Vigilucci’s Seafood & Steakhouse

Ambience and location are great. We went after dark: next time I’d go during the day or near sunset to justify the premium on food prices.
Lasagna was good, not great.

I agree with the guy that needs more MONEY for this place, but seriously this place is amazing food is unbelievable out of this world, great great view and Luis the bartender/​waiter gave us outstanding customer service suggesting dishes and drinks even though he was jammed with drink orders. Definitely worth coming back !!

Not too bad of a restaurant with a great ambiance and wonderful views from the outdoor seating. This place is literally right across the street from the beach. In my opinion, the food actually falls a bit short, I mean it’s good but it falls a bit short. Have been here a couple of times now and both entrees that I have purchased have honestly just been average– lasagna and the fish of the day. The food was a tad bit bland and the fish was a tad dry. Overall, I love the drinks, wine menu and overall ambiance but the food was a bit average considering the price.
Pros–
Location
Ambiance
Drinks
Service
Valet
Wine list
Portions
Calamari
Outdoor seating
Cons–
Average food taste
Pricey considering the taste

I really love all the Vigulligi’s but this one has the best view!
They offer happy hour in the bar with an amazing view (I think) every day! I usually order a glass of Chardonnay I believe it’s six dollars. Sure, you can find three dollar happy hour wine, but it’s crap, and it certainly doesn’t come with a million-​dollar view.
They also offer valet parking but I park on the street. Do not attempt to park in the beach lot across the street, it’s not free. Unless you like paying for parking.
The beef skewers I believe are $ 10 and the truffle french fries are nice little snack. It’s not what I call dinner, but it is a lovely spot to unwind.
Enjoy!

The food was amazing and Adam, our waiter, was wonderful! Can’t wait until next time!

I need more MONEY!!!
Located right off the beautiful 101 overlooking the ocean sits a small yet beautifully built restaurant made to attract italian and seafood lovers alike!
They have a small valet parking lot in which the attendant is very quick to respond and does a great job in puzzling a way to get your car parked even if it looks nearly impossible lol.
I came here with my roommates to drink, and as I entered the restaurant I was immediately greeted by a very beautiful girl and you can see the separation of the bar to the main dining room area. It gives it a more exclusive and romantic vibe this way, and I totally dig it!
The bartender Jason was very funny and witty, definitely shows why Vigilucci’s hired him to be their rush hour bartender. Good job!
I wanted to order some food, but the prices were out of this world! So I spent majority of my money on drinks in which you could never go wrong lol.
Overall, very friendly service. Great place to impress a date or even have a drink or two by yourself. I would just suggest that you have at least $ 150 minimum if you want to experience the place to its potential :)

This place is outrageously overrated. We had a reservation, but still had to wait good 25 –30 min to be seated. My husband ordered $ 50 steak with pasta and I ordered seafood. Everything came out undercooked. Not to mention subpar quality. Their patio is right in front of a bus stop, so we watched many people waiting and getting into the bus while we are eating. Not as romantic and luxurious as this place advertised. Totally bill for two came out to be $ 130 for two people. It was the worst way to spend money.

This is not your usual ocean front eatery.
This is real restaurant with seriously good service and food. The right food for the right price.
Old school in every way and that is a good thing. A regular for us locals.

February Sunset, Vigglouci Steak & Seafood in Carlsbad, CA is a favorite for locals and tourists.

A great steak house! They have an amazing menu with Italian food. If you are looking for a local spot this is your place to grab a nice dinner.

The food is good but not exceptional. The ambiance is nice but the front room is really loud. We chose to sit in the wine room in the back which was quieter. Overall I’d eat there again.

I was there this morning for lunch with q friend of mine… and you know what ??? AMAZING !!!
A beautiful Italian hostess, she was always smiling and polite. The service was imoeccable and the food was delicious.
And than… the place was beautiful, ocean view and a beautiful sunny day. I will return!

My favorite place… the general manager, Bruce, is so welcoming and the bartender, Adam, is super great!
They have the best lasagna… it’s addictive!
Such a great place to enjoy the ocean view!

We’ve eaten here dozens of times over the last 3 years… always great food and service.
Not everything on the menu is created equal, so choose what you like, and enjoy the beautiful view of the ocean (across the street). When they offer seasonal «specials», take advantage of them when their available!
If you aren’t happy with something you ordered, or with another aspect of your experience, just let the server or the manger know, and they will make it right every time (but you have to tell them, no mind-​readers at this establishment, just great food).
Parking is easy, either use the valet service they offer, or park on the side-​street, one block north of Vigilucci’s.
If you’re wondering about the negative reviews for this place, if you look at who is leaving them, the majority of them are from pompous arrogant Unilocalers, who leave negative reviews at almost every place they visit, because they expect the world, but don’t want to pay for it, and think they should never have to wait for it.
The other negative reviews, are from customers who came here 20x, then had 1 less-​than perfect experience, and only wrote about that one time, and somehow omit all the positive experiences they had. So much entitlement these days…
This place is great, deserving of 5 stars by normal standards, or 4 stars by the highly elite standards of fine cuisine.

