Rufino's Ristorante Italiano

First Timer here and I am here to gladly give this hidden GEM 5 Stars, 10 Stars if I could. This place is Original, Classy, Cozy and has such an inviting atmosphere.I did a walk in/take-out order to wrap up the 2024 year. Of course, I already knew it would be a busy night, so I anticipated to wait for my order. The minute I walked in, I already knew this place would be AWESOME (to include their GREAT YELP ratings) because I could smell DELICIOUSNESS of the food being made.It felt a Pizza and Pasta kind of night, so I ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara and Rufino's Special. I also ordered a side of their Garlic Cheese Bread and Buffalo Wings (I forgot to take pictures of these, only realizing it as I started to eat the Carbonara). All that I ordered were AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. Service was with an ABSOLUTE SMILE. I also felt it was GENUINE, from start to finish. The wait for food, I thought was minimal - 30 minutes and worth it. The friendly lady who took the order had such patience with me considering it was first time at this place. AND THEN, the kind gentleman who assisted with giving me my completed order was a such a sweetheart. When I mentioned to him that it was first time at this place, he was so kind to say, "Come back, sit down and have some wine". If I'm correct, I'm guessing these 2 individuals may be the Owner(s) or if not, Manager(s) of this WONDERFUL establishment. I wish I got their names. Sadly, I didn't, I was just wanting to get back home to avoid the roads on NYE. I was so impressed at this place. My encounter was so GENUINE AND SINCERE. AND THE FOOD, IS THE ICING ON THE CAKE that I can say gives this place it's worthwhile ratings. Thank you Rufino's for this AMAZING experience, I will definitely return.

This place is OLD School and I love it. Definitely a hole in the wall, you might never know it was there. I had been passing this place for weeks, wanting to check it out. I took my mom and my bro and his bride showed up to join us. First off, it's not fancy, just a normal place with some kitch through in for good measure. Waitress was nice and paid us attention immediately. STarted with the bruschetta and it was perfection...so garlicky! YUM.For entrees we had the lasagna (mom loved it), the shrimp scampi (gobbled up quickly), the eggplant parmesan (serviceable), and the pollo al funghi e mustard (delicious). The food was fresh and prepared with good ingredients.I would definitely recommend Rufino's to friends in OC!

We have eaten as regulars for years, but had to take a break as we moved away for a couple years. We were excited to be back, but mama and son were missing and so was the soul of this restaurant. The fettuccine also had an odd taste to it. The mostaccioli (penne) was good. The service was horrid. I watched the lady who was washing dishes, go attend to the bathroom in the same rubber gloves. Focaccia was like twice baked into discontinued. Salad was wilted. Drinks constantly dry, even after the server looked directly at it and walked away, I had to get her attention to refill it. It was just us and another table of preferred customers, then more ppl arrived we're seated, waited and left within any service at all. I'd say in the beginning, up until we were eating it felt like we weren't welcome. The cherry on this sundae was the most trap behind my head that was weighted as if something was dead in there. I saw another one on another both in the same location. Pic below...We're obviously never coming back.

It's a very small place decor needs updating the food was bad dry no flavor pasta dishes the only thing that was good was the sodas. The service was bad too took forever for waitress to come over there were only 2 other tables she took forever to come to us! The restroom was extremely small and tight definitely not handicapped accessible.

First visit, and had a nice experience. Classic old school décor, with good food and attentive service. We stopped in midweek and were the only customers there. As you can imagine, service was very good.FOOD: Everything was good, but a few things shined. Of course, the complimentary bread was pretty awesome, as all of the reviews state. We shared an order of the Calamari Fritti ($16.99), which was lightly breaded, and very tasty. For entrées, we had the Spaghetti with Meatballs ($16.99), the Pollo Michelangelo ($17.99), and the Manager's Special Trio (Chicken Parmigiana, Fettuccini Alfredo, & Lasagna for $23.99). You can add a House Salad or Minestrone Soup for $1.99 to any entrée. We finished off the meal by sharing a Tiramisu ($6.99) which was very good.We brought our own bottle of wine, and the corkage fee was only $10, with no limit on the number of bottles per table. We also purchased a bottle of their Sangiovese ($26), which I thought was very reasonably priced.Overall, a comfy atmosphere, with good service, and tasty food. We'll definitely be back.

Don't come here if it's busy coz they can't cater to their guest if they have a big party. Came at 615 and told me they can't take our order for another 30 min because they had a table with 10 people. Everyone else was served at the restaurant. This tells me that they don't have a big enough kitchen to crater to their customers

We just inhaled their calamari, fresh focaccia bread, manager's trio, and to die for tiramisu. Everything is homemade from scratch. Everything melts in your mouth. Their ingredients are imported from Italy. Excellent service. Warm family restaurant.

Quaint little Italian restaurant which has been around for many years. Service was excellent and bread sticks amazing!I ordered a veggie pizza which was loaded with fresh tomatoes, black olives, green peppers , onions and lots of cheese! I enjoyed it tremendously and took two slices home for tomorrow! Glass of Merlot was filled to the top!Definitely a great place to go to again!

Best Italian food I've EVER had! This place has been here for SO many years and is a family owned, hole in the wall type of place. It tastes like authentic Italian food. I always stop and eat here whenever I am in Anaheim!

I got the manicotti to go, ate it 4 hours later after reheating it and it was still damn good. Never had this place before today, so we're definitely coming back to try it fresh and in house!