Negri's Italian Kitchen

Every thing was delicious! From soup and salad to dessert, and Every thing in between. I recommend the steak!

Been loving this place since I was a kid. Excellent old style Italian. Love the beef/spinach ravioli. Great minestrone soup. You can get a burger or fried chicken if you wish. Lots of history here , too!

Excellent food and service. Had the chicken parmigiana. Chicken was crispy and the marinara sauce was outstanding. We shared the appetizers (garlic bread and meatball sliders). Both were fantastic. Service was extremely prompt and courteous. Outdoor seating provided added Occidental atmosphere. Between this and Union Hotel it's down to a coin flip which place to go to. Both are excellent!

We had a wedding reception here...VERY accommodating! Highly recommend the food and staff!

Great selection of Italian classics. Be sure to try the apple fritters if they have them!

Nice food. She treated very nicely. I like the food

+6

Cozy, warm, not-too-bright lighting. A variety of tables and setups. A curved bar with a curious assortment of backlit bottles on shelves. A variety of patrons -- families large and small, solo enjoyers, work colleagues -- some of whom are new and some of whom visit regularly. The staff is warm and courteous, service is prompt, and the whole ambiance is just fantastic. Oh, and shall I mention the food? Stellar. I had the shrimp pasta with white garlic sauce, a chardonnay, and two desserts (I couldn't resist...) that left me stuffed to the brim because I could NOT stop scarfing it down. The chocolate pots de creme was the perfect blend of light and rich, and the cinnamon roll cheesecake was dense, luxurious, and an amazing texture. The staff who I assumed were part of the family who owned it were enthusiastic and authentic, and the whole experience was just fantastic from start to finish.

Now Joe's Bar, open only Friday thru Sunday nights. Still, great Italian food. Excellent wines and drinks. Casual place, lots of locals, excellent food.

Fantastic food and service. We had the ravioli and chicken piccata and both were outstanding. Unpretentious and welcoming, we’re definitely coming back.

This is one of my favorite 'old school Italian restaurants. It's been around for a while and it shows, I think that is what adds to the charm. Family owned and run, making you feel like your right at home. Nothing really fancy just a good old home style Italian meal. Good portions so you won't leave hungry in a casual setting. Good value.

Great menu selections and specials. Our party had very attentive staff and raved about their delicious dishes. Lots of family reminiscing of childhood enjoyment here from decades ago.

My experience was a good one. Large amount of food. Nice background music, clean area with a good atmosphere. It is pricey though and a long drive to occidental depending on where you live. If you want some good italian food, it might be worth the drive.

Tim Polk

Now Joe's Bar, open only Friday thru Sunday nights. Still, great Italian food. Excellent wines and drinks. Casual place, lots of locals, excellent food.

Lorraine Grumet

Great menu selections and specials. Our party had very attentive staff and raved about their delicious dishes. Lots of family reminiscing of childhood enjoyment here from decades ago.

Tyler Elwell

Fantastic food and service. We had the ravioli and chicken piccata and both were outstanding. Unpretentious and welcoming, we’re definitely coming back.

Bobby Crooks

This is one of my favorite 'old school Italian restaurants. It's been around for a while and it shows, I think that is what adds to the charm. Family owned and run, making you feel like your right at home. Nothing really fancy just a good old home style Italian meal. Good portions so you won't leave hungry in a casual setting. Good value.

O Mora

My experience was a good one. Large amount of food. Nice background music, clean area with a good atmosphere. It is pricey though and a long drive to occidental depending on where you live. If you want some good italian food, it might be worth the drive.

We had to order take-out and pick it up 5 minutes before closing. Amanda and the team made sure our order was ready, hot and delicious. The sauce for the arrancini was particulary memorable and delicious!

Many tempting classic Italian entrees to choose from. We each had a different one. I tried the carbonara for the first time. Absolutely delicious and enough for three lovely meals!

Impressive solid Italian classics. Casual lively atmosphere. Good wine list. Great value. Calamari and pasta dishes are highlights.