It is not often that you can go to a place more than 7 – 8 times and be impressed every time. That said, every time i’ve planned to go to Vigilucci’s Seafood I’ve been excited and then the experience exceeded my expectations.
My first experience here was a happy hour with friends, and it was fantastic. Great, cheap, food, really good drinks and a breathtaking view of the ocean. The next time, my firm hosted a birthday lunch on the patio and we had a wonderful time. Again, the drinks (Brewed iced tea this time) were great, but the lunch entrees blew me away. I had scallop pasta and the scallops melted in my mouth and the pasta was PERFECTLY dressed. I also had a very good salad, but the desserts were much more of a treat! Yummy!
If you are not at happy hour, the meals are not cheap, but with excellent quality and large portion sizes I do think the value is there! I recommend this place for the food, the service and the view! Enjoy!

I have been here a couple of times and have always had to send something back. Last night we had the halibut since it was the special. When it arrived it was not warm so we sent it back. 15 minutes later it comes back and all they did was re heat it so it was now dry and hard. We asked for a fresh piece. It took about another 15 minutes to prepare and when delivered we were told that they purposely over cooked it to ensure it was warm, are you kidding me what kind of chef is this? I have never had such horrible halibut, tasteless, dry and true to what they said very over cooked. I had one bite an left it. No one even asked why. For the cost this was very disappointing we should have gone to Frienze Trattoria in Encinitas where their seafood is always cooked spot on.

The ambiance, the service and the food are what you would want and expect, five star! Our waitress, Dani, was warm, friendly and made us feel like we were long time patrons.

Amazing, amazing, amazing! The best Italian food we have ever had! We will be going back on a regular basis!

Great service from GLEN. When was the last time you heard «If it isn’t on the menu just tell me what you have in mind.» In other words they will work with your tastes. I’ll tell you the last time I heard this was June 12, 2013 when my 21yr old daughter & I dined at the Addison, 5 star/​diamond at The Grand Del Mar. Beautiful, formal, clean and delicious and accommodating. Did I mention the beautiful ocean view? The view was the reason we went there in the first place. Better than we had hoped for. ThankQ.

We’ve eaten here several times and have never been disappointed. I enjoy eating outside on their patio. They have outside heaters that do a great job. I almost always have the Caprese Salad, the fresh buffalo mozzarella & the heirloom tomatoes are super fresh. My favorite pasta dish is the lasagna, it’s not a thick pasta, it’s very light. The Pollo Marsala is also a very nice entrée. You really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, it’s all scrumptious. The staff is always friendly & very accommodating.

Plates were filthy. How hard is it to bring a clean plate out for appetizers? To set a dirty plate down to start the courses is just not expected at any restaurant. The staff bumps the back of your seats as they travel back and forth as well.
Location is the only thing going for it at this point. Food is acceptable but nothing that can not be had a smaller venues in Carlsbad or Encinitas so they best start caring about detail again or loose customers. 2 at best stars is it for now.
We use to love this place but will not be visiting anytime soon.

Absolutely the best Happy Hour in town! Great wine, great food, great prices that won’t break the bank. Shall we talk about the beautiful reality… Amazing!!! Sunsets, Ocean view, need I say more. A must! Living the dream at Vigilucci’s Carlsbad!

I’ve been here twice now and I enjoyed the food and ocean view. Recently, I ordered a Hendricks Martini with blue cheese olives $ 14, a house Pinot $ 12, truffle fries $ 9.75 and the Ciopinno $ 46 and a double espresso $ 5.50. All were notable except the deca-​dollar fries. They were crispy due to the modified starch treatment on the what-​tasted-​like salty, fast food frozen fritz. I continue to find myself asking if it was worth the price tag and remain undecided. (+): food and espresso came hot, nice martini, attentive staff. (-): fries, bathroom cleanliness, price/​value, comfort/​vibe.
I choose restaurants for different reasons — the great service, the good food, the friendly staff, etc. but what gets me back in the door is the overall value, experience and warmth. Personally, I think that the crowded dining area tips the scale in favor of some of the other dining options in Carlsbad. Oh well.

