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Mon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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Excellent all the way around. All the food was beautifully plated, superbly cooked and professionally served. Have I missed anything?
And everyone seemed to like their drinks and free valet parking.
Came here for lunch one day, right next to the City National Bank building. Very sleek looking place, always filled with people streaming in from the Financial District.
I was highly amused by how the menu is only 2 pages, but the wine list is ridiculously extensive.
I had the i paccheri, and it was made pretty well. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of durum wheat pasta, but I figured I'd give it a try, and I wasn't disappointed. The portions are pretty "fancy," but it was very enjoyable and left room for their amazing tiramisu dessert. The waiter suggested I pair the entree with the Vermentino (white wine), and it went very well together.
Overall, the service was good, complementary bread, and there's no rush to usher you out of the restaurant.
Pricey, but it's in the middle of all the finance and business. What would you expect?
Can't really say I was a big fan of the place, food were a bit too salty for me, but the wine pairing was perfect.
Desserts are great, not too sweet, given that I wasn't a dessert fans.
Service was typical 5 star restaurant, aka slow.
Will I ever come back! Not if I have another option, simply because I'm not a Italian fans, if I had to spend over $100/person, it will be either Japanese, seafood or a nice piece of steak.
Happy Hour! Woo Hoo!! So I walked here from a couple blocks away and waited for a friend to show. Helped myself to one of the specialty cocktails @ happy hour--$5. It was the Passione. Vodka + peach puree and something else. It was soooo yummy. You don't understand till you try it. I was truly impressed and said so to the bartender. She said they make their own peach puree so everything is super fresh. And it tasted that way too. Wished I could stay for dinner.
(yes bar service was super fantastic.)
Picked Drago out of the Dine LA List ( $$$ = $28 for 3 courses).
LUNCH
AppetizersChoice 1: Carrot Soup, PancettaChoice 2: Root Vegetable Salad, MozzarellaChoice 3: Smoked Salmon, Cauliflower Panna Cotta, Fennel
EntreesChoice 1: Artic Charr, Swiss Chard, Beet PureeChoice 2: Garganelli, Veal BologneseChoice 3: Saffron Risotto, Seafood Ragout, Spot Prawns
DessertsChoice 1: Mascarpone Semifreddo, Strawberries, BasilChoice 2: Chocolate Coffee Cake, Vanilla CreamChoice 3: Prosecco Mousse, Fennel Crumble, Citrus
I had the root vegtable salad- very tasty, light vinegar dressing.
My main dissapointment was with the entree selections being one veal pasta dish adn two seafood dishes. I asked if they had a vegetarian option and they said it would be no problem at all. The Chef made a pasta dish with vegetables and a delicious light tomato cream sauce. YUM.
My coworker had the carrot soup which was presented very well by pouring it into the bowl over the pnacetta in front of you, tableside. He also had the Saffron seafood risotto, which he liked very much.
The dessert was PERFECT. I had the marscapone and he had the prosecco. both were incredibly light and flavorful.
Cons: our busboy was very nice but seriously, pet peeve, get a clean shirt! Dont like the stains on his sleeves and his shirt, bad presentation. Also there was dust or a bad towel used for their water cups, because two times there were "things" in my water. Didnt have any of that.
All in all its a spendy, corporate restaurant with a great menu. It was good. Will it be my regular place? No. Was it worth it for Dine LA? Yes.
Drago has a very good happy hour! They offer a good selection of food, cocktails, and wine.
*They offer a few different types of mini pizzas, all under $5.
*The Kobe sliders were really good. You get two for $7.
*The cheese plate was good but not for $12. It had three very small slices of different cheese with some bread and dried apricots.
*The mozzarella and arugula? (I think it was arugula, I forgot) was small but tasty.
*The cocktails were $5. I had the Lychee martini. It was good but then I switched to wine.
I had a bit of a mixed up with something I ordered (it took three tries to get it right) but I wouldn't slight them on it. Mistakes happen. And they were kind enough to make up for it.
All 'n all... this is definitely a nice place for happy hour.
Happy Hour:
- Lasts all night
- 4 and 5 $ drinks incluiding beer, wine, and 4 cocktails.
- $4-$9 appetizers including an excellent cheese plate
- Great atmospher
- Free valet parking
Dine LA Menu
- Excellent, had the antipasto sampler plate (fancier than it sounds)
- Braised Veel Cheeks, excellent
- Overall Great service and a good experience.
3.75*
The food was good but not great. I was slightly disappointed. The portions are definitely fancy portions. The langoustine carpaccio ($18) (langoustine carpaccio, raspberries, micro herbs, citrus dressing ) was good. The citrus and the raspberries worked well together. But too much dressing can drown out the taste of the langoustine.
The burrata cheese ($13) was great. burrata, tomatoes, olive oil, crostino. The cheese was super soft and melt in your mouth good. The i tagliolini estivi con granceola ($25) dungeness crab tagliolini, tomatoes, basil was just ok. The knife cut noodles were good but the sauce was a tad too tangy. It was yum with the crab but alone, it was too tangy.
The veal chop (la lombatina di vitella $36 veal chop, sweetbreads, carrots, onions) was the best dish. The flavors were subtle and good. The sweetbreads were delish.
After we had our entrée we decided to order an extra one due to the small portions. The braised veal cheeks (il guanciale di vitella $27 braised veal cheeks, endive, parsnips, almonds) were ok. I don't really like braised meat unless its korean short ribs. The sauce was too strong but the veal cheek was really soft and tender.
A solid meal and good service at each of my three visits. This is a reliable dining experience in downtown LA.
