1. Plastic water cups  + vinyl tables cloths = max 3 Stars.  2 white wines by the glass - that are not Chardonnay and bring a broom and a cloth for the clean up needed in the bathroom. Â
there are some basics in a restaurant - attitude, cleanliness, quality, options and surroundings. Â This place gets a 3 for the local and the food was ok, a little oily on our pasta. Â Italian food is my favorite, so i lean in that direction when headed out and so we visit some times but the wine options are limited and keep that in mind.
Came for the first time with my girlfriend. Â You can spot a good italian restaurant a mile away from the sauce! Â The sauce is excellent! Â I ordered the clams and mussels to start it was fresh and was in a great white wine sauce. Â I ordered a side of meatballs and my friend ordered spaghetti with a side of italian sausage. Â The sausage and meatballs were excellent and everything was homemade. Â
Will definitely come back. Â Great family run establishment reminded me of my fathers restaurant and cooking. Â Raymond was very very nice - that is the way to run a restaurant have an excellent kitchen and family taking great care of the customers.
Really delicious gourmet pizza! Highly recommend it. The salad and garlic bread were delicious as well and our server was so nice! The only thing that kept me from giving this place five stars was the noise. We went on karaoke night (unknowingly) and it was super loud, lots of drunk people dancing, lol. We had small children so it wasn't ideal, but we will be back! Just not on karaoke night.
Review Source:They get 5 stars for location but the food knocks them down to 3. It's just OK. Pizza is light on toppings which is acceptable if the sauce and crust are stellar but they're not. Crust is thick and tends to be doughy.
Some of the pastas are good, salads are OK, eggplant parm is better than most. Service is friendly but can be a bit slow. It's OK.
This is my very favorite Italian restaurant. We've been dining here since they opened. The food is always good, the servers are always friendly, and the view is the greatest. We've since moved away but we make a special trip just to eat here at least twice a year. I usually take home their Bolognese sauce as it is the best sauce by far of any restaurant around - and I've tried quite a few. I highly recommend this restaurant!
Review Source:I've been searching for a neighborhood style Italian restaurant after jumping ship from our mainstay- Fratello's in Laguna Niguel (see me negative review of this place).
Agostino's Ristorante has a nice neighborhood feel and we were greeted on 3 separate occasions as we were seated. Â The restaurant was clean, no food on floors or unbused tables. Â
Our waitress Leslie was super. Â She has a great personality and really cared about our service. Â When she noticed we had not yet received our bread she rectified the issue immediately. Â We had appetizers, pasta and salads and all was fresh and hot. Â Leslie made sure our main courses did not come out on top of our salads. Â We did not feel rushed and enjoyed our meal. Â The menu is extensive and we look forward to coming back...we bought a cannoli to go and it was excellent.
Special note: The restaurant is on Pacific Coast Highway across from the beach and ocean. Â This would be a nice place to visit during sunset. Â The noise level was low (a pleasant suprise) and allowed us to talk without shouting. Â
Only reason this review is not 5 stars is the drinks were a bit too expensive...delicious, but expensive.
So it really helps to read Yelp reviews before going to a restaurant. Â Â I came expecting large pieces of lettuce on my salad, plastic table cloths covering the linens, and Italian Wonder Bread. Â That said, the food and service were spectacular! Â I took notice all evening of all the servers in this establishment. Â They each were genuinely happy to serve you! Â They engaged their customers, Â knew the menu as though they wrote the recipes and just made you feel special. Â Agostino must be a good boss because his employees seem to like working for him :)
I enjoyed the Salmon and BF enjoyed the scallops. Â My Salmon was on a bed of linguini with a mild red sauce similar to a Vodka sauce. Â Very rich indeed. Â It was a dish that you fill up quickly and just don't want to stop eating. Â The scallops were huge and on a bed of linguini with a mild butter sauce. Â Excellent! Â I started by upgrading my salad to the Ceasar. Â While it was very good I was a little taken back by having to pay $5 extra for the upgrade. Â
My only disappointment was not arriving earlier. Â I hear the sunset is amazing.
One thing, Agostino. Â If you read your reviews............take the plastic off the table clothes! Â It took an otherwise spectacular experience and cheapened it to the likes of eating at Norms.
