Campanile
It reminds of a Mediterranean village with a bell tower which means “campanile” in Italian. Chef-owner Mark Peel creates French-Italian influenced dishes such as pan-roasted black cod with black trompette mushrooms or rosemary-charred baby lamb with brown butter; he  gets the ingredients from the best farmers in California. The dessert like the Blueberry Brown Butter Tart with meyer lemon curd, blueberry compote and crème fraîche ist just a delight.  Thursday night is grilled cheese sandwich night that has become a popular culinary event in LA. Also the Sunday nights with life music.
Location: 624 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036 – phone 323-938-1447 – www.campanilerestaurant.com/

 

Cecconi’s

An Italian classic and timeless restaurant gem with chef Andrea Cavaliere who creates the best “cicchetti”, a Venetian snack, and appetizers such as grilled octopus with lemon, capers and olives. If you are hungry late at night enjoy  Carpaccio with a Venetian dressing or baked gnocchi ‘Romana’, gorgonzola. Private parties in the butterfly room are always a wonderful experience. The daily specials are rotating, and cheeses are strictly Italian but the wine list it of international provenience. Families are good with a four people supper of pizza for about $50, and the final dot of a menu is a dessert like molten chocolate cake with pistachio ice cream.
Location: 8764 Melrose Avenue Los Angeles 90069, phone 310-432-2000 — www.cecconiswesthollywood.com/

 

A Cooking Lesson with Andrea Cavaliere from sohohouse on Vimeo.

Giovanni Ristorante
On Ventura Boulevard there are plenty of restaurants and there you can find Givanni’s Ristorante, an Italian restaurant with Southern Italian flair where chef-owner Richard Grosso greets is guests in person. It is named after Richards grandfather whose black-and-white photos line the mustard-colored walls. It is a cozy and intimate place not only for the locals; high quality ingredients for the rustic yet sophisticated Italian dishes are attracting guests from all over LA. The Milanese-style butterflied veal is at once crispy and buttery tender, or taste the pasta in pink vodka sauce with salmon. The ristorante is the place for classic desserts such as Tiramisu or Cannoli, made fresh in-house.
Giovanni’s piano man, Dave Zaremba with guest artists and singers,  makes dining at Giovanni’s pleasant and comfortable.
Location: 21801 Ventura Boulevard, Woodland Hills, CA 91364, phone (818) 884-0243 — http://giovanniristorante.com