50 Best Italian Restaurants near Lake Forest

“A real family owned and operated gem. Vinny and his dad (the chef) are great. His side pasta w garlic and olive oil is amazing. I usually get the veal piccata and my wife the chicken marsala. Both are great. In general he makes the best sauces. The deserts are yummy too. Give them a try. You will be delighted.“

“My wife & I had dinner here. I had the small pizza & she had the eggplant parmesan. Both was very good. The bread was amazing. I love the decor & atmosphere...Italian vibe. Great customer service and the prices were very reasonable. I would definitely recommend this family owned place since 1976. ??“

“tienen buena comidas un ambiente limpio y agradable se los recomiendo“

“We were visiting from Scotland, having previously lived in NYC for many years, and were desperate for a nice Italian meal like we used to get when we lived in the States. We could not have been more impressed with the food and the service, and made sure we got a second visit in before we returned to Scotland - I just wish we could have gone back a third time… and fourth !!!! Highly recommend !!!“

“The pizza and spaghetti and meatballs was AMAZING! So delicious! 😊😋🥰🍕🇮🇹“

“Sal’s is a class A establishment. I messed up my order (grandma pie with breadcrumb and onion + sausage pinwheel and cannoli + black and white cookies) I ordered for pick up when it should have been delivery. The owner delivered the order himself. The grandma pie was on point and the sausage pinwheel was right! Waiting to taste the desert but im sure it will be great. Thank you Sal’s“

“I've eaten at a few Amecis over the decades, but the pizza I picked up from this location, was far and away the best one I've ever had from them. As a matter of fact, we were looking for a new pizza place and the family all loved the pizzas I picked up, so I think we've found our new pizza place!“

“Second visit to Limoncello and want to say the food is excellent in every way. Last night I had Arugula salad (very lemony dressing), the Risotto (outstanding) and chocolate gelato which was VERY chocolate. Topped with a nice wine. All Excellent. As for atmosphere, lots of large parties there last night celebrating Christmas and birthdays so was quite noisy, but 'tis the season. Highly recommend Limoncello. Food and service are excellent and above average. Menu is extensive with very different and interesting options. If they would have served a shot of Limoncello after dinner I would have thought I was dining in Italy.“

“So bummed we only now discovered this gem. Service was top shelf…….seriously outstanding. Food was really solid, the lasagna is the best around according to my wife. They also do the IG worthy pasta in the block of cheese. Not my best pics, but check them out.“

“What a great place to eat, talk, and enjoy, food made fresh when ordered, the atmosphere reminded me of Sunday dinner, with family and friends. I would highly recommend this gem.“

“Great food! Great service! Never disappoints!“

“The food was so great! The waiter was so attentive. We had lots left over. And desert to go.“

“My family and I went to Bricco on Valentine's day and had the best experience. We did not make reservations because we are having construction done at our home and we did not know if the workers were going to leave in time for us to go out to dinner. When we arrived at Bricco they were booked with reservations (as expected on Vday), but they were so kind and brought out a beautiful folding table and chairs on the side and made us feel so welcome. I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and hospitality that day. The entire staff was amazing and the food was absolutely delicious. Bricco is our favorite Italian restaurant in Orange County! The homemade dessert was also delicious and the portions are generous. Great food and great people!“

“I stumbled upon this delightful Italian restaurant while visiting the area, and I’m so glad I did! It can be a challenge to find a truly great Italian spot in the Valley or I.E., but this place exceeded my expectations. From the moment I walked in, the service was outstanding. The maître d, manager, head waiter (all in one)—was attentive and engaging, checking in on us throughout our meal. It felt more like a warm, family-run establishment than a typical restaurant, with staff and regular patrons sharing hugs and laughter.
The complimentary salsa served with the bread was an interesting twist—I appreciated the cucumber base, but being a traditionalist, I usually prefer simply good olive oil and balsamic vinegar. At first, I thought it was pesto, but it had a unique flavor that prompted us to inquire about its ingredients.
While the food was delicious, I did feel that the portions could have been a bit larger for the price, and the salsa accompaniment with the calamari didn’t quite hit the mark for me. However, the true star of the meal was the sauce—it was absolutely fantastic, with no complaints whatsoever.
Overall, I had a lovely experience with great service, a warm ambiance, and delicious food. I would definitely recommend giving this place a try if you’re in town!“

“Absolutely amazing we like the Marguerite, Cheese and the PMS pepperoni mushroom and sausage Gluten-free the fabulous antipasto salad all so worth it. Just eat my leftovers 😍“

