Osteria Mozza

07/12/2008 Posted by yvonnawanna

Ok, the rudest staff I have ever encountered at a restaurant. I was there in June with a party of 6 and the waiters were so disgustingly mean and unhelpful that it became a game for our table to see how rude we could be right back at them. The food was ok, but Pizzeria Mozza is better as far as food and service. The rude staff needs to be fired.

Pros: mozzarella

Cons: ugly personalities everywhere

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

07/11/2008 Posted by Marais

Most of the mozzarella items had some form of meat or onions, which I don't love. I asked for them to put the buratta on a green salad, and they said they couldn't do that. So I ordered the caprese. Two little mozzarella spheres on top of little tomatoes. Buratta couldn't have been put on top of the tomatoes?? Next, I ordered the goat cheese ravioli, which the menu doesn't show is covered in a 5-onion clear sauce. Instead of offering up an alternative like the pomodoro sauce, the waitress just shrugged when I said I didn't like onions. The wine guy was near by when he heard me say I don't like onions. His response, "You do know you're in an Italian restaurant, don't you?" I've been to Italy and my food there was not swimming in onions. I was relegated to tasteless gnocchi in a boring tomato sauce. For dessert, they had ice cream sandwiches, one of which is peanut butter gelatto. I asked if they could substitute another flavor, as my dinner friend is DEATHLY allergic to peanuts and even peanut particles in the air close to her can cause her throat to swell shut. The waitress' response after all this was explained, "Sorry, no substitutes. This is a special dessert." So I had them leave the peanut butter one off. The "special dessert" was literally a scope of ice cream between two cookies. How difficult is that? And then they tasted horrible. The mint chocolate chip had some weird spicy taste, almost like fennel, that was revolting. The ginger one was so strong, it also was not good. For a 5-star restaurant, the service should be better. As my friend aptly said, "If Jack in the Box can scrape mayo off my burger, this place should be able put a piece of cheese on lettuce." And bringing random food "compliments of the house" throughout the meal does not compensate for their severe shortcomings.

Pros: Parking valet was great

Cons: Service, food either over spiced or bland

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

07/07/2008 Posted by hungryness

the food and the ambience is GREAT!! you NEED to try all the appetizers on the menu (figs, mussels, burrata mozzerella) and order less on the main dishes.

07/04/2008 Posted by paulleon

With all the rave reviews, we were practically salivating to finally eat at this restaurant. The service was impeccable but the food was less than mediocre. Grilled octopus was good and so was the little gem lettuces but all of our pasta was way too al dente and the sauces way too salty. It reminded me of dishes that got created on Iron Chef but none of them really edible. Wierd mix of flavors... we ordered a pasta dish with crab and jalapeno peppers... you couldn't taste the crab because the jalapeno peppers were way too overpowering. We did not enjoy it at all. Dessert was pretty good. We ordered the donuts with gelato and it was yummy. It would have been nice to have more of a variety of desserts to choose from. Mostly it was gelato in unique flavors like one with olive oil. I would not go back to this restaurant nor recommend it to anyone. If you want great freshly made pasta go father east on Melrose to Osteria La Buca. Everything there is good except the service.

Pros: Impeccable service and great atmosphere

Cons: Terrible food

06/01/2008 Posted by SSGoku

This restaurant was overrated for a month reservation wait. Most of the food seemed to contain bacon fat for flavor, which made the food heavy. Service was good and the ambiance was terrific. You must try the grilled octopus and the lamb shank was so so. Good wine list .

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

05/19/2008 Posted by shirleywong814

If a restaurant can make a simple pasta dish taste really good, it's Osteria Mozza. I'm a girl that loves good food and good wine from NYC, mecca for foodies. Food in LA has not been impressive so far as i moved here two years ago. This restaurant was so memorable in terms of flavor so I had to write a review of this. It's the simple food that is the most difficult in achieving a tasteful dish with that price tag. I don't mind paying a bit more for extremely tasty simple dishes if it's made right. It was absolutely delicious and quite flavorful. It had an amazing mozzerella bar with Nancy Silverton right behind the bar, which was amazing to see. The only downside is the menu which is tough to understand but the wait staff takes the time out to explain it to you. We sat by the bar which was fun. I placed my name with the Pizzeria and the Osteria side and host was nice enough to give me the choice of whichever side freed up for dinner. I totally recommend Mozza if you want good simple food done right.

Pros: great food, not pretentious

Cons: menu tough to understand

04/25/2008 Posted by newangelina

Since I love Italian cuisine, I was very excited to go to Osteria Mozza with my husband. However, my disappointment started even before we got seated. We had a reservation for 9.30 but we were not seated until 10.15.... no one apologized. Anyway, once seated, we still had to wait at least 15 min to get bread and water. Our waiter was nice but was not very knowledgeable about the items on the menu (did not exactly know how the meat was prepared, did not know if the biscotti were made with almonds, etc.). The food was average: we got two antipasti (mozzarella di buffala + mussels) that were pretty good. Then, we ordered two beef dishes and I must say that the meat was not good: 1/3 of my beef piece was pure fat and the sauce was so strong that I could not taste the meat at all. Overall, my husband and I were disappointed with Mozza, especially when we got the check of $115 (with no drinks!) There are much better (and more affordable!) italian restaurants in L.A

Pros: good selection of italian cheeses

Cons: service, price

04/23/2008 Posted by violet101

Well, the LA "restaurant attitude" is back in full force at Mozza. From the bartender to the bus boy we appeared to be inconveniencing everyone when we asked for a drink, bread or where our food was after waiting for an hour. We finally got up and left and never got to taste the food. I can appreciate kitchens getting backed up and food being delayed. However, I don't appreciate getting an attitude from the staff and not being told that they were backed up until we canceled our dinner and got up to leave. It's a shame because my trips to Mario's restaurants in NY had great service and food minus the poor restaurant experience.

Pros: Good bread

Cons: Terrible Service

04/14/2008 Posted by LStarke

On April 9th, four Angelinos dined at Osteria Mozza. It was our third time and not our best. Each time we go the service seems to be getting worse. It's the first time, EVER, that I have not left a tip. I am usually sympathetic to wait staff, having waited tables through college. The evening started off with us waiting about twenty five minutes for a table. It was a special evening, so I brought a bottle of Opus One. The Sommelier was lovely about it and gladly tended to us. Our waiter, Justin, seemed very put out to be waiting on us. Like he was doing us a favor. We had to ask for everything... forks, bread and if our appetizers were coming any time soon. He was really rude to my friend when she inquired about the difference in Grappas. The food has been constantly amazing but I don't think we'll be back any time soon. I've also been to Mario Battali's restaurants in N.Y. and Las Vegas were the service was excellent. Why can he train his wait staff in LA to give good service?

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

04/13/2008 Posted by smotivala

This is my favorite restaurant in L.A, hands down. From the service, to the food, and amazing wine it was a winner through and through. Make sure to try the Burratta off of the Mozzarella menu. It was sumptuous and the olive oil ice cream was a delightful surprise! I will be going there time and again. It can be pricey so we will be saving it for special occasions.

Pros: Great knowledgable wait staff, fantastic cheeses, insane food!!!