Firenze Trattoria — Restaurant in Encinitas

Located on the Olivenhain side of the Encinitas and Rancho Santa Fe border my family and I have been coming to Firenze Trattoria for many years because we live in RSF and FT always has consistently good food and great service. For this most recent visit I was in town for the Christmas holiday and we chose FT as our final family dinner. Inside is very large with many different seating options and a large bar. It is located in a sleepy shopping center so there is always plenty of easy parking. Our server Bill was fantastic and really added to the meal. All of our dishes arrived shortly after ordering and the portion sizes are generous.

For this most recent visit I started off with the Carpaccio di Manzo and thought it was wonderful. I have been ordering this dish since I was a kid and this version was one of the better ones I have had in a few months. For my entree I chose the Seabass Oreganato and loved it. The Seabass was large and flavorful but the baked bread crumbs on top really made the dish for me and was a unique variant. I would highly recommend both to anyone.

Overall a really nice Italian option in a beautiful part of San Diego and I am already looking forward to...

Celebrating our anniversary. Ordered two glasses of prosecco. Waitress comes out with our two glasses, then asks for my ID. Which, I forgot (my bad i'm traveling it was out at the ready for security check in at the airport and not on my person). It would've been fine but she continued to serve my boyfriend without asking for his ID or any one else at the establishment she was serving.

The atmosphere was lacking, unwelcoming. Our waitress hadn't even tried to speak with us the entire meal after the above debacle.

Carbonara tasted like scrambled eggs, served 5 gluten free ravioli, and was never asked how any of our dishes were. She tried to "redeem herself" (her words) after not coming to our table at all throughout the evening, and placed cannoli on the table. We declined and left.

If she had attempted to be more of a server and provide an exceptional experience after the ID incident I wouldn't be writing...

I've been dining here for over a decade and consistently enjoyed great meals. Casual yet appropriately elegant setting with a great outdoor patio that's comfortable winter or summer. The lasagna is a huge slab of goodness that oozes just the right amount of sauce, cheese and flavor. Tonight I had rigatoni with putanesca sauce and a generous amount of slices of sausage blended in. It was perfect.

The service staff is knowledgeable, friendly and knows just how much to be at the table and not be at the table. You can't go wrong with Firenze for a casual date night or social occasion...