Catania — Restaurant in San Diego

If i was to sum up the experience in just a few words i would call it:

warm and rustic upscale but far from pretentious sociable, relaxed and a place to enjoy a date or the company of close friends.

although it was nearing spring on our dining experience, everything we ate made me think of rustic rich fall cuisine - which is something i am happy with year-round!

we began with a pizza as a starter: the merguez sausage (lamb sausage, tomato, mozzarella, and an egg). it was simply wonderful and i highly recommend. it was a tad on the salty side but not enough to be off putting. the white part of the egg was also still clear in some parts which i do find off putting but my dining companion was cool with it and ate that part. slightly more cooked egg would have been my preference (but yolk still runny). the style of the pizza was great and "rustic" really describes it well with the thicker charred crust (neapolitan style-esque). it was really really delicious.

for the entree we selected the rotisserie special, a whole rabbit. this item appears to change on occasion but thanks to the very eager yelper soft opening diners before us, I got the heads up of the rabbit via posted photos. price is also not listed since the item changes, but it was $39 for the whole rabbit. we were first told it did not include any sides, so i selected the roasted carrots app to accompany it as that seemed to already be getting rave reviews. and might i say, i dont often add vegetable sides to a meal but THAT is something special - and you would hope so for $8! baby carrots, a (very unique) mint pesto, and almonds. delicious... rustic (is that getting redundant yet?)...yum. it turned out that the rabbit did include purple potatoes and marinated olives, but i was glad to also sample those special carrots. the rabbit was delicious, but rabbits are small animals lacking much meat so it was definitely a modest portion of protein between two people. adding a shared pizza made it a perfectly satisfying dinner.

overall very lovely experience. as a 2 party reservation I felt slightly shafted placed on the very small bar height tables on the edge of the outside across from the bar. our original table had the outside light very brightly shown directly on the table like a spotlight, blinding in the corner of your eye. we asked to move farther down. i hope they have addressed the harsh...

We ate at Catania for the first time last night. We were in town for our son's white coat ceremony at UCSD med school. I had called in advance to inquire about family style eating and the man on the phone was super nice and said they encouraged sharing and exploring the full menu and that the wait staff was trained to help curate the experience. After my conversation with him I was so excited for the night given how awesome he was and the restaurants accolades. We arrived for our 8:15 reservation right on time and were greeted by the usual blase hostess (I'm always amazed that restaurants in towns with so many college students can't find someone perky for that first impression spot). Our table on the patio was perfect. The waitress, a blonde woman with ponytail, dropped off menus with no introduction and told us they were out of one appetizer. When she came back to take our drink order and we were deciding between options. Instead of offering insights or suggestions, she said she'd come back when we were ready. When we asked for suggestions on ordering family style she said 'everyone should order an entree and share a few antipasta'...duh..we've been to a restaurant before...she offered NO information/insight/personality. This was her chance to hype up her chefs or encourage us to try something overlooked. Her absolute indifference was astounding. Same with dessert. Props to the woman who poured our water..she at least commented on how they make the hazelnut crust on a dessert. The kicker was when the waitress stealthily slid the check on the table without a 'thank you for coming' or 'hope it was all right'. Then to find there is an automatic 20% tip added in. We are not punitive tippers..,she would have gotten 15% for walking to the table but in no way did she a $70+ tip for the 90 mins of indifference she brought to our dining experience.. Basic greetings should be a given. A kiosk would have been more personable. The salad , pizzas, pasta, and lamb we ordered were delicious but a good server is like seasoning to the dining experience and she ruined the sauce. The owners and kitchen staff have created a great food and atmosphere experience and deserve...

Let's put it this way: Catania is not awful.

I started with the Ahi Crudo, a competent appetizer of raw fish swimming in a sweet melon gazpacho with harmonizing flavors. A lot sweeter than expected, but it was alright. Perhaps the entrée will be better?

I asked my waiter about the Duck Sugo Orecchiette -- "this is good, right?" and he assured me it was not only good but that it was Catania's signature dish. I found it to be distinctly mediocre, tasting more like the kind of ragù bolognese sauce you can get anywhere these days. Sure, it is made with ground duck, but you can't tell it's duck because the identity of the meat's been simmered away and supplanted with an overwhelming amount of cream and parmesan. Also, orecchiette seems like the wrong pasta for this creamy, vegetable-less sauce.

Mario Batali once said on one of his old "Molto Mario" episodes that Italian food is all about balance, and that you dress your pasta like you dress a salad: it is about the noodle, not the condiment. Indeed, when I've had my most memorable Italian meals, the flavors are subtle and gentle, and each ingredient can be distinctly noted and savored. Solare in Liberty Station and Vivace in Carlsbad are local examples of Italian restaurants that are capable of creating food like this. Unfortunately, this is not the case at Catania -- the dishes here are in "attack mode," relentlessly kicking one in the tongue and around the mouth and then, ultimately, in the gut.

My wife is a big fan of Whisknladle and to borrow an overused Yelp cliché, we both "really wanted this place to be great." It's close to where we live and the views are nice. But even though it is run by the WNL group, Catania is not WNL. Catania is much closer in terms of food quality and service to Prepkitchen. And for many people who just want to eat at a relatively affordable (for La Jolla) restaurant with a view, that's OK. For my money, I can do better -- because THEY can do better, as evidenced by...