Ca’ Brea

Went on monday night. It was slow but the food still tasted great. Very friendly staff, great service, good vibes, awesome food.
Parking: free parking in the back of the building
Food: We ordered caesar salad to start with which was not that much of difference with other restaurants.
Ossobucco– very tender, large portion, amazing sauce
Bigoletti– assorted seafood spaghetti with clams, crabs, and lobster tail
They have happy our from 6 – 10 I believe, drinks like house wines and beers are 6 dollars but only at the bar. Heard they have great breakfast and brunch menu. Also great dessert. Will definitely be back to try more.

Haven’t been here since they moved into the neighborhood. Food was very good. Had the Penne Arribiatta and a Radicchio Salad. Good service, not noisy and was able to find street parking.

Ca’brea is amazing! You can’t go wrong ordering anything on the menu. My favorite is the broken calzone. It is so different and so rich in flavor! The owner George is so welcoming and helpful with guests.

We went there for breakfast this morning and had the Italian Egg Benedict. It was so delicious. The chef put some kind of black rice cake instead of bread. Everyone was very friendly. The chef came out and asked how our food was. We will definitely be back there. They also have 5pm-​10pm happy hour with $ 6 cocktails. Highly recommended.

5 stars for the amazing service by the owner/​chef. He personally served our table and helped us order the perfect amount for our group. I messaged the owner via Unilocal if he could accommodate a group of 14 and they allowed us to have a private section of the restaurant. Apart from the service, here is what we ordered:
Eggplant Parmesan: cheesy and delicious.
Bigoletti: spaghetti with lobster tail, manila clam, shrimp, blue crab and white wine spaghetti sauce. The seafood and pasta was cooked perfectly.
Pumpkin ravioli: the owner recommended this dish and it did not disappoint. It’s a bit on the sweet side but that’s what I loved about it. The ravioli is all handmade at the restaurant.
Margherita pizza: not your typical margherita pizza. Chunkier tomato pieces but it tasted great.
Wild black risotto with herb crusted salmon: fantastic. I usually don’t like risotto but this was delicious.
The owner offered to make special off the menu requests for the children so the kids ordered fettuccine Alfredo and spaghetti with meat sauce. The kids cleared their plates.
A huge thanks to the staff at Ca’Brea and a huge thanks to the owner George for being so accommodating and great with the service. I will definitely come back.

I am so impressed by this place. Very friendly staff! Family style goodness in a chic atmosphere AND the food is TO DIE FOR! I recommend the filet. Wow. I definitely recommend this diamond in the ruff.

Best Italian in K Town
When i wnet there, I never expected. Just for the dinner.
But Ca’Brea’s dishes are recommendable and so good.
Please visit the Ca’Brea and enjoy the meal in K Town

Shout out to the owner George!
Awesome and authentic food. Great décor. Awesome and honest owner.
Ca’ Brea sits on the corner of Wilshire Blvd. and St. Andrews with glass windows so you can see the busy intersection. Great view!
They got a great happy hour menu with delicious sandwiches and pastas. They take pride in their dishes and establishment.
Highly recommended.

I fell in love with this place as soon as I walked into the door. And let me tell you why.
I noticed Ca Brea while driving by, and I haven’t seen this spot in Koreatown. Curious, I searched on Unilocal to see and I finally got to check it out.
Walked in. I fell in love with the ambiance. It’s not somewhere you will find in Koreatown. I sat at the bar with my girlfriend and we ordered from the HH menu– so we can share many different plates together.
We started off with the Salumi E Proscuitto (Charcuterie). I really enjoyed the 3 different style of meat. Proscuitto, Salami, and the Bolognese. I am not a fan of Bolognese, but the texture of this meat was just delicious. Probably because it’s aged more…
Then we also ordered Pennette and Ravioli Alla Zucca. My friend preferred the Ravioli a lot more, but I liked the Pennette more. Don’t get me wrong– they were both fantastic. I don’t even like pumpkin, and I ate the Ravioli. The Pennette had a kick to it and the pasta was cooked perfectly. You know how Italians cook their pasta, not overcooked but not undercooked.
We also got to try the Ossobuco Di Vitello. Holy smokes. This veal was so tender and melted in your mouth. And let’s keep in mind, veal is the toughest part of the meat…
Lastly, we were recommended by George, the owner, Aranchini.
It is a pan fried rice balls withe white truffle sauce. By the time the fried balls came, I had way too much to eat that I couldn’t really enjoy it.
Overall I enjoyed the company, food, and the ambiance. It’s not something you can find in Koreatown. And also it is authentic Italian food, not where Korean owners infuse pastas to Korean way.
I’d honestly just come here to drink and bite on small plates!
I am definitely going back —

Located right in the middle of Korea town is this little gem. My little 9 year old had Nutella pancakes! Yum. Everything was delicious.

