, informed us that the 5 course riso were little plates and by the time we split it between the 3 of us, each portion was equivalent to a amuse-bouche. It was actually perfect because you can't help fill up on the bread. You first think that you are going to have to wear a paper hat as they come along & roll the brown paper bag, tableside. The bread is warm & has that smokey charred flavor that you find in a crisp thin crust pizza. Service was great. Malbec wine was also ok. I don't think this is the best Italian in San Diego. Bottom line, we split the bill 3 ways $ 43 each incl gratuity. Downside, it's filled with convention goers who are too lazy to take a cab down to Little Italy for much better Italian.
(3)
Michaela L.

I can't speak to the other food but we got two filets and a side of fusilli with mascarpone and mushrooms and once the loud shrieky table behind us went away, everything was really nice. (We couldn't decide between the blueberry and the balsamic filets, so I got the blueberry and he got the balsamic. It worked out well, since the plates don't come with extra stuff, and a steak each was a good portion -- and as it turned out, I preferred the blueberry and he preferred the balsamic, so everyone wins. Along with that, a single side order of pasta was plenty for us to split; we don't need a plateful each to go along with a tasty steak.) The next night when we ended up at Greystone's having mediocre risotto we wished we'd come back here. Take that as you will.
(4)
Jenna P.

How can anyone give this restaurant less than 4 stars? The pastas here are amazing. The flavors are subtle but complex and amazing. You cannot find more authentic Italian in San Diego. I believe that the people who give this restaurant less than 4 stars do so because they are used to the insanely large portions and overpowering flavors that less impressive Italian-American restaurants provide.
(5)
SD C.

I've been here numerous times, the food service and ambiance always top notch. I love the blueberry reduction on the fillet... never would have thought of that, but it works so well. The bread is amazing, and I love being in downtown San Diego. I highly recommend this place.
(5)
mark s.

Don't have time for a lenghty review, but I'll touch on some quick points... Bread in a paper bag at this price point... REALLY??? ...and the bread tastes like it came came from VONS. The Five Pasta Sampler... I'm sorry, but I can make better pasta at home with sauce from a jar. We also split a filet with the Balsamic Glaze.... or should I say the Balsamic Glaze SOUP with a Filet floating in it !!! If they own another restaurant in Florence, all their cooks must be on vacation there indefinitely. Sorry Acqua, keep trying, but at this point you don't make the grade....
(1)
Stacy M.

We have been to the sister restaurant in florence, italy and the food was awesome!!! Was excited that there is one in san diego so we booked a birthday dinner. All of us who were in italy were sorely disappointed. Others who didn't go to italy didn't like it as well. Flash forward a few years, my husband and i decided to try it again giving them the benefit of doubt. We were extremely dissatisfied with everything we had ordered. The mozzarella in my insalata capresa tasted like it was thawed out cheese. The pasta tasted like boxed pasta rather than fresh. The blueberries in the sauce tasted like frozen blueberries and the steak was not quality meat. We quickly ran out of there and do not recommend this to anyone.
(1)
Jennifer P.

I'm still bitter that I didn't hear about Acqua Al 2 until days after my return from Italy. I would have loved to try out the Florentine restaurant during my visit, but, alas, not to be. However, I am thrilled to have discovered Acqua Al 2 while in the throes of severe Italian cuisine withdrawal. This is as good as it gets stateside, and it's damn good. I'm already planning my next ten dining adventures here (and many more after that), all hopefully within the next ten days (wishful thinking). This place is seriously awesome. The bread tastes just like it did in Italy, thanks to baking it without salt, and the food lives up to every salivating memory I have of true Italian dining. Dee.Lish.Us. I wanted to eat the entire menu, but since that didn't seem responsible I settled instead on the gorgonzola gnocchi (having tried the same dish while in Florence) and it was as good as I remembered. So delicious and creamy and highly addicting. Second course was the balsamic-glazed filet mignon, which was incredible. I ate up every bite that I could fit in! My partner-in-delicious-dining had the orrechiette with broccoli cream sauce and it was also amazing. I might have to order that next time! Also chicken in a mushroom sauce that was delicious as well. I don't think you can order badly here. I plan to return and do thorough research to ensure this fact, but it just doesn't seem possible. Shared the dessert sample plate and it was the perfect amount -- four small bites of different desserts (cheesecake, chocolate cake, tiramisu and my favorite panna cotta). Service was excellent, prices were more reasonable than expected, and food was better than I could have imagined. I'll definitely be frequently this spot until I can get myself back to Italia.
(5)
Robert F.

I lived in Italy and frequented often the Acqua Al 2 there, which by the way is just a slightly better than average place over there. However, I have had decent experiences there as well as here. But for the most part, I would say something was lost in translation. To be honest, it has been a bit since my last visit. I will say that I love the concept of the Assaggi. Nowhere else does this and I like to taste multiple dishes if possible, and with these you get a chefs choice of something you may have otherwise not ordered. I also think the balsamic glazed filet is pretty good, even if a bit over sauced. In regards to many comments, the bread is actually very Tuscan, and that "flavorlessness" is very much how it is supposed to be and is in almost every restaurant in Tuscany. I think they need to update their food program here, but you can still get a pretty good meal with the right order.
(3)
Christine K.

The primi pasta sampler (or watever it's called) was really fun! This includes a sample of 5 of their pastas, chef choice for $13pp. The intervals were quick between the samples, so eat up fast. So glad I didn't get a whole pasta dish, since nothing was really all that great. Maybe the bowtie with the zuchinni+garlic and rosemary. Me and my friend shared the chicken breast with the porcini mushrooms and that was way TOOO SALTY~! It wasn't the sauce, but the chicken. Like it was marinated in some sort of brine as my friend said. horrible! Really should have sent it back. Total bill for 2 came out a little over $60 +$10 tip=~$70. A bit too much IMO for the quality that was presented. eh I was starving....so everything is supposed to taste 10 times better when I'm starving!!! aiya~ LA has the best of everything, so spoiled...how wonderful.
(2)
Jeordie S.

This place was so wonderful !! First off they were kind enough to stay open for us even tho they had already closed on a Sunday . But when I called the nice hostess /manager said they would stay open if we came now... She kindly greeted me outside the front door with a smile! They proceeded to give us amazingly warm & delicous service. Our awesome server Brian...Yay Brian( ask for him) , was new in town from NY, but more then on top of the menu & his service was superb;) We can't say enough about the food .. OMG Yes ... Food wonderful.. Nothing i didnt finish completely..house red sauce ,which is how i judge my Italian, was ...outstanding!! The Balsamic glazed filet I ordered was yummmmm, & the wine a moderate proced bottle of chianti was magnifico!!! We loved it!! & although a little pricy it was the most beautiful meal!! I will go back next time I'm in SD .!!!! Manga'!! Jeordie
(5)
Chris L.

A $50 tasting menu - 5 pastas, three meats and four desserts. Add in $4 and you get a glass of wine too! This price was too good to pass up. The spinach ringlet pasta was good. The penne was bland, even though it was the chef's favorite. The curly marinara one that looked like Hamburger Helper was pretty tasty (notice, I am not a pasta connoisseur). The filet mignon with blueberry sauce was to die for! The pot roast with capers was pretty good. I didn't care too much for the mushroom chicken. Maybe b/c it was cold. The desserts were a nice surprise - panna cotta with black and blue berries, tiramisu, flourless chocolate cake (not that good) and strawberry cake of some sort. All of them were pretty good except the chocolate cake. The strawberry and kiwi were good too. Presentation was decent, but not too creative. Service was pretty good. Bread came in a brown bag and was not too impressive. Decor was cute. They didn't have the tacky blue glass cups. People were celebrating birthdays here so I think it's nicer than the other Italian restaurants we walked by. Would come back!
(5)
Stephan Vladimir B.

Mediocre food. Poor wine selection. They ran out of more than 50% of the entrees on the menu but didn't tell us before we already ordered wine (by the bottle only, by the way). So they hooked us into staying, then told us there was basically nothing left to eat. Pathetic. Once we got the food it was bland, uninspiring, and not necessarily cooked how one ordered it (it wasn't inedible, but it was basically diner quality food at date-night prices). Will never return.
(2)
Natalie G.

So your sister store is in florence... Do you want a cookie for that? Checked this place out after a couple friends raved about it when they went to the Florence spot in Italy, but unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed. We ate outside, which was not so bad, and not as loud as I expected it to be. Unfortunately, the food was nothing to be excited over. I had Fusilli Lunghi ai Mascarpone e Funghi which was alright. The pasta seemed fresh, but the sauce was just a little lacking in flavor and overall bland. It felt very hamburger helper esque? My friend had the seabass over risotto which was a special and that was tasty. The bread is served in a bag and the server made this big deal of shaking the brown bag for one reason or another that I didn't quite understand. The bread itself was MEH. Why such a MEH review? Honestly, it was just MEH. It seemed all so contrived, trying to be something, that it really wasn't. It wanted to scream being Mom and Pop, but in the end it was all corporate. Which is ok, just own it then. If you're gonna fall into the category of Olive Garden.. Go ahead! Just own it. Service was mediocre at best and our server was nothing to rave about. All in all. Not the best experience, but not the worst. Just nothing so special. **7/23/2010: I was recently contacted by the owner and manager to follow up on my experience. They did apologize for my mediocre experience and to contact them if I dine again. So, that was nice.
(2)
Eric P.

