Since 1969, restaurant, hotel, travel & other witty reviews by a handpicked, worldwide team of discerning professionals—and your views, too.

Firenze Trattoria

162 S. Rancho Santa Fe Rd. Send to Phone
EncinitasCA 92024
760-944-9000 | Make Restaurant Reservations
Stylish but informal restaurant with an Italian menu that delivers quality food for the price.

Cuisine

Open

Lunch Mon.-Sat., Dinner nightly

Features

* Click here for rating key

This stylish but informal restaurant has an Encinitas address, a Rancho Santa Fe crowd and a pleasant Italian menu that delivers quality food for the price---which is what Rancho Santa Fe types who eat in Encinitas are looking for in the first place. The mood is fun, the service is attentive and willing and the cooking largely pleases, especially in the case of pastas, which are generously portioned but tend to have a light touch. Our recommendations: the rigatoni baked with crumbles of spicy sausage and slices of mellow mozzarella; the day’s fresh fish; and the piquant, caper-rich veal alla pizzaiola.

User Ratings & Reviews for Firenze Trattoria
Average rating    5
Reviews 1 - 1 of 11
arguably the best Italian restaurant in San Diego
by arthur_b on 06/29/2009
 
A friend sent me to the Firenze Trattoria website and I was surprised to discover you really can book reservations on line. If it weren't for that, we probably would have stayed closer to central San Diego. The place is a gem, much more elegant than your typical strip-mall trattoria and extremely romantic both in its location and décor. It's in Encinitas, just south of Olivenhain, where you can pretend you're dining in the Florentine countryside.

We were so taken with the place that we tried to make an entire Italian dinner of it -- antipasti, pasta course, meat course, and dessert -- but we wound up sharing everything and still didn't have room for dessert. Their wine list, while not overly long, is nonethess good enough to have won Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence (another reason why we went there) and its best feature is that most of them can be ordered by the glass. So we changed our wines with each course.

We started with an insalata dell'orto and a zuppa di verdure with a pinot grigio from San Angelo. The salad pairs fresh Italian greens with apples and pine nuts and the soup is a rich purée of fresh garden vegetables. We followed that with portobello ravioli in a gorgonzola cream sauce, an inspired dish, accompanied by an Italian sangiovese.

Then one of the house specialties, pollo e gamberi rosmarino (chicken and shrimp in a white wine sauce with fresh rosemary) with a glass of Silverado chardonnay and, finally, scampi alla fresca (garlic shrimp in a light tomato sauce over linguini) with a Carmel Road pinot noir.

We'll have to come back to try their dessert cart. As it was, we spent more than two hours at the table!
 
Reviews 1 - 1 of 11
Best Restaurateur of the Year
Top 40 Restaurants

Once a year, we examine the best of the best, and compile our list of the Top 40 Restaurants in the country, featured in our Annual Restaurant Edition. Also check out the Top 40 Cheap Eats, and Best Restaurateur of the Year.

Browse our Recipes
Cook Up a Storm

What's for dinner tonight? Or for your dinner party this weekend? Check out our recipe section to find healthy meals such as Broccoli Rabe Soup and sweet treats like Dark Chocolate Dipped Pineapple with Pistachio.

Food Trucks, the hottest trend
Taco Truck Trend

A phenomenon that started in East Los Angeles is sweeping the nation: food trucks are emerging from coast to coast, offering Korean tacos, French take-away and even gourmet desserts.

Latest Cookbooks
Latest Cookbooks

Whenever a chef or important food personality publishes a new book, we are among the first to review it. Find out what's worth whisking around with our cookbook reviews!

 
 


RESTAURANT AWARDS

Just published! Our annual restaurant issue features the Best Cheap Eats and our Top 40 U.S. selections, including including Corton in New York and more!