Without a doubt the best Caesar salad there is the best service the best New York steak the best fillet and the best veal chop all cooked to perfection cherries Jubilee ecstasy desserts out of this world also the bananas flambé
Had a wonderful evening!!!
The Manhattan (the drink) best ever!
The Canolini (entree) best ever!
The entertainment (Roman) best ever!
We WILL be back!!!!!!!
Old school vibes, great staff, yummy food, intimate
This is a tucked-away gem inside the Empress Hotel. Old school Italian steakhouse food, and live music every night. Very good service and a lot of fun too. If you are staying at the hotel, don't miss popping in for a drink, or even dinner.
This is a wonderful restaurant. It has the feel of the old-style dinner club with brick walls and waiters in suits. The food was great. We started off with a Caesar salad prepared table side. The salad was delicious. We then had Osso Buco for our entree. My wife said it was the best she ever tasted. For desert we had a dish named “Almost Heaven.” It was aptly named. We wish we lived in San Diego so that we could frequent this place.
We were able to get reservations as late as 9:15. The Manhattan had the charm of an old resturant - brick on the wall, leather booths, carpeting on the floors and lower ceiling which keeps the noise down, The piano player's music does spill into the restaurant. The food was fabulous, service great, the wine list fairly large and the prices very reasonable. Great experience and I would definitely return.
Share the Cannelloni. Nice to go to a restaurant that get's it. I'm a sucker for professional waiters who know what's what and are not trying to pad the bill. From drinks to desert, note perfect. If you have one meal in La Jolla, this is the one.
Amazing Manhattan!. If you're looking for an authentic New York Italian experience, then you won't want to miss Manhattan. The food is consistently remarkable each visit. The cannelloni is to die for and the NY Pepper Steak beats out top steakhouses in the area. No meal at Manhattan is complete without the caesar salad made table side to start...and of course the The Manhattan apple dessert to finish off the night.
Manhattan's in La Jolla is a fantastic spot to enjoy cocktails and engage in meaningful conversations with a special person, all accompanied by great live music. The food is truly amazing, and the staff, including the attentive owners who visited our table, provided excellent customer service. The ambiance is romantic, with classy artwork enhancing the atmosphere. I'm looking forward to returning for my birthday, especially considering the superb cocktails and perfectly cooked steak during our dinner.
Came to celebrate a friend's graduation. Waited for a while to order, but other than that. Everything was 👌. Even though I wasn't paying, the food tasted very expensive (plus the menu doesn't show the price).
Big props for Britney & Manny. Veal Chop is Zagat rated for a good reason: the quality is extremely high. While staying at The Empress hotel in which this restaurant is located, I also enjoyed Caesars Salad prepared table side, Gnocchi, Carpaccio, Insalata alla Della, Linguine Pomodoro, and Tiramisu. A great wine list accompanies the superb Traditional Italian menu (Montepulciano!) plus a full bar with happy hour available. If you aren't spending $100 per person or more, you aren't doing it right.
We went for dinner while here in town for a wedding. The food was absolutely amazing and the staff made us feel so welcome and well taken care of. It truly was one of the best dining experiences I've had in years. We will most definitely be back!
Live music was amazing! Great staff
Awesome experience! We stayed at the Empress hotel and heard great reviews about this restaurant so made a reservation for my friend's birthday. Love the darker 'mob-boss' vibe, love piano and live music, plus cool artwork and also fish tank add to the ambience. The host that sat us recommended the table side flambayed peppercorn New York steak, so we got that with mashed potato plus table side caesar salad (don't see either very often anymore) drinks and our amazing server Neoli was super friendly and hooked us up with a baked potato and free dessert for my friend's birthday. Overall wonderful ambience, friendly service, table side preparations and great food!
Manhattan's in La Jolla is a fabulous place to have a cocktail, chat with that special person. Great live music. Food is amazing. Staff gave great customer service. Meant the owners. Came by to our table. That was super nice. Romantic. Artwork is so classy. Hoping to return for my birthday. Cocktail absolutely the best i have had. Dinner steak perfectly cooked.
This is hidden inside a hotel in La Jolla San Diego. It’s upscale Italian. There was live music with a lounge singer. I had the veal Marsala, lobster bisque and I highly recommend the Ecstasy desert which is White chocolate gelato with liquor and raspberries. It’s more filling than it looks.
By far the most consistent and elegant dining experience in San Diego. Whether for business, a date, holiday or my Birthday… I’m suggesting Manhattan.
From the moment you walk in your transported into a upscale jazz infused aura. The decor is tasteful and entrancing. The live music was a wholesome touch really drawing you in. Then the food arrives. Of the 4 dishes we ate there was not 1 ingredient spared. Every dish was made with love and care and you can taste it. The customer care is insightful and has great recommendations. I wish there where more stars to give as this place is truly a treat and in a lane of its own. Will be making it one of my staples for the city.
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