Spasso

I came on a Tuesday night and this place was empty surprisingly. The food here was absolutely delicious. I just couldn’t stop eating it.

Nikita

Went to Spasso for team lunch and it didn’t disappoint! Everything from appetisers to desserts and their service was excellent. Wasn’t busy on a weekday afternoon. Tomato bruschetta was loved by everyone. They have a large variety of pastas. I enjoyed pasta gnocchi and now it is my fav comfort food. Quantity and taste was just perfect. So creamy, warm and delicious! Highly recommended!

Lindsey G

Spasso Ristorante is such a charming spot with authentic vibes and pasta dishes that are beautifully portioned—dainty yet flavorful and satisfying. We started with the prime rib spring rolls, which were spot-on in texture and flavor—light enough to still enjoy the rest of the meal. For mains, I had the veal cannelloni, which was tender and superb, while the penne with chicken came highly recommended and did not disappoint—rich, balanced, and absolutely delicious. We finished with the bread pudding and chocolate lava cake. Both were good but didn’t quite hit the same elevated level as the mains. My Spasso espresso martini was a bit too sweet for my taste, but the staff graciously swapped it for a glass of Justin wine, which was perfect. We left with happy bellies and leftovers to enjoy later. Spasso is definitely a must-visit for authentic Italian and warm, welcoming service.

Miley Hong

It’s the best Spaghetti Beef Bolognese I have ever had!!!

Rashmi Jadhav

Spasso offers a pleasant ambiance in the heart of San Carlos Downtown. The olive oil dip accompanying the complimentary bread was delightfully flavorful. Our meal comprised of the burrata, pesto gnocchi pasta, penne with chicken pasta, and the chicken breast with pancetta entrée, all of which were enjoyable. To conclude the dining experience, we savored a decadent chocolate lava cake. I would love to visit again :)

Cisco L

We met family at Spasso's for lunch and we had a wonderful experience! They have indoor and outdoor dining available. Laurel St is closed for alfresco dining but there's parking across the street. We ordered the seafood linguini w/ prawns, scallops, mussels, rock shrimp, manila clams, fish in a SPICY marinara sauce. My wife enjoys spicy foods but it was too spicy for her. I ordered the walnut crusted pork chop with sweet potatoes, and spinach. It was juicy and full of flavor. The rest of the family had the salmon and the teriyaki skirt steak. They said the steak very tender and the salmon was grilled perfectlit The table service was awesome. The staff were friendly. Thank you Spasso's for a great dining experience!

Merve Beyazıt Taner

Spasso in San Carlos is a true gem! Every item we tried on the menu was so delicious! The fresh pasta was perfectly cooked, the sauces rich and flavorful, and the wine list was excellent. The staff was warm, attentive, and knowledgeable, making the experience even better. Highly recommend this spot whether you're celebrating a special occasion or just want an excellent meal!

Angelica Quach

Made reservations and seated immediately; they have outdoor, indoor, and bar seating. They gave us iced water and a basket of bread with some sort of olive oil spread (delicious!! I probably ate 4 pieces, and they refill the basket for free too). I ordered the Black Pepper Fettuccini while my friend got the Pesto Gnocchi. It didn’t take long at all for the food to come out, and they offered to sprinkle grated parmesan on our dishes! Our meals were PIPING HOT, even though it was a breezy day on their patio. I really enjoyed my fettuccini but the portion was so large, I couldn’t finish it and had to take it home. For the price, I believe the amount of seafood is totally worth it! Would recommend for a date night, work dinner, dinner with your parents — anything and everything! The location is right next to a bunch of dessert places too, if you have a second stomach :) (Cross posted from Yelp)

Fraser Street

Oct-2022: Salmon, salad, bread and bread pudding desert as good as ever. Still a 5!Update: Promoting from 4 to 5. Very good Salmon, bread and kids pasta. Good sidewalk service. Old review: FAIRLY GOOD - salad was very good, pasta was average.

Kenneth Cheng

The food was excellent. The portion is generous. Definitely I will recommend the calamari with artichoke, clams and mussels. We ordered the seafood linguini. They were tasty. I will definitely come again.

C Lee

Support local businesses, super delicious! I ordered Saffron Pappardelle Dinner, Grilled Salmon Dinner and Mushroom Truffle Bruschetta Dinner takeout with Uber Eats and it was fast and the food was still hot and delicious. We can't wait to try it in person once we are able to...

Tinea A

I came on a Tuesday night and this place was empty surprisingly. The food here was absolutely delicious. I just couldn’t stop eating it.

