Filippi's Pizza Grotto Little Italy, Italian restaurant in Little Italy, San Diego.
Filippi's Pizza Grotto Little Italy is an Italian pizzeria in the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego, set in a two-story building with a delicatessen shop on the ground floor and dining rooms on the upper floor. Tables upstairs are covered with red-checkered cloths, and the ground floor sells fresh ingredients and prepared Italian products alongside the restaurant entrance.
The place opened in 1950 as a small grocery store serving the Italian community in the neighborhood and gradually grew into a full restaurant with a kitchen and dining rooms. It is one of the oldest continuously operating Italian restaurants in San Diego.
The name "Grotto" refers to the cave-like feel of the dining rooms upstairs, where low ceilings and dim lighting give the space a cozy, den-like character. Regulars tend to return for that familiar setting as much as for the food itself.
The restaurant accepts both reservations and walk-in guests, and the ground-floor market is open to anyone who just wants to shop without eating upstairs. Weekend evenings tend to be busier, so arriving early or booking ahead makes the visit easier.
Walking into the restaurant means passing under hanging wheels of provolone and whole Italian salamis strung above the market entrance. These are not just for show: the same products on display are the ones used in the kitchen and sold by weight at the counter.
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