East Bay Area Resident

A delightful upscale Italian restaurant tucked inside Alameda's south shore shopping center, Trabocco is an excellent choice for those wanting a more "European italian" dining experience. I think Trabocco has been open about 10 years now, but it still fulfills its owners original mission to provide good solid food in a warm, friendly environment. They make their own pasta on site and have a wood fired pizza oven. They have outdoor dining and a full bar. It seems what they don't have is pretentiousness. As for the food, We liked everything we ordered. I Suppose this is traditional Italian cooking, not Italian American cooking. Go-to dishes include the fettuccine Bolognese, pasta Trabocco..among many others. Fridays are porcheta night, so Saturday is porcheta sandwich day. Give it a try. It's quite good and one sandwich can be shared by two people. Portions are generous, and prices are reasonable, in my opinion. Parking might be a challenge during lunch period but should be easier at night as the retail stores close. Service was warm, friendly and attentive. The only thing I think they should do is print out the specials instead of having the server cite them. Overall, Trabocco is a great place to have a meal, in my opinion. Give it a try...we did and we will return.

+10

Bessie Gessner

We love our dining experience here and will definitely come back again! Our waiter was amazing and his description of the specials convinced all 4 of us to select from the specials menu. My friend and I split the seafood stew and seafood platter and both were delicious. And you can’t finish a meal at an Italian restaurant without trying Tiramisu. Everything was perfect!

Lili

We went to Trabocco Italian restaurant in Alameda for lunch, and it was a great experience! The restaurant has a nice ambience, and the service was excellent. I ordered the salmon sandwich, and it was awesome! We also got a salad, and Vera our server kindly split it into two plates for us—perfect portion! The fish plate had scallops, shrimp and octopus it was very delicious. At the end, the chef (who is the owner) came and talked to us, and thanked us. That made the meal even more special! Highly recommend this place—great food and service.

+3

S L (Lmonetti)

We were shopping near Trabocco by chance and it was bustling during dinner time. It just so happened to be Alameda restaurant week. It was a 30-minute wait for a table, but one of the bar tables were open and it was perfect for 4. We ordered the pre-fixe special and some fillers (octopus dish and seafood stew, my classic favorite). Dishes were all excellent, fresh, tasty, bold. I really enjoyed how all the staffs, including the cook behind the glasses and the bartenders, always gave us warm welcome and big smiles. The table next to us was having a birthday and the guy who brought out the cake was singing it opera style. I enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and the food were very enjoyable. Good for family/friends and birthday occasions.

+2

Visited one of our favorite dining establishments. Had reservations for lunch. We were greeted by a friendly host and seated swiftly to our booth.\n\nBarry (our server) came by and announced the 'S…

Visited one of our favorite dining establishments. Had reservations for lunch. We were greeted by a friendly host and seated swiftly to our booth.\n\nBarry (our Server) came by and announced the 'S…

Everything was perfect! The food, service and staff. Always great food and service. Never a disappointment!

Everything was perfect! The food, service and staff. Always great food and service. Never a disappointment!

Amazing ambience and food! I ordered the grilled chicken salad, a friend ordered the salmon salad and my daughter had the butternut squash ravioli for lunch. Highly recommend all three dishes and c…

i had high expectations for this place because of the many reviews they have & it did not disappoint! \n\nit was packed on a sunday night, with no reservations we were able to snag a table by the b…

Trabocco continues to be fantastic. The service is personal, menu is varied and all of it is terrific. The price has gone up but what hasn't. I asked for something that is only on the lunch menu...…

Excellent foods, great and friendly service, average price. nice setting. Locate in the big plaza. Was a very surprised to discover this great restaurant in Alameda for a nice meal.

Celebrated our 18th anniversary. Food was amazing! Shout out to our server Berry! He was super nice and friendly! Definitely a cute spot for date night with the romantic cozy atmosphere.

Trabocco has been around for a while and that’s not a surprise as it’s a busy place. Food and wine excellent. Atmosphere and ambiance excellent and service great.

Trabocco has been around for a while and that’s not a surprise as it’s a busy place. Food and wine excellent. atmosphere and ambiance excellent and service great.

