Garbatella Italiano — Restaurant in Chula Vista

Ate here on 3/24 on me and my husbands 10 year anniversary. We chose to check out a new local spot for our special day instead of going to one of our tried and trues.

We went for lunch and there were only 3 other tables besides ours and plenty of staff on the floor.

It took 10-15 min for us to be greeted. Which wouldn't have been an issue if they were slammed but the servers were just standing around talking.

We asked about happy hour and our server wasn't sure if you guys had a happy hour(the reason we knew about HH and were excited to try Garbatella out was because they do have a fantastic social media. I will give huge props to that)!

we both have some dietary restrictions so we asked about the HH pasta dish since there is not description of what comes on it on the menu. We asked if anything else is in the dish besides pasta and sauce and she said that there wasn't--it came out covered in cheese which I am intolerant to. Whatever NBD, I picked it off.

We ordered the hummus, a dozen oysters, gnocchi, a glass of wine and margarita.

Food wise, I don't have any complaints and I loved the focaccia.

Service wise, it ruined the whole experience. Once our server took our order, she never came back. Our oysters sat in the window for 20min. An open kitchen concept is great but when you can see your order in the window and servers and the manager pass it multiple times it's unfortunate. Does not seem like a team environment.

Our hummus was the last to come out and that was the appetizer we ordered. It came out when we were 50% done with our entree.

We wanted to put in an another drink order before happy hour was over and since our server never came back, I grabbed another server. I asked if I could please put in another order before HH ends. She told me she can't do it but asked who's my server.

I pointed to our server and said "she's been over there arranging tables since she took our order and I haven't been able to grab her attention".

She then brings our server over and mocks me in Spanish to our server and rolled her eyes, laughed then walked away. I SPEAK SPANISH. My jaw literally dropped and I could not believe it.

Listen, I've worked in high end restaurants for many years. I am understanding and not high maintenance. But I have never been treated so poorly and like such an inconvenience. The food could be the best food I've ever eaten in my life, but if the service is down right awful, it ruins the entire experience and leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

When you're paying good money obviously you expect good food, and maybe good ambiance but you are also expecting excellent service.

Despite the negative reviews I read on here, we decided to give it a shot. I believe there is definitely potential to be one of the best restaurants in Chula Vista but there needs to be some serious training for the service staff on menu knowledge and how to treat guests and work as a team.

I hope by the next time we come in that there is...

We are a family that rarely eats out but we were excited to celebrate my nieces high school graduation on Wednesday, June 4th, 2025. My sister n law wanted to support local businesses in the area and cater to her fathers needs and chose this restaurant. The reservations was for 6:00pm for a party of 11. Upon our arrival with excitement and joy we were immediately turned away due to a private event. My sister n law who planned and made reservations over a week was broken hearted on being turned away upon our arrival to this restaurant. Management showed no compassion towards how they turned us away. Seeing my neice cry with her cap and gown broke our hearts on how heartless management can be. Management spoke with no sincerity, lack of integrity and no accountability at all by admitting they made a mistake in allowing the system to book reservations during a private event. Even if there was a system error that allowed customers to book reservations during a private event there was absolutely no attempt of making personal calls to customers who booked reservations for a party over 10 and no attempt to leaving a message if they stated they made a phone call. Obviously every business knows if there’s a large party they are celebrating something special. We had my father n law who has Alzheimer’s and it’s not easy for my sister n law who tries her best to cater to her daughter and her fathers needs on a special day. It is disappointing when businesses and their management fail to demonstrate empathy in customer service. We as customers value feeling connected and when empathy is lacking, the customer experiences suffers. A lack of empathy makes it difficult to provide that experience and can drive customers away. I will not be returning to this location and will ensure I share this experience with friends and my local church community. I pray and hope that management will take the time to read this review and have a heart to consider their management skills. All i ask is for them to have some decency to either reach out to potential customers and apologize or try to ensure this kind of experience does not repeat in the future.

Philippians 2:4:
"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others". This passage emphasizes considering the needs and concerns of others, a key...

This is my first time ever complaining about anything let alone a restruant. I felt such a deep connection for this restuarant because it was where I had my first date with my wife. I have been to their several times since our first date but after being so disappointed for a second time, I need to say something. Tonight we decided to go to Garbatella's for new years and it was a bitter disappointment again. We went for another special evening which was Valentines 2024 and we walked out because the salad and soup came at different times and by the time our meals arrived mine was cold. Atleast the tacos we had from a food truck were good on that night. As for tonight, New Years, I should have known what a f-up dinner it was going to be when staff was still setting tables and it took forever to get water served. I asked my wife if she wanted to go because this looks like another debackle and she asked to stay. When th.e waitress arrived we explained our previous experience and she apologized and promised a great experience. Well for $125 per meal for three it was a blatant robbery or as my wife would say a "rape". The appetizers were fair but when I recieved my surf and turf with fries, I was thinking maybe Sizzlers would have been better. Once I took my bite into my steak it was cold. I asked my wife to take a bite so she could understand why I wanted to leave. She was horrified. I told her lets just finish this and go home. My wife also thought her special ordered salmon showed as a bad presentation and the rizzoto was very runny. When it came down to it including the 25% tip (my usual) the three meals and threr drinks came out to over $450, robbery or rape? Obviously there is a pattern of failure to prepare food on special occasions at this establishment. In 2024, I went to this restruant 11 times and my spouse has gone 13 times but we are done. Although the food has been good in the past on regular occasions, we are done. I apologize if I am not the type to complain and cause a scene but now I understand people that do. Being so pissed on special occassion should not happen. The band that played was very good creating a good atmosphere. Thank you and bye to the disappointing...