Al Dente is one of those small neighborhood spots where the food feels much more ambitious than the…read morespace. The pasta is all handmade, and you can genuinely taste the difference in both quality and flavor. The noodles have that fresh, slightly chewy texture that packaged pasta just does not have, and everything tastes carefully made rather than mass produced. The bolognese is spectacular: deep, rich, meaty, and comforting without feeling overwhelmingly heavy. It is the kind of dish that makes you slow down because every bite is worth paying attention to. The salads are also surprisingly substantial. The chopped salad, in particular, is a generous portion and packed with flavor, so it feels like a real part of the meal instead of an afterthought. Save room for the tiramisu, which is very good: creamy, balanced, and a great finish after the richer pasta. The only downside is the ambiance. The interior is tiny, so when it gets busy it can feel hectic and cramped. Still, the service is amazing, friendly, attentive, and impressively efficient despite the limited space inside.

We ordered the Bucatini Carbonara, and my boyfriend ordered the eggplant pasta dish. The pasta…read moretexture was very good, and we absolutely loved the eggplant dish! The only thing I didn't understand was the Carbonara. It tasted very different from other carbonaras we've tried, it was greasy oily and bitter! . I noticed other people who ordered it before and after us seemed to enjoy theirs, but I couldn't even finish mine. I'm not sure if there was something off only with my dish or if the flavor just wasn't for us. Other than that, it's a very nice restaurant with excellent service.

This place is a great spot for Japanese Italian food. I got the uni & scallop pasta which was full…read moreof garlic and the pasta was al dente. It was very delicious and flavorful. The staff was very nice and attentive. The decor was dark and a nice touch to the atmosphere of the Japanese restaurant.

We are a simple group, we see Japanese and Italian fusion pasta and we go. The parking was a bit of…read morea nightmare, so if you manage to find it, this place is a must-try so you don't the opportunity. Luckily our group had about 6-8 people so we were able to try quite a bit of the food. Glapponese - Ground pork, garlic, bacon, soy sauce for pasta. Very strong umami in this. It's for when you'd like a simple pasta with meat and nothing too overpowering. Tarako - Cod roe and nori. This is another simple pasta when you'd like something with a strong salty flavor but want to mostly enjoy the texture of the pasta, which was soft and chewy btw. If you want a familiar Japanese flavor, this is the one to order Carbonara - A very familiar pasta in case you want to stay on the safe side. They still make it very delicious and creamy if you're in a simple mood for an Italian style pasta Keema Curry - This is where you start going for a more complex taste for your pasta. If you can't decide if you want an Italian or Japanese pasta, combine the tastes with pasta in curry Service I feel can be a bit more attentive. When they sat 6 of us down first, there were only 5 settings, so it seemed pretty natural to bring us a sixth set of utensils. But when we realized they missed it, we ended asked them. Not a big deal. But when our remaining two friends came, they sat them with us and brought out only 1 set of utensils, so we had to ask for it again. Just a small detail that had me a bit confused during the experience, but the food itself was great and we'd love to come back when they reopen

First time enjoying this gem!…read more Staff was so friendly and patient while we decided what to enjoy. Went on a Friday mid afternoon, not busy at all. You order at the counter and they give you a table number. We sat on the back patio, lots of seating and shade. Lots of seating and super clean. Bolognese pasta was scrumptious topped with burrata! Focaccia bread was warm, soft and so flavorful. Ended the meal with a taramissu that was made to perfection! Left full and happy! Carb heaven

I went here last night as a fun date night. Ordering was super easy, essentially build your own…read morepasta unless you get one of the speciality ones. We were immediately brought free bread and oil with vinaigrette, courtesy of dining in. Getting water was self serve pitchers. We actually finished our bread while waiting for our pasta, and were offered more which was great! The pasta itself for both dishes were cooked very al dente. The sauce on the three cheese was good, and the amount of pasta was pretty good for the price. The bolognese was very average, I would say it probably needed much more seasoning than it had. The bread also was very plain, but it was nice to have extra to use when wiping my plate clean of sauce. Lastly, the dessert was free because I downloaded their app, which was awesome. I've never had this dessert before, but it was just the right amount of sweet. Overall, I had a good experience and will probably be back to try their pesto.

