Every was delicious! The risotto was outstanding. The lamb chops did not disappoint as well. The place is not pretentious at all. A place for families and friends to gather simply to enjoy great food. Highly recommend. read more

I've had this spot bookmarked and was able to celebrate my birthday here. It is located in the not so glamorous parts of downtown, and parking can easily be found on the street (that's where valet parks your car anyway). We made reservations prior and were seated upon arrival. The restaurant itself is stunning and I loved the modern rustic style of the place. My table of six shared everything family style so we could all try everything. Our waiter was so friendly and I noticed that our water glasses were constantly being filled throughout our time there (bonus points). Appetizers: Chicory Caesar (4/5): If you're thinking of a typical Caesar salad, this is not that. This salad has bitter and robust flavors from the anchovy and chicory. Definitely unique, but quite tasty. Braised Pork Meatballs (5/5): How can you go wrong with meatballs? The tomato sauce was delicious and was the perfect dip for the small piece of garlic "pizza" on the side. Seafood Fritto Misto (5/5): YUM! The batter was light and crispy, and the pieces of calamari were tender. It also came with a calabrian chili oil and salsa rosa aioli that were delectable pairings to the calamari. Pizza: Queen Margherita (4/5): I prefer thin crust pizzas, and this one was pretty good. The dough had a nice texture and the ingredients on top were fresh. Pastas: Minestra nel Sacco (4/5): I've never had anything like this before. Parmigiano Reggiano dumplings in a light chicken broth. It wasn't mindblowingly good, but it was fun to eat. Tagliatelle (5/5): My favorite of the pastas we ordered. The noodles were perfectly cooked and the ragu had generous chunks of meat in it. Cavatelli (2/5): Not a fan. We were told the cavatelli pasta was cooked a certain way for a reason, but we thought it was severely undercooked (couldn't even cut through it with our fork). The sausage pieces were tasty though. Tagliolini (3/5): There were a lot of rock shrimp in here which I appreciated, but the overall flavor of this dish was very lackluster. Dessert: Citrus Olive Oil Cake (5/5): Moist deliciousness. The citrusy notes were so refreshing and I thought the rosemary whipped cream was genius. Pistachio Milk Cake (4/5): If you like tres leches you will love this cake. Not too sweet and had a nice nutty flavor. Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Rossoblu. Although the two pastas we tried were average, I thought everything else was terrific. read more

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We stumbled across this spot in downtown LA. It is tucked away in the fashion district. During the day, the area is bustling and alive...At night, it is deserted and not very attractive. So this place really stood out. We were able to get a table without a reservation, it was so lively and loud inside - but ambiance seemed to be on point for those wanting that feel. We opted for dinner al fresco. We kept it simple really...12" superfine pizza (serves 1-2) and drinks. We did get the rosemary focaccia and tortellini in crema as well. Service was quick, friendly and down to earth. Food was good and it satisfied our hunger. I really enjoyed the outdoor seating, it was a cool evening and they set up heaters for us without us even asking. read more

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I've been wanting to try this restaurant for awhile now and was so happy I was able to check it off my list. We arrived for an early dinner so the restaurant was pretty empty. The staff was very friendly and attentive. The entrance is in a tent leading to a beautifully decorated restaurant. We shared the seafood fritto misto, tartare and duck orecchiette. Everything we ordered was perfect. The fritto misto was light, crispy and seasoned perfectly. The orecchiette was so flavorful with a generous amount of ground duck meat, the pasta is ear shaped and was dense without being too heavy. The restaurant filled up pretty quickly and overheard many people talking about how they loved the food and I totally agree. What a wonderful meal! read more

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Everyone at the table raved about the meal. The tagliatelle ragu was everyone's favorite. We ordered everything to share, but made the mental note that we should order multiple tagliatelles in the future since portions here are smaller than most American restaurants. The octopus salad was a great appetizer, but I wish it had more sizable bites of octopus. It's on the borderline of whether this is shareable or not. The salami honey pizza is great as the honey makes a big difference to your pizza experience. Don't miss out on the fries as a side order. Being triple cooked made for a noticeable difference. This is not your typical french fries. read more

The pasta was so delicate and tasty. Ambiance was great inside and service was good. I would go back for the pasta alone. read more

