The Backyard At 4518

Pizza wasn’t that good and the service was super slow. It had a cute back patio and nice ambiance but it could no way make up for the lack of good food.

I have been here both before and after the new ownership, and I want to say that this place is now a very average place. The pizza was great, but the pasta was luke-​warm and chunky. Nothing like how the pasta was before. But the pizza was good. The servers are very very chill, friendly and laidback. For a lack of better terms, very bro-​y.
Ambience-​wise, coming from someone who came before, there was something off about the ambience. The intimate-​romantic outdoor backyard no longer plays romantic music to match the mood, which inevitably no longer fits the extremely friendly, chill, bro-​y vibe of the new owners.
The most awkward part about the service is that they swipe your card in front of you with their handy ipad (which is great/​efficient) but they then only display options of 20% or higher as default for tip. There is an option to add your own custom amount (if you wish to do the standard 15%) but with the server standing right in front of you waiting, it adds unwanted pressure. I’m not saying the server MADE me add 20% tip, but I will say that it will definitely add unwanted pressure, resulting in a somewhat, non-​genuine feeling of why I had to leave 20%, vs leaving the 20% without being pressured to. (i left 20%, and would have left 20%, but being pressured to, made me not feel genuine about it)
Again, this was my written review as someone who has been here before and after the new ownership. I would have still rated this place the same even if I had been here for the first time.

I cannot say enough good things about this place. The staff is so friendly, the atmosphere and aesthetics couldn’t be better. Cozy interior and a stunning back courtyard that feels reminiscent of european dining experiences. The food was delicious, we ordered the pesto and zucchini pasta which tasted heavenly and a checca tomato pizza which was cooked to perfection. The BYOB aspect is super fun in my opinion, and the lovely woman working brought us an ice bucket for our bottle. The patio would be a great place to have a birthday party or other gathering, and although service is very prompt, you could really enjoy a lovely leisurely meal with a big or small group. A fantastic place to have in the neighborhood!

I went a couple of times, first time I ordered fettuccine Alfredo and it was delicious the second time I ordered veggi pizza and it was great the crust was crunchy and it has sesame seeds on the bottom, was made perfectly lots of cheese and artichokes mushrooms black olives onions, one of the best I had in LA.
Sam is gracious and very attentive so is the rest of the staff. I love the backyard with candle lights and string lights. I like the inside also. It reminds me of a NY pizza place. I will book a table for St. Patrick evening as I found out they will have live entertainment. Great place to spend a fun evening with great food.

hold the press… under new ownership… will advise
1^st impression. not so great anymore. We will give another try as this was one of our favorite places.

The Only Pro about this place is that I enjoyed the ambiance. It is a nice candle light restaurant.
I was there last weekend with my husband, we were seated right away however it wasn’t the same for people after us, even though they had open tables they were turning down some customers. The guy with the short beard wouldn’t even greet the customers he just went straight to the point.
The lady that helped us seemed to be very overwhelmed but she was very nice. She told us to stick with the pizzas and salads only.
We ordered 2 of their pizzas right away I had the pesto one I forgot which one my husband had but when we checked the time we had waited for 43 minutes for our food so we asked if it was almost ready, they said 2 more minutes but we ended up waiting 12 more minutes. We were tired since we drove from SD so we just stayed there.
When we finally got our food the pizzas were not impressive whatsoever I was expecting way better dough and I never found the cheese on my pizza it only tasted like pesto and dough. My husband’s didn’t seem to have any cheese either and was very greasy.
I could obviously tell that the guy in the kitchen with the super long beard and long hair never went to culinary school because he has no idea of a kitchen’s sanitation rules. His hair and beard are extremely long and not tied up plus he kept on touching his face a lot.
When you pay the use a phone to run your card and they don’t offer a customized tip option the lowest option starts at 20%.
Do yourselves a favor and don’t waste your time going to this place.

Nice people but bad food and not great service.
Menu for a weekend was pretty limited — just pizzas and a few pasta options for entrees. It took forever for someone to come take our order and bring waters, which were then never refilled.
We got a meat pizza and fettuccine alfredo. Took 45+ minutes to come out. The pizza was fine. Nothing special but not terrible. The alfedo though was worse than something from a jar — sauce was so bland and thin even loading on salt and pepper couldn’t save it. The kind of sauce that barely sticks to the pasta and just leaves a puddle on your plate.
Bummer because the people that worked there seemed very nice and we didn’t even get a chance to check out the backyard area — but we won’t be back to try again.

