Civico 1845 — Restaurant in San Diego

We made a reservation for an anniversary date. When we got there, we stood around for around 2 minutes before anyone acknowledged us, which was kind of awkward because there were 2-3 people who worked there present.

We were told there was no more indoor seating, and we'd have to sit outside, and then we had to wait a few more minutes before a table was ready for us. We would have prefferd to sit inside, but I appreciated the heating lamps outside. We were given a choice between seating that was across the sidewalk from the restaurant/outdoor diners and a small table in the corner by other outdoor diners. We chose the latter. The table was very unstable. We unfortunately felt overlooked by staff at some points throughout the meal.

We smelled another diners food, and it smelled phenomenal. We were very excited to eat. We love that they have a vegan menu. The bread and pesto were absolutely delicious. They served the bread in a paper bag, which was kind of funny and different, especially for a more upscale restaurant.

We ordered the vegan Caprese, which was really disappointing initially. It was 5 slices of okay tasting tomato, 4 slices of plant based mozzarella that tasted bizarre, and had a horrible texture, pesto, and sliced pesto leaves. For $15, it missed the mark. I asked for balsamic vinegar and poured some on top, and that made a HUGE difference. I really recommend considering adding that or a balsamic glaze to the dish. It would enhance the flavors and make it more visually appealing as well.

Half an hour after the caprese came out, our vegan lasagna came out. I'm glad we were planning on splitting each dish, or else one of us would have been finished long before the others' food came out. The lasagna was REALLY good! $28 for one serving is still a stretch, but the lasagna was the superstar of the night.

We ordered the vegan tiramisu, which I was super excited to try and appreciate them having. The first couple bites were similar to doing an easier version of the cinnamon challenge because the top layer was a heaping helping of what tasted like chocolate milk powder. It didn't taste like coffee at all. It was pretty good, but the texture got slightly unappealing by the end.

It took a while for anyone to check on us, to offer a dessert menu, to give us the check, etc.

When we made the reservation online, we were asked if there was a special reason for the reservation, and we have put an anniversary. I think if you're not going to tell customers happy anniversary, happy birthday, etc., then you shouldn't ask about the reason for the visit when a reservation is made.

Overall, the dining experience was fine, the food was eh to good to okay, but considering the prices of the items on the menu, we had been hoping for an experience that was more than mostly fine/eh/okay.

With a little more attention to detail, Civico 1845 could be absolutely magnificent. I might be open to going again one day if I happen to be in the area, but I would definitely try a different appetizer...

Very good, but nothing new nor memorable…

We researched and read more than one review praising this restaurant, so we decided to book for dinner; by the way, CIVICO 1845 requests a credit card in case of a no-show, something that set the expectations bar even higher. However though, from beginning to end, the CIVICO 1845 experience was nothing outstanding, nothing we’ve not seen may times in many other places.

The restaurant is simply decorated, dimly lit and cozy, far from current instagramable stylish trends; the venue is not ample but still comfortable, should you visit on a wheelchair, be sure to let the restaurant know beforehand so you can get a comfortable, unobstructed table.

Service was not the highlight of the visit, it felt rushed and frigid; from the hostess, who tried to give us the worst possible table despite the restaurant being almost empty and having booked in advance, to the uncaring waitress who did nothing but deliver the menus and ask whether we were ready to order, and the busboy who tried to deliver the main course while we were still working on the appetizers. I can’t say staff were rude or unpolite, just not welcoming nor caring.

Food was not spectacular, neither in preparation nor in creativity, nothing you probably haven’t had somewhere else. For antipasti we had the bruschetta and the polpette, which were very good but again, as many others we’ve tried. Then we had the pomodoro salad, truly fresh but the house dressing tasted like herbs and olive oil. For main course we had the scialiatelli civico and the pappardelle brasato, both really tasty but very well-known flavors despite the former being CIVICO’s flagship pasta. As a side comment, both pastas arrived lukewarm after I had to send them back when the busboy firstly brought them while we were still working on the appetizers.

Anywho, finally, I think prices at this restaurant are reasonable, we spent something less than $100 per person wine bottle included. So, overall, CIVICO 1845 is not a bad dining option at all and be sure there is no animosity intended in this review, though service could improve a little, food quality and its preparation ranges on the...

Lived in San Diego for a handful of years and this was a go to spot so naturally we made a reservation when coming back into town. Not sure what happened but it was awful, fast paced house music playing when we showed up for our reservation. We were sat quickly which was great, threw in our appetizer, the zucchini blossoms, which were a huge disappointment. It was more fried stem of the blossom than actual blossom so if you enjoy eating fried asparagus that's essentially what you will get with a blossom about 1/5 the size of the stem. Server came back I ordered Pappardelle Brasato, which was fine. Nothing to complain or rave about. Wife ordered Cacio de PePe which was apparently sold out. Understandable but with such simple ingredients did they run out of artichoke, prosciutto, parmesan or the pasta? Instead she got Raviolo Al Gamberi which was trash, unfortunately. Pasta was overcooked and rubbery the texture of the stuffing left something to be desired. We opted to not eat that dish and send it back without ordering anything else. Once we sent our food back it felt very much like it was time for us to leave. We immediately got our check from our server even though we had half bottle of wine left and we had been sitting for a total of maybe 20mins after being sat for our 730 reservation. Trying to get the attention of someone just to refill a water glass was a task. We spoke with our server to sort things out as well as a manager who had told us that the restaurant is recently under new management which is unfortunate because the family that owed and operated it previously did it right. There is no fine Italian dining experience anymore. The entire experience felt rushed and impersonal, house music is not what you listen to while eating Italian. For $121 I was hoping for more than a bottle of wine, mediocre zucchini blossoms, Pappardelle and indigestion. Honestly eating from a road side shack with questionable health standards was less stressful than...