MOSTO enoteca

On Open Table as well...
I came here with a Bloomspot Chef's Tasting Menu deal plus a bottle of wine. I'm so glad I had that though. It was the right amount of food, great price, and it sure was tasty. Our waiter Christopher was very helpful and polite. We had black truffle & mushroom crostinis, spinach walnut salad w/ fig balsamic vinegar, scallop & squash risotto, NY steak w/ argula, and a chocolate lava cake and every bite was finished. I will be back again for sure. Thanks Mosto Enoteca

Mosto may be the only Italian restaurant in So Cal that knows how to make a good Cacio e Pepe (spaghetti with pecorino romano & black pepper). After coming back from Rome, I had high expectations, and Mosto certainly delivered (see photo I posted).

In addition to the Cacio e Pepe, I have also had their crostini prosciutto & mozzarella - toasted bread with S. Daniele prosciutto & fresh mozzarella, which was just okay.

They have a very small indoor restaurant as well as a patio outside, although the outdoor dining can get loud since it overlooks a busy street. The service is average, nothing to write home about.

I attended a wine-tasting event here which was located in an adjacent room next to the restaurant. That event was informative and it included a variety of Italian wines accompanied by various appetizers.

Overall, Mosto is a good, authentic Italian restaurant in So Cal and so far they have the best Cacio e Pepe outside of Rome!

Small little fact I've learned from adventuring about LA: Just because an establishment is located in a strip mall does NOT mean it is cheap, a chain, or low quality. In other cities I find that to be the case but I've encountered all kinds of gems tucked away in ugly little strip malls here. Mosto Enoteca is a perfect example, there may be a nail salon below and a Subway a few feet to the right but Mosto Enoteca is offering up some quality Italian.

The way to my heart is a variety of mushrooms, so the funghi e tartufo as a starter was perfecto. Crustini with assorted oiled mushrooms, delicious. Next, my main course of tagliatelle integrali was done flawlessly which was critical, I can't stand "Italian restaurants" that don't know how to cook pasta. Kudos for making my whole wheat pasta in-house, as it should be. The wine suggested with my meal was paired just right. My lady had pumpkin ravioli and I will assume from her moaning that she was either rather turned on by my intense sex appeal OR the ravioli were off the hook. I'm gonna go with really good ravioli...

Again, for such an unassuming location we walked in to find a small, dimly lit unwinding atmosphere, perfect for Italian. Candle light, nice tables, classy. The service quiet and relaxing.

I'm sure your parents told you not to judge a book by it's cover, and that rule is certainly valid for Mosto Enoteca. In a strip mall.... who knew?

Such a weird and not that great dinner.

From the service to the busser to the food, that dinner was a trip I don't want to go on again. There seemed to be a manager and one server, both were stepping on each other's toes. Both tried to take our drink order and both told us slightly different versions of the night's specials.

Since there were four of us with a coupon, I got to sample a little of everything. To start, we ordered four differently topped costini; zucchini, chicken liver, mushrooms, and prosciutto, and each one was uninspiring as the last. The zucchini being the oddest, with finely diced cubes of almost raw zucchini and the tiniest piece of goat cheese in the middle. It was just a weird offering altogether.
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/e5z28BIP7o_Gg6FpP8eNhA?select=8sNgSCLYH3gWBt5zCFMGCw

Next was the only part of the meal I enjoyed, the burrata with prosciutto. The cheese was great, the meat was salty, and the dressing was a nice tie in.
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/e5z28BIP7o_Gg6FpP8eNhA?select=NOJ94w854hull_afSR4QDQ

After my amazing risotto at Fig, I decided to press my luck and chase that high. The result was what every addict fears; the second time is never as good. The rice was undercooked and not seasoned. The lamb on top was equally bland and on the chewy side.
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/e5z28BIP7o_Gg6FpP8eNhA?select=iE18rV1SfcdFnznTjJe8DQ

The bites I had off my dining companions' plates were just as meh. If it wasn't for the almost half off coupon, I would have felt cheated, but since the meal was almost 50% off, I guess it could have been worse.

I purchased a Groupon to this place a while ago, and have been waiting for a good night to try it. Hubby and I finally were able to get out here a few nights ago, but I'm not gonna lie- I was extremelyyy wishy-washy after reading all the recent poor reviews, including the surprisingly rude comments from the manager... I don't believe we met him while we were there, but he could stand to take a few classes in customer service with those mean-spirited words.

Anyway, I like to give new restaurants the benefit of the doubt and have them all start out with 5 stars in my mind. I called and made a reservation the night before, and we walked in and were seated at a table in the entryway, right by the door. My thoughts on reservations are this- if I take the time to call ahead, then can't the restaurant take the time to save a nice table for me? The place IS really tiny though, so whatevs. I ordered a glass of prosecco, he ordered the italian beer, and I got over it. Here's what we had:

Crostini with proscuitto, fresh mozzarella, and basil oil- The crostini ended up being the same exact bread that you get a basket of at the beginning of the meal, and they were small. Four, small pieces. They loaded on the proscuitto, but the mozzarella portion was stingy. I was expected a slice of the fresh cheese on top of the meat, but instead it was a small chunk topped with the basil oil. That was a little disappointing.

