Locanda del Lago

The Scene – Accented by a palette of burgundy and gold, the welcoming dining room filled with paintings and artifacts from Bellagio provides a comforting respite from bustling Third Street Promenade. Weekends are usually packed with tourists, but the spacious, wraparound sidewalk patio offers an excellent people-watching spot. – – The Food – Hearty and flavorful northern Italian dishes are inspired by traditional cuisine of the Lake Como region. Baked eggplant with buffalo mozzarella and tangy marinara is a crowd-pleasing appetizer, but the antipasto featuring thin…

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Editor's Tips

Parking:: Park at one of the public garages on Second Street or Fourth Street. It's free for two hours before 6pm; after 6pm it's just $3.
What to Drink:: The house-made grolla is a fun and shareable cocktail: Flamed tableside, it's a concoction of espresso, grappa, brandy, sambuca, lemon peel and sugar served in a hand-carved Italian wooden bowl.
When to Go:: Weekday happy hour from 5pm-7pm features Italian finger foods at the bar and drink specials.

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User Reviews (28)

ambiance	100.0% positive	“The location of this restaurant is great, as it is right on the Third Street Promenade, so you can walk on the Promenade before or after dinner.” “It's a great place, lots of fun, great food and really nice service.” “Nice location and European ambience.” “Great Pasta and great location on 3rd Street” “The atmospheric is nice and romantic, and the food is good.” “Lago is a great Italian restaurant with a prime location on Third Street Promenade.” “Do you love a picturesque and romantic setting?” “Service and atmosphere was great too.” “enjoy the atmosphere, the location, and the food is great.”
dessert	100.0% positive	“Do you like to know it's a special place you can spend a holiday (Christmas, New Year) with a feast featuring paired wines and incredible desserts?” “Their desserts are BEAUTIFUL, with all kinds of great choices besides the usual tiramisu, including great sorbets.”
drinks	100.0% positive	“Do you like to know it's a special place you can spend a holiday (Christmas, New Year) with a feast featuring paired wines and incredible desserts?” “Server had a huge attitude because we ordered glasses of wine instead of a bottle (I wanted red and my wife wanted white).” “They have a great cheese plate, and the wines are great.” “One other thing I really recommend when you go there for lunch is the appetizer bar, or buffet, which has a bunch of great dishes that change every so often.”
food quality	96.66999816894531% positive	“have been also on a thurday night and had a $20 pitcher of fresh organic margarita and $8 pizza.” “This pleasant Italian restaurant right on the Promenade serves up authentic and slightly rustic looking pastas, pizzas and a variety of other traditional dishes from the country.” “We really enjoyed the gnocchi, too, and if you have room, try the calamari to start, because it's delicious, especially the dipping sauces.” “Great food, great setting” “Great food, very poor service” “Certainly, this restaurant brought back memories of recent trips to Italy, with the fresh food and friendly waiters.” “This place serves great Italian food right on the Promenade.” “What a shock when our casual quick bite on the promenade turned out to be the most delicous, authentic stunning Italian food we have had in L.A.” “Your dining experience starts off with delicious warm bread and a very tasty trout spread with walnuts and garlic.” “It's hard to go wrong here, but they do a great job with fish, and the lobster ravioli is my personal favorite.” “enjoy the atmosphere, the location, and the food is great.” “good meal is what gets restaurants off the bench and on to the field.” “It's a great place, lots of fun, great food and really nice service.” “Its food is generally very good but sometimes no matter what you ask for they pay no attention.” “I'm italian and I recommend this restaurant because the food is great and original from Italy.” “am from Italy, and I can say that the food here is amazingly good.” “authentic italian” “One other thing I really recommend when you go there for lunch is the appetizer bar, or buffet, which has a bunch of great dishes that change every so often.” “The atmospheric is nice and romantic, and the food is good.” “The pasta was great.” “really like the food, but the service is really really slow.” “Their menu says they specialize in food from the Lake Como area in Italy, and there is definitely a lot of great fish.” “If you are willing to take your time and enjoy a long meal then I would recommend this restaurant.” “How about incredible seafood?” “Instead, we went up the street to Trastaverde and had a lovely evening with a pleasant hostess, amazing food and a very knowledgeable and friendly waiter.” “do thing that it takes little to make people dinner happy, especially when the food is good.” “Overall wonderful food and a convenient place to stop off and eat.” “The food was excellent, especially the Butternut Squash Risotto with Scallops.” “When it comes to great, fresh Italian.” “The quality of the food is really great, however, the service is quite dissapointing.”
menu variety	100.0% positive	“This pleasant Italian restaurant right on the Promenade serves up authentic and slightly rustic looking pastas, pizzas and a variety of other traditional dishes from the country.” “Their menu says they specialize in food from the Lake Como area in Italy, and there is definitely a lot of great fish.” “Their desserts are BEAUTIFUL, with all kinds of great choices besides the usual tiramisu, including great sorbets.”
overall	100.0% positive	“Lago is a great Italian restaurant with a prime location on Third Street Promenade.” “It's a great place to feel part of the "scene" on the Promenade but private and special at the same time.” “Situated on 3rd street promenade, Santa Monica, is a good place to have both lunch and dinner.” “great place to eat on 3rd street” “It's a great place, lots of fun, great food and really nice service.”
return potential	100.0% positive	“Terrific service, where they really make you feel welcome and are happy to see you come back.”
service	76.1899995803833% positive	“Terrific service, where they really make you feel welcome and are happy to see you come back.” “Great food, very poor service” “do thing that it takes little to make people dinner happy, especially when the food is good.” “Service and waiters were great - very helpful.” “really like the food, but the service is really really slow.” “The waiters are usually quite helpful, and I have never noticed the service to be unusually slow.” “Certainly, this restaurant brought back memories of recent trips to Italy, with the fresh food and friendly waiters.” “It's a great place, lots of fun, great food and really nice service.” “really LOVED the veal Milanese, and it's enough for almost three people, which is great because many Italian restaurants give you such small portions.” “After he left the table, I stood up, went to the hostess and told them that, if this is how they treat their customers, I would not eat there and would make sure to let everyone I know about their terrible service.” “The people watching is great outside and the brunch is highly recommended as well!” “The quality of the food is really great, however, the service is quite dissapointing.” “to begin, the space was extremely cramped and the servers kept bumping into my unstable, not to mention tremendously uncomfortable chair.” “received excellent service at this fine dining establishment.” “This is sometimes an excellent place but it all depends on the waiter and they vary from arrogant, unhelpful and absent to really good.” “If you sit outside, there is great people watching on the promenade, and it's a little livelier.” “The place was empty and the service was terrible.” “the manager only made matters worse when he, in the most cold manner, forced an insincere 'i'm sorry, more napkins?'” “Instead, we went up the street to Trastaverde and had a lovely evening with a pleasant hostess, amazing food and a very knowledgeable and friendly waiter.” “Good service, on the other hand, is what sets them apart from being below average to shining like professionals.” “The staff is EXTREMELY slow and no where to be found.”
value	100.0% positive	“Server had a huge attitude because we ordered glasses of wine instead of a bottle (I wanted red and my wife wanted white).” “have a huge rant I would like to post somewhere, but there is no space.” “really LOVED the veal Milanese, and it's enough for almost three people, which is great because many Italian restaurants give you such small portions.” “Food was really good and the prices extremely reasonable for the quality!”
wait time	58.33000183105469% positive	“really like the food, but the service is really really slow.” “The waiters are usually quite helpful, and I have never noticed the service to be unusually slow.” “The staff is EXTREMELY slow and no where to be found.” “If you are willing to take your time and enjoy a long meal then I would recommend this restaurant.” “What a shock when our casual quick bite on the promenade turned out to be the most delicous, authentic stunning Italian food we have had in L.A.” “It's great if you are a really slow eater.”