This Italian restaurant is located in the Ramada Hotel at the corner of St. Andrews Place and Wilshire Boulevard. Parking is available at the Ramada Hotel or streets. If you don’t want to deal with parking, the Metro Purple Line (Wilshire/​Western) is only a block away.
I came here with my company to celebrate a co worker’s birthday. Apparently our boss knew the owner which was cool. At first, we were given paper menus which were very hard to read since the font was very big and wide and too close together. After, we were given a much nicer menu that was a lot easier to read and had more dishes and drinks.
Food: Ca’Brea serves a wide variety of Italian food from paninis, greens, appetizers, antipastas, and pastas. They also serve beer, wine and champagne. Happy hour ($ 5 drinks and food) is available every day from 5pm-​10pm at the bar only. «Free» bread is given at the start of the meal and they were so gooood, especially with the sauce that comes with it. Many of my co workers ordered the Bigoletti All Frutti Di Mare ($ 25) which is a seafood pasta dish with tomato sauce. The plate was HUGE and looked very delicious. For people that love seafood, this is the dish to go. I ordered the Linguinette Alle Vongole ($ 20) which is thin linguini with clams in white wine sauce. It was very good and light in flavor. Clams for days. One of my co workers ordered the Ravioli Alla Zucca which is pumpkin ravioli with toasted walnut and cream sauce. I had a bite of it and omg… it was amazing!!! It’s so unique and I would definitely order that next time I’m here. All of the plates sizes were quite big and filling which is great! We also had desserts. I had their vanilla gelato; they apparently import their gelato from Italy. Their cheesecake is also really good but my favorite dessert from here is the Crème Di Vaniglia (a vanilla cream custard covered with caramel or chocolate sauce). We had it with caramel sauce and wow, it was so good! I can eat this everyday.
Overall the service was great and the food/​desserts were delicious! The food did take a while for them to come but that’s alright. Good thing we had bread and some appetizers before the main course!

I came here for dineLA, it was ok. The food was a bit salty. The service was good, but the acoustics were loud and it was a little difficult to have a conversation.

*NEWS ALERT*
The old Ca’ Brea on La Brea is now in KOREATOWN! Finally an eatery that’s authentic and not Korean owned trying to be Italian with their bland dishes! :)
Ca’ Brea is under the Ramada hotel which is a bit off putting but it’s okay since the quality of their food is incredible.
Friend suggested to meet there for dinner so I sent my husband a calendar invite only to find that it was now on Wilshire. I assumed something was wrong with Unilocal when I check the location on the map. I knew it was on La Brea, close to Wilshire, but again… thought it was Unilocal’s mistake (they do that often).
I didn’t realize until an hour before dinner that it was in Koreatown AND the inside looked different.
I thought, oh man, here we go again. Those damn Koreans stealing a name and trying to reinvent the wheel in Koreatown. I tried to look at the menu and try to make sense of it all but I couldn’t. I just assumed it would be another faux Italian place that would be sub par.
Boy was I wrong.
1. It’s the same place that used to be on La Brea
2. Owners are so sweet and incredibly attentive
3. Food is AMAZING (everything we ordered was just as good as I remembered the last time I visited before 2003!)
4. They have a great HH deal!
5. Full bar
6. Plenty of parking, on street or valet thru hotel
7. I will be back (and that means a lot. I went last night and I already want to go back).
We got the rigatoni, penne arrabiata, risotto funghi, spaghetti bolognese, carpaccio, bufala salad and drinks.
Everything was cooked perfectly, had great flavors and good size portions.
Too bad I ate too much. This will require extra #doingjim for me.

Just opened and came here for Vday.
The Vday prefix 3 course had great stuff on the menu but since I had such heavy dinner, I was little reserved.
George, our wonderful server was really generous and helped us order off the menu and was really flexible with what maybe an unreasonable demand on a busy night.
Ktown doesn’t really have good authentic Italian restaurant. So to learn that Ca’brea from La Brea location has moved to Ktown is a huge treat!
Burrata and gnocchi dish was scrumptious!
Awesome new hidden gem located in ramada hotel on Wilshire.

