Girasole Restaurant & Takeout

02/25/10

authentic Italian meal

by serney28

Girasole is just a hop across the street from Prado one of my other favorite restaurants!!!! The food though is totally different! While Prado is the "Cuisine of the America's" Girasole is all Italian. The Caprese is a very fresh and good way to begin you meal here and the Chicken cutlets with capers will leave you wanting more. The translation of the word Girasole is Sunflower, and this place is just that. A bright yellow sunflower bursting with flavor.

• Pros: real Italian dinner
• Cons: a little pricey and you have to bring your own bottle

01/06/09

Fantastic food, service pretty good

by lisastitch

We often are just walk-ins here. Usually have to wait a few minutes, but not too bad. We avoid the popular times like Saturday nights. Once we actually made a reservation and had to wait about 10 minutes, which was annoying. But once you sit down, the waiters and servers are extremely nice and professional and don't rush you.

Everything we have ever eaten here has been fantastic. The food is simply delicious - the flavors come together wonderfully, every dish is perfectly executed.

One of our favorites.

• Pros: food, service
• Cons: sometimes need to wait for a table for a little bit, parking can be a challenge

02/02/08

The Manager Really Blew It

by Jacobknowsbest

My wife and I enjoy good service and part of good service is delivering expectations. We have a child and we pay a baby sitter to watch the child and so if we're told we can have a table at 7:30pm, it helps when the Manager / Host actually gives you a table in that time zone. In this case they made us wait for an hour and after buying a thirty dollar bottle of wine we were quite bummed to have to bag it and go home. The Manager apologized when I told them we couldn't wait any longer, but as far as I'm concerened she should have offered us a free meal in the future for the pain & suffering she inflicted on our starving bellies. In the meantime, we wasted 15 dollars on our baby sitter as well.

• Pros: looks good
• Cons: bad service

08/07/07

A New Yorker's Favorite in LA

by el9z

It took a friend in from New York who had owned Marta's, an Italian Restaurant in Manhattan to introduce this gem to me. I may not be Italian but I lived in Bologna for a year and loved the family atmosphere created in all of the restaurants no matter the price point. Girasole certainly captures the the sense of intimacy that family conjures. The BYOB policy is the icing on the cake to complement the soul satisfying meal. The simply superb food more than makes up for what the square footage lacks in space. It's perfect for a twosome or foursome but can get awkward for parties of more. The closeness of the tables allows for friendly chatter among guests if you wish to be adventuresome. Otherwise it lends itself to intimacy between you and your guest(s) . Added value: the BYOB opens the possibility of exposure to new and different wines introduced by your neighbors at the table next to you. The service here is personal and professional. The ambience is A+. Soft lighting, beautiful art on the walls, subtle yet makes a statement. I'd say everything about GIRASOLE is quaint, simply divine and so I take all my New York , Chicago, and San Francisco friends there. They love it and always want to return, so we do.

• Pros: The BYOB policy, parking, nearby entertainment,
• Cons: small so it fills up fast

05/23/07

Oh, Be still my Italian Heart!

by eveandadam

This place is the best little cafe ever. I am a New York Italian, stumbled on this jewel, went for dinner with my husband, and can't stop going back. It was wonderful, from the butternut squash soup to the BEST Osso Buco (and I know my Osso Buco, trust me) to dessert, nice that you can bring your own wines, great service, prices are fair, it is a must do if you want a nice, intimate delicious dinner.

• Pros: Delicious food, great service, good wine policy (byob)
• Cons: small, sometimes hard to get seated, especially on weekends