3.5 stars for the lunch menu. I ordered the carrot soup and the basil pasta with tomato pesto. The plating was beautiful but the food was okay. The soup I really didn't care for but the pasta was pretty delicious. The ingredients were visibly fresh (I loved the fresh egg basil pasta) and the portions were just right. So overall, I liked the food but I'm not dying to come back here.
This is probably nothing but I noticed one funny thing though! For some reason all the azns were seated at the same section of tables close to the exit hahahah I dont want to take it seriously but it was a little uncomfortable and unsettling for me as more and more of mah people were seated next to me and behind me. We were the obvious yellow section of the entire restaurant. A tip for Drago: please pay more attention to seating. I didn't take this personally at all and I'm sure no one meant any harm, but it got me a liiiiitle bit uncomfortable. A little more (racial?) sensitivity would be nice because not everyone will take it lightly.
Just had lunch on Dine LA at Drago Centro. The tally is this:
service: 4 stars - attentive, but no suffocating. Would give another minus one star because the server had bad breath, but I won't, because he was cute, which made up for it (as long as he wasn't leaning over you).
Food: 4 stars. Really enjoyed it. For a starter I had the smoked salmon w/ cauliflower panna cotta and bits of radish and fennel. It was delicious. I was glad that the cauliflower flavor was light - so if you are adverse to cauliflower, you might be able to handle this.
entree: the bolognese. It was good but nothing earth shattering. I never have pasta anymore, so I thought it was delicious and it was perfectly cooked al dente. I had a bite of the arctic char from my friend's plate, which was good too. I would say skip the risotto on the lunch menu. We peered at a nearby diner while she performed biology class dissections on the shellfish. The prawns came with full on heads and huge antennae. Only order if you are practicing for your zoology exam. Plus, the texture looked a little bit on the soupy side, though I can't attest the flavor at all.
Dessert I had the prosecco mousse which was really really light and airy and delicious. The crystalized fennel looked like granola and didn't taste like fennel at all, to my disappointment, but the rest was a winner. I had a bite of the mascarpone - very full of strawberry and basil flavor, it really popped. I also had a bite of the mocha dessert - which was something like a mocha mousse on top of a crispy wafer (like that in the middle of a kit kat bar) and chocolate. Very coffee-y, not too sweet and really creamy and yummy. A winner.
The portions were good too.
The wine list is out of most people's budgets - very few wines in the double digits, and even fewer under 50.
Ambience: a little on the stuffy side. Good for a formal biz lunch, not so good to hang with friends after work
I'd definitely come here if I was already around downtown, but wouldn't make a big effort to come here otherwise. It's good but not a do-over (IMHO).
if you are in the mood for Italian and are traveling downtown for dinner I'd hit Botegga Louis in DTLA way before Drago for the more laid back atmosphere and less stuffy food.
Okay, okay..so I came here for dinner the other night and service was really great. It was attentive, filled my water glass as needed, and provided nice wine suggestions.
As always, I tend to really like the pastas here. We ordered four pasta dishes, and they were kind enough to split them up into individual portions for each diner. I tried the garganelli with fennel sausage - that's up there with the pappardelle with pheasant. The dungeneness crab taglioni was quite nice with nice chunks of crab meat. I probably won't order to shrimp ravioli again, though.
I think I do give this place a slight edge over Osteria Mozza. The happy hour isn't really impressive; you have to eat for lunch or dinner to really get a picture of the food.
I really want to give this place 4 stars, really. I think the quality of the food here is some of… Read more »
I stopped in for Happy Hour. I was early to meet a friend at a nearby downtown event. I didn't get to try that many things, but what I did try was great for the price and the atmosphere.
I had:
1. The mozzarella with speck
2. The pizza with shrimp and corn
The restaurant is designed with clean lines; very spare, but imaginative. The crowd is mainly composed of after work financial types. About what you'd expect for the area.
Eccellente service. Eccellente food. Eccellente experience.
After having happy hour at Weiland's, underground in the City National Bank food court, I met up with Nacho at Drago Centro. We had missed Aperitif Time at 7pm but I was definitely looking forward to dinner.
We ordered drinks: Via Della Spiga (blood orange vodka, amaro, almond, tarragon), and Fragolino (Belvedere vodka, fresh strawberry, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice). Interesting combinations with delicious results.
We flipped through the menu. Although the fresh egg pasta section (esp. the tagliolini and pappardelle) was tugging at my stomach, the six course tasting menu won over the both of us.
2 six-course tasting menu, please. See pics for each of the courses.
Amuse Bouche: sliced octopus with squid ink caviar. A spoonful just wasn't enough. I wish it was an appetizer.
#1: l'antipasto misto: burrata, speck, eggplant mousse, green beans, peppers. Six little interesting bites to start the tasting menu.
#2: gli spaghetti alla chitarra: spaghetti cut from a chitarra (a harplike metal pasta cutter), mussels, capers. I underestimated the spaghetti. Nacho actually tried and liked mussels! Yesssss.
#3: il risotto alla capesante: pancetta risotto, squash blossom, diver scallop. I didn't know that there were squash blossom, but I sure loved the diver scallop. Seared just right. So tasty. The risotto probably would get an A- from Risotto Nazi, Gordon Ramsey.
#4: il ragout di maiale: pork ragout, lentils, apple cider vinaigrette. This was my least favorite. Salty breakfast sausage on salty little bits of stewed pork. I got jipped. I didn't want any crappy breakfast sausage. I wanted pork ragout!
