Lupi Vino Cucina - San Diego

We always enjoy Lupi's. Dinner was exceptionally good. Our guests loved the experience.aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

We had a great meal the other night at Lupi. The prices were good. Our waiter was terrific. It is a gem of a place!

My boyfriend and I went for dinner on Valentine’s Day. They were able to seat us early, but we waited about 5 minutes to be greeted. I asked for a glass of Chianti, but the server pushed a different bottle of Italian red wine on us for $40 (which we later found out is only a $9 bottle of wine!!! . He didn’t really give us much of a choice but to drink that. Calamari was VERY bland and lacked any seasoning. The sirloin was excellent, lobster dried out a little under the heat lamp and they didn’t do a very good job of pulling it from the shell. My lamb was tough and not very meaty. We barely saw our server during the meal (understaffed! and didn’t want to even wait for dessert. I would go back again but definitely not for a holiday. I would order exactly what I wanted and not what the server pushed us to order.

My number #1 complaint is they rush you during your meal like crazy. Went for a Valentine's dinner but barely got 45 minutes out of them ordering all courses and drinks before they basically kicked us out. I won't be back, not interested in going out to dinner with a 45 minute time limit. Reading other reviews and we aren't alone here with this issue. I would go somewhere else. Food was fine but nothing to write home about.

Fantastic meal. We were in San Diego visiting for a week and we went here twice. Definitely a hidden gem. Owner and staff were very warm and friendly when we came back the second time we were greeted like old friends. Food is like homemade and very reasonably priced. Osso bucco was fabulous cooked to perfection and melt in your mouth. Veal scallopini and manicotti were very good pasta is homemade. The chef’s signature dish was colossal shrimp in a scampi sauce. These huge shrimp were perfectly cooked and just delicious. The pizza margherita was perfectly seasoned with a thin, golden crust that was crispy on the outside, tender inside. All of the food was made to order and served piping hot. The staff was very knowledgeable about both the menu and the wine list. I can’t believe this place isn’t packed with people every night. If you want to eat authentic Italian food, eat here.