This was a great evening. It’s a quirky little restaurant and the food was great. The service was a bit slow but the staff seems new and they were trying really hard. The mozzarella with the prosciutto was the freshest I’ve ever tasted.
This is not a place to go in and rush. There is a longer wait but it is a nice place to have a slow meal and talk. They have their own pizza oven.
Another couple in the restaurant was irritated by their table being wobbly and they left. I really enjoyed out dinner and am happy with the service and menu.

A friend booked a bday party here on a Friday night, the place was nicely set up in the back/​outdoor patio as requested. However, when it came to the menu they had NOTHING. I mean nothing, no chicken, no pizza dough and no water! The guests were limited to ordering basically pasta and soda. They served half the guests bread and some guests ordered but never actually received their food. The food was a disaster. Ther servers were nice but not adequately trained, our server for example, it was his/​her first day on the job.
Needless to say the celebration continued despite all the limitations, at the end of the night, the payment was an issue. The staff could not take the payment. So my friend had to call back the next day and make a payment by phone.
My friends found out this place had recently changed ownership shortly after they made the reservation. They received a text message stating someone had been screwed over in a financial deal and the business was under new ownership.
The new owner (s) failed at making sure the restaurant staff was prepared to handle and serve our guests. There was also an issue with a lost item that was left behind, their staff ensured my friend several times that they searched the back and nothing was found. However a few days later my friend went to look herself and found the lost item!!!
Overall, that evening was a disaster as far as service is concerned. Payment was received as if there was never a problem. This place is NOT the same place some know and love. Go to the new Melrose location.

Fiiiiiiiinaalllllllyyyyyyyy!!! THIS. A super-​bomb, so delicious, wood-​fired pizza spot in LA!!! BYOB — everyone should come hhheeeerrreeeee!!! Had the arugula salad and tried the Diavolo and Margherita pizzas. All of it was perfect. This is the first pizza place in LA that’s restored my faith in good pizza in this city. Get some friends, get some wine, and come have dinner here.

DON’T GO! under new management/​owner. Unfortunately we went after reading the great reviews (not realizing the last 5 star rating was in Sept 2015.) We found out the hard way that it had just reopened after being closed for 1,5 months. (and now you find some muppets in there, trying to run a business /​restaurant with zero gastro experience) a frozen pizza from vons or microwave pizza on a Airplane would have better… !! Very sweet & polite — but totally unable to cook. Only 2 more people in the place & it took them 45 min to prepare a pizza that was not even the one we ordered and it was made with cheap ham & pre grated tasteless sprinkle fake cheese (it was not mozzarella) out of a bag from a supermarket. We spent $ 24 on food and tipped at the full 20% because the server was sweet. Sad to say that this place is a sham. Don’t waste your time or money.

I’ve had the most memorable experience at The Backyard. I took my husband there for his Birthday and was taken away by their gorgeous setup, both indoor and outdoor. When we arrived they warmly greeted us and instantly showed us the way to our table that was reserved for us outside, just how I requested it.
They allowed us to bring in wine at no additional cost. The food was amazing and beautifully arranged. The portions of food are adequate. The ambiance was very romantic with the outdoor lights, setup, candles, and music.
Since it was my husbands birthday I asked the waitor, Russel, to take a picture of our family. He added that he did photography himself and took some amazing pictures of us. The owner, Diane, introduced herself to us as she was inside baking pizzas. When she saw Russel was taking pictures of our family she gave us an engraved message on wooden a plate, artistically done by her with chocolate, so we could use as a photo prop. That was very sweet of her!
Once we were done with dinner, our waiter insisted that we get dessert, so we did. A few minutes later the outdoor lights turned off into a dark night. I thought for a minute the electricity went out, but then I saw the waiter and their staff bring out the dessert with several candles for my husband and sang Happy Birthday. That touch made our night.
When the bill came I was seriously surprised on how considerate it was, I guess I was expecting it would be more.
I fell in love with this restaurant and will definitely be back again! :)

Love this restaurant! The food and ambiance are both excellent. My fiancé and I frequent here and love introducing our good friends to this gem!
The owner and her staff have always treated us wonderfully and make my guests and myself feel like family.
Can’t wait to go back!

