Spark Woodfire Grill

In Short – Danilo Terribli (Alto Palato) and Bill Chait's (Louise's Trattoria) modern version of an Italian rosticceria is a danger-free zone. That's because architect Osvaldo Maiozzi (Vincenti) put the rotisserie, grill and pizza oven behind glass and installed flame-colored awnings above the petite patio. This is the place for heroic-sized platters of Caesar salad, Italian meatloaf and fritto misto. Those for whom nothing can be too rich or too thin will dote on the late Mauro Vincenti's lush lasagna and the wood-fired, thin-crusted, Roman-style pizzas.

Editor's Tips

Save Money:: If you're a party of four or more, consider the family-style special: for $12.95 per person, choose soup or salad, three main dishes and two sides.

Write a Review

User Reviews (42)

ambiance	100.0% positive	“We had great service, fantastic food, and the atmosphere wasperfect.” “We definitely recommend Spark for a great dinner in a casual atmosphere.” “nice atmosphere and the help are super nice.” “We had just celebrated my dad's 50th birthday with a cozy dinner for 3 at Sparks.” “It is a great casual atmosphere date kind of place, where you are seated promptly, the service is good (but not spectacular), the food is good, the wine list is good (especially by the glass - a wide variety) and the coktails are decent.” “The restaurant is very small and cozy, and the decor was warm and inviting.” “It does not have the snooty ambience of Firefly across the street, but at least you can get a reservation on a weekend.” “The ambiance is fabulous, the service outstanding, and the food second to none.” “Great drinks, nice atmosphere, I would go back.” “Really good foo, its fun to sit at the bar and order a few appetizers and some drinks.” “wonderful ambiance and music and the sevice is second to none.”
dessert	100.0% positive	“really like the crab cakes and my husband loves the ribs.” “The grilled artichoke is delicious and so are the crab cakes.”
drinks	100.0% positive	“They had lots of specials, really nice wines by the glass.” “Great drinks, nice atmosphere, I would go back.” “It is a great casual atmosphere date kind of place, where you are seated promptly, the service is good (but not spectacular), the food is good, the wine list is good (especially by the glass - a wide variety) and the coktails are decent.” “Really good foo, its fun to sit at the bar and order a few appetizers and some drinks.” “old, had a delicious dinner and great wine list to boot!” “Nice wines by the glass and good food” “Great food, cheap wine and martinis (6 bucks!)”
food quality	93.24000358581543% positive	“Good food, good service” “The grilled artichoke is delicious and so are the crab cakes.” “The pizza is good, but not exceptional.” “Great food” “Our waiter was very friendly and attentive, but when we ordered a steak and told them not to char it, they said "its impossible to char it it," and it then came out charred.” “Some of the best food in the Studio City area.” “Great food, cheap wine and martinis (6 bucks!)” “My mom and I went here for dinner and really enjoyed our food.” “had to give back my food twice (steak too overcooked, other dish was already cold, sec.” “really like the crab cakes and my husband loves the ribs.” “They have this delicious pizza with aruguala, prosciutto and shaved parmesan.” “The ambiance is fabulous, the service outstanding, and the food second to none.” “I've taken friends from out of town for dinner, mainly because we have always had a great meal and nice evening.” “Their pizzas are also good.” “This was a great place to take my family for some meat.” “Spark is consistently good food with great service and nice setting.” “We had great service, fantastic food, and the atmosphere wasperfect.” “The french fries were fabulous and the steak was cooked perfectly.” “They're known for their rotisserie meats but even their cobb salad is delicious.” “The food is good and if that is all you care about then go, but when I go out to eat I expect as least a smile.” “work for a law firm and we used them for a business meeting, pretty last minute, and their food was perfect, on time and extremely affordable.” “Their chicken dishes are especially good (love the goat cheese stuffed chicken breast).” “old, had a delicious dinner and great wine list to boot!” “had a really great steak.” “great comfort food, steaks, italian food- everything you could want.” “This is some of the best seafood and Italian woodfire cooking that I have had other than on the other side of the country.” “Everyone enjoyed their meal, service was good.” “Trendy without being overly so, good quality food without being too pricey, reasonably priced valet service.” “The staff was attentive, the food was delicious and verred on the side of home made ( a huge plus for my dad).” “The bread and olive tapenade starter were delicious.” “Definitely recommended for a good meal.” “Nice wines by the glass and good food” “It is a great casual atmosphere date kind of place, where you are seated promptly, the service is good (but not spectacular), the food is good, the wine list is good (especially by the glass - a wide variety) and the coktails are decent.” “My ribs were tender and well-flavored, and my friends loved their fish and steak.” “Great chops, great tuscany bean soup, great waiters, that must love it too, 'cause they've been there a while.” “From bad service to cold and overcooked food you name it they got it.” “Service was prompt but I did feel we were pushed along because of the no reservation but still, a very enjoyable meal”
menu variety	100.0% positive	“It is a great casual atmosphere date kind of place, where you are seated promptly, the service is good (but not spectacular), the food is good, the wine list is good (especially by the glass - a wide variety) and the coktails are decent.” “They have a great variety of light fair.”
overall	100.0% positive	“Spark is a great place to go for lunch.” “this is a great place to go with a large group- they're very accomodating!” “great restaurant music” “It is a great casual atmosphere date kind of place, where you are seated promptly, the service is good (but not spectacular), the food is good, the wine list is good (especially by the glass - a wide variety) and the coktails are decent.” “this was my favorite restaurant.” “This was a great place to take my family for some meat.”
return potential	100.0% positive	“Great drinks, nice atmosphere, I would go back.”
service	87.5% positive	“Everyone at the restaurant was friendly and the service was excellent.” “Everyone enjoyed their meal, service was good.” “Spark is consistently good food with great service and nice setting.” “... but noisy and lacked good service.” “From bad service to cold and overcooked food you name it they got it.” “We had great service, fantastic food, and the atmosphere wasperfect.” “have "girls lunch" there all the time and the waiters are so nice.” “Our waiter was very friendly and attentive, but when we ordered a steak and told them not to char it, they said "its impossible to char it it," and it then came out charred.” “The ambiance is fabulous, the service outstanding, and the food second to none.” “Great chops, great tuscany bean soup, great waiters, that must love it too, 'cause they've been there a while.” “It is a great casual atmosphere date kind of place, where you are seated promptly, the service is good (but not spectacular), the food is good, the wine list is good (especially by the glass - a wide variety) and the coktails are decent.” “worked in the restaurant industry for many years and know that the response we received from the server as well as upper management is not acceptable - because of that I would not recommend spending your hard earned money on this establishment!” “The wait staff was great about checking in on us.” “The staff was attentive, the food was delicious and verred on the side of home made ( a huge plus for my dad).” “Trendy without being overly so, good quality food without being too pricey, reasonably priced valet service.” “Good food, good service”
value	87.5% positive	“Plus it put a huge damper on a night that was supposed to be wonderful.” “The prices were very reasonable -- it was great for a casual early dinner.” “Trendy without being overly so, good quality food without being too pricey, reasonably priced valet service.” “worked in the restaurant industry for many years and know that the response we received from the server as well as upper management is not acceptable - because of that I would not recommend spending your hard earned money on this establishment!” “Great food, cheap wine and martinis (6 bucks!)” “work for a law firm and we used them for a business meeting, pretty last minute, and their food was perfect, on time and extremely affordable.” “The staff was attentive, the food was delicious and verred on the side of home made ( a huge plus for my dad).” “definitely recommend splitting something- everything is huge!”
wait time	100.0% positive	“work for a law firm and we used them for a business meeting, pretty last minute, and their food was perfect, on time and extremely affordable.”