This was my go-to spot whenever I would get a haircut or healthy smoothies nearby. On one my…read morevisits, I got an Everything bagel with cream cheese and the fact that it was toasty and appetizing made me want to come back for more of their bagels and cream cheese! I got a medium coffee, which was specifically Vanilla Nut Cream where there were notes of sweet vanilla in this light roast concoction. I also got an Everything bagel with sausage, bacon, and egg during another visit and this savory option was incredible. The parking was easy up front and there were many options to choose from within the establishment!

I have been a loyal customer of New York Bagel & Deli for years. Their affordable breakfast combo…read moredeal was tough to beat - $9.80 for a meat/egg/cheese toasted bagel sandwich that comes with a hash brown and a small coffee. Sometimes the assembly was sloppier than other times, sometimes the bagels weren't consistently baked well, but for the most part, it's a bunch of nice friendly guys who make the food really well and they easily got 1-2 visits out of me weekly. Things have slowly been doing downhill for the last year or so. First, there was the temporary egg surcharge that quietly stuck around after the shortage ended. But things have taken a much sharper turn downhill since the longtime owner handed it off to a pair of local "entrepreneurs." These clowns think they've preserved the vibe of the place but they have done a LOT of brand damage in a very short amount of time and it turned me off big-time. Straight away there was an across-the-board price increase in addition to the preserved egg shortage surcharge. My $9.80 breakfast combo has almost doubled in price to just under $17. That is no longer a good deal; it's the same unaffordable ripoff that every other place has had to do. But the real vibe killer has been the shift around the new owner's prerogatives. One of the new owners claims to be a professional designer, but one of the first things she did was slap a tacky AI generated slop logo all over every square inch of the place. That alone is enough to make me say goodbye. They also claim to be bakers by specialty, but all the bakery goods are dry and bland now - much worse than they used to be. The tackiest decision has been to replace things that weren't broken - the signage - with shittily formatted, constantly slideshowing digital layouts with bad line breaks; believe me when I say the whole thing is a formatting nightmare. If you're a designer, is this your best work? Is this how you attract clients? Because the UX is dogshit and I would prefer you just print a new laminated sign. The main agenda of that though is to play a 3 minute loop on repeat pushing the "baker"'s recipe book. NYBD has always had a lot of weird stuff that gets introduced for a bit and then cycled out, just based on the owner having relationships with other folks or whatever. Someone's hot sauce, maybe a church pamphlet, stuff like that. But the heavy-handed agenda shift towards the brand of this entrepreneurial couple WITH BAD TASTE is blocking out the sun. Combine that with the prices going up 200% and I'm out. I love the boys that work there but unfortunately they're not gonna be seeing me anymore. I'm actively looking for a replacement - if anyone has a local bagel haunt they like to get their breakfast at, please let me know. Thanks!

My boyfriend and I have been going Uovo for about a year now. I've always been a fan of white sauce…read morepasta, but then I discovered the Amatriciana. It's the best pasta I've ever had. We travel about an hour and a half to get to this place, but we consistently return to the Santa Monica location because of the exceptional customer service. Two employees, Alexis and Nunu, have consistently provided a great experience. Nunu is amazing and ensures that every customer is taken care of promptly. Alexis is great at elaborating and providing detailed information about the menu items. Overall, the food is delicious and the experience is memorable. I highly recommend Uovo to friends and family.

Ashley and chief are friendly，dishes are amazing，our favorite is lasagna. besides they are a no…read moretipping establishment， what a surprise.

When I first arrived in Santa Monica from New York in 1993, I always opted to eat at a natural…read morefoods café just next-door to Fritto Misto, and I unfortunately never gave them a chance. Last week, I was in the mood for "Italian", and I remembered Fritto Misto, and I looked at their menu. They had meals that sounded delicious, and I was delighted that they served whole wheat and gluten-free pasta options. I wound up having a fantastic meal there, and I ate there again this week. Everything is so fresh, flavorful, and delicious! The environment is very warm and friendly, and the staff is very accommodating and helpful. I didn't feel like I had to choose between health and flavor when I was there; I got both! Bravo, Fritto Misto! A big thank you to Robert, the owner, and the two waiters/servers who helped me; Kevin and Carlos. Though I don't drink, a big thank you to the bartenders who were very friendly and helpful when I walked in.

