Avenue Italy

Our experience here on a Sat night was bad. I felt uncomfortable there during the whole night. The only positive that I can say is that the restaurant looked very nice; the décor was top notch. The parking is also validated for the underground area and we didn’t have to pay after going over the 90 minutes by a little.
The restaurant was half empty. Our waiter was very unfriendly and short with us. He seemed unhappy and rushed. The waitress was friendlier. We tried to order beef carpaccio, steak medallion, and new york steak, but were told that all of these items were out of stock. We were disappointed and had to order the cured ham and cheese appetizer and veal entrees instead. We also ordered the clams and mussels appetizer. All of the food was mediocre. It took a long time to get our entrees. We were told that it would take a few more minutes, but we didn’t get it till much later. It was hard to get any of the wait staff’s attention.
The clams and mussels were okay and were well cleaned. The little slices of garlic that were in the broth were good. The cured ham and cheese was not very appetizing and was kind of difficult to eat. The salad that it came with was also warm so it made the rest of the food on the plate taste off.
The veal dishes were not what we expected. They had a strange look to them and looked like they were just thrown onto the plate. They were somewhat tender but didn’t taste like anything special.
The tiramisu was not bad. We had gotten it to go and they had forgotten to bring it to us until we reminded them.
We had a groupon so maybe this was just another groupon horror story. The items we wanted were more expensive than the alternatives. We left as soon as possible and were glad to be out of there. Never coming back here again.

Really disappointing. Portion sizes for our pick up order were really small and over priced.
I asked if the Caesar salad was entrée sized, he said yes, and it’s pretty much a side salad — not to mention completely unappetizing.
The pizza looked like a kids meal. That sad excuse for a meal? $ 30. Rip off.
Tasted fine, but definitely unsatisfying. Perhaps it’s better if you dine in, but don’t waste your time doing pick up b

Stopped in here once for lunch and another time for dinner. The food is good but just feels a bit too overpriced. If the prices were more reasonable I would give this place 4 stars.
Some items to recommend:
Meat and cheese board is very generous. We were expecting little slivers of cheese but were pleasantly surprised
My friend raves about the Bolognese, he says it’s one of the best he’s had and he’s traveled all over Europe so I believe him
The ravioli stuffed with wild mushroom has a great cream sauce. I wish there were just a couple more ravioli s but that’s my American stomach talking haha.

I came here for lunch last week with a coworker, it was surprisingly busy for a lunch hour, no one was there to seat us so we had to stand at the front of the restaurant for a few minutes before someone noticed we were there.
The restaurant had a few other staff-​related issues. One was that our waitress wasn’t very savvy with the menu. I asked her what one of the ingredients was on the pizza I wanted to order and she didn’t know and couldn’t even describe it to me. I ended up being okay with what it was, but her description was totally off. The service was also pretty slow and we had to flag her down to get the bill.
The pizza itself was good. They serve it on a long wooden board, which is nice aesthetically but was really awkward fitting on the table. We had to move all our plates, dishes, candles and everything around when the food came.
My Quattro Stagione pizza had 4 different toppings which were put separately on different parts of the pizza, which I really didn’t like. I didn’t want ¼ of the pizza to be mushroom, ¼ artichoke hearts etc. I was really expected all the toppings to be evenly distributed on the pizza. I guess it stands for «Four Seasons» in Italian, but they should really warn you if they’re going to serve it that particular way!

Classy ambience for sawtelle. Food had great taste and the appetizer bread was amazing too. Would definitely recommend the creamy vodka sauce!

Patio seating is where we seat every time I come here for dinner with friends. The ambiance is really nice especially at night time.
I can say they have very good service. To be more exact they have EXCEPTIONAL service. I have a friend who eats only kosher and it so happens every time we have dinners at the Avenue, there are certain food she cannot eat with this and that so we tell the waiter the problem then somebody comes over and he talks to her, gives her suggestions and asks her what & how she wanted her food and they’ll prepare it for her. They’re really good and so is the food. If you love something citrusy, try chicken piccata, it’s my favorite.
I don’t really understand why some people gave them 1 star but for me, it’s a 5. From the moment we sat down to the food, wine, service, ambiance, price and parking — it was great!