I give Agostinos 5 stars for location. The service was nice. Me and my date were greeted by a jolly man with a handlebar mustache that is unrivaled. I was jealous. He asked us wether we would like to sit inside or outside. Me being a gentlemen I let her choose. She chose outside. The view is very pretty when the sun is not in your eyes. But as the sun was setting I got the better view of the sunset. The food is pretty standard Italian fare. Tasty but not orgasmic. Nothing special about the bread. One thing that made me slightly upset was how close the patio is to the street. Every once in a while a loud motorcycle would fly by and scare the heck out of me. Our server was very polite and brought me out lots of cokes. Do not expect fast service. This is a relax and enjoy your meal type place. I recommend coming her on a weekday for a relaxing sunset dinner. Prices are a little high, but it is an experience you must have at least once. Maybe you are more Italian than me and will love it.
Review Source:Seems that you either like or dislike this place. There are few in between reviews. Well you can add my wife and I to the like category.
As residents of Dana Point we were looking for a relatively inexpensive but good neighborhood type Italian restaurant. After reviewing other places we had not gone to the decision was to try Agostino's and we were not disappointed.
This is no nonsense nothing too fancy old school Italian restaurant and being from New York I can not appreciate this place more.
As an appetizer we split an order of their meatballs and gravy which was very good. We both had the house salad and found the dressing tasty. The bread is addictive and fresh. They serve real iceberg lettuce not the weeds most others serve. For our entrée's my wife had the Penne Arrabbiata and I had the Veal Saltimbocca with a side of linguine and marinara. In a word both were great. Since we both were stuffed we did not try the deserts, maybe next time.
The wait staff was professional and pleasant. They were there when you needed them and did not rush us or our orders in any way. Both of us noticed they all come to the table with a smile on their face including the bus boys.
We will definitely return and recommend to others.
This place has a really cool vibe -- a good sense of Italian tradition combined with a laid-back beach atomsphere. The food isn't bad either. We started with the sauteed mushrooms, fried mozzarella sticks, and caprese for appetizers. All were delicious, but I'm always partial to mushrooms. For my entree, I got the poached salmon picatta (too many capers for me) and a side of whole wheat pasta (nothin' special). It's somewhat pricey for what you get, but I would come back here just for the nice location. I had a glass of chianti with dinner -- again, nothing special, but I liked the place overall and I'm usually happy with any and all glasses of wine.
Review Source:This review is for the area with the music (not in the main restaurant). Date night at Agostino's was enjoyable and the music last night was terrific - Elaine crooning with some well accomplished sax and guitar player is sex for the ears.
First off When we asked to be seated no one told us that there would be an additional $15/person ticket fee added to the bill. While I enjoyed the music, it would have been nice to have someone tell us. The people across from us even asked us to look at their bill so we could help them figure out why it was so high.
Anyway... Service was OK. It is obvious that the servers are working their butts off running from the kitchen next door to the ballroom (is that what I should call it?). We split the "Godfather" which worked out fine since it was pretty much a Gordon Ramsey hate-fest. Imagine a fillet covered in peppers/white onions and smothered in cheese. The salad was iceberg drowning in a blue cheese + Italian "house" blend.
The caprese appetizer was the best part of the meal. Complimentary "Italian" bread was like a loaf of Wonder Bread got lucky with Snookie.
PARKING IS FREE!
Why was this not a one-star? My server was nice, food wasn't horribly slow, the music was great and my date was gorgeous. Rock on.
Ok I read all of the very very mixed reviews and here is what I have to say...
Cesar salad looked fresh and snapped when I took a bite, bigger pieces than I prefer, I had to cut them, but very fresh and crispy, Anchovies on top and perfectly dressed ( not too much dressing)
Bread - room temperature, fresh, soft inside, sturdy, but not overly hard and crispy crust...perfect
Scared from the MIXED reviews so got a bowl of pasta and added those yummy sausage, onions and peppers the other reviewer talked about....wow! And Gina did not flinch one bit as I created my own dish
They make their own sausage and the dish does not need any crushed red pepper .... which I usually have on top my meat sauce. I also prefer more sauce, and our wonderful waitress, Gina had said earlier, if I want something just ask... That little dish made it perfect ... And I could really taste the sauce....btw the spaghetti noodles were cooked al dente - Perfect
Ray ordered the pizza and our fav is sausage, mushrooms and bell peppers. Similar to the pasta, but again, worried from reviews...the pizza dough is handmade and wonderful flavor, not sugary, and not doughy, and perfect shape, the hand pinch sides to hold the abundance of items...a delight!
