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dineLA provides a great excuse/opportunity to knock a few restaurants off one's to try list. i know. it's not a contest where the person with the most food experiences wins, but life is short. food is good, and i do like crossing off items on lists. il moro came highly recommended, so i was looking forward to our lunch.
an elegant restaurant on the westside, il moro fits the stereotype and was full of westsiders and business lunch crowd. we had a seat in the small room in back somewhat insulated by the din of conversation and activity. i tried not to fill up on the freebies--an olive tapenade, crusty bread and crunchy flatbread encrusted with pearls of cheese, and a small dish of anti-pasta--but they were so tasty.
we started with the nicely prepared and fresh RAW ARTICHOKE, ARUGULA, MARKET LETTUCE SALAD LEMON DRESSING (photo: http://www.flickr.com/... )for the first course. I enjoyed the texture of the crunchy artichoke, and lemon is always great with arugula. we also shared the GRILLED EGGPLANT STUFFED WITH RICOTTA AND BAKED (photo: http://www.flickr.com/... ) plated with marinara and olive oil. you can't go wrong with a smokey eggplant filled with creamy cheese.
the entrees were ok, but not as good as the starters. they were out of the stuffed squash blossoms, which sounded so good. preposterous, i tell you, and by 1pm? the bf ordered a PORCINI MUSHROOM PIZZA (photo: http://www.flickr.com/... ). sporting a super thin crust with puffy crust, this was one good looking pizza. flavor was good, but it was so thin that the center was soggy. the toppings were rather sparse as well. i enjoyed the TENERELLI PASTA WITH CLAMS, TOMATO, LOBSTER SAUCE (photo: http://www.flickr.com/... ), with its firm noodles, but it didn't blow me away like the linguine a la vongole in cinque terre many years ago. i think i compare every pasta with clams to that bowl of pasta.
we finished off with the COCONUT RUSSE WITH MANGO SAUCE (photo: http://www.flickr.com/... ) recommended by our genuinely happy and helpful server. i love coconut and mango, but in this dish, the coconut was a little lost and overwhelmed by the sheer quantity and sweetness of the mango sauce.
the food is more of 3.5 stars, but the service was good. their happy hour specials seem are calling to me as well as the special prix fixe menus they offer regularly.
Just ate here for dinner last night. It's a beautifully designed contemporary Italian restaurant, which surprisingly enough I've never seen before despite driving past it everyday en route to work. It's nestled inside a large office complex so that may explain it. High ceilings, modern art and nice lighting accentuated the experience. Can't picture this place packed at night but I could be wrong.
I ate a watercress puree with raw salmon carpaccio that tasted a bit fishy and didn't sit right. Pasta was a mascarpone cheese ravioli concoction that contained ricotta cheese, spinach and almonds. Not very interesting or tasty, but definitely filling. I didn't see any traditional pastas on the menu (such as a bolognese) but there were lots of variations with pumpkins, perhaps because of the holidays. Entrees were equally unappealing. My wife ordered cod which she said was OK but otherwise unimpressive. The minestrone was chock full of veggies. We drank a bottle of '99 Monbousquet that had a fantastic nose and years of life ahead of it. Wine list was a bit random and not as formal as I was expecting.
Dined with my uncle so the company was 5 stars, but the food/restaurant garnered a measly 2. In a literal sea of Italian restaurants this one deserves little reason to return.
It's been quite sometime...actually year since I ate here last.
While it has undergone some changes in decor and setting, I'm sad to say that they overhauled the menu and things are no where near what you would expect.
- They no longer serve the olive tapenade with bread. Now you have a raddichio assortment served to you in a mini-square glass vase. Didn't really care for it.
- The Eggplant Fagottini Di Melanzane is no longer available. This has since been replaced by a muddled colored brick of what looks like polenta and pureed eggplant. I'm sure it tastes great, but there is a huge difference.
- Chicken Paillard has been nixxed.
- Pollo Piccata has been nixxed as well.
- Pumpkin Tortellini. A group of us would go specifically to Il Moro for this as it was a seasonal favorite. This had to be the biggest let down for us. There was no taste to the pumpkin filling as there used to...no taste of amaretto cookie, cinnamon and nutmeg. It was just pumpkin puree. The bolognese was a bit overwhelming which made it pointless to pair with the pumpkin tortellini. It was also noticeably different and salty (ironic since I love salting my food). There was no harmony in this dish.
