Ago Restaurant

(323) 655-6333

8478 Melrose Ave
West Hollywood, CA 90069 34.0822 -118.3757

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Neighborhoods: West Hollywood, Central LA

agorestaurant.com/

Hours:

Monday - Friday: 12pm-11:30pm

Saturday: 6pm-11:30pm

Sunday: 6pm-10:30pm

Price:

$$$

Last updated 8.16.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Diners Club, Visa, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Late Night Dining, Celeb Hangout, Private Rooms, Date Spot, Bar Menu, Romantic Dining, Fine Dining, Outdoor Dining, Notable Chef, Business Dining, Group Dining, Happy Hour, Dine At The Bar, Private Parties

Cuisine:

Italian

Notable Chef:

Agostino Sciandri

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Ago Restaurant

Featured Review

Andrea Rademan

Contributor

This Tinseltown fave still banks on its big-name backers (Robert De Niro and the brothers Weinstein), but it's the food and scene that keeps the tables filled. Like the clientele, it's as elegantly caszh as an Armani suit. And like Chef Agostino Sciandri, it's authentic Italian. Anyone who's ever eaten Italian will recognize the menu, but that's beside the point. Industry honchos can vicariously relive their Italian childhoods by night, even if they've never set foot outside California. Bring on the brick-oven baked pizza or flaky whitefish. Even better, forget the entree and share a few…