“The restaurant also has complimentary bread 🥖 with olive oil.“

“Great vibes and crew. Food has great variety (large or small portions) and service is quick and efficient. I bring friends and family days and nights when we want frssh Italian meals away from home.“

“they always change their menu. we drive down here from irvine to find out what we like ismt on the menu today its only on the menu on certain days we asked the server when is it on the menu and he didnt know. We won't be back. how hard is it to keep the menu the same? I can see lunch and dinner menus but changin the dinner menus all the time?“

“Simply over the top! That’s a wrap“

“We tried the Chicken Marsala, Lobster Ravioli and Gnocchi in VodkaSauce along with the Piccolino dinner salad and Tiramisu. All was magnifico! 😘“

“Great food, great service, and great entertainment, especially the sax and guitar duo (Dave Rivera and Saxophone ONE)!“

“A wonderful find. My wife and I had a wonderful dining experience at Sabatinos Italian Bistro this evening. Our server Frederico was professional and quite personable. We started our dinner with two glasses of wine and the bruchetta. The Talbot Chardonnay and the Dry Creek Cabernet were both excellent choices. My wife ordered the eggplant gnocchi, which she loved, and I had the sausage and pepper rigatoni. Both dishes were excellent. The service, food, and ambiance were quite authentic and enjoyable. We spoke with Frederico, who is the ultimate professional, and decided to order a side of meatballs to go as well. This was our first time at Sabatinos, and this restaurant is definitely worth a visit. Ask for Frederico as he is the ultimate professional. Highly Recommended.“

“Tasty, delicious food every time. They are consistent. I especially like their house salad with ranch dressing, free pizza bread, garlic bread, chicken parmigiana pasta with meat sauce. These are my faves here. I love their pizza too.“

“Italian Express has great food and even better service. It's a great local family owned Italian restaurant. All of the typical foods are awesome - pizzas, pastas, etc - but also try their spicy wings and their garlic knots!!“

“Great food and prices. Especially the alcohol prices. your bill isn't half alcohol cost.“

“Had a great meal and wine with friends. We did have to ask for olive oil and vinegar after they brought us the wonderful rosemary bread, but hey, no biggie. Otherwise, service was great!!“

“Javier, the manager delivered the most amazing food last night for a thank you dinner for my Catechists. I highly recommend Alza Italian Kitchen. Every thing was superb…. Thank you!“

“Best place for local Italian! Highly recommended...“

“We had a great time celebrating my daughter's birthday! The food was great and the service was exceptional. We got our own little room (party of 8). And we only had to wait 10-15min as a walk in. The team of 2-3 people checked on our party at least 10 times and they were wonderful every time we requested something else. Keep up the good service!

Kid-friendliness: Perfect for families!“

“fromTexas the best pizza i ever had😎“

“Karaoke ? night worth Peggie Perkins was a hoot. Not only is she a fun KJ, she's one heck of a singer in her own right. Is come in just to hear her sing!

Dietary restrictions: I'm Celiac and they were knowledgeable and courteous about helping navigate the menu.

Kid-friendliness: This is definitely a family place.

Wheelchair accessibility: From what I could tell it's very WC accessible.“

“Excellent restaurant and bar, with a wine room and a good selection of various wines. They have a surf andturf special on Tuesdays consisting of steak and lobster tail that is very reasonably priced and quite tasty. The service is excellent.“

“Me gustó mucho el servicio atendieron rápido, personal amable y sirvieron muy rápido y sobre todo la comida muy rica thanks.“

“UPDATED from today's visit on 3/30/25
Exceptional service from Josh at our table. He was so friendly, efficient, and accommodating!
The GM, Milton, was a saving grace to correct my error I created during self checkout. He adjusted the entire bill to utilize my gift card and refund my credit card. Thanks for your time and concern for full resolution....Fantastico 🤗

Server was super friendly... Food was typical for olive garden“

“Amazing menu, excellent atmosphere. We truly enjoy meeting here for our lunch gatherings!“

“We have been dining at Mangia Bene for over a decade and it has been a great experience for us. Food has always been consistently good and full bar service also is one of the highlights. We are very pleased with the hospitality. I give thumbs up!“

“Came for my sister's 50 year anniversary, large party everything was great and fun for all.
They allowed her to decorate, since she's a professional designer and party planner.
If you're interested in hosting your special event I highly recommend them both !!❤❤“

“Excellent food , wine and desert and great service. Can’t wait to go back.,we are from New York and we know what good Italian food is !! 🇮🇹“