My previous review was removed for being too general. I was trying to be nice.
My boss wanted to have a celebratory dinner for our team to get together and this place was chosen as the dinner. We had more people show up than originally had RSVP’d so I understand that this was a challenge for the restaurant. HOWEVER, the waitstaff was extremely rude as well as the manager? owner? Im not sure who she was exactly. A french woman that was in charge.
I work in a service field and I would never treat people the way we were treated. At one point, we were told there were no more plates available, even if this were true there was no effort made to accommodate the situation. My co worker had to bus our table and hand them to someone and ask that they be cleaned and returned to the table.
We were told that «we needed to leave or we were going to be charged more» after my boss so graciously brought her gratis from our company. We were still customers at the end of the day and she was waving her hands around and her tone was nasty.
If you can find another place Id skip this. Go here if and only if you cant cook yourself (the food wasnt really that great) and everywhere else is booked.

I live walking distance from The Backyard at 4518, and am happy that this lovely restaurant opened up in my neighborhood. I love a nice casual Italian restaurant, especially one with free corkage – this spot is pretty perfect for a leisurely sit-​down meal that doesn’t break the bank.
Matt B. and I came for a Friday night dinner with our neighbors. We were able to make same-​day reservations, and got a table on the enclosed patio, which really did feel like a cozy backyard. The décor was charming, with bright colors and string lights, creating a comfortable, homey atmosphere. Service was pleasant. The owner was around greeting people, and our servers were very friendly.
There was a wine opener on our table before we even sat down, and we took good advantage of the free corkage. There were also bottles of still and sparkling water on the table that I’m pretty sure weren’t free? At least, when we said tap was fine, they were taken away. That seemed kind of strange, almost like a hotel minibar. But anyway.
The food was solid. We shared a caprese and a plate of prosciutto with burrata to start. Both were great, with good ingredients. Both mozzarella and burrata were nice and milky, and the tomatoes in the caprese were fantastic. The prosciutto was good quality, and it also came with some arugula and red pepper, dressed with balsamic. The bulk of Backyard’s menu is devoted to pizzas and pastas, so for our entrees, Matt and I got one of each – a Margherita pizza and a meatball pasta. The pizza was good – not on the level of Mother Dough or other artisanal pizza restaurants around town, but decent, with a chewy crust and plenty of flavor. The pasta was likewise not a destination pasta, but very satisfying, with a hearty tomato sauce. The meatballs could’ve used a little more flavor, but they were tasty, too. Our table shared two desserts – chocolate lava cake and strawberry pie. Both were excellent, the chocolate rich and wonderfully molten, the strawberry pie fresh and crumbly and not too sweet.
I probably like the ambiance and corkage policy better than I do the food, but even so, I really enjoyed this place and would recommend it without hesitation. I look forward to many more meals at The Backyard – it’s an easy default for a relaxing weekend dinner with plenty of wine.

The second we walked into The Backyard, my friends and I could tell that it was an adorable, homey, and artistic place! We were sat in the eclectically decorated «backyard,» which was strung with lights and filled with greenery. Even the way our table was decorated with the mismatched plates and glasses, candles, and succulents tugged at my heartstrings!
Our party of three ordered an arugula salad, Tropicale (pineapple and prosciutto) pizza, and marinara basil pasta to share. We were also served bread an tapenade before our meal. All of it was incredible! I couldn’t get enough of the creamy marinara sauce. Seriously some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had. It was enough food for the three of us (even though I don’t think their menu is meant for sharing) and definitely reasonably priced. We all had full bellies and happy demeanor by the end of it.
The staff was very friendly and even told us that you’re able to bring your own wine, so we would definitely do that next time. We were overall so happy with our experience and can’t wait to go back and to tell others about this place!

This place is absolutely wonderful. This is a hidden treasure in LA! It happens to be the first restaurant on Hollywood Blvd. The name says everything: the backyard is definitely where you want to seat, relax and enjoy great food! I forgot I was in LA and I felt like I was in the Mediterranean area.
The food is delicious, prepared by the amazing French owner, Thaïs, and the service is great. We shared the specials as appetizers and had delicious pizzas suggested by Thaïs.
On the top of that, it’s BYOB! Make sure to bring some Italian or French red wine for the pizzas, pasta and desserts and rosé to enjoy the hot LA nights.