This place is a slice of heaven on earth. From the location within the beautiful town of Occidental to the actual family line still operating the bar and restaurant, this is an American gem thru and thru. The raviolis are UNBEATABLE; like the kind you’ll literally never have again if for whatever reason the Negri family stopped making them. Every single menu item is of this caliber, NOTHING is done halfway. The front of house family clan consists of Sandy, Amanda, Tori, baby Blake and Alandrea (with several other incredibly talented back of house staff), and these amazing women NEVER stop running their butts off to give us all a great meal, delicious drinks and an extension to their family as we all dine under their roof. In the 4 months I’ve been in this speck-on-the-map of a town, these people have straight up become like family to me, as well as the regular patrons I’ve met while sitting at the bar. If you’re wondering if you should make the trip, the answer is not only A hard yes, but be ready to make the trip regularly as you will never forget the food and the feeling of Negri’s Italian/Joe’s bar. Love you guys so much, thank you for the care you show all of us!!!! ♥️♥️♥️

Very good food and very friendly service. Inside is a very nice atmosphere!

I recently visited Negri's while on a solo road trip. Haven't been there in over 10 years but experienced it regularly with my family starting in the mid sixties. Being alone, I didn't do the full family style dinner. Just the minestrone soup, a Capricciosa pizza and glass of red wine. The food and the service were both excellent. Although the dining room was closed, the bar side (Joe's) still felt like home and I enjoyed reminiscing while dining. It was a much different experience than before. Perhaps because of COVID and inflation, it didn't make business sense to carry on the "way more than you can eat" dining experience, hence the drop-off in business. Nevertheless, it was great to see Negri's still open and I'm glad I was able to enjoy dining there once again. I hope to go back again someday.

Erik Bally

Very good food and very friendly service. Inside is a very nice atmosphere!

Susie Betts

Many tempting classic Italian entrees to choose from. We each had a different one. I tried the carbonara for the first time. Absolutely delicious and enough for three lovely meals!

Josef Aukee

Impressive solid Italian classics. Casual lively atmosphere. Good wine list. Great value. Calamari and pasta dishes are highlights.

Britnee Dunn

This place is a slice of heaven on earth. From the location within the beautiful town of Occidental to the actual family line still operating the bar and restaurant, this is an American gem thru and thru. The raviolis are UNBEATABLE; like the kind you’ll literally never have again if for whatever reason the Negri family stopped making them. Every single menu item is of this caliber, NOTHING is done halfway. The front of house family clan consists of Sandy, Amanda, Tori, baby Blake and Alandrea (with several other incredibly talented back of house staff), and these amazing women NEVER stop running their butts off to give us all a great meal, delicious drinks and an extension to their family as we all dine under their roof. In the 4 months I’ve been in this speck-on-the-map of a town, these people have straight up become like family to me, as well as the regular patrons I’ve met while sitting at the bar. If you’re wondering if you should make the trip, the answer is not only A hard yes, but be ready to make the trip regularly as you will never forget the food and the feeling of Negri’s Italian/Joe’s bar. Love you guys so much, thank you for the care you show all of us!!!! ♥️♥️♥️

Jeffrey Kingston

Great selection of Italian classics. Be sure to try the apple fritters if they have them!

kacman88

I recently visited Negri's while on a solo road trip. Haven't been there in over 10 years but experienced it regularly with my family starting in the mid sixties. Being alone, I didn't do the full family style dinner. Just the minestrone soup, a Capricciosa pizza and glass of red wine. The food and the service were both excellent. Although the dining room was closed, the bar side (Joe's) still felt like home and I enjoyed reminiscing while dining. It was a much different experience than before. Perhaps because of COVID and inflation, it didn't make business sense to carry on the "way more than you can eat" dining experience, hence the drop-off in business. Nevertheless, it was great to see Negri's still open and I'm glad I was able to enjoy dining there once again. I hope to go back again someday.

The atmosphere is cozy. It's very homey and the staff is friendly. The raviolis are amazing. I had the lasagna last time I was here though and was very disappointed. Part of it was burnt and crispy while the rest was lacking in flavor. It tasted watery. I wouldn't order that again.