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A great dinning experience where the food keeps coming and you just want more! We found this place when we were traveling and thankfully we found it. The atmosphere is a casual sit down and the menu is reasonably priced while extensive. They brought out bread which was delicious and we ordered wine and a drink to start off with. We moved onto the first entrees of pasta and meat dishes. We also ordered desert and desert wine. Delicious for each and every bite! Their prices were cheaper then some other places we've been. The service was amazing, attentive and had plenty of recommendations thru out the evening. Highly recommend that you check this place out. It's almost a hidden spot since its hidden between a few food places. They also offer pasta classes if you are into that! read more

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Pasta Making Class with lunch and wine all at the beautiful FeedFeed studio space in DTLA with Italian Pasta Maker Francesco. This 2-hour pasta-making class is every first Saturday of the month and teaches you how to make pasta from scratch using just two ingredients flour and eggs. The group size is small and you get lots of time to practice and ask questions at a relaxed pace that's easy to follow. The vibe here is all about having fun and sharing laughs along the way. Plus you get to keep the dough to make more pasta at home. $120 includes the 2-hour pasta class, wine, and lunch tasting the freshly made pasta cooked at the Rosso Blu restaurant next door! Highly recommend this class it's way easier than you think and we all walked away with lots of tips and tricks and feeling confident about making pasta at home! Perfect for friends, family, and bringing your date! read more

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Rossoblu is a gem in a chill spot of a not so lovely area in DTLA. There is a large outdoor patio in the front. Inside the malice industrial space, it is airy, really roomy, with super tall ceilings. I will definitely keep coming back for its remarkable Bolognese food and friendly staff. Olimpia's Tagliatelle: The long and thin pasta ribbons make me think of the word toothsome. You can feel the gentle bounce of the freshly made noodle against your molars. The texture has an unreal balance of lightness and chewiness. There is a perfect balance of pasta and sauce. You can taste the flavors of the tagliatelle and the meat separately. I usually don't really notice the flavor of the pasta, but here it really registers. There is a rich yet light expression of egg-iness. Then, the beefiness of the meaty Bolognese sauce (ragu) really shines through. The long simmered thick sauce is also flavored with pork, parmesan rinds, "not too much" tomato sauce, prosciutto, and bits of mortadella. Parking: There's plenty of street parking out front. read more

Rossoblu - Tagliatelle Ragu - Italian Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I'm a bit disappointed about this place. I've been wanting to try it for a while and was able to book a reservation during Mother's day dinner. Everything was mid, the food, service and ambiance. We did a lot of waiting. We ordered: VALBRUNA'S EGGPLANT 3/5 SEAFOOD FRITTO MISTO 4/5 MUSSELS 3/5 GRILLED PORK MEATBALLS 3/5 WARM OCTOPUS SALAD 3/5 OLIMPIA'S TAGLIATELLE 3/5 SEA SCALLOP RISOTTO 3/5 TORTELLONI 4/5 TORTELLINI IN CREMA 2/5 MALTAGLIATI WITH MUSHROOMS 3/5 SOFTSHELL CRAB SPECIAL 0/5 (inedible, I don't know how this passed to be a special) Queen Margherita Pizza 2/5 ANNA'S MINESTRA NEL SACCO 5/5 (they were so nice and split it in 6) BONE-IN NY STEAK (14 OZ) 28 DAY DRY-AGED 3/5 (Perfectly cooked but the potatoes under is underwhelming) GRILLED BRANZINO 5/5 (The best out of everything) APENNINE FRIES 3/5 As far as service is concerned, everybody was doing their best but it seems like they were short staffed. And if I'm paying an automatic additional 4% on top of tip on my check, I am expecting good service at least. Oh I almost forgot we ordered 4 desserts and got one on the house (5 total) Nothing stood out. I just remember that the tiramisu was not good. read more

Rossoblu - Branzino and NY steak - Italian Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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i have now been to rossoblu twice and have enjoyed my experiences there. i have tried the mushroom maltagliati and tortelloni and both were excellent. the service is amazing and last time we got a free dessert! highly recommend read more

Rossoblu - mushroom MALTAGLIATI - Italian Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Great food, wine, and service. Their lasagna and pasta are definitely recommended. Ideal for group dinner.

