Palmeri Ristorante

I’ve been in LA for nearly a decade and Palmeri is still my single favorite restaurant. I’ve tasted about a dozen dishes on the menu and I’ve loved every.single.one. Their bread basket and sauce before dinner is second to none. The staff is great, there’s one waiter who remembers me every time I come in. Feels like home despite only going 2 – 3 times/​year. Can’t say enough.

This place is amazing the food was incredible we had the white artichoke salad then I had the lamb chops best I have eaten perfect med rare my bae had the tagliatelle which he raved about for the entire meal. Our sever Nicholas was attentive funny and great with suggestions especially for the desert best canolies ever! Perfect date night

Great food! Had the crab stuffed ravioli and they swordfish wrapped shrimp that was beyond delicious!

The cannoli’s here are below average, they are ½ cake frosting as filling with pistachios on the outside to try to mask the sweetness. Way too sweet. They are nowhere close to «east coast» good like Mike’s Pastry in Boston. To be fair, I did not order any food at Palmeri today so my rating only is for their cannolis.

I’ve never had anything here that I haven’t loved. The staff is fantastic and very friendly. THE LASAGNA…
At dinner they bring a delicious tomato and ricotta dish for the bread basket that’s phenomenal. Dessert has to be the cannolis. We’ve tried other Italian places for a nice dinner out and keep ending up back here.
Once we tried Toscana across the street and ended up picking up lasagnas on our way home from Palmeri. As we were told, «To be seen, go to Toscana. To eat, come to Palmeri.» Words to live by.

Not only was the service very so so… but the seafood pasta was the worst I’ve ever had. I had one of the mussels and I literally spit it out as soon as it hit my tongue and palate… tasted funky and it was cold (in a hot dish).
I immediately removed all the mussels from the platter and put them all in a separate small plate to the side and i didn’t make a fuss. The waiter comes by and I didn’t even say a word but he asked what was wrong and I told him «the mussel was cold and it didnt taste right… but it was alright, not to worry.» I was in the middle of an important conversation and didn’t care much to discuss the mussels…
He takes the plate of mussels (with the one that had been partially chewed) and takes it to the chef… thinking he’s going to come back and apologize for my dissatisfaction (wishful thinking).
Instead he brings entire the plate back (with the partly chewed mussel) and interrupts my conversation and starts explaining to me how a mussel is cooked and if the shell is open, then its cooked appropriately (like ive never had mussel in my life)… then he taps me on the shoulder and says maybe mussel isn’t my thing and to get the branzino next time.
Umm… their wont be a next time home boy

Palmeri is amazing. We’ve been maybe half a dozen times over the years, and they never disappoint. The waiters are Italian and amazingly charming, the food is to die for. They start you out with this amazing melted buffala mozzarella in sauce and some bread to dip. You can’t get enough. We went with another couple, and we ordered an amazing bottle of wine and two of us ordered an Oban (scotch), neat. They have a full bar. They were busy and it was hot. We asked them to turn on the air and they did it immediately. Our waiter, Nicola-​Nicolas-​Nico, as he introduced himself as, was great. Despite the crowd he took great care of us.
On to the food: I ordered the Halibut special, simply cooked on a bed of spinach. The surface was a bit crispy, the inside done to perfection. I started with the shaved artichoke salad with Parmesan and lemon, also a special. Wonderful.
My hubs ordered the salmon (menu item). Terrific. He started with the misto salad.
My gal pal ordered the spaghetti with parm and truffles (a special). She said it was amazing. She started with the beet carpacio salad, also divine.
Her hubs had the rib eye, which he was delighted with, and he also had the beet salad. We finished with the canolis and a hazelnut chocolate tart thing for dessert, and both were exquisite. If you like canolis you will find none better in this town than what they serve at Palmeri.
The décor is lovely, and there’s a nice warm vibe. Everyone from the hostess to the attendant in the lot is wonderful.
There is parking in back with an on duty attendant.
One of our favorites.

