Cafe Med

In Short – With its perfect corner location and curbside tables, this cafe can get by on looks alone. A curving copper-topped coffee bar runs along the casual dining room. The Italian-inspired menu features starters like salmon tartare on a bed of dill sauce, and burrata di bufala, a hollow of fresh mozzarella stuffed with mascarpone cheese, accented with roasted red peppers. Popular entrees include lightly breaded sea bass with horseradish crust, and rich spinach-ricotta ravioli in sage butter.

Editor's Tips

Parking:: No valet service is offered, but free parking is available next to the restaurant.
Where to Sit:: Sit outside on the patio if space and weather permits. With its corner location and curbside tables surveying the city, these are prime seats for people-watching.

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User Reviews (34)

ambiance	89.09000396728516% positive	“This is a fun place to enjoy good food and great people watching.” “Cute place, great location” “The location's ambiance and excellent service enhanced one of the best dining experiences during our week in LA.” “We went on a Wednesday and there was a good turnout but it wasn't ridiculously crowded, and the decor was very cute and European.” “Although we would have preferred an outdoor table due to the entertaining people watching, the ambiance inside was lovely and lended itself to a more intimate dining experience.” “recommend sitting outside to enjoy the view of all the cheesoids in hollyweird.” “Nice location for a night out, the place is clean and great free parking in the rear.” “favorite for a few years now, Cafe Med offers a great location, outside seating, and most importantly, delicious pasta entrees.” “Great location on the strip.” “However, the visit left a sour taste: food is bland and average, inconvenient parking, ambience is average, but host service is the worst.” “though the service can be either horrible or great depending on who you fall on, the food is good and cheap, and it's a great location.”
dessert	0.0% positive	“We had full meals, lots of deserts and some bar drinks for 8 top.”
drinks	50.0% positive	“The food and wine did not disappoint.” “After pouring wine for the LA Wine Fest at The Raleigh Studios, 8 of us,(two being winemakers and related winery employees) had dinner, which was good overall.” “We had full meals, lots of deserts and some bar drinks for 8 top.” “And to top it off, we brought all our own wine, offered the wine to our server, and left the remaining bottles of wine for the staff to enjoy and was still charge full corkage.”
food quality	92.1399974822998% positive	“Service was prompt, and the food was tasty with big portions: the grilled chicken with roasted vegetables that was quite good, and the pastas were delicious (especially the vodka sauce).” “Great people watching great pasta” “Not fresh food.” “Decent pizzas and pasta dishes” “The food and wine did not disappoint.” “My wife had the spaghetti w/pesto, good, would be better if they did not smother the fresh al dente pasta” “also got to taste the caesar salad and meat lasagna, both which were very tasty.” “Dinners are accompanied by a nice basket of bread with olive oil for dipping.” “Although I did see a review regarding bad fish at Cafe Med, I will definitely return for an easy dinner and a great pizza.” “i've been there twice and both times the food was all around really good (though the bread they give you at the beginning didn't seem all that fresh, and kind of bland) the service is spotty however.” “so far the best pizza i've found in l.a. really nice thin crust, nice variety of toppings available, and they cook it right.” “The food was pretty good, but overall it was overpriced compared to restaurants like Le Petit Four, which is down the street and has the same, maybe even better, quality food.” “The tagliata steak is fabulous and they have great thin crust pizzas and the creme brulee is the BEST!” “What our whole table couldn't help but notice was that our server or busser's were quite fast to take orders, serve food and clear table, but we had to ask for water which okay BUT it was never refilled.” “The pasta is fresh and the c.” “like the thickness of the noodles and the mozarella basil sauce.” “thought the food was delish I ordered the pappardelle al Telefono I t was very fresh tasting.” “As we waited, we enjoyed biscuit-like bread with a wonderfully fruity olive oil and a lovely dry riesling.” “However, the visit left a sour taste: food is bland and average, inconvenient parking, ambience is average, but host service is the worst.” “Of course there's a lot of celebrity spotting, yet the food and prices are really reasonable.” “have been there a few times and the food doesn't disappoint.” “favorite for a few years now, Cafe Med offers a great location, outside seating, and most importantly, delicious pasta entrees.” “though the service can be either horrible or great depending on who you fall on, the food is good and cheap, and it's a great location.” “really good pizza, service depends on who you get” “Great pasta” “This is a fun place to enjoy good food and great people watching.” “The salmon was very simply served with a tasty side of fresh corn and tomatoes.” “Everything we had was good including salads, pizzas and pastas.”
menu variety	100.0% positive	“so far the best pizza i've found in l.a. really nice thin crust, nice variety of toppings available, and they cook it right.”
overall	100.0% positive	“My favorite italian restaurant!”
return potential	50.0% positive	“Although I did see a review regarding bad fish at Cafe Med, I will definitely return for an easy dinner and a great pizza.”
service	71.99999809265137% positive	“don't know if our Italian nice handsome waiter was pre-occupied.” “What our whole table couldn't help but notice was that our server or busser's were quite fast to take orders, serve food and clear table, but we had to ask for water which okay BUT it was never refilled.” “However, the visit left a sour taste: food is bland and average, inconvenient parking, ambience is average, but host service is the worst.” “Food was cold, badly prepared and staff unfriendly.” “i've been there twice and both times the food was all around really good (though the bread they give you at the beginning didn't seem all that fresh, and kind of bland) the service is spotty however.” “the second time we went, the hostess, though clearly not italian, was incredibly pretty (guess looks are a requirement for sunset plaza) and was very pleasant and outgoing, she greeted us with a big smile and made an apparent effort to sit us in a good sp” “After pouring wine for the LA Wine Fest at The Raleigh Studios, 8 of us,(two being winemakers and related winery employees) had dinner, which was good overall.” “And to top it off, we brought all our own wine, offered the wine to our server, and left the remaining bottles of wine for the staff to enjoy and was still charge full corkage.” “This is a fun place to enjoy good food and great people watching.” “The location's ambiance and excellent service enhanced one of the best dining experiences during our week in LA.” “Great people watching great pasta” “though the service can be either horrible or great depending on who you fall on, the food is good and cheap, and it's a great location.” “Although we would have preferred an outdoor table due to the entertaining people watching, the ambiance inside was lovely and lended itself to a more intimate dining experience.” “The service was a little slow though.” “really good pizza, service depends on who you get”
value	96.00000381469727% positive	“The prawns were huge, split like lobsters, and served on a bed of crunchy greens.” “Service was prompt, and the food was tasty with big portions: the grilled chicken with roasted vegetables that was quite good, and the pastas were delicious (especially the vodka sauce).” “Of course there's a lot of celebrity spotting, yet the food and prices are really reasonable.” “though the service can be either horrible or great depending on who you fall on, the food is good and cheap, and it's a great location.” “The food was pretty good, but overall it was overpriced compared to restaurants like Le Petit Four, which is down the street and has the same, maybe even better, quality food.”
wait time	0.0% positive	“The service was a little slow though.”