The only thing that they hasn't been overhauled at this point is the Caesar Salad - which is still amazing. One can only hope that they don't do away with this or try to "re-vamp" it.
Sadly, we found that there's no need to return to this old favorite.
Hey....it was good while it lasted.
2 words: FREE APPETIZERS!!!
Many variety of appetizers to choose from, in a buffet style.
Parking is easy. Drinks cost ~$10.
A friend and I came here for happy hour because she loves the free appetizers here. However, she was a bit disappointed because the appetizers the night we went weren't hot (e.g. pipping hot, fresh pasta); instead there were a lot of cold meat dishes that were alright. There was also some shrimp and tomato with mozzarella cheese appetizers. Apparently, my friend has also had chocolate strawberries here, which weren't there went I went. Even though the appetizers weren't the best when we went, I still thought everything was good, especially since it was all free!
Park on Olympic during the weekdays (free metered parking).
Lunch with co-workers. It's in a great location. Super busy during lunch with business folk. Slightly upscale with white table cloths and linen napkins.
Had the App. Caesar salad and the App. of the beef and spinach ravioli with truffle oil special. Both were exceptionally good.
My associates had great things to say about the risotto alla capesante and the picchiatelli de ragu. The iced teas were good but not refilled quick or often enough.
2 App Salads, 4 entrees, 4 nonalcoholic drinks was approx. $100. with gratuity. Good thing we were on the expense account.
Gastroenteritis?
i hope to never experience that.
Gastroenerology?
Maybe not the best topic to discuss....
.but helllooooo Gastrobar. That word caught my eye when Greg S and I walked through the lovely glass doors.
i was alerted by my fellow yelpies about their 7:30-9:30 party, which featured their complimentary summer drink and various appetizers.
this specific event was held in the restaurant's bar area. There were two locations to which patrons could go order their delicious drinks. (drink cards were provided in the front). The new concoction by mixologist, Carlos "Charlie" Aguilar consisted of: Ultimat Vodka, Cashew nut fruit nectar, blend of lime and orange juice, and a tea style mint and basil simple syrup sauce. it was beautifully presented with a sliver of curved lime shavings around the drink. it was mighty stiff too! poor bartenders were completely overwhelmed! it's not a simple drink to make!
now to go onto the food:
there was caprese salad (extremely fresh mozarella, with basil and tomatoes), a mini crab salad, mixed in the middle of a tomato (it was very yummy), little nibbles of chicken legs (that reminded me of pheasants), shortrib? (it was a bit bland), seafood pasta. (complete with shrimp and calamari), fried calamari (extremely crispy, needed some lime juice or some moisture!). i can go on and on about the food, and what else i saw, but due to the high volume of patrons that came crashing through the door, those were the only items i had a chance to taste.
we left shortly after i got smacked in the head for the fifth time... lol. you can't blame the people. free gourmet food and drinks? i suppose there's no room for civility there.
i will definitely come back here again to explore their usual menu. minus the angry mob. : )
Parking for HH is easy to find, but it can be tricky. If you park on Purdue before 6pm, make sure you read the signs closely. One side of the street does not allow parking from 4pm to 6pm and the other side of the street has meters, some of which run until 6pm and some of which operate until 8pm. Someone from our party parked at a 8pm meter and got a ticket :-(
I love eating far more than drinking and the Il Moro HH was created for an eater like me. You do have to buy a beverage and the drinks don't come cheap. I had a $12 glass of prosseco. There are plenty of tables to sit around so you don't have to stand up or crowd a bar area during HH. Other places also offer free food during HH, but Il Moro actually serves food you would want to eat. I definitely made a meal out of HH - the plate they give you are small but after three trips to the food area, I was full. I guess $12 for dinner & a beverage is not bad.
I came here with Julianne L. for their happy hour the other day for the first time. Free mini buffet with an alcoholic drink purchase? Heck yeah! The drinks are full priced, and I didn't like the caipirinha I ordered. However, the spread was pretty good. Didn't get pasta, shrimp, or anything fancy that other reviewers mentioned...guess I came on an off day. Some items served were vegetable skewers, chicken drummets, cheese and deli meat, cookies, and toast with cream cheese. They also serve lunch and dinner, maybe I will give that a try sometime. Overall, a nice environment, mostly catered to the local businesses nearby. Parking can be tricky, only because I don't like to valet my car. Give this place a try, I will most likely be back.
