Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante

Excellent Italian fine dining experience this evening @bottegapizzeriaristorante in Glendale, AZ! My daughter and I were looking for a good dinner after a doctor's appointment nearby and this spot had good @yelp reviews. It is now our favorite Italian spot. Half of the reason we had such a good experience was our server, Giovanni, who is winner of Server of the Year in our book. We arrived right before dinner rush and were seated right away without a reservation. The tables have cloth tablecloths and real candles. A live musician arrived and started to perform half way through our meal. This is an excellent spot for a romantic meal. Though this is a very nice establishment, we were welcomed in casual attire. When my daughter mentioned to Giovanni that she was worried coming in paint-covered work clothes, he instantly put her at ease and said underneath his own uniform his body was covered in paint. He had us laughing all evening.
We needed some coffee and were brought a very good cappuccino and Latte Macchiato from a few doors down. Giovanni recommended that the polenta starter would go well with the pizza my daughter ordered so we tried that and it was so delicious! We were served a complimentary fresh rosemary bread basket and butter as well. We ordered:

- Cappuccino
- Latte Macchiato
- Polenta (Happy Hour Small Bites Menu)
- Pesto & Truffle Pizza Bianca: fior di latte, pesto, mushroom, arugula, truffle oil
- Branzino (Mediterranean Sea Bass): grilled Mediterranean sea bass,
mashed potatoes (My Brazino came with some spinach steamed perfectly with sliced fresh garlic and two large grilled asparagus atop the fish instead of potatoes)

My Branzino was cooked to perfection and tasted so mildly sweet and amazing with just some fresh lemon. My daughter was impressed with her pizza, especially the freshness of the dough and ingredients she could taste so well. She loved the presentation of her latte macchiato as much as the drink itself. What a pleasant dining experience!

So disappointed in the meal I had. The pizza was so thin and had no basil despite being a margarita pizza. The cognac cream sauce for the norcino was bland and had no salt or fat of any kind. The Caesar salad was also very bland and the dressing wasn't enough to give it any flavor except egg and a spot of lemon.

I give it two stars because it should have been better and the rolls are very good. I feel like the cook forgot to add salt or seasonings at all. Waste of money.

April was amazing to us.She helped us choose the right meal and she was spot on. It was very busy night but she still gave us the attention we needed.
Definitely will
Come back

We have pulled in their parking lot and left because there was no place to park. I was able to make a reservation the other night. We have really been wanting to dine here. My husband is Italian and we love all Italian food. They have a very nice waiting area. We were seated right away at a cozy little table. The place was packed on a weeknight. That tells you a lot. We ordered The bruschetta classic and our pizza half how he likes it and half for me. That was literally enough to fill us up. Our server was awesome! I tried to get a reservation during July 4th weekend, but they are booked now for 7 days out. We will definitely be back. Thank you Bottega! Friends are coming with us next time.

Enjoyed dinner with friends after work while on business trip. Food was above average; pizza's were freshly made and seasoned well. I didn't care for the pasta as it was prepared al dente and was really hard; not soft enough for me and the flavor was bland. The pizzas were really good as well as the calamari & shrimp appetizer with their homemade red sauce. If I lived in Phoenix I would definitely go back and try another choice of pasta since the waitress said they make it in house. The flavors of the pizza peaked my palate to try more items. So if you live in this area you might want to try them out. The ambiance was really nice and they had live music by local artist I would assume that we enjoyed dining on the patio. They also have a really cool indoor/outdoor bar with blue lights under the bar.

Excellent Food, attentive server Alli (who helped us choose every single one of our meal selections) and great ambiance. Had a quaint lunch with my mama at Bottega this afternoon between the lunch and dinner rushes. Mom REALLY enjoyed her strawberry and chicken salad that came with well seasoned thin slices of grilled chicken, sweet strawberries, toasted nuts with spring mix and a evoo forward dressing. I had the Bottega pizza with a slight zing of spice and for an appetizer (we yelp checked in to take advantage of a discounted appetizer) fig, arugula and prosciutto. We love bread and the free bread with whipped butter... Excellent. We will be back next time we're in AZ and to try the fresh made pasta!

Food was good. Service was 90% there. I think that the server was trying to be funny, but it was too loud so I couldn't really hear him well so the attempts at humor were lost and and it made things confusing.

I liked the pizza the best. I had chicken piccata with broccolini and add on pasta. That pasta wasn't treat. My wife and daughter had pasta dishes that were actually pasta entres and they were good.

Came around 7 on a Friday night, and it was pretty busy so we sat at the bar. Parking was plentiful and easy to find. The vibes were great. They had live music that fit the atmosphere. Inside is dimly lit, cozy, and just nice. Workers were all super friendly and attentive.

We got the bottega pizza, carbonara, and fritta misto. My fave was the bottega pizza!! It was so flavorful and had good texture. The carbonara was on the blander side. Also was interesting that it used short pasta instead of pasta noodles. A customer next to me said it looked like mac and cheese with bacon . The sauce that came with the appetizer was good and spicy. Also they give free bread and butter!!

Going out to eat is about the food, of course, but it's not ALL about the food. It's also about the people--the people eating around you, the people eating with you, and the people serving the food you're eating.

Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante had it all.

Our server, April, was full of vibrant kindness and made us feel so cared for. The owner, Nick, stopped by our table to see how everything was going, and we had a great conversation with him. And, when I spilled my water TWICE, he transcended all expectations in attending to the problem (besides fixing my own clumsiness). One of his hilarious solutions was to give me a sippy cup. Giovanni, who was serving the table next to us, even stopped by a couple of times to see if we were doing okay, and we chatted briefly with him about Italy, his wife, and his new baby.

Overall, we felt like we were being taken care of by warm humans who were deeply invested in ensuring that we had a wonderful experience. (To clarify, we initiated the conversations. They wouldn't have inserted themselves into our dinner if we hadn't invited the extended interactions. I know some people prefer to be left alone while they're dining out.)

We sat on the patio, which was lovely.

Oh, and the food was delicious! I had the pizza with Brie, and my friend had the gluten-free, lactose-free pizza.

I forgot to take pictures of the food, but please behold my sippy cup.

Food was much better than I expected. My 6 yr got spaghetti. He said it was good but wasn't his favorite. The pizza was delicious.

Service was great. Although I believe our sever was quite literal. I showed her a picture of the chicken piccata that didn't have noodles. But I thought it came with it. Even though the chicken was thinner than bacon lol it was still tasty.

The ambiance was chilled and they had live music outside. Quite nice.