So we were downtown for Comic Con this Saturday and were starving for some food. We didn't want to stop by any of the pizza or hot dog stands inside the convention center so we decide to find a place on 5th ave. Most of those places were packed and noisy, but we saw Acqua Al 2 wasn't that busy and looked like a nice quiet restaurant. We didn't take the time to look them up on Yelp, reading some of the reviews after that fact had me on the ground laughing since I totally agree with them! To start with, yup, they do not bring you the menu when you are seated, you do need to wait for the waiter. You do have the drink menu of course, but it conveniently doesn't have the prices listed in it except for the wine. So yes, bread is served in a nice brown bag, that they make a big show out of opening for us. You expect it to be nice fresh warm bread right? Nope, it was nice and cold. For a party of 3 they made the wonderful choice of giving us 3 small slices of a baguette that tasted like something from Vons. We each ordered a different pasta dish, I got Farfalline alla Zucca, my friend got Topini al Gorgonzo, and his wife got the Rigatoni alle Melanzane. When our dishes came out we almost all burst into laughter, but we waited until we had left the restaurant so not to offend any of the other guests. Lets start with the plate temperature, like other people have mentioned it is served room temperature or lower. The pasta was definitely not al dente, more like mushy in my case, and in my friends case not cooked enough. Also in the menu they describe each dish with a different sauce, yeah.. the sauce on our 3 plates were exactly the same. Wait, maybe my dish and some cheese. Oh yeah, there was no fresh grated cheese or pepper. On top of the fact that we had to ask our server several times for anything, say water, bread, the check, or even to take our order that didn't help to the overall dining experience. I believe Olive Garden could a much better job than this place. Or maybe even a meal warmed up from the frozen food aisle. I agree with a previous review that they should just get bought out by Olive Garden, it would probably help them out a ton in food quality and service.
(1)
R C.

One taste of the food here and it will become obvious that some of these mixed reviews are highly questionable. The food is to die for. You will never have a pasta dish that tastes this good in your life. And the blueberry steak and deserts are a reason to get up in the morning. Would that I could afford to eat here for every meal.
(5)
Vanessa F.

I tried this restaurant last week with some friends after hearing really good things about it. My 2 friends and I walk in and wait at least 5 minutes for the hostess to turn around and acknowledge us. We should have left then but we thought that had to be the worst of the experience. Unfortunately, this was not the case. We waited at least 15 minutes for the waitress to come over to take our drink order (this was a Thursday night and NOT busy) and when she did, she she still didn't bring the menu's (oh yes, a downside to this restaurant is that they don't give you menu's when you're seated...You have to wait for your server to bring you a menu and when they're slow, as ours was, it greatly prolongs the process). So, from the time we walked in the door to the time we finally ordered our food half an hour had elapsed. That might not normally be so bad except that my friends had a flight to catch. On the upside, we had PLENTY of time to catch up before their mini-vaca. When our food arrived, it was room temperature, at best. For the wait, we'd certainly expected the food to at least be hot. And it wasn't just the temperature that was off...I can honestly say I can make better pasta at home (and I don't even cook very often). Interestingly, my friends and I were seated next to a couple other friends who we were surprised to find dining there that evening. There experience was even worse than ours as one order was completely wrong and the other was so cold she had to send it back! Misery loves company though so at least we all shared a common experience. The venue is nice so it's really a shame the service and food were such a letdown. =( Now, Old Venice in Pt. Loma on the other hand....YUMMY!
(1)
Chris C.

Outstanding dining experience. The food was incredible, John our waiter was very knowledgeable and gave us the perfect suggestions. All in all a fantastic restaurant, very highly recommended.
(5)
Katherine W.

Really good. Great service. Food tastes like what you'd get in Italy. Cooks in olive oil.
(3)
Kristen A.

There's a tasting menu here that features five different types of their pasta - some of the sauces are good, but it's pricey for what it is. A few bites of pasta doesn't fill me up. What was absolutely delicious was the Filetto Al Aceto Balsamico, basically fillet mignon topped with a balsamic vinegar glaze. The vinegar glaze is a type of reduction sauce that we put on EVERYTHING. Friends from way down the table were stealing it! Definitely order this over the blueberry sauce.
(4)
Jon L.

Fun, great service, and excellent food. I would definitely go back. They kept bringing food and it was all delicious. The pasta sampler was fun for the table.
(5)
Faye L.

I wish I could say I ate Italian food more often but the truth of the matter is that I simply don't. I don't consume pasta and don't usually eat all that much cheese so going out to a nice Italian restaurant hasn't really been my thing (friends will gripe and attest to that). I've heard of Acqua al 2 (pronounced ah-cua alh do-ay) as friend's parents went to their original location in Florence. The restaurant is still alive and well in Italy. The parents loved the food there and actually visited the Gaslamp location some years ago. I had seen Acqua al 2 many times when I was clubbing it up in the Gaslamp (that's totally not a truthful statement - I saw the restaurant many times at the mercy of getting lost driving around Gaslamp). So I was curious and open minded when I had an opportunity to try out this Italian restaurant. We tried: - Fusilli corti agli Spinaci: The fusilli was prepared a nice al dente. I enjoyed this with the hot spinach sauce. - Gorgonzola con chiglia : These shell pastas were enrobed in a creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce. I LOVED LOVED LOVED this pasta. The sauce didn't taste like overly pungent gorgonzola cheese that I found wretched so many years ago when I first tried it. The gorgonzola melted wonderfully in the cream sauce which the thirsty shell pastas seemed to drink up. - Farfalline alla Zucca: This was a simple yet flavorful bowtie pasta dish. You could absolutely taste the beautiful orange butternut squash in the sauce. - Penne in a zesty tomato sauce: I know this dish looks plain but I think this was my favorite pasta of the day. It was hard stopping myself from finishing this plate. - Rigatoni alle Melanzane: The tomato sauce was pleasant and I enjoyed the bits of eggplant that was in the dish. - Filetto all'Aceto Balsamico : The filet was beautifully prepared a medium rare. The meat was so incredibly tender and soft. I was afraid balsamic vinegar glaze would be too sweet and strong for the filet but the sweetness was nicely balanced. - Filetto al Mirtillo : I was apprehensive of this filet as it was topped with quite a bit of blueberries and thick sauce. Surprisingly the blueberry sauce wasn't cloyingly sweet. You could taste the port wine in the sauce. Unfortunately, this particular cut of filet had more tendon that was difficult to cut through as well as masticate. - Petto di Pollo ai Funghi Porcini: This was a nice piece of chicken breast. It was moist and the porcini mushroom sauce added a nice salty richness to this dish. Of the desserts we sampled, tiramisu was our favorite. Gilbert, the General Manager, said that all their pasta dishes start as 100% vegetarian. You can add proteins such as shrimp or chicken to the pastas if you should so choose to. He also mentioned that the menu here at Acqua al 2, in San Diego, is 100% based off the same exact menu in Florence. Friend thought that was incredibly cool. It was for sure a fun meal with lots of great items to try out. I can see myself coming back here on Thursdays to try out their Aperitivo Happy Hour.
(4)
Myranda M.

DON'T EAT HERE! I don't care how close it is, how tired you are or how busy others places look. This food cannot be consumed. I ordered the vodka pasta and it was 17 steps below Kraft macaroni. Horrible after taste and I ate two bites and sent it back. Thank goodness they took it off the bill. This is the only spot that won't be packed......and there is a good reason.
(1)
Sierra L.

Lovely service and delicious original recipes. Try the swordfish carpaccio!! :) we will definitely make this a regular stop.
(5)
Cyndi D.

Im sorry to see some of the negative reviews here. I can say it was a fabulous meal for my husband and I. Martinis were wonderful on the patio watching the world walk by on the gas lamp, how nice is that? The sauce and bread was to die for seriously, and we know good sauce and this was so excellent in flavor. I had the Martins Favorite rigatoni which was perfect in flavor and size, and my husband had a shell seafood special that was very tasty as well. We had a good glass of Chianti and felt very happy. The patio had a few people and the inside was quite, I actually wondered why, this is such a marvelous gem. After some thought on the way home I felt that, it is possible a lot of the clubbers that are walking by don't eat they only drink so that being said I feel the restaurants have a lot of competition to stay current and good. This restaurant has such potential and should not be over looked. Our waiter Michael was very attentive and nice, so much when were dining and then a couple came with a couple of kids, YIKES, he said he would happily move us if we were not satisfied, but we were fine and the kids were good too. I guess my only real suggestion to the manager would be to lower the lights in the dinning room and get rid of all the dang plates.. who cares... a nice block wall with traditional decor from Florence would be simple and nicely done, and might intrigue those that are walking by as to whats inside rather than thinking its just another Italian ..... This is no ordinary Italian and it deserves a peak. Check it out.
(5)
David D.

Great service!! Carlos the GM will take of you 100%!!! Pasta sampler rotates and is the best way to expand your palate. They will also customize items that aren't on the menu if you have something special in mind. I've also eaten at the Acqua al due in Florence and the food is as similar as it can be. Also fantastic wine list.
(5)
Polet N.

Our visit to Acqua Al 2 was just the cherry on top of our wonderful trip to San Diego. The appetizers were just delightful. Very flavorful and fresh. A taste from Italy. The restaurant ambiance was just perfect. Great music, amazing food and a wonderful customer service. I highly recommend.
(5)
Marlena R.

The food was horrible I came her last night. It made me think of the behind the scene shows. Where they say authentic and it turns out it's all from a box. The only reason I didn't send all the food back was I didn't want to ruin the night and embarrass my husband. We ordered the chicken in sauce which was over cooked. I ordered the pasta made with a creamy cheese sauce that tasted like it was from a box. I added shrimp and a ton of shredded Parmesan cheese to make it tasty. The ambience was great our server was nice. The other waiter even noticed our faces when we tasted the food. He said is there something wrong with your food.
(2)
Kapo K.

Good was good, but really, I was getting slightly less than what I paid for, to be honest. If I was going to give 5stars for food, it's gotta blow me away with restaurant quality food. Not a bad restaurant. It's just not at the level where I was blown away by its quality.
(4)
Shouka S.