If I could give this place a 10, I would. If you're looking for a good Italian place, this would be…read moreit. They have vegetarian options and meat options. The portion sizes are huge for the price The service for starters is amazing. The owner and the staff here are lovely people. The store has a great vibe as well for dates or family dinners. You would have to look for street parking but it's 100% worth it.

My go to pizza place since moving to Los Angeles, and I've tried a ton. I always get the supreme…read morewith jalapeños, pasta and salad. This place won't disappoint. I'd rather get delivery from here than walking to a crapload of subpar pizza places around me.

The food is usually pretty good. I had been going here for more than 10 years. The owner, however,…read moreis just plain rude. When he's not there, the staff is very kind and enjoyable. I hadn't come to this place for a while because the last time I was there, the owner was very rude to me. He tried to charge me extra for "heavy garlic" ! The definition of insanity is to do the same thing again and again and expect a different outcome. I came back to the same rotten attitude. i've been a little under the weather, and I felt like eating bland pasta, so I went there tonight. got something that I've always gotten, but the price seemed high, so I inquired. True to form, he was a total jerk. I get that everything has gone up, but this owner should be happy that he has business. I have always been a good client and usually I leave a nice tip. Not tonight. Ironically, tonight the pasta wasn't good. Won't miss them. If you order have it delivered so you don't have to deal with him.

They use excellent ingredients, nice presentation, balanced flavors and the burrata itself is…read moresuperb! A takeout place with a few seats in front but with very easy parking.

listen to the reviews if you care about customer service!…read more AMBIANCE: place is small with some bar chairs indoors and some small tables outdoors. definitely ideal for takeout rather than dine in. SERVICE: i came in a bit before 5pm and the place was open but totally empty. no workers in sight, so i just put in my order on the kiosk. i expected some kind of notification for someone working but the receipt just printed and still nobody came out. worried my 15 minutes of free parking was going to end before i got my food i yelled out "excuse me!" and finally an girl comes out of the back. doesn't say a word or acknowledge me at all, so i start to offer a sorry and explain that i just wanted to make sure someone was there, but quickly realize im going to be ignored. when she's done, she plops my bag of my food on the table, says "here you go" and walks into the back again. FOOD: drove to where i was staying a few minutes away and i was surprised to find out it was completely cold. please correct me if im wrong but i had assumed at least the bread would be warm?? it was fine since i was able to stick it in the toaster for a bit and it ended up being pretty good! overall a fairly (for LA) priced lunch. BACK TO SERVCE: however based on my experience and the other recent reviews i truly don't understand what is going on with the people who work here. is everyone okay???? atp im truly concerned as to why all the workers seem to be miserable... its also an insane contrast in attitude from the parking attendant who was working outside. he was the nicest guy ever and i truly think the owner of this place should consider hiring him instead. i guarantee it would make a huge difference.

Complete array of deli and grocery products especially from the Bologna region...the heart of…read moreItalian cuisine.

Been back a few times after not having gone for a few years. They are the only place I know that…read morecarries Golfetta Salami (60% less fat), and Italy's best seller. $9.99 for a 3 oz package which is more than $50.00 a pound! Got burned a few times buying products with no expiration date so do your due diligence. Perhaps their turnover isn't as good as the big guys so things expire. Loved their frozen wild mushroom ravioli but their margarita pizza lacked flavor and freshness.

What a pleasant surprise! This place serves fantastic food right by the ocean…read more The service was incredibly fast - I got my truffle pasta literally about five minutes after ordering. The prices were reasonable, the atmosphere was great, and the food exceeded my expectations. I ordered the Truffle Pasta and it was absolutely delicious. One thing I really appreciated was the attention to presentation. Compared to the places next door, my meal came out quickly on a beautiful plate at a nice wooden table, while people at a neighboring restaurant were still waiting 15+ minutes for burgers, had to pick up their own food, and everything was served in disposable containers. It really feels like Fabios Pasta puts extra effort into quality and the overall dining experience. Highly recommend this place!

Fresh pasta right next to the beach, what else would you need?…read more Came to celebrate my friend's bday w a nice chill day at the beach and Fabio's was a great spot to eat at. The prices are fair and while the portions might look small on a plate it was actually the perfect size for us. Both our bolognese and Alfredo pasta were great and we really appreciated the heaters as it definitely got chilly. Cant wait to return to Venice Beach again!