Focaccia

Delicious food. We found the perfect catering for our events and lunch meetings. Rudy and his team are very reliable and the service is attentive and friendly.

When three different parties on three different occasions all suggest celebrating at this restaurant, you know you have a winner! The atmosphere is lovely, the food is excellent, and the service is friendly and efficient.

Eggplant and lemon cake were great! Such a nice owner and staff as well. Will definitely be back!

Family business, they definitely have pride of ownership. Every dish prepared individually. Great place. They have brunch as well weekends.

Want to eat real Italian food in a fancy restaurant in Alameda (one of the most gorgeous spots in the Bay Area)? Here you are, just go and meet the crew 👌

Delicious, simple Italian with gracious service. The desserts were divine. Save room!

Had a wedding rehearsal dinner here last week and the atmosphere, service, food and staff were all 5 stars.

Wonderful Italian food, beautifully presented. Atmosphere takes me back to Italy.

I really enjoyed myself will have to go back and do it again! Amazing food and great staff love you guys!

Everything is fresh and seasonal here. Home-made pasta, not the dried stuff from a box. Love this place!

Service, food & vino were amazing in this cozy setting! Great date night location!

For the third consecutive year, I pre-ordered my Thanksgiving meal from C’era Una Volta Kitchen & Catering, and once again, it did not disappoint. The entire process, from ordering to dining, was seamless. I picked up my meal the afternoon before Thanksgiving. Everything was securely packed in easy-to-heat containers, making the holiday cooking process entirely stress-free. Every dish was flavorful and thoughtfully prepared: Portobello Tart with Puff Pastry & Brie: A truly delicious start to the morning. The combination of crispy pastry, flavorful mushrooms, and brie was a definite highlight. Turkey Breast "Imporchettato": The main course was a tender turkey breast beautifully wrapped around sausage. This hearty portion was generous enough for two people. It came with classic, well-executed sides, including mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, mushroom stuffing, and fresh focaccia. Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake: A delicious conclusion to the feast, providing the perfect holiday flavor profile. I highly recommend C’era Una Volta. Not only do they make holidays easy and flavorful, but their consistent quality is worth visiting throughout the entire year.

If I could give C'Era Una Volta Kitchen & Catering 10 stars, I would without hesitation! From the moment I walked in, I was welcomed with the kind of warmth and hospitality that only a true Italian gentleman like Rudy, the owner, can provide. Meeting Rudy was a highlight in itself—he's not just passionate about his craft, but also genuinely cares about his customers' experience. But let’s talk about the food because it’s nothing short of spectacular. I put my trust in Rudy and let him choose my lunch, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. He crafted a salad with toast points that were both fresh and flavorful with fresh Mozzarella and tomatoes with a balsamic dressing that was amazing, setting the stage for the main event: ravioli with a meat sauce that was simply out of this world. Every bite was a testament to Rudy’s dedication to authentic, high-quality Italian cuisine. The service was impeccable, the atmosphere cozy and inviting, and the food—oh, the food! Rudy is an absolute gem, and his restaurant is a must-visit for anyone who loves great food and an even greater dining experience. This place is an instant favorite, and I can't wait to return! It's a small space for dining in but worth the out-of-the-box experience.

Wonderful romantic place to dine with that special someone, whether it be adult daughter, significant other, mother or others. New, Italian decor, with upstairs & outdoor seating for warm weather. The owner remembered me & so did the hostess; Gigi the waitress was friendly & attentive. There's a bar in the waiting area and another on the restaurant floor. Bottles of wine started at $30. My bill for 3 was $135.00 with wine.

Excelente brunch and the coffee aromatic.I feel that I was in Italy!

Robert Paine

For the third consecutive year, I pre-ordered my Thanksgiving meal from C’era Una Volta Kitchen & Catering, and once again, it did not disappoint. The entire process, from ordering to dining, was seamless. I picked up my meal the afternoon before Thanksgiving. Everything was securely packed in easy-to-heat containers, making the holiday cooking process entirely stress-free. Every dish was flavorful and thoughtfully prepared: Portobello Tart with Puff Pastry & Brie: A truly delicious start to the morning. The combination of crispy pastry, flavorful mushrooms, and brie was a definite highlight. Turkey Breast "Imporchettato": The main course was a tender turkey breast beautifully wrapped around sausage. This hearty portion was generous enough for two people. It came with classic, well-executed sides, including mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, mushroom stuffing, and fresh focaccia. Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake: A delicious conclusion to the feast, providing the perfect holiday flavor profile. I highly recommend C’era Una Volta. Not only do they make holidays easy and flavorful, but their consistent quality is worth visiting throughout the entire year.