I came here last night with a group of people and let me just start out with saying how amazing Letizia was! She was a great server and truly took care of us from the beginning to the end. When I found out they have a location in Firenze, Italy as well, I knew we were going to have a true Italian experience. Letizia then began describing the region their food is influenced by and even made the remark, "this is true Northern Italian food, not the Americanized Italian you find here." When she said this, I knew I was going to enjoy the good here. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to get their ai Spinaci or Porcini Funghi dish, so I asked Letizia which one she recommended and she said she would surprise me with one, which I thought was fun. She ended bringing me the Spinaci dish, which worked out great since my boyfriend decided to last minute order the Porcini dish, so I got to try both. They were both great!! Although I fully enjoyed the Spianci dish, I think it was missing a little flavor of something; it seemed as though it could have used a little more flavor but still delicious. My favorite part was how well the pasta was made! Nice and true al dente- not too mushy and not too hard and crunchy, just a little tiny bite under the teeth (which is what al dente truly means). A couple of people at our table ordered the blueberry sauce steak. They both agreed it was phenomenal, meaning I need to come back and try it. When it came time for dessert, we did not know what to order so we decided to order the tiramisu, Nutella gelato, and panna cotta to share together. They were all so fresh and delicious! If you're looking for a true Italian experience, I highly recommend coming here. Try to sit outside too, it took me back to the restaurants on the side of the streets in Italy so it had that full Italian effect!
(4)
Sarah S.

We stopped here on vacation to try fine Italian Cuisine in California. I was highly disappointed with the menu/food here. It did not live up to the fine Italian dining what so ever. I ordered the penne alla vodka and when it came out, it looked like a bowl of "Kraft Mac and cheese," as described by my friend. To be honest, it tasted like Kraft Mac and cheese except Kraft is way better. There was barely any sauce and it was a light yellow. This wasn't any type of vodka sauce I have ever seen before. I had to return it and tried the marinara sauce which tasted like a can of jar tomato sauce. My friend ordered the chef's pasta sampler; which was 5 different kinds of pasta that came out at different times. There was too much time between each portion coming out. The food wasn't enough for two people (which requires you get the sampler for 2) and they said the pasta dishes weren't anything to leave home for. I do have to say though, the service was very pleasant. That is why I gave it 2 stars. The food was horrendous, unfortunately.
(2)
Larry F.

We had such a wonderful date here! We got the sampler. They brought out 5 different pastas that we got to try and 3 cuts of meat. Then finally they brought out 3 or 4 desserts. It was an adventure! The pasta tasted fresh. Before dinner they put beans and bread on the table, which was both authentic and delicious! I loved sitting outside and eating a fancy dinner. The meal was extreme reasonably priced for the value we received!
(4)
Mike P.

Acqua Al 2 is an upscale Italian restaurant rich in history, tradition and fine cuisine. The original Acqua Al 2 opened in Florence, Italy in 1978 as a venue to showcase the traditional Italian cuisine created by chefs Stefano Innocenti, Gianni Ravera and Lucia degli Innocenti. Chef-Owner Martin Gonzalez brought the same environment, ambience and authenticity to San Diego's Gaslamp District in September of 2000. Since then, Acqua Al 2 has become a famous hot spot for celebrities and athletes alike. The display featuring hundreds of plates on which are printed autographs and messages from famous people around the world are a proud testimonial to Acqua Al 2's popularity with the jet set. On our recent visit, we sat on the patio to take advantage of the cool evening air. Our waitress, a very pleasant lady, recommended the Aperol Spritz, a specialty cocktail made with 3 parts Prosecco D.O.C. and 2 parts Aperol , served with a splash of soda and garnished with a slice of orange and an olive. I know it sounds like an odd combination, but I found it tasty and refreshing. I swirled the olive around as I savored the drink and then ate both the orange and the olive at the same time as was recommended. The taste was really unique and, oddly enough, good. Who would have thought? Our waitress was very knowledgeable about the menu and, to my delight, was able to tell us about each dish, the ingredients that go into making it and how it is prepared. Many of the menu items were quite tempting. But, when I try a new restaurant with an acclaimed chef, I like to leave him the choice. So, we ordered the Specialita della Casa, a three-course meal in which the chef decides what is to be served. The first course was the Assaggio di Primi Piatti, the restaurant's signature appetizer featuring five small dishes. I enjoyed them all, but was especially impressed by the Lumaconi ai Broccoli, a shell-shaped pasta in a broccoli cream sauce topped with a touch of Parmesan cheese. Another delightful dish was the Rigatoni alle Melanzane, made with tube-shaped pasta smothered in a tomato-eggplant sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Hailed as "Martin's Favorite" it was mine too! Oh sooooo... good! Our second course, or Assaggio di Secondi, had my mouth watering from the moment our waitress asked us if medium rare would do. Of course, I can't think of a better way to cook filet mignon! We had Filletto al Mirtello,a tender filet mignon topped with a delicious blueberry sauce. The combination of steak and blueberries was very enjoyable. The next filet, the Filletto all'Aceto Balsamico, came topped with a yummy balsamic vinegar glaze. I urge you to try both, as they complement each other very well. For our third and final course, or Assaggio di Dolci, we got to savor an artistic masterpiece of four homemade desserts. My favorite was, without question, the Torta di Cioccolatta, or Flourless Chocolate Cake, a decadently rich chocolate cake that literally made me smile as I ate it. The Ricotta Cheese cake with a walnut crust came in at a close second. I highly recommend trying the desserts. All in all, we had a wonderful experience at Acqua Al 2. Traditional Italian cuisine is what they advertise and that's exactly what they deliver! Certified #goodeatsSanDiego
(5)
Chen C.

We came here while in town for a conference. Was not too busy while all the other restaurants were packed, and we soon found out why. The pasta was pretty forgettable. My seafood pasta was not too bad, but my friend's pasta sampler was pretty terrible. It was like it was straight out of a box. Actually, the box pasta may have more flavor. The saving grace was the caprese salad. The cheese was fresh and delicious. Overall, a disappointment. There are much better restaurants in the area.
(2)
Carmen V.

As a food lover, I was so excited that one of the gifts I got as a result of being the 3rd in a Frida Kahlo look-alike contest was a $75 gift certificate to go to Acqua Al 2. I normally do a LOT with $75 but not here, unfortunately. I checked the menu online and no prices there, so I was expecting expensive but not that expensive. Anyways, I understand is a place mostly focused in congress goers and tourists, as many other Gaslamp restaurants, but honestly is not a place I would go often. I wanted so much to give this place a 4 or a 5, mostly because I feel very grateful that they gave such generous prices to the winners of that contest, but the cold meat was a turn off. We ordered the balsamic vinegar filet mignon and the berry sauce filet mignon and both were delicious, tender meat, well cooked as we wanted but...cold when arrived to the table. Same as the risotto, barely warm. I want my meat sizzling, maybe I should have asked for that, and not assumed it will come like that. Besides, I did not like the appetizer we were given complimentary: some soupy beans with rosemary and bread. Those beans look better as soup, not as appetizer and the bread was nicely presented in a brown bag, that that was it. Give me just bread and olive oil and balsamic vinegar so I can create my own pansimonio and will be happier. My friend had a beer and we did not have dessert. I did not want to go over the gift certificated, and even counting the pennies, we ended up paying not bad out of pocket. The service was great, the hostess very gracious, waiter professional and nice, atmosphere at the terrace facing the street quiet and nice (interior decor not as nice in my opinion, don't like those tacky ceramic plates covering the walls), overall a pleasant restaurant.I would suggest to go lower on the prices and hotter on the meat. I am glad I skipped the pasta, antipasti and all the rest, I could have ended up frustrated. Thanks for the treat, though!
(3)
Mike B.

If you're looking for a gastronomic experience, this is it! Fine cuisine with helpful & knowledgable staff (ask for Michael). It felt like an experience found in Firenze and Sienna. The pace of service was relaxed as it should be yet attentive without feeling rushed. The prices are reasonable, for the Gaslamp! Food was scrumptious and presentation lovely. Wine delectable! Portions were adequate with eye appeal. We savored each bite. Yum! Yes, we shall return, again & again. Their Happy Hour is from 5 to 7pm, Monday thru Friday. We had the Antipasto Toscano & Rigatoni Melanzane. Yum! Next to try is their Veal chop!
(5)
Luis V.

Oh, my God! Are you kidding me? My taste buds hadn't had it this good in quite a while! Went here for a relaxing Monday dinner, sat outside to enjoy the Gaslamp ambiance, heavenly. Started off with a scrumptious, rich & creamy Potato & Kale soup; to die for. Ordered the sampler, enough for two; first came the pastas, five small servings, one at a time, what a treat. My favorite was the one with gorgonzola sauce, I'm still recuperating from the absolutely amazing flavors. Then came the meats, stop! Filet mignon in raspberry sauce, filet mignon in balsamic reduction, and chicken breast in green pepper sauce, which was my favorite. Then came the dessert sampler, five choices; where do I begin??? I'm biased towards chocolate, so the flourless cake was my favorite. Great wine list, great location, beautiful place inside and out, excellent service. A great place for a celebration.
(5)
Cristina B.

I stopped in here with 2 friends during Comicon weekend to try and have dinner. We saw that half there tables inside were empty so we felt confident and checked in with the staff inside. We were eyed with repugnance and then told that it would be a 45-minute wait at least. I inquired WHY since they had 4 empty tables at least, and was ushered outside while being told that all of those tables were reserved for the party just outside...a party of 4 people. It was obvious they just didn't want our business. Why? Because I was wearing jeans and sneakers? I have never been dismissed from a restaurant in my life, and I am incensed that these people chose to do so. I gave my business and a $150 meal and cocktail bill to Bice instead, a much finer establishment with great food, superb service, and lacking the snobby waitstaff here. I suggest going there if you are craving Italian, and NOT to Acqua.
(1)
Sd E.

A jewel in the Gaslamp district. Excellent caprese, gnocchi and desserts. If you have a sweet tooth like me, try the Tiramisu. It's outstanding.
(5)
Katie T.