“Had a nice evening at Dominicos on the lake this evening. My wife and I had reservations and were fortunate to ask Kory for a patio table which he accommodated. Michael took us to our table and was very kind and professional. Pedro came by with our bread and water and said hello. He is one of the hardest working individuals at the restaurant. Eddie our server came by and took our orders with a bottle of Austin Hope and bread to start. My wife ordered a chicken breast salad and I had the chef's special stroganoff which was amazing. Unfortunately my wife's salad came out 30 minutes after my stroganoff which was a cardinal sin in the restaurant business and we mentioned it was not acceptable. Eddie apologized and we also had Steven, the GM, come by and also apologize and ensure the salad would be out shortly. The salad was delivered, of course after I ate my entree and Steven dropped off and apologetic gift certificate for an appetizer during our next visit. We also ordered an additional beef stroganoff plus an order of meatballs to take home for tomorrow. We undertake things happen and it's certainly nice to see the restaurants busy again but a party of two receiving their entrees 30 minutes apart is not conducive with quality service. I am guessing the chef either misplaced the order or overlooked the obvious and we hope next time we will not have such issues as the restaurant is very good and in a fantastic location. Michael also came back around and stated he was concerned about this mishap and would look into this. As a retired government administrator and former restaurant manager in my college days I expect the simple things like entrees being delivered at the same time to be in sync with quality service and dining. We will be back and see if in fact this was an isolated incident. Good food and ambiance plus. As a writer for Trip Advisor, Yelp and Google I am graceful in my comments and specific in areas needed improvement. Thanks you.“

“Came in here on a Wednesday evening, it wasn't busy. We were helped right away and the girl helpinng was friendly. Ordered a large pizza and garlic knots, was told it would take about 15 mins.Pizza was super good, reminded me of pizza shack. Garlic knots were amazing. Super garlicly and fluffy. They were a little oily but I didn't mind.“

“Their wine dinners are incredible!“

“This is the perfect neighborhood pizza place! I love that they cater to gluten-free and vegan diets with their cheeseless Vegana pizza. Although they don’t offer vegan cheese, they allow you to bring your own. The gluten-free crust is the best I've had. The owner is very accommodating, and the staff is wonderful. Highly recommend!“

“We arrived just after opening and had the place to ourselves and the noise level was good but after 2 more tables were filled it started to become quite noisy. Outside of that, the staff were attentive, the service was efficient, and the food was excellent and plentiful.“

“Where do I start. The atmosphere was great ? Very Italian and the music was Sinatra at his best! Huge basket of bread! (on the house) olive oil and balsamic for dipping! Of course, I got some garlic to put in the dip again, with no charge! BTW, the prices were very inexpensive, like the fried mozzarella sticks were so good to start! I ordered my fav Eggplant Parm! My buddy got the Diavalo sauce with pasta. I heard him say it was the best meal he ever had, and he used to live in Chicago!!! The waiter was always around to please our every needs. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will go back soon! Thanks, Cosmos!“

“12/7/22. In town for a seminar and this restaurant was recommended. Excellent pizza and excellent price. I'll return Friday and grab lunch again on my way home to San Diego!“

“Ordered the Kale + Chickpeas Salad with Chicken.

The chicken was standard quality with a nice texture. The kale was great, fresh, crunchy, yummy greens. The salad could have used more parmesan and sundried tomatoes but it went well. the Chickpeas were by far the highlight, a funny and healthy addition.

What turned me off the was the lemon vinegarrette. It did not pair well to me, I felt like a more caloric but more flavorful dressing would have done a lot for the dish.

Very clean restaurant, very nice staff, and affordable. I'm looking forward to trying more of the menu soon!“

“Love Neapolitan! Great service. Terrific selection. Our pizza was so tasty - crust and light sauce Yum! The Caprese Buratta was fresh and creamy. Fabulous, decadent dessert options. Very nice wine and beer list. Will return. Definitely recommend.“

“Delicious, fresh truly Italian food. Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed. We are always searching for good Italian food, found Cibo, and will be back for more! Grazie!“

“We tried your pizza tonight and we love it!! Three different pizzas and they were all perfect. We will definitely be ordering from here again ❤️“

“Sal’s is a class A establishment. I messed up my order (grandma pie with breadcrumb and onion + sausage pinwheel and cannoli + black and white cookies) I ordered for pick up when it should have been delivery. The owner delivered the order himself. The grandma pie was on point and the sausage pinwheel was right! Waiting to taste the desert but im sure it will be great. Thank you Sal’s“