Borgo Italia Bar & Caffe

Went for dinner last night with some friends. We were so disappointed at the mediocre food and marginal service for the price. The chicken saltimbocca was dry and tasteless with a little piece of prosciutto attached on top with a hidden toothpick. The waitress did warn me about it. The veal stew was chewy and I’ve had better frozen lasagna. The drinks did not come out at the same time, leaving two of us to wait another five minutes for our cocktails and the clearing was very interrupting. I will not go back and predict this place will be history by 2014.

Decent addition to Oakland. I think there’s hope. Desserts and fried bread salumi plate (torta) are excellent. Pasta dishes were fresh and nicely flavored but the ragu tagliatelle could use more sauce and spaghetti was a bit plain. We didn’t try the pizza so can’t comment on that. The décor is nice too. Pleasant service. I’d definitely return to try all those pastries!

The lasagna is out of this world: Mr D. and I came back a second time just so I can have another helping of it, since my otherwise considerate husband had the nerve to eat my very own lasagna doggie bag I was keeping for myself in the fridge. The nerve!
I had this time the fennel salad for appetizer: it was tasty, healthy and beautifully presented. Mr D had the bruschetta and the tagliatelle: perfectly copious and tasty as well.
We did not have dessert, and we did not either last time we came. It appears neither of us is interested in tiramisu, cheesecake or panna cotta. Yet, we are dessert people, and we really enjoy both the atmosphere, menu, service and décor of Borgo I. So maybe add other choices on the dessert menu? I can somehow picture blackcurrant sorbet as a natural for this restaurant and location… Or a fig tart.
One word about the décor: I knew of this restaurant when it was named simply «B». The name was probably not the greatest in the PR department, because I liked their atmosphere and the menu was fine, but B was always empty, and obviously went under. Borgo Italia took the space over, and far from changing the gorgeous bones of that building (original victorian mosaic, high ceiling, industrial pillars part of the structure, great curved bar shape) it kept it and added to the charm –without excess– with original furniture and informal flower buckets in the entryway. Thank you so much for keeping the old Oakland charm, Borgo I.

So great! If you get Sarah as your server you have already won
Panna Cotta is amazing
Tiramisu was ok
Lasagna fantastic
4 Seasons Pizza, very good — it seems like an odd mix of ingredients, but it is delicious
Service very good.
I will definitely be back

I’m always happy here. Delicious, unpretentious food. Simple, genuine Italian menu (at least that’s how I recall my visit to Italy).
It’s a beautiful restaurant in a great location — lots of windows overlooking Old Oakland. I highly recommend the spaghetti dishes: Very light and flavorful. The fennel/​orange salad is great. And of course there are the bread ‘pillows’ with salami.
Service is okay, not fantastic. My one complaint — and the one reason I would hesitate to take out-​of-​town guests — is the music. *Really loud* annoying old pop tunes. This is a place where we should get some simple, downtempo stuff (loungey, in the background). But instead we have to tolerate Michael Jackson, the Jackson Five, and worse, all turned up too loud. I do not understand this choice for such an elegant little restaurant. (Please, whoever’s in charge, go across the street to District and take notes!)