The food was excellent! Service seemed slower than normal and I wish they would have opened the other side of the restaurant because the small area that is opened got so busy quickly and then it got super loud, you really couldn’t hear the person sitting next to you. But if you’re looking for great pizza and pasta this is a great place to go!!

Reasonably sized menu, good-sized and flavorful portions for the price. The staff interacted with were welcoming and friendly. Diner tip: if you're going for dinner on Mother's Day, maybe go a little earlier. A number of items (both food and beverage)were not available when my party ordered.

I lived in sonoma county for 30+ years and dispite all of my parents stories about this place I had never been. The food is old school down to earth hearty Italian. The sauces are rich and its hard to finish but we left very satisfied. Staff was so so but it's one of those places, where you can see from the other patrons, that evoke trips down memory lane. Went with my dad (who used to play music there) and my wife (who's parents met and had their first date there) it was nice to create memories of my own

I have eaten here over the years, never had that great experience, but last weekend when my son and I ate there, was the best experience. The food was wonderful. (I will move the star rating to 5 star, if the food is still amazing on my return).

In the Joes Bar part there is good beer, nice staff, good atmosphere and plenty of seating. The tacos were ok and decently priced.

Pretty good place we had the calamari, pasta with prawns and the pepperoni pizza. Calamari I wouldn’t recommend. Tasted as if they bought frozen pre-breaded calimari and fried it. Was rubbery and not fresh. The pasta was great! Subtle garlic flavor, perfectly cooked and saucy. The pizza in my opinion was 4 stars. Pretty good. But not excellent. I actually preferred the crust vs the part with the sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Other than that service was great!

Yekaterina Vronskiy

Pretty good place we had the calamari, pasta with prawns and the pepperoni pizza. Calamari I wouldn’t recommend. Tasted as if they bought frozen pre-breaded calimari and fried it. Was rubbery and not fresh. The pasta was great! Subtle garlic flavor, perfectly cooked and saucy. The pizza in my opinion was 4 stars. Pretty good. But not excellent. I actually preferred the crust vs the part with the sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Other than that service was great!

This was our favorite family restaurant for decades. Covid hit hard so they had to close the restaurant side. The bar is still open with a striped down menu. All of our favorite dishes were gone but the food was good. No more "family style" service. It broke our hearts after a 300 mile drive, but again, what they do have left isn't bad.

We were celebrating the birthdays of several members of our family and it was Mother's Day it was a little busy when we first got there but it cleared out pretty quickly. We had to request new place settings since most of the dishes had food on them or the glasses had lipstick on them. They brought a plate of bread to the table with about 5 pieces on it and we had 9 people at our table everything that they brought they brought enough for for people even though we had all ordered family style dinners. We ordered two orders of Brussel sprouts one order came with a nice serving the other dish had so few that you could see the bottom of the dish. We ordered 3 lasagnas the one lasagna look like it had been dropped it was a mess and just had sauce all over the top of it. The service was not very good and for the price that we paid for this dinner I expected much better service and consistency in their food.

This is my 2nd time eating here and the 1st time was before covid. It was pretty good before covid with a variety of dishes but now there is a limited menu (pasta, pizza). They also closed the main dining room and now you have to eat in the bar area. It was loud and noisy. Tables were spaced out which is good. The food came out slowly. We ordered garlic bread and lasagna and chicken picatta. I thought we would get our garlic bread first but no. It came out with the meal. I also noticed we ordered before one table and they got their food before us. I thought it maybe because they got pasta which is faster to make. The lasagna was a little too meaty, the chicken picatta was ok. The garlic bread was good though. I do not think we will be returning. We were a disappointed in the meal.

