Ristorante daVinci

I actually really like this place. Of course the
coupon helped my decision. This place is really swanky. We went on a weekday. I think we were one of four parties in there. Two people were dining by themselves. We had my daughter or we would have hit up the bar for happy hour and appetizers.
We started off with the Fiori di Zucca, 3 tempura fried squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese. It came with a tangy remoulade type dressing. Very nice finish.
For dinner I had the Anatra which was smoked duck breasts served with sauteed spinach, pureed potatoes, and grilled figs. It was excellent. I ordered it medium rare. It had great flavor.
My (5-​year-​old) daughter had Torelloni stuffed with roasted corn and mascarpone cheese. It was good firm pasta with a good-​sized amount of filling. She didn’t care for it too much, but it was the only thing I could think to get for her since they don’t offer a kid’s menu. She actually enjoyed my duck more than the pasta.
My husband had the Salmon with Sauteed pea tendrils, potatoes and roasted cherry tomatoes. He liked it. It smelled very pungent and fishy to me so I didn’t even want to try it. Okay, to be honest, I was grossed out by the smell.
The bread they served was an olive bread. It paired nicely with the garlic, herb, and olive oil mixture they serve it with.
Silly side note, soda refills were free. I hate going somewhere and wondering if I’m paying $ 5 a glass. I was delighted to see this wasn’t the case.
The service was really, really slow. That was the biggest downer for me. We were waiting a good while to order. Our appetizer came out, quickly followed by our meals. I like to pace myself in between and not feel so rushed.
Other than that, it was a nice change of pace. We’d definitely come back, just the two of us.

Dine & Wine while you enjoy the view of th

Sorry Leonardo, but this machine of yours just won’t fly. Sure, it’s pretty and all but the engine lacks the thrust, the oomph, to get it off the ground. You need more heat.
I guess it all began with our server messing up our orders several times. Or what began as a pleasant event soon became a regrettable one.
The entrance is beautiful, no doubt, in neo-​classical Italian, the marbles, columns, artwork, all very beautiful. The seating was fine, the settings perfect. A visit to the restrooms showed them to be clean, stylish and well-​provisioned.
But we came to dine, of course, and here is where they fell flat. Being experienced diners, we asked about the specials and any recommendations. Our server, admitted FNG (newbie), then went on to actually serve us his recommendations instead of what we had ordered! Hmm. He should have written our order down instead of trying to memorize it like they do in all those fancy joints. He was all apologetic and took care of part of the bill but the damage, ah, the damage. If this were a flying machine, we’d be going down in flames. When we finally got our entrees, the buffalo burger meat was cold. Jon’s worst pet peeve is when his hot meals get served cold. You should look for his icy review after he calms down. My impression of the texture of the burger was more like a luke-​warm bloody tartare and I once again swore back to vegetarian.
The fries were good. A new C-​17 took off for McChord AFB (
). Photos up.
Da Vinci’s flying machines never made it off the ground but he painted a mean smile on some girl’s face. She graces the entrance to the restrooms here and her smile makes it look like she’s hiding something. Tell us what’s up, Mona…

My 4 year anniversary with the manfriend was today. or yesterday! we decided to come here and celebrate!
service was EXCELLENT!!! I wish I remembered our waiters name, but she was really nice and attentive! Also, this other waiter was extremely attentive and would sneak up on us to refill my boyfriend’s water.
It was a Monday night and only a few people were there. so we got the best of the best! everything the chef made was terrific!
calamari: the breaded part was crispy and light! the calamari itself was great but some of them were a tad overcooked. better overcooked than undercooked!
the waiter brought us a mini sea bass «salad» on a chip and HOLY CRAP, ABSOLUTELY YUMMY! i wish I ordered that instead of the calamari! I couldnt find it on the menu, but I think its close to the «crudo di pesce» under antipasti! She also gave us a sample of their soup of the day which was potato leek soup with bacon! very tasty and filling!
by the time, our main dishes came… we were stuffed! or at least I was!
risiotto with italian sausage & pesto: simple, but great! I really enjoyed it!
braciola di maiale: the pork was extremely tender! I was surprised the apricot glaze complemented the pork very well! the grilled peaches and the spinach was delicious! wish I tried the potatoes though, it looked appetizing!
We were allowed to choose any dessert we wanted in honor of the anniversary… thank you daVinci! I chose the tiramisu cheesecake! The rum was a bit overpowering, but overall it was pretty good!
Our waiter also brought us another dessert sample… it was a raspberry truffle? gelato? (wasnt cold though.) in a flakey, light, crispy pastry! I wish i got that instead of the tiramisu!!! ;)
the bill was around 62. not too bad.
with tip. was 72!
ENJOY!