11/27/11

keep walking down the promenade

by richinmind at Citysearch

Pretty place. Nice surfer dude waiter.The appetizers not well described. The beet spaghetti was julienne beets. The mozzarella cheese balls came colld then came back overdone. Small portions . The seafood pasta had bay scallops at diver scallop prices..Go eslewhere.

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03/09/11

Shaved head waiter was RUDE and unfriendly, Bad attitude!!!

by Italian Food at Citysearch

Oops, going to Lago Restaurants was one of the mistakes. I usually don't write reviews, unless I am really disappointed. The reviews I saw were good, but the visit was total disappointment. The food was ok but nothing special!!! The service was shocking!!!!!! He act like a king or queen. What's wrong shaved head waiter? Never ever going back again!!!!

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09/27/09

authentic italian

by caterina at Citysearch

I' ve been impressed!!! A real deal! Authentic flavors from northern Italy. I am from Italy, and I can say that the food here is amazingly good. Even better than few restaurants in Italy. Excellent promotions too. I have been also on a thurday night and had a $20 pitcher of fresh organic margarita and $8 pizza. It was awesome! I will go back for a wednesday night.....50%off selected bottles of wine. They have a fantastic wine list too!!!

Service and atmosphere was great too.

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08/02/08

Oh my God best Italian food in L.A.!

by livethelifeoflove at Citysearch

Wow! I am a major food snob and I have eaten in top restaurats all around the world. What a shock when our casual quick bite on the promenade turned out to be the most delicous, authentic stunning Italian food we have had in L.A. The quality of food far surpssed Capo or Vincente as far as Italian food goes (which we love as well). I'm not sure if there is a new chef, but we don't remember it being anything special severa years ago. Then, we went back again and the salt encrusted chilean sea bass and langoustino appetizer were to die for! the wine list is good as well. Hope you have as great of a time as we did and that this chef gets some major recognition.

Pros: amazing food!
Cons: not the best location and not very romantic with all the homeless people and tourists running around

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07/31/08

Unique Italian in the heart of Santa Monica

by kiercemartin at Citysearch

This place serves great Italian food right on the Promenade. Inside has a pretty intimate romantic feel, and for as good as it is and the location, there's hardly ever too much of a wait. It's hard to go wrong here, but they do a great job with fish, and the lobster ravioli is my personal favorite. If you sit outside, there is great people watching on the promenade, and it's a little livelier. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

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User Reviews (28)

11/27/11

keep walking down the promenade

by richinmind at Citysearch

03/09/11

Shaved head waiter was RUDE and unfriendly, Bad attitude!!!

by Italian Food at Citysearch

09/27/09

authentic italian

by caterina at Citysearch

08/02/08

Oh my God best Italian food in L.A.!

by livethelifeoflove at Citysearch

07/31/08

Unique Italian in the heart of Santa Monica

by kiercemartin at Citysearch

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