I took my niece and her husband here (they were visiting from Austin). The service was phenomenal with our waitress going above and beyond with recommendations and warmth. The food is delicious; you can't go wrong with anything (I had the half chicken and it was amazing). The venue itself is beautiful with a large painted wall and an open kitchen. read more

Upon driving up onto the street, you wouldn't expect a restaurant like this to be there. Both their indoor and outdoor space have great ambiance and make for a cute date spot. We found street parking right outside on a Friday night at prime dinner time so I'm gonna assume it's always like that. Service was really attentive. They refilled my water every time it reached the halfway point. The menu is a little confusing. They told us everything is meant to be shared but with the way it's broken out into sections of appetizers, entrees, pastas, pizzas, etc, it was hard to tell how big each dish would be and much we should order. We got calamari, cauliflower, a pizza, and a pasta to share between three people. (Our forth ordered the chicken as his own entree.) Everything we got was decent but underwhelming. Nothing really stood out. The pizza was probably my favorite. The crust had a great texture, on the softer side. read more

Rossoblu - Italian Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Rossoblu is an Italian restaurant. The menu consist of pizza, pasta, wood-grilled, and meats. There is also a basement wine cellar that can be reserved for private parties. The kitchen is open so you can see the Chefs in action. ::Drinks:: The Casanova Cup is made with basil-infused vodka, lemon, grappa, and blackberry syrup. If you want a spicy drink, try the Vesuvio. It has mezcal, agave, Montenegro, Fresno chili, lime, and cucumber. ::Food:: For starters, I liked the Valruna's Eggplant and Seafood Fritos Misto. Although the batter for the calamari was different. The Ede's Market Salad needed more salad dressing to reduce the bitter taste but that's because I don't like eating veggies. Rossoblu also serves pizza so we got the Salami Honey. I liked the dough but the salami was too spicy and I couldn't taste the honey. The Ilario's Grigliata is a 20oz bone-in-chop with housemade sausage, and braised escarole. It was overcooked and dry. ::Desserts:: The Olive Oil Cake was served with berries and ricotta cream. We also got the Tiramisu. It is an almond cake soaked in coffee, layered with chocolate mousse, and candied cocoa nib cream. The Tiramisu was too rich and sweet. I liked the Olive Oil Cake more. ::Customer Service:: The staff was friendly but it was slow. ::Tip:: Make reservations ::M's Notes:: -Indoor and Outdoor seating - Valet Parking $12 -Street Parking -Corkage fee is $30/750ml bottle read more

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Came here on a Wednesday night and they welcomed walk-ins as it wasn't too busy. Food: overall, everything fell pretty short.. the portions of the pasta were EXTREMELY tiny for the price. They were about half a portion for $30+.. and it was very undercooked. We also got the salami honey pizza which came out room temp and cooled into a hardened pizza within 5 minutes :( Apps were solid and sides were also okay. Parking: there's valet in the front and street parking, but we easily got street parking Service: service was great and our server was quick and friendly! read more

Rossoblu - BLISTERED GREEN BEANS little gem Caesar salad calamari - Italian Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I came to Rossoblu with my husband to celebrate his 36th Birthday and just want to say what a WONDERFUL experience we had! The customer service was efficient, friendly, they had great communication and provided us with truly a memorable experience for the rest of our lives. Upon arrival, I let the hostess/Manager, TONYA know that it was my husband's birthday; she communicated this to our waiter, ERIC and he gave us a complimentary glass of rosé as well as a scoop of their vanilla bean gelato with what tasted like fig! I would give this place infinite stars if I could! Seriously, we were so impressed and the food was out of this world! We ordered the GRILLED PORK MEATBALLS and QUEEN MARGHERITA as a starter and the TORTELLONI, and OLIMPIA'S TAGLIATELLE as our mains! The aperol spritz was also divine! Thank you Rossoblu for the great service and incredible food! The Christmas Tree and cozy atmosphere added to the essence of it all as well! We will definitely be back! Mahalo! read more

