Locanda Veneta

had not been there in years and in the last 2 months had occasion to go there twice. service was very good, and the food was excellent. a little noisy so will go back on week night when not too busy. the valet parking is a bit dodgy but ok. all in all a good place and not as expensive as others that are not half as good.

Mmmm mmmm! So good. Delicious food. Great friendly service. Love it every time we go. Have never ordered anything I didn’t love! Great flavor with fresh ingredients. I was amazed by how much flavor was packed in the spaghetti with lentils, one of my favorites.

Came here with the bf for our anniversary last Saturday, and I was so impressed with his choice of restaurant and with the restaurant’s food. So amazing.
First of all, the pictures don’t lie. The restaurant is super tiny. There are maybe about 10 tables or so. If you’re going as a party of 2 (which most people were), then you’re most likely going to be sitting at a table that is VERY close to your neighbor. There was no privacy whatsoever so unless you want your neighbor tweeting about your conversation, I’d leave the intimate/​private talk for the drive or something.
There is valet for I believe $ 7, not bad. We had no issues leaving/​getting our car. But I did notice that while he was getting our car for us, a lot of cars were waiting for the valet. They only had 2 workers so that may cause some light traffic/​waiting.
The service was great. Our server seemed a little rushed as the restaurant was getting busy, but he was friendly and prompt so I didn’t mind at all. He had a heavy Italian accent which made the experience that much more authentic!
Now on to the food – The star of the show~ I usually don’t finish my dishes 90% of the time (portions are usually too large for my appetite or food taste gets boring). Locanda Veneta made it to the 10% percentile of «places I finish my food.» The food is amazeballs. They take something so simple and make it super flavorful and special. I love how they don’t try to make it so «crazy special» or «different» that it sometimes turns out a bit overwhelming. They really utilize all their ingredients and make the dish great. A lot of the pictures you see are not on the official menu, but they have a list of «specials» that they offer on the daily.
We got the Burrata Caprese for appetizer. I LOVED it. The balsamic virgin olive oil was great, and the mozzarella is so good!!! When they list it as «fresh and soft,» you can bet your ass that they mean it!
For entrees, I got the Penne Arrabbiata. SO. DAMN. GOOD. I’m sorry I can’t share what my bf got because apparently I have horrible memory, but whatever he got, that was really good too.
Overall, I was super happy with this place. The food and ambiance were all on point. Couldn’t take any pictures because the place was dark, and to be honest, I was so excited to eat I didn’t even think about it. But I would highly recommend this place to anyone who is looking for some really good authentic Italian place~

Excellent Italian restaurant with superb ambiance. My favorites are the gnocchi and the tiramisu, both really good! Nice service. Highly recommended!

Whenever we are in LA on holiday, this is our place for dinner on our last night. The intimate atmosphere, the friendly staff, and the food make this pace the perfect trifecta.
Last night we had all specials from the chalkboard. Ahi Carpaccio and some homemade mozzarella and Prosciutto for appetizers. My better half had the fettuccine with sea urchin and caviar. I had the mozzarella stuffed ravioli with shaved truffle and mushrooms.
They have a nice wine list, and we enjoyed a very reasonably priced 2009 Merlot from the Alexander Valley for $ 60.
If I had to be picky, I would say I didn’t like the tiramisu, as I thought there was way to much cocoa sprinkled on top, it made my mouth feel chalky. But my partner ate it up!
I can’t recommend this place enough. I’m already looking forward to our next trip to the USA in order to eat here. Oh, I nearly forgot their fresh bread and garlic/​pesto/​spinach (guessing) spread. I could just eat that for the night!

Before I left LA for New York, this was one of the best Italian restaurant experiences I’ve had. Now that I have left for New York, it remains one of my favorites, and definitely my favorite in LA. What I do love so much? The authenticity. The friendliness of everyone from the valet to the hosts and servers. The loving care that is paid to the service and ingredients. The little board with the specials that the server presents at the table. The delicious complimentary bread. The warmth and delight of every entrée. The size of the portions. The charming feel of the restaurant that feels like a local neighborhood Italian bistro with beautiful declaration (especially at the holidays), and not a trendy or snobby place trying to be more than it is. I’ll keep going back every time I return, and I’ll keep inviting others to share it with me.

