Cafe Verona

Every time I visit this Italian gem on La Brea, I want more of it! Maybe its because I spent every summer of my childhood at the Adriatic sea, but I do crave certain flavors & ambiance from time to time, and Café Verona always fulfills my expectations. Today was no exception. My wife and I arrived around 1pm, and the place was already packed (we took the last available spot on their parking). Thanks to a very pleasant staff member, we didn’t have to wait for a table, so we got straight down to business — freshly squeezed orange juice & delightful Bruschetta di Pomodoro to start. My wife then ordered pasta Bolognese, and I went for a panini Celestino (comes with nice portion of salad) — both dishes came out very quick, and we were honestly more than satisfied. I can’t talk for my wife, but my panini sandwich was a real treat — prosciutto di Parma was so good & fresh (I believe Café Verona imports their prosciutto), and mozzarella was perfectly melted over sun dried tomatoes. We closed our Café Verona visit with a double-​shot semi-​dry Cappuccinos — perfection! I’d like to thank everyone at Café Verona for their great service and amazing food — you really made our day, thank you!

This place is seriously a LOCAL HIDDEN GEM, and I almost don’t even want to write a review because then more people will start showing up. But I gotta. First off, I lived in Italy for a year, near Florence, and have a solid grasp of food and ingredients. This place is one of the rare places that uses ingredients of true quality. Fresh vegetables, sharp parmesan, aromatic herbs with seafood, steaks that have a carbon char.
The Fettucine Piemontese is hands down the best thing here. It’s why I am the size I am currently. I have to ask the server to make me a double order, because unfortunately the portions are kind of small.
If you are looking for someone a little lighter, the Fregola Frutti Di Mare is great — using a smaller ball pasta with a nice assortment of seafood.
The 16oz Grilled Ribeye Steak really nails the flavors, what with its SALTY encrusted hide and a smooth side of seared Asparagus
People at Café Verona are usually pretty cool, or talk about stuff that would imply they might be (like big time movie stuff, Hollywood, being famous, etc.)

Came back for a 2^nd visit, and the place did not disappoint. Most places have a Mexican staff that stooges up the food, but this place is more authentic and always serves the freshest ingredients. The Wild Boar stew is absolutely delicious, and the Rib eye special with the roasted artichokes was beyond perfect. Desserts with a nice coffee always ends the meals here on a pleasant note. The staff is always prompt and professional.

Fettuccine piemontese — wild mushrooms in a cream parmigiano was oh so good. Although I shared the dish — it was not over the top rich. Poached eggs with creamy polenta and roasted tomatoes paired well with the grill toasted ciabatta.

I have no idea why this restaurant is labeled «Diner» it’s an excellent authentic Little Italian restaurant. After living in Italy and coming to live in California, I visited many Italian restaurants from expensive to cheap: from Orange county to Los Angels county. I was trying to find something that was really authentic yet a little creative. Without a doubt, Café Verona, was the best I found in Southern California.

Man this place sucks. There is always a service problem and the pasta is bad. Why do I always end up here?

I wanted to like this and based on other reviews i guess brunch is the time to go.
I came here with my boyfriend for late lunch/​early supper. The menu sounded delicious and we settled for the Fetuccine Piemontese and Fregola con frutti di mare.
First of, we were the only people at the restaurant at this time. The pasta took a very long time but thats ok… if its fresh and delicious who cares! It wasn’t. The fettucine with mushroom and truffle was lacking truffle and (is there flour in the sauce? there were chunks of flours in there) slimy, overcooked and no flavor.
The Frutti di mare … this is perplexing, with so many types of seafood in it and tomatoes how could t be so flavorless? Is flavorless their specialty? I am almost impressed how one could even pull that off… Every piece of fish, octopus, clam had the texture of rubber. I would have told the server but between the two servers we were given neither checked up on us till we had to get up and ask for the bill.