10 dollar beer flights!
While I didn't get the beer flight (carbs. yes i say this as I proceeded to order fried foods), over half our party did and the bartender did a great job of explaining each one to us. It was really interesting. Talks of secret monks and high alchohol content, seasonal ale. Heh. Monks.
Jenni and I got there around 7ish. Plenty of street parking though they do valet for 6 bucks. Eh. No need really. She got a La Paloma which she said 'wow this got me really buzzed'. Really buzzed you say? I quickly down my wine and order one also.
Here's where I got to give Il Moro major props for portions. Me and Jenni ordered the fried calamari/pink shrimp, prosciutto and cheese plate, and eggplant with mozzarella strictly based on two people. I mean, we weren't thinking about 'oh this would be enough food for the whole party' (at least I wasn't) I was thinking. Man I hope this feeds the both of us. :-/
As our party grew from 2 to 7, the food arrived right when the others were arriving. Portions are huge! The 12 dollar meat/cheese platter with fig bars and fritters is the best deal ever! It was enough for everyone and we had a bit left over.
There was a whole lot of calamari and shrimp to go around as well as eggplant and everything was so good! It could totally be the La Paloma influence but seriously. pretty good.
Place is pretty empty for after work hours which is weird cuz there's so many businesses around here.
if you work close, make sure to hit up their happy hour. FREE FOOD.
I have had many great "power lunches" here since I work nearby. Thankfully, a vendor is normally paying because the place is not cheap. But, you get what you pay for.
They are definitely a Northern Italian place. I have had some of their red sauce pasta dishes and they fall short. Then again, I have had some spectacular meals here. You can almost never go wrong with their fresh fish. I recently had a sea bass that was exceptional. They offer wonderful salads too, but at $9 per on average for a small salad this may seem too much. I had rabbit here on a couple occasions and it was wonderful. They also serve some of the best iced tea I have ever had and it is worth it to stop in just for their cheesecake.
Service for the most part has always been great. Out of all the restaurants in the general area, this place is tops in quality and atmosphere. The outdoor patio is great on a nice day.
I enjoyed the very upscale yet casual atmosphere of this place. It was spacious inside with an outside patio for dining.
Their salads were very tasty, especially the spinach salad. I also tried their daily special salmon and it was one of the best fish dishes I've had in a while.
It's a great place for lunch and they have valet parking available as well.
The place was jamming for lunch, full of people and an overall busy/buzzy atmosphere. Still, the service was perfect. They're fast and respectful, and know the menu well. There were at least 5 specials (at lunch, no less!) that sounded fantastic, and they also serve a really nice looking series of thin crust pizzas, but I ended up getting the black squid ink pasta with scallops, shrimp, & roasted vegetables in a sundried tomato cream sauce. It was delicious! At $12-15 per plate for lunch meal portions, it's a little pricey, but worth the splurge for an impressive business meeting.
Although I've never been here for a meal, I LOVE coming here for Happy Hours. Just order a drink, and you can have all you want of the FREE appetizers set out on the bar.
The quality of the food varies from visit to visit, and there's always something different. I love the fresh pastas they set out, although sometimes it can be too spicy, like the chef went a little over board with crushed red pepper. They also serve quiches and tarts from time to time, along with mini sandwiches, fruit, and sometimes little desserts. Last night they were serving what seemed like tiny chocolate brownies, but with grape jam (?) on top.
The prices for the drinks are on the pricey side, but they have a great deal on wine flights.
The salads I have ordered at business lunches have been perfect.
What's better than grossly discounted appetizers during happy hour? FREE appetizers!!
The happy hour at the delightful Italian Il Moro Restaurant in West LA features a smorgasbord buffet of complimentary "Italian Gourmet Finger Food" with purchase of an alcoholic beverage (at regular price).
The best part is that these appetizers are not your typical cheese & crackers combo. They descend straight from the gastrobar - oh, so tasty & fancy: shrimp, ham & cheese rolls, tiny sandwiches & other delectable light munchies. The atmosphere is private, comfortable and relaxed - making it a great place to grab drinks with friends, coworkers or a date. Speaking of drinks, their beverage list is a pretty well-represented menu of cocktails, beers and wines.
Happy Hours are Monday to Friday, 5pm - 7pm. Hidden behind the Powerhouse Gym, Il Moro offers valet services, but you can find ample parking in the surrounding neighborhoods a short walk away. The downside is the drinks aren't discounted, but you can always eat your weight in food to make up for it!
