264 Fresco

Someone from this business manages this listing.

#13 of 306 Restaurants in Carlsbad₹₹ - ₹₹₹, Italian, Pizza, Vegetarian friendly

+1 760-720-3737+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

10:30 am - 9:00 pm

Mon

11:30 am - 9:00 pm

Tue

11:30 am - 9:00 pm

Wed

11:30 am - 9:00 pm

Thu

11:30 am - 9:00 pm

Fri

11:30 am - 9:30 pm

Sat

10:30 am - 9:30 pm

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.0

550 reviews

#13 of 306 Restaurants in Carlsbad

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Italian, Pizza, Seafood, Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options, Vegan options

“Best Goat Cheese Pizza”

“The calamari is incredibly peppery and spicy, although it looked good!”

“I had some candied walnuts on my shrimp salad.”

“Food was really good which we tried lobster bisque, calamari, cioppino, carbo...”

Location and contact

264 Carlsbad Village Dr, Carlsbad, CA 92008-2915

+1 760-720-3737

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Is this restaurant good for business meetings?

Yes

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About

At 264 Fresco, our goal is for every guest to leave feeling absolutely delighted with their dining experience. Whether you stop by for a quick drink, come in to share a special meal with a loved one, or are planning to host a private party, you can always count on us to deliver delectable food made from the finest ingredients, exceptional service, and a warm, lively, and welcoming atmosphere.

PRICE RANGE

₹952.00 – ₹2,596.00

CUISINES

Italian, Pizza, Seafood

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

FEATURES

Takeout, Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Free off-street parking, Television, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Free Wifi, Discover, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music

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4.0

550 reviews

Excellent

296

Very good

143

Average

Poor

Terrible

Sue

12 contributions

A little disappointed.

Feb 2020 • family

We had heard that this was a pretty good restaurant if you could ignore the noise. Being just the two of us, we decided to give it a try especially because we were staying right across the street from the restaurant. It was loud, but that was not our main problem. We were seated at a very small table squeezed between two other small tables. I understand that in order to make money, you have to serve as many meals as you can. The main problem was that while trying to enjoy our cocktails before ordering dinner, my wife and I both ended up holding our menus and the wine list in our laps because the table had salt/ pepper, a candle, a small plate of oil/vinegar, basket of very cold bread, and small plates and silverware. We had ordered calamari for our appetizer and that came shortly after our drink order, we wish it had come a little later so we could enjoy our drinks. So that added to the lack of space on our table. By the way, the calamari was rubbery, not the best we have ever had. My wife loved her stuffed ravioli but my spaghetti carbonara lacked the taste and creamy egg consistency it should have had and it was very oily( I could see the oil on my plate as I moved my spaghetti around). I also added pepper to it as I could not see any on my pasta. I was very disappointed because I really splurged off my diet to enjoy a pasta dish that I have not had in a long time. I also felt very sorry for the two girls that were seated at a table by the door because every time the server went outside to the patio( one couple braved the cold night air to sit outside) the one girl had to move her chair. I could not believe that they had to stop their conversation several times to help the server get in and out, plus the cold air was very unpleasant. We spent a lot of money for one good meal and a good bottle of wine.

Written 5 March 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

NewNorthwesterner

Tacoma30 contributions

Great food, love the menu

Jan 2020 • none

This was the second visit for us, and both times we have had excellent food. I really like the wide variety of choices on the menu. I had Chicken Portofino this time; my wife had one of the two daily risotto specials, this one with sausage and mushrooms. My entree came with a side pasta and very fresh grilled vegetables. Dishes were cooked and seasoned right, and delicious. Wine list for wines-by-the-glass was adequate, no standouts that I saw, but we each found something that complemented our meals. Service was friendly without getting in the way. On a Thursday night the restaurant was fiully booked at 7 pm, so I suggest reservations.

Written 18 January 2020

Victoria S

Sebastopol69 contributions

Nice, airy Italian place in Carlsbad Village

Jan 2020 • none

Just a short walk to the beach, 264 Fresco is California meets Italy. Good food, not super pretentious or fancy, but tasty. Our waiter had the requisite heavy Italian accent. We were treated well even though we were a large party of six, two of whom are children, 5 & 7. The chef made personalized pastas for the kids and the four adults enjoyed 2 appetizers, the burrata and fried calamari. Most of us chose a pasta for our dinner, and it was obviously freshly made and cooked al dente. We couldn't fault a thing and really enjoyed ourselves this New Years Day evening.