09/13/10

Great food

by Billie Boy

It's so interesting to read the reviews ranging from great to "don't go here." We ate at Sparks eleven years ago when it first opened and thought it was very good. We just don't live on that side of the hill so we don't often look for a place to eat in that neighborhood. Now we ate lunch there this September (2010) and the food was excellent. The service was very good but most importantly, the food was excellent. The restaurant is very clean and quite reasonably priced with a good menu. I've always had a hard time finding a decent restaurant in the Valley including Ventura Boulevard. This is a great find with a normal menu.

helpful (0) not helpful (0) comment share

03/17/10

DO NOT EAT HERE!!!!

by rdesigns

My fiance and I went here the night that we got engaged and had the WORST SERVICE EVER!!! I even too the time to write the manager and partner/executive chef feedback on our experience and NEVER HEARD A WORD BACK! It has been over a month and I will not be returning to this restaurant. Our order was put in wrong, or serve never even asked us ANY questions- we had a more cheerful attitude from the busser, and the restaurant was empty all around us. You would think being the only people sitting in our section that maybe it wouldn't take 20 minutes to get waters. Plus it put a huge damper on a night that was supposed to be wonderful. IF YOU WANT TO BE TREATED WELL, DO NOT, DO NOT GO HERE!! The food is good and if that is all you care about then go, but when I go out to eat I expect as least a smile. I worked in the restaurant industry for many years and know that the response we received from the server as well as upper management is not acceptable - because of that I would not recommend spending your hard earned money on this establishment!