#5: l'arista d'agnello: lamb rack, rapini pesto, chanterelle. This was a little bit too salty but still a very good dish
#6: il panino di cioccolata: hazelnut ganache, bananas, bacon, brown sugar gelato. It was a beautiful ending to a romantic meal. They even wrote Happy Birthday on Nacho's plate!
Dinner took 2 and a half hours on an otherwise home-body night, but it was fine. Valet parking was free with validation.
We're gonna come back for Aperitif Time. I hope that's eccellente too!
#6 of Nacho Week - Success
I came here for dinner tonight, and had a mediocre experience. I'd seen this place plenty of times since I work in the building right next door, but it was my first time getting food here. We walked over here so didn't have to deal with parking, and I guess why I didn't give this place 4 or 5 stars is because I didn't have any drinks or dessert to go with my food, which probably would've pushed it up. Because of age and time, I didn't get either, so I'm reviewing solely based on food.
The decor of the place is amazing however. It's very urban and modern (lots of lines and glass), and very open and has lots of space so it's easy to talk to people you're eating with and enjoy the setting. Service is really good too - kind of to the point where it gets a little annoying because they're there all the time and want to talk to you while you're trying to eat, but it was all with good intentions so I didn't mind.
So I couldn't really decide what to eat because most of the food on the menu was in Italian, so I just decided to go with pasta since you usually can't go wrong there. I got the "le pappardelle al fagiano" ($19), which is pappardelle pasta, roasted pheasant, and morel mushrooms. Man I should've ordered it without the mushrooms since I'm not a fan, or gone more exotic and tried to the veal cheeks or something. But the pasta was good (egg noodles were soft and flavorful) but the dish itself was a bit too salty for my taste. The tasting menu looked really good too; I would definitely want to try that in the future.
We looked at the dessert menu which sounded AMAZING, but we were out of time and thus couldn't take advantage of trying some delicious sounding gelato. Overall, the whole dinner experience was okay, but the formal atmosphere and the price tells me that for what I'm getting, I should wait a few years before going back again. Ciao!
Woohoo! Apertif time!
I love the new happy hour at Drago Centro. They didn't offer it at first and then it was a fairly limited menu. The bartender explained to me they are now serving an expanded small bites menu and more cocktails and wines are discounted.
I tried the l'erla blu, a bourbon drink with grapefruit. My drink was really sweet and light on the bourbon. Anthony C was kind enough to switch with me as his bourbon was actually a part of the drink! I next had the lychee "passione" and it was really pretty. It was the color of an actual lychee (that lovely opalescent pinky white) but then I noticed when another bartender made 'em, they were more pink. I wonder if there was more juice in those? In any case, it was $5 and who cares!
I had the shrimp and corn pizza which was good but the truffled mushroom one was more tasty. I'll have to order that again. The pizza was $4.
I also tried out the kobe burgers. You got two sliders for $7 and it was worth it. The beef was actually medium rare. Mmm! I'd probably ask for no mayo next time though.
If you come in a big group though, the bill could be a little weird. They kept us all on one tab and as each one of us closed out, the bartender ran a new total. While my bill may not have had the items I actually ordered, the pricing worked in my favor. And then the bartender made another delicious lychee martini for me since the bill was so confusing.
Drago Centro validates for 3 hours and after that, it's a $7 flat rate.
Overall, a great time!
Toooooo slow.
I joined Derek Z for lunch today to try out the DineLA menu. For $28, the choices were:…
Read more »
If you're going here before a show or event, then fine. But if this is the main event of the night, you will be sorely disappointed. Well, maybe not sorely, but at least a little disappointed. 3 stars disappointed.
The food is actually pretty decent, and the portions are just right. The main beef I have with the place is the atmosphere. Someone needs to teach these people about restaurant acoustics. I am in my 20s, but I thought I might need a hearing aid to block out all the echoing chatter and clinking plates so that I could hear anything that my husband was saying. Actually, earplugs would have been nice too because the music was loud and awful. Elevator music style.
Dear Jonathan Gold: After reading your review, my husband was a bit disappointed that "Pigeon" was not on the menu. Can you use your power and influence to get that back on there? As for me - I should have known better than to hope that this would be an "essential" restaurant for vegetarians too - the mental image of chef Drago in his blood-spattered clothes should have given that away. Oh well. Better luck for me next time?
Though the fresh buckwheat pasta was quite tasty, it was almost too cheesy for me (I can't believe I just said that). Most of the vegetarian options (and there were only a couple) seemed like afterthoughts - or side dishes meant to be accompanied by some sort of meat.
Oh and PS. What's the deal with drinking water out of candleholders? I don't get it?
Happy Hour by any other name is still Happy Hour. Even if it does go by Apertif time. I suppose we're in the modern day of business where we're able to classify stuff as Flex time and all those words to describe "Not working hours"
The Drago offers a very impressive selection of Happy hour menu items. The Kobe burgers may be small but they pact a big punch when it comes to taste.
What would Happy Hour be without the drinks. Even if you're calling it Apertif time, this place has Happy hour that you can throw back with. A good amount of $5 specialty drinks. I had the l'erla blu and enjoyed it. It was stiff enough and seeing the bartender pour it, she sure did have a heavy hand. My hats off to you, lady bartender.
I also tried the Passione as Ariel ordered it twice. Both times it was like tasting something different. It was interesting. Really good for $5 bucks a glass. How could you really go wrong there for a mixed drink for that cheap price? The answer is you can't.
The place also has a really nice look to it. A glass wine cellar really stuck out in my mind. Really, the place was beautiful. Even though I couldn't find parking... or at least the entrance to the parking for a good 20-30 minutes.