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What a great night out and with FANTASTIC food! We made a reservation for 7:30 on a Friday night and this place was poppin! Love the lively atmosphere and huge outdoor dining area. The entire dining area is very spacious but all of the tables were full, which is always a nice sign when going to a new place. We were sat pretty immediately and ordered some drinks and the Rossoblu bread basket to start. OMG THE ANCHOVY BUTTER. Soooo good! The bread was also soo delicious I loved the crunchy and slightly salty crust, while the bread inside was soft. Ordering here it's a good idea to get a bunch of dishes to share with your group. We ordered the mixed baby lettuces and herbs salad, funghi pizza, braised pork meatballs, Olimpia's tagliatelle, and risotto for our meal. Loved the sauce with the meatballs and the ragu on the tagliatelle. MAN was it good! Not a single dish disappointed. For dessert we ordered the tiramisu, lemon sorbetto and the cheesecake. Tiramisu was maybe the best I've ever had but because it was heavy on the chocolate mousse. LOVE the lemon sorbetto. So refreshing and the consistency wasn't too icy, it was packed with flavor! I would skip on the cheesecake next time. It was a different take on your typical cheesecake which we didn't realize so we weren't that into it. The cocktails here looked incredible. I can't wait to come back when I can have a glass of wine with dinner! Overall we had a great time and I would definitely recommend trying this place out. read more

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Food could be better. The ambience is great. I do not like the idea of charging 4% for employees health care. That should be a duty from the owner and not passed to customers. Customers should be valued and not charge extra. 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers. But I am certain the owner knows that. read more

Really enjoyed dinner here! The servers know the menu very well and were quick to give tasty recommendations. I especially liked the pizza. Good wine selection as well. read more

Their tortellini and half chicken is soooo good The waiter was so sweet and brought my friends ice cream bc we had mentioned it was their bday read more

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Beautiful restaurant. Attentive service. There's a large outdoor area. Delicious food with great presentation. Enjoyed the cocktails as well. read more

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Went here for the first time on a Friday night prior to the dinner rush. The interior was absolutely stunning and featured a boho/open concept style. As for the food, I definitely recommend the mushroom pasta and the tortellini crema on the menu! Also really enjoyed the clam stew (which is a new dish). The mushroom pasta was absolutely divine & all of you mushroom lovers will devour it within seconds. The tortellini is def for people who like very rich foods. I also ordered one of the sausage pastas, but this was unfortunately undercooked/salty (though the waitress was incredibly gracious about taking it back for us). Super pleased with my experience here & any hiccups were professionally addressed by the wonderful staff. read more

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I came with a large group for dinner. The size of group necessitated their family-style set-menu. We were seated outside on the patio. They had plenty of heating lamps so that was not an issue. Reasonably comfortable environment, not too loud, and fairly spacious seating. Service was pretty good too. There were times when we had to flag them down and they werent readily available to assist, but overall not bad, solid 4/5 for service, definitely not 5/5. Food: we got to try several things. Cocktails - overall pretty good selection and all tasted fine. Bread plate with antipasti - kind of a let down. Bread was solid 3/5, not a whole lot of antipasti choices, and just ok, 3/5. Fritto misto - good. light, not too greasy. 4/5 meatballs (pork) - just ok. Lacking depth of flavor, a tad too salty. 3/5. lasagna bolognese - pretty good, nice texture, good noodles, but too salty. 3/5. hankerchief pasta - this was the highlight of the night. excellent pasta dish, well seasoned. 5/5. pork chop - meat was nicely cooked, but WAY too salty. The puree (or was it mashed potatoes...dont know) was ridiculously salty, cant taste anything except salt. Ribeye - cooked nicely as well, beans served with it was also too salty. Dessert - gelato - texture too icy but flavor was nice. dessert - panna cotta - excellent in texture and flavor, WAY too sweet. Parking - valet in the front, $14 Drive carefully around this are. Lots of homeless encampments and people on the streets. overall I think this place barely achieves 4/5. Thats generous. If they just use less salt, they'll already be a lot better. Portion sizes are very generous though. At least with the family style platters, theres more than enough food for the number of people we had. read more

Love this place. Great every time we go. The menu gets refreshed pretty often but I cannot stay away from the ragu

Best food and experience at Rossoblu. I asked for the recommendations and our host Eric gave us the best experience. read more

Rossoblu - Italian Near Me - Los Angeles, California

There's plenty of street parking but also valet. The restaurant is nestled inside the plaza so it's a little hard to find, but it's cute and dimly lit, perfect for a romantic dinner. The service is amazing. The appetizers are highly recommended and great. The pasta was decent, slightly undercooked but still delicious. Try their dessert too because they do good Italian twists on classical desserts. Would recommend for the vibes and service. Table to share is the best way to go. read more