I must admit I was skeptical while walking into Ca’ Brea for DineLA on 1÷26÷2016. I had a reservation for 7:00pm and the place was practically empty when I walked in. I checked in with the host and he said I could have a seat anywhere in the restaurant, which led me to believe they weren’t expecting many people that night and perhaps that’s the trend here. The restaurant has a nice ambiance to it. A brightly lit bar with ESPN running on the TVs sits adjacent to the more dimly, but adequately, lit dining area.
Going for the the DineLA option, I went for the shrimp cakes, ossobucco, and cheesecake. My guest ordered the same with the exception of the seafood spaghetti instead of the ossobucco. The shrimp cakes and accompanying salad were very tasty and fresh — though the shrimp cakes were just a tad salty for my personal preference. I finished it nonetheless.
The ossobucco was a generous portion and accompanying sides — polenta fritters, broccoli, and roasted potatoes — were all very good, though the broccoli was a tad overcooked. I also got to try the spaghetti and that was delicious as well. The pasta was perfectly cooked, as was the shrimp and clams, and the sauce was also very tasty.
We finished with cheesecake which was alright. The cheesecake doesn’t have the graham crust, which I always enjoy, and it was served warm, whereas I prefer my cheesecakes cold.
I would definitely recommend Ca’ Brea as a place to try, and would come back to order my own plate of spaghetti frutti di mare.

New restaurant in K-​Town amidst of all the Korean food, this place is Italian that is offering the DineLA menu. Granted, this is a new place, so I was like «FIRST! But not so quickly, low and behold, there were many other people that had this place before me»
–WHAT SHOULD I ORDER–
1) Get the Carpaccio Di Manzo which is raw beef shaven off with arugula. Quite a taste.
2) Ossobucco, now this was the
, eating this felt so wrong, but oh so good for my stomach.
3) I tried the Ravioli Alla Zucca which I was like «WHERE IS THE MEAT?» Then I was told it was pumpkin filled. Well that explains it.
–HOW IS THE SERVICE–
We came on Thursday night and the place wasn’t packed. Quick overall, the owner was nice.
–WHAT IS THE PRICE–
Expect each person to pay about $ 20-​$ 25 at the end of the bill.
Source: Came here smelling Korean food, but got Italian instead.

Came here yesterday with a group of 8 friends. Restaurant was practically empty, which was great as we were in a rush. We checked with the server about how backed up the kitchen was and she told us that everyone else had been served so the kitchen would be working on our orders straight away.
Clearly not the case. There was only one server, who was completely overwhelmed by everything despite it being very quiet. Our orders were fairly simple: salads /​sandwiches etc. They were out of a LOT of things on the dineLA menu.
We waited as long as we could (45 minutes) and then asked her to just bring us our food to go as we had to leave. Even then it took another 15 minutes, and the server had the nerve to tell us we were being «so impatient».
It took another 10 minutes to get the check, and we were all charged full price. When we eventually opened our containers, we were pretty mad. In particular, one of our group had asked for the chicken sandwich, but made into a salad instead of sandwich. What was in the box? A few small pieces of chicken, two slices of tomato, zero lettuce. For 13 dollars.
I don’t know what was going on there yesterday, but the whole thing was a disaster.

The attendants are nice and friendly. The atmosphere is great too. I like Bigloetti All Frutti Di Mare because the sea food was fresh. Carpaccio Di Manzo tasted good. But the risotti were all too salty to me.

Damn Tasty!
Recommended by Document coffee across the street. The Pasta was pretty good. Very tasty. I have tried alot of pasta places in LA and so far this is one of my favs.
I had the chicken with white sauce. Best i have had. Im coming back for more soon.

Came in for dinela.
Only two tables at the restaurant when we walked in.
Took the server 20 – 30 mins to bring water and bread.
One out of first course in my case was calamari was not available, one out of second course panino was not available. (How do they not have so much available on first week of dinela?)
Mimosa is $ 9 (for a small size… Really? Oj and champagne?) ordered frangelico cocktail it was way more complicated to make than mimosa and this was $ 8. Someone explain how this is making sense.
My boyfriend ordered turkey panini, I ended up getting the same thing since they didn’t have what I wanted on dine la. But on the check one was $ 20 and one was $ 13 when it was exactly the same thing.
So the server put in the wrong order. Gave us attitude saying that she’s gonna charge us both for dinela?! Told her that we ordered turkey panini and both dishes look the same, then she looked at the table and saw the drinks and said well I didn’t put in the drink order (as if she didn’t put it in as a service thing) but please I never said i wanted the drinks for free. Trying to blame us for what she did wrong…
Then Asked for Togo box but we had to walk to her to ask for that. (Wondering when the service part comes in).
I tasted the salad and decided to just Togo the sandwich. I ended up eating something else in the area.
The other table who came in at the same time as we did also decided to Togo all their food (7 people) because they have waited more than one hour for their food. If the place was busy then it’s understandable but that table with 7ppl and us were the second parties who placed order.
Enough said.