Validation also covers the parking cost, so it really does pay to come here for Happy hour as you'll be saving a lot in the long run. Really a great place for Happy Hour fun.
I thought about taking off one star for a cranky server, but I'm gonna go all out for this.
Delicious, well-crafted drinks and appetizers for 3 to 5 bucks, some of them a bit more. I had two drinks, the passione and l'erla blu, both fantastic. For food, I had the anchovy bruschetta and the mushroom pizza, plus they accidentally gave me the salmon risotto fritters bolognese and didn't charge me. Sure, I'll take it. Everything was delicious.
But more and more I'm appreciating good design. This place is beautifully laid out. A clean, modernist look, large windows, minimalist yet tasteful and organic decorations. A really nice place with great happy hour prices.
This place is EXCELLENT! Definitely not your cheese and sauce kind of Italian restaurant. The chef really knows how to pull out all the great Italian flavors while keeping the grease, voracious portions, and fat down to a minimum. My gf brought me here and I haven't stopped talking about this place since!
Atmosphere:
The restaurant looks like it's in a center of businesses and has that contemporary and very clean atmosphere.
Antipasti:
La burrata: this is my 1st time trying burrata and it is now my all time favorite appetizer dish!! It's mozzarella cheese mixed with cream to create a subtle flavored piece of heaven. So good. Must try!
Primi piatti:
Le pappardelle al fagiano: This dish was recommended by the waitress and it was so yums! It's wide flat noodles with braised pheasant. It tastes similar to stroganoff. Besides having great flavors it isn't greasy at all. That's a major plus for me.
Secondi piatti:
Truffle crusted chicken: This was also a very clean dish. By the time we got this dish we were pretty full from the previous two. The flavor was subtle and the chicken was soft (kinda like it was steamed).
Overall thoughts:
I REALLY enjoyed the food here! My view towards Italian cooking has tremendously changed! Non-greasy Italian food does exist!
Cost:
1 appetizer, 1 primi, 1 secondi, about 4 glasses of wine: about $120 total.
Service: 4 stars
Ambiance: 4 stars (played jazz music)
Taste/Value: 3 stars
We had a good experience here but not quite sure if we would go back due to the portion and price. Here's a list of what we ordered:
-La burrata: decently good but wasn't wowed by it.
-Corn chowder: tasty overall but a bit on the salty side.
-Foie gras w/ polenta cake and black mission fig: It was good but I prefer the pate style. The seared foie gras was a bit too raw for me.
-Crab tagliolini: yummy pasta! 4.5 stars on the taste but the portion was quite small.
-Spinach ricotta w/ deer meat: Again the portion was small but the texture of the pasta was well prepared. However, taste wise, wasn't anything special.
We told our waitor that we planned to share the dishes and he offered to split the plates for us at no charge.
Another pro about the restaurant is that they validate up to 3 hours for valet parking. It is $7 flat if you go over 3 hours.
Not really big on italian food especially when i have to pay $60 per person for appetizer, and some italian fish that was boiled then broiled. Good flavors but too pricey for my pallet.
I really expected much more from this place. We had the tasting menu with wine pairing and while it was good it didn't thrill us like some other restaurants at this price point (e.g., Noe, Spago, Redd (Napa), Prov idence).
We're into wine pairings and none of them we're that great. Much of the food was overly salty like the scallops and risotto and foie gras. Even the dessert was too salty for me since they put bacon with the ice cream. However, the veal cheeks were awesome.
In terms of service, it was a little uptight and snooty for me. We went to Bottega Louie the night before and the waiter was exceptional with a great personality. I think our waitress at Drago had a stick up her butt.
The food is amazing! The burrata was so creamy and delightful while the pasta was cooked perfectly. And.. the lamb... oh the lamb osso buco was the highlight of my meal! I highly recommend this dish. I'll have to come back for the tasting menu so I can upgrade this to 5 stars, which I'm sure I will because I'm certain they will deliver the same great meal again.
The service was top notch (i LOVE it when they give you black linen napkins when you are wearing dark clothing). Everyone was friendly and very attentive.
I do agree, though, that the wine pours were a bit small.
But, I'll definitely be back for the tasting menu!
A solid 4-star experience. Eating in Downtown can be a bit sterile - big buildings, not much activity on Fig or Flower in the evenings - which unfortunately takes away from the curb appeal and anticipation upon arrival. However, the food is really quite good and the service is enthusiastic, passionate, and knowledgeable. I would encourage one to seek recommendations from the waiter (as I did) and you will be gratified.
I started with the pomodori salad - heirloom tomatoes being the highlight here. For the main course - the il branzino fish was spectacular - fell off the bone (prepared tableside) and just was perfect. Both were suggestions by our waiter.
Everything here was delicious. The tomato amuse bouche was amazing. The beet salad was delicious and fresh - a far cry from those canned beet salads that have been passed off as fresh at other restaurants. The lobster pasta that I had was like heaven. I would have licked the plate clean if the room had been empty. Seriously.
Service was great. When we were first seated our server seemed a little stressed, but he came by regularly and was even a little chatty sometimes. Everyone was the perfect balance of being friendly and professional.
Just a note of caution, and this does not apply to the restaurant directly. If you valet your car, lock up your valuables. It's not a big deal, but I am positive that they stole change from my car. That same night I noticed that all the silver coins were gone from my ashtray - they left only the pennies.
2.5
Man I wish I had read yelp before making my reservation.