Rossoblu - Elderflower - Italian Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Surprised my husband with a nice romantic dinner at Rossoblu, which I have heard many good things about but have never been to before this week. Service was wonderful - our waiter was very friendly and attentive, giving us recommendations and telling us about the new summer drink menu. He was clearly very busy but we never felt rushed and he answered all our questions. I liked my Gino drink, which tasted mostly like watermelon. My husband got the Buca Dorla which was even better. Very sweet, but the pineapple brings it all together nicely. I would try to make this at home for a nice summery cocktail. Our food was good as well, but admittedly the portions were on the smaller side for both our pizza and pasta. I had high hopes for our salami honey pizza based off of our server's review. It was good but didn't feel super unique or elevated. Felt like I could have ordered it at an inexpensive pizza shop. That being said we ate it all and would order it again! The ragu was really yummy as well. You could tell the pasta was made in-house. Thick noodles cooked perfectly al-dente. The ragu sauce I thought could have used a little more flavor, honestly, but again it was very good. Also ordered the bread basket to supplement, which I would highly recommend! All of the accompaniments are good. Putting a little of the anchovy side on our pizza helped bring out the flavor even more. read more

Very good food! And friendly service! Everyone was so patient with us and put up with us reserving 2 separate parties despite being one. All the food was great and unique. Not a single bite of bad food. Id come back if I was ever in the area again, since its in a rather tucked away part of downtown LA. read more

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Was able to book my company's holiday dinner here last minute, so super appreciative of the staff! Our private server was also impeccable and drinks were delicious. This is on me, as I kinda messed up our dinner menu, but realized we didn't have a carb with our mains during our meal. But the hangar steak and chicken were good! My favorite part of the meal was definitely dessert as they gave individual cups of gelato to each person and we had tiramisu to share on the table. Tiramisu was a bit too coffee liqueur forward unfortunately for my tastes, but chocolate gelato was sooo good. They sat us in the private dining room, which is technically in the basement and definitely looked like it. Appreciate the privacy, but wish they put up some wall paper or something down there haha (made a good talking point at least). Overall the staff was lovely, and I really appreciate their help last minute! Parking in this area seemed sketchy, but I street parked nearby and had no issues. read more

The service and ambience is wonderful! MUST order dish is the blueberry crostata. It was the best blueberry pie I've ever had. Not overwhelmingly, sweet and great consistency, the perfect ratio of jam and crust. The tuna tartare is a great portion and refreshing starter. I would not recommend the tagliatelle it's supposed to be their most popular pasta, but I felt like it was chalky and forgettable. The Wagyu steak was too salty and too under cooked for me. The branzino was just ok. read more

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Dropped in for dessert on a Friday night around 9pm and the short and sweet *pun intended* experience did not disappoint! We were lucky to find street parking directly adjacent to the restaurant (likely would be tough during prime dinner hrs) and were seated immediately upon arrival (we did have a reservation). We were given dessert menus and ordered what seemed to be the "go-to" items- olive oil cake and tiramisu. Unfortunately their espresso machine was down so we put our macchiato needs on hold. Our dessert items were brought to us in a timely manner and the birthday boy was given a complimentary ice cream scoop after we had only so very subtly mentioned it was his birthday. Both the olive oil cake (personal favorite!) and the tiramisu were delicious and gobbled up by the table pretty quickly. The olive oil cake was moist and fresh with subtle hints of olive oil and all the layers of the tiramisu were rich and decadent. The atmosphere of the restaurant was lively and upbeat all while being dimly lit. The open kitchen facing the dining room makes for a fun observation area. Rossoblu, you are a good one. read more

Rossoblu - Olive oil cake - Italian Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Sunday Brunch at Rossoblu in the DTLA flower market area has been reintroduced for a few months (post pandemic) and I must say its not only reasonably priced, but delicious as usual. I had the lemon ricotta pancakes and my spouse had the Bolo burger ... highly recommend Rossoblu for a Sunday Brunch consideration. It's a great menu offering, extensive beverage list and free Sunday secured parking off of 11th St. in the City Market lot just north of Rossoblu. We hope the owners keep this DTLA Sunday Brunch offering! read more