Editor's Tips

Where to Sit:
The patio is the hot spot for mingling alfresco. There are heaters to keep you warm while you flirt in the night air.
Know Before You Go:
There's no special bar menu, but customers can sit at the small bar (which only seats six) and order off the regular menu.
When to Go:
Best bet for celeb-spotting is Thursday night, when celeb regulars like Chris "Mr. Big" Noth can often be spotted.
ambiance
80.0% positive
  1. “Always good, always fun”
  2. “The atmosphere is true Italian, the waitstaff is professional and very adoring and the food is excellent.”
  3. “Great atmosphere.”
  4. “The ambiance is nice, nothing too extravagant or overly hip but just right.”
  5. “awesome mozzerella appetizer, dark and romantic (for a date with myself)”
  6. “The experience was not romantic, nor special.”
  7. “You basically see lots of sheeshee foofoo people rolling in the parking lot with super expensive cars and being full of air.”
  8. “But if you're looking for a romantic special dinner with a loved one, I would not reccomend this one !”
  9. “He chose Ago for a special romantic Italian dinner.”
  10. “My friends and I choose Ago for a night out more than any other restaurant--the food and service are always wonderful and the restaurant is always fun.”
dessert
50.0% positive
  1. “The dessert was fantastic.”
  2. “So, bad service from the host, slow service from the waiter (plus he forgot one dessert entirely) and $95 for risotto (come on - it's just a bowl of rice!)”
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. “have been to Ago many many times (not by choice my friends don't mind waiting at the bar and checking out the scene for over an 1 hour and as I said the food is great).”
  2. “My food was excellent, I had 2 glasses of wine, the mozzarella appetizer with tomatoes (superb) and the veal raviolis.”
  3. “The drinks were very good too.”
  4. “the drinks were decent and the service a little on the slow side, but we were with a big party.”
  5. “none, the wine expert is not longer there.”
  6. “While at the bar we mingled with friendly, intelligent, and over-all beautiful people.”
  7. “was able to drink two glasses of wine, split a caprese salad, and enjoy veal ravioli for only $35.”
food quality
79.34999942779541% positive
  1. “Okay food, terrible service”
  2. “There are no complicated flavor combinations or frilly garnishes or overly structured presentations at Ago--just phenomenal fare made with fresh ingredients.”
  3. “The waiter was extremely knowledgeable and helpful in picking our food.”
  4. “The whitefish is excellent - the gnocchi divine and the pizzas are perfect”
  5. “Our server was awesome, his recommendations were on point and the food came out in around 10 minutes.”
  6. “Loved the food, loved the service.”
  7. “great food, nice place”
  8. “Great food -- highly recommended are the veal medallions -- and a scene of interesting people to watch as you eat.”
  9. “Simple, warm and delicious”
  10. “Lots of celebs, beautiful people, and wonderful food choices.”
  11. “The food itself was nice, but we felt it was overpriced and that you could get equally as good food somewhere else less expensive.”
  12. “The service was impeccable and the food was impressive.”
  13. “The atmosphere is true Italian, the waitstaff is professional and very adoring and the food is excellent.”
  14. “was able to drink two glasses of wine, split a caprese salad, and enjoy veal ravioli for only $35.”
  15. “One person in our party ordered the salmon, which I'm not sure why being that the smell of bad fish in the entire restaurant was making me gag.”
  16. “If you do go the pizza, mushroom risotto, and pasta on the menu is fantastic.”
  17. “Great food, horrible service”
  18. “If you want great food, but would like to be seated 1 1/2 hours after your reservation then this is place for you.”
  19. “The food can either be excellent or chef Boyardee.”
  20. “The food is very expensive, but there are the rare deals thrown in.”
  21. “So, bad service from the host, slow service from the waiter (plus he forgot one dessert entirely) and $95 for risotto (come on - it's just a bowl of rice!)”
  22. “Appetizers were decent, especially pasta sampler.”
  23. “We had a big group of 14 people, came up to be $150 per person, the quality of the service and food was close to a $50 place, so over all I would say a rip off.”
  24. “Great food, authentic accented servers lol, Peach Martinis that will take you to a new place!”
  25. “The salmon I had was delicious and my friend thoroughly enjoyed her pasta special.”
  26. “Ago's food is excellent.”
  27. “Drinks were good, however once we were seated at a cramped table with my girlfriend; we proceeded to eat a 3 course meal in less than an hour?”
  28. “love their seafood pasts.”
  29. “My brother wasn't impressed with his seafood risotta but the soft shelled crab salad was amazing.”
  30. “We started with a peach martini (compliments of a generous and super friendly local) and with dinner we selected the least expensive ($55) bottle of pinot noir and both were delicious!”
  31. “The food was excellent.”
  32. “Great food.”
  33. “The tiramisu was delicious, too.”
  34. “Loud staff were obnoxious and the food took forever.”
  35. “Awesome food.”
  36. “Not only that we sat down in a table we didn't like but also the food was cold but at this point we ate it anyway, do you think that's all?”
  37. “The food was very bad quality, same sauce for the lamb and steak!”
  38. “Delicious arugula salad and the whitefish is wonderful.”
  39. “have been to Ago many many times (not by choice my friends don't mind waiting at the bar and checking out the scene for over an 1 hour and as I said the food is great).”
  40. “Perhaps more refreshing was the simplicity of dishes.”
  41. “The $12 Zuppa del Golfo soup (like cioppino) I ordered had a delicious flavor and was so laden with tender chunks of salmon and other types of seafood (honestly, the best seafood I've ever had) that I couldn't eat my entree.”
  42. “My food was excellent, I had 2 glasses of wine, the mozzarella appetizer with tomatoes (superb) and the veal raviolis.”
  43. “Of course we had a couple of vegetarians, one person with extensive food allergies, and had to notify the waiters who never asked.”
  44. “My friends and I choose Ago for a night out more than any other restaurant--the food and service are always wonderful and the restaurant is always fun.”
  45. “the pasta and seafood were fantastic.”
