Filippo’s

My go-​to for delicious Italian food (especially the steak) with friendly service, nice lighting and bottomless wine. Can’t go wrong!

I was hoping this was going to be our local Italian spot… small, cute and quaint. But unfortunately, it was overpriced for what you received. We ordered the burrata appetizer which was fantastic. I ordered the chicken and mushroom penne and my husband ordered the spaghetti and meatballs. I think the chef needs to look at his plating, my meal was served in small bowl and my husbands was served on a small oval plate. The plating made our servings look extremely small (not worth the $ 16 price tag). Overall both pastas lacked flavor and the noodles were overcooked for my liking. We will be looking for another local Italian spot.

I’m really bummed to write this review because I used to love this place. I hadn’t been there in a few years and I stopped by to get takeout on the way home. The prices have gone up significantly AND the portion size (at least for what I ordered) has gotten smaller. I ordered the butternut squash ravioli and it was to the point that I went back inside to make sure they hadn’t charged me $ 18 (really) for the appetizer size. Nope, the little portion I took home was for the «entrée size.» And on top of that, it wasn’t even as good as it used to be. No brown sugar and only four sad little pieces of sage. Pretty flavorless. It used to be a great dish at a great price and now it’s a totally meh dish at a ridiculous price. I’ll pay for really good food but this is not it. I can only assume rent has gone way up and this is their way of trying to deal with it. It’s really too bad. I’ll be going back to Pasta Pomodoro up the street – their food is still good and well-​priced.

Worst food poisoning of my life. I would never consider eating there again. It is unfortunate that Oakland does not have a grading system for restaurants and only has a ‘pass/​no pass system’.

I have been to this restaurant twice before. I do not remember the prices being so high. $ 16 and up for an a la cart pasta dish a bit stiff, especially when the pasta is not home made. $ 40 for a large spinach salad (the waiter forgot the prosciutto on the side) and a large butternut ravioli (including tip). Despite the cozy ambiance, I will not be back. There are just too many other restaurants that offer more bang for the buck. Sorry Filippo’s!

I had high hopes for this cute, little restaurant near Rockridge BART, but it didn’t quite meet expectations. I had selected this place to try during Oakland Restaurant Week for a deal that included bruschetta, Caesar salad, any entrée and a glass of wine for $ 30. Service was extremely slow, but the bread with garlic olive oil that finally was brought to the table was very good. My chicken parmesan had great flavor but was pretty dry. All in all, not a bad experience but also not an especially great or memorable one.

I will start off with the positives. I have been to this establishment more than I can count. Probably 50+ times maybe more, who knows.
I love their complimentary bread and olive oil. You can also ask for balsamic and it is divine. I love their burrata and essentially only come here for this. I wish I could just order their burrata every time and enjoy the deliciousness that it is. Their cheesecake and custard are also exceptionally good. I would only recommend these select items on their menu.
Other than the above, the menu is mediocre at best. I’ve tried essentially everything on the menu and most items are either bland and lacking in flavor or just don’t make any sense to one’s palette. This all makes even less sense since everything is so severely over priced. I have tried to sift through the menu to give myself another reason to keep coming back here (besides just the above mentioned). Yet, I have done so in vain. Nothing such exists.
Furthermore, I have had some very questionable experiences with the staff and have become much less inclined to come back.
1. Your staff should not give your customers attitude for ordering 2 appetizers and 2 desserts; which come out costing the same as ordering an entrée, if not more. I have, on several occasions, been at the receiving end of very undeserved rudeness and attitude from waiters because of my orders. I am a paying patron, one who returns over and over again and brings business to your establishment. It is absolutely uncalled for.
2. A while back, my friend and I, were asked to move tables to make room for another party. At first, I thought nothing of this. I am always happy to oblige. But, then, I looked around and saw that we were the only people of color in this place. There were plenty of other customers who could have been asked to move their tables to make room… I saw as I looked around. Couples sitting at tables designated for a party of four. Yet, my friend and I were two sitting at a table for two. This I found extremely odd. Because I am a person of color, you think it is okay to ask of me something that you are not willing to ask of your white/​Caucasian customers? I felt extremely disrespected and belittled by this. And I am all for giving someone benefit of doubt. However, the implications and intentions behind this request were clear as day. And the waiter felt extremely uncomfortable because he noticed that I had understood. He was one of the same waiters who has given me plenty of attitude in the past for not ordering an entrée. Yet, after making my friend and I move, he was more delightful than I have ever seen him; almost as if to try and make up for the ridiculousness that had just transpired.

As the last stop for the night (after being woefully turned away from the super-​slammed Belly *sadness*), Filippo’s was just the comfort food we needed to round out our Oakland Restaurant Week hopping. At $ 20 for a small bruschetta, a small salad, and your choice of any pasta, I personally thought this was a great deal! Throw in the stand of soft dipping bread and plate of delectable olive oil (spruced up with some garlic and other herbs), and I was absolutely won over. Though seating in Filippo’s was limited, I saw a generous amount of outside seating well insulated from the rain. This is my run through of the food:
Bruschetta: Ahhh. The ciabatta bread base of this was spot on! Though the combination of tomato, basil, and garlic seems so simple… it’s always so good, especially on the right kind of bread. Grilled to just the right chewiness and outer edge crispness… I loved it!
Salad: The mista we got was came with a generous crumble of gorgonzola… this was a bit too strong for me, but my dinner mate was perfectly happy with it.
Pasta: We decided on the Fettucine al Salmone, mostly because neither of us had had spinach pasta noodles in a while. Salmon was just a tad on the dry side but very tasty all the same! Pasta was satisfyingly wide and cooked to the perfect bite. The sun-​dried tomatoes had an interesting (in a good way lol) chewiness about them… the acidity really helped counter all the richness of the cream sauce.
Portions were large enough to split between two light eaters and still have a bit of the pasta to take home at the end of the night. Next time I’m back I’ll definitely try out the bottomless wine glass for an extra $ 9/10…so worth!

Everything on the menu is great. And they do Bottomless wine for $ 10! How can u beat that? Not to mention… Prices are great!

We came here to enjoy some lunch with an out of town guest. Everything was horrible. I ordered a latte which was given to me in a water glass and it was luke warm. The water we ordered came 20 min after we sat and had a bug floating in it, the tea was warm at best. The food was comparable to hospitable food… Then to top it off my dish had plastic in it which I found out after I chewed on it (please note after I took it out of my mouth it was the length of two bobby pins). Oh and the parmesan cheese they brought us had pieces of black things in it? Still not sure what it was. The waiter was nice and polite however our overall experience was a mess from start to finish. Will never be back.

$ 15 spaghetti so under even mediocre. Thank god for leftover parm packets from round table. Not very much food. Sad. And it took almost 2 hours to get here. Smh

If you want bland Italian food that doesn’t taste like much effort is been put into it, this is your place.

Disclaimer: When I review restaurants I only review the taste of the food. Good/​bad service, décor, or ambience may be referenced but do not factor into the review unless it effects the experience of the food itself.
When I go to Filippo’s I go for a few dishes. The gemelli pollo is that one though that I enjoy the most. The white sauce with garlic really soaks into the pasta and with a pinch of salt and grated cheese on top of it I really enjoy this dish. Normally I’m not a big mushroom fan for the texture, but they cook them quite well by cutting them thin and cooking them briefly so it doesn’t turn into the sole of a shoe. Sorry but mushrooms shouldn’t taste like an old boiled boot. Also you should take the rest of the sauce and sop it up with the bread. It’s a lot of carbs, but so good.
The bread and olive oil is also a good combination. Normally I’m not a huge fan of these olive oil dips but Filippo’s does a good job of maintaining the balance of flavors with this. Small amount of basil and garlic add good notes and get ride of that filmy aftertaste I generally associate with untouched olive oil.
I will say that some of the dishes can really lack a depth of flavor, but overall it’s just that it tends to be under seasoned. The salt and pepper at your table can do wonders with some of the dishes. It’s not always five star food, but some of the dishes are fantastic enough that this place if 4*‘s in my opinion.
A little cramped as far as seating sometimes so you might consider eating outside as it tends to be a bit more open and accessible.
If I was to give advice I’d say don’t go in a group. It’s a great two people type of restaurant, but bring a friend or a long time girl/​boyfriend as it’s not good first date material.

I visited Filippo’s on Mother’s Day with fam, on a calm Sunday afternoon.
This small restaurant is cozy and offers transformable sidewalk eating, and within 5 quick minutes we were shielded from the increasing wind creeping down the Oakland hills, with a coffee-​colored canvas wall.
The place had low traffic especially for a holiday, and I was relieved to see the usual markings of fancy Italian eateries: 70-​year old wall images about obscure wines from Italy most times with colorful caricatures and simple phrases like «Canovuto!» or «Tutti Alampari!» or some other excitement-​inducing language of which I don’t know the real meaning. Comforting, none the less.
Ordered the Ravioli di Spanici which turned out to be a winner. It came with what turned out to be slightly (barely so) mild meat sauce, and small, filling raviolis the size of my Fossil watch with spinach. The extra parmesan I requested gave it just the kick of sodium I typically require, having been raised on an excessively salty diet of Mexican Pinto beans and Spanish rice.
Couple that dish with a glass of fruity Benevio cabernet, and also with the attentive service (but, one dude was slightly sarcastic and since my mother was with me all I could do is take a deep breath and attempt to sympathize), I will be going back.
All I will need is a sharp, witty girl at my side (a plus if she wears glasses) to counter the possibility of a heckled server. Good show, Filippo’s.

This is my favorite restaurant in the east bay. I have been in love with there’re food since they had a location in Albany I followed them to Berkeley and now to Oakland on college ave. You must try there tiramisu its to die for.

The gluten free stuff here is awesome, but I had the polenta tonight. Oh my god was it awesome. Topped with mushrooms sliced and cooked perfectly, and with basil that must have been just picked.

A great place to get a great meal!
I come here very often it is one of my regular spots for dinner or lunch on the weekends.
The staff here is great and are very accommodating! the restaurant has outdoor seating and allows dogs! The food is great! The lunch menu is just smaller portions of their dinner menu, but they will serve dinner portions at lunch if you ask! The portions are VERY generous and I always leave here full!

A quaint little place on the College Avenue, visited it this week and ordered Pollo Club panini and Gnocchi. The Gnocchi was quite delicious.
The place feels quite stuffy at times, they do have awning shades outside, better to sit outdoors and enjoy view

Bland, bland, bland.
The bolognese was bland, the creamy pesto was bland. The pasta texture was overcooked.
Service varied between normal and (at the end when the service seemed to change) cloying in a bad-​chain-​restaurant way.
The highlights:
generous pour of (not so great) house wine
the garlicky olive oil with the (okay) bread

The Gemelli Carciofo is amazing — pesto sauce, mushroom, artichoke, and add chicken!
There is free bread appetizer with virgin olive oil with garlic dip. Be sure to ask to toast the bread because it’ll come cold! You can keep the bread coming throughout dinner/​lunch so don’t be shy to ask for some more because it’s AMAZING!
This place is really cute cause it’s intimate. There’s only about 7 small tables inside and some outside seating. It’s located right on the corner and has a lot of windows so it’s pretty blinding being inside, I don’t know why they don’t use the curtains more to block the bright sun from coming inside!
The lunch special is definitely a good combo– some salad and some pasta!