I came here again to give it another try because I did think I remembered the food being pretty good despite a not-​so-​perfect dining experience the first time.
Instead, of redeeming itself on food quality, this place has really got me mad. I feel ripped off as if this is authentic Italian food and I just don’t have a fine enough taste for expensive food with mediocre preparation and taste.
I ordered a $ 20 piece of lasagna and it was so dry with nothing else on the plate; no vegetables, sauce, or attention. the lasagna had the look, feel, and taste of being reheated in a microwave. It looked like it was hard enough to use as a door stop. I also ordered a plate of tomato soup and I think it was the soup that made me sick soon after. It was acidic, yet very plain, and I used the soup over my lasagna to make it less dry. Thank goodness the panna cotta was delicious. I was tired of frowning and hoping the whole time.
Revisiting this restaurant made me think of two other restaurants: 1.) Giovanni’s; even though I prefer the décor and neighborhood of Borgo Italia, I was wishing that I was at Giovanni’s eating their lasagna instead, it’s just a few dollars less expensive at Gio’s but it comes with a very tasty sauce, and delicious vegetables, and the cheese has always been cheesy, and never felt or tasted like it was sitting there for a while.
2.) Riva Cucina: Probably the best Panna Cotta I’ve ever had (in addition to their chocolate cake!) They’re food is fantastic and I feel that this is what people expect when they go to Borgo.
Whenever I’m craving Italian food, I’ll stick to those two restaurants and unfortunately Borgo has been x’ed off my list. The end resulting bill including drinks, bland food, and dessert was not worth it. By the time I made it home, I was sweating and felt like I was going to puke and a few hours my boyfriend, who was my dinner date, threw up. He also thinks it was the tomato soup and both of us as soup lovers, agreed, it was just too sour and all in all, a waste of money. But to turn the negative into a positive, at least we now know for sure after a second try, that we don’t like or enjoy this place and we can move on. Having said that, I do hope this restaurant improves.

We heard about Borgo from our very good friend Stephanie. We love trying new places and needed a fun night out, so I made a reservation.
When we arrived, we heard a little about the dishes they made but decided to also try a couple new things off the menu. We ordered a nice bottle of red wine that was recommended by our friendly waitress.
We ordered this puff pastry bread with the cheese and meat platter. The puff pastry bread was hot and fluffy, the soft cheeses melted like butter. We were very impressed by the size of the meat and cheese platter alone, for the price $ 14 — worth every penny and bite.
For my starter I ordered the heirloom tomato soup, which was great. I love to cook and the biggest disappointment is soups that are overly done or sweet. It had nice clean flavors and I enjoyed it very much.
My guy ordered the Spinach Salad, which is also a favorite of mine. We plan our dishes so we can share and try everything. The presentation alone was lovely.
For our meal, we ordered the Bolognese sauce over the polenta and shared it. I am disappointed that I missed the opportunity of taking a picture because it looked and was really good.
But the very best part of the entire meal was the panna cotta for dessert. Our very smart waitress suggested that we try the balsamic reduction with the dessert and it was amazing. The smooth creamy flavors combined with the sweet balsamic was a match made. We also had the tiramisu which was also good, but I have to say that I was partial to the panna cotta.
The food was great and the night was so fun. Trying a new place with really good food is like inspiration to me and my own cooking. That in itself is worth a nice on the town and giving a new place a try.

I had seen a write up about Borgo and had passed by it multiple times and thought how great it would be for a date night spot. The hubs and I finally made a reservation for a Friday night and when we arrived we were seated immediately in one of the small booths. The décor is rustic and romantic… candles on every table and lot’s of windows that look out to the treelined streets.
We decided to order an onion soup to share (tasty and savory, although it would have been nice to have some sprinkles of parmesan cheese with it), the veal stew (large portion, hearty with tender chunks of veal that came with a side of sauteed bell peppers) and the fried polenta with sausage (a deep fried delicious square of polenta, a pork sausage, sauteed onions and sprinkled with raddichio). Overall we thought the dishes were very good and good sized. They have a good variety of dishes to choose from on their menu so there is something for everyone with a pretty good wine list.
The staff was super friendly and attentive and all the food came out in an appropriate time. Parking is street only but there is a lot next door to park at for a small fee.
Overall, this is a great little italian spot to spend a date night or maybe a nice dinner with a small group of friends.

I visited Borgo with three friends from work. We went for lunch.
We shared an appetizer. For meals, two of us had soup and salad, one had a pizza, and I had an entrée (Chicken Milanese). The bill was over $ 90 or $ 23 per person, before tip. Mind you, this was lunch. The price wouldn’t have been objectionable if the food lived up. But it didn’t.
The flatbread appetizer («from the wood-​fired oven») was cold (not room temperature, but actually cold); it was also oily and soggy. None of us liked it. We left most of it on the table. My friends didn’t like their soups, and one sampled no more than a spoonful, leaving an entire bowl on the table. My Chicken Milanese came missing its fixings, and with parts of a completely different meal on the plate, including sausage, peppers, and a sauce for the other meal, which pretty much ruined what I had ordered. The waitress brought the chef over, who thought my plate was very odd, but nobody offered to fix it, which was even more odd. With so much uneaten food on the table, you’d think they would offer to remove something, anything, from the bill, but they didn’t.
The four of us agreed: we won’t be going back.