Teetering between 3 & 4 stars, Vigilucci’s is a beautiful oceanfront restaurant whose food just isn’t quite tasty enough to push it into the latter.
We swooped in just in time to catch the last 20 minutes of happy hour — lucky us! The bar area was buzzing, and service was friendly and prompt. Loved the house pinot noir & chardonnay — at $ 7 a pop, the deal felt good. Drinks are served with a complimentary plate of meats, cheese, olives, and bruschetta — nice! Oysters are another MUST when visiting Vigi… $ 11 for six beautifully plated Blue Point oysters makes for the happiest of hours. Skip the calamari though — ours lacked any flavor at all. We liked the light, tempura-​like batter (hate the heavy, triple-​fried stuff), but some more seasoning was definitely needed.
With it’s panoramic ocean views, you want dinner on Vigi’s patio to be truly something special. Unfortunately all of our plates fell short of expectations. When waiters are donning bow-​ties, entrees are averaging $ 40, and the wine list is as expansive as it is, I guess expectations just get a little higher. But, le sigh, I guess I’ll just need to visit Vigi’s for delicious wine & oysters…
3 stars but I’ll be back, probably just for hh & the views though.

We made reservations to come here for a girls night dinner. We came with some ladies who travelled here often and raced about the menu. Although I am not a seafood lover, many dishes on the menu interested me. I ended up getting the pasta stuffed with butternut squash. It was delicious! Hints of cinnamon and sage with an oil based sauce and ricotta. Although the portion size seemed small it was extremely filling.
I would definitely go back again on my next trip south! The restaurant is right on the ocean and has a lovely patio.

Enjoyed a couple of drinks in the bar with a beautiful view of the water, even on a cloudy day. Nice Sinatra music, giving the place a relaxed atmosphere. Not crazy about the $ 5 valet-​only parking in the lot. Bar guys doubling as waiters in the bar area were helpful and friendly.

My family comes to this restaurant for the dining experience. The wait staff are extremely friendly and accommodating even with the circus of kids that sometimes come along with our large groups.
I usually order their specials because they always catch my attention. One of my favorites is their salmon special which comes with a bed of sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes.
Ambiance is classy and so beautiful right along the beach.

So GOOD. What can I say. Made reservations for Sat night and got them for 6:30. Not bad same day. Parking sucked because valet was already full but we found a spot a block away. A window table wasn’t ready so we decided to hit the bar and have a drink while we waited. Packed with a gorgeous view. It was beautiful out. Games on, large tv’s. Full bar. Nice bartenders, and wine knowledgeable. I chose a nice white and chatted up the patrons. Got seated by the open door which was nice, we felt outside. Waters delivered and filled regularly. We decided to split a few things. A salad to start. They were out of beets which is the salad we really wanted but told them to keep the argula and base of the salad and toss something else in there. We should have said we weren’t too fond of Prosciutto because that’s what we got. A salad choice I would not make again. Soggy, salty. We also had the Gnocchi and also the Ciopinnio. My date is allergic to scallops and they were happy to sub them out. We told them to put whatever else in. Can I just say, both of these dishes were amazing! The gnocchi was soft pillowy (is that a word), cheesy, and perfectly cooked. Not mushy at all. The flavors were pungent but delicate. Your mouth will swim in this dish.
The Ciopinno (sp) was incredible. Salmon, bass, mussels, flavorful clams, huge prawns, crab legs, the broth was tomato-​y (again-​a word) with chunks of basil, garlic and tomato. Served with garlic toast points just soaking up the juices. Huge. It was $ 44 and worth it in my opinion. The fishes were cooked perfectly, fell apart and so was the shell fish. So So good! I can’t wait until my next meal here!
You can go fairly casual or get all dressed up for the evening. Either way, you’ll fit in and have an amazing meal.

Describing the Vigilucci’s Seafood and Steakhouse dining experience without mentioning their awe-​inspiring view is tantamount to treason and worse than any other omission. The Vigilucci’s franchise brings the taste of Tuscany to San diego. Each location presents a variety of authentic Italian gourmet food with a slightly different twist.
This location, on the Carlsbad boardwalk has unobstructed ocean views and is a great choice for brunch or to enjoy happy hour. If you get lucky your seats will be on the patio or at the bar with a view of the bustling boardwalk and the beautiful Pacific Ocean.
Seafood is the hero of this menu and they pair it with a variety of pasta, risotto, polenta and potatoes. They offer a large selection of seafood including King Crab, Scallops, Lobster, prawns, and mussels. Although I love seafood, I think their portions are a little small for the cost. I tend to go for more modest pastas, after all I am here for the view!
The service is top notch unless you hit them at a really busy time. Robbie Vigilucci trains his wait staff with the formal Italian level of service and I do enjoy their finesse.
My favorite time to visit is during the weekend happy hour that lasts all day. You will enjoy this energy and people-​watching and leave with a big fat smile!