This is a cute little café with a lot of charm. I ordered the salmon pasta and it was great. The service was also good. Nothing to brag about but I had no complaints. They have outdoor seating which seems necessary as the inside doesnt seem that big. The outdoor seating area has heating lamps so don’t worry about getting too cold. I came for lunch so it wasn’t crowded but I’ve passed by this place during weekend brunch hours and it’s been crowded. They have a small parking lot in the back but there’s also street parking around.

Delicious! Handmade pastas, and a very unique and authentic way to enjoy Italian. Portions are very generous as well! Definitely coming back!

Excellent service!
Great brunch. Food is mediocre but service and ambiance is really great.
Valet parking in the front.

A tale of two tales in one evening and based on the overall dine I had to round down to two stars. I can certainly see what this can be a 2 star or 5 star experience based on when you dine there and what you order. It was an off night when we came in for a late supper. The place was mostly empty so the expectation was for somewhat attentive service. However, nearly two hours later and some real hiccups in the kitchen and service certainly made for a less than pleasant dine.
Café Verona is a small family run business with a warm and intimate feel too it. The outside patio is somewhat shielded from the constant drone of street traffic on La Brea. The outdoor heaters more than did the trick on the comfort level. After being seated it was apparent they were understaffed for the night. 15 minutes before seeing anyone and almost two hours for a salad, appetizer and a main. There was literally one server and one person to bus tables for the entire restaurant. The kitchen was likely staffed the same way given the pace of the meal.
The salvation came initially in the form of this incredible salad and the wait seemed to be justified. Perfectly dressed and balanced this was a great starter salad. Sweet and savory with every bite.
Insalata spinach and goat cheese with pine nuts and asparagus in a shallot dressing.
Fast forward one hour and out comes this culinary masterpiece. Every bite was scrumptious with an artisan touch. Italy would be proud.
Antipasto Della Casa comes in 4 sizes depending on the size of the group and your hunger level. Fried zucchini, olives, Parma prosciutto, melon, mozzarella, sundried tomato, ricotta and honey on toasted bread and Soppressata salame.
Followed a half an hour later by this main course. This got the nod over the lamb chops and
unfortunately this dish was a major let down, the veal was very tough. It was simply too late to make a fuss and we just wanted to high tail it out of there.
Vitello Al Marsala– Veal, Escalope mushrooms and marsala wine.
Other notes, our server was gracious and apologetic for the wait informing us about the staffing problems that evening but that only went so far. Nearly every plate and bowl were chipped so maybe that wasn’t a staffing mistake after all but rather a cost saving effort. I can see the positives but on this evening the sum of the parts fell far short of a passable, enjoyable dining experience.

Simply delicious.
I came here yesterday for Sunday brunch. We sat in the outside patio area, which was thoughtfully semi-​covered (it had rained earlier that morning). The tables are cozy, and the décor is just adorable.
I ordered polenta with wild boar. As soon as I saw it on the menu, I knew I had to have it. Whenever I’m feeling nostalgic for Italy (I used to live in Florence), I order wild boar. (It’s also my old nickname over there… hehehe. «Cinghiale» is Italian for boar; my nickname was «cinghialetta», so I like to commune with old spirits, as it were ;)) Also, the dish reminds me of winters at my then-boyfriend’s home, helping his grandmother (riposa in pace, Nonna Maria!) stir the enormous vat of polenta.
My dish was delicious. The boar meat was tender, and the ragù was just… mmmm…
Also, once the sun started to shine — it was really quite lovely. There were many other dishes that looked quite good, so I’ll have to check those out next time. Thank you!

Our waiter Luke was amazing and accommodating! This is a great place for meetings! A great place to study and go to in between auditions! Located across the street from Ross Lacy Casting! This Resturant serves as a way to escape the every day rush rush of Los Angeles! You will not be disappointed as they have a great menu to choose from! Try this resturant! I highly recommend it!!!

Found this café and decided to come to give them a try with a friend from oversea. We both really like the food. The food was really great, we will come back in near future for sure.

