The vodka shrimp pasta is excellent. The appetizers were also great. The fact that this place has survived in a relatively tough location (just off Lake Ave) speaks volumes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tran Forsythe
Great food, great service, lots of (non-validated) paid parking underground, behind the restaurant.
We came as a group of 8, had fast and efficient service, shared lots of appetizers (my fav, the charred mushrooms) and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. It's expensive, but worth it for a special occasion.
Fwiw, I got the rabbit Bolognese - it was good but wasn't very rabbit-y; I'll probably would get something different next time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tiramisu, Octopus
Hsiang-Jen Yen
A little pricy.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Dewi Aldrich
I brought my mom here for her 66th birthday dinner this evening, and the food we ordered was all delicious. We began with the wild arugula nectarine salad (yum!), shared the Bianca (truffle mushroom) pizza, and she had the steak frites, while I opted for the bucatini. All was tastefully executed.
We also had a passion fruit marg and the “I Don’t Give a Fig” cocktail. Both quite good.
Our server was Danny, and though he began pretty strong, we felt he could have been a little more attentive. He didn’t ask if we wanted more cocktails when we had finished our drinks, and he didn’t bother upselling us on anything else.
He did bring my mother a bowl of vanilla ice cream with a candle and sang her happy birthday, but with the amount of food + drinks we had ordered, a small bowl of ice cream at a pretty high-end restaurant felt kind of cheap. We’ve been to other restaurants on our birthdays where the server was thoughtful enough to bring us a slice of cheesecake or something a little more exciting than just ice cream. Ice cream felt like we were at a Denny’s or an IHOP. This is no deal breaker; it’s simply an observation.
Something else to note: parking in the adjacent underground lot cost $12. It would be great if the restaurant and the garage had some sort of deal where the restaurant could validate patrons’ parking, or at least discount it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Charles Thompson
This place never disappoints. The blister bread and barrata appetizer is amazing!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kevin Mullican
We enjoyed a stellar meal this evening. For starters, we chose the roasted carrots and beet medley and the 24 month prosciutto with stracciatella. Perfectly roasted carrots sitting next to pickled beets on a yogurt bed sprinkled with a cashew pesto contributed to an earthy sweetness with a Middle Eastern nod. Lightly honeyed prosciutto graced the stracciatella atop thick toast, redefining charcuterie. A second of savory rabbit bolognese presented a ragu that perfectly complimented the slightly sweet tomato base. To follow, the Kurobuta pork chop milanese sitting between a citrus tahini and tangy cabbage slaw would be the envy of any tonkatsu chef. Not to be missed was the authentic pomme puree, a silky concoction of roasted mashed potatoes, butter, and white pepper. Chef Borsikian's unmistakable Mediterranean influence is a welcome entry in Italian inspired California cusine. We will certainly return to sample the rest of the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rene Clark
This was a total internet find. Never been, never heard of it. Everything was delicious!! In my opinion though the portions for the price could have been a little bigger. Overall though I would go back again but I know what to expect.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Negar Omidvari
Sooooo good! Definitely was added to our list of favorite restaurants in Pasadena! Beautiful interior, great service, and very tasty food. We visited in a group of 4 and shared the following dishes:
- Prosciutto San Daniele & Burrata Pizza: 4.9/5, excellent taste, but the dough could have been slightly better
- Rabbit couldn’t have been better!
- Truffle Cavatelli: 4.5/5 pretty good, but not as good as the other dishes
- Branzino alla pretty good as well, but was a bit too oily and wasn’t sure of the combination with eggplant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
James Moore
Nice local Italian restaurant
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Gail Rolf
This restaurant is way overrated, overpriced with its small portions (including salty risotto and overcooked lamb chops), 90 minute limit for two people dining, $8 parking, noise, noise, noise--no will not return. I am sticking to my go-to Italian restaurants, Union (very unique) and Celestino for more traditional but great Italian cuisine.
Incredible Italian - best in Pasadena. Wood-fired pizzas and homemade pastas are incredible. Must go when in town for top notch Italian in a cute, cozy and modern setting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
ariana holland
Oyster mushroom starters taste like steak! So good. Pizza (Calabrian salami ) was also amazing. Ask for Toni to make you an espresso martini as well! 3 stars on ambience bc the bottle shelving lighting was too visible and overall lighting too bright for ambient evening time…lower it a bit.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Oyster Mushrooms
Mariia Berezina
Everything looks so beautiful and delicious in the Instagram photos of this place. In reality, there’s nothing from the menu available, the selection is a disgrace, completely different from the online menu, and has nothing to do with what’s shown on Instagram.
