Neighborhood: Point Loma

Price: $$

Vibe: Charming and cozy, this adorable little location is tucked away off Voltaire Street, with seating both inside and out on the patio (p.s. if it’s cold, they have blankets and hot water bottles that make the colder temps a non-issue). The romantic lighting and ambience are perfect for a date night or an intimate dinner with friends.

I’m amazed by any restaurant that can obtain and hold a 5-star rating on Yelp. Even some of my favorite restaurants sit at 4 stars (usually because someone didn’t like their serving staff or the reservation wasn’t timely, anyway, I digress!), so Cesarina has been on my radar for some time. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know anything other than that regarding this little hidden gem, snuggled away off Voltaire Street in Point Loma, but I am so happy to finally dine here. I have been missing out — and you have too is you haven’t been here yet!

Cesarina opened in 2019, by three Italy natives (Niccolò Angius, Cesarina Mezzoni and Giuseppe Capasso). The muse and chef is Cesarina (obvi), and the love and care she puts into these homemade dishes is unbeatable. Just try the pasta!

We were celebrating our anniversary, and immediately upon sitting down, the waiter brought us each a glass of prosecco and wished us Happy Anniversary. It was a great start to our celebration. The server also brought us a variety of homemade breads and crackers and the most delicious marinara sauce to dip it in. Yum!

The pasta options are plentiful, with a number of “choose your own” options and some rotating baked pasta specials that also looked divine. We perused that menu for some time as it was not easy to choose, but I don’t think there is a wrong answer here. If our sampling was any indication, everything on this menu is fabulous.

We started with the Caprese Invernale and added Proscuitto de Parma, (which they did not skimp on by the way) beware if sharing this you will fight over the last bite!

For our main courses, we chose two very different pasta dishes, which was fun to have a little variety, except we really only shared one bite with each other, we were each so enamored with our dishes! The portions were perfect - very Italian-style - where instead of getting a plate heaped with pasta for 2-3 people, it was the perfect amount of noodles for one. And yes, we both finished every last bite!

This is where Cesarina truly sets itself apart. We have a whole district of San Diego dedicated to Italian food (Little Italy, for those not familiar with the area) and it’s hard to find a restaurant there that compares to the authenticity of Cesarina. I am mentioning this again for anyone not paying attention to my earlier comment - you must get the pasta! They have their own open-air Pastificio (pasta factory) at the back of the restaurant where you can watch the creation of these gorgeous pastas being made with the utmost care.

We got the Cacio e Pepe, which is a simple and beautiful pasta - the sauce basically consists of fresh ground pepper, parmesan cheese, butter and pasta water. When done right, this dish really highlights the homemade pasta. Simple and just delicious.

My love is a spice-fanatic and as soon as the waiter mentioned this spicy sauce, he was all in. He created his “own” pasta dish with Tonnarelli noodles in the Arrabbiatissima sauce, and it was spicy! He added the meatballs, which as you can imagine from everything else I’ve talked about, were wonderful bites of deliciousness.

We finished our meal with a beautiful scoop of chocolate gelato. The other desserts looked wonderful, but we at every little bite of our appetizer and pastas so there was not room to try to Tiramisu on this visit.

Cesarina also offers brunch, which I am really excited to come back and try — though I can’t really imagine coming here and not having pasta again! Good thing pasta is really intended for every meal. :)

Cesarina

4161 Voltaire St, San Diego, CA 92107