I've had this place bookmarked for a really long time so I decided this is where I wanted to celebrate an early birthday with a couple of friends. When I made the reservations I knew the one dish I really wanted to try was the Maltagliati. However, a few days prior I noticed that they took it off the menu and that left me extremely disappointed. Luckily, instead of cancelling our reservation I decided to inquire about it and Vince ensured me that it could be made upon request and that he would give the kitchen a heads up. I have to say that the effort was so well worth it! It was delicious as expected. We also ordered the burrata, prosciutto, and eggplant starters, the mushroom risotto, tortellini in crema, and the wagyu steak. Everything was so good and left us all feeling very satisfied. I also really enjoyed the pumpkin olive oil cake as well as the Hugo I chose as my after meal cocktail. It was the perfect amount of sweetness after an epic meal. Thank you to Vince and to all the servers who made this night so memorable! read more

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I was surprised at the location which is near a pretty sketchy area near the fashion district. Not an area to have a stroll after dinner. They have valet parking but street parking is free after 6pm. Food was very tasty and service was on point except for the hostesses in front. They ignored guest as they chatted with people standing directly in front of them. read more

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Rossoblu is a stellar Italian restaurant that I would frequent more often if the price point wasn't so high. Firstly, shout out to our server Jonte. He said it was his first day but he was a total pro. The bone in pork chop was one of the biggest and best prepared pork chops i have had in my life. I didnt post a pic because it was too blurry but trust me the flavor and cook were perfect. Pizzas were also fire and great the next day. I would skip the tuna tartar app. It was just too finely chopped. Almost a tuna paste rather than a tartar. The cheesecake was surprisingly delicious too. It wasn't your typical huge slice. It was surprisingly light. read more

I had such a pleasant experience, can't wait to come back. Service was above and beyond. Ty

Excellent place, Service and delicious food been there many times and it's always exceptional!!

Does anyone know how to make good food anymore? Does anyone care? This restaurant simply has terrible food, and it's built a grandiose museum-like space in a desperate attempt to confuse diners into expecting a great meal. This is buttressed with an enormous social media presence crowing its name and parading around the name of the executive chef, who evidently is impervious to the pain of charlatanism. In light of Rossoblu's posturing as a big player in sexy, high end DTLA dining scene, it is the worst restaurant I have visited in Los Angeles in years. We attended as a party of 4, and with our server's help managed to order about 1/3 of the entire menu. It consisted of some of the laziest ideas imaginable in this genera of food, family-style Italian -- a style not generally known for its creativity, but they managed to disappoint anyway. We were still unprepared for the unbelievably poor execution of these lazy ideas, which is what really sets Rossoblu apart from the million other lazy Italian restaurants phoning-it-in around LA . The theme of the night was stale, old, wilted, sad food -- the opposite of fresh, in other words. Every dish strongly suggested food that was recently massaged half-frozen out of a bag and reheated. Stale food has such a specific, unmistakable quality, like what's available at the airport, or Costco, or a frozen TV dinner. My family and I have a great love for food, so the last time I can remember eating food like this was Cheesecake Factory when I was a little boy. Every diner at the table was blown-away by the chasm of distance between the photos of this restaurant online and the experience in person. You know those cute whimsical vintage plates you see them using on Instagram? Spoiler alert, they know those are fun for you, which is why they give you 1 of those per table, and the rest are plain white plates. That's a good visual example of the overall bait-and-switch approach that this place is relying upon to catch diners. They don't care if you feel like a sucker or not once you're seated and on the hook for the bill, they just want you in that seat one time. No one, not even a chef pathetic enough to serve this food, could possibly except anyone to return. LA food critics are either lying constantly about merit they know a restaurant doesn't have, or they actually do not know what good food is. Public diners have always been clueless, that's why we invented critics, so Yelp and public reviews rarely bear any resemblance to the truth. As a guy with some extra cash to spend who loves going out and eating and entertaining, there is simply nothing for me in this city, and certainly not at Rossoblu, which I admit fooled me into spending $400 to take my niece out for her 18th birthday. The message I'm getting from Los Angeles is to just go eat tacos, because there is simply no reason to give your money to an upscale dining establishment in Los Angeles 2025. read more

