Buon Appetito, located on A Street in the heart of Hayward’s downtown area, is a romantic Italian restaurant that offers high quality food in an upscale atmosphere.

The restaurant has an intimate, cozy setting with soft décor and tables spaced far enough apart so that you can hear yourself and your table without problems.

One of the more appealing parts of the restaurant is the open kitchen. If diners sit close enough, they can see their meal being prepared, and also get a whiff of the fresh, yeasty bread dough sitting close by.

What sets Buon Appetito apart from other competing Italian restaurants in the area are the small, yet important touches that make this place stand out. Buon Appetito bakes all of their own breads in-house. Both the bread given to diners at the beginning of the meal with garlic spread and the bread used for sandwiches at lunch time is all house-made. The bread comes out soft and warm with just the right amount of moisture—something that cannot be duplicated with a re-heated baguette.

Along with making their own bread, Buon Appetito also makes several of their pastas in-house. Buon Appetito also has daily chef’s specials, one of which were homemade gnocchi (small potato dumplings) which were light, very fresh and had just the right amount of seasoning. Often a pitfall of gnocchi is that it can sometimes be overcooked and gummy. When eating this dish, one could tell that the dough was made fresh, not over-kneaded and cooked properly.

Though the food may taste and look expensive, Buon Appetito offers very fair prices for all of their food. Their Linguine al Frutti di Mare is a generous portion that has prawns, scallops, clams, and calamari with fresh linguine for $16.95. All of their appetizers are under $10, and although there is an entire meats section on their menu, Buon Appetito has quite a few vegetarian options as well.

Buon Appetito also offers Italian and Californian wines, along with a specialty cocktail menu and a large, well stocked full bar. Since it is open until 10 p.m., it is not unusual for people to come by to split an appetizer and have a drink.

This Valentine’s Day, instead of crossing the bridge and searching for an over-priced, fancy Italian restaurant, you need look no further than Buon Appetito.