So, in my opinion, this restaurant is fresh, friendly, quick service, great view ... I will come back and try the fish and other dishes
Oh...the wine by the glass 14 cab paired well
The dessert people were raving about when we were started our meal, was as they said .... Dreamy lemony .... Lemon meringue pie in a cup :) and that's my favorite pie - from scratch only
And yes there is plastic on the tables - get over it - if they go to just cloth, cost and thus menu prices will go up simultaneously ... Besides they are saving on water!
Here is my take-- the people who say this place is amazing must be going on a weekend when they are busy and make their stuff fresh. Unfortunately, on a Wednesday night, the bread was EXTREMELY stale, the salad was literally five leaves of iceberg that had seen a better day and the restaurant had PLASTIC table cloths over the cloth ones. Literally!
However, the main course was good. The service was good but quick. I agree with the other reviewers that it is pricey, but you get a salad and soup and my chicken dish came with a little side of pasta. The piccata sauce was FULL of capers which I LOVE but it was quick oily. All in all the two stars are for main dish and atmosphere. Don't come here expecting high class.
Visited this place over the weekend after reading the reviews on yelp and it did not disappoint. It's a small family-owned place with a great ocean view (reserve ahead of time and ask for a view). Food was very tasty and fresh. Start off with the garlic cheese bread (very addicting) and the mozzarella fritta. Pizza is light and crispy yet full of flavor. Pastas such as the Ziti Quattro Formaggi were great too; a good unique flavor.
Definitely end your night w/ their tiramisu. One of the best I've had.
Never saw a restaurant with mostly 1 stars and 5 star reviews on Yelp and very little in between. Â We are at a time share nearby and so we thought we'd give it a try. Â Our take...the 1 stars must have been visiting a different restaurant! Â So-so Bread? Â You kidding...it was excellent Italian bread with fresh butter. Â Watered down minestrone? Â Homemade, fresh ingredients...wonderful! Â Blah salad with watered down dressing? Salad was mostly iceberg lettuce but the house combo of blue cheese and Italian was very good. Â And the Salmon Picatta was great. Â I love veal & chicken picatta but have never seen salmon picatta. Â Not over-powering, the flavors were excellent. Â And the salmon was cooked perfectly. Â Portions were just the right size. Â The side pasta was the right size (not too much) with a marinara sauce to die for. Â
Wine list is limited but excellent choices...BV Vineyards is one of my favorites.
The service was outstanding. Â Gina was so cute, attentive and helpful. Â She was familiar with the wine selections but she admitted she has never been to a winery...someone needs to take her to a winery tour. Â
Ambiance and view are spectacular. Â We sat at the corner windows looking out over the beautiful and romantic ocean sunset. Â It was the perfect beginning to our vacation.
Should probably be a 5 star but I don't want to fall into this one vs five star battle.
We'll be back!
Seriously?? Â As an Italian and a long-time Dana Point resident, I have to set the record straight on this place. Â I have been curious about Agostino's for awhile and the 4.5 stars on Yelp made me go for it. Â Excellent location/view, nice ambiance, good service... some of the worst Italian food I have had in my life. Â I ordered their special "Rissoto Tutto Mare" and I couldn't believe my tastebuds. Â I think it was on basmati rice (not arborio or carnaroli -- something thick and sticky) so it was like eating seafood smothered in marinara on a bed of loose rice. Â Really?? Â Rissoto is supposed to stick together and the ingredients are cooked into the rice, not laid upon it. Â Who taught these people to cook? Â So I moved on and tried my wife's dinner which was a Spagheti Carbonara, made like alfredo with slices of ham thrown in (not bacon, sauteed in). Â And this place wasn't even cheap. Â Mario's By The Sea (awesome in comparison) only gets 3.5 stars on Yelp? Â By that measure, this place is a 1.0 to me. Â I can only chalk up the inflated ratings to California tastebuds, maybe. Â It seems like the bland food packs the house around here and good, authentic Italian restaurants go under. Â Too bad.