  46. “The mushroom risotto was wonderful, the steak was so tender you could cut it with a fork.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “The service is always excellent and you can never go wrong ordering from this menu.”
  2. “If you do go the pizza, mushroom risotto, and pasta on the menu is fantastic.”
  3. “The menu isn't expensive unless you stray from the pastas.”
  4. “Lots of celebs, beautiful people, and wonderful food choices.”
  5. “Of course we had a couple of vegetarians, one person with extensive food allergies, and had to notify the waiters who never asked.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “The 2 that got there late ended up going to the restaurant next door to eat after they would not sit us down and found it to be a great place.”
  2. “great place”
  3. “If you want great food, but would like to be seated 1 1/2 hours after your reservation then this is place for you.”
  4. “great food, nice place”
  5. “This is my favorite restaurant”
  6. “consistently steady performer that does not qualify as fine dining but does qualify as a great place to frequent.”
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. “Overall it was a pleasant experience and I would go back.”
  2. “I've never seen such poor, disgraceful, horrible treatment of customers in my life and I will NEVER go back to this establishment.”
service
66.18000030517578% positive
  1. “dined alone, experience was great, 6pm on a Saturday, wasn't busy yet, very attentive wait-staff.”
  2. “Bad Food, Expensive, and bad service!”
  3. “When we were finally served it was by a very rude French server who acted like were were a bother.”
  4. “The restaurant is small and warmly decorated, and the wait staff is pretty attentive, though not necessarily friendly.”
  5. “Loud staff were obnoxious and the food took forever.”
  6. “The worst however was that we were served by an obnoxious waiter that kept saying "Beautifull", "Wonderfull" practically to himself everytime he came to the table.”
  7. “Great food, authentic accented servers lol, Peach Martinis that will take you to a new place!”
  8. “The waiter was very friendly and had a great Italian accent.”
  9. “My friends and I choose Ago for a night out more than any other restaurant--the food and service are always wonderful and the restaurant is always fun.”
  10. “Our server was awesome, his recommendations were on point and the food came out in around 10 minutes.”
  11. “The waiter was extremely knowledgeable and helpful in picking our food.”
  12. “The service is friendly and attentive, which is unusual for such a happening place.”
  13. “Friendly staff.”
  14. “The service is always excellent and you can never go wrong ordering from this menu.”
  15. “Of course we had a couple of vegetarians, one person with extensive food allergies, and had to notify the waiters who never asked.”
  16. “While at the bar we mingled with friendly, intelligent, and over-all beautiful people.”
  17. “Okay food, terrible service”
  18. “You basically see lots of sheeshee foofoo people rolling in the parking lot with super expensive cars and being full of air.”
  19. “This restaurant is great for people watching and possible celebrity spotting.”
  20. “the drinks were decent and the service a little on the slow side, but we were with a big party.”
  21. “We started with a peach martini (compliments of a generous and super friendly local) and with dinner we selected the least expensive ($55) bottle of pinot noir and both were delicious!”
  22. “We had a big group of 14 people, came up to be $150 per person, the quality of the service and food was close to a $50 place, so over all I would say a rip off.”
  23. “Great food, horrible service”
  24. “Worst customer service, disgraceful establishment”
  25. “The service was impeccable and the food was impressive.”
  26. “Rude wait staff, treated like my money was no good”
  27. “the type of service that you get at a 2 star restaurant; however the manager was very polite and caring.”
  28. “Great food -- highly recommended are the veal medallions -- and a scene of interesting people to watch as you eat.”
  29. “Lots of celebs, beautiful people, and wonderful food choices.”
  30. “wish it was, since the waiter provide a lousy service, rolling his eyes everytime we call him and knowing he was not gonna get a good tip he added by hand 20% tip at the bottom of the check we paid and leave.”
  31. “The service was so bad and unprofessional.”
  32. “Would recommend Ago for an intimate evening for two or a group celebration (seems that some of the complaints about service could be related to regular Friday or Saturday night rush, which we avoided by a weekday lunch).”
  33. “So, bad service from the host, slow service from the waiter (plus he forgot one dessert entirely) and $95 for risotto (come on - it's just a bowl of rice!)”
  34. “Loved the food, loved the service.”
value
45.0% positive
  1. “You basically see lots of sheeshee foofoo people rolling in the parking lot with super expensive cars and being full of air.”
  2. “We started with a peach martini (compliments of a generous and super friendly local) and with dinner we selected the least expensive ($55) bottle of pinot noir and both were delicious!”
  3. “was warned that Ago was super pricey, but I was pleasantly surprised with the value.”
  4. “know from expereince that truffles are expensive, and truffle risotto can get as pricey as $45.”
  5. “Food is good, portions are mediocre.”
  6. “The menu isn't expensive unless you stray from the pastas.”
  7. “The food is very expensive, but there are the rare deals thrown in.”
  8. “The food itself was nice, but we felt it was overpriced and that you could get equally as good food somewhere else less expensive.”
  9. “Ago is apparently the hip place in town to schmooze and make the big deals”
  10. “Rude wait staff, treated like my money was no good”
wait time
50.0% positive
  1. “Our server was awesome, his recommendations were on point and the food came out in around 10 minutes.”
  2. “So, bad service from the host, slow service from the waiter (plus he forgot one dessert entirely) and $95 for risotto (come on - it's just a bowl of rice!)”
  3. “the drinks were decent and the service a little on the slow side, but we were with a big party.”
  4. “After our crazy 45 minute wait, we were finally seated -- in the worst possible spot in the restaurant, right in front of the kitchen entrance.”
1 Star Rating: Poor