Super cute, quaint space with a lovely back courtyard that makes for a nice secluded dinner or pretty date spot. It’s totally an oasis that makes you feel like you’re not in the middle of the city.
The staff and the owner are super friendly and the food is tasty! Oh, and it’s BYOB with no corkage fee!

WORST PLACE EVER!!! DO NOT SPEND A PENNY HERE!!!
— Customer service is NOT a priority here
— Food is nothing special
— Wait staff is horribly and unbelievably rude
— There is no parking and if you do find parking, it’s not worth it.
— If any restaurant ever «tells «you to pay your bill and abruptly asks you to leave. DON’T EVER RETURN!
Can you do a negative star???

I am in the area and saw they delivered and loved their menu. I called to place my order at 5:43. The woman on the phone said they don’t deliver. I said Unilocal mentioned that you do, is there specific times of delivery, and she mentioned that they deliver starting at 6pm when they open. I mentioned that that is in 15 min, and asked if she was able to take my order now and put it in at 6pm. She hesitantly said yes but then said it would be easier to call back at 6pm. So I called back at 6pm and she said they don’t deliver at all. I mentioned our previous conversation and she said they don’t deliver any longer.
Well that was just an awkward 15 min of my life, and I’m still hungry haha

Ugh! It’s 930p and I walked out! Way too loud!!!
And the service kinda sucked! Just one hostess & one server taking care of all tables, including the front patio!
Only seating available was in a cramped area in the back of the community table!
How does this place get four stars!!?

It is an adorable place to get pizza and hang out. She actually does have a backyard and its very cozy and decorated with lights. You feel like you are in Italy having pizza. The service is a lil slow, but nothing too bad.
They had mixed up our orders and brought us the wrong pizzas (we had ordered two), this is where you notice how professional a place is, they apologized for the wrong order, made the two that we had originally ordered and brought us a couple of boxes to go since two people cannot finish 4 pizzas … And then as if they had not done enough to make up for their mistake, they brought us a complimentary dessert to make up for their error! True professionals and amazinggg customer service. Will definitely be back.

Honestly I thought the highlight of this place would be the BYOB. My total intention was to slam some really good ipa’s and really just pick at some of the food. I really had no expectation that the food was going to be anything special. I was totally wrong. I totally wished that i didnt eat prior to coming. Plus the back patio is really sick. Service was great and very attentive as well.
Started wuth the prosciutto e burrata and a couple orders of the mussels. Both were perfect. Grabbed a couple pizzas insalata and al diavolo, and the fettucini zucchini pesto (perfect flavor) for the table which were good too but honestly the spaghetti couldnt be forgotten. It totally wins, totally flavorful and super spicy. Honestly i couldnt get enough and i think i will go back and get two. Fucking amazing literally.
I might go back tonight… two days after i went, just for that spaghetti. Seriously.

The salads were good. The pizza and pasta dishes were just o.k. The best thing the place has to offer is the ambience. You actually feel that you are in Italy or some other European country. The service was lacking and I would not recommend this place for large parties because the owners are not ready to host them. Maybe I would come here again with a friend or two, but avoid hosting big events here.

I came here with a friend on a Saturday night around 7:30pm. And the place was fairly deserted. We were seated in the backyard area, which is really the main appeal of this place. It’s very cute, and would be a wonderful date spot even with the less-​than-​comfortable patio furniture.
Well… It’d be a great date spot if the food was better… I ordered the pollo vino rosso, which was extremely dry. I mean, the chicken was choke-​it-​down dry. Luckily there was plenty of gravy, and the potatoes and green beans were well cooked. Also the service was great so I had no shortage of water, and the byob aspect here is very appealing. My friend and I drank every drop of the bottle of wine we brought.
I think I’d give this place another shot at least for the sake of the ambiance, but I might just go for an after-​dinner wine and dessert since the food was very disappointing. Plus parking is a pain, the neighborhood isn’t great at night, and the single-​stall restroom is not ideal. I’m willing to give this place a second chance, but if it fails me then, I won’t be back.

