Vacanza Romana — Restaurant in California

We had a weird night here, but this is a very interesting restaurant with a lot of potential!

Came in on New Year’s Eve with no reservation, and was able to get seating at the bar-top with Dominic as our bartender. Very knowledgeable and nice person. They gave out new year’s hats and horns which was fun! We were told homemade focaccia bread was on the way once we had placed our drink order. 15 minutes later drinks come out, but for some reason none of them were made at the bar we were located at, but seemed to have been made next door at the mimosa house.

10 minutes after the drinks had arrived, our food came. Still no focaccia. Tables that had arrived well after us had received and finished their entire serving of bread. Reminded Dominic and 5 minutes later received the bread. Weird situation between the drinks and bread.

Espresso Martini 4/5 (needs presentation)

Huckleberry Mule 5/5

Carbonara 4/5

Rigatoni alla vodka 3/5 (insanely spicy)

Focaccia bread 6/5 (amazing when you actually get it haha)

Towards the end of our stay, a gnat had found its way into the espresso martini. We told Dominic and he replaced it with no trouble. Interesting part #4 of the night is that the new espresso martini was presented differently and tasted different. Also in a different glass than those received previously.

Kind of a surreal experience, but overall a good one.

Update 2/8/2024

Decided to make our way back around to try this location during a non-holiday, and we are sure glad we did! Almost all (if not all) of the issues during our first stay were not present during this stay. Our server named “Kimber” on the receipt was helpful and available when needed.

Faccacia bread 4.5/5 (room temp)

James and the giant spritzer 5/5

Mozzarella poccante 5/5

Lasagna 4.25

Italian cinnamon roll 3.5/5 (too much citrus)

Excited to return to try more items off of this extensive menu. Everything so far has been rewarding to order and a trip to vacanza romana is one we now look forward to - every few months. If you haven’t tried this restaurant, please do. You’ll thank us later.

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So, why 5 stars for Vacanza Romana? Everything actually. The food, the ambience, the service, the welcoming “feel.” We love Italian food and someone recommendedVacanza to us, so we decided to try it out. Wow! Were we ever impressed. It was their “soft opening”. We loved it then and it just keeps getting better, if that’s possible. The first night we were there, the hostess, Trystyn, was so welcoming and friendly. Then, the food came out and it was superb. There was a good variety of food and they have since expanded their offerings. All the pasta is house made and amazing. I don’t know when I’ve ever experienced that. The bread is also house made and delicious with a yummy olive oil/balsamic dip. Their Caesar salad is one of the best and the main courses are wonderful. The vodka pasta is VERY spicy, which I love, the Ragu pappardelle is excellent, as is the veal tortellini. The chicken parmigiana is huge and delicious. The pizza is one of the best I’ve ever had. On our second visit, I found out that most of their family works there. Trystyn is the daughter, Lou, the owner is always there, ready to suggest something, chat, and get to know you personally. His son, Devon, is the chef. He went to Italy to be trained. The sisters work there too. We now feel like we are a part of their extended family. I haven’t felt that way about a restaurant in a long time. Jordan and Lauren at the hostess counter greet you warmly and always make you feel welcomed. The servers are equally as friendly and engaging. Hailey and Hector and Sarah and Bella make your night so memorable. It’s a great place for a celebration. They will celebrate with you. They have done a great job remodeling the interior with an upscale Italian flavor and a warm, cozy feel. Do yourself a favor and head to Vacanza for a very special evening. Be sure to get a reservation. They have become very popular in a short...

Love the atmosphere. Food is usually very good. Made reservations for inside a week prior. Arrived and was offered outside. Asked for inside. Was offered overflow seating in Early Toast. Asked for a table inside Vacanza Romano and the hostess said “sorry, they book up really fast and are all reserved.” I noted that we had made inside reservations and she just kept repeating the same thing which was really confusing given MANY empty tables. We eventually said outside and the manager said we had to click an extra area ahead of time when making the reservation to actually sit inside the Italian restaurant and all the tables were booked as of now….This is really not a good model in my opinion, but keep reading….

We ordered cocktails and an appetizer. Bread came. No cocktails. Appetizer came. No cocktails. After abt 10-15 minutes we were told they were training a new bartender (on a Friday night) and were focusing on presentation. We ordered a martini and a lemon drop…. Presentation? Entrees arrived before the appetizer was finished. We ordered two glasses of wine. The wait began again….

We stalled, but still finished our entrees before the wine arrived and were told “sorry, they had to go get another bottle of the red as they hadn’t realized they were out.”

Did I mention that NONE of the two tops or 2 of the four tops were seated inside while we had our 1.5 hour dinner? Those tables we asked to sit at, but were told were booked?

I like this place and the server was nice, albeit she didn’t really seem to realize what crappy service we received for a dinner of two that cost about $160 with tip.

Not sure I’m going back given the very lackluster experience. As a side note, we chose this restaurant as we were finalizing our plans for our Italy trip in the fall. Hoping that goes...