With so many Italian restaurants in the city– it’s tough for new ones to make a huge impression. That is the case for this place that is located in a predominantly Japanese food neighborhood. Beef carpaccio was good. Risotto del giorno was okay– too al dente for me. Ravioli di funghi was tasty but too creamy. Service was very new so she didn’t really create that very warm Italian welcome that I get at older Italian establishments. However she did tell me that this is their second location (the other is in the South Bay). We sat on the patio and looked into the beautiful restaurant that was really empty… on a Friday nite at 8. Although this place was decent– I don’t think I will be back when places like Angelini Osteria or even Fritto Misto are just 10 miles or so away.

If you skim through some of the reviews you will find many similar reviews to what im about to write. This place is a SHAM. The exterior looks nice but WOW this was the WORST italian food i have ever eaten and was extremly over priced for what we reiceved.
Note this was for a to go order that was picked up only 17 minutes after ordering and I live less than a mile away.
1. They forgot the pizza we ordered in our 5 item order
(everyone agreed that i 100% ordered it and it wasn’t a mistake i made). Granted mistakes happen but instead of offering it on the house they whipped it up and charged us full price.
2. The chicken parmesan was smaller than one butterflied chicken breast from the grocery store and smaller than a chicken sandwich from McDonalds! it was breaded and cooked in the worst way imaginable and had no more than a sprinkle of cheese. The chicken had about a tablespoon of sauce and the noodles had NO sauce at all
3. The salad was missing ingredients that were listed and the chicken was no bigger than a chicken finger and was over cooked.
4. The pizza was flat-​out just terrible. I believe since they forgot it instead of cooking it properly they rushed it out and the crust and dough was not fully cooked.
5. The calamari was at least edible although fried very poorly.
6. The veal parmesan was the same size as the chicken and tasted like low grade meat.
All in all this place is massive disappointment. Its in a great location it looks like it good be good but like others aid. The appearance and décor is nice and deceiving but you can get better italian food at your local inexpensive delivery spot.
I was going to call and ask for my money back and bring the food back but it was not worth my time to get in an argument about it.

What a charming addition to this great neighborhood, which contains my favorite boba place!
Their bread is slightly blackened and delicious. Their salmon portofino was fantastic in a lovely, white wine, caper, and garlic sauce. I cleaned my plate.

Great date spot! The restaurant wasn’t very busy and the music wasn’t very loud so it was much much easier to talk to people there with me than many other places I’ve been to. The food was really good (I had Lasagna Alla Bolognese and my guest the Linguine Mare Blue). We also tried the Limoncello Sorbet which was very sweet, but delicious! No complaints about the food, flavor or options. The menu also ranges from inexpensive to expensive so at the end of our date, with the food above and a glass of wine, I believe the bill was around $ 55.
The only objection I have is that the server wasn’t the most friendly. He was knowledgeable about their specials and good at recommending wines and such but he didn’t smile much and in a way, just didn’t make us feel like he was particular happy to have customers. 4 stars I feel is well deserved.

This restaurant is fairly new and appears not to be attracting enough customers. It doesn’t help that service is spotty. First time we went, our server was courteous. But the next time we went, it was the same server but, this time, he had a attitude. Still reading? So if you still want to try this place, the only thing I can recommend, food-​wise, is the calamari fritti. The pastas are so-​so. I didn’t dare order the meat dishes as they are priced higher and might just taste so-​so.
Oh, another thing, it is chilly inside this restaurant because doors leading to their patio are kept open.

Great service, great food, beautiful restaurant! I hosted a dinner party for my staff of 10 here and we had a fantastic time! The chef organized a family-​style prefix menu which was really reasonably priced. We had fried calamari, Caesar salad, pizza, salmon and linguine. Everything was delicious The servers were all super nice especially Dandi (sp?) who was very attentive and always had a smile on your face. If you crave traditional food in a lovely, relaxing setting, this is the place for you. I look forward to coming back again and trying more of their menu.
Added bonus: calling easy self parking in the shopping center below 90 minutes validation.

In my opinion, there is nothing better than authentic Italian food. The menu at Avenue Italy brings me back to my childhood. My favorite appetizer here by far is the calamari: lightly fried and salted to perfection. Other dishes I had the pleasure of trying include their fresh beet salad, chicken rollatini, eggplant parmigiana, the exquisite siracusana pizza, and their house specialty, tiramisu. The staff is amazing and create a memorable experience for all.