Pesto risotto with seared scallops- The risotto itself was good, but the portioin was small and the seared scallops looked like it was ONE scallop cut in half. There were two small pieces on top of the rice. I was pretty surprised about that... I think it's kind of cheeky to advertise the meal with scallops if it barely comes with any. Hubby was still hungry after he finished it.

Pappardelle with ragu- I love pappardelle, and this dish was pretty tasty. The sauce was nothing really superbly special though, but I did very much enjoy the cheese on top. Portion was also small.

We were still hungry and desiring something when we finished our meal, but frankly I didn't feel like ordering more at this place. The food was good, but not worth the prices. I'd feel better about paying $16 for that pasta if it was a decently sized portion. It's hard for me to convince my man to try new places, so when I finally get him to agree, and the place is kind of just meh/ok, I'm pretty let down. Service was friendly enough, but I doubt we'll ever come back here.

These reviews are certainly not authentic however can you blame them for wanting good reviews from us???

Mosto is located in a strip mall which as of now has easy and plentiful parking. Nestled in the upstairs corner with a large patio for summer outdoor dining, the chocolate wood decor gives the small space a warm feeling. It would be even better if they could find a way to block out that "strip mall feel" by adding some plants or even some blinds.

The food here is fresh and they have some nice wines by the glass. The chefs definitely know what they are doing. My lamb ragout pasta was yummy but I have high expectations for a plate of $18 pasta. It could have had more meat because it really wasn't very filling. I also ordered a $9 salad that was tiny and only had mixed greens too. My girlfriend ordered the pumpkin tortellini that was also delicious but there were two things we both had in common when we left. 1) We were both hungry. 2) We were both out 50 bucks.

At these prices, its going to be hard to compete with some of the other great Italian restaurants out there which offer you better ambiance and service with bigger portions at the same prices. I do think however that this restaurant is still very new and it has a lot of potential. I think it could thrive in the summer when the patio vibe can take off. They also have a lovely room where you can have a nice intimate dinner party which could come in handy.

Purchased $25 certificate through restaurant.com for $5 so got to save $20 here. The Salmon carpaccio with burrata (special that night) was very good. Also enjoyed the pork chop. The panna cotta dessert did not disappoint~. Received good service here.

Will be back!

Parking: Plenty of parking spaces shared with the other shops at the strip mall.

Excellent service: provided by Chris, the manager. Fantastic wine suggestion: Sea Smoke Pinot Noir. Ambience: quaint and home-y. We came in towards the closing hour and they provided great service. Even when they closed they did not kick us out...
Food: I ordered the pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sage and my date ordered the gnocchi. The attention to detail really shows here. It was all heavenly.
I will definitely be back for more food and wine!

Not very busy on a Tuesday night. Got seated immediately. Service was nice and friendly, but the food was super bland.

Got 2 appetizers - the crostino prosciutto and mushroom crostino. The former was tasty - the mozerella cheese was delicious. The mushroom crostino was a huge disappointment - boring mushrooms with only a hit of truffle. I would have preferred a larger flavor bomb in my mouth.

The squid ink pasta was also a huge disappointment. It was bland and started tasting salty by the end of the dish. You get 4 shrimp. The tomatoes probably added the most flavor to the dish as the pasta and sauce were tasteless.

After hearing rave reviews, I was super excited to come here. Left extremely underwhelmed. Probably one of the worst ways I have spent a Benjamin.

I would give it a 4 star based on the food and a 1 star based on service so will give it a 2 since I could not do a 2.5 star. Not a fan of giving low stars but overall I expected much better.

We had reservations for 8:30pm on a weekday but did not get a seat until 45 minutes later. They were short staffed and had no clue what they were doing. When we did get a table the service was super slow, even the basics like getting water.

We had a certificate for the sampler menu from bloomspot.com. The staff and the manager/owner had a hard time figuring out what it includes but yet their business is the one doing the promo/certificate. When the bill arrived, they tried charging me for the dessert, even though that is a part of the sampler menu....a bit annoying.

That was the bad. Here is the good.

I like the decor and ambience of the place, very romantic. Great wine selection.

Here is what we had:

Crostino burrata e rucola (warm appetizers) - burrata, rucola and figs balsamic

Rucola e barbabietole (salad) - arugula, roasted beets, blue goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts in a raspberry vinaigrette

Tagliatelle nere ai gamberi (pasta) - squid ink tagliatelle with shrimp, asparagus, cherry tomatoes

Tagliata di manzo (main dish/meat)- grilled N.Y. steak with herbs, pink peppercorn and sea salt and served with an arugula salad

Torta di cioccolato (dessert) - flourless chocolate cake with red wine sauce
and hazelnut gelato

Once again, I wish it was a better experience.