Food was fine, service (waitress) terrible, she did’nt have a clue, about serving in the USA. Wrong orders, wrong sequence of delivery, and a very wrong. Attitude.
Too bad as good food also needs good service. This is not a restaurant I would recommend with this server on the premises.

We read about Borgo from Oakland/​Alameda Magazine. The write up was so enticing that we decided to check it out.
NOTE TO OWNER/​MANAGER/​CHEF: since this is a fairly new restaurant that still needs to find its audience, it may behoove you to read the reviews from people who CAN and WILL influence their friends to patronize or avoid this place. We didn’t read the reviews before we went there — but we did while waiting for our food. And I’m writing one now.
Fabulous building with amazing architectural details such as the mosaic tile floor at the entry. Love the idea of outdoor dining (assuming of course that this place will be in huge demand that dining will overflow). But the décor was confusing. Not quite sure if they were going for country ambience with a high-​priced menu.
Loud rock and roll music. What a turn off. We could hardly hear ourselves talk. We asked that the music be turned down. They did. Without attitude. But why do we even have to ask?
Engage the wait staff. Ilaria didn’t impress other reviewers. But she warmed up to us after we engaged her in conversation. We received prompt and courteous service with a smile.
Homemade pasta was absolutely perfect — very light as opposed to store bought. Note that I complimented the pasta, but not the dishes.
We ordered the lasagna (with béchamel-​style instead of tomato-​based meat sauce), and the tortelli. Both appeared to have the same meat sauce/​topping. So although we were hoping to have different meals, it seemed like the same meal, just different kind of pasta. We wouldn’t have minded if the sauce tasted great. it didn’t.
We don’t like overly sweet desserts, but although these were creamy, they were rather bland. Panna cotta wasn’t much different from the tiramisu. What’s the deal with the mason jar? Is that part of the country motif?
Quite pricey… we wanted to really enjoy dining here… but we didn’t. If you’re in search for a good Italian restaurant, this may disappoint. Well… WE were disappointed.

We enjoyed such a DELICIOUS dinner at Borgo Italia last night. The food was exceptional start to finish. Fabio greeted guests and went out of his way to accommodate requests such as leaving a vase of roses on the table during the afternoon as a surprise for me on our anniversary. Fabio agreed without hesitation! When we arrived, we sat down and our waiter welcomed us warmly and offered a glass of Prosecco. We declined and instead ordered a glass of red wine and a San Pellegino Blood Orange Sparkling Soda. Bread was brought to the table with olive oil and a balsamic reduction — absolutely fabulous! And the glass of Accordini was excellent.
Borgo Italia’s menu is organized like restaurants in Italy: ANTIPASTI (appetizers); MINISTRE (soups); PIZZE (pizzas), INSALATA (salads); PRIMI (pasta/​rice dishes); SECONDI (meat/​fish dishes); CONTORNI (side dishes); DOLCI (desserts).
We started with the Torta Fritta Emiliana, which is a fried bread with a pocket for sliced salumi, proscuitto, and other spiced meat. It was very, very good. In fact, when we finished the bread, another plate of bread simply appeared on the table, as someone noticed our bread getting low.
I ordered the tomatoe soup and a salad of mixed greens, goat cheese, and balsamic vinegarette. The soup was so delicious, I wanted to lick the bowl clean! And the salad with baby mixed greens, goat cheese, and that incredible balsamic reduction was amazing! My other half ordered tortellini filled with marscapone & parmesean reggiano in a red meat sauce. He just loved it! After a couple glasses of wine and a couple Italian sodas during dinner, we were full — and very happy. We couldn’t help but notice how loud it became as tables filled.
The restaurant is beautifully decorated and our waiter was both informative and very nice. Unfortunately, he was also busy. We arrived for dinner at 5:00pm and were the only ones seated. After taking our antipasti order, he became busy preparing things for the dinner service. We waited (and waited) to order dinner. After nearly 30 minutes, my other half called out to someone walking by our table to please tell our waiter that we’d like to order. Despite these small snafus, we enjoyed our meal very much.
It came as a surprise that our bill was just under $ 100 for an appetizer, a bowl of soup, a small salad, and a small dish of pasta — two glasses of wine and two sodas. We eat out often and found Borgo Italia’s prices 25% higher than comparable restaurants, where we have to bring leftovers home because we can’t finish everything. The food and wine are very good at Borgo Italia, but it’s pricey given the size of the portions.
I’m sorry to say that my other half made a peanut butter & jelly sandwich around 9:00pm last night.