I went to Drago Centro today (less than 30 minutes ago) for lunch with a friend for Dine LA. As I was sitting in the bar waiting for my friend to show up I decided to read the yelp reviews of the restaurant to see which items I should order. Unfortunately there seemed to be a number of mediocre reviews blaming the service and adequate food. Too late. I'm already hear. So my friend arrives and we are promptly seated. The waitress bring us our menus, one of which contains the DineLA menu on a crumpled piece of computer paper. "Odd" I think but continue to be excited for food. The waitress returns as soon as we closed our menus (because we only wanted the Dine La as we are techinally starving graduate students) and assumes we are ready to order. We said no, but asked what her recommendations are from the Dine LA menu. She proceeds to tell us that this menu doesnt truly reflect the restaurant and we should reconsider ordering off the real menu. No. We're broke and you have expensive food for lunch we want the Dine La menu. So we returns two or three more times, each time slightly more annoyed than the last to see if we are ready to order. Finally we make up our minds and she seems annoyed once again as we ordered on the set menu. I got the carrot soup, the Artic Charr and the Mousse with fennel. Everything was good, nothing worth writing home to my foodie mother. After our meal the waitress quickly brings the check, and we continue to talk ignoring her. After about 10 minutes she returns and takes the check even though we haven't put any cards into it. We were being rushed and the restaurant was half empty. Bah.
All in all the food was a 3.5 not wonderful, but not bad by any stretch of the mind. The service was a 2, which inevitably made the whole meal less fun.
There are 4 types of people who reside in Downtown LA.
1st. You've got the business types. The ones that like to power lunch over a martini discussing a new way to screw more tax payers.
2nd. The creative loft dwellers. Skinny jeans, black rimmed glasses, lips glued to a latte.
3rd. The all annoying USC kids. Trust funds and all.
4th. Last but certainly not least, the beautifully scented homeless crackheads including their invisible friends.
Drago caters to the power lunchers. Men with Ken doll haircuts, button up shirts tucked into their Brooks Brothers suits.
But to judge a restaurant by the clientele that frequent it would be just as wrong to judge that great taco stand as crap just because it's a hole in the wall.
It took me 3 rounds to find this damn place. By pure luck, I caught the sign that was located on Figueroa and not Flower. I saw the valet guy and slammed on my brakes. At this point, the cost of valet didn't mean crap to me. I just wanted to park, eat and have a drink.
To my surprise...
Me: "Valet is free?!!!"
Valet: "Yes. For 3 hours with validation."
**+1 star** Free parking downtown is like finding money on the street.
Drago is a nicely modern designed restaurant. Large outdoor seating available that includes areas with couches to enjoy a cigarette after your meal.
The bar menu is great. Including speciality drinks and some of the best small dishes to make your tummy feel just right.
Kobe burgers: I could have had 10 of these. Tho they are lil mini burgers, the flavor is as large as Andre the Giant's head. Grilled onions on a brioche bun. Oh oh oh....
We also had risotto fritters, truffled mushroom pizza, and a mediterranean bruschetta. All were great.
I arrived a lil earlier than my friends. Sat at the bar when a man in a suit politely asked if I needed anything. I was a bit surprised to see this guy behind the bar asking for my order. Ends up his name is Mike and is the sommelier for Drago.
SCORE!!!!
He made me some fantastic drinks! I believe it's called the Fragolini? Oh my... Belvedere vodka, crushed strawberries, balsamic vinegar and a few other elixirs. I had 3 of these suckers. Sooo good. Fruity but not sweet. Perfect summer cocktail.
Then, I asked if they carried my gin, Martin Miller. They do but they just ran out that day. When Mike told me this it was like he felt he disappointed his parents with a bad report card. I like it when a restaurant truly wants to please their patrons. I'm glad they ran out because if they didn't, he wouldn't have introduced me to my new favorite gin
DEATH'S DOOR. Made right here in the good ol' US of A.
2 Gin Sours later....
I like Mike....
I like Drago.....
Oh and..... One of the best lists of Italian wines Ive seen in LA. They had at least, 25 selections of Borolo wines. That was only one page. Niiice....
Every time i have the opportunity for a 2 hour lunch - i take it! and hopefully get to meet up with Runt T for a relaxing, delicious and sometimes 2 martini (or in my case - 2 glasses of champagne) lunch! Shhh.. don't tell my boss. :)
Everything I've ever tried here is great, OMG, the pasta is to die for, especially the one with the sausage. There are always at least one fish selection for lunch, which is excellent. I think i had the dover sole and it was cooked perfectly, still very tender and moist.
I wish i could be more descriptive but it's been a while since my last time there. Guess that means i have to go back soon!
p.s. the chef is always there and so cheerful. I love that he takes pride in his work and is willing to check on his clients to make sure they are happy with the food and the service. oh, and the lunchtime bartender gal is excellent!
You'd never know were in a recession by the crowded dining room.
absolutely delicious food, wonderful, attentive service. Hot waiters, nice ambiance and the bottle of German Riesling was killer.
I'll be back to further review but this place did leave me in utter awe.
We started with appetizers and trust.......they're really just for one person.
I had the burratta (two large pieces of buffalo mozzarella) really rich, a little too rich for me........this was served with two good size pieces of toasted baguettes and an array of grape and cherry tomatoes......boss had the salad (nice portion) and another salesman had venison carpaccio. They brought out a variety of bread, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and or butter. Bread was good. They also brought out two plates of tiny raw scallops (i think) over some toast. good stuff.