It occurred to me when I was talking to my friend Rob today on IM. He hasn't been feeling well, and was complaining about the lack of non-cream-based soup options other than chicken noodle. I immediately began prattling off about my favorite broth-based soups in the city (I tend to get wordy when discussing food), but knew something was missing from my, of course, comprehensive list.
It wasn't the miso soup from Bar Hayama (I'd mentioned it and he countered that, while good, after a small bowl it started tasting like foot soup). And it certainly wasn't Whole Foods' half-hearted effort at minestrone. It was the cappelletti in brodo from Il Moro, a soup so craveably good that even reading the name makes my tongue moisten for the miniature homemade tortellinis that have been stuffed with braised beef and simmered in a translucent chicken broth. The soup alone is worthy of a return visit to the West LA Italian restaurant that gives off a rank smell of networking suits during the lunching hour. (The smell during the dinner hour has yet to be determined by my nostrils.)
Aside from my transcendent experience with the soup, the rest of my lunch was a blur. Bread was fine, though unremarkable, water service was up to par, and I appreciated that they held our salads while we finished our starter. I did not appreciate that the holding of the aforementioned salads resulted in the semi-wilted state of my Insalata Garga. The light mix of tender watercress leaves, hearts of palm, diced tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, avocado, and shaved parmigiano cheese was good, though nothing of particular note, especially after sitting under a sea of balsamic dressing for several more minutes than necessary. I certainly won't be including it on a list of my favorite salads in the city, but I'll throw the meatless offering a bone and say that it did give a respectable effort to tease my taste buds.
Of course, after the cappelletti in brodo, there could be no teasing. And I didn't mind in the least.
I've only been here for happy hour, after reading rave reviews. They have this amaaaazing spread of appetizers and pasta for happy hour, that is all free if you buy any drink (which unfortunately, are full-price at around $10 each, but are quite tasty). Their food is kind of fancy, and includes little shrimp cocktails stuffed in oranges, small pork chops, all kinds of pastas and pizzas, etc. etc. For drinks, I like their Pimm's cup and their Caipirinha. If you go early, you can take full advantage of the free spread, which can definitely fill you up for "dinner" for the price of a drink. (No shame. It's an economic depression). If you go late, though, you will not only have an impossible time finding a table, but all the food will be gone. I may come try them for a real meal sometime, but definitely check them out for happy hour.
The Thinnest & Crispiest pizza in L.A.
I just love the pizza at Il Moro, I don't comprehend why some place mess up a good pizza!
The buffet at happy hour is one of the best.
Great Patio and the most charming manager, the typical Napolitain, Elio, you are great.
Thank you
Place looks cute and the outside garden is pretty but the food is mediocre. It's over priced and the service really sucks. My dinner took 2 hours. I had 1 appetizer, a soup, and a half serving a pasta. The only good thing I had there was the pear martini. That is a must. Maybe I don't mind going there for just the bar
I was able to visit il moro last week as I wanted to try a new restaurant before Dine LA restaurant week ended. I came here with a friend after we debated between a couple of restaurants to visit and we were definitely not disappointed!
The set menu was very tasty all the way through. My meal consisted of the mozarella filled eggplant, lobster and shrimp tortellini in a saffron sauce, and a caramel creme custard to top it off. Very relaxed vibe inside and the service was very nice and attentive. Looking forward to coming back for a 2nd visit to try out their regular menu.
*It's a little hard to find because they're not actually on olympic, but tucked away on purdue right next to the gym. Wasn't hard to find street parking around that area.
did happy hour here with a friend so i've never actually had a meal here, though i'd like to.
happy hour is GREAT! you only need to buy drinks (cheapest drink is about $10 for a beer) and they have an amazing spread of food out that's all for free. this isn't standard free food like crackers and cheese, this is the real deal with fresh pasta, ribs, arancini, stuffed chicken, and so on. It's a great deal and a fun atmosphere after a long day at work
Free gourmet appetizers during Happy Hour? Oh yeah! Homemade pastas? Ohhh yea!