If you love airplanes and watching them take off and land, or want to impress a date who does, stop by da Vinci. I went to da Vinci for a business lunch and my first impression was, «What the???» just because we had pulled up to this huge building off the 405 that looked like an airplane hangar.
Head to the elevators and up to the 3^rd floor where you enter upon this place that’s kind of reminiscent of Caesar’s palace or something that’s just really out of place in Long Beach.
They have a big patio, but the huge windows they have allow you to see the runway and the planes, even if you aren’t al fresco. The menu has everything from seafood and to all meats. I ordered the Ceppo Alla Bolognese which is hand rolled pasta with a meat ragu. It was delicious. I was with two people who ordered salads. Bleck. And we all started out with the pumpkin soup which was frankly, tasteless. Even after we salted it. It’s not a cheap date as the soup was $ 6 for a cup and entrees averaged around the $ 17 mark.
I liked it because the food was decent, the service was the same, you can daydream and watch planes come and go, and it’s not some place you would just happen upon.

Two years ago (when I was 29) a friend took me here for dinner on my birthday. I didn’t write a review about daVinci since being on Unilocal because I’m sure things had changed.
Well, they have as far as the menu is concerned; our server told me its changed (3) times. The chefs, that’s another story (they’ve had 25 in the last (2) years… Hmmmmmm?
My parents, brother, sister in-​law (down from Mariposa/​Yosemite), my niece, my nephews fiancée (he just got back from Iraq and is still at base discharging), my brother and brother in-​law were all in attendance; [in attendance] for my Brother and sister in-law’s (5) year wedding anniversary. Oh yes, and the belle of the ball-​ME!
We had reservations for 7 PM and after arriving, being seated, given the wine list, menus etc., I began to take in the ambiance of the place; which is very Italian and very dark; well at least in some areas and that area included out table. So, I thought perhaps a Belvadere Cosmo would help me focus!
Oh me oh my I’m a fool for ‘ya baby! Tasty and perfection to the degree that I’ll get rid of my blow-​up doll!
My brother in-​law and I selected a very special Shiraz, so special that they had to climb the ladder into the upstairs wine rack above the bar to retrieve it! I cannot recall the name (blame the cosmo) but my dad, brother in-​law and I really enjoyed it before, during and even after our meal.
Our server was spot on and even remembered my brother and brother in-​law by name and they haven’t been here for a year! She was very attentive, explained the items on the menu, made recommendations and for me (whom she saved for last) she was very thorough; because it was to dark to see as I once again had forgotten my glasses. My dad had to borrow a cell phone with a light just to read the menu so I knew it wasn’t just me.
We had the standard appetizer fare, I had the Spinich Salad and my entrée was the corn feed beef steak (which our server highly recommended) Everyone else but my brother in-​law (he had the lamb & said it was a little tough) opted for the Lobster Ravioli and the 2 sticks figures (my niece and nephews fiancée just had a Romana Salad); come on girls talk about taking the fun out of dining GEEEZ!
For dessert I passed but Cream Brulee and Chocolate cake was served (I have never seen Cream Brulee served as a «slice» and the chocolate cake was cylindrical in shape and didn’t look much like chocolate cake to me) and, for the anniversary couple:
Chopped fresh peaches on top of creamy hand made vanilla ice cream dribbled with honey peach nector!
All in all a very pleasent 2 &½ hour dining experiance and, everyone seemed to have enjoyed their meal. I on the other hand enjoyed sitting next to my dad exchanging jokes, witty remarks and being grateful I still have both he and my mom (WHOM AS ALWAYS LOOKED FABOO!) around to enjoy good times with!
Also, watching the planes take off along with the brave helocopters riders was fun too; the airport was so beautiful at night from our table view.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Very Good For Special Times!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CIAO!