Boss and salesman shared the porterhouse steak for two $80.00......they roll over this table and bring you this huge sizzling steak, they then cut it up evenly and someone fights over who gets the bone (optional of course). It's served with baby potatoes. Boss and other salesman are by no means small men.......they enjoyed. I had the Alaskan halibut, good sized piece over peas and cherry tomatoes.......over what appeared to be a thick layer of pea soup (kind of) it was really good. The two other salesman also shared the porterhouse and the gent aside from me went safe with the truffle crusted chicken breast over wild mushrooms.
Drinks were plenty, whatever we wanted and I went easy with two glasses of Pinot grigio........then boss decided him and I were going to share a bottle of wine. He ordered a bottle of German Riesling, 2007. I was a little apprehensive because Riesling is generally sweet.......not this stuff, turns out he's very familiar with this wine and trust me when I tell you it was the best/finest I have ever had (in a Riesling of course). We all cleaned our plates and then they brought out the dessert menu, one of our colleagues who was visiting wanted a dessert wine but not a port...........Geezuz, I don't know what the heck was going on but this stuff was incredibly good, never had anything like it. They served it chilled in very different kind of glass, it was killer, naturally boss ordered another round.
Boss had the cheesecake topped with a peach sorbet, the other colleague had the tiramisu, that is made for two people...........
Very expensive place but it was definitely delicious and satisfying. Excellent service and the place is the real deal.......not just hype.
3.5 stars
I came here two nights ago for a small late night birthday dinner. It was yummy.
Before I forget, I just want to mention that it was a Thursday, and the Mayor was here as well. We had dinner at 9pm and he had a table of 6 or so in the corner with that news anchor chick sitting next to him. The restaurant was not crowded at all and we could hear them talking. By the end of the night, they were quite drunk and kind of friggin loud. I kind of wondered what would have happened if we had told them to shut the f*** up.
Anyway...
The food is very good. Here's what we had:
Venison Carpaccio. This consisted of about 12 thin slices covered in a little bit of sherry vinaigrette. This tasted good. I've never had this before, so I have nothing else to compare it to, but I'd order it again.
Foie gras creme caramel. Yummy. It looks like flan. Tastes sweet. I liiiike.
Fettuccine Lobster. The pasta itself was not the best as far as texture and preparation, buuuut it was very flavorful and the lobster chunks were good.
Papardelle, Roasted Pheasant, morel Mushrooms. Best dish of the night. I'd come back just to eat this very dish. In fact, I'll probably do that. And it's not that bad - $19.
Ocean Trout, Asparagus, Tomatoes, Salsa Piccante. This was very good, too. The fish was very moist and the fish skin was nice and crispy. The salsa was excellent. For people who worry about fish which are "too fishy", I don't think that's the case here.
Piedmontese NY Steak. Probably my least favorite dish of the night, although it still wasn't bad. It was pretty bland however the meat was cooked very well, and the quality seemed good too.
Oh ya, props to the chef for the complimentary amuse bouche.
Overall, I'd definitely go back for the food itself.
Now...if only they provided a map to you to tell you how to find the damn restaurant in the building. Be warned. From valet, just get downstairs, somehow. Do NOT take the elevator because it won't get you downstairs. You need to take STAIRS, either the stairs outside of the buliding or stairs inside of the building, but take the damn stairs.
The ambiance of the place is also kind of hard to place. It has very very high ceilings and I do love high ceilings, but there was just something that made me kind of uncomfortable. It might have been the chairs. I distinctly remember feeling uncomfortable in their chairs, having to re-shift myself in the seat a few times. It's just hard to place...it might have been the fact that the place just didn't have too many people and that coupled with the high ceilings and large floor space made it feel hollow.
The service was also excellent...until they gave us the dessert menu. Then, they disappeared. They never came by to ask us what we wanted to order. In fact, we just gave up on dessert partly because of that. If they had been more attentive, we might have ordered their trio of sorbet. I was a bit curious about the tomato sorbet. Oh well.
Then, it took us about another 10 minutes to flag someone down to give us our check. Where was everyone? I saw 4 of the waiters just huddled in the corner chit chatting. C'mon guys, you all totally dropped the ball. I would maybe understand if you were over at the Mayor's table combing his hair for him or giving him a shoulder rub, but making smalltalk? It definitely ended the dinner on a very poor note.
I am not a fan of downtown LA, but I do enjoy the food that is offered in the city. Drago Centro was part of the culinary adventure a group of us had whilst dining in LA. Simply put, the environment as well as the food is simple, elegant, and quite luxorious.
The decor is clean and simple. The restuarant has a big open space ready, and the tables were filled with business men and women on their power hour lunch breaks. There is also a glass wine cellar with suspensions so that the server can repel up and down the cellar to get your wine. Quite the artistic touch.
Drago centro serves simple italian fare. It's clean and uses the freshest of ingredients. They make their pasta in house which is light and such a delight to eat.
The prices range from about $15-30 for each entree, but the pasta dishes go from about $15-22. I would highly recommend the wild mushroom and gorgonzola risotto. Holy jesus-I don't usually like restuarant risotta because it can either turn out really gummy or too heavy. But Drago Centro knows how to do it right. The gorgonzola was a perfect compliment to the earth mushrooms, and the risotta was light and decadent (although i'm sure it was not light on the calories) I will go out on a limb and say that Drago Centro has the best risotta I've had to date. Seriousluy, good stuff.
We also tried their sausage pasta- which was uniquely sweet and savory. The dish consisted of simply homemade pasta and sausage in its own jus. Simple and delicious!
Another thing I love about this place is their complimentary bread and imported olive oil from Italy. The olive oil was nice and grassy and just took the meal to another level. We bought a bottle at the end of our meal.