My Thursday Happy Hour girls and I get together here almost every other week. How can we resist all the wonderful free food?? They set out trays during Happy Hour of all kinds of interesting little goodies and every time I've been (5+ times now) there are new and unique treats to taste. Last night for example they offered some kind of meat product (tasted like chicken and then bacon?) stuffed with spinach, little orange halves filled with a tangy shrimp/onion/tomato mix, halved tomatoes filled with tuna, and lots of little items that are somewhat unidentifiable (this is usually the case - they should put up little signs or something). If you're lucky they will put out their infamous freshly made pasta (the arrabiata is to die for though last night they made it much too spicy) and/or their ultra-THIN margarita pizza. I get stuffed on the apps and don't even want to order dinner.
They have a nice selection of specialty drinks but the drinks overall are a bit on the pricey side. Go for the wine flights, they're worth the money.
I ordered the seafood pasta once to share with Mike and it was way more food than we could finish for dinner. The pasta by the way is utterly fabulous - you HAVE to try it if you eat here. I keep telling myself I'll order the lobster tortelloni one of these days but I keep eating too many appetizers to be able to make room in my (ever-expanding) tummy!
Oh, and the one waitress that's usually there on Thursdays is pretty hot, she's tall, super skinny and always has a funky new hair cut and color.
Happy hour! Happy hour!! Happy hour!!!
I'm a sucker for happy hour. I love it. I get to hang out with my friends while drinking and munching. Something about getting together right after work instead of 7:30pm dinner makes me really happy. Another benefit, at least to me, is that I always get full from a couple of drinks and munchies and never need a dinner anymore. I end up eating less than a real dinner, and the bill tends to be cheaper than the dinner with all the deals. Yes, it's really a "happy" hour for me!
Il Moro was amazing when it came to happy hour. Free buffet! Yes, FREE BUFFET is there for you to gorge on. Well I don't know about you elegant ladies, but I'm not messing around when it comes to free food. Free drinks? Meh. But free food? Ohhhhhh yeah, I'm so there!!!
They had variety of bruschetta, skewers, and cheeses. They had tuna salad in a tomato cups, some bite size steaks, shrimp cocktails, fruits, veggies, olives, and even cheese cakes! How do you not love this!?
Now granted that they do not have happy hour deal as far as drinks goes, and their drinks are expensive, but I still think it's totally worth it. With $14 frilly martini, I stuffed myself with little bit of everything that they offered at the buffet.
The boy also ordered a super thin crust eggplant pizza and it was quite good. Well the center was soggy a bit, but the outer edge was so crispy and so light!
This is my favorite happy hour place by far. Though I don't really live or work near here, I'll still definitely come back here with my GFs to catch up on things while sharing a pizza and enjoying the buffet selections along with frilly drinks.
With great savory Italian food that is light and yummy, Il Moro is the perfect place for lunch or happy hour. They offer half portions which make it easy to misbehave and have that small bowl of pasta you are craving while also being healthy with a small salad. The service is attentive and the restaurant itself is classy and alive. Good stuff!
On the way to dinner, we walked past the free happy hour appetizers, they looked divine.
I went for dinner during Dine LA week. I started with the Fagottini Di Melanzane. The thinnest sliced eggplant, wrapped around mozzarella cheese, covered in tomato sauce. It was a nice start. Very delicious. Though the Tortelloni D'Aragosta Allo Zafferano (Tortelloni filled with lobster and shrimp, in a creamy saffron sauce) was amazing. For dessert I had a rich chocolate cake, with raspberry sauce. It was the ed to a great dinner.
Happy hour.
For many, happy hour is that special time at a bar where you get 50% off drinks or BYGO appetizers. For others it's an excuse to get with some friends and get sloshed for cheap. Il Moro does not offer cheap drinks or cheap food for their happy hour, but it was still one of the best I've had. Instead they offer a massive spread of free snacks. That's right, FREE.
I arrived on a Friday at 6pm and the place was filled with a small crowd of quiet patrons. I got myself a $12 7'n'7, which turned out to be damn fine. I then made my way over to the buffet. They had cheese cake squares, shrimp, beef and chicken kabobs, bruschetta with different fish spreads, cheese, meat and cheese rolls, things on sticks, fruits, veggies, etc! All you could ever hope to snack on while drinking wine with friends in West LA.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
By 6:30pm our entire crew had assembled and the staff was very nice by helping us merge a few tables together. By 7pm the place was crowded and loud, most the food was gone and I had a nice mini-buzz from my two drinks. The girl saw someone get a nice looking thin crust pizza earlier so we got one as well. It was good! The outer edge was super crispy but the center had sogged out a bit. It was still pretty good.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
I plan on having many more happy hours here and I hope to get drunk enough to actually sing at a karaoke bar on Sawtelle, which I wasn't drunk enough to do on that night.