Trabocco has been around for a while and that’s not a surprise as it’s a busy place. food and wine excellent. Atmosphere and ambiance excellent and service great.

Trabocco has been around for a while and that’s not a surprise as it’s a busy place. Food and wine excellent. Atmosphere and ambiance excellent and service great.

Trabocco has been around for a while and that’s not a surprise as it’s a busy place. Food and wine excellent. Atmosphere and ambiance excellent and service great.

Always our favorite spot in Alameda. The team here is incredible - making us feel like family, even good naturedly never failing to claim being out of bread to our youngest who can eat his weight in …

The food was top notch. Very delicious and reasonably priced. The ambience was cozy and the service was excellent. We accidentally discovered it and went back the next night. A gem of a place.

The food was top notch. Very delicious and reasonably priced. The ambience was cozy and the service was excellent. We accidentally discovered it and went back the next night. A gem of a place.

The food was top notch. Very delicious and reasonably priced. The ambience was cozy and the service was excellent. We accidentally discovered it and went back the next night. A gem of a place.

The food was top notch. Very delicious and reasonably priced. The ambience was cozy and the service was excellent. We accidentally discovered it and went back the next night. A gem of a place.

A local cousin took us to dinner at this restaurant located in an unassuming strip mall. The drinks and all courses were superb, focused on standard Italian and seafood fare. The atmosphere is bust…

A local cousin took us to dinner at this restaurant located in an unassuming strip mall. The drinks and all courses were superb, focused on standard Italian and seafood fare. The atmosphere is bust…

Kim

Came for dinner. We had lamb skewers, cooked and seasoned. Beets salad (kitchen was kind to split on two plates). Margarita pizza was delicious thin crust, would come back just for pizza. Finished with pork chop, cooked on wood grill. All delicious, would come back again.

+2

Jean Tsou

Love the restaurant vibe. Beautiful interior design with high vaulted ceiling. Comfortable seating area. I love the home made pizza here. Half mushroom pizza pocket and half margarita it’s really good! Seafood spaghetti with decent and good quality seafood as well. Cocktails are good with the right amount. Hope the server can be more friendly.

+16

I've been here a couple of times and they haven't disappointed me yet! I'm a sucker for pasta with seafood so I always opt for the Polipo e Patate appetizer and Spaghetti del Trabocco, which comes wi…

I've been here a couple of times and they haven't disappointed me yet! I'm a sucker for pasta with seafood so I always opt for the Polipo e Patate appetizer and Spaghetti del Trabocco, which co…

I've been here a couple of times and they haven't disappointed me yet! I'm a sucker for pasta with seafood so I always opt for the Polipo e Patate appetizer and Spaghetti del Trabocco, which comes …

I am glad we were able to be seated as almost all the tables were filled when we came around 7pm on a Saturday night. Our server explained the specials and although we didn't order any, it sounded go…

I am glad we were able to be seated as almost all the tables were filled when we came around 7pm on a Saturday night. Our server explained the specials and although we didn't order any, it sounded …

I came here for a company holiday party. The ambiance is very nice and cozy, would make a great place for a date night. The complementary bread was soft and pretty good. I had the caesar salad an…

I came here for a company holiday party. The ambiance is very nice and cozy, would make a great place for a date night. The complementary bread was soft and pretty good. I had the caesar salad and …

I picked this place to celebrate our anniversary! Overall this place doesn't disappoint! The grilled octopus appetizer was absolutely delicious and enough for two people. Service was decent! The lo…

Called for reservation and were told only outdoor seating available.\n\nWhen we arrived there was one person eating in the main dining room.\n\nWhen we left there was one person in the dining area!…

Perfect date night spot! Lots of parking since it's the plaza.\n\nWe came here on a Tuesday for dinner around 730pm and it was so busy and lively!! I liked all the seating options--patio, inside, b…

The restaurant is very contemporary with good service. They had a lot of specials and our waiter gave the best descriptions for all. The black squid risotto was very good with a lot of scallops and …

