Di Leone's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in California

First time here, using a coupon from CLIPP magazine which was a great deal: $57 for any two entrees, garlic bread, soup or salad, and a carafe of house wine. Saved over $41 off the menu prices. Ordered Shrimp Scampi and Veal Picatta. Scampi was excellent, just the right amount of seasonings and a generous portion. Picatta had a LOT of capers, making it way too salty for my taste and was quite soupy. I didn't expect my veal to be drowning in salty soup. Garlic bread was soft and light, not crunchy like you find in some places. I like it, my wife prefers crunch. Chicken Tortellini and Minestrone soups were both very good. Side of spaghetti with marinara wasn't expected, but was quite good as a side dish. Parmesan cheese was served dry in a shaker, not ground from a block of real cheese. Not many diners tonight, but service was quite slow anyway. Staff seemed more interested in their personal conversations than attending to us. Will return to try other dishes if we get another coupon deal, but would not pay full price for...

Tonight, we decided to try Di Leone's Italian Restaurant. It's a nice restaurant with plenty of seating. It's nicely decorated. The staff members were friendly, outgoing, and very helpful.

The food was good and flavorful. The portions were large. We ordered two appetizers and two main dishes. I will admit the prices were a little high compared to some places in Little Italy in Downtown San Diego but the food was tasty and you don't have to look for parking like you do in little Italy.

Overall, we had a nice experience with delicious food.

What we ordered Bruschetta Toasted garlic bread topped with diced tomatoes, basil and olive oil

Garlic Bread topped with Melted Cheese

Chicken Piccata Boneless chicken breast sautéed in an egg batter with lemon and white wine sauce topped with mushrooms and capers

Eggplant Parmigiana Baked in marinara sauce topped with melted cheese, served...

I was a former driver there back in the early nineties and early 2000s and I did a lot of the prep for the restaurant this is when Vito owned it. What I could tell you now is they're using cheaper ingredients and this is why their food just does not taste the same. If they would have just kept it the way it was, the way Vito showed them how to run the restaurant, I think everybody would be a lot happier. The customers and the workers. Because they want to save a few bucks, it's costing them their business to be honest with you. Good luck to them. I feel they should have to change the name of the business because it's not the same Di Leones. Maybe they should call it Cheap Leones. But the prices skyrocketed and it didn't come down like the quality of the product did. I miss the...