Prizzi's Piazza

12/03/08

Best Italian Food in LA

by scarletdisco at Citysearch

My wife and I have traveled all over the world: Paris, London, Venice, Thailand, Mexico, New York, Chicago, Boston...and never have I come across (no, not EVEN in Chicago) such a delicious and memorable PIZZA like the regular large cheese pizza at Prizzi's. It's outstanding and melt-in-your-mouth good.

The friendly and attentive staff always shout out a warm greeting from the cozy, front entrance bar you as first walk through the wood framed-door of the small, romantically lit dinner spot on Franklin. Whether you be a neighborhood regular or just wandering in for the first time from next door attractions Birds or Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater, there is a warm feeling of familiarity and home.

The cocktails are out of this world, duly shaken up by Paulie the Jersey Bartender, or Daryl or Jandi, or any one of the super servers he has trained, and of special note is the tropically mouthwatering martini called The Space Cowboy. My favorite. Still hoping to see it named after me one day.

If you're the type that likes appetizers before your traditional Italian main course of the best chicken marsala anyway or lasagna or any of the scrumptious pastas, the mozzarella friti are just like mama used to make, (but better, don't tell her I said it) and the simple prizzi's staple dinner salad, the Verde Mista, is to die for, complete with fresh large shaved parmesean slices atop fresh greens.

Don't even get me talking about desserts. (Try the brownie.)

And now they have midnight happy hour on weekends nights from 12:30ish...slices and drinks at the bar...are you kidding? It's awesome. The only problem is I'm not getting on my scale anymore. Too afraid.

Prizzi's, the best Italian food and service in LA.

I'm a space cowboy, bet you weren't ready for that.

Thanks and we love you!

Hollywood Bono

• Pros: Ambience, Food, Taste, Ingredients, Service, Price

11/21/08

Best Breadsticks Ever

by JonahT at Citysearch

What can I say? The dinner I had at Prizzi's Piazza started with the best breadsticks ever...soft and warm and oozing in butter and diced garlic...and ended with Death by Chocolate. In between I got to eat a delicate lobster bisque followed by the best pasta and seafood I've ever had. My date had a huge ceasar salad and eggplant parmasean smothered in cheese and scrumptious tomato sauce. We also enjoyed a fine bottle of merlot. There was plenty of food for a couple of doggy bags too. Next time I'm trying the s'mores! The atmosphere is romantic with a touch of being part of the family. Service was attentive without being imposing. Parking can be tricky, but there are some really friendly valets who took care of our car. Treat yourself to a romantic dinner...or just a great bite out.

• Pros: great food, warm atmosphere, good people watching from the patio
• Cons: parking, but valet is available

10/15/08

Maybe you'll have better luck?

by nosterufast at Citysearch

My girlfriend and I visited this restaurant around 7 at night on a Friday. When we were seated and handed menus, the waitress didn't return for 20 minutes. After she took our orders our salads came out in about 10 minutes, then it was literally 30 minutes till we saw her again, she assured us that our food was coming. 10 minutes later our food finally arrived. She apologized for the lengthy delay by giving us a free dessert, but resumed her previous pattern of vanishing for 20-30 minutes at a time. She tried to make up for it with dessert, but didn't improve her service one bit.Then we had to wait for her to get around to giving us our bill... It seemed like every stage of a normal dining experience came with a time increase of about double what it should normally take. No one was rude to us directly, but we were there for about 3 hours. I would have preferred about an hour and a half. At least the food was decent. I enjoyed my lasagna.

• Pros: above average food quality
• Cons: below average food service