Review Source:I was surprised to see a few bad reviews about this restaurant, but I guess everyone has a bad day! My wife and I were visiting Capistrano and decided to try Agostino's. My wife is from Brazil (some of the best pizza in the world next to Italy itself) and after our meal she said it was the best pizza she has had in the United States (and yes she has been to New York and Chicago)! Our bread was warm and great, the salad seasoned perfectly and the pizza, well as you may have figured we were quite pleased. We have actually told a bunch of people about it and are driving all the way down tonight (6/24/11) from Redondo Beach with some friends to turn them on to Agostino's, and to get some more of that incredible pizza! Maybe we will try something else while we are there!
Side note: We also tried the Tiramiso, home made(of course) and although it is very different from any I have had in the past it was excellent.
Everytime I go to Agostino's, the staff is friendly and I couldnt imagine seeing them any other way. I am at the restaurant very frequently, but I am not the only one- I see several familiar faces when I go to this restaurant. But who can blame us? The staff knows you personally. The view is beautiful. The service is great. And the food is excellent!! It's a family owned restaurant. Chef Luigi really knows how to make a true Italian dish! I would recommend this place to anyone and everyone. Check it out!! You won't be disappointed! Also, Say hello to Ray, he's usually making knock-out drinks behind the bar or helping out somewhere else- The man is a worker! Not a day that goes by that he isn't on top of things. I have nothing negative to say about this family or the service they provide. Â Simply amazing! Thank you AGOSTINO'S! :)
Review Source:After all the 5 star reviews, who wouldn't venture to such a place so highly recommended? I must say that my fellow Yelpers let me down or else the restaurant went to HELL IN A HAND BASKET! First, the view is awesome from the dining room, I'll give you that and it gets you one full star. After that, the evening went down hill. After getting some ice water, we placed our order for the lasagna and veal. My wife got soup. It was lukewarm and bland, no flavor. The house salad was less than fresh and had a tasteless Italian dressing that appeared to be commercial grade. The bread was stale and tasteless but after asking, the wait staff went back to the kitchen and toasted it up. Still tasteless. The lasagna was over salted and less than ordinary. The veal was dusted in flour and not cooked long enough to get done properly. Very tough and chewy. We did not eat more than 3 bites and were unable to get beyond that. The waitress came to the table and asked if we needed to go boxes and we expressed our disappointment in the food quality and preparation. I handed her our credit card and she came back with an apology and a check for $43.00. We had ordered no drinks or appetizers. This was just the two entrees. This was one of my worst restaurant experiences and I was really shocked that the restaurant did nothing to right the wrong. I mean come on, we didn't eat the dinners and it was obvious that our concerns were valid. This restaurant must cater to transient tourists for their revenue as I cannot imagine running a business with this mindset. I would highly advise anyone to AVOID this place. Drive a couple miles up to Dana Point and eat at the Salt Creek Grill.
NOTE: After I posted this review the restaurant sent me a nasty private message on YELP and stated that I was trying to "get away with something".... Â What did I get away with? I paid for everything, tipped the lady..... Â I am certainly entitled to my opinion. Â I happen to be an Italian American (Sicillian) and I know good Italian when I eat it. This was awful and if I continue to get harassment from this restaurant, I will file cyber stalking charges.
i was craving agostino's yesterday but was home with a bad cold, so i made my husband get take-out. now i know i can't get the same agostino experience without actually dining there, but just wanted to say their take-out is great too!
and the portions seemed even more generous than in the restaurant, if that's possible. a whole loaf of bread, and the side of spaghetti that came with my saltimboca was more like and entree portion, and covered with meat sauce and melted cheese. so f-ing good! even with my stuffy nose i could taste all that yummy flavor. i love you agostino's!
How to describe a true family Italian restaurant - both family run and for families - with phenomenal food, happy and constant - but unobstrusive - service by staff that care about you personally, in a warm dining room and bar with sunset views of the Pacific? Bellissimo? No! E molto bellissimo!!!  Jeez, Louise...it's  that good.