My boyfriend and I had a really nice date here. We came late on a Friday and it wasn't too crowded and sat outside next to some heat lamps, which was nice to watch all the people walk by. When we sat down they put bread and beans on our table and we ordered a bottle of the house red wine for $30. I didn't really like the beans but we asked our server for some olive oil and vinegar and he brought it right away. For our entrees my boyfriend ordered the filetto al mirtillo (blueberry steak), which I had tried at the Acqua al 2 in Florence and it was amazing both times! The blueberry was more subtle than you would think and it was sweet and savory. He ordered it medium rare and it came medium, but it was still delicious. I had a rigotini eggplant pasta that our server recommended and it was really good too and quite filling. I think our bill ended up being around $85, so it was a pretty good deal considering it was a nice restaurant and we had a whole bottle of wine! I would recommend for a nice date night out.
(4)
Cari G.

Transport yourself back to the streets of Via della Vigna in Firenze. Dined in the Firenze location, hoping to capture the magic of cibo della Toscana in this gas lamp location. Great selection of vino and the porterhouse...eh hm...bistecca did not disappoint.
(5)
Dawn S.

I took my husband last year for his birthday in October for the first time. Based off of their website it sounded spectacular! FYI the other restaurant they have is in Florence. This is the real deal. The food was amazing, the service was professional and they let us have a fabulous romantic dinner. I couldn't put into words how good the food was-everything made from scratch! Of course it merits its price. This is a family owned business and they work hard. People are really tough on restaurants if they have never been a server anywhere. I give Acqua Al 2 5 stars hands down the best Italian food, and I am Italian, I have ever had.
(5)
Amy J.

We recently visited for lunch and were very pleasantly surprised. We asked to sit on the patio to enjoy the weather and the view of the Gaslamp district. We had appetizers, chef's choice entree, and dessert, as well as a few cocktails. Every bite was delicious. Our server was very knowledgeable on the menu items and we asked for his recommendation when selecting our meals. He was right on point and selected perfectly for us with the little information we provided on flavors we enjoy. After having our lunch, we had a little tour to see the space indoors and the bar area. This led to conversation about the charitable causes they support. So generous to see that they are passionate about our local community. For a great experience, visit yourself. I see other reviews complaining about a wait time. We had a reservation and thus did not wait at all.
(5)
Kristen L.

So, my husband and I ate here because we had a gift card. The location is great because it's within walking distance of our condo. The couple next to us (the place was pretty empty) had a Groupon, that's why they were there. Bad sign already lol. The Good: The food was pretty good overall. Although, I did have to send my $14 caprese salad back because the tomatoes were super hard and not even edible. (Why wouldn't they use heirloom tomates or something delicious??) The service was also pretty good. The waiter was knowledgable and attentive. The Bad: The ambiance inside is awful. I would only sit in the outside area when we went. The inside is full of crap, old plates all over the wall that kids drew on or something. Just not very nice for the prices they charge. OVERPRICED like crazy! I couldn't believe the pricing considering the ambiance was awful and the reviews on yelp are horrible! Time for drastic changes. Maybe a name change? Maybe lower the prices to match what you're offering in the food AND atmosphere department? There's just wayyyy too much competition at lower prices to continue as they are. I wouldn't ever go back because of the prices and the atmosphere alone.
(2)
Mariya R.

Tonight I can cross off something very important on my to do list. I've finally been to acqua al 2 in Florence, DC, and now San Diego. As usual, the meal was perfect. I will travel far and wide for blueberry streak and tonight, it was done to perfection. Checked in on Yelp and got a free appetizer too. Highly, highly recommend. Never disappointed. Now bring acqua to NYC please and thank you!!!
(5)
nicola e.

Don't waste you time and money here. Four of us went for dinner. Service was awful - we never got the wine list. The food took forever to come out and when it did it was cold and of poor quality. One steak we sent back after demonstrating to the manager we couldn't even cut through it. The other meals were of poor quality, cold and overcooked. Take your business elsewhere.
(1)
Brett D.

Had a fabulous dinner celebrating a milestone birthday. Staff could not have been friendlier. Gilbert was an excellent and attentive waiter. We ordered the sampler menus and loved every bite. The blueberry filet is a must have and worth every penny! Save room for tiramisu! It is the best anywhere! We have been to Acqua Al 2 in Florence a few times and San Diego didn't disappoint!
(5)
S K.

My son wanted to eat Italian food so we ended up here while walking around in the Gaslamp Quarter. We chose to sit outside since inside looked pretty dark! Menu was complex and difficult to choose from. Our servers were very polite and set up a heat lamp close to our table. We started with the soup which was OK. I ordered salmon which was the special for the day - disappointing - chewy! My husband ordered filet mignon with blueberry sauce. It was quite nice. My son ordered pasta with broccoli - below average! The restaurant is overpriced for the quality of the food! While other restaurants were full, this restaurant barely had any people and it was dinner time! Now we know why. The best part: service, coffee and creme brÃ»lÃ©e. Downer: price!!
(3)
Madison O.

Amazing food and even better service!!!! Trust the chefs and waiters/waitresses. We got chefs choice for both the app and entree and both were amazing! Will come back and bring friends for out of town.
(5)
Indre S.

The food was awful. We spent over 200 dollars there because we thought it'd be a fine italian restaurant and ordered everything: the appetizers, entrees, wine. The appetizers were warmed up in a microwave, our filets mignon awfully bad. 2 out of 3 had to be reordered and were still really bad done. Don't go there!!
(1)
Joseph D.

I went to the original in Florence on my honeymoon and I had to try this location when I was in San Diego. It was fantastic. Get the Blueberry Steak. You won't be sorry.
(5)
Vanny B.

Great Italian food. Great service and good happy hour. Chocolate cake was scrumptious !
(5)
Aaliyah V.

So..I'm Asian and I don't know anything about this restaurant and I gave it a shot alright. The service at first was really good, all of the servers were fast and asked about our needs and all that. But suddenly it was a mistake. 20-30mins waiting for the foods that we ordered that wasn't even that great for the expensive price. It tasted like ordinary pasta that you can get at any restaurant, nothing special. AND!! One of the "server" took my food and my girlfriends food out of nowhere while we're still eating them. And it's rude you know. Overall service wasn't that great. And after we ate I ask for the manager and told him what happened. As what I've mentioned from the start. Me and my girlfriend's attire affected the way the staff treated us. (We were wearing joggers and tshirt and shoes) just because we weren't wearing formal attire they didn't serve us well. They only serve good to those people who's like their race (sample : language/ face/ attire/) JUST DON'T GO TO THAT PLACE. EVER. THANKS.
(1)
Jennifer P.

Sunday afternoon date that was by far the best meal we have had in the gas lamp since I moved here. The chefs sampler was so awesome and so much food for the money. The wine was great the staff was attentive and explained every dish that came out. Highly recommend this place. Take time to relax and enjoy some amazing food. I wish I would have known about this place when I went to Florence! Great relaxed atmosphere too!
(5)
Halima S.

Well we went last night a party of 3. Was told when trying to adjust the reservation That 7 pm was booked but they could accommodate. awesome right!! Get there and it's pretty empty so, what ever. Get there on time and 15 minutes later our waiter took our drink order . Ok maybe the bar is backed up. The waiter finally came back with the drinks 15 minutes later to take our order and we were starving now. Mind you the drinks were bad one tasted like cough syrup and the other like an Arnold Palmer with NO alcohol. Our Order was one part restaurant week and 2 parts regular menu. Well another 15 minutes pass and the 1st app comes. So you are telling me that 45 minutes and barely have food? Really. So finally Some type of tartare, ok aoli (fancy mayo) and beef. This is the Most disgusting thing I've ever ate. I've eaten tartare due to my hubby's fascination with it so I know it's supposed to be finely chopped. Basically it was store bought stir fry meat with mayo on it. At that point you gotta throw in the towel. Told the busser to call the waiter so we can leave. The waiter finally acted like we existed again and asked what was wrong. I explained to him and the manager who stated that he was sorry that it wasn't up to my standard. Geez the standards for tartare is finely chopped. I didn't make that up. We left and went to the restaurant that my hubby works at. Pretty sad since my hubby has wanted to go there for a While and he can go alone. I won't ever go back. Over priced and not good.
(1)
Amy N.

Pee yew! Not good, don't waste your money, and go somewhere else. Italian? No. Not at all. I am a vegetarian, so I thought I would be happy to see that all of the pasta was vegetarian, but there really were only two options. I chose the gnocchi, and the sauce options were only two: smelly cheese and mushroom. I chose the cheese. Bad decision. Sent back. Got the mushroom. Eh, boring. There are so many option on 5th that it is not even worth going here again. Oh, and the plates on the wall are tacky. And dangerous.
(1)
Kristin C.

This has now become one of my favorite places to eat! Get the chef special...no matter what it is, it will be awesome. Get wine pairing suggestions from the waiter...can't go wrong (or at least, we haven't). Eating on the patio is charming, and brings out the best of Old Town. Fabulous!!!
(5)
Alan G.

If you have to go to this place just stick with the appetizers. They at least are well made and tasty. Our entire table had to send back our pasta entrees as being over salted and ridiculously small. Their oil and balsamic(?) vinegar are disgusting cheap and not worthy of being put on anyone's table. You are now warned. Proceed at your own risk.
(1)
Amy Y.

Just as good as in Florence!!!! The service is amazing and the blueberry steak is the best. They have 5 pasta, 3 main course and 4 dessert tasting menu which is phenomenal!!!
(5)
Kevin O.

Went with 3 other friends. Waiter repeated my order back to me and we corrected him on the error. He said the right one and I still was delivered the wrong pasta dish. Everyone else got their dinners, which were good, but I sat and watched them all eat. They finished their meal and we still waited 10 minutes before my pasta came to the table after asking about it twice. The manager stopped by and when we told him about the tardiness, he mentioned the waiter had told him about it, but not that the error was his. Finally got the pasta, hot enough to melt metal and as everyone had dessert. I said pack it up. For all the trouble I figured the meal would be taken off the bill. NOPE. Just a meager apology from waiter for error and a to go bag. I was so mad I gave the doggie bag of pasta to the valet. F that place.
(1)
John S.