Service: in a nutshell, the servers are really professional, but not very relatable. I guess it's everything you would expect in a higher end restuarant. Nothing bad to say- the servers were on top of their game the whole meal.
Advice: You can park down below the restaurant, and get your parking validated for free!!! That's a steal on its own. Free parking in downtown LA?? Sign me up!!
The place is a bit on the pricier side, but you, like I always say, get what you pay for. Also, the portion are just right. They are not too big, and not too small. it's enough to get you satisfied, but not over-stuffed.
I had an AMAZING meal at Drago Centro, especially because of the Sommelier, Michael, who provided great pairings with each course and tons of cool background info on the wine.
Drago has a very cool location -- first floor of a bank building in downtown L.A. with a neat view of a sculpture square and a tiny peek at the Library. It's always fun to eat in Downtown, because it's so weird and empty, then you find these food hotspots!
We started off with a GREAT glass of bubbly, whose name I jotted down in my phone. Contadi Castaldi Rose Brut Franciacorta. SO GOOD.
Then we kicked out the jams with a ton of courses -- all three of us decided to split everything, and the kitchen nicely bought out everything split onto three lovely plates, brought out by three lovely waiter at the same time, I might add.
First course was the AMAZINGLY creamy and delicious Lobster Fettucini. Mwah! I want to kiss my fingers and throw them in the air, it was so good. And paired with a delightful Cairanne white wine, it was even better!
Next came the Oxtail Ravioli. Mama Freakin' Mia. SO GOOD. I just want to die, it was so delicious. Oh, I cry thinking about it right now. I've never tasted a ravioli -- or anything, really -- that good.
NEXT came the Pappardelle with roasted pheasant and morel mushrooms. This properly gains Yelp fame. Like a delish gravy I want to scoop up in a spoon and eat straight. The pasta was so fresh and good. Ugh! Yum!
We also had the Garganelli with pork sausage and fennel seeds; my two friends LOVED this dish, but I'm not the biggest fennel fan and probably never will be.
Last but not least, we had the Truffle Crusted Chicken Breast. I ate this so fast, I don't even know what happened. Can I get a what what? This chicken was DELICIOUS. Just perfect. Chicken can taste like this? Yes, it can! Amazing.
I loved Drago, and I will be back. Thanks again to our awesome sommelier, Michael!
I cannot believe I waited so long to come here, but realistically in this age of budget cuts and watching every dollar, I had to make sure my lunch at Drago would be worth every penny. My experience here certainly lived up to my expectations.
Immediately upon entering your eye gazes up toward the 15 foot glass wine tower which is the hallmark of the space. The restaurant itself is simply decorated in a modern minimalist style with whimsical touches like garnet red swirled hand blown water glasses. The design was quite befitting a downtown power crowd. Now, I don't proclaim to be part of the power elite by ANY means, but the afternoon we were there, I found myself smack in the middle of a political hornets nest which included sitting next to the mayor himself and his party of 6. This proved to be a distraction, as many of the men dining that day felt obliged to stop by his table to pay their respects.
Back to the food. I started with a mixed baby green salad tossed in a lemon vinaigrette and served with a thinly sliced, toasted and sweetened brioche. The salad was light and refreshing, albeit slightly over-salted.
In my opinion, Celestino Drago has perfected Risotto, and his version here is sublime. The wild mushroom risotto cemented his mastery of the dish in my mind. The creamy risotto was accented with a variety of mushrooms and came with a dollop of rich gorgonzola cream sauce in the center. If you go to any of the Drago restaurants this dish will not disappoint.
Critics have sung the praises of Drago Centro since its opening, and I've been eager to try the food as well as Vincenzo Marianella's Italian-inspired cocktail menu. Last Friday I had an excellent dinner there, my enthusiasm for the food tempered only by my disappointment in the cocktails. Of course, it's an Italian restaurant first and foremost, and the food and setting are indeed top notch.
Drago Centro is handsomely designed, an urban setting worth every penny of the $7 million spent on its creation. The most striking feature is the double height glass wine tower, which announces Drago's wine focus as well as separates the bar area from the main dining room. I thought the banquettes were set a bit too close together, and the wall/graffiti art somewhat odd, but that's just nitpicking the otherwise glamorous, modern interior. The service was excellent, on point without being intrusive.
The short cocktail list is divided into Italian classics and Nuovi Classici. We decided to go with one from each section: I ordered a Negroni, the classic apéritif; my dining companion got a Viale del Tramonto ("Sunset Blvd"), made with bourbon, Amaretto Disaronno and organic apple juice. The Negroni was fine, but she thought the Viale was overpoweringly sweet; this coming from someone with a legendary sweet tooth. I tried it and, while I agreed it was too sweet, was not against trying to work on it after dinner.
For dinner I started with a venison carpaccio, an incredible dish featuring nearly translucent slices of venison offset by a few walnuts and greens, lightly dressed with a sherry vinaigrette. For my main course I had an excellent grilled veal, set on a bed of lentil ragout and topped with sweetbreads and okra. The veal was perfectly cooked and tender. To go with my entree our server suggested a Dolce Vita: a New Classic cocktail made with Altesino Grappa di Brunello, Monin Pomegranate syrup, black grapes and fresh lemon juice. Unfortunately, like the Viale it was another miss, cloyingly sweet and merely drinkable.
For dessert we had the ridiculously good i bomboloni, bite-sized doughnuts with strawberries, balsamic reduction, and mascarpone gelato. I made good on my promise to finish the Viale, and it turned out to be a decent accompaniment to our dessert.
