Vino Santo Bistro

Everything about this place had me head over heels in love with it. From the decor and ambiance to the overall service and the food, Vino Santo Bistro is definitely top tier Italian dining. While celebrating the year's end with my father-in-law's company shareholders, we experienced some of the best Italian cuisine the Bistro had to offer.We started off with drinks and apps, most notably, the shrimp bordelaise which showcased deliciously plump and juicy shrimp in a white wine demi-glaze. Perfectly paired with the house made bread basket for the table... and let me tell you, this was the fluffiest, most delicious tasting homemade bread I've ever had. It's like plopping a warm, buttery, bread flavored cloud into your mouth. #CarbsOnCarbs. For my meal, I opted for the calamari steak. And while it was the last dish brought to the table, it was still worth the wait! The calamari was delicately breaded and tender, without being rubbery or drowned in sauce. The veggies were fresh, crisp and not over cooked. All deserving of the highest praises and compliments. We all closed out the experience with a broad selection of delectable desserts and coffee drinks. My financé opted for a decently sized and perfectly prepared tiramisu and I couldn't turn down a timeless classic, like crème brulee. The crème brulee was the perfect consistency! Not too custardy, not too thin and perfectly topped with a crispy, sugary and freshly torched "crust." While the wait staff could have been a little more attentive to what people ordered, other than that the service was excellent. Our drinks were almost never empty and everything was brought to the table piping hot and fully loaded. For a party of 7 that is quite a testament to Vino Santo Bistro. 9/10, looking forward to coming back and exploring more of the menu!

Vino Santo checks all the boxes for me. Great food, great service, great ambience. I personally like the tables up front by the window, but those can be hard to get. Cute seasonal cocktails that are delicious and well balanced. I believe my favorite is the pear martini - I don't know if that's what it's called, but it is a martini with pear. For food, the polenta starter is fire. The sauce with the mushrooms and feta is perfect. A little tangy, a little sweet - chefs kiss! The caprese is another fixture on our order list, but I like the beets and kale salad as well. For entrées, it has to be the pasta for me. Husband and I usually do the rigatoni and tortellini and go halfsies. Best of both worlds with the rich, creamy tortellini and pancetta then the zesty, spicy sausage and pepper rigatoni. Desserts here are also fabulous, so make sure you save room. I'm a particular fan of the chocolate mousse however, the Panna cotta, tiramisu, and crème brûlée are also excellent. Service here is wonderful and I highly recommend this place for events. They have a nice outdoor patio in the back that's large enough to accommodate a good size party but small enough to feel cozy. I attended an event for about 20 people here and the food quality - even for a larger party - was consistent and came out quickly/all together.

If you want to have a drink or two outside, enjoying good weather and watching the Broadway scene, don't miss Vino Santo.They have a good wine list and use Riedel glasses to make your experience even more enjoyable. Also, their sparkling wines and Champagne are always perfectly bubbly, as if the cork was just popped.

I came here because I worked with the owner once (so this may be a slightly biased review) ! Our whole team came here to eat lunch together, and it was really good food ! It is not the biggest restaurant, however, because of its size and the fact that it is in downtown Redwood City, it just gives the coziest vibes ever ! The service was also good (probably because their boss was with us haha but we felt well taken care of) and it felt like this place could be a really good date night kind of place ! I would be open to trying this restaurant again.

Lunch combo is a great deal with a salad/ appetizer with a pasta for $22. A few of us wanted to get other items on the regular menu: lobster ravioli and gnocchi. I was happy that they were able to change my sauce to pink sauce. On the menu it offers pesto, marinara, or Gorgonzola. Also, loved that they offer to grate fresh Parmesan cheese on your dishes. Service was great and the food came out quickly. I would definitely come again to try other items.

Nice and fancy Italian restaurant in the busy streets of Redwood City downtown. Very professional staff with accommodating dietary restrictions. Our order: Kale and Beet Salad - light and refreshing- ask for candied walnuts on top it adds another dimension to the saladTortellini- tortellini was sooo creamy - very soft stuffing - mushrooms were delicious - very heavy Gnocchi- our waiter recommended the Gnocchi and honestly was pretty decent - not worth the $26 given how lackluster the dish was- the gnocchi balls itself were good (handmade) but might've been better with a light sauce - the marinara sort of suppressed the dish Cab SavCoffee Stout Honest review (3.9)

This restaurant is located near my work so I have dined here several times for lunch. The last time I visited, I ordered off their special lunch menu, which offers 2 courses for $22. I opted for a tomato salad and the spaghetti bolognese. While the food was fresh and tasted fine, I instantly regretted not getting the lobster ravioli. It's my favorite dish at Vino Santo! At $28 it is definitely not an everyday splurge, but trust me, the vodka cream sauce is so good! Even though it's a cream sauce, it's not heavy at all. I always use the bread, which is no longer complimentary, to sop up the leftover sauce. I would probably lick the plate clean if I could! The service here is also very good. We're always on a time crunch during our lunch break so it's nice we're able to get in and out without being late back to work, even though it's a white tablecloth sit down kind of place. They also have the best mints that you can help yourself to on the way out!

I love this place! Excellent service. Food amazing. Tonight the noise level was deafening yet I understand the holidays and this is a great place to go to celebrate. The mariachi music was confusing in an Italian restaurant but hey, private party and all!! I looked around and we played the game...who does that person look like? We saw Vanessa Redgrave, Chris Farley, Lurch, and Danny Devito! Okay, yes, that was all weird, but what the heck!! This is a place I take special friends to and will continue to do so. Thank you!

The restaurant has a good ambience, the food was tasty so were the drinks. The staff were nice & welcoming but it took them a long time to bring our food. Not sure what happened cause other tables seem to get their food in a timely manner.- Drinks: All drinks were good, I got the pear martini, absolutely loved it.- Tortellini: Tasty pasta with a creamy sauce, mushrooms & bacon. It was rather a heavy dish with the sauce that said I really enjoyed eating it. It's a pretty generous portion too.- Chicken with lemon sauce: the chicken was cooked perfectly & the sauce & mushrooms added more flavor to it.Overall everyone seemed to enjoy their meals.

Interesting lobster ravioli. I had a lot of people telling me it looked like there wasn't much on my plate. The ravioli is quite flat too. Not a lot of stuffing. The sauce tasted good and the rock shrimp was nice. I was full because of the calamari and bread. Calamari was really good! And I enjoyed both red and white dipping sauce a lot actually.