Great food! Great atmosphere! However the portions are way to small, and the staff make you wait to long. Not bad, but I won't be going there again.
(3)
Natalie D.

Adriana. She's Adriana Lima! Loved her and loved the food. Grab the tasting menu and a glass of wine. Yes!!!
(5)
E. M.

Had dinner there last night, before going to the Symphony. The three star review would have been one star, had it not been for the excellent food. True Italian fare, no doubt about that. Our waiter, even with his best intentions, managed to spend a very long time describing what we should eat, and then forgot to bring the 'assaggio primi', saying we forgot to order it. Our 'contorno' of roasted potatoes was brought to the table so late, that we had already finished eating, and took it to go. He didn't charge us for the potatoes, but still. Check your bill carefully, as one item was overcharged - probably not intentionally, but still. Overall, I would probably go back, when I have more time to wait in between courses (I am from Italy, and I know it takes longer, but STILL), and, with all due respect, I would ask for a different waiter.
(3)
Julie T.

First time dining here & what a treat! Definitely take advantage of the full tasting menu. Great way to try multiple items. My favorites were the bowtie pasta with vodka sauce & the tiramisu. It was a very busy night, but service was superb. Can't wait to try the one in DC.
(5)
Doris D.

Food is hit and miss, smoked salmon salad was good, some of the pastas are good and others not eatable. The server tried hard but service was lagging. Food came in late and cold, of course! They will probably stay busy because of their location, but they won't see here again.
(2)
GG B.

Being someone that lived in Florence for a period of time, this restaurant was the perfect place to make me feel like home. It has an awesome Italian vibe, and the servers know there stuff!!! Couldn't be more impressed!!!
(5)
Natalie B.

Steven was an excellent waiter & the ambiance at dusk gorgeous! The cheese was superb!
(5)
Brandon H.

Friendly staff and atmosphere. The food was very tasty but for the price I paid I was expecting more. I came with a party of 14 and all of our portion sizes were very small. We were all still pretty hungry after the meal. Who knows, maybe thats the way traditional Italian food is. My previous experience with Italian food has been Olive Garden, which I realize is about as authentic as Taco Bell is to Mexican food. The food here at Acqua Al 2 is much better but at least when I leave Olive Garden I leave full. Plus, when I'm there I'm family. I probably wouldn't eat here again. I'll stick to my not so Italian endless soup salad and breadsticks.
(3)
Al V.

Really amazing food and service. The sampler of pasta and proteins were the best. Gilbert, our server, was extraordinary. Can't wait to go back. They are over the top good.
(5)
Holly W.

I absolutely love this place! If your in the mood for authentic Italian food than this is it! My roomate, who is from Milan, Italy, has also verified /approved how authentic it is. The food is amazing (Especially the chefs special!) I love the mood lighting, and the decor of all the plates. If you want to try a new place, this is a great spot. I have it 4 out of 5 because the service was a tad bit slow. But all in all, I am there for the food! And it was perfect.
(4)
Bedoor A.

Stopped in the other night. I had mushroom pasta and it was delicious! My friend had the squash pasta and it was spot on also. Our server, Jacob, was prompt and very nice. All together an excellent experience!
(5)
Ed G.

We hadn't been back to Acqua al 2 in a while, but I am so glad we made the trip downtown last night for dinner there. As always, Acqua al 2's food, service, and atmosphere were excellent. I am reminded why this charming Italian gem of a restaurant is one of my San Diego favorites. We enjoyed happy hour at the bar with several glasses of very reasonably priced vino as well as a delectable cheese board. For dinner we ordered a fusilli and a cannelloni pasta dish. We enjoy sharing meals and both were fantastic. We were too full for dessert. We cannot wait to come back and enjoy the prix fix dinner. We will make sure to bring a bigger appetite because judging from last night's portions, the meal will be plentiful.
(5)
Tina S.

I went to this restaurant because it was restaurant week, and I was craving Italian food. I started out with the Insalata Caprese, which was balsamic vinegar over sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. It was pretty good. For my entree, I had the Frutti di Mare alla Fiacheraia. That was fantastic. I thought the flavors were really good, and not too heavy. The seafood was also very fresh. I finished with dessert, which was the Flourless chocolate cake. The cake was perfect, and it wasn't too sweet. Overall, there was good service and a nice ambiance.
(4)
Mark M.

It is with great sadness that I must announce that my 100th Yelp review was at Acqua Al 2. Deep sadness. Like the ultimate sadness. What is more ultimater than the ultimate sadness? Whatever that is...that is my level of sadness. Like Taken 2, they should have just stopped at Acqua Al 1 and saved everyone the misery. The only thing that could have made my meal worse is if I would have learned Miley Cyrus was selected as Maxim's hottest woman WHILE AT Acqua Al 2. I just heard that at work, and I quit my job and the human race. I mean, Miley Cyrus? What? Speaking of disappointment, let's talk about the five-course pasta appetizer that Acqua boasts as their specialty. Wow. WOW. A lot of pasta, a lot of price, and not a lot of taste. I think what they are trying to do is get you so full that you can't tell that the main course sucks, too. Good try. Not only did you insult my taste buds...you tried to insult my intelligence. Fool me once, Acqua Al 2...and shame on...yeah, no one knows how that goes. You know what I mean, though. My main course was cannelloni. You know what cannelloni is? Baked Pasta. Sauce. Cheese. And some sort of veggie to pretend you aren't only eating melted cheese. You know how hard it is to mess that up? My five-year-old cousin can make cannelloni and he is a blind leper (I can neither confirm nor deny that this "cousin" is actually related to me, or that I have met him, or that he has ever made cannelloni that I have eaten). My cannelloni was hotter than Miley Cyrus? Wait...that isn't saying much (unless I worked at Maxim). It was boiling, boiling hot, though...and burned my wittle tongue! You know what else it burned? THE FOOD! The cheese on the outside was BLASTED to a ROCK hard oblivion. If I were trying to film a porno and impregnate someone with this block-o-cheese, I would be the soon-to-be-father of a cheese child. I would name this child Sam...and not something cheese related (like Velvie or Swiss Cheese Hole Boy) because I would want to distract him from the truth: that he was in fact the son of A BURNED BLOCK OF CHEESE! The "spinach" inside my cannelloni is in this sentence with quotes. That's never a good start. I will compliment that cooks that my "spinach" was still green. That was neat! Besides that: flavorless. And burned. So, you might be wondering, if this food was this bad...how in the heck does Acqua Al 2 get two stars? Well, I went there for my friend's wedding rehearsal dinner...so I did have a REALLY good time. I'm lucky that we can actually both use sign language since we both burned our tongues off. Here is a summary of what we discussed at dinner: youtube.com/watch?v=SFgEâ€¦ . You know what else? This place is STILL BETTER THAN BARRIO STAR. Don't ever, ever, ever go to Barrio Star. Go to Little Italy, which is like five minutes away. Don't go here.
(2)
Brandon T.

Excellent! Always impressed with the service and authentic flavorful dishes. Definitely a favorite.
(5)
Gabe R.

Yeah, no where near the level of REAL Tuscan cuisine. Ok, lentil appertif, overall bland pasta dishes. What respectable Italian restaurant doesn't serve anchovies or capers on their salads? Wine nice but over priced for the label choices.
(2)
Elaine M.

We were introduced to this place by groupon. Cant complain about the service. Food was good....just not enough for what you pay for. Our bill was 115 for a party of 2. We still went to In-N-Out afterwards.. The BF finally got full after 2 burgers and fries.
(3)
Andre G.

With many years of traveling and dining at various places around the country this place ranks #1 in the worst dining experience I have ever had. So bad in fact I created my Yelp account just so I could write this review. After sitting at the table for 10 minutes with an appetizer we finally got some water (which you have to pour out of a glass bottle yourself). Another 5-10 minutes later we get our menus. An hour passed after we ordered and still have gotten no food. The waitress was no where in sight. Watching different parties come in, order, get their food and finish in the time we spent sitting there waiting for our food showed me that they were not "that busy". Waiting over an hour I let the rest of the family walk down the block back to the hotel while I see if I can actually get some food as it is now too late to want to go sit down at a different place. 20 minutes after asking for to go boxes the manager finally shows up. His poor body language and lazy voice made sense for such a poorly ran restaurant. He did waive the $85 bill which is the reason for the 1 star. The food is mediocre, probably considering the fact that I am eating it cold in my hotel room at 10pm. Cross this off of your list of places to eat while in the Glasslamp District of San Diego CA!
(1)
Beheshta Z.

My favorite Italian restaurant in all of San Diego! I come here with my best friend for dinner every now and then! It has never failed me!!! The food is amazing and the service is outstanding!!!! Our server OLIVIA was amazing! She went above and beyond to give us a great experience! If you want delicious authentic Italian food and amazing customer service, you gotta check this place out!!! They really know how to take care of their guests!!!
(5)
A A.

The bait of free appetizer to get us in with a yelp check in was far less than desirable; 4 pieces of bread and a nasty tomato sauce on the side. When ordering dinner, the waiter completely forgot our order of the Caprese Salad. My Veal was good, but my wife's pasta was purely unedible. They were nice enough to take if off the bill (without us asking), but after having been there so long with so many errors, we just had to leave and go elsewhere to find something for my wife to eat!
(2)
Marissa C.

One of the best Italian meals I've had! I highly recommend the butternut squash pasta and the blueberry steak. Good happy hour deals as well! Don't miss out.
(5)
Lisa T.

Terrible food and service 1 hour for a dried chicken and still no one has checked on us
(1)
Peggy M.