I am clearly in the minority here. I went recently after not having been there in easily 5 years. 5 years ago this was a place that did the classic Italian type dinner. Soup and salad was included with the meal. No longer. The new place is more a traditional restaurant. And not very good. The cocktail I ordered was not good. I had the pasta and shrimp and the shrimp was good, but it was like a mass or clump of angel hair pasta. My date has a chicken with lemon sauce she said was not good either. I doubt I will be returning

The meal was basic comfort food. Thats ok. But the bread was reheated texas toast from safeway and the water was served room temperature. Weird. Not family style when we went at 4 pm

Steven P

The meal was basic comfort food. Thats ok. But the bread was reheated texas toast from safeway and the water was served room temperature. Weird. Not family style when we went at 4 pm

This was a pretty big disappointment after hearing about the great Italian family style dinners of Occidental. We are new residents of Forestville and have been continually impressed with pretty much every meal we've had out here until this one, which absolutely does not live up to the hype. First off, it isn't family style and although this page said Negris was opened, that whole side of the building was closed and the only service was in Joe's bar, which is just a sterile concrete floored room with a couple TVs on the wall. Super loud and not particularly inviting. It's just super greasy bar food with some Italian themed items. The food, service and staff all totally lacked any real quality or complexity. Putting a stick of butter into a bunch of frozen ingredients does not make it good or Italian. Pizza, shrimp and polenta app, prawn pasta, salads, were all super plain yet insanely greasy. Nothing to write home about. There is significantly better eating to be done in just about every town in Sonoma co. Seems like we missed the glory days here based on our experience and the other recent reviews.

I don't like eating in the bar. It's so loud you can't have a conversation without shouting. It's not charming like the restaurant was. Also, without the family style dining, there really isn't anything special about this place now.

Server was great and on top of it but charging full price on refills is highway robbery. Best part of the food was garlic bread the aïoli for the fries was warm water was warm place feels dated and over priced. Maybe it’s a occidental thing but so many better places to eat in 2025 if your visiting the area

Th33obnovious1

Server was great and on top of it but charging full price on refills is highway robbery. Best part of the food was garlic bread the aïoli for the fries was warm water was warm place feels dated and over priced. Maybe it’s a occidental thing but so many better places to eat in 2025 if your visiting the area

Poor customer service. They won’t allow reservation unless it’s a very large group (15 or so) but when we went with a large group of 8 they said the group was too big so it would be a 45min -1 hr wait even though the restaurant was quite empty. When one of our party members went to check another restaurant, they asked if we wanted to put a name down still. We said yes as we were unsure about finding another place to eat. The response was they would not put our name down since they have space at the other location to eat instead. They did not seem to want us to stay at all. Very disappointing.

If I had only gone here once I would have given it a better review. The first time I think two members of the Negri Family waited on us and they were adorable to my grandson, giving him a special kid’s meal of pasta and parmigiana and everything I had was good. But then I came in masked, because my daughter was ill, and out of respect to pick up take out. The bartender delivered my meals to me, hissed at me when I asked for Parmesan for the noodles. “I KNOW YOU ARE SICK!” And reluctantly threw some in. They she venomously said a few more bad things. I got charged $20 for his buttered spaghetti. The rest of the food was rather under the standard of before. Take out is sometimes like that— but the hatefulness of the bartender left a very bad taste. I hope they turn it back around and hire some better people.