While the food was amazing, I was disappointed in the cocktails as they were prepared that night. I'm a big fan of Vincenzo's cocktails at Copa d'Oro, so I don't know how to attribute the overly sweet cocktails. I'll definitely be returning to Drago Centro to try the cocktails again, perhaps during their new weekday "Aperitif Time." Here's hoping they serve those doughnuts in the bar...
There's something a little incongruent about Drago Centro, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I think it's the space. The food I had was excellent.
The space: really? Celestino Drago spent all that money on this? I think it's the flooring that I don't like. And of course the flooring is everywhere. The rest was just a little bit too sterile. I love sleek and glass and all that, but it seemed to need a little bit more balancing with the warmth element.
The liquor: good list of specialty cocktails. Great long list of Italian wines from many regions, most of which I knew nothing about.
The food: we did all seafood courses, which turned out to be a great choice because all of it was perfectly cooked. Cooking seafood perfectly is not easy, and each dish was so well executed.
Amuse: beef tartare. don't eat it, don't know.
Mussels: just-cooked. But, as my friend pointed out, they should not have put the unopened mussels in the serving dish. Couldn't tell if they weren't open because they were bad or they just needed a little bit more heat.
Spot prawns with a giant tubular pasta. They split this dish for us, that was very nice. The spot prawn was spot on. The pasta could have used a little more cooking time.
Octopus on crispy risotto cake. Very fresh, amazingly perfectly cooked octopus, in a really tasty savory sauce. Crispy risotto cake, crispy as promised.
Branzino in broth. I never got into branzino but it was very well prepared, and the broth was good. Tried my friend's trout, it was kind of pinkish, and again, perfectly cooked.
The service was also excellent. Friendly, professional and casual, and very pleasantly unstiff.
The best part: my friend paid. Yippee! Thank you!
Nice spot downtown with a large window into the downtown skyline if you look up - there is also a fountain sculpture right in front.
A bit difficult to find - but worth the trip.
Service - excellent - very attentive and staff was informative and knowledgeable.
We ordered the six course tasting menu - which is more of an elaborate affair than what I'm used to (I am of the Struggling Hollywood Assistant caliber) - but was taken out to dinner and had a lovely evening here. Cheese balls on a spoon (okay, so we dined there a week ago and I'm having trouble remembering the exact names) were delish, the halibut i wasn't too crazy about. Risotto - I also wasn't crazy about, but I'm not really a huge fan of risotto in general.
Ambience - Wasn't too loud in here - but the restaurant was, surprisingly not crowded.
My date wouldn't let me see the bill to see what the damage was, but I wouldn't normally come here unless it was for a special occasion. It is a good date spot as far as ambience and noise level - also noticed there was a nice semi-private dining room off to the side for large groups.
This review is distorted by the fact that I have NO IDEA how much the signature pasta dish was. I am going to guess somewhere around the neighborhood of about $20.00 - $25.00.
The food was DELICIOUS. The balance of flavor was very nicely done. Not too strong, not too bland. Very very nicely done. Portion was great for me but potentially might not be for a guy w/a big appetite. The desert platter they served after, I could have done without. It was mediocre at best. Their coffee was SUPER strong, but hey I am not going to turn down free coffee.
The ambiance was good, a little pretentious artsy. You know where the service probably drives a car I cant afford for the next couple years and they know it AND they know you know they know it? Yeah. A little sizing up as I did my walk of shame to their NICE bathroom. WHATEVER.
I really dont know if I would dare give it a 5 star rating though because that would mean I would put this in the same category as WaterGrill...it was good...but lets not get crazy here.
My first thoughts when I first saw this restaurant was, "where the heck did this place come from?" Background info: I used to work at the Paul Hastings building about a year ago and left for a few months. Now I work at the City National Building (the twin building of Paul Hastings) and all of a sudden this place sprung up out of nowhere. I knew I had to try this place.
Upon coming here, I knew it would be pricey, so I had to find a special reason to go. And of course I did! It was to catch up with a great friend and to celebrate my completion of the GMAT test I took the weekend prior.
Anyway, we came here for lunch on a Friday afternoon and I must say the place is really nice. The service was great, too! From the host to the busboy, everyone was very attentive and knew what they were doing. My friend ordered the salmon salad and I got the buckwheat pasta with prawns. The salad was very tasty and the salmon was nice and tender. Perfectly cooked and not dry at all. My pasta was small to me because I eat a lot, but I guess it's a good serving size for normal people. It included two prawns, which were nicely dressed in some red sauce. Also very tender and fresh. I just wish the dish came with more prawns. The pasta looked to be small cannoli-type noodles. It's definitely healthy!
For dessert, we shared the panicotta dish. The panicotta was topped with a small layer of crushed green ice and four slices of fresh mandarin oranges. It sat in a small pond of orange soup, which was a very nice compliment to the dessert.
I would probably recommend this place for dinner as it seems to be a fancy date place. It's comparable to the Water Grill in Downtown.
Hard to find location, but worth the trouble. Excellent drinks menu, the food is delicious and the place has really nice ambience. It is an expensive place but fortunately I didn't have to foot the bill. That meant I was restricted to certain items on the menu. The beer selections was all game, so I tried a slew of them, but I really enjoyed their beer from Kiuchi Brewery which was crisp, sweet and aromatic. As for dinner, I had a chance to try the le lattughe miste (mixed baby lettuces, red onions, brioche crisp, lemon vinaigrette), il risotto ai gamberi (saffron risotto, seafood ragout, spot prawns), some other food and dessert. Of course, the portions are not the largest, but the food was flavorful and fresh. I can't remember all I ate, was incapacitated by the booze.
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