Cons: The Staff

helpful (0) not helpful (0) comment share

09/22/09

Excellent!

by hitch71

what a delight to dine here! Just went with friends and my child for dinner, they were completely accomodating to my 2 yr. old, had a delicious dinner and great wine list to boot! the place is spotless, and really elegant for a small restaurant. makes you forget you are on ventura blvd when inside!

Pros: menu, waitstaff, atmosphere
Cons: small

helpful (0) not helpful (0) comment share

09/04/09

Best Grilled Artichoke!

by randigayle

Really good foo, its fun to sit at the bar and order a few appetizers and some drinks. The grilled artichoke is delicious and so are the crab cakes.. nice atmosphere and the help are super nice. Very resonable prices, too

Pros: Nice to sit at the bar and eat some apps

helpful (0) not helpful (0) comment share

08/09/09

3 Strikes, They're Out! Bad Food & Service

by GwenPenny

We've ordered delivery from Spark BevHills 3 times since receiving their menu in the mail. We were excited to find a restaurant nearby that delivered up scale food (what's better than not having to go out Saturday night, and instead have your filet mignon delivered to the door?).

Unfortunately the service and food quality do not qualify as 'up scale' and do not justify their up scale pricing.

First Order, Strike One:

April '09, we ordered 1/2 order of ribs and goat cheese stuffed chicken. I placed the order online, and within 10 minutes, they called to confirm. After an hour, I went to call them to check on the order, and I had 3 missed calls from Spark. The host said there was a problem w/ the card and he needed the info again-someone had typed the card number incorrectly during processing.

Also delivery guy couldn't find the apartment and had been circling around for 25 minutes looking for the building (its an easy building to find, on a corner lot 1/2 mile from the place). When the guy finally came to the door he was belligerent and apathetic, giggling when I asked how long he'd been driving around and if my food was cold. He also had no receipt for me (no receipt for a $65 meal???). I had to fight with the guy to get the copy of the receipt he had!

The food itself was bland and arrived COLD. The ribs were tender and came off the bone with a fork, though very fatty, and the 'garlic mashed potatoes' were made from instant potato flakes (I am a cook, and I know the difference-It's my job).

The goat cheese asparagus chicken & herb rice was bland and tasteless. The portion was tiny, leaving me hungry after finishing the plate. Gourmet food is appropriate to be served in small portions because it is supposed to be extraordinarily complex and filling- This was not gourmet or complex whatsoever.

Second Order, Strike Two:

May '09, we ordered the goat cheese chicken again (for lack of chicken choices on the menu) and NY steak. Again, the food got to us COLD!

The chicken was the same and the steak was overcooked (we'd ordered medium and it came well done). The steak came with a 'smashed potato'- a baked potato that had been smashed with a fork. No spices, no flavor, etc...And not enough gravy came with the steak to dress the potato. (At least it was a real potato) In all, the steak, chicken and their accompaniments were bland.

Third Order, Strike Three:

We had an out of town guest, and decided to order again from Spark. COLD food, again!

This time I again ordered ribs, filet mingon and our guest had a Cheeseburger. The ribs were the same, but, the steak was grossly UNDER cooked this time (ordered medium, and it came to us rare) and there was no smashed potato with the steak this time- It was more potato buds. The cheeseburger, our guest claimed, was no better that a Fatburger.

Our bill, was over $85 for a burger, a steak dinner, and ribs.

We've had 2 rounds with Spark, and won't be ordering again. I'd recommend skipping Spark, or seriously lowering your expectations.

Spark Woodfire Grill

Hours:

Price:

Category:

Payment Methods:

Restaurant Special Features:

General Info:

Cuisine:

What People Are Saying About Spark Woodfire Grill

Contributor

Contributor

Editor's Tips

09/13/10

Great food

by Billie Boy

03/17/10

DO NOT EAT HERE!!!!

by rdesigns

09/22/09

Excellent!

by hitch71

09/04/09

Best Grilled Artichoke!

by randigayle

08/09/09

3 Strikes, They're Out! Bad Food & Service

by GwenPenny

The Details on Spark Woodfire Grill

Place Categories:

Things To Do Nearby Spark Woodfire Grill

Lists In Los Angeles

Recent Reviews In Los Angeles

More Info

Contact

More Navigation

Partner Sites: