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Best Of Patch: Italian Restaurants in Belmont

There are some great Italian restaurants in Belmont, and we're asking you to share your favorite place with us.

 

Our inaugural Best of Patch contest kicks off this week with marinara on our mind and Chianti in our glass.

Belmont Patch wants to hear from you, so we invite you to vote for the restaurant that captures the essence of an authentic Italian meal, just like Nonna used to make. 

Which restaurant prepares the perfect bowl of linguine vongole or the best osso bucco? And don't forget the Chianti...

Vote for your favorite Italian restaurant in the poll below, and tell us why in the comment section. (If we've left your fave off the list, please let us know in the comments and we'll add it.)

Voting in the poll below is open until 9 a.m. Friday. Ties will be broken by whichever business has the most positive comments in the section below. We will announce the winner at noon Friday.

Mangia!

Martin Kindred February 27, 2012 at 02:21 pm
A born and bred “Belmontian” Kerry introduced me to Vavvice. This romantic Italian restaurant has been immortalized in my mind (and stomach). The exterior of the building is familiar and inviting. The stylish and unobtrusive interior leaves you and your date the perfect atmosphere to enjoy the exquisite Italian cuisine. While the cuisine pays as much homage to Tuscan cuisine as it does to classic Provençal dishes, it takes advantage of the best of local produce. This means that the menu frequently changes to adjust to seasonality, but the beautifully decorated interior will give you the feeling of being in a Mediterranean courtyard surrounded by trees, moonlight - and this is no illusion - wonderful food and wine and reasonable prices
Bonnie Rutz-Alvarez February 27, 2012 at 02:22 pm
Vivace is authentic italian, and the food is consistently delicious. The ambience and service make it a pleasure to be there. They catered our wedding and everything went beautifully.
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) February 27, 2012 at 02:23 pm
Thanks for the great feedback on Vivace. So far Vivace is leading the pack, but Caprino's and Divino aren't far behind.
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) February 27, 2012 at 02:32 pm
As a reminder, our neighboring Patch sites are also running a "Best Italian Restaurant" polls, so feel free to go to any Patch city from Palo Alto to South San Francisco to add your favorite Italian restaurant. (and don't forget HMB and Pacifica!)
Laura Dudnick (Editor) February 27, 2012 at 03:35 pm
This was tough, I love all three of those restaurants!
Senta February 28, 2012 at 12:27 am
i miss Two Guys from Italy and those plastic grapes hanging from the ceiling!
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) February 28, 2012 at 01:35 am
Thanks for the 'blast from the past' Senta! I was trying to recall the name of that place---and the location. Was it where Mountain Mike's is today? Or was it where Shalizar is? Do you (or anyone else) recall the location?
mike davis February 28, 2012 at 01:45 am
Vivace is THE best!
Jamie White (Editor) February 28, 2012 at 11:20 am
I think my favorite one is Vivace, although all three are very yummy! : )
Senta February 28, 2012 at 01:09 pm
joan, two guys from italy is where shalizar is. at least shalizar is good too.
Steve Hayes February 28, 2012 at 02:45 pm
It is interesting that there are many more votes in Belmont than SC, RWC and SM - yet we only have three restaurants. I have not tried Vivace (gone to the other two and the ones in SC often) - what entres are particularily good at Vivace?
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) February 28, 2012 at 03:01 pm
Hi Steve....since you haven't experienced Vivace yet, I suggest you start with lunch and have the spinach salad with grilled shrimp. For dinner, my fave is "Paglia e Fiano"-- spinach pasta tossed with sautéed rock shrimp, portobello mushrooms, cherry tomatoes--and just the right amount of kick. I'm not a meat-eater, but others rave about the osso bucco. How's that for starters?
Judie Davis February 28, 2012 at 03:43 pm
Love Vivace.
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) February 28, 2012 at 03:52 pm
So does Mike Davis (see above).....maybe you two should meet :)
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) February 28, 2012 at 08:52 pm
FYI, Divino is adding a full bar, so diners can now eat at the bar or have a place to sit while they are waiting for a table.
belmont_family March 2, 2012 at 04:59 am
Divino's has the most authentic and sophisticated menu...beats the other 2 'Italian' restaurants by a long shot.
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) March 2, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Thanks Belmont Family----I agree, Divino does have an authentic menu, and I believe their pasta is all made on-site and have some very creative dishes. As I mentioned earlier, they are adding a full bar with 12 seats. Also, did you know Divino has a private dining room that can sit up to 40 people?
Belmont rez April 14, 2012 at 07:16 am
Two Guys From Italy was really something special. No pretention, great service, unique food. The fake grapes hanging from the ceiling and murals on the walls and the cozy little booths and tables created a certain ambiance that enveloped you like a cocoon while giving you lots to look at and take in, kind of like a wonderland.
The pizza was incredible and outstandingly delicious. I think they used green tomatoes for the sauce and cheese imported from Italy. Their olives were amazing too. I still dream about the pizza and other dishes and it's been at least 20 years (maybe more like 25?) since I've dined there. It was one of my very favorites. Does anyone know why/when they closed and if the "two guys" ever opened another restaurant?
Josie May 16, 2012 at 02:21 pm
Does anyone remember what the name of the restaurant was that took over Two Guys before it becam Shalizar? My co-workers and I can't remember and it is making us all crazy!
Juli Balestrieri May 16, 2012 at 04:24 pm
Hi Joan - Mountain Mike's used to be Villa Lucia's. Two Guys from Italy is now Shalizaar.
Georgette E January 10, 2013 at 05:53 pm
It could have been A Guy From Italy...my parents owned it :)
Georgette
George Metropulos January 10, 2013 at 07:29 pm
The place "A Guy from Italy" was where Godfather's is.
George Metropulos January 10, 2013 at 07:29 pm
Palladino's.

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Michele Moyer June 16, 2013 at 09:17 am
Thanks Joan - there is one in the sub-head of the blog I posted on School-Force Voices today; wouldRead More love if it could be corrected. Been scratching my head til I saw this post :)
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) June 16, 2013 at 11:20 am
Sorry about that! There's nothing I can do on my end----it's system-wide bug, which I believe isRead More fixed now. :)
Belmont96 June 13, 2013 at 09:40 am
I also preferred the 'old' Patch - this format makes it difficult to find articles that are aren'tRead More that old. One example was the informative article on who was running for city Council. I was having problems finding it and finally had to query on a candidate's name to find. I don't recall having that issue with the original format. Also our neighborhood had a water break line and we were without water for some hours a few Sundays ago. I tried to find out the reason for the break (because of construction or old pipes?) and could not find anything on the Patch regarding this. Not sure if they just didn't report or I just couldn't find.
Judi June 14, 2013 at 07:28 am
Not crazy about the new Patch either. Also, I want to post-for sale, and this section is crowdedRead More with announcements, etc.
Pearl June 14, 2013 at 04:15 pm
Another thing that needs to be fixed: When you go to leave a comment, it takes you over to whereRead More you have to sign in, you sign in expecting to be returned to the article on which you are commenting, but it, instead, takes you back to some different article. PLEASE FIX THIS!!!! Also, please reinstate the feature where we can sign up to be notified if/when more comments are made concerning the article(s) we've commented on so we can follow the conversation. Thank you.
Christa Bigue (Editor) June 10, 2013 at 01:50 pm
Thanks Sam! You should also post this Half Moon Bay (halfmoonbay.patch.com) and Pacifica PatchRead More (pacifica.patch.com)! I'm sure our readers would appreciate the great tip!
Michael Williams June 9, 2013 at 04:12 pm
Strongly suggest Patch readers check all the YELP reviews of this business. Very uneven experiencesRead More reported.
don torre June 4, 2013 at 06:55 am
what do the local Belmont restaurants think of this? do these people pay a license to the city?
Joan S. Dentler (Editor) June 4, 2013 at 07:15 am
Hi Don....thanks for your question. Yes, Off the Grid does pay a licensing fee to the city, and soRead More far, we haven't heard any concerns by local restaurants. The food trucks provide an option to a traditional restaurant---pick up and go----and they are only around 4-5 hours per week (on Mondays, typically not a big restaurant night anyway). Have you tried the food yet?