Extraordinary service which started with the glamorous hostess Tracy and followed with the amazing server Freddy. We came for a Unilocal Elite event. The ambiance was incredible, which was a well suited dining room and central bar area. The food was incredible! To start, we loved the flatbread, kale salad, zesty fried calamari and focaccia bread served with tangy olive oil basil spread! The main meal was incredible! It included a yummy antipasto, risotto, fettuccine with clams, stuffed chicken and eggplant lasagne! All were delicious, as was the house Chardonnay! The space is incredible for fine dining in a cozy atmosphere. The outside patio looks amazing, so I look forward to coming back for more! Free 90 minute parking in the adjacent garage.

Awesome food with inviting décor. The staff is a bit slow and inattentive, but they are incredibly kind when you have their attention.
The atmosphere can be a bit awkward if the restaurant is less than capacity. However, once people start trickling in the ambiance becomes warm.
The restaurant is located inside of a plaza, and it’s slightly difficult to see from the street.
There is an underground parking lot. The restaurant offers 90 minute validation for parking.

Ok guys this restaurant may look very nice on the outside, however, the food doesn’t reflect the décor. It is a trap, the kind of restaurant you want to steer away from.
My lentil soup was extremely salty and tasted like it was from a can.
My Bf ordered the seafood soup and it was straight ketchup sauce and not fresh seafood at all.
We returned all the food– which I hate doing. It’s not cheap and the quality of food is not high quality at all.

We came for dinner about 3 weeks ago and had such a great meal that we returned with another couple, introducing them to this restaurant. They have an outdoor and an indoor area. Outdoor area is patio with heat lamps etc, very romantic, very well done.
Believe it or not, both times Nima (owner/​chef) was walking around and greeting all the customers, giving recommendations, suggestions … Both times the food was awesome. I had the linguini with clams last time and tonight we had the lamb chops. We also tried the beet salad, crème brûlée. And we thoroughly enjoyed every bite of it. You can tell that the ingredients are very fresh. We couldn’t stop complimenting his beet salad dressing, the next thing we know, Nima brought us a jar of that fabulous dressing, compliment of the chef, for us to take home! Never happened to us before… EVER!
Thank you Nima, we are now a big fan of your culinary skills and we’ll be back with other friends :-)

I’m so sad to write this review as it wasn’t a great experience compared to when I came here the first time a few days after their grand opening.
For one, now the lack of customers has caused a slight change in genuine great service here. First time I came the server was great, accommodating, making suggestions. There was a hostess, a water guy, a bread guy, and a few servers. Today there was only 2 servers for the whole restaurant, no hostess, and a new bread guy. It seems there has been some changes in employment here.
We specifically came to try the happy hour and found it weird we were only offer the regular dinner menu then when asked about HH our server which was the same great server before just mentioned the drink specials for HH it wasn’t until we asked about the food on HH that we were provided a HH menu, slightly shady to me to not provide a HH menu or mention it during HH unless asked by a customer. It caused us to not want to order more food.
Price: $ 6-​$ 7 for appetizers during happy hour
«The Good»: Service is still very good just not the same from the first time I came. Bread comes out warm with a tasty oil tapenade dip. The mussels and calamari appetizer has very good flavor. Validates parking at it’s structure.
«The Bad»: Both the seafood appetizer used the same red sauce, which is good, but can be repetitive in taste.

I love the ambiance of Avenue Italy. The outdoor seating is romantic, and you don’t feel like you’re in a strip mall at all! The bread and olive oil was great, as was the beat salad. I didn’t love my Eggplant Parmesan, but I think that’s mostly a personal preference, and not that it was objectively bad. I’d definitely go back!

The food was not amazing but here’s why I gave it 4 stars and I’ll still come back.
First of all, I do think that perhaps I ordered the wrong dish. It was some pink vodka sauce pasta that wasn’t amazing. But husband’s clam linguini was decent. And the free bread needs a tad bit more seasoning. Maybe more olive oil or salt?
I think this place is worth a second shot. There were so many different pasta dishes. I have a feeling there’s going to be a winner in there. It’s so incredibly reasonably priced. I’m really cheering for this place because it would be a great local Italian joint so needed on Sawtelle.
Next, I think that outdoor patio section is really cute and has a lot of potential.
Finally, the service was super excellent.
Parking is easy in the underground lot.
I’ll be back.
(If the next dish is equally not amazing, I will change my review to 3 stars but holding my place for 4 for now.)