Marlon

If I could give C'Era Una Volta Kitchen & Catering 10 stars, I would without hesitation! From the moment I walked in, I was welcomed with the kind of warmth and hospitality that only a true Italian gentleman like Rudy, the owner, can provide. Meeting Rudy was a highlight in itself—he's not just passionate about his craft, but also genuinely cares about his customers' experience. But let’s talk about the food because it’s nothing short of spectacular. I put my trust in Rudy and let him choose my lunch, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. He crafted a salad with toast points that were both fresh and flavorful with fresh Mozzarella and tomatoes with a balsamic dressing that was amazing, setting the stage for the main event: ravioli with a meat sauce that was simply out of this world. Every bite was a testament to Rudy’s dedication to authentic, high-quality Italian cuisine. The service was impeccable, the atmosphere cozy and inviting, and the food—oh, the food! Rudy is an absolute gem, and his restaurant is a must-visit for anyone who loves great food and an even greater dining experience. This place is an instant favorite, and I can't wait to return! It's a small space for dining in but worth the out-of-the-box experience.

Walter Counts

Wonderful romantic place to dine with that special someone, whether it be adult daughter, significant other, mother or others. New, Italian decor, with upstairs & outdoor seating for warm weather. The owner remembered me & so did the hostess; Gigi the waitress was friendly & attentive. There's a bar in the waiting area and another on the restaurant floor. Bottles of wine started at $30. My bill for 3 was $135.00 with wine.

Maria Montalvo

Excelente brunch and the coffee aromatic.I feel that I was in Italy!

I had an incredible experience with C’era Una Volta. My family and I were out of options on Thanksgiving and stumbled on this gem. It was incredible and one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I’ve ever had! The owners were so nice and welcoming and I will absolutely come back in the future.

Great food! Loved the fresh salads, side veggies and saffron rice full of veggies. It was a different feel from the delivery we've received from other places lately. It just felt good eating healthy, well cooked food. Great communication and professional staff. They didn't have the dessert on the menu and called to ask me what I preferred. We ate every bite. Bravo! 👏🏾

Delicious Italian with an authentic feel. They accommodated all of our dietary restrictions and modifications with a smile and made us feel like VIPs. The entire staff was very friendly and made us feel amazing. And above all, everything edible that hit the table was made PERFECTLY! The food was so delicious we were amazed we haven't been there yet. The meal ended with a fantastic dessert and a very affordable check. We are definitely coming back!

We thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant as a great addition to our area! (2 mins from our home)! The owners greeted us at our table, our server was excellent and the food and wine where fantastic! By far my favorite part was the decor! Wow!! I loved all the detail and custom barn wood design that was so warm and welcoming. We will for sure be bringing many friends & family to this new dining experience!

We attended one of their monthly wine tasting dinners. Inexpensive and very enjoyable. The seating is family style, so we got to meet people and chat and discuss the wine and the pairing. The servings are individual. We also got a lot of background on the Sicilian wines that were presented.

I usually don't go to pricier places but was walking past with my boyfriend and we decided to treat ourselves. Despite the fact that we were dressed quite casually, we were treated like royalty by the wait staff. They are very friendly and helpful here, and made some great recommendations on the menu. The food and wine were both very good, and I would definitely go back to this place again. The atmosphere was also very nice as the noise level was not high.

After many years of curiosity about this restaurant, we finally walked in to celebrate our 8 year anniversary. Everyone was genuinely friendly, and respectfully answered all our questions. The food and wine were delicious! I could tell you all we had, but I suggest to go and check it out for yourself (I will come back and add the dishes...). I'm very happy we chose C'Era Una Volta for our special day.

This establishment has a special place in my heart. Their food tastes like a labour of love and tastes like they make their food with love. Their food is amazing! Clean quality ingredients. Makes me feel good every time i eat here. This restaurant is a Bay Area Gem.

You cant find anything as cozy and delicious as this! They are wonderful for intimate parties and their food is outstanding! I would recommend this place to anyone who is looking for something above the average and into the amazing! Chef Rudy, i personally want to thank you and Cheryl for the wonderful night you gave me and my family and i will always tell anyone and everyone about you all! thank you!!! Russell & Family

Lovely, lovely dining spot with authentic food as if you were in Italy. The Branzino is among the best you will find anywhere. The eggplant Parmigiana rich but not fried or buried in cheese. The pastas are all handmade and a true delight. You can't miss. I like the Spinach Ravioli in Pesto sauce.

Paul Schroeder

I had an incredible experience with C’era Una Volta. My family and I were out of options on Thanksgiving and stumbled on this gem. It was incredible and one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I’ve ever had! The owners were so nice and welcoming and I will absolutely come back in the future.

