La Collina Italian Restaurant

Used to eat here at least twice a month with my parents for 10 years or so when I lived in the Bay Area. It was my dad's favorite spot. Went back recently with my own kids. The old man wasn't there and I think his daughter runs the show now. Menu and quality haven't changed much. Good food, good service. Cozy little spot.

Great wait service and delicious Italian dishes.Beautiful interior wall murals of Italy. You start off with warmed sliced bread and their flavorful mushroom, garlic vinaigrette.Appetizers are amazing especially the Bruschetta with diced tomatoes mixed, basil, garlic, capers, served over grilled slices of bread with shaved parmesan cheese.Daily Specials offer great menu alternatives. We tried two of the daily specials:Seafood pasta with red marinara sauceLamb shank with polenta and mash potatoes, a little dry lamb meat but delicious!Substituted the Spaghetti with penne pasta Bolognese-Pasta with meat sauce.Tiramisu is authentic with ladyfingers with a hint of amaretto.

My favorite Italian restaurant in Millbrae is La Colina. The service is wonderful and never rushed. You can relax, enjoy your food, and have long conversations with your wife, friends and family. Pasta dishes out of this world, salads so tasty, and meat dishes with sauce so good. The ambience is Mediterranean drawings on the upper walls around the seating areas are beautiful wishing you are in Europe. The music from Italy with contemporary artists and artists of a bygone era is fantastic and puts one in a good mood. Enjoy your time together and services provided by Mete and Rose, the owner. We've been going here for over 30 years. Enjoy yourselves!

Ok place for Italian food. Average price for all the dishes. The service was slow/slacking when went. Had a large table and we had to ask for our bread plate even though the oil was on the table. We also had to ask for refill on water. Asking for the bread fine cause we understand could be forgotten. But the water should be checked upon every so often or at least when the dishes start coming as you are at the table. Inside looks nice gas great painting on the wall to make you feel like you're in Italy. The food was descent. Food was hot and the portions was average size. Nothing too special about this place.

I took friends who had just flown in to SFO to dinner last night at La Collina, largely based on its proximity to the airport and the positive reviews I'd seen. Three of us had dinner on a busy Friday night, and the experience was lovely in every respect. The host and waitstaff were skilled and friendly, and they handled a requested substitution to one of the entrees with ease. The bread served with the meal was delicious, and the olive oil/aceto balsamico/roasted garlic dipping sauce had us fighting (politely, of course!) over the last bits of it. One of our party had linguine with some of the most beautiful prawns I've ever seen; another had pasta with mussels. I had the chicken with artichokes, which was served with a lot of fresh, perfectly-cooked vegetables and mashed potatoes *and* polenta. For dessert we shared a order of biscotti and an order of tiramisu, both of which were large enough for three diners to feel satisfied.I particularly appreciated that we had a booth that allowed us easy conversation, and that the noise level was moderate enough that none of us had to shout to make ourselves heard. I miss that degree of intimacy that many of the newer restaurants seem to lack these days.I don't get down to the Peninsula often, but when I do, I plan to make La Collina my go-to dining spot.

Our go to restaurant when we want to treat ourselves. It's been a favorite for years and their tiramisu is our all time favorite cake. Their appetizers are all amazing and their gnocchi is the best of all time. Service is kind, overall great, and quick. The restaurant gives old school classic Italian restaurant vibes. Highly recommend!

3 stars rating from my husband and me, 4 stars from my kids.Over a decade ago was when my family and I first visited La Collina RISTORANTE ITALIANO. Unfortunately, we weren't super impressed, so didn't return for over ten years. Fast forward to April, 2022, I suggested that we try them out again and now they are voted as one of the top Italian restaurants nearby our house by our boys. Honestly speaking, I think that my kids have overrated them.Venue: 4.5 stars/A-/B+. Located on El Camino in Millbrae, they don't have their own parking lot, but there is metered street parking around the neighbourhood and public lots are in walking distance. They offer outdoor and indoor dining, the latter with scenic paintings of Italy on peach walls of the carpeted single dining room. Booth and regular seating with white linen-clothed tables are available. They also have a bar for those who want to order alcoholic beverages. Both the men and women's bathrooms are pristine, but since they have machine blowing hand dryers, there are no napkins for germaphobes like me who don't want to touch the bathroom door handles with their bare hands. When you turn on the light in the women's bathroom, a very loud sound blares which is unpleasant.Food: 3 stars/C. My youngest son really likes La Collina because they serve gorgonzola cream sauce with their pastas. His go-to dish is a customization of the GNOCCHI PESTO by substitution of the pesto sauce for gorgonzola. The best dish that I have ordered here is the CALAMARI FRITTI which has a nice crisp. The boys, Hubby included, always order the INSALATA DI CAESAR which is meh in my opinion. The VITELLO/POLLO ALLA MARSALA and GAMBERONI are not much better due to their blandness - even adding quite a bit of salt and pepper doesn't help much. My husband agrees that the food here tends to be bland. The PENNE ADRIATICO and CALAMARI AL DORE aren't bad. Heads-up: this is another restaurant that doesn't give anything to birthday celebrants except a candle atop a dessert that you order.Service: 2.75/3 stars/C-. There is a lady who works here who isn't the warmest. Not sure if it's a cultural thing, but she consistently comes off as a bit curt and unfriendly. She also reeks of cigarettes which is gross, especially when the stench is from someone who works in the food industry. Although our waiter was nice during our most recent visit on Monday, April 3, 2023, when ordering, we had to ask for the specials of the night, the information wasn't automatically given to us. My husband also had to ask for more iced tea, they didn't offer to pour more when his glass was empty.We will be back for sure because of the kids, which is why I really want to love La Collina, but it's been over ten years now and I still only like them. Sort of.

I love La Collina. I'm not an authentic Italian expert and don't have an Italian grandma to compare the food to, but it is tasty, well seasoned, looks good, and smells good. I've been there a handful of times, both with and without a reservation and have always been accommodated promptly. The service has always been professional and never seemed to be slow or lagging. The tables have real table cloths, but I believe they cover them with paper table coverings. The bread and garlic balsamic dipping sauce is so good, their gnocchi is my fave. I will purposely not finish it and take it home because it is soooo delicious as a leftover. It's always crowded when I go, not uptight or pretentious. There's outdoor seating, but I don't know if it's actually used anymore because I've never seen people dine outside.

This is my 4th time at this restaurant and its always very delicious and tastes really fresh, thank you!

It was better than any food we had in Italy. The shrimp with a white cream sauce is a most pleasant surprise!!! Cozy murals on the walls, soft music , and friendly staff. Near the airport so if your wanting a great reasonable treat try it