Vincenzo Cucina and Lounge

Little Italy’s vibrant pulse finds a sophisticated beat at Vincenzo, a spot that manages to feel both polished and wonderfully unpretentious. We opened with a classic negroni and a crisp aperol spritz, both executed with a heavy hand and sharp precision. The standout, however, was the burned carrots. These charred heirlooms, dolloped with creamy goat cheese, are a masterclass in the sweet-savory pivot—don't leave without them. The pizza piccante was a triumph of texture, boasting a crust that strikes the elusive balance between crackling crisp and soulful chew. Pasta carbonara was unapologetically rich and with a large amount of salty, rendered guanciale. The caprese was elevated by the inclusion of high-quality, melt-in-your-mouth prosciutto. And the cheese-topped focaccia was A buttery, cloud-like indulgence that is essentially mandatory. With service that was attentive yet gives you room to breathe, Vincenzo delivers a quintessential San Diego evening. It’s authentic and indulgent.

Happy hour every day from 3-6! The pizza was fantastic! The oysters had a few bits of shell in them you had to pick out, but they were still scrumptious for a great happy hour price. Megan was also a fantastic waitress. My friend and I loved her!!

I like the way the restaurant is decorated and I would definitely use the larger room for a party dinner. The food and service was good and the chicken in my Caesar salad was so tender and delicious. The sliced raw salmon in the prosciutto Caprese Panini was very good. I enjoyed sitting outside, it was a nice restaurant and I recommend it

Cool vibe and excellent artichokes! Sadly can´t say the same about the rest of the dishes, the pappardelle was overcooked, under-seasoned and luke-warm, the salmon was dry and tasteless. We were able to get a table late at night, the host was very nice, but once in the waiter took forever to show up, the drinks took 20 min to arrive and had to ask many times in order to get pepper, water, etc, so I ended asking the busboy which was really nice and is not his job. The furniture needs cleaning and the seasoning and temperature of the dishes overall needs to be fixed. Even to pay for the check the waiter took another 15 min to show up with the machine and the place was almost empty.

This is one of those odd reviews to write. For me the food saved it for the rest of my party it was mixed results. The real issue here was atmosphere and service. First the table was a pair of two person tables. One was significantly shorter than the other. Also the chairs were very grungy and worn. Not calling Vincenzo's fine dining, but the cost per dish means it is not a dive. The service was not great, food literally took way to long to get out of the kitchen and the server was not really attentive. He forgot about silverware too. The food. I'll be honest the beef penne pasta was one of the best pastas I ever had. Everyone else mostly liked their dishes, but compared to NYC Italian (Which IMO is better than the food in Italy) cuisine it fell way short. But this is my review so I give them full marks. If you are okay with wonky service and an okay atmosphere I believe this is place is really good. But I would have a hard time recommending it.