Ikeena “Angel From the Yay” Hardman

Great food! Loved the fresh salads, side veggies and saffron rice full of veggies. It was a different feel from the delivery we've received from other places lately. It just felt good eating healthy, well cooked food. Great communication and professional staff. They didn't have the dessert on the menu and called to ask me what I preferred. We ate every bite. Bravo! 👏🏾

Mason Francoeur

This establishment has a special place in my heart. Their food tastes like a labour of love and tastes like they make their food with love. Their food is amazing! Clean quality ingredients. Makes me feel good every time i eat here. This restaurant is a Bay Area Gem.

Maricela Vazquez

After many years of curiosity about this restaurant, we finally walked in to celebrate our 8 year anniversary. Everyone was genuinely friendly, and respectfully answered all our questions. The food and wine were delicious! I could tell you all we had, but I suggest to go and check it out for yourself (I will come back and add the dishes...). I'm very happy we chose C'Era Una Volta for our special day.

Gonen Shoham

Delicious Italian with an authentic feel. They accommodated all of our dietary restrictions and modifications with a smile and made us feel like VIPs. The entire staff was very friendly and made us feel amazing. And above all, everything edible that hit the table was made PERFECTLY! The food was so delicious we were amazed we haven't been there yet. The meal ended with a fantastic dessert and a very affordable check. We are definitely coming back!

Daniel Jones

We attended one of their monthly wine tasting dinners. Inexpensive and very enjoyable. The seating is family style, so we got to meet people and chat and discuss the wine and the pairing. The servings are individual. We also got a lot of background on the Sicilian wines that were presented.

Russell Ellis

You cant find anything as cozy and delicious as this! They are wonderful for intimate parties and their food is outstanding! I would recommend this place to anyone who is looking for something above the average and into the amazing! Chef Rudy, i personally want to thank you and Cheryl for the wonderful night you gave me and my family and i will always tell anyone and everyone about you all! thank you!!! Russell & Family

Craig Brooks

Lovely, lovely dining spot with authentic food as if you were in Italy. The Branzino is among the best you will find anywhere. The eggplant Parmigiana rich but not fried or buried in cheese. The pastas are all handmade and a true delight. You can't miss. I like the Spinach Ravioli in Pesto sauce.

Bobbi Schellerer

We thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant as a great addition to our area! (2 mins from our home)! The owners greeted us at our table, our server was excellent and the food and wine where fantastic! By far my favorite part was the decor! Wow!! I loved all the detail and custom barn wood design that was so warm and welcoming. We will for sure be bringing many friends & family to this new dining experience!

Amy St. John

I usually don't go to pricier places but was walking past with my boyfriend and we decided to treat ourselves. Despite the fact that we were dressed quite casually, we were treated like royalty by the wait staff. They are very friendly and helpful here, and made some great recommendations on the menu. The food and wine were both very good, and I would definitely go back to this place again. The atmosphere was also very nice as the noise level was not high.

Wonderful Italian restaurant, delicious food and good servers. The cacciatore was very absolutely great with a tasty tomato sauce, olives and al dente vegetables. Charming interior. Definitely going back.

Definitely have to work on the service. Pork was a bit pale, but still quite yummy. My wife said her cacciucco was delicious. Price was not terrible.

I always order spaghetti bolognese on my first visit to a new Italian restaurant. The spaghetti was good and so I will probably be back again to try other Pasta dishes.

Lovely place. Very romantic. The menu is kind of small but the food is really good.

Pretty darn good food. Really nice people. And there was a cool little jazz combo. Sweet.

Nice restaurant, not really expensive. Food is great. The only disadvantage is it's closed at 9pm, but they don't force you to leave. Service is really great. I ordered Mediterranean fish special. Not greasy, just right.

Anna

Nice restaurant, not really expensive. Food is great. The only disadvantage is it's closed at 9pm, but they don't force you to leave. Service is really great. I ordered Mediterranean fish special. Not greasy, just right.

Food was delicious. Eggplant Parmesan was baked with no breading or deep fat fried like Olive Garden would do. Service was very attentive Diana our waitress was kind and sweet. The one of the owners Cheryl came to our table to greet us. My only recommendation to the owners is a bit more sauce on the pasta. Also rather than bringing out the pasta first on a separate plate and then the eggplant parmesan and side salad on another, I would have preferred the side salad on a separate plate or all three on one large plate.

Anne Aoki

Food was delicious. Eggplant Parmesan was baked with no breading or deep fat fried like Olive Garden would do. Service was very attentive Diana our waitress was kind and sweet. The one of the owners Cheryl came to our table to greet us. My only recommendation to the owners is a bit more sauce on the pasta. Also rather than bringing out the pasta first on a separate plate and then the eggplant parmesan and side salad on another, I would have preferred the side salad on a separate plate or all three on one large plate.

Bad waiter service, ignored my calls, spent a lot of time, full conversation with a particular table, never brought additional requested bread nor came by for the take out order. The young female assistant was fantastic saved the day, I compensated her well personally. Food, wine and bread were good.