The restaurant is very contemporary with good service. They had a lot of specials and our waiter gave the best descriptions for all. The black squid risotto was very good with a lot of scallops …

The restaurant is very contemporary with good service. They had a lot of specials and our waiter gave the best descriptions for all. The black squid risotto was very good with a lot of scallops …

Walked in, no rese on a Fri night. Seated in bar area immediately. Decent, if pricey, wine list. Good service. First-class swordfish carpaccio (never had it, had to try it), overcooked/"crusty"…

Walked in, no rese on a Fri night. Seated in bar area immediately. Decent, if pricey, wine list. Good service. First-class swordfish carpaccio (never had it, had to try it), overcooked/"crusty"…

Stopped in after playing at the pinball museum. No reservation, quite crowded but they were able to seat us at a lounge table. Waiter was terrific and very accommodating. Started with the burrata …

Liza Palyvoda

We like this place for the atmosphere. But during our last visit we waited for our pasta almost 40 min! Even considering that we came at 9 pm and restaurant was half empty already. For the pasta such waiting time is too long.

SC

To be honest, Trabocco is spacious and has a fresh atmosphere that feels both modern and inviting. The outdoor patio is nice - shady, breezy, and comfortably set up for a relaxing meal and a drink. It’s a great spot to enjoy a meal outdoors without feeling crowded or rushed between TJ and Safeway. Service was pleasant throughout, though not especially memorable. Unfortunately, they forgot to bring the most anticipated part of the evening to obey the thirst - a beer!, which was a bit of a letdown. The food was decent, leaning toward simple, nothing to stand out. The Salumiere pizza was basic, the Ortolano veggie pizza was juicy and enjoyable, and the Burrata came in a standard three-piece presentation on tomatoes with falling cheese. The Calamaretti Fritti were way overcooked and dry, missing the light crispness you’d expect. Some were left untouched… While the kitchen doesn’t particularly shine, the overall setting leaves the door open for a return visit, especially for drinks or a light bite on the patio.

+1

Michelle V

Beautiful restaurant and attentive staff. Unfortunately the food didn't quite hit the mark. Lamb skewers were tasty but very small and half the plate was filled with plain sliced bread. The salmon special was overcooked and dry. The sage butter ravioli was decent but not amazing. Felt like chain restaurant quality.

Trabocco has a really lovely ambience and the food we had was genuinely great. We started with the Caesar salad, which was crisp and flavorful, and the Bolognese was rich, comforting, and tasted like…

Trabocco has a really lovely ambience and the food we had was genuinely great. We started with the Caesar salad, which was crisp and flavorful, and the Bolognese was rich, comforting, and tasted li…

Trabocco has a really lovely ambience and the food we had was genuinely great. We started with the Caesar salad, which was crisp and flavorful, and the Bolognese was rich, comforting, and tasted …

Our second time here. The bread, olive oil and balsamic, calamari, creme brulee, expresso and seafood soup were very good to excellent. Zinfandel was ok. Service by Pedro was excellent. \n\nThe…

prices....\nNice enough place, good food, but $43.00 for a Risotto and small piece of beef, lmon lunch menu is excessive. \nService was definitely 5 star, but please give your lunch specials a spec…

Brenda W.

my family had a bad experience with a takeout order made online :( im going to preface that we planned to tip in cash at the restaurant. when my mom got there, the hostess was short with her and mentioned twice to her how she only paid the bill. my mom inquired if they had helped label the boxes because we ordered a decent amount of food, including three steaks with different cuts and wellness. the hostess said no and just walked away!! my mom was dumbfounded and couldn't hand over the cash tip, so she just left after being treated so dismissively. it cuts deep for me because my mom is an immigrant and our chinatown community prefers to tip and pay in cash. the food was decent so i originally was going to give two stars. i added one more star because when dining in, the service tends to be good. at the end of the day it's a local family business. my mom gives them the benefit of doubt and says she would return again, but for dining in only. edited to add: i just read about another reviewer's experience dining in with his wife, who is asian and faced microaggressions from the chef. very disappointed to learn that and I'm changing my review from three stars to two.