This place is a hit or miss.
Mostly miss…
the place looks very cute and inviting for sure very nice decoration and I really like the plants and water fountain.
Service?
Last time I was there, they were SO many flies. Literally I never seen that many flies together in my life, obviously we couldn’t eat there so we took the food home immediately. We told the waitress we were leaving for that reason and that we couldn’t enjoy the food but she didn’t care at all.
Obviously we didn’t even ate the food because I can only imagine how gross and full of flies the kitchen is. So we just wasted $ 60 for nothing.
I wouldn’t recommend this place.

My boyfriend have come here many times and we are NEVER disappointed! The service is always fantastic and the food is always fresh. I had the spinach and goat cheese salad with salmon (well done). It came with asparagus and a delicious shallot vinaigrette. The spinach was fresh and crisp. The salmon was perfect, cooked to my request. My boyfriend loved his salad as well. We will absolutely be returning to one of our favorite neighborhood spots!

Ordered a frittata scrambled… it came out as a frittata. I asked them to redo it… it came out a minute later bc they just broke it up. The French toast with ricotta and raspberry coullie had nothing on it but the banana and cut strawberries, the inside of the bread was mush. I told the waiter that I’m allergic to melon and I have melon on the plate. Horrible. Won’t be back.

Came here for dinner as our LA foodie adventure night. Wasn’t sure what to expect after reading some very recent mixed reviews.
The food is decent. We ordered an appetizer of grilled bread topped with ricotta imported from Italy, drizzled with honey, and sprinkled with poppy seed. Don’t get me wrong it was good but could have used some fresh mint or acid because it fell a little flat in flavor. Of the entrees, my dad ordered the pork chop, my mom got the lamb shank, and I decided to go with the cioppino. Everything seemed a little salty and overcooked. Good flavors but little flaws all adding up to prices I wouldn’t pay again for those dishes.

Came here for brunch a while back. Super cute environment and delicious food! Ordered a frittata (made my own) with peas, roasted red peppers and tomatoes, among other things. It was huge, fluffy, and delicious. Came with a side of sweet potato hash and fruit. Overall, very fresh food and delicious. Love getting eggs for breakfast, but I usually get omelettes or scrambles so the frittata was a nice change to the usual and Café Verona does them so well.
They have benedicts, scrambles, frittatas as well as savory options like steak & eggs or sweet ones like french toast or nutella sweet bites!
I’ve also been here at night for just wine. Outside patio area is pretty and romantic, lots of twinkly nights and perfect to relax with some wine and good company on warmer summer nights.

Brunch, brunch, brunch. That’s what brought me here and that’s why I’ll be back again.
This is cute little café with a green and luscious outdoor patio. It can easily be missed in the corner of La Brea and 2^nd right down the block from Trader Joe’s and across the street from Ralph’s.
This is the first time I heard of Frittata Verona or Italian country-​style omelettes as the restaurant sweetly termed it. My first impression was, «hey, this is a lot like Taiwanese egg pancake roll (Dan Bing)». Okay, not exactly… but that’s what the flavor of the egg reminded me… maybe because of its fluffiness? All the toppings (turkey sausage, red pepper, zucchini, eggplant, and mozzarella) were great additions! It comes with mashed sweet potato on the side.
And my fiancé got the egg benedict with the running poach egg just the way I like it. There’s nothing new to the formula: an English muffin into 2 halves (great for sharing by the way), topped with ham, a poached egg, and the oh so delicious Hollandaise sauce. The dish also comes with these tiny potato balls on the side.
The ice lattes were good but nothing to rave about. Overall, the portions were appropriate, the service was excellent (my water was refilled at least 3 times during my stay), and the décor is just right for a brunch spot. Oh, and did I mention the café comes with a small adjacent parking lot? That in itself should give this place a 5 star in this La Brea area. It’s also very close enough as a pit stop to Pan-​Pacific Park or the Grove.
I’ll definitely be back, Café Verona!