Excellent food, service and experience. We ordered about eight different dishes and every single dish was great!!! Even their cappuccino was delicious. We were all very impressed.

Still amazing!
Love, love this place. Simple yet fabulous.
Our waiter John opened a fresh bottle of wine for us to have by the glass! So nice since it’s morally only by the bottle. Anyways, the wife had the crab fettuccine that she’s swears is one of the best dishes anywhere! I had the beef tenderloin with 3 peppercorn sauce which was cooked to perfection. We shared a salad with grapes, cheese endive and arugula. Just perfect.
Go splurge and enjoy this place. You won’t ever be disappointed.

Very fresh delicious Italian food. I’m a fan. Valet is a bit pricy about $ 7 if you can’t find street parking. The waiter was awesome, had some really great recommendations and was very accommodating. We ended up going with the calamari as appetizer; the lobster ravioli and pappardelle with shrimp alfredo as entrees to share, all of which were amazing. The pastas are fresh and made behind the kitchen counter for all to see. I would recommend this as a much try while in Beverly Hills.

I went to Locanda Veneta to celebrate my dad’s birthday. Upon sitting down, I was immediately impressed by the quaint yet chic ambience and stylish appetizer plates. The menu is very impressive — it will pretty much satisfy all your italian food dreams (minus pizza).
I recommend the calamari for an appetizer. It’s not fried, but pleasantly grilled and is perfectly salted. For our main course, most of us got the black squid ink lobster ravioli with saffron sauce which was TO DIE FOR! You MUST order this item. I think I shed a tear when I ate the last bite. We also got the wild boar pappardelle, cuz I mean, how often do you eat wild boar? This was also very tasty, but a bit too heavy after the ravioli. I would recommend this to someone who is a big fan of ground meats and burgers. All in all, with our bottle of red chianti, we were in heaven.
For dessert, we all split the panna cotta, chocolate cake and apple pie. Panna cotta was PERFECTION– definitely recommend. The chocolate cake was made flourless, so it was a bit dry. If you’re into that kind of thing go for it, but I personally would have preferred the moist fudge-​like type. The apple pie was delicious (not as good as the panna cotta though) — forewarning it is HUGE so be prepared to share. The host also gave each of us a glass of champagne for dinner to celebrate.
I don’t give this place 5 stars because they got a few of our orders wrong (thankfully comped us though) and didn’t write happy birthday on the dessert even though we requested it on the phone earlier on.
Overall — WONDERFUL restaurant, I’ve been telling all of my coworkers about this all week.
Great for — trying to have a classy evening, whether it’s a date or a birthday (each dish is around $ 25 – 30). I wouldn’t recommend this place for kids/​babies though.
FYI — parking is valet and the adjoining side streets are all permit only

Love this place. It is my after work to go and they never disappoint me: either food, drink or service! Will come back many times for sure!

I have been to this establishment numerous times and the experience is always fantastic. The wife and I love the food, the ambiance and how cozy it is. The service can not be beat, servers are always attentive and friendly to ensure you have a great experience. I am always looking forward to visiting them again.

Went to shopping with friend from oversea at Beverley Center and found this restaurant on Unilocal for dinner. The reservation is easy and very close to the mall. The food we ordered was excellent, but after went home to sleep, woke up with stomach stabbing pain, toilet was my best friend all night long. Not sure if is the ahi tuna or uni fettuccine made me sick. It doesn’t make me feel to go back this place again.

I am just addicted to the grilled calamari salad and the Sicily pasta with urchin and caviar! (ask to skip the crème fraîche)
Plus a nice Terasse and romantic feel, that does it to me!

The food is good especially the meatballs but the service kind of lacked. It was hard to get the servers attention for most everything. The management needs to step up and hire more staff both in the kitchen and servers. The desserts are large and amazing.

This restaurant feels as though has been around for quite some time. Upon entering, the space is unpretentious and cozy. The décor and atmosphere transports you to a small Italian trattoria. Service was very professional, efficient, and friendly
APPETIZER
BURRATA CAPRESE ($ 15.95) — Very fresh burrata and basil. The tomatoes were average. Not worth the price.
CALAMARI ALL VENETA ($ 15.95) — the grilled calamari was fresh and a nice complement to the Swiss chard
ENTREE
FETTUCCINE RAGU ($ 17.95) — nice portion, al dente pasta with a rich, meaty sauce
LASAGNA DELLA NONNA ($ 23.95) — pasta was average, too much bechamel sauce. It was very meaty but forgettable.
For classic Italian food, this place is pretty good. Dishes, for the most part, were good but not memorable. There are so many Italian restaurants in LA that I probably would not return.
parking — metered, limited free street parking several blocks away

I went to Locanda Veneta with a large group for the Dine LA menu. The food was wonderful. The group even shared a few bottles of wine. I got the Lobster Risoto with scallops. And then for dessert the Pear Tart, which was so huge I had to bring most of it home.
Service was pretty slow. We had to wait in between courses for a while. The bus boy didn’t even bother to take the dishes away once we were done eating. And then it was a long time for our food to arrive. I have to admit they got a big crowd for dinner, and it seemed like everyone in the place arrived at once. But I think if you are considered an upscale fine dining restaurant, then they need to be attentive to clearing the dirty plates when people are done.
All in all though, the food and wine were excellent.

Locanda Veneta remains one of my favorite Italian places in LA. It’s a nice enough place to go on a romantic date (ask for the booth by the window), but friendly enough they won’t judge you for walking in in scrubs and getting take out for a night shift in the hospital. All our waiters here have been extremely friendly and I always loved the chalkboard for the nightly specials.
As for the food, they got the best grilled calamari in town. All of their homemade pastas are also fantastic, some of my favorites include the lobster ravioli and the parpadelle with wild boar (which is usually a special). I had a soft shell crab over risotto special once that was absolutely amazing. Honestly, I’ve never had a subpar dish here.
Solid house wines as expected of a good Italian restaurant. Oh and don’t get me started on the tiramisu… Tiramisu is my favorite dessert of all times and this ranks among the top ever. It’s also huge, but don’t worry, I can eat it all by myself!

Great service,
One of the best Italian restaurants I ever been to, you must try the calamari dish best ever had, I had the lasagna my girl had their beef ravioli it was very rich lots of meat they didn’t cut corners,
Wine was awesome people are really friendly will definitely go back and recommend this place,

DineLA meal #1
My boyfriend and I went here for lunch on Friday. We got there around 1:30p.m. and the place was pretty empty. Both of us ordered from the DineLA lunch menu and shared so I had the chance to taste everything we order. Overall the meal was just okay. None of the dishes we had were spectacular, at least for me.
Carpaccio del Lido: I liked the house dressing on this. It didn’t overpower the beef and complimented the beef!
Capesante Gratinate: The scallops were baked nicely! Not tough from being overcooked.
Ravioli d’Aragosta: I ordered this and though the saucy was too creamy. It wasn’t settling too well in my stomach, but my boyfriend really liked it!
Pappardelle Sugo di Cinghiale: Boyfriend ordered this. I liked the sauce for this dish better than the ravioli.
On the Unilocal page it says that there is valet parking but I had a difficult time finding it so I ended up parking two blocks away.

This small, intimate Italian has been and continues to serve some of the finest Italian food in L.A.
Ate here twice in the past several months (once for late lunch and once for dinner) with both times being excellent.
For the late lunch we requested the dinner menu as the lunch menu seemed to be a set three course affair and we wanted a la carte.
Particularly love the gnocchi bolognese, veal marsala, seafood with pasta and the antipasto plate.
Desserts were excellent including amaretto cheese cake and tiramasu.
Also the wine list while not huge is complete and fairly priced. The house Pinot was a good choice by the bottle.
Service is professional yet relaxed and most knowledgeable.

In a crowded-​Italian restaurant scene in LA, you definitely have to differentiate and Locanda Veneta has done just that. Stand out dishes:
*Burrata Caprese: GENIUS! Burrata is made from mozzarella anyways so this was tasty but had all the fluffy deliciousness of burrata.
*Calamari Alla Veneta (Grilled calamari served on light spicy, garlic Swiss Chard): This is where I first discovered that calamari could be grilled. I don’t usually like calamari but loved this dish
*Torta Di Mele (Sliced Apple baked in a light puff pastry served with caramel sauce): This was bigger than my face yet perfectly flaky and delicious.
Buzz kill though: live bug was crawling on our table… luckily, it was after dinner.