Written 5 January 2020

UWLAW68

Paradise Valley176 contributions

Another disappointment

Jun 2021 • none

After quarterly visit's since this place has been in business, many special occasions and thousands of dollars the new updated Fresco has terrible service, idiots as food servers and may be off our list after dozens of great occasions over the years. Went for Happy Hour, no menu on website, asked for one after sitting for 15 minutes with no service, told to scan which I did and even with other menus no happy hour, Finally asked for paper hour happy menu sitting at the bar at this point for 20 minutes. idiot gave me a regular menu> After they wasted a half hour of my time with no service or information I left and warned those entering the service is nonexistent. Good luck to Linda who has invested time and money and if many others share my experience another owner will occupy this great location in the near future

Written 7 June 2021

264Fresco

Hello, We are so sorry that you had a poor experience with us. This is certainly not one that we would want any quest to have. Should you decide to give us another chance we will certainly ensure to take great care of you during your next visit! . I will be happy to send you a gift certificate. Please send me your email address. Please visit our website www.264Fresco.com for happy hour menu, this will help get familiar with the QR code. We will start soon having paper menus again. Kind Regards, Linda

Written 14 June 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Voyage723636

2 contributions

Think Twice!

Oct 2021 • none

The statement below is a far cry from the service we received the night a group of my friends and I were celebrating a farewell and a birthday. “At 264 Fresco, our goal is for every guest to leave feeling absolutely delighted with their dining experience, you can always count on exceptional service, and a warm, lively, and welcoming atmosphere”. After waiting 20 minutes for a menu we were finally able to flag down one of the 4 servers cavorting in front of the kitchen. I ordered a martini it was served in an old style champagne glass. It was awkward to drink out of the glass with a concave lip. To top it off the server that served the martini asked me if I wanted “an” olive! I responded that’s what makes the drink. The server looked at me as if my comment was so out of place it barely deserved a response. Looking at the next table I noticed a cocktail served in a glass that is reserved for white wine. What is the message here, we don’t care? Another very long wait to order. Food was acceptable the romaine in the Caesar salad was fresh but shrimp was over cooked. Now for the check another very long wait, we asked another server to find our server. We received separate checks but no one is collecting them another long wait and we finally were able flag down our server. To be fair once we did get our servers attention he did a decent job. The atmosphere is wonderful could do with better acoustics but the service put a damper on the celebrations. To top off the evening we asked a server to take a photo with one our phones when I got home guess who was in the pic one of the servers showing a “V” sign with his fingers behind us with a big smile as if he were included in the group. That was the ultimate disrespect in a restaurant that wants to be at the top of the “A” list in an area with many wonderful restaurants. If you choose to try Fresco be prepared, maybe you’ll get lucky.

Written 12 November 2021

MartyBrian

Havre de Grace286 contributions

Great pasta

Mar 2020 • couples

Jumped in here for dinner and very glad we did. My husband had the special risotto with scallops and shrimp. The dish had large shrimp and scallops that were pan seared and perfectly cooked. It was delicious! We split a Caesar salad, very fresh and great dressing. I had the spaghetti carbonara, it was delicious also. Our waitress Jennifer took great care of us. The only complaint I have was the noise level is horrible. The restaurant was not even full and we could barely hear each other or our server.

Written 12 March 2020

Travel the World

San Francisco1444 contributions

COVID Ready

Oct 2020 • friends

This restaurant has created a beautiful outdoor restaurant sitting area underneath a white tent with lots of lights. It’s a very romantic setting. Our waitress was friendly and checked in on us several times to make sure we were doing OK. The food was delicious. We tried the pizza, pasta and fish and all the dishes were excellent. They also offer self parking for only $5.

