Luca Allieri, the longtime manager of Il Fornaio, the classic Italian restaurant in Coronado, is standing near the large kitchen of his award-winning eatery overlooking San Diego Bay. Reviewing the action at this once-again bustling restaurant, Allieri is all smiles. He’s been waiting not-so-patiently for his beloved restaurant's return.
“We’re open again,” he declares, “and we're proud to say that the entire team has come back, 100 percent of our crew has returned.”
While the restaurant is hopping, not everything is the same. Allieri is strictly and thankfully adhering to physical distancing and wearing masks at all times. He has an almost obsessive devotion to keeping the place safe and super-clean.
“We’re taking reservations, but we have somewhat modified the access,” he says. “The entire restaurant is sanitized repeatedly, from the top to the bottom, the chairs, the tables, the bottom of the tables, and people feel very good about it. We mark the lines, six feet apart. It’s working great.”
The best part is that Il Fornaio has outdoor dining on and near the patio (pictured above), which is just steps from the water. For safety reasons, I'm only dining al fresco for the time being.
As I return to Il Fornaio, my smile, too, is hard to hide. After being stuck at home for months and rarely venturing out, it feels nothing less than life-affirming and joyous to be back at our favorite restaurant.
Il Fornaio boasts arguably the best location in San Diego County, the view across the bay to the popping San Diego skyline is striking. And in my opinion Il Fornaio simply has the finest food in San Diego. It is traditional and fresh Italian fare, not too pretentious but not too pedestrian.
Allieri has a keen sense of history. He and his Executive Chef Maurizio Mazzon have recipes and preparations that Italians have mastered over many centuries. They can prepare dishes from virtually every region of Italy.
And speaking of Italy, Allieri has gone through a frightening time, as so many of us have, keeping tabs on his family during the pandemic. Allieri hails from Bergamo, a city in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately 25 miles northeast of Milan.
He was terribly worried about his mother, who still lives in Bergamo, which was the haunting epicenter for the virus after it surged in Italy.
“There was no communication from the town. No travel out or in,” Allieri says. “Bergamo was in the news every day. We were very concerned. But my mom, who is 77, is totally fine, and things there are getting better there. They're back almost to normality.”
The same can be said for Il Fornaio. But for me, it’s outdoors only, perhaps for quite a long time to come absent a vaccine. I feel safer that way. Life in this world is still very far from normal. Even the “New Normal” isn’t normal. Dining and living as we remember it may never fully return.
Despite the fact that COVID-19 is stubbornly still out there, restaurants like Il Fornaio are reopening, and most of them are taking proper precautions.
Lest you think I’m one of those people who think the virus is a hoax, a sinister plot by the Deep State, think again. This pandemic is real, and it is still on a path of destruction.
But we all know now that that physical distancing and wearing masks really do work. So we’ve ventured out a few times in the last few weeks to revisit some of our favorite San Diego haunts that have outdoor options.
It’s surprising how few restaurants have al fresco dining in San Diego, which is America’s Finest City with America’s Finest Weather.
Here are some other San Diego-area restaurants that take safety as seriously as they take their food and service. If you do venture out to one of these haunts, tell them Jamie sent you. And pass the pepper!
1333 1st Street
Coronado
Harbor Island
619-814-1300
The other restaurant with our favorite view. This stunning upscale Mexican eatery on the water at Harbor Island is as good as it gets. Chef Deborah Scott is a culinary genius. Coasterra has a large outdoor dining section and the physical distancing here is outstanding. Lots of room to breathe and relax. It feels very safe.
North Park
619-281-2539
A terrific romantic Italian eatery in the heart of the city that boasts a heartwarming San Diego restaurant legacy.
Owner-manager Alex Walter is the son of the husband-and-wife owners of Old Venice, the legendary Italian restaurant that has been serving happy San Diegans for decades in Point Loma.
Alex has brought this own brand of city cool to this restaurant, which is hugely popular and which has a really comfortable, if not huge patio for safe outdoor dining.
Coronado Cays
619-423-5144
This Greek and Italian (all Mediterranean) restaurant on the Bay side of the Silver Strand in the Coronado Cays is a hidden gem about five miles south of the Hotel Del Coronado.
This was one of the first places we ventured out to try after being shut-ins for several months. Why? Because it’s on the Strand, which is a relatively mellow part of San Diego that a lot of folks just don’t know about. It’s never too crowded, it caters mostly to the Coronado locals, and of course the Navy Seals and others who train down there.
And you can eat outside on benches that are right on the neighborhood waterways, where folks live and get around on their boats. You can even take a gondola ride and feel like you are in Venice. You will love this place. They serve everything from sandwiches to Greek salads to pasta.
Warm and friendly owner Hanan Martha, who moved here from Jordan when she was a child, is very conscious of physical distancing and will do whatever she can to make you feel safe… and well fed.
Warm and friendly owner Hanan Martha, who moved here from Jordan when she was a child, is very conscious of physical distancing and will do whatever she can to make you feel safe… and well fed.