Kristine

Really surprised at the good reviews here. Service was good but the food not so much. My boyfriend and I shared the ravioli con coda and the mezzo e mezzo. The ravioli was good but was only 4 pieces of ravioli, not enough for an entree. The mezzo e mezzo had a good pizza but the calzone was filled to the brim with ricotta which was flavorless and made our stomachs hurt later that night. I ordered a mocktail and I didn’t even finish it, it was so bland. We got a free dessert for his birthday which was nice (tiramisu), but again, absolutely flavorless. Would not come back, not worth the cost for bland food.

Amber Rose

I was on vacation with my partner and we were so excited to see an Italian restaurant with 4.6 stars and after our visit - we don’t understand. The staff was amazing! The people tending our table were attentive and cheery - they made the experience. If you’re looking for yummy food, I’d move on. We ordered the branzino, which is normal for us. We also got one of the specials - rotisserie duck with polenta and broccoli. Everything was bland. It all felt overcooked and dry. The polenta was soupy. The broccoli was undercooked. The duck wasn’t rotisserie. Normal, we wouldn’t care too much and would just enjoy the food. But the prices made the experience more upsetting when we didn’t even want to eat more than five bites. The basil martini was the best thing we had all night. When you finally get time for a date, is disappointing to frown at your meal. If it matters, the restaurant is in a mall. We sat on the patio to be outside but it was covered by plastic walls, which is a vibe…not necessarily a good one.

This is not a review about the food because we never got any since we were denied service. We had a reservation for 5 at 11:30 am today. My daughter has a Diabetic Alert Dog and we were denied se…

RJ Mahadev

Ordered the Rapini a Salsiccia pizza. Don't! It came cold, it looks like my cat coughed up a furball of broccoli & minced meat on a cold toast. It tasted worse. Place used to be good. Now it's just someplace I used to know.

Joe Ghio (Foster City Joe)

Let me start by saying I’m Italian, and I love Italian food. I grew up on the mid-Peninsula—San Mateo through Menlo Park, Atherton, and Palo Alto—where there are some incredible Italian gems. When I moved to Alameda 13 years ago, I thought I’d have to reset my expectations. Then Trabocco opened. I gave it a try when it was new, and even back then, I was disappointed. I chalked it up to my standards being too high after so many amazing meals across the Bay. Over the years, I’ve still gone back a dozen times, but I remain baffled that it holds a 4.6 rating on Google. At best, it’s a 4.0 in my book. That said, if you pick the right dish, you’ll be fine. On my most recent visit, I had the braised ribs. They were tender but the portion was small—solid, but not great. A 6/10. My buddy’s ribeye, on the other hand, was excellent—9/10. The ladies at the table ordered salmon and a specialty pasta, pappardelle. The salmon was fine to me, but my friend thought it was overcooked. The pappardelle is where things went sideways. What came out wasn’t pappardelle at all—it looked like lasagna sheets. For reference: a standard fork is about 1–1.2 inches wide, and authentic pappardelle should be about the same. Lasagna noodles are 2–2.5 inches. What they served was clearly in lasagna territory, much wider than the fork, and not what we’d been served here on previous visits. I asked for the owner, Giuseppe, to clear it up. Instead of handling it professionally, he doubled down and insisted it was pappardelle, turning the interaction uncomfortable. Worse, he made repeated, racially-tinged remarks to my wife (who is Asian), sarcastically saying, “Oh, so you’re Italian, huh?” over and over. It was completely inappropriate, offensive, and frankly, racist. At that point, any chance to salvage the experience was gone. A proper response would have been something along the lines of: “How can we make this right for you?” Instead, we got defensiveness, awkwardness, and an unnecessary insult. They eventually comped the dish without telling us, but with drinks, appetizers, salads, and entrées, the bill still came to $400—a price that should buy you not only great food, but also respect and hospitality. After this experience, we’re done with Trabocco. My wife, who is one of the kindest, most gracious people you could meet, left deeply offended. That says it all. There are plenty of places to enjoy better Italian food without enduring that kind of treatment. If you value respect along with your meal, look elsewhere.