Written 4 October 2020

John R

Carlsbad744 contributions

Needs Much improvement With Food & Wait Staff

Jul 2021 • none

WE have dines here many times prior to COVID and wanted to return as we did yesterday afternoon at 3pm. Only a few people in the Restaurant and 4 people at the Bar so we sat there since we like sitting at the bar to eat anyway. The waitress offered water and we asked for a glass of chardonnay which was good. We ordered a few minutes later, Caprese with Prosciutto, small version of the Egg Plant Parmesan and my wife ordered a salad with Shrimp added. My order came out in about 10 minutes. We did not have a napkin or silverware so I took some from another table. We waited for my wife's order for 15 minutes but no waitress was around, she had left on break. I asked the Hostess who, was very busy texting and talking with other employees, as were other wait staff and employees to help and she seemed miffed that interrupted her. 10 minutes later the salad arrived. The Caprese had good prosciutto and mozzarella but the hard un-ripened tomatoes ruined the dish. Should have been Heirloom. My Egg Plant Parmesan was fair to say the least and luke warm. My wife's salad had 3 small shrimp and again at best fair. When we were done all the staff seemed again to be tied up with texting, talking to other employees. Since our waitress never came back from break I had to ask 3 times for a check. Needless to say we left ZERO TIP. Not a good day. They really need to train the staff better. When the original owner was there all was perfect, every time and we ate there at least once a week and I had sales meetings there, it was so great BUT all needs improvement for sure.

Written 8 July 2021

hoho92649

Huntington Beach220 contributions

Upscale Fun Restaurant with Happy Hour.

May 2021 • none

The first time I ate here we sat on the outdoor patio during Happy Hour. We had a unique salad, pizza and a custom drink. The food was excellent as was the service. The second time we ate at a table inside, open air. Again had an excellent custom drink. We order appetizers, Brussel sprouts, Calamari and excellent scallops. I had the Beet salad it was good but I am going to try another salad the next time. I will be coming back and also will recommend to anyone passing thru Carlsbad. The parking is limited right now because they are using the lot for dining outdoors. They are training new staff, be patient and you may want to review your check before paying.

Written 25 May 2021

jclaireva

Province of Guanacaste74 contributions

Cool Atmosphere Delicious Fresh Eats

May 2021 • family

We found this awesome spot after a long day traveling. We didn’t have reservations but were easily sat at a bar side table with our two boys. The server was cool and collected despite being busy. We had delicious spa treatment custom cocktails and ordered salads and lobster dishes. The server and floor manager were delightful, the atmosphere was lovely and we enjoyed a crisp California evening by the ocean with an amazing meal. The server more than made up for our boys’ meals being delayed. It was a win for us.

Written 3 June 2021

Dan V

Arroyo Grande2 contributions

Disappointed

Feb 2021 • family

Disappointed with food and service. Food was ordinary at best, squid was over cooked and seafood was tasteless. We asked for more bread, no show. It was cold inside the tent area; so we asked for the heater to be turned on. Again a no show. I would not recommend this restaurant and will not be back.

Written 21 February 2021

LeslieinTN

Jonesborough755 contributions

Delicious Italian Restaurant

May 2021 • none

Reservations are recommended but service is friendly and quick. We had reservations for 6:30 and were out in less than an hour. Gluten free pasta is available and our server was knowledgeable to making a dish not labeled "GF" as such (Pollos Tres Colores). Everything was very good - brussels sprouts appetizer, Ravioli al Formaggio di Capra, beet salad, Spaghetti Carbonara, and the Pollos Tres Colores as mentioned. Bread and olive oil is complimentary when you are seated. We were seated indoors but there is outdoor dining with heaters above which is still needed this time of the year. The atmosphere is very nice but dress can be casual.

Written 11 May 2021

SergeGTS

Auburn355 contributions

Not bad, not great either

Apr 2021 • none

We drove past this place and every time it was packed, so one night we stopped in for dinner. Not sure what the hype is. Food was bland at best. You could get better "italian" at olive garden. Even the little bread that was brought had a chunk in it that was quite hard. Plenty of seating though, with the upstairs and the tent available.

Written 15 April 2021

Dani

New York City1 contribution

Awesome night!

Feb 2021 • friends

It felt so good to finally get out with my bubble of friends! The night was just lovely. The food was great and the cocktails (of which we probably had too many) were delicious.The seating outside felt so liberating. Our server Mateo was super nice and put up with all our requests in such a graceful manner. All and all it was a perfect night out! Can’t wait to do it again

Written 9 February 2021

Carole B

23 contributions

Food served hot.

May 2021 • none

May 4 2021, dinner at 6:15 pm. Seated promptly. Large dining areas. We like early diners. I had lasagna, serving could have been enough for a family of four. Generous amount of sauce, meat, and cheese blended into a lovely dish. My son asked for a vegetarian dish, which was not on the menu. Server created a pasta dish with pesto and vegetables. He loved it. We recommend this Italian restaurant.

Written 5 May 2021

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