This place is wonderful! Authentic Northern Italian in a beautiful old world setting! The wait staff is excellent and the food is superb. It is, however, very lively and a bit noisy when it is busy, but there is outdoor seating that’s much quieter🤩 reservations are a must on weekends!

Lobster ravioli is delicate yet rich. Service is excellent. Bread pudding is decadent + a bit heavy for me. Perfect for sharing. Want to taste the bolognese + other offerings.

Ate outdoor area. Calamari veggie combo was a different type of appetizer. Ordered the seafood linguine, very impressed with the amount of seafood they put in. Scallops, salmon,shrimp/prawns, clams and mussels. Service was very good and the atmosphere was pleasant. I would eat here again. All the other dishes were good according to the guests.

We came here with reservations for my boyfriend’s mom’s birthday. We were seated inside the restaurants with tables decently spaced away from other tables. The place kept their doors opened which I appreciated since we were eating inside with others during COVID19. The menu is a long one and the drinks are very strong (good for those that drink). I got the spasso sampler appetizer, arugula pear salad, and saffron paperdelle. All dishes were great and my paperdelle came with shrimp, yum! The sampler is a great way to try some of their items on their menu in small bites before the entree too. Pasta dishes are solid; would recommend.

Ate here for father's day today. It was very crowded with people waiting for a seat outside. Food was generally pretty good with pretty freshly tasting pasta. They really need to improve on their kids menu as they all are not freshly prepared. My son had the chicken skewers which were dry and definitely precooked. My daughter order the Mac and cheese and this is probably the only Italian restaurant that doesn't make their own. It was definitely boxed KRaft Mac and cheese since we eat it often at home. 13 dollars for that is outrageous and should have included some sort of drink or protein.

Erika

Lobster ravioli is delicate yet rich. Service is excellent. Bread pudding is decadent + a bit heavy for me. Perfect for sharing. Want to taste the bolognese + other offerings.

Carey Yip

Ate outdoor area. Calamari veggie combo was a different type of appetizer. Ordered the seafood linguine, very impressed with the amount of seafood they put in. Scallops, salmon,shrimp/prawns, clams and mussels. Service was very good and the atmosphere was pleasant. I would eat here again. All the other dishes were good according to the guests.

Amanda C. Sun

We came here with reservations for my boyfriend’s mom’s birthday. We were seated inside the restaurants with tables decently spaced away from other tables. The place kept their doors opened which I appreciated since we were eating inside with others during COVID19. The menu is a long one and the drinks are very strong (good for those that drink). I got the spasso sampler appetizer, arugula pear salad, and saffron paperdelle. All dishes were great and my paperdelle came with shrimp, yum! The sampler is a great way to try some of their items on their menu in small bites before the entree too. Pasta dishes are solid; would recommend.

Brian Au

Ate here for father's day today. It was very crowded with people waiting for a seat outside. Food was generally pretty good with pretty freshly tasting pasta. They really need to improve on their kids menu as they all are not freshly prepared. My son had the chicken skewers which were dry and definitely precooked. My daughter order the Mac and cheese and this is probably the only Italian restaurant that doesn't make their own. It was definitely boxed KRaft Mac and cheese since we eat it often at home. 13 dollars for that is outrageous and should have included some sort of drink or protein.

Last year we had our Christmas Eve dinner and Spasso and had an excellent experience. The food and service was exceptional and memorable so we decided to return this year as part of a new family reunion. Well, it was an entirely different experience this time around. The quality of the food was fine but they seemed to have overbooked and were in a rush to get the patrons out as quickly as possible. If this were an inexpensive restaurant where that was part of their bottom line, that would be understandable but at about $40 per entree for the special Christmas menu that was totally unacceptable. The waitress was very polite but came by our table repeatedly for what seemed like her attempts to get us out as quickly as possible. The other wait staff seemed to be doing the same and the patrons next to us seemed bothered by this as well. We were offered to see the dessert menu and soon afterwards the waitress returned saying they were out of dessert at 7:00pm. Needless to say, we won't be returning to Spasso, considering all the other exceptional restaurants on the peninsula. Next year we'll be dining elsewhere.

Annelys Guisasola

Last year we had our Christmas Eve dinner and Spasso and had an excellent experience. The food and service was exceptional and memorable so we decided to return this year as part of a new family reunion. Well, it was an entirely different experience this time around. The quality of the food was fine but they seemed to have overbooked and were in a rush to get the patrons out as quickly as possible. If this were an inexpensive restaurant where that was part of their bottom line, that would be understandable but at about $40 per entree for the special Christmas menu that was totally unacceptable. The waitress was very polite but came by our table repeatedly for what seemed like her attempts to get us out as quickly as possible. The other wait staff seemed to be doing the same and the patrons next to us seemed bothered by this as well. We were offered to see the dessert menu and soon afterwards the waitress returned saying they were out of dessert at 7:00pm. Needless to say, we won't be returning to Spasso, considering all the other exceptional restaurants on the peninsula. Next year we'll be dining elsewhere.