My daughter ate here just before boarding the plane. It was all she had to eat that day because they had to board the plane. She came home and we had to take her to ER. She was sick for a week and her system was so messed up that it took her another week or so to get back to normal. She said that the service was horrible and they did not treat them like a customer...more like they act like customers are just an inconvenience. I will never ever go here.
(1)
sarah beth S.

I've been to the location in Florence twice. Once on a trip to Rome, I purposefully took a short jaunt to Florence mainly to visit the restaurant again. So, I've always been awfully curious about the San Diego post, but the mixed reviews have scared me off. I didn't want to tarnish the memory with bad experience. Oops. We ordered wine (do NOT recommend the house wine), the salad tasting to share (three different salads), the famous pasta tasting to share (a small portion of 5 different pastas), and the controversial filet mignon in blueberry sauce. The salads were decent, and the pasta dishes, while not as delicious or well-executed as the versions in Italy, were certainly faithful in their flavors. I remembered the spiral pasta in a creamy spinach and a another in a tangy red pepper cream sauce from the "real" Acqua. Alas, you get literally two bites of each pasta. The problem was with the steak. Oh, my word. So I knew I was much more interested in the pasta than the meats, which is why we shared salad and then decided to share one filet. I didn't need to love the steak to be satisfied with the meal, but it wasn't even edible. Imagine blueberry cheesecake topping. That is EXACTLY what it was and a LOT of it. They literally drowned a steak in cloyingly sweet, sticky, whole-fruit chunky pie filling. I tried to wipe off the sauce and just taste the meat. The filet itself had absolutely NO flavor. I know a thing or two about food, and a steak with absolutely no flavor has been frozen for much, much, much too long of a time. Even the texture went bad in this case and became mealy mush. I couldn't eat the dish. I pushed the plate to the middle of the table and just drank my wine. Finally, our pleasant but ineffectual server came along. 'How do you like the steak?' I give an awkward smile-- I'm obviously not eating it, what do you think? "Um.... the pasta was better." I said. "Oh, I wish you had told me" he says. Yeah, that's what I'm doing right now. This is the first I've seen of you since the steak came, so I'm not sure why you're using the past tense about this situation? "I could have brought you something else" Again with that bizarro use of past tense. "Well, how about dessert?" I say, since I don't want to eat any more meats from their deep freezer. He looks very concerned and says he will ask the manager. A few minutes later he returns with a grimace "I'm sorry" he explains "But since you're splitting the steak, we can't do anything..." So the logic is, if you are sharing an item, all standards are off. The food doesn't need to be edible if more than one people are eating it! Of course, their implication is that since we are sharing a steak, we are cheapskates who are simply trying to scam a free dessert. Mind you, we shared a salad platter, each had the pasta tasting, and ordered five glasses of wine. With the disgusting steak on our bill (It was not taken off), this cheapskate spent $125 plus tip on a dinner for two. The insult from management towards this paying customer is a gross as the steak. As someone who used to work in the fine dining, I know that a free dessert is the easiest and cheapest offering a restaurant can possibly make. You're giving them something that is already made and that doesn't usually sell out. It's what any smart manager would try to do rather than take the steak off the bill. And it's certainly what you should do instead of insulting your customers. If this management hadn't been so ungracious and tacky, none of you would know about their disgusting blueberry topping used to cover up freezer-burned meat, but I've been sufficiently incensed that I had to let you know.... *I'll add a pic of the infamous blueberry steak
(1)
Malisa D.

Went here for a rather late Sunday dinner. Not sure if its on the menu, but we got a sampler of 5 different pastas as our appetizer which come out one at a time. And they just kept coming... one. at. a. time. all in a synchronized pattern. There were 5 of us so these were pretty tiny, roughly two or three bites each. If there were 4ppl the tasters would've been perfect. 5 tasters concluded::: Fusilli Lunghi alla Fiacheraia Long fusilli pasta with a zesty tomato sauce. Maccheroni alla Vodka Penne pasta with a milk and vodka sauce and a touch of tomato sauce. Topini al Gorgonzo a Small potato dumplings(gnocchi) with a light gorgonzola cheese sauce. Farfalline ai Funghi Porcini Bowtie pasta with sauteed porcini mushrooms and imported mascarpone cheese. Fusilli Cord agli Spinaci Corkscrew pasta with a light spinach and Parmesan cheese sauce Out of all these I enjoyed the gnocchi the best. Everything else was lacking something, a spice of flavor for that added pazazzz. Nothing extremely stood out to me. But the sampler choices they have on the menu I really think is a great concept for those such as I who want to try a little of everything. That is something they have above other restaurants on this busy street. We also ordered two entrees. One was a Gnocchi with Pesto with added chicken on the side and the other Rigatoni alle Melanzane Tube shaped pasta with a tomato eggplant sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. "Martin's favorite". Total bill was about $123. We did order a drink, or two. Not me though ;DD but thought it was still a rather pricy dinner considering only an app and two entrees were ordered. Drinks were what got us, and their house liquors r not on the premium level considering their motto is an upscale type restaurant feel. I believe their well whiskey was Bartons. meh. Our waiter was a sweet friendly fellow, who explained to my gf (the annoying one with all the questions) pretty much every pasta item on the menu. Probably wont come back...there's just too many other dt restaurants on my bookmark list to try. But for those who want to try multiple food menu items and not feel overly stuffed you have the option to do so here.
(3)
Bill E.

My first experience here will be a bit different than the average dinner. Because this was a Vino-Opera wine and Spanish cuisine pairing dinner package. The Opera singers and the gentlemen who played the guitar [the Maestro] were 5 stars x 5 stars! An amazing performance! The food was very good [5 stars], I experienced several entrees and Chef Martin's Paella was fan-freaking-tastic perfecto! The Wine on the other hand, was "Meh. I've experienced better." two stars is generous! I know their wine-list has some far better choices, but these were the wines chosen for the evening. If you'd like to see the rest of my in depth review cuveecorner.blogspot.comâ€¦
(4)
Jamie F.

This is my favorite restaurant in San Diego! I first discovered it in Florence, Italy then was thrilled to find this one when I moved to San Diego. They are the only two in the world. I would highly recommend any "assagio" which is like a sampler...they have them for salads, pastas, and desserts. So delicious! The blueberry filet is amazing too. BUON APPETITO!
(5)
Deb D.

We had a party of 6 and each one of us greatly enjoyed our meal. I ordered the meal sampler, which gives you a couple of bites of many of the pastas and the filet and chicken and even the desserts. Each and every sample was incredibly delicious. My brother's filet with the dark sauce was THE BEST steak ever. Our server was attentive and enjoyable. Highly recommend this restaurant.
(5)
Heather C.

My mom has a habit of inviting herself to things, and after crashing my brother's date night, I ended up accompanying the fam here for dinner before opening night of Evita. Our server was friendly enough, and brought us our wine promptly, along with some good sliced bread and a white bean spread that tasted just like refried beans. It was good, I just felt I should explain. We started with the pasta sampler, as did everyone else in the restaurant, apparently. It was fine. Sloppy presentation, and no show stoppers. One tasted like cream of broccoli soup, one like butternut squash soup, and 2 were rather bland tomato. The fusilli noodles were cooked very well though. Most of us opted for the chefs choice sampler dinner. The server told us we might all get different things. This was not the case. We all got a steak on arugula, the blueberry steak, and porcini chicken. The steak on the arugula was my favorite. It was perfectly cooked, and flavorful. I liked the blueberry steak, but it was very heavy, and I tired of it quickly. The chicken was meh. Chicken breast is an unforgiving piece of meat, and I find it nearly impossible to make a chicken breast in sauce that I love. It always ends up somewhere between tough, rubbery, and pasty. I'm not a fan. The sauce had no detectable white wine flavor, it tasted like boullion, cornstarch, garlic, and salt. I wasn't unhappy, but I wasn't impressed. For the price, and big talk, they need to work on having some big ticket items.
(3)
Chris S.

Stop in past here for Aperitivo or Dinner. Great staff, great food. Can't recommend more highly.
(5)
Karen M.

I was in San Diego for a week and was quite excited to see Acqua Al 2 when walking down 5th street. After finding an hour wait at the Old Spaghetti Factory, the boyfriend and I went walking down the street to see what else we could find to fill our famished bellies. We walked in and told the hostess we've been to their location in DC and felt like they gave us the "star" treatment. We got a private table behind this little partition and were given the wine menu on an iPad. Part of me wasn't sure what to think since it was flu season and I'm not a big fan of swiping my finger across something that snotty flu fingers have been touching - but I'm sure its cleaned off more than paper menus! We were brought bread and a white bean dip with pancetta to start with. Since I don't eat pancetta, I can't vouch if it was good myself but the boyfriend liked it. I had the corkscrew pasta with spinach sauce. It was amazingly delicious! I was so disappointed I couldn't finish it! :( I went back a couple nights later with a group and got the exact same pasta with the spinach sauce. Again, couldn't finish it! Service was great both times. If you're in town for a conference, go a block down from the Old Spaghetti Factory where the wait times are atrocious, and for a couple more bucks a plate you'll get way better pasta with a shorter wait time!
(4)
Ryan I.

Embarrassingly bad service. Took full 5 minutes after being seating to be given an actual menu. Then another 5 to see a server. Bad news for things to come. Service was totally absent. Spent many frustrated minutes trying to get their attention. Wait staff seemed un-informed about the dishes and options. Our whole party was excited to experience this restaurant and was supremely disappointed. Really wish i could say different, but do not support or waste your time/money at this place.
(2)
Jordan L.

Can't believe this place doesn't have at least 4 stars!! I don't know what customers are ordering that they're dissatisfied with, but I've been to this location twice, as well as the Florence location three times, and it has been fantastic every time. I'll admit, the ambiance is lacking, and the house wine is not the best. However, the blueberry steak and flour-less chocolate cake will keep me coming back time and again. A truly fantastic piece of Firenze in the historic Gaslamp District. What more could you want?!
(4)
Epi I.