I want this place to be so much better, than it is. The Halibut special melted in my mouth. I'm gonna work on it, becoming an amazing secret.

Very nice service. Pleasant place but the shrimp were seriously overcooked. Scallops were good. Just had an appetizer there, not worth the bother of a complaint. Would go again with a group because they were wonderfully accommodating and other dishes may well be better; but caution advised: some other people also had problems with some of what they ordered. However, when they complained, the response was gracious and the items were changed out.

We didn't have reservations but once seated our waiter was very knowledgeable & informative. Unfortunately they forgot our salads & served us our entrees first. We almost done when they finally arrived. We were compensated with a dessert. Lasagna was very good. Tiramisu was ok.

Ann Gibbs

We didn't have reservations but once seated our waiter was very knowledgeable & informative. Unfortunately they forgot our salads & served us our entrees first. We almost done when they finally arrived. We were compensated with a dessert. Lasagna was very good. Tiramisu was ok.

Hanne Mohr Sachs

Very nice service. Pleasant place but the shrimp were seriously overcooked. Scallops were good. Just had an appetizer there, not worth the bother of a complaint. Would go again with a group because they were wonderfully accommodating and other dishes may well be better; but caution advised: some other people also had problems with some of what they ordered. However, when they complained, the response was gracious and the items were changed out.

We were told our wait would be 20 minutes, it was closer to 30. Waited for at least 10 to even see our waitress, asked what type of water we wanted, then went to have an agrument with the hostess, in front of everyone & then walked away with out coming back to take our order.... another 10 no water still , she comes back to take our order to only walk away again... Eventually she comes back another 10 minutes later.... we're both upset at this point.... she's basically dismissive of it. It seems at least 1/2 the people there were given horrible serve, the place isn't that big, you could tell the hostess was trying to put "fires". Two large groups left because they got tried of waiting for their waiter. The food was good, though the "freshly" bakes cookies were burnt. They took cookies from jar & put them in the oven to claim fresh, to explain the 15 minutes wait for my cookies & dessert wine. Won't be back

Need to learn to leave if the menus are filthy and falling apart. Reheated bread, frozen steak and crappy wine. Vegetables side was ok

We haven't patronized C'Era Una Volta for over a decade, for good reason. We have high expectations with Italian food and unfortunately they did not improve with time. The best part of the meal was probably the bread, served with a warm, mustardy aioli that was both smooth and pungent, creamy but not spicy. The beet salad was so uninspiring, we could have done better putting a few pkgs from Trader Joes in a bowl and assembling something ourselves. Our daughter's kids' sausage pizza was served with mushrooms (wasn't mentioned on the menu), husband's melanzane Parmigiana was decent, but my Tagliolini alla Senese was a let-down. There was a giant clump of uncooked, unseparated noodles, and the sauce was supposed to be a chianti beef sauce but all I could get was tons of herbaceousness from a heavy hand (I forgot if it was thyme or rosemary, it wasn't pleasant). The service was very lackluster (took a while to take our order, arms reaching across the table instead of going around to serve/clear, no one checked on us after our main courses were delivered). I truly wish they would improve because I would throw my money at a good Italian reataurant without a second thought (yes, we've been to Italy, from Roma up to Venezia) but it isn't this place.

Mortiche Wong

We haven't patronized C'Era Una Volta for over a decade, for good reason. We have high expectations with Italian food and unfortunately they did not improve with time. The best part of the meal was probably the bread, served with a warm, mustardy aioli that was both smooth and pungent, creamy but not spicy. The beet salad was so uninspiring, we could have done better putting a few pkgs from Trader Joes in a bowl and assembling something ourselves. Our daughter's kids' sausage pizza was served with mushrooms (wasn't mentioned on the menu), husband's melanzane Parmigiana was decent, but my Tagliolini alla Senese was a let-down. There was a giant clump of uncooked, unseparated noodles, and the sauce was supposed to be a chianti beef sauce but all I could get was tons of herbaceousness from a heavy hand (I forgot if it was thyme or rosemary, it wasn't pleasant). The service was very lackluster (took a while to take our order, arms reaching across the table instead of going around to serve/clear, no one checked on us after our main courses were delivered). I truly wish they would improve because I would throw my money at a good Italian reataurant without a second thought (yes, we've been to Italy, from Roma up to Venezia) but it isn't this place.

The service was not great, we had to ask for bread and water for our table. The brie appetizer was good but my panini was mostly bread with very little filling and it lacked flavour. My husband enjoyed his italian sausage but the pasta my parents had was lack luster. Overall it was fine, but not worth the money.

Jessica Van Soest

The service was not great, we had to ask for bread and water for our table. The brie appetizer was good but my panini was mostly bread with very little filling and it lacked flavour. My husband enjoyed his italian sausage but the pasta my parents had was lack luster. Overall it was fine, but not worth the money.