I came here many times with Le GF.
Granted we’ve tried little dishes here and there:
A good example would be their Spezzatino di Vitello: (
)
and the Margherita pizza in the background of the same picture.
But the one thing we agree on the most is their high quality:
Panna Cotta: (
). Now this thing is creaminess at its finest. The following items mentioned are just as creamy if not creamier than whip cream in comparison:
My pastry chef friend’s double layer Tiramisu, 85C’s Japanese Milk Pudding (Various Cities Southern, Cali), Krispy Kreme (Various Cali locations), Condensed Milk Ice Cream from Hokkaido and well made Crème Brulee.
This is probably one of my favorite dessert items in Oakland (next to Flora’s infamous Caramel Sea Salt Pudding, which may have some competition from Lungomare’s; I’ll explain more in a future review).
The customer service is Italian and welcoming, the décor is classic and has that nice home and garden feel (with the exception of booth seating). The music is random (heard EDM, Country and some Jazz). Overall, gotta give this place a 3.5. On two reasons:
Some of the menu offerings although they change ingredients on certain dishes once in a while. Sometimes it takes a nose dive in quality…
E.G.: Risotto Parmesan (excellent) vs. Risotto Al Funghi (not so much). Also they should have a take out option for their desserts (I’ll get more business, believe that)
Otherwise, despite everything I’m very glad at least I have light lunch/​dessert options in Oakland. Cheers!

This is one of those times where service is everything. My girlfriend and I walked in at 9:55 pm, an hour before the posted closing time of 11:00 pm on Saturday night last week. We were given menus and asked if we’d like drinks by a really nice younger girl and it all went downhill from there.
We didn’t know what we were eating immediately so it took us a couple minutes to figure out our drink order, since I wanted a bottle of wine paired with my dinner. An Italian lady (Ilaria, I think) came over to take our order and we let her know we needed another minute. She then informed us that the kitchen was closing and stood there waiting for our order while we sat there with wide eyes because we couldn’t believe she was acting so rudely.
She brought our bottle of wine, did not present it, or let us taste, and proceeded to pour us huge glasses of it. Who does that??? We were appalled at how rude she was. Obviously, we were seated in the wrong section and she wanted to go home. Honestly, she should never be a server ANYWHERE. She never asked us how anything was and basically stood there waiting for me to pay the check when we weren’t even finished and there were still 3 other large tables enjoying themselves. It was unbelievable; laughable, really. After the 3^rd time of her asking, I finally let her take my plate. She wanted it more than I did.
If you go here, make sure you do not get the curly dark haired lady server.
The food was good, portions were on the small side, but the menu was affordable. I enjoyed the gnocchi, until it was taken from me…