My new coworkers took me here for lunch on my first day. The restaurant was very nice inside and out. We sat outside next to the water, it was quite nice. They give you an assortment of breads and an olive tapanade spread. For lunch I had the Ravioli di Cipolla Tropea e Ricotta al Burro Fuso e Fiore di Zucchini - Ravioli filled with tropea onions, ricotta cheese, sauteed with zucchini blossom in a butter and parmesan cheese sauce. It was a little salty but very tasty. The service that day was pretty slow but I was told that normally its good. I think overall it was a tad too expensive for what it was but I would go back.
*******UPDATE: I only recently discovered their Happy Hour and for that, they get an extra star! First of all, it about 12 feet from work which is fantastic but the best part, as everyone already mentioned, there is free food during happy hour!
The drinks are full price and they a nice selection of cocktails and wine, could have some better beers though. They also do beer and wine flights which are always fun. Anyway, so full price for the drinks but then there is a huge spread of food all for you! Quiche, cheese, shrimp in puff pastry, potato balls, goat cheese with endive, stuffed mushrooms, pizza, chicken wings, ribs, and it goes on and on and on! Fantastic!
GREAT happy hour food.
With a glass of ice water down my back, only one serving of the special fish available, and being told there was no pizza (a menu item) available for the kids, we thought we were off to a really bad start. The manager stepped in and things turned around in a hurry. We did have to send one dinner of 9 back, but overall things were very good and the service was excellent. We found the menu somewhat limited, with an abundance of seafood, but everybody found something to their liking and the evening was enjoyed by all.
Great place to go for HH (4-7pm). You get free food with any alcoholic beverage you order.
Good selection of wine and beer. There seems to be more red wine drinkers than white wine drinkers here. Most of the people ordered cocktails as well.
Warm, sophiscated, and elegant ambiance & decore.
Excellent service. The waiters were attentive. The owner was humble, helping out the staff with clearing the plates. He was also very helpful, friendly, and made small talks with his patrons.
Meter parking (free after 6pm) or parking structure.
Love this place!
Went for Happy Hour on Friday. Free, Italian, gourmet food. BEST free HH food I've ever had. Good crowd - and the place never got noisy to the point where you couldn't hear the person next to you.
il Moro is a lovely spot to enjoy a weekday lunch... especially if you're lucky enough to dine on the outdoor patio on a sunny afternoon.
Start with the grilled eggplant stuffed with fresh mozzarella then baked in tomato sauce...wow! This appetizer happily melts in your mouth. The grilled swordfish was prepared to perfection and served with roasted rosemary potatoes and spinach with garlic. To end my most delightful meal, the warm apple tart with vanilla ice cream was "mmmmm...." (actually, I would have been more than fine with any of the desserts). Enjoy!
I used to work close to this restaurant, so I find it funny that I have visited this place more often now then when I worked a couple of buildings away. I've gone previously for lunches and dinner (sidenote... I found the service and lighting in the interior much better during the day). They do fantastic pastas and veals.
Just recently, I went to visit friends from my old office. We decided to meet up at Il Moro for drinks. I was unaware they had food available for FREE as previously mentioned. Skewers, grilled veggies, fresh fruit, etc. If you can nurse your full price beer or cocktail you can make a whole meal in a couple of hours. LOL.
Its a very good restaurant to go to. Now I know a good place for happy hour.
Ate here for lunch today with a few other people. Walked in, and was greeted with very friendly staff. I told them it was my first time dining here, and they were so curious to find out how I heard about it.
Sat us at a great table on the patio right by the koi pond. They came over and adjusted the umbrella so that no one was sitting in the sun and were very attentive for the first portion of our meal.
I ordered the artichoke salad- it was Divine. I'm a whore for artichokes though, so of course I was in love.
Also ordered the Veggie pizza- wow! It had roasted eggplant, zucchini, spinach, asparagus, and cheese and my gosh was it flavorful! The crust was ridiculously thin so it's easy to eat the majority of the pizza. Oh- it's seriously about 16" across, so if you want to look dainty- don't order the pizza.
Service wavered a bit once we were done eating, but all in all, a great place for business lunches.
