Vaso Azzurro Restaurant — Restaurant in Mountain View

Terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE experience. I was thinking of using this restaurant for my rehearsal dinner, and I had a meeting set up with the manager. I showed up a little early to my meeting (5 min.) and I walked in only to have the servers telling me that they had no clue when the manager was going to be in. I excused this initial encounter as a potential miscommunication, and decided to take a walk in the area and come back at the time of the appointment.

When I came back, the manager was still not there, and no one would give me any information. I sat there for 15 minutes until the chef finally noticed me and asked what I was there for and he called the manager who was not there. He proceeded to tell me that the manager would be there in 10 minutes (a.k.a. 25 minutes after our meeting time).

I decided to wait in hopes that my experience would improve when the manager arrived, and 10 minutes later he still wasn't there.. After 45 minutes of waiting, the manager strolls in and completely ignores me. The chef points him in my direction and he shakes my hand and says "the traffic was bad, so what are we meeting about?"

I was furious, but this was at the time the only place I had really looked into for my rehearsal dinner venue, so I continued with the conversation. I asked him about the food and what dishes he could have for us and his response was "Everyone loves our food. Only one person has ever rated our food below 5 stars. Look at our website."

Um, buddy, you don't have 5 stars on yelp. Maybe you should stop pulling just the good reviews, and take a look at why people are unhappy with you.

It became evident that this man was clearly not someone that I wanted anywhere near my special day. He was disrespectful, rude and unbelievably unreliable. I have never been so offended by an experience at a restaurant. I honestly couldn't care less how good or not good their food is. With staff that does not care even in the slightest about the people who come in to eat or who they want to host events for, I will never ever be caught...

Plenty of options on Castro St, this should not be one of them!

Met with two of my business associates for a business meeting. Craving Italian fare and looking for a quiet place to talk, I made reservations through Open Table at Vaso Azzurro. We were promptly seated, not because of the reservation, but because the place was mostly empty. The waiter sat us and after getting our drinks (water) he went through the daily specials, which included "buffalo mozzarella over heirloom tomatoes". A few minutes went by and since we were engaged in conversation we had not opened the menus yet, at which point we ordered the "burrata" and received a bread-basket instead. Simple misunderstanding so far since to the waiter burrata was not the same as buffalo mozzarella. Now, here is where it goes downhill. After about 10 mins of being there, a man who did not have the courtesy of introducing himself as a manager, came over to our table and asked us "are you going to place an order sometime today?" in a condescending/frustrated/rude tone. It caught all of us by surprise and one of my associates simply explained that we were about to order. The man left obviously unsettled and walked toward the kitchen. That's when we all looked at each other and said "did that just happen?" Now, I'm not one to let things go, so when the man came back to the dining area I confronted him about his inhospitable question. He gave several excuses about his behavior and ended up offering an apology. Normally I would have left and found a different place to eat, however we were under time constraints and decided to move on, however the damage was done.

Two in the party had the Pesto Salmon (special of the day) and I had the Salmon Stromboli (love capers!). The plates came in nicely done and flavors were good, though not spectacular. Waiter kept our glasses full and enjoyed our espressos.

The final verdict is that I have no reason whatsoever to return to Vaso Azzurro. Management is disrespectful to customers and the food is nothing to...

I’ve been to Vaso Azzurro a few times over the past year, always midweek, and every visit has been a genuinely warm and enjoyable experience. It’s a family-owned spot with such a close-knit group, and you can really feel the care they put into both the food and the service. They treat customers like friends, and it shows. They’ve been in business for over twenty years.

The bar area tends to have their most loyal regulars and gives off a welcoming, familiar energy—it’s like the Cheers bar, where everyone knows your name (or learns it quickly). It can get moderately noisy, but in a fun and inclusive way, definitely not stuffy or formal. I’ve heard they used to do karaoke on certain nights, and while I haven’t been there for it, friends have told me it’s a blast.

The calamari, Caprese salad, and tiramisu are my go-to dishes, they’re consistently yummy, flavorful, and satisfying. I haven’t tried everything on the menu, but those three are always solid.

I also know people who’ve hosted private events here or had Vaso cater for big parties, and the team does a great job accommodating different group sizes. Their banquet menu is listed on their website and is surprisingly affordable compared to a lot of other places in the area.

Service is always kind and attentive, which honestly keeps me coming back just as much as the food. It’s the kind of place where the staff remembers you fondly, and thrilled to see you always, and the experience always feels personal. Whether you’re dining with a group or just having a midweek bite, Vaso Azzurro has that mix of charm and heart that’s hard to find these days.

They offer both indoor and patio seating, and the patio has heat lamps, which make it a cozy option even on cooler nights. Street parking is free, but it can be tricky during busy weekend hours, midweek has always been easier for me. However, plan ahead and you’ll have a...