Came here for dinner. I was part of a large party. The Good: - Food was very good. After hearing from most members of my party. - Restaurant is nicely decorated with a bunch of plates and other memorabilia. - Waiters are all dressed professional - Ambiance is definitely homely and festive. The Bad: - Waiter bumped my head with a plate while carrying it to a member of my party. This is clumbsy and stupid. - Wines were just OK. - Choices in salads were limited. - Tiny restaurant.
(3)
Sarah L.

Acqua Al 2 was lackluster for me. My friend and I decided to get the dinner sampler which I believe was in the $50-60 (each) range and consisted of 5 different pastas, 3 meat dishes and 4 dessert samples. So for the pastas they basically came out when ready. I was completely thrown off by the presentation of this meal. Each pasta was just slapped onto a plate to be shared with whomever else got the dinner sampler. It was about one or two bites of each pasta. The second course was a bit better. It consisted of their infamous filet mignon with blueberry sauce, a filet mignon with a balsamic vinegar glaze and a chicken breast with porcini mushrooms. The pieces of meat were a good sized portion. However, each piece of filet was smothered in super sweet sauce. At first bite of the filet with blueberry sauce, I thought it was really good but it became too much after. I thought the chicken was good and the filets were cooked nicely. My favorite part of the meal were the desserts. It consisted of a really good tiramisu, flourless chocolate cake, panna cotta and cheesecake. The service was very attentive and our waitress was great in explaining all the components of the meal. I wasn't blown away by any of the dishes nor the presentation. Nice ambiance but the food was not memorable.
(2)
Kat M.

I bought a coupon from Daily Deal, as a previous reviewee. I was not familar with the restaurant so I went on-line to see their menu etc. and read the reviews here. Seemed like the reviews were s0-so.. a mixed bag..of good to not so good. But I have found to take them with a grain of salt. From the menu, I planned to try the blueberry filet but thought since I was dining during lunch, the price would be reduced. Nope! The only difference between the lunch/dinner menu is that at lunch they serve panni's,otherwise it is the same. I had made reservations via Open Table for 2:00pm..thougt it would be nice to go after the lunch rush and have a relaxful afternoon..like the italians do..but I received a call at 11:30am to come earlier as the kitchen closes at 2:00pm..huh? Thankfully my guest could bump up their schedule as well and we got there at 1:30pm.. There was a perfect spot in the outdoor seating area, with sun ( for me) and shade for my guest. I didn't see any diners inside or out which was a surprise!!! Apparently we were the only ones? One waiter said they would treat us like "queens" which they did! Bread came in a bag, was warm but not hearty italian. Oil and basalmic vinegar was on the table for dipping..Based on the reviews here, I decided to not try the pasta unless it was something I don't make at home so we ordered antipasta for 2 and spinach/cheese canneloni baked in a crock. I wish I had my camera because the antipasta was beautiful in taste and presentation! It had italian meats I never had before. They were made into big flowers, casading onto the bed of fresh greens with tomatoes, cheese, green apple etc..and no oil or dressing! Perfect..Loved it. What a great starter. Wine by the glass was smooth, a merlot-cab mix. Then came our main entee which was piping hot and tasty. The sauce didn't have as much flavor as I expected, ( a robust tomatoe with spices) but was different, lighter. Is that the tuscan way?? Afterwards, I wanted something chocolate so ordered the flourless chocolate cake to share. Different consistency but delivered on the chocolatey taste and wasn't too heavy! Overall the experience was ENJOYABLE but felt a little rushed as the kitchen closed at 2:00pm..and the meter was running out in front..not a lackadaisical aftenoon as I hoped for..and the prices were more than anticipated ( paying for the real estate..LOL.) for lunch. With tax and tip it came to $102.00, thankfully I had my $50.00 coupon!! Would I go back? maybe..but still my favorite Italian restaurant is IL Fornaio..in Coronado and or Del Mar..
(4)
Fern Y.

After dining at this restaurant in Florence my husband and I have been wanting to give this SD location a try. we came on a Sunday evening. We shared the tuna, carrots, olive chopped salad, each had a simple pasta dish with tomato/ pepper sauce, glasses of vino. Simple food but prepared well. Our waiter Rex was very professional, helpful but not over- bearing. There are a lot of restaurants at Gaslamp so tough competition. If you want authentic prepared Italian dishes I'd recommend this place.
(4)
Steve W.

Amazing cannelloni, and a good wine selection. A wonderful gem we stumbled upon on a Friday night.
(5)
Jessica Q.

I love Aqua. I have been several times and for several different events/ occasions so I am going to review all of them. My very favorite event they have is the monthly wine tasting. The lady who runs it (sorry I forgot your name) is so informative and really breaks down the wine for you. This was my first wine tasting experience and I LOVED it and can't wait for them to come back again this year. Next up is the Thursday night happy hours. This is a "date night" staple. We love grabbing bottle of wine and feasting on the different appetizers until we are stuffed. I almost don't want to review this part of it because I don't want people to know about this a ruin our nice quite time together, but it's wonderful. Finally, dinner. Ahhhh. I love the pasta sampler dish. Due to my extreme pickiness I was a little nervous about this one initially, but I have NEVER had anything that I wouldn't eat. They are all delicious. Next up the steak, oh my gosh, the steak is amazing. My husband loves the blueberry while I prefer the balsamic. Both are beyond delicious. Follow it all up with a slice of the AMAZING cheesecake (and I'm not usually a cheesecake person), the CrÃ¨me Brule, or the Tiramisu and you can't go wrong. To top it all off, we have never had a bad serving experience; which is as, if not more important than the meal. From the hostess to the bartenders, from the servers to the managers, this place is doing something right with their staffing.
(5)
Kara H.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal here. I thought the bread in the paper bag was a neat touch (read: warm!) and all of the food was very fresh and tasty. One of the better Italian restaurants I have eaten at. I would, however, give one star to our server, who was a complete dud. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt because he said he was new but I think that was his cover for being an idiot. Horrible Italian accent (I was embarrassed for him as I was dining with true Italians) and didn't have any answers to our questions either about the food or the restaurant. He actually placed a wine bottle on our table and left it there unopened for at least 5 minutes after walking away. And I will give two stars to their attempt at serving a plain marinara dish. It was spicy and inedible for the member of our party allergic to anything remotely spicy.
(3)
Stephanie H.

I really like this place, mainly because of the food. I don't remember the service being that great but the ambiance is nice and the food is delicious. They have a sister location in Florence and the gnocchi definitely took me back to Italy. Also, we tried the blueberry fillet after a recommendation, and yes, it was AMAZING. I've never really tasted anything like it before. We enjoyed this meal with a nice bottle of wine and the chocolate souffle dessert afterwards. I really can't think of a bad thing to write about this place seeming as I always come out on cloud 9. The prices are a little high, but they're no higher than other competing restaurants. This place is truly one of my favorites in the Gaslamp. I'm not sure how the other dishes are, but if you want to try a different steak or like gnocchi, you should try this place.
(5)
Dina M.

I went to Acqua al 2 in Florence and it was AMAZING. I was so excited to hear that they had a sister restaurant in San Diego. Although, the food was good, it just didn't compare to what I remember in Florence. Also, our waitress was a little too overbearing which annoyed me and my guests. The pastas were all very tasty and the fillet mignon with blueberry sauce is still my favorite!
(3)
Ana C. A.

For all the bad reviews, I really thought I was going to hate this place, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I went with 3 friends one friday night. We were seated very quickly, our server was really attentive and nice. I can't complain about the service at all. The food was really good, we had the tour of pasta, which is a selection of 5 pastas dishes in small portions, they were all good. We also had the steak sampler, that is 2 palm size pieces of steak and one very small portion of chicken. The chicken, even when it was breast, it was really juicy, but the best was the steak, cooked to perfection, soft & very juicy, one had the balsamic sauce (my favorite) & the other the blueberry one. Must try dishes..... The downside.........the price $$$$$$$$$$ But it is worth a try....
(4)
Christina L.

Good service, great food and a fun atmosphere define this Italian restaurant located in the Gaslamp. It's cool to know that they have a sister restaurant in Florence and the food lived up to our expectations. My husband, who is half Italian and spent a little time living in Italy is notoriously picky about his Italian food - particularly gnocchi which his grandmother made homemade. Their gnocchi was very good - our server did warn us that it was a little bitter because of the radicchio which it was but still very good. It lended an interesting component. We also ordered a seafood pasta dish that was very good. We also ordered the dessert sampler and all of the desserts were amazing: Panna Cotta, Tiramisiu and cheesecake. My least favorite was the chocolate cake. Overall a wonderful experience.
(4)
Michael W.

Pretty good! I'd likely give it 3.5, but when I was there, I was craving vegetables, and they really don't have much in that way (except salad). I had the Petto di Pollo al Porto, which was quite tasty, but not amazing. I should probably have tried the pasta, but i had just had it for lunch. Doh! I will try it next time, and will edit my review then. It was a bit pricey, too, but maybe that's just downtown. Also, when I was ready to go, it took a looooong time to get the check. Still! Not too bad.
(3)
Frank N.

My filet was overcooked (I asked for medium and got well-done). The blueberry sauce on top was amazing. Kudos for trying something different. We had a salad appetizer that was fun... Three different types of salads, each small. That was good. Atmosphere was good and location was good. I'd give them a higher rating if the filet wasn't overcooked.
(2)
John S.