Dinner at Borgo: a huge disappointment. We love their pastries, but for weeks they haven’t had any. We love their staff, who are sweet and charming. But the kitchen failed to charm us while whacking us over the head with enough salt to float the Titanic.
Please don’t tell me this is ‘authentic’ cooking… because I don’t care if it is. I’m on a low-​salt diet, my spouse is, my MIL is, my entire family is, and 80% of our friends are on low-​salt diets. Even the Gen Xers are starting to be told to lower their BP readings or start taking medication. Oversalted food just won’t fly with us. You can always add salt to food, but you can’t take it out once the kitchen has tossed it around with abandon.
The menu was strangely austere and uninteresting. All three flatbreads sounded the same. All three pizzas, ditto. We were given a flatbread for free, and it was just bread, rosemary, EVOO, and a ton of salt. A lovely gesture, and it was hot and fresh, but it just wasn’t interesting unless you’re a carb loader.
The tomato sauce for the pasta is very good. The size is decent for a light meal or multi-​course dining. I tried the gluten-​free corn fusilli, which was too firm with too little sauce; it’s better with the linguine. Be sure to add the cheese, very high quality with a great flavor punch.
The side green salads that came with all entrees were too heavy on the vinegar/​salt; everyone left them virtually untouched. The breaded chicken cutlet was thin and too dry. The veal in white wine sauce was the most miniscule serving I have ever seen of this meat. If there was more than 2 oz. of veal on the plate I would be very surprised. Most of what she received was sautéed mixed bell peppers and onions. Both of these entrees felt very basic, lacking interest.
Of the three entrees, my sausage was the most successful. The two fat links were salty but tasty, delicious from the red wine. The onions still had a little crunch with a sweet tanginess to them. The serving was generous and the flavors were bold. But I got tired of the excessive salt and gave the last few bites to my spouse to finish.
Paul Ferrari has been quoted as saying «…Borgo Italia Cucina Casalinga is… homemade food – simple cuisine made with really good ingredients. It’s the kind of place that people should feel comfortable going to, it’s not for special occasions, but where you can… eat good food that’s not too pretentious.’»
The problem is that Borgo seems to have swung too far away from pretentious into simple-​mindedness. This was a good meal, but at the «B» level. We love Borgo’s ciambelle and beignets, and the fun waitstaff. We’d like to see them succeed in the toughest business in the most difficult city and neighborhood when it comes to location.
But we aren’t sure they are the right restaurant in the right place at the right time. And that makes us sad, because the sausage dish showed that there is some good food to be had. But «good» doesn’t always translate to «interesting» or even «good value.» Within easy reach there’s many places at the same price level, with more creative and satisfying food.
At this point, the only reason to return is for coffee and pastry (when they have any!). And that’s sad, because it would only take a few tweaks to get Borgo more attractive to local diners.

Borgo Italia has been on my radar for some time to try. When it comes to food Italian cuisine is my absolute favorite, particularly cuisine from Roma and Tuscana. Due to pure vanity and performance requirements to maintain my waistline, it is also the the type of food I eat the least. When I got a text from a couple of friends who were already there to join them, I made a b-​line for Borgo.
Ambiance is very warm, intimate and has the rustic family feel. There is a variety of seating options from large communal tables and booths to smaller tables for more intimate dining in the back.
Service–
We sat at the bar and were greeted immediately by the bartender, Mike, who was one of the highlights of our time at Borgo. Mike was animated, funny, attentive and most importantly never let me see the bottom of my wine glass. Fabio, Borgo Italia owner, also came by and introduced himself. He was incredibly gracious and made sure that we were taken care of and had everything that we needed.
Food–
Pasta is a HUGE weakness for me. For reasons stated earlier, I had to refrain from the larger pasta dishes and I was so sad about it. I opted for the trendy vegetable of the moment: oven roasted brussel sprouts, risotto al vino rosso and chicken medallions. The brussel sprouts were wonderful with the perfect char. You can’t really go wrong there. The consistency and spread of the risotto was nice and bite was all’onda. The boneless chicken breast with with sage leaves was very nice as well. But who are we kidding here? I am a pasta fanatic, so I really need to come back and try the rest of their pasta dishes! I’ll update the review then. I’m also hoping that more seafood options are added as a protein to the menu in the future.
Wine–
I’m not a fan of whites, but after my zoom whitening session I’m trying to get there. I had a wonderul Pinot Griggio on recommendation from the server. Unfortunately I can’t recall the name.
Overall, my experience at Borgo was wonderful and what one would expect from Italian hospitality! Service was fantastic and the food definitely hit the spot. Can’t wait to return!