The food was good. I had the sole, wrapped in some kind of inedible «skin». It was unique, flavorful, and the fish was tender. I like unique. The service on the other hand, was a bit lacking. We had to ask for the same glass of wine twice, before it was brought out, among 1 or 2 other small things

Who doesn’t love Happy Hour? Those who doesn’t are definitely missing out. Check out Ca Brea, they have one of the longest happy hour that I know, from 5−10pm, house wine/​beer/​other drinks only at $ 5.
Parking:
~ Ample open space free parking at the back of the restaurant
Ambience:
~ Relaxed and not crowded probably because it is still new. Had a nice bar area that we had our food and alcohol.
Food:
~ My friend ordered from the DINELA menu ($ 39 for 3 course meal) and picked the following: ⁵⁄₅
APPETIZER (Raw beef with vegetables and cheese) is pretty good but lack of a pinch of acid (that’s why we asked for lemon).
ENTREE (Seafood Pasta), is pretty good too, pasta is well-​cooked with the right amount of sauce, seafood is fresh.
DESSERT (Cheesecake) is pretty good too, good recommendation from our server. It taste more like a mousse than a cake, love the texture, and it’s not overly sweet, very yummy.
~ PUMPKIN RAVOLI is very good! I’m not a pumpkin person but I actually do love this dish a lot. Ravoli is well-​cooked, soft and sauce is very tasty. ⁵⁄₅
~ VONGOLE (Clams with White Wine) is average. The pasta sauce taste bitter and lack flavor, clams is ok and taste bland. ³⁄₅

They have happy hrs 5pm-​10pm during the week $ 5 a drink. The place is not bad. Love the service my friend have Dine La fix menu. They love there pasta i love my too. dessert is not bad either.

I came here twice. First time, I ate at the bar to eat happy hour food. Second time, I ate on the table with regular menu.
Bar experience: Fantastic! Food was fantastic, not salty or greasy. Pasta tasted so fresh and it has been a long time since I’ve enjoyed eating Italian food at a restaurant. Panini was not so good, kind of salty and no flavor that wowed me. Food came out very quickly. One thing I noticed is that there is only one waitress and she was talking to someone next to me for more than 20 minutes. She should be going around to see how other customers are doing. She didn’t hear my boyfriend asking for the bill 4 times… I am sorry but I couldn’t help overhearing that the owner is afraid of hiring other people because they might give free drinks or somewhat. I just wanted to say that you can’t run a business without taking risks. How do you think other successful restaurants do it? For such a big restaurant, there needs to be more waiters. And a legit bartender would make me want to buy drinks here.
Table experience: I came here with my family the second time and told them all day that the food here is delicious. And without a doubt, the seafood pasta satisfied my parents who are picky eaters. However, we were so disappointed with the service. We sat on the table that was quite far from the bar because the area close to the bar was way too dark. Because the waitress is usually at the bar and she couldn’t see us, she didn’t come to us for a pretty long time. We ordered 2 bottles of sparkling water and lime. One bottle was cold and the other one was room temperature… That’s like giving room temperature soda. Then, she wouldn’t bring lime and I waited a good 15 min, constantly checking behind me to see where she is. I then got up and went up to her to remind her of the lime. I was pretty annoyed by then. Also, she asked my mom if she wanted salad with the pasta without telling us it’s extra charge. We almost fell for it but then I asked if there’s a charge and then she told us. I just want to suggest the waitress that she should not make it sound like the salad is complimentary… Some customers can get mad when they see an extra charge in their bill. I want this restaurant to do well. It has potential. The food is amazing. The service just needs to get better and maybe hire another waiter and bartender.
Here is a summary of my experience:
Pros
–Sauce for bread is delicious
–Nice ambience, perfect for dating
–Pasta is tasty, gives a large portion of pasta and puts a lot of seafood in seafood pasta
–Love love love the happy hour at the bar
Cons
–Slow service, need to hire more waiters
–Bread was too hard to enjoy
–Sparkling water was in room temperature

I saw this place on Unilocal and I always wanted to check this place out especially since it was so close to work and I’m glad I did!!!
Delicious food
Great hospitality
Quick service
And an amazing happy hour!
George is the man! Great bartender and an amazing host!

