Miceli's

In Short – This venerable institution is a classic homage to red-checked tablecloths and hearty Italian-American food. As an added bonus, the servers take turns playing the piano and belting out show tunes to the delight of diners. Miceli's menu is a freeze-frame of 1950's red-sauce Italian joints. The chicken piccata swims in a lemon garlic sauce, and pasta dishes are massive and hearty. The lively crowd is filled with celebrating families, couples and Hollywood folks who love kitsch.

Editor's Tips

The Extras:: On their way out, diners can ask the host for the black marker and sign their completed bottle of Chianti, which the staff will hang from the rafters to commemorate the visit.
Fun Fact:: The restaurant is Hollywood's first pizza house.

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User Reviews (38)

ambiance	100.0% positive	“the decor was awesome and romantic.” “It felt like grandma's house with its warm and cozy atmosphere.” “Wanted:good food, close to Pantages, fun, not too expensive.” “I've never been to New York, but my friend who has says this is the closest in L.A. for cozy, old fashioned ambiance and good, simple, satisfying Italian food.” “Love the atmosphere and the music and a really great staff.”
drinks	100.0% positive	“The food is always good and a great wine selection.” “love the food, the piano bar and the service.”
food quality	72.91999816894531% positive	“The food was delectable but the wait was horrible.” “The food is fantastic.” “Wanted:good food, close to Pantages, fun, not too expensive.” “The food is TERRIBLE -- well, the spaghetti was.” “The food was mediocre - although we did enjoy hearing the staff sing.” “Thank you Miceli's Your friendly, welcoming style and great food explains why you have run a great restaurant in the difficult Hollywood market for an amazing 59 years.” “The food was delicious, but i will only be returning for take out” “The pizza (which is supposed to be a signature item) was really bad.” “Everyone was very impressed with the meal and I did not have to cook for hours.” “love the pasta with Italian sausage and peppers.” “My favorite dish is the Veal Francais - if you like veal - this is the best!” “I've never been to New York, but my friend who has says this is the closest in L.A. for cozy, old fashioned ambiance and good, simple, satisfying Italian food.” “The food was amazing.” “Lasagna should be layered with cheeses and a good ground veal or marinara sauce and more cheese baked on top.” “would recommend this place to anyone that is in need of a nice night of entertainment and great food.” “The chicken milanase was the best I've ever had.” “Wine ok, regular bottle, did not have straw bottles, salad, (directly out of a bag), eggplant parmagine, served in a soup bowl with at least two inches of cheese on top, not much else in bowl, a side of spaggetti came with order, chicken fettuccini, total” “but the food was not all that great.” “found this Italian restaurant to be the most authentic, the most delectable Italian restaurant ever.” “love the food, the piano bar and the service.” “The vibe is home-like and the pasta dishes aren't outrageously delicious, but they're also not bad.” “One of the worst dinning experiences of my life, not because of the food, which was great, but because the waiter simply would not leave us alone.” “The food is always good and a great wine selection.” “Upon arrival he berates us for not ordering alcohol, and then when I didn't order salad he gave us a (no joke) 10 minute lecture on why you have to eat salad before the main course.”
menu variety	100.0% positive	“The food is always good and a great wine selection.”
overall	100.0% positive	“Its my all time favorite Itailian restaurant.” “great original Italian place.” “Thank you Miceli's Your friendly, welcoming style and great food explains why you have run a great restaurant in the difficult Hollywood market for an amazing 59 years.” “It's a great place to go for the 2nd date.”
service	66.66999816894531% positive	“One of the worst dinning experiences of my life, not because of the food, which was great, but because the waiter simply would not leave us alone.” “Thank you Miceli's Your friendly, welcoming style and great food explains why you have run a great restaurant in the difficult Hollywood market for an amazing 59 years.” “love the food, the piano bar and the service.” “When we tried to pay, I picked up seven people and the other five struggled to figure theirs out - they kindly added 18% graturity to the bills - don't have a problem with that when you're provided good service - but this was very questionable by this tim” “can not recommend their takeout and delivery service enough.” “Love the atmosphere and the music and a really great staff.” “The waiter was extremely pleasant and it was evident he enjoyed his job.” “The singing waiters are annoying.” “The food was mediocre - although we did enjoy hearing the staff sing.”
value	100.0% positive	“Wanted:good food, close to Pantages, fun, not too expensive.” “Our not too expensive dinner, that no one ate, or could eat, totaled just over $89.00.”
wait time	0.0% positive	“Upon arrival he berates us for not ordering alcohol, and then when I didn't order salad he gave us a (no joke) 10 minute lecture on why you have to eat salad before the main course.”

11/27/09

SEAFOOD BROTH SOAKED INTO MY CAR FLOOR!!!

by USPresident2020 at Citysearch

MY BOYFRIEND IS 1/2 ITALIAN AND WANTED TO GO HERE, FOR THE 1ST TIME FOR BOTH OF US, FOR HIS 27TH BDAY. EVERYTHING WAS WONDERFUL UNTIL WE LEFT............. THE DECOR IS ECCENTRIC AND RUSTIC, THE LIVE MUSIC WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NON-INTRUSIVE, THE FOOD AND BEVERAGES WERE DIVINE, THE "HAPPY BDAY SONG" FROM OUR WAITER WAS INCREDIBLY GLORIOUS, ETC.

THE PROBLEM WAS AT THE END OF THE EVENING WHEN I ASKED FOR MY ENTREE, ETC. TO BE WRAPPED "TO GO", WHICH I PREFER TO DO MYSELF FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, BUT THIS TIME ALLOWED OUR WAITER TO TAKE CARE OF IT. BIG, BIG MISTAKE.