Well I wish I could give less than one star because this was the biggest disappointment at least the last 10 years of my life. OK, as other people have said in the reviews, I have been going to Negri's since I was at least three or four years old and it was the best place around. Like around anywhere. So 50 years later, we decided oh we should go to Negris. So we went there and like I said this biggest Disappointment ever! First of all yeah, just sit in the bar, which was no problem, but I thought it was going to still be family style, which I cannot blame them for due to Covid. But the menu was very expensive, which would have been fine with me if the food was quality I even asked the waitress if it was still the Same recipes, etc., and she assured me that it was the same cooks that had been there forever. Well she lied. Specifically about the minestrone soup Which is probably the best that I have ever had anywhere in my life. Well, it was horrid. I can't quite put my finger on the taste, but I believe it is rancid. I let her know this and let her take it back. She assured me that it was cooked fresh every day. I don't believe that either because it tasted very sour. Only compliment I can give them is they have the class not to charge for that Soup since I didn't eat it. Anyways, continuing on we ordered the meatball polenta appetizer, It was OK not as bad as the soup but they were very tiny meatballs 2 Of them and a little chunk of Polenta for like $18 I believe. So I thought that was kind of overpriced, but like I said if it was good food like it used to be, there would be no concern about the cost. We also ordered a small margarita pizza and I really was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. Seeing that it looks like it was hand tossed. I figured the pizza is gotta be good. Well wrong again. It was barely cooked like the bottom of the pizza was not brown at all. It was practically raw. Hardly any cheese and what else can I say it sucked. Please forgive me for going on and on, but I just wanted to get all this down to hopefully prevent anybody else that knew the old Negri's From making the mistake of dining There. Please do not waste your time or money. I have completely forgot about Google reviews. I wish I would have Looked at this before I went out there. It seems like everybody feels the same way about this place, but it's kind of funny reading the response to these review From the owner. And it's probably not even on a responding. They probably have a social media representative. So right on tell the actual owner that This restaurant used to be the best now it is lower than the worst. I get it you're just doing your job but maybe try to invite those people back at a discount or something I don't know Because everybody has a bad day, but almost every single review says you guys suck. The ones that don't we're probably written by somebody Who you paid to get a good review or has some kind of interest besides an actual honest . Sorry about being so brutal , but Trying to keep it real! Anybody thinking about going to Negris, Don't waste your time go to Mary's pizza several locations and Sonoma County. There are about 1 million times better plus Monday through Friday. They have an Appetizer happy hour Where are all the appetizers are half price from 3 to 6 PM. I believe........ Just saying😜🤮🤮🤮🤮

Please pay attention to the reviews. All explaining how wonderful the new atmosphere is. This is not the same restraunt as 10 years ago. It should probably be called Joe's bar as you can no longer sit on the restraunt side. As far as food.. The gnocchi, a long time favorite... was just ok. Didn't taste homemade anymore. The servers are obviously tired of being asked about family style no longer being served... and hearing stories of customers memories from long ago. I guess they make enough money off of drinks now to not care about tradition. If you came here as a kid and you are looking for that old timey Italian atmosphere you enjoyed, this is not the same restraunt. Save that memory and find a new fav.

Walked in, looked classy. First impression was the warm water already sitting on the tables and no offer of ice was odd but whatever. The drinks arrived, happy. Charging for a Diet Coke refill at $4.50 each without verbal warning was offensive. I don’t look at the menu to order a soda, if it was on there then maybe it should not be. Rethink your stingy business decision. This alone would make me never come back. $18 for four sodas is insane. We each had 1 refill. Nothing nuts. The truffle fries arrived nearly flavorless. Nothing special compared to all other places with truffle fries. The garlic bread was tasty! The ranch in small glass jar was cool and waste free. Love it. The ricotta gnocchi was very dense compared to “regular” style gnocchi, and the creamy pesto sauce was the worst I’ve ever had. Very disappointing lack of flavor. The owner has a horrible attitude, which was shown multiple times to others.

I really wished this was old school Italian.. sadly not .. worst customer service , restaurant is industrial no warmth ! If your not a local , your ignored .. Food was ok . Over priced for sure ..

I started eating there from when I was 4 years old in 1964 to present! It sucks now! No family style is offered! That is what the restaurant was famous for! The pasta is horrible, the salad with appetizers are horrible! Study the history of the restaurant. Never returning

bridget yamat

I really wished this was old school Italian.. sadly not .. worst customer service , restaurant is industrial no warmth ! If your not a local , your ignored .. Food was ok . Over priced for sure ..

Nan Elizabeth Jorgensen

If I had only gone here once I would have given it a better review. The first time I think two members of the Negri Family waited on us and they were adorable to my grandson, giving him a special kid’s meal of pasta and parmigiana and everything I had was good. But then I came in masked, because my daughter was ill, and out of respect to pick up take out. The bartender delivered my meals to me, hissed at me when I asked for Parmesan for the noodles. “I KNOW YOU ARE SICK!” And reluctantly threw some in. They she venomously said a few more bad things. I got charged $20 for his buttered spaghetti. The rest of the food was rather under the standard of before. Take out is sometimes like that— but the hatefulness of the bartender left a very bad taste. I hope they turn it back around and hire some better people.