Great variety of choices for Sunday brunch. Pancakes with Nutella and strawberries were delish. Owners are very friendly and attentive.

This place is Awesome. Great food, great service and has a great atmosphere, it’s very modern so the vibe is Awesome. I highly recommend coming here.
Definitely try the ARRANCINI and mix it with the pumpkin ravioli

Same restaurant in a new location!
Ca Brea probably has one of the best and longest HH’s around. Wine, beer, and a few other drinks are only $ 5! Get a buzz for cheap =)
$ 5 will also get you small plates of food. The ravioli in a creamy walnut sauce was probably the best of the night & it paired well with my white wine. Gnocci was soft and chewy but the meat sauce just didn’t do it justice.
The radiccio entrée salad was piled high with crunchy strips of (tortilla?) and some blue cheese. Tossed light, this is a must-​order when I go back!
The restaurant was pretty empty on a Thursday night. I do hope business picks up!

This review is long over-​due as I’ve been a fan of Ca’Brea since its original location.
With their move, came a nice facelift to the restaurant itself. Classic feel with a touch of modern. Great atmosphere and open space with a full bar and TV… great happy hour pricing.
And yet they still have tables with privacy for more intimate dinners.
Food is amazing, especially the dessert. This place is famous for the Tortino Alla Veneziana (light homemade Ricotta cheesecake) and their Dolce Ca’Brea (flourless chocolate and coffee cake)…HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Came here Christmas evening which, to be fair, isn’t an ideal time for great service because no one really wants to be working on Christmas Day — I’ve been a server/​bartender so I totally understand. However this level of negligence and lack of attentiveness was completely unprofessional.
Arrived on time for our 7:30pm reservation and were seated in a separate secluded room away from the rest of the restaurant. Another couple was seated in the room shortly after. After 20 minutes of waiting for service and even checking the main dining room where we saw no servers or hostess, both us and the other couple got up and left.
Ten minutes later my friend realized she left her phone on the table so we headed back. TWENTY MINUTES later we walked back in, back to the table and it was untouched — her phone still there as well as the dirty napkins and full water glasses (as if they never went back to check on the table in that time).
I’m sure the food is alright but I will never be returning due to this horrible service.

The atmosphere is very airy and romantic, and there’s even a nice group seating area for private parties. Happy hour runs from 5 – 10 pm with an extensive selection of $ 5 apps and wines. Very polite and friendly staff catered to all our needs with a beaming smile. Come check it out!

Great addition to the neighborhood. Their new location is located on Wilshire, situated at the base of a Ramada hotel (their restrooms are actually attached to the hotel lobby).
George was a delightful person to become acquainted with while my boyfriend and I sat at the bar. We enjoyed their Happy Hour menu, which is extensive and offered from 5−10pm every day.
Can’t wait to come back to try the rest of the menu. All the food we had was delicious and service was prompt and friendly. Thanks, George!

New location, same great atmosphere! I was a huge fan of ca’ Brea and frequented the old location. I mean, who could argue with a $ 5 happy hour that includes appetizers, wine and beer?!
My friends and I go for the gnocchi. Nothing better than a bite of their gnocchi steaming hot from the kitchen. That in itself is worth the trip!
And at this new location, it’s perfect for a drink before heading to The Wiltern. I will definitely be stopping in for drinks and a bite before shows at that venue. It’s so close!
Thank you to George (the bartender/​owner) for being so hospitable!
Check it out, you won’t be disappointed!
#Gnocchi4Ever

* ABSOLUTE EXCELLENCE *
The wife and I hosted a late night dinner meeting at the new location and at first, we were a little apprehensive because we were already attached & smitten’d with the previous location on LaBrea.
The owners made us feel right at home and the vibe is very upscale and sexy!!!
We are and have been fans of the menu for a number of years so for the most part we already knew what we would be ordering!
My wife ordered the Sole which was so incredibly scrumptious and both of our guest and I had the roasted boneless whole chicken (listed on the menu as half chicken) and Chef George was kind enough to prepare the ladies veggies to their specifications due to allergies and pickiness. Lol…
For appetizer we shared three orders of those tasty shrimp cakes and my buddy had a delicious dish with mussels, clams, calamari other seafood items and a lovely broth. (did not catch the name)
Long story short, I highly recommend you check CaBrea out and since they are located closer to our residence we will see you there!!!
(((BRAVO 2 THE CHEF & CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND YOUR MOM)))