Well, the food is really good, that's not the problem. First called to try to make a reservation and was told they were booked up. I asked if that was the case with patio seating and was told that reservations weren't made for the patio, it was on a first come first serve basis. I hung up and looked on line, to my surprise there were 3 openings available and I went ahead and made the reservation indicating that I wanted patio seating. I was called later that afternoon to confirm the appointment and was told that reservations were not taken for patio seating. We got to the restaurant for our reservation, hoping we could still get a seat in the patio, was told that was not possible because they had those tables reserved. I feel that they misrepresent themselves first by saying they are booked and having availability on line, than by saying that there are no reservations made for patio seating but yet those tables were reserved. Not sure how that works? We drove from Alpine to enjoy a restaurant we have been to many times before, just to be grossly disappointed. Well, you FAILED!
(1)
James R.

My rating is really 2.5 stars but that's not an option...5 starts for the Blueberry or Balsamic Filet, but 1 star for the service, food prices, pasta sampler, wine prices, and wine list on an iPad gimmick. To be fair, having been to the Florence location a couple of times, my expectations for the San Diego location may be a bit unrealistic. That said, they invite the comparison with many references on the website as well as in the restaurant and use the connection to the Florence location as a selling point, so I think the comparison is justified and they fall far short of their Italian counterpart. I recently visited the San Diego location for the second time at the request of a friend who wanted to give it a try, and as with my first visit, I was underwhelmed. The past sampler is one of their most popular selections, and while it is fun and interesting to sample five different dishes, they are virtually all mediocre. A few people in our group compared the pasta dishes to things like Kraft mac and cheese, and Chef Boyardee pasta...upscaled versions, but not exactly what you expect from a high-end Italian restaurant. The wine list is extensive, but overpriced although their house wine is very passable for the $30 price. I do however hate the wine list on an iPad trend which they have adopted...it's a personal issue, but it bothers me to have an iPad on the table at a supposedly upscale restaurant. The saving grace however, is the filet. Both the Balsamic and Blueberry filets are 5-star cuts of meat, cooked perfectly and truly delicious. I would have only given 1 star for the overall experience for the price if the filet wasn't so good, but it really is. Unfortunately the service was another letdown. Our waitress seemed to be on medication and was very slow and forgetful. Very nice person, but just strange seemed out of it the entire time. Ultimately, it's worth a visit if someone else is footing the bill and you want to try the Filet, but overall there are many better places to spend $100/person on dinner in San Diego.
(2)
Laura B.

This hands down my favorite restaurant in both the eastern hemisphere and in San Diego! Love love love the following: The insalata caprese- What can I say... it's pretty much my favorite thing to eat anywhere. The tomatoes are consistently ripe and delicious, and mozzarella is buffalo. Yum! The pasta sampler- Five fresh pastas are served one at a time. My personal favorite is the spinach fusilli, and my family also loves the gnocchi with gorgonzola and the penne in vodka sauce. We usually get the two person order for an appetizer for four people. Gotta leave room for the main course! The Fileno al Mirtilio- "Blueberry on a steak???" you ask. Trust me. Do it. It will change your life. You can thank me later.
(5)
Ploi P.

Although a lovely date venue with the boyfriend, the servers lacked enthusiasm at such an expensive venue. The guy who was giving us our bread rolled the papers so roughly taking out his day on it. Our waitress forgot to bring a pen to take down our order, and then had us read our orders off the menu to her without recognizing anything we said. Nonetheless, the food was a little different than traditional Italian food with excellent quality. The boyfriend and I had the blueberry mignon and the balsamic vinegar mignon with a side of past each - his the rigatoni with eggplant in tomato sauce and mine the fusilli linghe (sp?) with porcini mushrooms. While the quality of the filets were excellent, I wasn't really used to the VINEGAR smell of the balsamic on my meat, it was just so... BAM! VINEGAR'S HERE. Both the pastas were delish and worth it. For the price we paid, I felt that we could have had better but the ambience and location of the restaurant could have been 20% of our bill.
(3)
Mariah C.

Don't ask me how my husband and I were sooooo clueless that we didn't realize it was restaurant week last week in the Gaslamp, but somehow we were! Friday night we hit the town, hoping to start the night with a great dinner. To our wonderful surprise, every single restaurant had at least an hour wait. UGH! So we walked all the way down to the end of 5th and found Acqua Al 2 with no wait! SCORE! Uhhhhh yeah, that thought soon changed! So, we're seated, we're served water and then we wait.... and wait.... and wait... and wait... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... FINALLY a bus boy comes by the table with a bag of bread. Cool, I think, a bag of bread! It must be tasty! Nope. Cold, semi-stale, flavorless. More waiting... finally we get our waiter. He was about the same as the bread... cold, flavorless, no emotion, didn't care to tell us about the restaurant week specials they had, barely spoke two words to us. So we ordered of the regular menu, and in keeping with the theme of the night, my food was cold, flavorless... you get the point by now. So anyway, about 5 minutes after we ordered our food, another party was seated at a table behind us. A waiter appears at the table almost instantly with tons of character, totally hyping up the restaurant week menu. My husband looks at me with astonishment and asks "Is that our waiter?!" I nod my head in disbelief.... but yes, this was the same guy. Oh well...needless to say, we won't be going back to Acqua Al 2.
(1)
Mario M.

Food: My steak was like eating a Ferragamo shoe sole at best...the meat was old and the sauce couldn't mask it either...Very poor...the bread was absolutely stale and upon my complaining of it, I was told the following:" You see in Italy they don't use salt in their bread and thats why is APPEARS to be stale" HaHa...ok wait....I mean....have I been to Italy before? Ehhh well yes like 50 times....did I eat bread there? Ehhh well Yes...was it stale? Only the next day, Salt or No Salt.... Drinks took 20 minutes to get to table and the food actually took 1.3 hours.... Service: Well lets just say that she tried..... All in all I would never go back although I have been meaning to come here for 6 years now.... PLUS: The Host was Very Very Nice I must say....(the big fella)
(1)
CJ Y.

Seriously?! If this restaurant claims to have a twin in Florence, Italy--this place is definitely the Danny Devito of the two. In other words, it leaves something to be desired. We came here thinking it was going to be a great experience, and were completely let down. We ordered the pasta sampler, and i swear, we had better food at the UCLA dorms in college than what they served up. It tasted like something you get from a buffet line, rather than a nice Italian restaurant. The blueberry steak was actually "OK," but somewhat gimmicky. I feel like i could've put a nice filet on my grill and topped it with jam--no biggie, and really if you want a good steak, go to Ruth's Chris or a real steakhouse rather than this touristy joint. I will say, however, the service was great and it has a nice ambience (the ONLY reason why this place got two stars versus just one), but the food seriously needs to be improved.
(2)
Mira K.

I'm really sad to give Acqua Al 2 only two stars because my first experience here about a year and a half ago was exceptional. So exceptional, in fact, that I have been back three times in hopes that they would redeem themselves. Sadly, it seems the first time was the fluke, and the bad food and service is the standard. The first time we went, we had an exceptional meal all around. The pasta sampler (or whatever they call it) was awesome, and provided great variety. Everything seemed fresh and home made, and the flavors were spot on. The proteins were a little lacking, which was a little disappointing. They promptly redeemed themselves with one of the best desserts I've ever had - the flourless chocolate cake. This cake is the reason I've tried coming back numerous times. Since the first dining experience here, I have been heartily disappointed every time I have been here.. The pasta and sauce are mediocre, the meat is bad and the flourless chocolate cake which I so fell in love with seems out of a box. It doesn't help that we were served by the same snooty bartender who thinks he's too good for that job. If you don't like where you work, freakin' leave; no need to stay and be a jerkwad and act like you're doing us a favor by serving us store-bought chocolate cake. Very disappointing indeed!
(2)
Damla A.

I fell in love with this restaurant when we tried it in Firenze, and I was so happy when I heard that they have a restaurant in SD as well. My first visit to this place was a year ago (I was living in LA back then), and my experience was as great as the one in Firenze. After I moved to SD, I tried place again for a date, but unfortunately our experience was very bad this time in terms of both food and the service. I actually felt bad for choosing this place for the date. Maybe it was an off night for them, but sad to see that the food quality is not consistent. If you really want to try this place, go with the blueberry steak, that was the only dish that is consistently good, but not good enough to make me come back to this place..
(3)

Sorry, we don't have Q&A for this restaurant.

Sorry, No Coupons available for this restaurant.

Address : 322 5th Ave
San Diego, CA, 92101
Phone (619) 230-0382
Website https://www.acquaal2.com
Click To Get Directions

Opening Hours

Mon :5:00 pm - 10:00pm

Specialities

Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Street
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Romantic
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes

Claim Restaurant

Italian Cuisine

The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.

Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.

If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.

WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES

Looky Weed - Buy Marijuana Online

Looky Weed is here to help you navigate the maze of legalized marijuana. We provide you with a complete dispensary directory.

Search Your Favourite Restaurants.

Acqua Al 2

322 5th Ave, San Diego, CA, 92101

Acqua Al 2 Menu

Appetizers

Cold

Hot

Salads, Soup

Panini Italian Sandwiches

First Course

Pasta

Main Entree

Sides

Healthy Meal suggestions for Acqua Al 2

Appetizers

Cold

Hot

Salads, Soup

Panini Italian Sandwiches

First Course

Pasta

Main Entree

Sides

Laura L.

mike o.

Scott C.

Arlene P.

Morgan Richelle M.

Sooze L.

Andrew K.

Bryce p.

Lisa H.

Jessica O.

Danny K.

Emily P.

Shawn D.

Eric C.

Mark P.

Mike R.

Kim P.

Cindy Q.

Anja H.

S R.

Ben B.

Michael B.

serina c.

Donovan B.

Katie W.

Heather W.

Hotchy K.

Amy R.

Michele K.

Josh B.

Scott G.

David B.

Adeline F.

Justin B.

Kay K.

Britt B.

Tommy K.

Sean S.

Rod R.

wendy b.

CA M.

Alan H.

Jamie T.

Steph D.

joe r.

Andrew W.

cari b.

Dee N.

Elizabeth F.

Edward K.

Thi N.

Keyth D.

Stabby R.

Ashley P.

Sammich C.

Hannah D.

Joe A.