5 Best Italian Restaurants Near Orange, CA

In Orange, California, you can find some of the best Italian restaurants in the area. Whether you fancy a pizza or an espresso and a slice of tiramisu, you can get it nearby. You can also impress your next date with some delicious cuisine. Here are some of the best Italian restaurants in the region.

Da Bianca Trattoria

Bianca Cangelosi Bavand opened Da Bianca Trattoria in 1990. This family trattoria serves authentic Italian cuisine using only fresh ingredients. The chef’s specials are written on a chalkboard and change nightly. Indoor and outdoor seating is available, and you can make reservations online. Appetizers include fried calamari with marinara sauce, fried mozzarella sticks, and Vapore del Mare — mussels or clams in a white wine broth.

For dinner, you can try the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina — homemade potato dumplings with melted mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce, or the Melanzane alla Parmigiana, which is grilled eggplant slices with mozzarella and penne marinara. The Cannelloni alla Romana has Italian crepes filled with mushrooms, chicken, and spinach and baked with bechamel and marinara sauces, and the Cioppino includes shrimp, clams, bay scallops, calamari, rockfish, and mussels in a spicy tomato broth. With the Salmone alla Champagne, you’ll get fresh salmon in a champagne cream sauce with vegetables and pasta.

For dessert, you can try the tiramisu, homemade ricotta cheesecake with raspberry puree, or homemade cannoli. The vanilla bean gelato comes with a shot of espresso and whipped cream. The chocolate gelato has a zabaglione cream center and is rolled in caramelized hazelnuts. You could also try lemon sorbet in a fruit shell and Spumoni, which is pistachio, chocolate, and cherry gelato.

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Location: 7448 E. Chapman Ave., Orange, California.

Francoli Gourmet

Francoli Gourmet is a great Italian restaurant with specials that change weekly. Appetizers include Antipasto Misto, which is a selection of cured Italian meats, cheeses, artichokes, and olives, and Polenta Taragna con Funghi, which is homemade polenta, shiitake and porcini mushrooms, and gorgonzola cheese. You can also try the Gamberetti, which is a shrimp salad with Marsala wine, organic baby greens, tomatoes, pine nuts, sliced oranges, and citrus dressing.

Entrees include Pork Chop al Cranberry — a 14 oz. grilled pork chop with a cranberry-Marsala reduction sauce, spinach, and mashed potatoes — and Filetto al Pepe Verde, which is a 7 oz. filet mignon with a green peppercorn reduction sauce and seasonal vegetables. You can also enjoy Cioppino alla Livornese, which is Maine baby lobster tails, mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari, scallops, and diced fresh Scottish salmon with spicy tomato sauce and linguine. For dessert, you can enjoy chocolate fondant cake with chocolate cream, dark chocolate ganache, and chocolate flakes, creamy homemade orange custard, coconut sorbet, or assorted handmade Italian cookies.

Hours: Monday through Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Location: 100 S. Glassell St., Orange, California.

Tutto Fresco

Tutto Fresco means “everything fresh,” and this restaurant lives up to its name. It started in 1991, and it serves delicious Italian food and offers a drive-thru and catering. You can start with a pear, prosciutto, and goat cheese salad with mixed greens, pistachios, carrots, dried cranberries, blackberries, and maple rosemary vinaigrette. The Harvest Berry Salad comes with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, dried cranberries, golden raisins, blue cheese crumbles, baby greens, caramelized pecans, and maple rosemary vinaigrette.

For dinner, you can try the plant-based meatloaf with Portobello mushroom sauce, roasted vegetables, and garlic mashed potatoes. The Baby Lamb Chops includes three lamb chops, rosemary potatoes, rosemary mustard sauce, and macadamia nut pesto, and the lobster ravioli comes in a lobster cream sauce. The truffle shrimp linguine comes with white truffle Alfredo sauce, spinach, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Hours: Daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Location: 1333 N. Glassell St., Orange, California.

Renata’s Cafe Italiano

Renata’s Cafe Italiano has been open since 1994. It makes its own pasta and uses only the freshest ingredients. You can start with fried calamari, fried zucchini, or Pepata di Cozze, which is mussels and clams in a spicy wine sauce. Other appetizers include mushrooms stuffed with fresh crab meat and Polenta Romana, which is polenta with mushrooms in a red wine sauce.

For lunch, you can choose an Italian sub with salami, mozzarella, and mortadella, a meatball sub, an Italian sausage sub, or a cheese steak sub with steak, mozzarella cheese, bell peppers, mushroom, and onion. For dinner, you can try tilapia with piccata sauce, shrimp scampi with lemon wine sauce, or veal parmigiana with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. The Grigliata di Pesce has mixed grilled seafood in a special sauce, and the grilled salmon has piccata sauce.

Hours: Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Location: 227 E. Chapman Ave. F, Orange, California.

Marri’s Pizza

Marri’s Pizza has been serving authentic Italian food in the area since 1957. This family-owned restaurant makes its own pizza dough and sauces and offers delivery.

You can start with the popular appetizer sampler, chicken wings, fried zucchini, and fried mozzarella sticks with celery and ranch dressing. The chicken Alfredo pizza comes with chicken, Alfredo sauce, fresh basil, and mozzarella cheese, and the Marri’s Special pizza offers you a choice of sauce, mozzarella cheese, sausage, pepperoni, and mushrooms. The Cali Chicken sandwich includes chicken, bacon, avocado, romaine lettuce, ranch dressing or mayonnaise, and tomato. The Big Philly has grilled sirloin, mushrooms, sauteed onions, lettuce, garlic, tomato, mayonnaise, and melted mozzarella cheese, and kids’ meals include cheese pizza, cheese ravioli, and spaghetti.

Hours: Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Location: 2658 N. Santiago Blvd., Orange, California.

These are just some of the excellent Italian restaurants near Orange, California. Contact us at Mazda of Orange and let us know if we missed any of your favorite places to eat in the area.

Image by Jay Wennington via Unsplash License