Vito Restaurant: quintessential Italian

Over the break I had the chance to try a very good Italian restaurant. Now when you think of LA, I for one don’t really think of Italian food. But I have the perfect Italian place for you; Vito Restaurant in Santa Monica.

This is the quintessential Italian place. It feels like you’re walking into the dining room of a Italian family. It’s warm and cozy… only seating 110. It’s like those classic New York Italian restaurants where the mob always eats. You know there’s a fat guy in the corner with two girls at his side feeding him pasta.

The wait staff knows you by name and calls you Mr. Whatever. “Yes we gots the freshest veal Mr. Giordano.” The wait staff is professional. Older gentleman dressed in tuxedos that are very knowledgeable in wine and food. No dumb underpaid out of work actors here. But don’t piss them off because the respect is a two way street with them.

I went with a few friends from NYC and a regular who showed us the ropes.

First off, the wine. The wine list is like a phone book, over 900. Everything from $30 bottles to $5000 ones. We settled for a good $150 bottle which my friend selected. I forget what type it was but it was grand. If you’re unsure, ask your waiter and usually they make a great selection for your price range.

The table side Caesar salad is amazing. They come and toss it right by the table and make it to order. The Lasagna is spectacular. I had Linguine con Vongole (linguine and clams) and it was by far the best L&C I’ve ever had.

Take a look at the menu. It’s grand. Another friend of mine had the veal. I’m not sure which one but he said it was great also. I mean, I doubt there’s anything bad here.

And the deserts were great too. They all come on a rolling cart so as you have dinner it always passes you three or four times just eating away at every last ounce of self control. We had a flowerless chocolate cake and of course the tiramisu for the five of us. Both were fantastic and even still tasted amazing after being stuffed from all the other food.

We finished everything off with a 20 year old port that was the prefect end to a amazing meal.

We all thought we were going to be going out after dinner. But I mean all you want to do after a meal here is lay down and go to bed. I typically don’t care for Italian because it’s so heavy. But I’ll make an exception anytime for Vito.

I really like their lunch menu. I want to go back one afternoon and try it. Also you can order online for a togo order. Check it out. I mean the dinner prices are expensive, but totally worth it. If I could eat pasta 7 nights a week and not become a tub of lard, I’d live at this place.

I’ve heard there’s a special VIP card too that gives regulars 30% off including booze!

Vito Restaurant
2807 Ocean park Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
310.450.4999

Get a reservation for the weekend. If you have a small party the week isn’t too bad. Parking is valet but I would recommend trying to find street as the valet lot is small and often triple stacked.