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Parma Cucina Italiana, San Diego, CA

Parma Cucina Italiana

4.8
4.8
116 Reviews
$30 and under
Italian

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2 people
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
8:00 PM
Booked 4 times today
Known for the Best Lasagna in San Diego, Parma Cucina Italiana is a charming and cozy family run Italian restaurant in the heart of Historic Hillcrest.

Our traditional Italian cuisine is inspired by generations of home cooking, fresh ingredients, and simple presentations. Our specialties originate from Northern Italy. The must try lasagna is decadent layers of Bolognese and béchamel sauce. Or try our tortellini with cream and prosciutto, or our pappardelle pasta tossed with slow braised short rib and porcini mushrooms.

We have an extensive wine collection with wines from the best regions of Italy. And an Italian meal wouldn’t be complete without our homemade desserts. We suggest tiramisu and profiteroles alla nutella.


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Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Seafood, Dessert
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu 4:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri 4:00 pm–9:30 pm Sat 12:00 pm–9:30 pm Sun 12:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Phone number
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive chef
    Celso
  • Catering
    Good food is an essential part of any event - let us do the catering and make it one to remember. See our website for more details www.parmaitaliankitchen.com
  • Private party facilities
    We welcome restaurant buy-outs or partial buy-outs for parties up to 45 people.
  • Delivery & takeout
  • Neighborhood
    Hillcrest
  • Cross street
    University and Robinson
  • Parking details
    Parking available in the area.
  • Additional
    Beer, BYO Wine, Cafe, Delivery, Dog Friendly, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, Vegan, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Offers

  • Weekend Happy Hour

    Multiple dates available
    Sun - 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM,Sat - 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM
    Deals on Drinks + Eats Saturday & Sunday 3pm - 5:30pm Dog Friendly Patio

    Weekend Happy Hour Photo
  • Wine Wednesday

    Multiple dates available
    Wed - 4:00 PM - 8:45 PM
    30% off all bottles of wine on Wednesday

    Wine Wednesday Photo

What 116 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.8
4.8 based on recent ratings
  • 4.9Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.8Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Parma Cucina Italiana offers a charming, authentic Italian dining experience. With "best lasagna ever" and fresh pasta made "with love," the restaurant delights guests with its "amazing" food and "very friendly" service. Whether enjoying a romantic date or family gathering, Parma's engaging atmosphere and attentive staff ensure a memorable visit.
116 Reviews
  1. OpenTable Diner VIP

    San Francisco1 review

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Best lasagna ever!! Best staff as well!! Feels like family.

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  2. Kevin

    San Diego4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    They always make it right. We ordered the 4 cheese gnocchi in cream sauce for our 7yo and didn’t know one of the cheeses was blue cheese. Of course, my 7 yo was not digging the sour pasta. Parma management swooped in and remade it wo blue cheese and saved the day. Thank you, Parma, for another great dinner!

    Is this helpful?

  3. Brenda

    Baltimore1 review

    4.0

    Dined on March 16, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    The food was amazing and the restaurant was super cute but my tummy was a bit upset after. I had a seafood based plate.

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  4. kim VIP

    San Diego30 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 13, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We love the very friendly and great service vibe. Their saffron sauce is to die for and their lasagna hands down is the best in all of San Diego!!!

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  5. OpenTable Diner

    San Diego1 review

    5.0

    Dined on March 9, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Fresh pasta, amazing dining experience! Roberta is the essence of an amazing evening at Parma. The owner is also so kind and the atmosphere can be enjoyable to anyone whether with friends family or a romantic date!

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  6. OpenTable Diner

    San Diego3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 8, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Love this place! Great food, staff is friendly, menu is classic and everything I’ve had there has been excellent.

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  7. Gina VIP

    Chicago32 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 4, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Authentic Italian restaurant. Servers are direct from Italy. It was so fun to talk with them about where in Italy they are from. The food was amazing. I had the special (sea bass), two people in our party had the lasagna and the fourth person had tortellini. Every dish was delicious. We enjoyed two bottles of wine and lemon sorbetto for dessert. Highly recommend.

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  8. Kevin

    San Diego3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 2, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Back again for more! Best lasagna I’ve ever had! Service was on point and the energy of the room was buzzing (on two occasions they dimmed the lights to sing happy bday to other guests and the whole restaurant sang along). Good times!

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  9. Amanda

    Milwaukee8 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on February 23, 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    It was extremely busy and food took over an hour to come out. Wait staff were very slow on refills. They need more employees on Sat nights.
    Parma Cucina ItalianaResponded on February 24, 2025
    Thank you Amanda for dining with us Saturday and taking the time to write a review. Yes, we were extremely busy. This took us by surprise and we should have been better prepared. Maybe it was because of the beautiful weather. We apologize for the slow service and we hope you will try us again. Grazie.

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  10. Kevin

    San Diego3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on February 23, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    The BEST pasta I’ve had in ages. It was clear their pasta was fresh made with love. The lobster ravioli was STUFFED with chunky fresh buttery lobster, and their pappardelle was so thin and soft it melted in your mouth. The only criticism I have relates to the semi-slow service (and it wasn’t particularly busy when we were there at 5pm on a Saturday). oh, and their free bread basket was cold and a tad on the stale side… made me think of Anthony Bourdain’s book where he warns you to avoid bread baskets because lots of restaurants reuse the bread (it felt like the bread might fall in that category). If they up their bread game, this place would be INSANE.
    Parma Cucina ItalianaResponded on February 24, 2025
    Grazie Kevin. We're happy you enjoyed your pasta and appreciate your feedback on our service... it helps us grow.

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FAQs

Parma Cucina Italiana offers delivery in partnership with Postmates and Uber Eats. Parma Cucina Italiana also offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (619) 543-0049.

Parma Cucina Italiana is rated 4.8 stars by 116 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation


Booked 4 times today
Google Map for Parma Cucina Italiana

3850 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, CA 92103

Additional information

  • Cross street
    University and Robinson
  • Neighborhood
    Hillcrest
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu 4:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri 4:00 pm–9:30 pm Sat 12:00 pm–9:30 pm Sun 12:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Seafood, Dessert
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Parking available in the area.
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Celso
  • Additional
    Beer, BYO Wine, Cafe, Delivery, Dog Friendly, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, Vegan, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Delivery & takeout
  • Phone number
  • Catering
    Good food is an essential part of any event - let us do the catering and make it one to remember. See our website for more details www.parmaitaliankitchen.com
  • Private party facilities
    We welcome restaurant buy-outs or partial buy-outs for parties up to 45 people.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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