Marlene was so amazing EXCELLENT customer service her vibe her attitude her service ! The food that she recommended was so delicious! Made me feel comfortable and welcomed ! A+ !

The food and service lived up to their high ratings! Super cute, little family restaurant. The bar looked lively. We sat on the outdoor patio with cafe lighting and a nice ambiance. My mussels were fresh, hubby's lasagna was delicious! Would highly recommend! Our waitress was funny - "Patience" was her name and she obviously had fun with that! Thx!

food is delicious Everyone is super friendly Special thanks to Leah for always providing excellent service!!

Love this place. We come in at least once a week and Madi and Leah are amazing. They are able to accommodate my food allergies which is awesome. Will definitely be back...next week!

Just an outstanding gem of an Italian establishment in SD. I was looking for an authentic place to take my father who is a local & he was blown away not only by the food but how well the serving staff treated our entire family. Everybody there is so warm & so kind! I had the chance to try some of the Margherita pizza, baked Manicotti, and the gnocchi. All of it cooked to perfection. The outdoor seating at night is just the best for dinners together as a family. They've got a kid's menu for the young ones too. Oh and the Canolli dessert is just superb Thank you Ottavio's for taking care of us!

Outstanding Italian cuisine in the heart of Lakeside. Who would have thought that a 5 star, arguably one of the best Italian restaurants in San Diego County would be housed in little Lakeside. Let me introduce you to Ottavio's Italian Restaurant. Visiting our good friends on Saturday night they decided to treat us to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. We arrived and only waited 5 minutes to get a table for four. The atmosphere is nice but not special with photos of famous Italian entertainers adorning the walls. We began the night with appetizers of Brussels Sprouts and an order of Calamari. The Brussel Sprouts are cooked with smoked bacon, raisins, romano and balsamic and then dusted with parmesan cheese. They were outstanding and I would suppose healthy. The calamari consisted of traditional rings with an outstanding marinara sauce. They also brought a basket of homemade focaccia bread to dip in oil and balsamic vinegar. For dinner I order the Spaghetti Carbonara and my wife the Mussels Appetizer. The spaghetti carbonara was some of the best I have ever ordered. The flavor and consistency of that found in the best restaurants in Rome, Italy. The mussels were cooked in white wine, herb butter, garlic, basil, marinara, chili pepper with garlic bread for dipping on the side. She really enjoyed this dish. We brought wine and corkage was only $10 a bottle. Service was outstanding and prices were surprisingly low for the quality and quantity of food. This restaurant deserves 5 stars and we will definitely return.

Alfredo - 4/5 - super creamy and rich but not over powering. Huge portions. Spicy Pepperoni pizza - 4/5 - Good ratio of dough; not thin or too thick right in the middle. No flop on pizza even though cheese was a good amount. Cheese was nice and thick. Very spicy but very good. Bruschetta - 4/5 - Great flavor, very garlicky. Tomatoes were a bit thicker than what I prefer but overall it was great. Service - 4/5, very good service and very attentive. Mussels pasta - 4/5; Good amount of mussels. Marina was good not great with some tangiest. Huge portions! Overall, very solid spot, I would recommend. Definitely I will now try to frequent more often. Overall rating : 4/5 - [ ] Service: 4/5 - [ ] Taste profile: 4/5 - [ ] Value: 4/5

Excellent food, good ambience and friendly service. Very good place and as a Sicilian American I would say one of the most authentic Italian food restaurants you can find!

Such a pleasant surprise, a hidden gem! We've lived in the neighborhood for years but hadn't heard of the place. We were headed home from a roadtrip and were looking for a quick and easy sit down family restaurant nearby home. The staff were very welcoming and I briefly mentioned it was our first time there. After the hostess sat us, my children were quickly served pizza dough to play with (with a cute little onion slice and olive smiley face). It was such a surprise and my kids (2 and 9) were thrilled. We also were served fresh focaccia bread for the table. We ordered two kids meals (pasta and nuggets) and my husband I split an antipasto salad (half order which was huge!), chicken parm and spicy angel hair. Everything was incredible! The portions were large and the leftovers we had for an entire dinner the next night. The pasta was cooked to perfection (and I'm picky about my aldente). Before leaving they surprised us with two cannolis to celebrate us on our first time at their restaurant- such a nice touch! We have already referred a few of our friends and family. We can't wait to go back! They had us in and out in an hour (we didn't feel rushed or had to wait for anything) which is exactly what we needed after a 3 hour drive and tired kids. Thanks Ottavio's for making this such a great experience!