Amalfi Marina Bar (Dockside) — Restaurant in San Marcos

I get no pleasure from leaving negative reviews, but since we emailed management at this location about our experience and they chose to ignore us, I feel this review is warranted. I had been to this restaurant several times, and for the most part have had a great experience. Unfortunately my last was a disaster and my family and friends have unanimously chosen not to come back. We went to Amalfi for my step-moms birthday, and right off the bat our server "Genaro" was extremely short, impatient and rude. At first we dismissed it because he seemed busy, but as the night progressed he took out his frustration on my little sister, and father due to them having difficulty ordering from their menu. He rolled his eyes at my father ordering a steak well done, and he dismissed my sister’s questions pertaining to her food allergy, not offering any suggestions or even attempt to accommodate her requests. We placed our orders and Genaro yanked our menus upon leaving. As our entrees came out my girlfriend’s meal took the longest, and unfortunately the food runner dropped the Bolognese plate on the floor spraying my girlfriend’s jeans and new shoes. I understand accidents happen, and by no means am I leaving this review just based on this mistake. Their immediate response was appropriate, they swapped her chair, apologized, and brought her napkins. However, no soda water or anything to address the spillage on her pant or shoes was offered. In fact I had to ask 3 times for soda water as to mitigate the sauce staining her jeans and shoes( The jeans were salvaged but the shoes were stained). My girlfriend then had to wait 20 minutes for her new entrée where the food runner, visibly upset laid it down rather aggressively, like it was her fault. Our server Genaro came by once with a half-hearted apology and no manager ever came by to touch the table and ensure everything was remedied from the incident. At this point I reached out to a manager who ended up being one of the owners, Emiliano. I asked to speak to him outside as to not make a scene, and discussed the issues we were having regarding our dinner. He seemed sympathetic, but I’m not sure he entirely understood what I was communicating to him regarding our experience. He then apologized and offered to “comp” our desserts. Again, a nice gesture but it seemed like he missed the entire point of why we were upset about the service. I then proceeded to sit back down at our table, when it appears Emilio notified Genaro of my complaints. Genaro then decided it was appropriate to come to our table and confront me about my complaints while we were finishing up our entrees. He sarcastically apologized and stated "I'm sorry you feel I'm not paying enough attention to you, but I'm very busy tonight." I chose to have my discussion with the manager outside as to not make a scene, but the server clearly had other ideas. At that point I had lost my appetite and patience, and told Genaro that his timing and service were not appropriate, and as he wanted to continue to argue I finally stated "I did not have time to teach him how to do his job." When I asked for the check, they did “comp” the desserts that we barely touched, however they still tried to charge us for my girlfriend's entrée, which she ended up only having 2 bites. As we left the restaurant, my girlfriend in her stained jeans and shoes, Emiliano came up to ask how the desserts were but to also defend Genaro that he actually was apologetic, and "he is a good guy." I stated again that I did not agree, and he needed training on how to treat customers. Decent location and view, satisfactory food,...

I've been to this restaurant three times now. Every time I go, I bring more people with me. It's seriously WONDERFUL! Let's start with the location: perched on the edge of a lake, you feel like you're stepping into another world! There are swans lazily puttering around, a view of a small vineyard located on opposite side of the lake, and there are GONDOLAS on the water...GONDOLAS! It's amazing! I kept thinking, "Where even am I?" Then there is the service: this is a family owned restaurant; an ITALIAN family owns and runs this place. They are the most welcoming, friendly and lively bunch I've ever had the pleasure of visiting! With the way they interact with one another, bantering in Italian; laughing and just enjoying each other as they serve their guests... It felt like these people REALLY, truly LOVE what they do; they love to serve and to feed and to connect with their guests. I felt like I was visiting them in one of their own homes. Everyone I have brought to Amalfi Cucina Italiana has raved about their experience. Now for the food: this is LEGIT Italian food. I think the only thing more authentic would be to go to Italy herself...but maybe not even then. I heard that the chef who makes the pizzas is actually from the place in Italy where pizza was invented... Napoli? I have to be honest: I've only had the pizza here. I'm seriously ADDICTED to it. It's SOOOO good! The crust is like nothing I've had anywhere else. It's the perfect balance of soft, fluffy, doughy and crispy somehow. I don't know how they do it. I'm sure there is some sort of wizardry involved. I highly recommend the margherita pizza. One day I might try one of the other tempting dishes that I see come out of that kitchen. But for now, my heart is full with the most perfect pizza I've ever had. This place is PERFECT for a casual date night, a special occasion, or just some friends and family getting together. The upstairs, indoor dining area should be opening any day. I got to peek inside today and... Oh boy! I seriously want to move in to that place and call it home. Blue velvet sofas; gold mosaic pizza oven; purple orchids everywhere; fireplace; posh bar with wines and spirits galore; gorgeous view of the lake; incredible photographic art of different iconic Italian destinations grace the walls. I cannot say enough good things about this place. I seriously want to be adopted into this family. I'm sure my actual parents would understand and agree with me. Please do yourself the biggest favor you'll ever do for yourself, and visit this restaurant! Heads up: they don't require masks here. It's literally a breath of fresh air. The staff does not wear masks either. Life feels normal and happy here! If you prefer to wear a mask, that is okay. You will not be treated any differently. But if being around unmasked people makes you uncomfortable or makes you feel unsafe, you may want skip this place and visit your local Pizza...

We had a date night set while visiting San Diego and always enjoyed going to Decoy. Once we heard the chef from Buono Forchetta was tied to the rebranded venue, Amalfi Cucina we decided to pay a visit. I hate rating anything low, especially when the food is superb because it was truly AMAZING. We had the artichoke, the Romana salad (my favorite), a special pasta dish with pesto and the Seabass special they were running. Unfortunately our service, or more of the service we received from our server was downright rude and a bit traumatizing. It took over 30 minutes for him to even address our table. When he did, I requested a mocktail in which he demanded that I order wine, ignored my request and then left me with water while he got my spouse his beer. We placed our entire order since we could see that the restaurant was getting busy and our server was rushing us. As I stated earlier the food was delicious and had all the right flavors and temps. Unfortunately our server came to refill my water and quickly poured it across the table spilling water on me. He didn't offer parmesan on the pasta nor did he come around to check on us or refill any drinks from that point on. We sat and waited and waited for another beer, a dessert menu, etc. After 40 minutes waiting, I flagged down staff members two separate times asking for our check. The check never came. Then a manger popped on the floor to touch tables. He touched EVERY SINGLE TABLE except for ours. At this point, after no beverages, nor a dessert menu or even a checkin on our table I head to the host stand to ask for a manager. The dumb hostess goes directly to our server and sends him to our table! No manager ever showed up. We tell him our disappointment with his subpar service and he said "well you should get dessert, let me get you something"... I told him we did not want dessert. I said very clearly after our back and forth convo, all we wanted was our check so we could go home to our kids and forget about the experience that was just bestowed on us. After he finally brought a card reader to our table, we pay, give the server his tip and leave. As we are walking out, he has the nerve to auction dessert my way as I walk by the kitchen. This man was extremely tacky and rude all in one. The fact that the hostess could not get a manager was baffling and to the manager Emiliano, if you truly believe in standards of service you wouldn't have skipped our table....