El Cajon Restaurants

El Cajon restaurant reviews

View all El Cajon restaurant reviews

Bongiovanni's Restaurant Inc
Jun 3, 2007 by Gene de Guzman, Jr. from San Francisco, CA
Overall Rating: 8
Food:[10] • Service:[8] • Atmosphere:[9]

• Great food and service, lots of parking, nice decor, large portions.
• Could be a cleaner and more polished environment, takes Discover instead of American Express.

“Bo Giovanni's is located in a quiet, out of the way place somewhere in El Cajon. The parking lot is spacious, if a bit bumpy, but convenient nonetheless. I found a nice spot just a few steps from the front door. The decor is nice. Large brick arches form several windows that surround most of the building. We enjoyed seeing the realistic grapes (or maybe just grapes?) hanging from above and the large barrels forming a wall beneath the bar counter. A host was available within a few minutes of stepping inside. We requested a booth and were seated at one that had a few crumbs and what looked like a piece of a paper straw wrapper, but it was more or less clean after one or two hand swipes. Plastic cups, disposable napkins and menus that looked like they were printed from your old noisy printer from 1993 and laminated. My date did not use the ladies' room, so we can not say anything about it, but the men's room had one urinal and two toilet stalls, one of them handicapped; there was only one sink with no mirror. This place isn't fancy, but it's nice and clean enough. It falls in between that strange limbo between fast food and casual dining. Nothing wrong with that. The servers all seemed to be young, attractive women, all of which seemed to be pleasant and professional and met most of our needs without asking. First, our drinks arrived, and bread soon after we ordered our food. They do not appear to refill drinks, but they do serve drinks by the pitcher, which is plenty enough to serve four. Their pitchers are served with full glasses, so it's a pretty good deal. The bread was amazing, served with several slivers of butter packaged between squares of wax paper. They must bake several batches a day for it to taste so fresh. I ordered their ravioli with an order of two extra meatballs. The ravioli was neither soggy nor undercooked and the meat filling had a great flavor that did not overwhelm with spice or lack flavor or texture. When you want to take food home, they offer tin pie-pan-like bowls with lids as well as Styrofoam soup cups that you can use to take home your extra drinks. They also offer a call-in pickup service. Overall, it's affordable and a great place with great food, whether you want to take a date or have it become your new local hangout.”

Bongiovanni's Restaurant Inc
Nov 16, 2006 by Sharon from Alpine
Overall Rating: 7
Food:[8] • Service:[4] • Atmosphere:[7]

• Great local dining for a casual night out.
• Staffed by "new" servers, they often need prompting from the customer.

“For a relatively inexpensive Italian eatery, bongiovanni's is great for a family outing or casual date. The restaurant is dimly lit, has family-style seating (including booths and some long tables for large parties). The pre-dinner salad is sparse, but the bread they serve is truly delightful! Try the fettuccine sweet life (Parma ham, cheese)... It'll hook you for life! I truly love the manicotti too. I once got the steak dinner (pan fried with seasoning... I know, it's just doesn't sound right) and I keep wishing that I¿d remember to order that again. It was different and I enjoyed it >service is always an issue since they tend to have inexperienced local girls who apparently haven't waited tables before. But if you prompt them on what to do "next", you get everything at a reasonable pace and my service experience there has never been terrible, just a little disjointed. For just a regular local Italian place, bontiovannis is a great choice. Nothing fancy, nothing "spectacular", just a good place for a casual dinner out. I've been going there for 15 years and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a friend who is looking for plain Italian, without the fancy-chancy urban hipless that turns many people off.”

Beef N Bun
Sep 15, 2006 by QUEEN_SHEBA from Right Here (See all reviews by QUEEN_SHEBA)
Overall Rating: 10
Food:[10] • Service:[10] • Atmosphere:[10]

• Hella Pops Out at You
• I'm a Vegetarian

“Great place. Real beefy in all the right ways. Tickles me Pink any day of the week, but preferably wednesdays. A Laugh Out Loud Landmark of El Cajon and a definite Must EAT.”

Antonios Hacienta Restaurant
Jul 1, 2006 by Al from San Diego
Overall Rating: 9
Food:[8] • Service:[10] • Atmosphere:[9]

• Very impressed with overall dining experience.
• Nothing on our visit.

“Very nice ambiance, excellent service, good food with generous portions. Have been there only once, but it was an excellent experience. Plan to return ASAP. ”