Sorella Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Bakersfield

You know how you can tell a good restaurant? Warm customer service. You know how you can tell a GREAT Italian eatery? When you call and what you want isn't on the menu, but the chef makes it anyway.

Can't give enough praise to this restaurant. I'm originally from NY, and being in Bakersfield, it's been rough going from a place with an Italian restaurant on every block, to a place with only a couple, and none of them any good. That was UNTIL I called Sorella.

After browsing their menu, I noticed they didn't have a penne ala vodka or a baked ziti on there. But I had an itch for baked ziti with meat-sauce that just needed scratching on my diet cheat day. I called, just to see if maybe it was just not online. Sure enough, I was greeted by Erica, who was incredibly friendly, and told me that although what I wanted was not on the menu, they would be happy to make the dishes custom to my order. WOW. I asked if she recommended anything for dessert and she gave me a strong recommendation to try their Tiramisu as it was homemade by her Stepmom who is from Italy. Oh hell yea. I was told to come by in 20 minutes, I was there in 15.

I went in, and have to say the inside of this restaurant is as authentic as it gets for an Italian restaurant. Not over the top or tacky, but very nice decor, and "That's Amore" playing in the restaurant. As soon as I walked in the aromas told me I was in for a treat. I felt like I walked into a restaurant on Mulberry Street in Manhattan.

Erica greeted me at the counter, where I apologized for being a pain with the custom order. She assured me that it was no problem at all and that she was happy that I found their restaurant. She really was fantastic from start to finish, and you could tell she takes pride in her job. My food was ready in a few minutes, and I was on my way.

The whole way home my mouth was watering because that bag of food just smelled incredible. Got home, opened everything up, and every single item was just delicious. The Baked Ziti should absolutely be added to the menu because these people know what they're doing. Flavorful, expertly crafted, and just a party for my taste buds. The Penne Ala Vodka was also just fantastic. My wife and I could not get enough. Minestrone was great too as an addition to the dinner order. This meal was as authentic as it gets, and even better then a great deal of the places I frequented back in NY.

Finally, we had the Tiramisu. This is no ordinary Tiramisu. The way they craft this homemade Italian delicacy is unlike anyplace else I have ever seen it. The entire outside is just covered in the cream all around. Absolutely delectable.

After leaving NY, I moved to L.A., then ten years later we decided that we would hide out in Bakersfield during the Pandemic until things calm down. I have not ONE TIME, been to an Italian restaurant on this side of the country that could even hold a candle to Sorella. By far, this was the best Italian food I have had for as long as I can remember. They provide fantastic customer service, and food that is authentic, aromatic, flavorful, and delicious with every bite. 5 Stars on all fronts.

I highly recommend you try them out, and don't forget to tip for takeout! It's not easy getting those orders together!

I...

We came for dinner on a busy Saturday night.

We expected it to be busy, so we called ahead afor a table for 4, we were told 30-45 minutes. The hostess took my number and said she’d call when a table was available.

We pulled up and after 45 minutes, went inside to check and were told it would be another 20-30 minutes. We understood, so we waited.

When we were seated, everything went great. We were given menus, a bread basket was brought by, and the waiter cane to take our drink orders.

For our entire table, I was the only person to order something other than water. As my husband was asking about a drink, the waiter walked away.

Later, we ordered our food and my friend started to ask about a wine she wanted to order, but he again walked away.

We got our food and my friend received the wrong order. She started to bring it up but our waiter disappeared again.

At this point, I still hadn’t received my drink. Our waiter was nowhere to be seen, so I flagged down a different waiter to ask about my drink. My husband started to order his drink as well, but THIS OTHER WAITER ALSO WALKED AWAY!

We were speaking loudly, so we know it wasn’t that we weren’t heard. I think it was busy, so they weren’t giving us their full attention, but it made an already disappointing experience even worse.

We asked to split the check two ways and for to-go boxes. Someone else dropped off the check, it wasn’t split, and we had to flag someone else down for our boxes.

No one returned to take the check, so I asked yet a different waiter whether we need to take it up or wait at our table and the waiter just grabbed the check and our card, then left.

Overall, the ambience was nice but the food was mediocre, the service was awful, and it was definitely not worth the price we paid.

If you’re looking for a nice experience with an attentive staff, I suggest you look elsewhere.

Sorry, no photos since we were starving by the time the food...

My first time here and I was disappointed. Had dinner with my fiancé tonight and we both ordered steak with pasta and salad. My caesar salad had a dressing that tasted almost like mustard, it even had a yellow color to it and the lettuce pieces were the size of my whole hand smh. My fiancé had a garden salad that only came with 1 crouton and very runny ranch dressing. His steak came out blue, it barely had grill marks and my steak was rare. We asked our waitress to have the steaks sent back and she questioned us about it, confirming if we both wanted our steaks medium rare. I don't like sending food back but each meal was going to be $50. When the steaks came back, I had to ask for a different knife because I wasn't able to cut into the steak. I tried 2 different knives plus the 2 knives my fiancé was given. After 4 bites into eating my steak, I decided to stop trying to cut it. I was probably better off picking up the steak with my hands and biting into it with my teeth. The fettuccine alfredo was good, thick sauce and the pasta was cooked perfectly. The spaghetti sauce however was like watered down soup. Also I had to ask the waitress for refills on our drinks every time or they would just sit there empty. She wouldn't completely fill up the cups either... she would fill them a little more than halfway. Will never go back. Extremely overpriced for mediocre quality food and service. I rather eat at Olive Garden or take the drive to East Bakersfield to...