Best Contemporary Italian Restaurants in Los Angeles / Orange County

700 – the name of the restaurant and the address on 5th street. This restaurant is a wonderful respite in the concrete jungle of Downtown Los Angeles. The indoor décor is marked by its location – the indoor columns are stacks of recognizable books while violins and French horns float above the bar area – indicative of the LA Philharmonic and also that this is a place that welcomes those who appreciate food as a culinary art. The staff is very friendly and welcoming. The chef is from Italy and pasta is made fresh. On the day of my reservation, I was welcomed with open arms and felt like I was a VIP and old friend. The lunch specials are phenomenal. As of this writing they have a $25 lunch special that includes one appetizer and either one pasta or one pizza. Portions are generous. For an extra $5, dessert is an option. I chose the caprese salad and the cannelloni. Three large cannelloni stuffed with melt-in-your-mouth beef in a decadent bechamel was rich but light. My brother opted for the salad and the gnocchi with cream and guanciale. Both dishes were exquisite. Opted for the dessert – rum sponge cake with a dollop of ice cream along with a gorgeous cappuccino. Delizioso! This was such a pleasant experience that I will definitely be coming back bringing friends and colleagues from the office down the street. Hopefully one day I will be a true VIP by being a regular, but even now they treated us like old friends. This will no doubt be a very popular restaurant in the days and years to come.

Great food, great service, great vibes. Highly recommend for date night.

I’ve been going to Drago’s for over 10 years - or at least from the time the restaurant first opened. Most of the time it never disappoints. I’ve been for holidays, lunches, dinners and even celebrated my birthday in one of the private rooms. The food is always exceptional as well as the service. I was there for Christmas Eve dinner and the food was good but not exceptional. The service was not up to their normal - we had to ask for more water twice and had to ask for a second cocktail twice. We’ll give it another try after the first of the year in hopes that the restaurant was just off because of Christmas Eve and it was crowded - just hoping that was the case.

quickly became one of my favorite restaurants in LA. It’s expensive but worth every penny, especially as the restaurant is pretty generous with the portions. The Pane with pistachios and ricotta is amazing along with the the broccolini caesar salad. The uni pasta is simple and elegant, and one of the best i’ve had, especially topped with grade A uni. Don’t skip dessert and take any digestifif offered. $350 for 2 people. Not cheap, but well worth it and unique amongst the many high end choices in Los Angeles

If you are lucky enough to score on of the 6 tables at Da Barbara you will not be disappointed. The setting is not what you expect - a small intimate restaurant in a live/work loft in Hollywood and you wonder how such amazing food comes out of the small open kitchen and prepared by Barbara herself. The rest of the staff is amazing and you are made to feel like your first time there is your 21st! Make a reservation and be prepared to have an extraordinary experience.