Pull up an orange-tufted stool at Terroni
(Credit: The Los Angeles Times/Robert Lachman)
The food was generally good. The capricciosa pizza, a classic made with tomatoes, mozzarella, mushrooms, artichokes, olives and Italian ham, tasted exactly as I remembered it in Italy. The crust had a nice salt. All the pasta was made in-house, and the quality of ingredients was apparent. The fettucine di tuccino with tiger shrimp, asparagus and cherry tomatoes grossly needed seasoning or aromatics of some sort. But because everything was so fresh, the lack of garlic wasn’t totally ruinous. The tagliatelle fabietto, on the other hand, was stellar: pecorino, prosciutto, artichoke and mint formed an unusual but winning combination. The unexpected brightness from the mint made me want to sprinkle fresh sprigs on everything I ate for the next week.
But all the mint in the world can’t make up for bad service. Well, not bad exactly; more like sadly uninformed. In most cases, new restaurants set aside time for the staff to learn the menu, the essential ingredients, the wine and the pronunciation of foreign terms. Such preparation, apparently, was not a priority at Terroni.
This was the way orders were taken: invoke name of preferred dish; meet blank stare of server; then point to menu so that server can copy down said name of dish. The confusion reached its apex toward the end of dinner:
Server: “Have you decided what you’d like for dessert?”
Metromix: “Yes, we’ll have the crostata, please.”
Server: “Okay, a tostada for you.”
Huh? That’s just heartbreaking. Terroni’s servers apparently don’t even know which country the food they're serving comes from, or the difference between savory and sweet dishes. For people stopping in for a quick bite after work, the ill-information won’t be too much of a hassle. For those looking for a dining experience, it’s gonna be a problem. Especially if you like wine, as the bartenders haven’t quite figured out varietals yet. But they’re all gorgeous eye candy. Which can be said of Terroni overall: Everything looks great. And in L.A., dressing the part is sometimes all you really need for success.
Food: Solid Italian classics with plenty of options for both the adventurous and the timid—but the kitchen does not allow substitutions.
Scene: Moneyed, slightly aging hipsters.
Insider tip: No reservations policy. As long as Terroni is trendy, the wait for dinner will be at least 20 minutes.
Katherine Spiers is contributing editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