01/24/11

Yummy and nice ambiance

by SJ90069

I like to go there for lunch. I try to do during the week so it's less crowded and the waitresses and waiters can attend to you more. Also less noisy.

Food is great, classic. I enjoy big portion salads. They also have a great wine selection and one of the waiters (didn't get his name) knows all about wine.

Get a table outside if you can!

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03/11/10

All Around Wonderful

by ChiMike

The food and wine did not disappoint. The location and style were both very attractive. The service - not the best, but not terrible. One nice feature, you an modify your meal to get half pasta, half salad. Both food and wine by the glass are reasonably priced. A new favorite when in L.A.!

Pros: Good wines great food
Cons: Can be very noisy

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10/27/09

OH PLEASE

by jpwilson19

These people complaining about the 20% service charge obviously don't tip that much; 20% is pretty standard here in LA. The reason why they charge is probably because most Italians stiff the wait staff. If you were reasonable tippers, you wouldn't even write such a sordid review. My Uncle owns an Italian restaurant in New York and when our cousins came from Italy they even stiffed the wait staff in his own restaurant!!!

When American's go to Italy they always double tip the staff, and obviously 5% here is all you want to pay.

GO CAFE MED!

Pros: Atmosphere
Cons: Can be noisy

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07/08/09

Not worth the money

by Susan24

Recommended by the hotel but we were so disappointed.

Food was cold, badly prepared and staff unfriendly.

Also because we had accents, we were charged 20% service charge for 2 people!!!!!

Pros: Location
Cons: Poor Quality and Poor Service

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10/07/08

Got charged for service just because we have accents!!!

by crisss

We are Italians and we, therefore, have an accent. We have been to Cafe Med in the past and this never happened, but it did the last two times, so I will never return there. The waiter (who was rude and really not attentive to us) charged us the service. I told him I have never seen that in 20 years in LA. He said they do that during summer season. Ok, I went there on October 4...looks to me like Summer is over...plus nowhere in the menu was indicated that the service was included. I am sure it was because he believed we were tourists. This is discrimination to Italians in an Italian place!!!! Ridicolous. NEVER AGAIN THERE>

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Editor's Tips

01/24/11

Yummy and nice ambiance

by SJ90069

03/11/10

All Around Wonderful

by ChiMike

10/27/09

OH PLEASE

by jpwilson19

07/08/09

Not worth the money

by Susan24

10/07/08

Got charged for service just because we have accents!!!

by crisss

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