Review Source:Went to Agostino's last night after reading it was good. Â The house salad was made inedible by the overly tart blue cheese/italian dressing it was saturated in, I never leave my salad, gave hubby heartburn. I had linguine with shrimp and changed the sauce. The waitress said my choice of sauce would be too strong with the shrimp, but I fancied it. It was so watered down it had almost no flavour. Even when I heated up the leftovers the next day, still no flavour and unmelted clumps of cheese. Hubby had fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp and vegetables and it tasted watered down. I tried the Chianti the waitress recommended,it seemed watered down and the Inglenook Cab blah. Either the restaurant was having a bad night or we were.
Review Source:Agostino's *is* that good, and more. Â From the service, to the food...outstanding. Â We had the salmon piccata and spaghetti carbonara...the best *ever*. Â The minestrone soup is great. Â We couldn't find anything about our meal that was average. Â We will definitely return here when we come back to Dana Point --- or within 100 miles of this restaurant!
Review Source:My wife and I have been going to Agostino's for at least 10 years. Â We moved away several years ago but every time we go back to Southern CA, like an annual mecca, we plan around at least one dinner at Agostino's.
They still know us even though they only see us may be twice a year now if that. Â We sit down and after getting the fresh bread and water, it goes something like this, "Chicken with penne in orvietto sauce, and capellini pescatore in red sauce" that's not us, it's whoever comes to take our order asking if we still want our usual. Â Impressive is these are alterations to dishes they normally have on their menu, accommodating and yes, delicious. Â
In terms of dessert, you can't beat the chocolate mousse. Â In terms of service, good luck finding better.
Great place. Â Take a peek from the parking lot (like we do) as you pass the kitchen to see if Luigi is working his magic with the entrees. We miss this place.
Wonderful atmosphere, good cocktails, and some of the best escargots I have ever eaten! Â They run a close comparison to those I ate in Paris many years ago. Â Agostino's serves a delicious eggplant parmesan which is second to none. Â I would not hesitate to recommend this restaurant.
Review Source:Yes it really is as good as everyone says. We booked in to the nearby Best Western by chance as we travelled to San Diego and I checked on Yelp for somewhere to eat, all the reports said this is the place to go and they were all correct. It's as good as you will get anywhere if you like Italian food. If your near here try it if not get yourself here.
Review Source:What a gem of a restaurant in Capo Beach.
First, the bartender, Ray, is a true mixologist. Name it and he can make it. He's fun to talk with also.
Second, they are very accommodating.
You want angle hair, you got it.
You want it with a blush/vodka sauce, you got it.
You want chicken milanese style, you got it.
You want capers, you got it.
And on and on.
Third, none of this matters if the food is below par. No worries here. We have never had a bad meal or even just an ok meal. And as some other reviewer noted their house Italian salad dressing is awesome.
And do save room for dessert. They really are something special.
Manja!!
We are always searching for a new favorite Italian restaurant and so far, for South OC, none has topped Agnostino's. Â Located in Capo Beach, Agnostino's is a real jewel but off the beaten path on South Coast Highway.
It is actually located in the ground floor of a beach motel. Â Nothing fancy but the food rocks! Â On weekends, make a reservation or be prepared to wait as the place gets jammed. Parking is also a zoo - suggest you try the lower level and go left to the end.
Their prices are quite reasonable and entrees come included with soup or salad. Â The minestrone soup is tasty but the house salad is crispy fresh and a favorite with their house dressing, which is a combo of Blue Cheese & Italian. Â Their claim to fame is their seafood. Â The Halibut, Salmon and seafood pastas are all outstanding.
They also make a very good red sauce for any of the basics like Spaghetti or Lasagna.. Â My wife loves the eggplant parmesan. Â For veal, try the Vitello Saltimbocca -- simply outstanding. Â Also try the Osso Bucco if it is available as a special. Â The wine list is very basic but corkage is reasonable at $15.
And the desserts are de-friken-licious. The Tiramisu is tasty and you can't go wrong with any of the gelatos -- the Coppa Coffee is a favorite. Â Oh, and the homemade Cannoli's are to die for. Â Tasty lil buggers, the best this side of New York.
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