HE RETURNED WITH A LARGE WHITE "PAPER" BAG AND WE LEFT SHORTLY AFTERWARDS.

I PUT THE "TO-GO BAG" ON THE FLOOR BEHIND ME, BEHIND THE DRIVER'S SEAT. IT SEEMED STABLE AND I ASSUMED EVERYTHING WAS CONTAINED "PROFESSIONALLY" SINCE THIS RESTAURANT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR OVER 50 YEARS AND SO THEY PROBABLY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING RE PACKAGING THEIR FOOD. WRONG!!!

WHEN WE ARRIVED TO MY BF'S APT, I TOOK THE WHITE BACK OUT OF THE BACKSEAT, AND QUICKLY REALIZED THE SEAFOOD BROTH FROM MY Linguini Pescatore 18.95 Clams, Mussels, Calamari, Scallops, Shrimp & Fish. Garlic, Lemon, White Wine. in a Red or White Seafood Broth

SOAKED THROUGH THE RETARDED WHITE "PAPER" CHINESE FOOD CONTAINER AND THE RETARDED WHITE "PAPER" BAG IT WAS IN. WTF???!!!

SO, NOW, MY CAR REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKS LIKE SEAFOOD AND GARLIC. NICE.

I CALLED TO SPEAK WITH THE MANAGER THE NEXT DAY AND LEFT A MESSAGE WITH PAIGE.

HE DIDN'T CALL ME BACK.

I CALLED AGAIN AND SPOKE WITH SOME GUY WHO TOLD ME THE MESSAGE WAS THERE, SO THE MANAGER SHOULD BE CONTACTING ME SOON.

NO PHONE CALL YET.

SO, I LOST 90% OF MY $19 DELICIOUS ENTREE, MY CAR HAS REEKED SINCE 11/18, AND I HAVEN'T HAD THE TIME OR MONEY TO GET IT THE FLOOR SHAMPOOED.

PERHAPS THIS "REVIEW" WILL MAKE THE MANAGER RE-THINK "IGNORING ME" AND COUGH UP $100 OR SO FOR HAVING SUCH IDIOTIC STAFF PACKAGING SEAFOOD W/ GARLIC BROTH IN PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

DON'T WRAP SEAFOOD W/ BROTH IN PAPER U IDIOTS!!

EVEN I KNOW THAT AND I'VE NEVER OWNED A RESTAURANT, LET ALONE FOR OVER 50 YEARS!!

Pros: PIANO PLAYER, ITALIAN OPERA LADY SINGING WITH HIM, & FOOD!
Cons: ABSURD "TO-GO PACKAGING"!!!

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09/09/09

chic enviroment for not a lot of money

by ktowngamer at Citysearch

I have been going to BLD for sometime and have never had a bad experience. Everyone knows they job and do it very well, but never get in the way of your dining experience. The food is always good and a great wine selection. And I like the fact that the tables aren't too close together that you can hear someone else conversation. It's a great place to go for the 2nd date...

Pros: great lay out, not a bad table, good service
Cons: always busy

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03/29/09

I'm italian, this is NOT an italian restaurant!! period.

by mattiegitte at Citysearch

everything is so disgusting that they should shot-down the doors. my wife is still disgusting just thinking about it. Im italian and this is NOT an italian restaurant. stay away.

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02/15/09

So-so

by DaWiz at Citysearch

Visiting from back East and looking for good Pizza. This place was nearby so gave it a shot. Sat and ate pizza at the bar. Typical west coast cardboard crust,possibly frozen. Dominos,Pizza Hut and Papa Ginos are all much better . Still looking.

Pros: Not sure.
Cons: Pizza

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02/09/09

Terrible Service - Manager was totally Inappropriate

by DannyWil at Citysearch

We had a party of 12 celebrating a birthday - mixed group of adults and young adults. We made a routine request at the beginning of the meal for two checks - No Can Do! - we were told. The pipsqueak manager came by and said for 30 years they don't do this and that's the way it is.

Well, appears he wasn't done then as he stopped by - unasked, mind you - and proceeded to repeat this again with a little more edginess in his voice. We hadn't even ordered yet.

Where's the service - especially in today's economy?

The waitress countermanded the manager and did split it into two checks - but we weren't done with the manager just yet!

When we tried to pay, I picked up seven people and the other five struggled to figure theirs out - they kindly added 18% graturity to the bills - don't have a problem with that when you're provided good service - but this was very questionable by this time.

One young adult asked to get his total separate so he could pay with a credit card - the manager proceeded to acted up - again - in front of customers waiting to get in and went on a virtual tirade insulting us that we weren't even as competent as thirteen year olds to split a bill! He even called the cops because by this time the person with the credit card said he wasn't going to be insulted like that and refused to pay.

The manager -I referred to him as a pipsqueak previously because he was a little man with a chip on his shoulder, obviously - turned to me and yelled at me as to what was I looking at and I was not welcome anymore and to get out - mind you, I had said nothing and had already paid! All over providing some assistance and some service to split out a bill.

The food was mediocre - although we did enjoy hearing the staff sing. It definately was not worth the rudeness of this man! Steer clear - there's a lot of other fun and fine dining in LA.

Miceli's

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What People Are Saying About Miceli's

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Editor's Tips

11/27/09

SEAFOOD BROTH SOAKED INTO MY CAR FLOOR!!!

by USPresident2020 at Citysearch

09/09/09

chic enviroment for not a lot of money

by ktowngamer at Citysearch

03/29/09

I'm italian, this is NOT an italian restaurant!! period.

by mattiegitte at Citysearch

02/15/09

So-so

by DaWiz at Citysearch

02/09/09

Terrible Service - Manager was totally Inappropriate

by DannyWil at Citysearch

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