Reviews & Ratings for Il Sole Restaurant

07/18/11

Overpriced to the point of irresponsible

by Truebluesy

We went there for dinner this past Saturday night. Not a hard reservation to get, but I wish I'd chosen different after getting hit by a $400 bill for three people. Il Sole isn't anywhere near the gastronomical level of a Mozza or Scarpetta, and to be fair, by looking at the menu the prices aren't the same as those fine dining establishments. But BEWARE the specials -- they don't give you the price and they are ASTRONOMICAL. My mistake for not asking (bad assumption) but I never thought the crudo (basically sashimi) would run $40 dollars for six small slices of fish. Even at the best sushi restaurant they would never charge that. And as for the carpaccio, once the "summer truffles" were added? Another $40. That's $80 for appetizers, and light ones at that. Then came the really big hit, the lobster risotto. A one and a half pound lobster, hardly anything spectacular, with some tomato sauce and risotto. $61. My jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw that on the bill. Are they kidding? There wasn't another pasta on the menu more than $20, nor a meat or fish over the mid-40's. With a price that much higher than the rest of the listed menu, the servers should be REQUIRED to tell you the price instead of forcing you to ask. IMO.

Outside of that, the food was serviceable, nothing any better than an average Italian restaurant you'd find anywhere. The service was fine, and we got see Paula Abdul, which didn't help my appetite once I got a closer look. I'd either choose a less expensive, average Italian restaurant or a fancier, higher rated one -- this place thinks it's the latter when actually it's the former.

12/30/09

Amazing Food, Wines and Service!

by BePresentinAllYourMoments

My husband and I frequent Il Sole, but in my opinion not enough! This is 1 of our favorite spots and they NEVER let us down. The food is superb, the Veal, the spaghetti and meatballs, the chicken, the risotto with mushrooms, the salads with so much flavor that gives "salads" a whole new meaning, and so many more great dishes. Il Sole is truly a dining experience and is worth every penny. We love getting dressed up {but it's not a stuffy conservative place, it's very sexy and chill} and always run into a celebrity or 2 {dining there}. On Valentines Day, every table was a celebrity table, so very COOL and everyone is simply enjoying their spectacular dining experience!

• Pros: The Food, The Wine List, Service, Ambience, Location
• Cons: We don't go there enough!

12/04/09

Left feeling abused

by Foodie from NYC

The problem with Il Sole is it aspires to be something it is not - a 4 or 5 star place. But that would require atmosphere (this place is kind of a dump), service (erratic at best) and management (people were left waiting, we were surprised by a $61 charge on the check for one of the specials, the restaurant couldn't help us with the valet). In short, this place probably won't be around in the long term, because it doesn't deserve to be. Skip it.

• Pros: Solid food
• Cons: Charged $61 for one of the specials

07/20/09

Even more self-important than their celebrity clientele.

by bevHillsBebo

How's this for a they-couldn't-care-less story?

We arrived early and -- miracle of miracles! -- nabbed a curbside parking place. And hour into our meal, I asked the hostess for change, to top-off the meter, and was told (I kid you not!), "Oh, we don't have coins." As clarification, she added, "We round everything off to the nearest dollar, so we don't have to deal with coins."

(I considered rounding the tip off to the nearest hundred dollars -- but elected to expose their arrogance instead.)

So, is IL SOLE self-absorbed, precious, or just plain irritating? I'l leave that "call" to you.

• Pros: Good, fresh Italian food.
• Cons: Celebrity focused, aloof "service"

04/02/09

Great Pasta

by GlamourJackie

Went here for my anniversary and it was delish. It's right on Sunset and valet parking is right in the front. Waiter was very friendly, read some other reviews that they tend to rush you but that wasn't our case. We aren't celebs and they treated us great. Got a window seat so got to see all the action going on on the strip. Great time.