I'm disappointed to say the food quality was below average. The dishes were oversauced, and the seafood wasn't cleaned properly. The service was great, but we come for the food. Unfortunately, we won't be returning. (On a positive note, the complementary bread was excellent!)

Balabala W

I'm disappointed to say the food quality was below average. The dishes were oversauced, and the seafood wasn't cleaned properly. The service was great, but we come for the food. Unfortunately, we won't be returning. (On a positive note, the complementary bread was excellent!)

Extremely disappointing experience I had a confirmed reservation at this restaurant on December 25th (Christmas Day). Originally, my reservation was for 7:45 PM, and when I realized I would be slightly late, I updated it through the app to 8:00 PM, which was clearly available, the system was allowing reservations even later that evening. Upon arrival, the hostess informed us that the restaurant closes at 8:00 PM and that we would not be seated, despite having a valid and confirmed reservation. When I politely asked why reservations were still available at that time in the app, the response was dismissive and unhelpful, simply stating that it “must have been a system error” and that nothing could be done. This was meant to be our Christmas dinner, a special evening planned in advance. By the time we arrived and were turned away, there was no time left to find another restaurant, and our night was completely ruined due to poor management and lack of accountability. If the restaurant does not serve guests after a certain time, this should be accurately reflected in the reservation system. This was not a customer error, it was clearly an operational failure. I left feeling extremely frustrated, disappointed, and disrespected. I expected far more professionalism

Bianca miranda abila

Extremely disappointing experience I had a confirmed reservation at this restaurant on December 25th (Christmas Day). Originally, my reservation was for 7:45 PM, and when I realized I would be slightly late, I updated it through the app to 8:00 PM, which was clearly available, the system was allowing reservations even later that evening. Upon arrival, the hostess informed us that the restaurant closes at 8:00 PM and that we would not be seated, despite having a valid and confirmed reservation. When I politely asked why reservations were still available at that time in the app, the response was dismissive and unhelpful, simply stating that it “must have been a system error” and that nothing could be done. This was meant to be our Christmas dinner, a special evening planned in advance. By the time we arrived and were turned away, there was no time left to find another restaurant, and our night was completely ruined due to poor management and lack of accountability. If the restaurant does not serve guests after a certain time, this should be accurately reflected in the reservation system. This was not a customer error, it was clearly an operational failure. I left feeling extremely frustrated, disappointed, and disrespected. I expected far more professionalism

Extremely disappointing I will never eat there again The atmosphere because I got takeout and perhaps it was because it was New Year’s Eve and they were getting ready to close early. My food was not ready when I got there They told me they wanted it to be fresh and warm It was not warm when I got home less than 10 minutes later And I keep a thermal bag in my car when I get takeout The most disappointing was the crabcakes They were buried under oily greens, and there was no reason for Aïoli The crab cakes were drenched in oil The salad wasn’t as fresh as I would’ve liked And the main dish the chicken Parmesan was not good and the chicken was hard To chew I get takeout on the Peninsula two or three times a month and this is my worst experience at any restaurant. If they had been open by the time I got home, I would’ve asked for my money back and gladly returned the food It cost me almost $100 and that’s a shame Shame on them Carol Ormandy

Carol Ann Ormandy

Extremely disappointing I will never eat there again The atmosphere because I got takeout and perhaps it was because it was New Year’s Eve and they were getting ready to close early. My food was not ready when I got there They told me they wanted it to be fresh and warm It was not warm when I got home less than 10 minutes later And I keep a thermal bag in my car when I get takeout The most disappointing was the crabcakes They were buried under oily greens, and there was no reason for Aïoli The crab cakes were drenched in oil The salad wasn’t as fresh as I would’ve liked And the main dish the chicken Parmesan was not good and the chicken was hard To chew I get takeout on the Peninsula two or three times a month and this is my worst experience at any restaurant. If they had been open by the time I got home, I would’ve asked for my money back and gladly returned the food It cost me almost $100 and that’s a shame Shame on them Carol Ormandy

Dustin Atwood

Person diving a small Spasso van ran a red light turning on el camino and could have t-boned me if I didn't hit my brakes. Spasso driver, please slow down and drive safer around San Carlos.