Cafe Angelino

04/23/09

Consistently good food and friendly service.

by federmane at Citysearch

We've been eating here for the last 12 years and the food has never failed to satisfy. Juan is hte friendliest waiter in town, and the owner, Gail always has a friendly smile and greeting. You just can't go wrong with anything on the menu!

• Pros: Quaint, homestyle Italian Cooking. Pleasant service.
• Cons: Parking can be a little tricky

01/17/09

Take it from an Italian, this place hits the spot.

by digitalhenna at Citysearch

This is a far cry from the Olive Garden, and thank goodness for that.

The place is tiny, but charming. I've visited twice... the first time on Saturday night for dinner. There was no problem getting a table at about 7:30pm, although by the time we left it was pretty crowded which would be typical of European dinner schedules. If you take your dinner at the later, "European" hours, you may wish to call ahead for a reservation, especially if you're in a group situation. I really wouldn't recommend bringing a group any larger than 6-8 people.

My boyfriend and I shared the rollatini di melanzane (thinly sliced eggplant rolled around a mixture of ricotta, pine nuts, nut meg, etc. and baked in red sauce) appetizer. It was delicious and a perfect first dish.

For our main course we had a pasta dish of penne with various seafood including mussels, and a customized pizza with artichoke, mushrooms, prosciutto, and olives. I was amazed how well the pizza crust/mozzarella and light sauce matched my fond memories of pizza in Italy.

All around the meal was ~$60, although we did pass on wine. Portions are more than sufficient. The price is right. While I did notice several families dining around us, the noise level was fine and I had no trouble carrying on a conversation with my table mates.

• Pros: cozy, authentic food, refreshingly un-LA in feel
• Cons: free parking is tough to find in the area, but that's just LA

08/16/08

adios to this place

by pumpkinmama at Citysearch

Food is usually pretty good, as is the service UNLESS you have the misfortune of customer service from the owner!

• Pros: decent food at a decent price
• Cons: the owner's horrible attitude

03/23/08

Great pasta, one of my favorites

by 1carbon at Citysearch

I can't say a lot about some of the other entrees as I always come here for their amazing pasta, but I'd just assume they are also superb. This is the go-to place for me for great pasta in LA when I have any doubts on where to eat. I can't recommend it enough. The only issues the place has is that it is quite small, so if it's crowded one might have to wait a while to be seated.

• Pros: pasta is great and reasonably priced, fun little place
• Cons: street parking can be scarce certain times of day, small place fills up quickly

11/16/07

Great food, Moderate Atmosphere

by tracy88 at Citysearch

My boyfriend and I were looking for a place for dinner so we decided to go down 3rd Street. After looking at several menus at Orso, Locanda Veneto, etc., we decided to go to Cafe Angelini. The food looked and smelled really good. The host was rough around the edges, but was friendly and you just had to take it for what it was. The cold bread and tasteless olive oil given at the beginning of the meal was not a good indicator of the delicious food to come. By 8:30PM on Thursday evening, they were completely out of their clams, mussels, and fish. The pizza is extremely thin and tasty and has a crispy crust. The pasta was delicious also. We also had the shrimp and avocado salad which was very good. We had tiramisu and coffee (that was a bit burnt) for dessert. All in all, the food was very good and reasonably priced. We had 2 salads, 2 entrees, dessert and one coffee and the bill came out to $66. I would definitely suggest this restaurant if you are looking for a casual warm good-tasting meal. The restaurant is extremely small, so beware of waiting.

• Pros: Delicious Food
• Cons: Atmosphere, Average Service