How do I say this without sounding like a total jackass? I simply did not like The Backyard at 4518. The office ended up coming here for a coworker’s birthday lunch. He chose the place based on the 5-​star rating on Unilocal.With such glowing reviews, perhaps I expected too much. And contrary to the description on Unilocal,this place is not Italian/​French — just disappointing Italian.
The best way to describe The Backyard at 4518 is to compare them to the Oregon Ducks NCAA football team. The Ducks were so hyped up by the media and Nike that I expected them to be amazing when they got to the National Championship. Sadly, when they got there, they laid yet another duck egg and got crushed by Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes. Good thing I stayed away from the bookies last night.
Similarly, The Backyard at 4518 laid an egg because the food was unimpressive. I think they like to call themselves a mom-​and-​pop place, which is fitting since a lot of the food looked like something anyone could make. Then again, Italian food is not that hard to make…
The complimentary bread and olive tapenade was fishy. As in, there are anchovies or sardines in the olive tapenade. While I love fish, I did not like this at all. Moreover, the bread was a little on the stale side.
I ended up splitting the Pollo Vino Rosso and the Pollo Al Limone with my boss, and I got to try a little of a coworker’s Primavera Rosa.
The Pollo Vino Rosso ($ 16) is a pan-​seared chicken breast dish with mushrooms that is covered in a purply Montepluciano wine sauce and is served with roasted potatoes and bacon-​wrapped green beans. And how could I forget the rosemary sprig sticking out of the dish? In fact, almost every freaking entrée was plated with a rosemary sprig. The taste was okay, but hardly out-​of-​this-​world 5-​star worthy.
The Pollo Al Limone ($ 14) is a wood-​oven baked chicken breast served in a chardonnay lemon and capers sauce with spaghetti. I thought this entrée was better than the purple chicken dish, but I felt that minus the wood oven, I could make this better at home with ingredients from Trader Joe’s. Oh and how could I leave out the aforementioned rosemary sprig?
The Primavera Rosa ($ 12) is fettuccine served with mushrooms, red bell peppers, red onion, and zucchini in a red sauce. For the price, this dish was decent. But again, I would never consider it to be 5-​stars. 4 at the most and again there was a rosemary sprig!
In general, all the sauces were a bit mild/​tame for a restaurant specializing in Italian cuisine. So nope, the rosemary sprig added nothing to the dish. In fact, all the food seemed to be missing the gusto of pungent herbs and garlic that I normally taste when I eat tasty Italian food.
Then again, maybe this is where the Unilocal description of French comes in? Perhaps The Backyard at 4518 is trying to be a fancy Italian place by not using garlic and to be more «elegant»? Or maybe the chefs are part of the Italian movement that shuns garlic
? Who knows!
Alas, the best parts of the restaurant had to be their BYOB policy and the backyard/​outdoor patio. Especially since 2^nd hand marijuana smoke enters the patio from the adjacent Nirvana Clinic, an «alternative medicine practitioner».
Sadly, even after the inhalation of smoked herbs, the food was still simply A-​OK…

The food was delicious, the service was excellent, and the atmosphere of the outdoor area was lovely.
Had the lasagna, the meatball spaghetti, the crèm brûlée, and the tiramisu. They were all great.
Our waitress (who could have well been the owner) was extremely charming and friendly.
I will come back here.

Lunch on Friday, 9÷19÷14 (first visit)
My co-​workers and I walked in to be directly escorted to the backyard patio area. The patio area was nice and shady. Someone came by to serve us water but didn’t refill our cups until we were about to leave. Two french-​speaking ladies were there and took our orders.
Like a previous Unilocaler had stated as a minor point, there was no bread as appetizer. Food took a while but it was freshly made. Most of us ordered pizza. It was either bland (Al Diavolo pizza) or too salty from the proscuitto (Tropicale pizza). I ordered the Fetticinie Zucchini and Pesto. It tasted nothing like pesto and was bland. Perfect for those health-​conscious people but I would not order it again. The only dish our group had enjoyed was the Primavera Rosa.
I haven’t tried this place for dinner or experienced the BYOB yet but this review is just for lunch. Not sure if I’d come back again though since there are other places in LA that have better Italian food.
Nice ambiance though.