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The Godfather Restaurant, San Diego, CA

The Godfather Restaurant

4.7
4.7
1879 Reviews
$31 to $50
Italian

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 37 times today
  • Good for special occasions
  • Romantic
  • Charming
The Godfather, a Balistreri restaurant, is an Italian monument in downtown San Diego providing authentic cuisine from the hills of Italy. Established in 1974, The Godfather is a sophisticated and classy establishment that centers around generational recipes from both Northern and Southern Italy. Over the years, the quality of food and standard of service has never declined and thus garnered The Godfather a national recognition as one of the top twenty-five Italian restaurants in the entire nation. The menu is filled with classic favorites based in steak, chicken and pasta. For an intimate evening for two, try the Sicilian kiss prix fixe meal that includes a bottle of champagne.

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Seafood, Steak
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Tue–Fri 11:00 am–2:30 pm Dinner Tue–Thu 5:00 pm–9:30 pm Fri 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Sat 4:00 pm–10:00 pm Sun 4:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (858) 560-1747
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Executive Chef
    Isidoro Balistreri
  • Area
    Kearny Mesa
  • Parking details
    Public Parking
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, BYO Wine, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Delivery, Entertainment, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeaway, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 1,879 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.7Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.8Ambience
  • 4.4Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • San Diego

    Great for fine wines

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
The Godfather Restaurant offers a nostalgic dining experience with "excellent service and amazing food." Guests rave about the generous portions and traditional Italian dishes. The ambiance, complete with live piano music, enhances the old-school charm. It's a favored spot for special occasions, with "delicious fried zucchini" and "authentic Italian flavors" that keep patrons coming back.

1,879 Reviews
  1. OpenTable Diner

    San Diego

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    All meals were excellent, chicken Parmesan, steak sinatra and raviolis

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  2. Kimberly

    San Diego

    5 reviews

    1.0

    5 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 2
    Worst dinner of my life. It absolutely ruined our Christmas Eve. We made a reservation for 8 o’clock in the main dining hall. We weren’t seated until after 8:30 and they put us in the bar by the garbage can where we had a choice of watching a horror movie or football on Christmas Eve. Then they paid us no mind. It took 20 minutes just to get water. I’ll never go back again.

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  3. SharonB

    San Diego

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Couldn’t have been better. The service was excellent. The food was spectacular and the price for the dinners was surprising very reasonable. Will definitely be returning.

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  4. David

    San Diego

    15 reviews

    5.0

    15 reviews

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    The waiter was kind of rude with his response on how we did not like our Cadillac margaritas. He made us feel like we were a problem for him. This was the first time we ever had a negative experience at the Godfathers.

    1 person found this helpful

  5. Valerie

    VIP

    San Diego

    3 reviews

    3.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on 21 December 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 5
    The waiter was barely and our table and when he was there, it was for a very abbreviated period of time. He couldn’t be found anytime we needed something like a new drink order.

    1 person found this helpful

  6. Carlos

    VIP

    Palm Springs

    24 reviews

    5.0

    24 reviews

    Dined on 21 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    One of our go to restaurants for cocktails, exceptional Italian food and good wine list. All at reasonable prices. The atmosphere and decor are old world charming with servers in suits. The service is excellent. Thank you Shawn.

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  7. Greg

    San Diego

    9 reviews

    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined on 20 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The food as usual was wonderful. The pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon was awesome along with the homemade pea soup. Our waiter, Eric was always there to check on us, he even surprised us with a cannoli for my mom's 98 birthday. I took my mom here last year for her birthday as well.

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  8. Chad

    San Diego

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on 20 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    The free parking was blocked and you either park in the back or valet for $4. You keep the closest parking for other businesses, the parking lot is not that big, the other businesses customers can walk another car length or two as well. Get with the property management and have them marked for the other businesses then you don't need valet.

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  9. Scott

    San Francisco

    9 reviews

    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined on 18 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Nice dinner, 2nd time we visited under new ownership. Food was amazing, we shared a bottle of wine. Very clean & comfortable. José was a great waiter. 

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  10. Kristi

    San Diego

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on 17 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Went there for our department holiday lunch. The service and food were top notch. The bone marrow and scallop appetizer was delicious.

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FAQs

The Godfather Restaurant offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (858) 560-1747.

The Godfather Restaurant is rated 4.7 stars by 1879 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 37 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for The Godfather Restaurant

7878 Clrmt Msa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92111-1621

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Area
    Kearny Mesa
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Tue–Fri 11:00 am–2:30 pm Dinner Tue–Thu 5:00 pm–9:30 pm Fri 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Sat 4:00 pm–10:00 pm Sun 4:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Seafood, Steak
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    Public Parking
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Isidoro Balistreri
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, BYO Wine, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Delivery, Entertainment, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeaway, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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