Italian food is so hard to disappoint the carb loving me. But alas, Palmeri did. First off, the vibe — the dimly lit venue (with beautifully staggering décor, though) tries hard to come across as a upscale but doesn’t. Front hostess, waiter chef and even the valet (yes…even HIM!) were also so snobbish from the minute we entered that you had wonder ‘was the food THAT good to earn this level of ‘tude in this non-​90 210, European-​style bistro?‘
Sadly, that wasn’t either. The expansive menu will likely satisfy regional cravings, but not much for vegetarians. I mean haven’t they heard in Brentwood — vegetables are the new meat?!
The Meditteranea salad was a mere side-​sized, droopy mess of day old greens, lanky bell peppers oversopped with whatever vinaigrette they tried to jazz it up with. The menu of Italian food remains hearty and homey despite the use of refined techniques for their handmade, hand stuffed pastas, but they could use more than presentation skills. The ricotta tortellini was dressed the exact same tomato/​basil sauce they offer up for free on the table with bread slices and sticks. Couldn’t theyat least have made an effort to amp up the sauce? Add to this, I found the taste of the mushy pasta was nearly identical to my Trader O’s canned junk I keep on stand by a home for a lazy WFH day. This may not be such a bad thing, but for me — it tasted safe and nearly bland. Plenty of Italian wine from the decent list, but most skewed dry. My comrade’s Cannellini Bean Soup was just as ‘meh’ as our pasta. («This tastes like Tuscan nursing home food,» was her terse comment). Ouch. Crispy potatoes on the side were just that — potatoes. It’s almost like they opened the grocery list when we walked in as nothing had much by way of pizzazz, flavour, or oomph. And, damn it, I want oomph when in Brentwood for Italian grub.
Normally, I’d give bonus points for a bustling, friendly atmosphere, but when you have to wait 30+ minutes for a drink order before food (while sitting next to 4 empty tables, I’ll spare you the pic), well, then, I’m not the friendliest customer by far. Grumpy, tired ‘olé me just wanted to grub on good food, but when it arrived nearly 50 minutes later, I devoured down the carbs just to head home.
Sans dessert.
And, a trip to Brentwood without dessert never leaves a girl happy.
Would it have been different on another, less busy night? It shouldn’t matter. And, maybe so. But, at $ 75/​bill, I’m not willing to give it a repeat visit at that tag.

Hmmm. Food was okay. I like the dip they give you with your bread.
However, I had the salmon which didn’t taste funny at the time. But a day after eating it, I had really horrifying food posioning. And since I did not eat anything besides the salmon the night before, I know it for sure came from that. Especially because my friend did not end up sick the next day like I did. Most likely will not ever come back for that specific reason. Don’t need to go through that again.

It’s whatever I mean maybe I should have ordered something else. Sometimes we have to give the restaurant a second chance and fix the Unilocal review later

Tris place ira okay te food is 4 stars but the service is 5 stars rally cool people very nice to tell us what it was the best dish of that house. So it was very Worth it coming back for some calamari fry and scallops fry very delicious!

Great food. Nice service.
Rib eye steak is a MUST. DELICIOUS!!!
The bursts and beet salad was amazing.
And the zucchini squash with ricotta was out of this world.
I highly recommend them.

The pizza is what gives this place 5 stars. They only have 3 styles. Margherita (plain cheese with shaved basil), Prosciutto (with truffle oil) and veggie (with wood roasted/​grilled veggies) but all three will knock your sox off.
Nothing special about the bar. (No special libations that you can’t pass the opportunity to try) And the menu besides is fair (we’ve never had anything else that was overly memorable) but if these guys opened just pizza shops, they’d own this town.
Do yourself the favor, try it then thank those that turned you onto it later.

Best Italian place I’ve been to in awhile. The food, service, and ambiance were amazing!
They give you a tomato dip with goat cheese, and I’m not a big breadstick person but I went through two of those dips it was that good. I also got the crab stuffed squid ink ravioli with turmeric sauce, the portion was pretty small as to be expected but the taste was phenomenal. And dessert we had the Italian cookies and cannoli. I don’t even like cannoli and I liked this one! Freshly made, and just perfect.
As for the service, we had I believe Nicola and he was hilarious. Really made the experience for us. The ambiance was also nice and classy, I would say great place for a date or special occasion dinner.
Would love to come back!

Mouthwatering at Palmeri…
* CMP — Breadsticks & cheese dip = that warm tomato/​cheese dip was sooo good
* DRK — Wines by the glass or bottle… we opted for the latter. Our choice was about a 260% markup from retail… FYI.
* AOK — Burrata = pretty good & standard appetizer
* GET — Frutti di Mare = delicious light appetizer, good sauce
* GET — Branzino = butterflied and de-​boned, no sauce, too healthy-​tasting LOL
** GET — Pasta Norcina (pasta special) = Yes, yes, and yes… tonight’s special was black truffle thick spaghetti… it was amazing!~
* GET — Piatto Unico (2-​combo special, chef’s choice) = my dish was a small portion of Dover Sole and black-​ravioli stuffed with crab for the night. Twas really delicious, BUT only lukewarm when it arrived to table… timing issue?
** GET — Cioccolato = Valrhona ganache cake, so decadent & heavy
** GET — Orange ricotta cheesecake (dessert special) = fluffy and light, could barely taste the «cheesecake» aspect of it
* YES — Server Domenico was nice & friendly
* MEH — Main courses took a really LONG time to get to the table, you can tell by the temperature on some of the dishes; despite that, the dishes were yummy
* YES — Quaint, quiet, white-linen’d nice interiors
* YES — Booth seating, tables, or bar seating available
* YES — Full bar
* YES — Good for dates and groups; noticed that the main age group was much older
* WOA (words of advice):
— Located right at corner of San Vicente and Darlington
— $ 2 valet parking around back (2 hours w/​validation) or street meter parking
— Takes reservations

We had an amazing night at this place. The whole experience was great: the food, the service, the wine and the company. Absolutely great. I even found a parking spot in the busy neighborhood of Brentwood instead of having the valet. For future reference it is $ 2 for 2 hours with validation.
Shout out to our waiter, Lorenzo! He was super personable, knowledgeable, polite. He did a great job managing us and dealing with our constant conversation and still getting our orders quickly. He also was super enthusiastic and had great suggestions about the menu and specials.
Firstly, the complimentary bread basket is one of the best bread baskets I have ever seen. It comes with a great marinara sauce with cheese spread.
I started with the burrata which was creamy and had heirloom tomatos. We also had the zucchini flowers in a parmesan shell which was soooooo good! The shell is house made with a parmesan shell. This was their special for the night so not sure if it will be on the menu going forward but it was delish.
The beet salad is great if you love beets. It is actually shredded beets mushed into a patty like thing and then has a goat cheese layer on top. There is black pepper and ginger mixed in.
Of note, all of their salads were basically vegetarian and they had 2 – 3 entrees that were veggie friendly. I had the eggplant ravioli which was smaller than I wished it was but very good. It was mixed with ricotta and eggplant and the sauce was great.
I ended the night with coconut gelato and blood orange sorbetto. Amazing! I nibbled on my friends’ chocolate hazelnut cake and the tiramisu which was also lovely.
My other dinner-​mates got the lamb chop, veal chop and pork chop and sea bass. The pork chop got very high marks but everyone said it all their food was delicious.
Also, try the Super Sicilia Incanto 2010 wine which the chef recommended. It was soooo good.
The prices were expensive but not over the top. This area of Brentwood has a strip of expensive restaurants so it is kind of expected.
Overall, the place has a cute and intimate vibe to it and I will definitely be back!