07/31/11

disappointment

by pat24250

The fact mr De Niro (hello Robert !) owns this restaurant is attractive, but I wish to tell him how disappointed I was yesterday. It is really expensive for what you get in the plate. The food is ok, but the tastes did make me dream at all. the portion of the carpaccio is very small, the wines are very basic. very expensive for what it is. I will not come back. everything in the business is what you get for the price you pay, it is the good way to appreciate the value and the quality. as a french, I know what is good in a plate..

Patrick

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

01/24/11

Ago wins my approval with flying colors!!

by StephanieJo19

I finally got to Ago last Thursday, and was weary from reading all of the bad reviews before, especially of the staff. From the moment that I arrived, I was greeted by a super nice staff. It did take a little to get a table on the patio, where I could smoke freely, but I didn't mind while I had a fabulous-famous peach martini! Once seated, the wait staff was above any that I've experienced at the best restaurants in town. The waiter even complimented my hair (which I just had done!) and I thought that killing me with kindness, will always work. The veal ravioli was superb & I can't wait to go back again & again! Stephanie Jo

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

01/11/11

great

by dabboussi

it is one of the best place, i enjoy all the food, the service is also fine. i recomend this restaurant. ^^AC

4 Star Rating: Recommended

05/17/10

geat place

by Flora Gasimova

The best peach martini EVER !!!

its a great place to go wth friends and have a great time . The staff / Managemant are very nice .

1 Star Rating: Poor

04/12/10

WHAT A HORROR! EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED!

by IRENE

I have Never expected to be so disappointed in any Italian Restaurant anywhere in the country but Especially in a Pretty Popular Ago restaurant owned by Robert De Niro and Supposedly a Great chef Agostino Sciandri in Los Angeles.

We visited Ago on Friday 4/9/2010 with my husband and 2 of our friends. Being from New York and have lived in Italy for a while - I think we have a pretty good idea what Italian food should taste and look like. To be honest - we had pretty high expectations on the quality of the food in this establishment partially because it is owned by a celebrity and also because I understand that this place is pretty popular with Hollywood crowd. Now after a lousy dinner experience we had - I can attribute this popularity to only 2 factors: Since Hollywood crowd doesn't eat much - they have no idea how the proper Italian food should taste like or they do know but still want to support one of their own regardless of the quality.

I am also very surprised that Mr. De Niro will put his name next to the poor quality food like we had in this particular restaurant especially that I have been many times in his Nobu New York (both locations: downtown and 57th street) and Nobu Las Vegas and never had a bad meal there.

I think the Real Food Quality Test for any Italian Restaurant is a quality of their Pasta, Desserts and Coffee. The rest of the menu is very important also but if Italian Chef doesn't know how to make Pasta dishes or Famous Italian Desserts or doesn't have a clue how the Real Black Coffee should taste like - he is in trouble.

So you can imagine how shocked I was when my Meat lasagna arrived and I saw a Shapeless Absolutely Flat Amoebe Look A Like Blob of some substance completely drowned in at least half a can of red sauce... Needless to say I sent it back right away but what important question should be raised here - How can Any self respected Chef - even in Military Canteen - have the audacity to send a customer a plate like this - let alone a Famous Chef and in Famous Restaurant like Ago? It is simply Outrageous!

I was hoping to get pleasantly surprised at least by the end of the meal when we ordered 2 desserts: Napoleon, Apple Tart and Coffee. What can I say? The Napoleon was not Simply Bad - it had NOTHING TO DO with Napoleon! Yes the layers of thick, very heavy dough were there and some kind of a so-called cream was in between them but the Quality! What a horror! I am sure that the quality of Napoleon in a ready made section of any Supermarket chain for $2.00 will be better! And the Apple tart! What a pale, sick and unappetizing example! Sad...

At the end I was hoping to get a nice cup of coffee - I thought at least a simple thing like the black coffee should be up to par in any Italian Restaurant especially that chef has nothing to do with it - the good quality machine and decent brand of coffee should take care of it... But no luck! It was Bad - So Bad that it reminded me of coffee in a college cafeteria - basically tasteless water colored in brown...

In Summary - Sorely Disappointed and Will Never Recommend this Restaurant to Anybody!

The Details on Ago Restaurant

Place Categories:

  • great food
  • bad customer service
  • great experience
  • great place
  • loved service
  • pretty attentive wait staff
  • extremely knowledgeable waiter
  • always fun other restaurant
  • recommend ago
  • very good drinks
  • romantic special dinner
  • very good appetizers
  • great peach martinis
  • fantastic mushroom risotto
  • wonderful whitefish
  • professional waitstaff
  • never poor horrible treatment
  • delicious simple
  • very polite manager
  • fantastic pasta
  • delightful wicked
  • order bunch
  • nice ambiance
  • beautiful people
  • fantastic seafood
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