• Pros: Valey Parking in front, Great food, cozy atmosphere
• Cons: Traffic

03/08/09

Pleasantly Surprised

by happysnob

This restaurant has become so popular, I had been anxious to try it, even though the reviews on this website were, well, mixed. So all I can say after eating there Friday night is that the negative reviews must have been written by the competition. I have never written a review before, but felt compelled to do so after we left. I grew up in L.A., and have been taking clients out to eat in this area now for the last 20 years. I have had my share of good and bad food, but nothing ruins or enhances a meal like the service. With that said, the hostess was friendly and completely attitude free even though we were 30 minutes late for our reservation. Our waiter, Michael, was attentive without hovering, lovely to our five year old, who by the way, was treated to a bowl of penne pasta and a cookie plate on the house. Most importanly, the appetizer plate, main course ( I had the NY Strip steak with arugula and roasted potatoes and my husband had penne with Vodka tomato cream sauce that was to die for!) and dessert (choc ganache) were all delicious, as was my glass of Cab (sorry, forgot which one). I could not have enjoyed it more. We no longer live in the neighborhood, but when we are on this side of town, we will make a special point to visit Il Sole!

02/03/09

Place to be photographed, oh yes, and eat too

by 10ECStud

Okay so I strolled in with a co-worker on expenses and would have walked out if not for the embarrassment of it all. The prices were really high. Soup for $14 bucks, low end wine by the glass $18. Pasta's in the upper $20's. I had the Fagioli and the homemade Ravioli. The Fagioli was good but not great, certainly over-priced. The Ravioli however was very good. My buddy had the Lasagna and said it was awesome. It depends on what you're looking for but I would recommend this restaurant if you don't mind the prices and would like to people watch and yes, have your picture taken by the Paparazzi as you leave.

• Pros: You will probably dine with someone famous
• Cons: A bit stuck-up and pricey, even on expenses

01/07/09

Don't Bother

by postpro

This restaurant gets 2 stars because they did have good wine & dessert . As far as the service and the food in general, no way. I LOVE eating in West Hollywood and I have to say that there are many places that have better food, service & ambiance for less and I don't care how many supposed celebrities eat here. For a bill that will get close to $300 for 2 people I expect the sauce that my pasta comes with NOT to taste like tomato paste from a can. This was atrocious. Of course my first indication that this place may not be up to par was when both tables on either side of me had returned their meals. When I let my waiter/wannabe actor know this, he gave me a look of "what the heck" and took off unapologetic. When he came back from the kitchen he had stated that both he and the chef tasted the pasta and nothing was wrong with it and that is how they make it. After hearing that, I knew I would NOT order something else since serving canned sauce is what they do. The service was insulting. Our waiter took our entree order and then ignored us. It was an ordeal to get him to stop by our table in order to tell him the entree was not up to par. Finally, at the end of the evening, I waited through 3 glasses of water before he gave us our bill. If I was at Denny's, I expect that sort of poor service. In regards to the ambiance, I don't particularly like yelling "huh, what?" to the person I am dining with who happens to be only 2 feet from my face. This place tends cram tables next to each other in order to seat more people which then makes them more money. And finally, for a self deluded hoity-toity place in We-Ho...their restROOM I guess what you would called "unisex". As a female, there's nothing like sitting down staring at (and smelling) a urinal. This place obviously makes money, they can at least afford to have separate restrooms. Absolutely not worth the final bill.

• Pros: The valet guys are fast
• Cons: The food, the service, the ambiance, the restroom

12/18/08

Worst Italian Restraunt

by roxygurl

I know FOOD and WINE. This is one of the worst and overpriced places i have ever been. I was there last night with my boyfriend. Service is nice and ambience is really nice but the FOOD was horrible. And it's way too expensive. It is a place where a lot of celebrities come. I saw that guy from Twilight. He sat right next to us. He was nice and my boyfriend even talked to him. but besides celebs and ambience, it's really the worst restraunt.

12/16/08

As good as it gets

by sunflowers98

Il Sole is fantastic! The lasagna is fantastic; melt in your mouth fantastic! My husband ordered it, and I eyed it the entire time. He offered me a few bites, not enough. Yum! I had the special pumpkin raviolis which were delicious also. I started with a salad that seemed to be missing the dressing. The waiter was really personable and had great recommendations. We asked him about the wine, and he gave us an explanation that made my mouth water, and it was reasonably priced at only $60! We came back a few weeks later, had the same waiter. This time, I ordered the lasagna, and my husband had the veal. The tomato soup was mouth watering, and I dipped their yummy bread in it. Our waiter even brought us $10 for the valet, as we had no cash, and we added the $10 to his tip. This place ranks up there with Angelini Osteria! Delicious!

• Pros: Food, wine and the service
• Cons: I had to pay! Worth every penny though...