Pretty darn pricey, but very, very, very good.
I came here with my wife and father-​in-​law for a birthday dinner. Apparently, I had been here once before back in 2011, but I honestly can’t remember much from that visit.
This time around, I had but one complaint, and that was that the service was somewhat on the slow side. I get the feeling, though, that that’s intentional, and you should expect a solid 100 – 120 minute dinner if you come to this restaurant.
We got a bottle of red wine for the table, which was excellent, but the food was the real winner.
Breadsticks and fresh wheat and white breads came with a cheesy tomato dipping sauce before the meal.
The white asparagus, mushroom and truffle vinaigrette salad was incredible. Light, yet rich, somehow, with a slight tart flavor that went perfectly with the two veggies.
For dinner I had the rib-​eye, and it was just an awesome piece of meat. Bone-​in, outstanding marbling which held the flavor without being too fatty and chewy. Medium was more like medium-​rare (this restaurant errs on the side of undercooking, so discuss with your server your preferences).
My father in law had the salmon, which was flaky and tasty, though the steak was better. My wife had the risotto, which she polished off in a matter of moments, though she, too, said the steak was the best of the best.
The restaurant provided a complimentary birthday piece of cake with a little cookie/​wafer with «Happy Birthday» written on it in chocolate.

Love Palmeri. It’s simple: fantastic food, attentive and friendly service (shout out to Lorenzo — luv u), great location, parking lot, indoor and out door dining, full bar and a welcoming home-​like vibe — you feel like family at Palmeri.
So, we eat here 2 or 3 times a month. We’ve had work team dinners here. Walked down for a casual dinner for two on the patio. We brought our friends from out of town, real Italians from Italy, who loved it and enjoyed speaking Ottavio the chef/​owner who visited out table. We have never had anything the best time at Palmeri. We’ve been here for both Mother’s and Father’s Day.
I pretty much get the same thing because I love it. The beet salad is my favorite, but the sauce that comes with the bread is amazing and I get excited waiting for it to arrive all hot and cheesy. When we bring the little one, she’s 3 as of this writing, they make her a special pasta that she eats and eats until she is about to pop. She’s picky, but gives a big smile review of her pasta every time. They even make a special sippy cup for her for her water.
I especially love that we can bring our dogs. They bring out water for them and I always have bones to take with us which they enjoy and give a barking good review of.
There are several upscale eateries all next to each other on this strip of San Vicente. So if you are comparing, here is my take on making a choice:
— All the restaurants in this area are expensive.
— Toscana has been a round for ages and is good, too.
— Bar Toscana is good if you want to be treated poorly and be overwhelmed the noise level.
— You can’t go wrong with Palermi, seriously my favorite over the Tavern and Toscana.

Not bad at all! Came here because, well… hadn’t tried it yet. In any case, there is Valet in the back for just $ ²⁄₂ hours with validation. Probably worth the hassle of trying to find parking here. Made a reservation, but the place was really never that full, even on a Friday evening.
Anyways, the décor is very simple. Food was great though. I had the beat salad, which was made in a very interesting way… in the shape of a small cake. The beats were shredded and molded into a cylinder, and on top the frosting was actually goat cheese. Delicious! My entrée was the one where they choose two dishes for you. I got the short rib and also a delicious pasta with beef. The short rib was done perfectly — melt in your mouth. The past was also flavorful but not too salty.
Overall, I was impressed. The desserts — the cannoli and chocolate crunch cake were both delightful. Not overly sweet, but well done. The cannoli had a wonderful orange cream with pistachios at the ends. The chocolate cake was a rich decadent dark chocolate with a crunch-​bar like layer to give it a pop.
Well done.

Loved this place in Brentwood. Upscale but casual, great service, right on San Vicente, you can see life go by outside the windows. Very soothing but upbeat ambience. There were bunches of chattering Italians at a corner table. Ciao paisano!
Two of us had the halibut, one had the special of the night sausage pasta with truffles, and I had the sole in lemon and caper sauce. The taste of everything was great, but I have to take off one star because my sole was soooooo salty. Next time I will ask for low salt.
Domenico was our waiter and he was absolutely adorable as well as efficient, one of those who always has his eye on the table to see if you need anything.
A nice time was had by all.