We were in LA visiting relatives when friends invited us to dine at Chef Steve Samson's Rossoblu in LA's Fashion District. I've heard about and bookmarked this Italian Bolognese-inspired restaurant since 2017, so I was excited to enjoy Chef Samson's menu finally. We hopped into our car and traveled an estimated 30 to 40 minute eastbound drive on a Sunday evening from our home. It was a good thing that we left our home about 10 minutes earlier because even though the traffic flow inched along the highway in some spots, our GPS seemed to take us in a very roundabout way to the historic City Market South. As we neared City Market South, we chose to leave our car with the valet because we weren't too familiar with the area at night to look for street parking. The City Market South was lighted in festive yet warm-looking lights, and the valet directed us to Rossoblu from the curbside. Only three establishments were sharing the property, City Market South, Dama, and Rossoblu, so it wasn't a challenge to figure out which restaurant space was Rossoblu. As we approached the restaurant, another couple stood at the hostess stand, so we got in line behind them. Meanwhile, I peeked into the spacious tented outdoor patio and visual aesthetics of the massive industrial dining room. Walking into the dining room, I was impressed by the all-gold bar, floor-to-ceiling mural, era original windows and doors, and gigantic grill surrounded by a sleek black marble bar. Our server, Michael, was charming, efficient, and professional. He took our water service and cocktail orders before our friends arrived (yeah, yeah, I know it's rude to start drinking before everyone is at the table) but, fortunately, by the time our cocktails arrived, our friends were seated with us. My husband ordered his usual Old Fashioned made with Bulleit rye whiskey, and I ordered a Classic Negroni. FOOD: - Seafood fritto misto: airy, light, crisp fried pieces of calamari, rock shrimp, sea bass, and lemon filled a plate as our appetizer. The accompanying dipping sauces were a Calabrian chili and salsa rosa. As an appetizer, it was generously portioned and served hot and tender-crisp fried. I had to fight not to overindulge and save room for the rest of my meal. $22 - Funghi pizza is a brick-oven fired, Neapolitan-style 12" thin-crust pizza topped with caramelized onions, roasted mushrooms, smoked mozzarella, garlic, and red onion. Chef Samson's pizzas from his nearby pizza place called "Superfine" are featured at dinner. The pizzas can be shared as an appetizer (cut into six slices) or made for a meal for one or two people. $18 - Baked fazzoletti (fresh pasta squares or handkerchiefs) wrapped tender and juicy duck meat and chanterelles. The pasta was topped with a silky and creamy besciamella (béchamel) and accompanied by fried (?) kale chiffonade. I was attracted to this dish because of my love for duck meat and consideration of how rich the combination was. $27 - Olimpia's tagliatelle al ragù Bolognese is Rossoblu's signature dish, and you shouldn't miss it. There's pork, beef, and not too much tomato sauce mixed through the fluffy and tender pasta strands. My husband also enjoyed this pasta dish because there wasn't much tomato sauce that could have bloated the pasta. This dish, too, was generously portioned, but it was so tasty that it seemed to have disappeared from the pasta bowl before anyone else's pasta. $25 - Ilario's grigliata (barbecue/grill) is another of Rossoblu's signature dishes that you must order. It's an enormous, perfectly grilled, and tender belly-on pork chop topped with house-made sausage resting on flavorful braised escarole that could feed a family of four or make. $47 - Hazelnut-praline gelato was our choice for dessert and was an excellent finish to our Italian meal. The dense and creamy gelato was intensely flavored with ground hazelnuts, and the pralines gave the silky gelato a good contrasting crunch. The sweetness or sugar level was not overwhelming. $7 - Apple crostata (open tart) featured a toasted spelt and sage crust, apples, and salted whipped cream. It was the choice of one of our friends who said it was good but not particularly noteworthy, and it was served at room temperature instead of warm. As he cut into the crust, it seemed relatively firm or stiff because the tart almost "jumped off" the plate. We'd suggest serving the crostata warm as one can appreciate the toasted spelt and apple flavors more. $14 We want to return to try more of Chef Samson's house-made plates of pasta or main courses (I'm looking at the whole grilled orata or pollo al mattone) before we leave LA for home or during another visit. I already want to return since we're still visiting LA, but there are just too many restaurants to try, and we're running out of vacation time. read more

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