So I was talked into coming here by my Italian friend who told me we were going to show up and the owner would just put food in front of us. I read some of the reviews beforehand, and was intrigued by the schizophrenic reviews, so here’s my take:
The torta fritta appetizer which everybody raves about (fried dough and salumi) really exceeded my expectations-​so simple, so damn good!
But even better than the torta fritta was the pesto gnocchi, probably the best I ever had– little delicious green pillows from heaven.
There was a lentil and sausage dish that I forgot the name of, apparently it’s what Italians eat on New Years, my friend said it tasted just like it should. I was surprised, it definitely didn’t look like any Italian dish I ever had, but then again the owner explained that he was trying to bring authentic home cooking to the mainstream, and I haven’t had many dinners in Italian homes. Still, I liked the dish, simple and hearty.
Come for the torta fritta and the pesto gnocchi, but explore the menu and try something new that’s found on dinner tables in Italy.

We’ve stopped in twice. First a few months back, on a whim, for some pastry and an espresso. The pastry was ok, but the espresso NOT acceptable. (They may have changed bean suppliers since then, so the coffee might be better… but if they, positioning themselves as so «Italian», can’t get espresso even close, well. Now, I’ve been roasting my own beans for 13 years and pulling great shots from a great machine for nearly 20, so I do know a bit about coffee… just takes care and attention.) But while we were there, we observed the kitchen and it did not give me confidence… lots of «on the job training» going on at the stovetop, and it was not a pretty sight.
Then a couple days ago, on the way to the airport for a drop-​off, we decided to have a quick lunch, and this was on the way, and we’d wanted to give it another try. (Notice I avoided the obvious pun: give it another shot.) We ordered a couple pizze, and an insalata to split three ways. Cutting to the chase: we will not return. The pizze were insipid: sauce too sweet, mozzarella was tasteless, and with each successive bite, as they cooled down, they became more and more disagreeable. Didn’t like the crust, it was lacking character and chew. I’ve got some experience making this stuff, and eating pizza «a legna» in many different locales. This must rank at, or very near, the bottom of the list.
At home I have a chitarra (they don’t, but call one of the pastas «alla chitarra») for making pasta (and am certified as a ‘sfoglino’ from Bologna’s best pasta school), some pizza stones, and the best espresso in the East Bay, so I’ll not take up anyone else’s space at Borgo in the future! YMMV!!!

Borgo Italia is italian, a cuisine i seldom eat (not counting chef boy ar-​dee). décor looks the same as before.
eats:
–comped bread with pungent olive oil
tasty, more than the pizza
— potato leek soup (8)
a plateful of creamy potato and invigorating leeks. fresh tasting
3,5 stars
–marinara anchovy pizza (13)
pizza was crunchy hard, marinara sauce was dry. anchovies fresh and fishy smelling
hard crust not my kind of pizza
–3 stars at most
pour: la rossa birra (6)
–smooth, dark beer.\
3.5 stars
notes:
–food didn’t win me over.
–skipped desert, pastries (the best part?)
–may get pastries some day.

I’m sad to see so many of the bad reviews on here, that seem to focus on the lack of things like diet coke and iced tea, when this is supposed to be an authentic Italian restaurant. Also, this is the restaurant’s first few days, not even week, in business.
I love the décor. Dining there, I feel like I’ve been transported to Italy. The experience is very authentic, and it’s a nice respite from running around the city and working all day. The service was a bit disorganized, but everyone was very friendly, and happy to make sure we got what we needed. Several reviewers have complained about sharing portions, I actually love that the food is served family style in the pans it’s cooked in.
We also stopped by in the afternoon for a cappuccino and homemade pastry. It was nice just sitting at the counter and relaxing.
Others should definitely stop by and check this place out, keeping in mind that they are still very new and ironing out the kinks.