We were in high spirits when we entered Il Moro since we had a wonderful dineLA lunch earlier in the day. We were hoping to end the night with on a good note as well....but, well, this place didn't rock our socks as we wanted it to.
As we passed by the happy hour spread, we were excited for our experience here. It was a place for wining and dining, with a much older crowd than our demographic.
What I didn't like here was how the tables are situated very close together. I heard the whole conversation of the table to the right of ours and we were able to smell the calamari of the table to our left. Because of that, I feel as if this place doesn't make a romantic date place, unless if you like for the tables next to yours to be able to hear your conversation. As for the food, we ordered
Appetizers:
* Grilled eggplant with mozzarella - It was just okay by me. Not my type
* Italian sausages in stew - It was edible, and I somewhat enjoyed it.
Entrees:
* Torteollini stuffed with lobster and shrimp - It was just okay by me too. I am not a fan of the texture of the lobster and shrimp together, so if I'm just hating, maybe that's just my problem. He wasn't able to finish his entree.
* Marinated chicken breast with celery, etc - I was underwhelmed with my entree. I felt as if this dish was a chicken in pot roast type of deal. I sliced a piece for my date to try and he said, "....tastes like something you can eat at Covell [Commons]" (http://map.ais.ucla.ed... ) I tried to finish this dish and it simply wasn't good.
We weren't too happy with our entrees that in the middle of the meal, we mouthed to each other, " We could've went to Lawry's for dineLA dinner instead." Well, now we know, right?
For dessert, I suggested for us to share the triple chocolate semifreddo and box the other one since we expected for the dessert to be underwhelming. By the time our dessert came at our table, it just looked so good that I said, " HM. I guess we're not sharing this one." We scarfed our dessert down like there was no tomorrow in order to make up for the rest of the meal.
Overall, this place wouldn't be a place we would come back for a dinner. While the place itself was nice, the dinner wasn't really all that. Maybe we'll be back for the happy hour....just maybe...
Quiet, private, friendly.
Food is good and not too heavy, staff is knowledgeable, informative, and friendly. This is a good choice for a nice, quiet, romantic evening. It was a spontaneous evening (so we didn't have reservations) but they were still very accommodating and we still got a perfect little table next to the water outside.
We went there for lunch. It was a Tuesday and it was rather busy. We were sitted outside in the the patio area. My friend was wearing a short sleeve shirt we asked the waiter to turn on the heat lamp. We got a lame response about the umbrellas being too close to the lamps. We said fine. However later we found out that RULE can be bended. A group of well dressed ladies asked the same thing and they moved the umbrella a little and turned on the lamp. I was not amused but I didn't show it.
The waiter came and went through the motion on today's specials. All the time he had no eye contact and was looking else where. I thought we are suppose to be doing the people watching. It could be we are 3 Chinese dudes that do not dress like the power brokers of the West Side.
We ordered a calamari and shrimp fritto appetizer. It was ok. The batter was not too heavy but the sauce lacks acidity. The temperature of the food suggests the kitchen had it ready for a few minutes before it made it to our table.
The pastas had good textures and the sauce are delicately done. My polenta was creamy and good.
In my rip old age I have not been so annoyed by a place in a LONG LONG time. I guess if you are well dressed or white you might be ok in this place.
Pros:
1) The outdoor space is nice - it's near the street, but the sound of the water drowns the vehicle noise out. You don't at all feel like you're sitting in the middle of urban craziness.
2) The service was generally good other than the fact that an espresso we ordered never appeared and we finally had to ask about it.
3) I had the lobster and shrimp tortellini - it was very good.
4) My friend didn't tell me this was a more upscale place and so I went dressed a bit grungy (jeans and a t-shirt - I'd just driven down to LA from the Bay Area). No one made a big deal about it which I thought was cool.
Cons:
1) Parking even at night can be a bit of a hassle.
2) The gelato master from Rome was a little overrated.
OMG HOMEMADE HOMEMADE HOMEMADE!!! It is all homemade pasta!!! and Soup!!! DELICIOUS!
We ordered lunch from Il Moro for the first time today and the food is excellent excellent excellent. It tastes so fresh - because it is! I"m not expert on Italian food, but I would bet my bottom dollar that this place is extremely authentic.
I can't wait to visit the resturant in person. It looks great in the pictures and the Happy Hour sounds FABUOOOLASSSSSS!
yum!
PS. next time I am ordering Desert!
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