Michelle Erick

Well I wish I could give less than one star because this was the biggest disappointment at least the last 10 years of my life. OK, as other people have said in the reviews, I have been going to Negri's since I was at least three or four years old and it was the best place around. Like around anywhere. So 50 years later, we decided oh we should go to Negris. So we went there and like I said this biggest Disappointment ever! First of all yeah, just sit in the bar, which was no problem, but I thought it was going to still be family style, which I cannot blame them for due to Covid. But the menu was very expensive, which would have been fine with me if the food was quality I even asked the waitress if it was still the Same recipes, etc., and she assured me that it was the same cooks that had been there forever. Well she lied. Specifically about the minestrone soup Which is probably the best that I have ever had anywhere in my life. Well, it was horrid. I can't quite put my finger on the taste, but I believe it is rancid. I let her know this and let her take it back. She assured me that it was cooked fresh every day. I don't believe that either because it tasted very sour. Only compliment I can give them is they have the class not to charge for that Soup since I didn't eat it. Anyways, continuing on we ordered the meatball polenta appetizer, It was OK not as bad as the soup but they were very tiny meatballs 2 Of them and a little chunk of Polenta for like $18 I believe. So I thought that was kind of overpriced, but like I said if it was good food like it used to be, there would be no concern about the cost. We also ordered a small margarita pizza and I really was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. Seeing that it looks like it was hand tossed. I figured the pizza is gotta be good. Well wrong again. It was barely cooked like the bottom of the pizza was not brown at all. It was practically raw. Hardly any cheese and what else can I say it sucked. Please forgive me for going on and on, but I just wanted to get all this down to hopefully prevent anybody else that knew the old Negri's From making the mistake of dining There. Please do not waste your time or money. I have completely forgot about Google reviews. I wish I would have Looked at this before I went out there. It seems like everybody feels the same way about this place, but it's kind of funny reading the response to these review From the owner. And it's probably not even on a responding. They probably have a social media representative. So right on tell the actual owner that This restaurant used to be the best now it is lower than the worst. I get it you're just doing your job but maybe try to invite those people back at a discount or something I don't know Because everybody has a bad day, but almost every single review says you guys suck. The ones that don't we're probably written by somebody Who you paid to get a good review or has some kind of interest besides an actual honest . Sorry about being so brutal , but Trying to keep it real! Anybody thinking about going to Negris, Don't waste your time go to Mary's pizza several locations and Sonoma County. There are about 1 million times better plus Monday through Friday. They have an Appetizer happy hour Where are all the appetizers are half price from 3 to 6 PM. I believe........ Just saying😜🤮🤮🤮🤮

My Email

Walked in, looked classy. First impression was the warm water already sitting on the tables and no offer of ice was odd but whatever. The drinks arrived, happy. Charging for a Diet Coke refill at $4.50 each without verbal warning was offensive. I don’t look at the menu to order a soda, if it was on there then maybe it should not be. Rethink your stingy business decision. This alone would make me never come back. $18 for four sodas is insane. We each had 1 refill. Nothing nuts. The truffle fries arrived nearly flavorless. Nothing special compared to all other places with truffle fries. The garlic bread was tasty! The ranch in small glass jar was cool and waste free. Love it. The ricotta gnocchi was very dense compared to “regular” style gnocchi, and the creamy pesto sauce was the worst I’ve ever had. Very disappointing lack of flavor. The owner has a horrible attitude, which was shown multiple times to others.

Barbara Loughrey

I started eating there from when I was 4 years old in 1964 to present! It sucks now! No family style is offered! That is what the restaurant was famous for! The pasta is horrible, the salad with appetizers are horrible! Study the history of the restaurant. Never returning

nichole

Please pay attention to the reviews. All explaining how wonderful the new atmosphere is. This is not the same restraunt as 10 years ago. It should probably be called Joe's bar as you can no longer sit on the restraunt side. As far as food.. The gnocchi, a long time favorite... was just ok. Didn't taste homemade anymore. The servers are obviously tired of being asked about family style no longer being served... and hearing stories of customers memories from long ago. I guess they make enough money off of drinks now to not care about tradition. If you came here as a kid and you are looking for that old timey Italian atmosphere you enjoyed, this is not the same restraunt. Save that memory and find a new fav.