Every single dish was oversalted. The $50 crab risotto was a joke—just a bowl of oversalted rice with four tiny pieces of crab. Are you kidding me?
The atmosphere was terrible—tables were so close together that the servers kept bumping into me and my husband. The noise level was unbearable; we couldn’t even have a conversation because we couldn’t hear each other. The waiter had to repeat everything multiple times loudly because nothing was audible.
If you don’t value your money, time, or stomach, feel free to visit this so-called "Italian" restaurant, which has absolutely nothing to do with Italy.
Karina Montilla
Giving it 5 stars due to Daniel’s excellent service. The food is outstanding and lovely atmosphere. First time at what will be a neighborhood favorite soon. Having been displaced checking out different spot and it did not disappoint. Thanks to my dear friend for the introduction to Marina.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
T L
Super busy in a good way. Great atmosphere and great food.
The vodka shrimp pasta is excellent. The appetizers were also great. The fact that this place has survived in a relatively tough location (just off Lake Ave) speaks volumes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food, great service, lots of (non-validated) paid parking underground, behind the restaurant.
We came as a group of 8, had fast and efficient service, shared lots of appetizers (my fav, the charred mushrooms) and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. It's expensive, but worth it for a special occasion.
Fwiw, I got the rabbit Bolognese - it was good but wasn't very rabbit-y; I'll probably would get something different next time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tiramisu, Octopus
A little pricy.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
I brought my mom here for her 66th birthday dinner this evening, and the food we ordered was all delicious. We began with the wild arugula nectarine salad (yum!), shared the Bianca (truffle mushroom) pizza, and she had the steak frites, while I opted for the bucatini. All was tastefully executed.
We also had a passion fruit marg and the “I Don’t Give a Fig” cocktail. Both quite good.
Our server was Danny, and though he began pretty strong, we felt he could have been a little more attentive. He didn’t ask if we wanted more cocktails when we had finished our drinks, and he didn’t bother upselling us on anything else.
He did bring my mother a bowl of vanilla ice cream with a candle and sang her happy birthday, but with the amount of food + drinks we had ordered, a small bowl of ice cream at a pretty high-end restaurant felt kind of cheap. We’ve been to other restaurants on our birthdays where the server was thoughtful enough to bring us a slice of cheesecake or something a little more exciting than just ice cream. Ice cream felt like we were at a Denny’s or an IHOP. This is no deal breaker; it’s simply an observation.
Something else to note: parking in the adjacent underground lot cost $12. It would be great if the restaurant and the garage had some sort of deal where the restaurant could validate patrons’ parking, or at least discount it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
This place never disappoints. The blister bread and barrata appetizer is amazing!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We enjoyed a stellar meal this evening. For starters, we chose the roasted carrots and beet medley and the 24 month prosciutto with stracciatella. Perfectly roasted carrots sitting next to pickled beets on a yogurt bed sprinkled with a cashew pesto contributed to an earthy sweetness with a Middle Eastern nod. Lightly honeyed prosciutto graced the stracciatella atop thick toast, redefining charcuterie. A second of savory rabbit bolognese presented a ragu that perfectly complimented the slightly sweet tomato base. To follow, the Kurobuta pork chop milanese sitting between a citrus tahini and tangy cabbage slaw would be the envy of any tonkatsu chef. Not to be missed was the authentic pomme puree, a silky concoction of roasted mashed potatoes, butter, and white pepper. Chef Borsikian's unmistakable Mediterranean influence is a welcome entry in Italian inspired California cusine. We will certainly return to sample the rest of the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was a total internet find. Never been, never heard of it. Everything was delicious!! In my opinion though the portions for the price could have been a little bigger. Overall though I would go back again but I know what to expect.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sooooo good! Definitely was added to our list of favorite restaurants in Pasadena! Beautiful interior, great service, and very tasty food. We visited in a group of 4 and shared the following dishes:
- Blistered bread & ricotta: 5/5 AMAZING, freshly baked and soooo tasty
- White Nectarine very refreshing and flavorful
- 24 Month Prosciutto San definitely recommended!
- Prosciutto San Daniele & Burrata Pizza: 4.9/5, excellent taste, but the dough could have been slightly better
- Rabbit couldn’t have been better!
- Truffle Cavatelli: 4.5/5 pretty good, but not as good as the other dishes
- Branzino alla pretty good as well, but was a bit too oily and wasn’t sure of the combination with eggplant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nice local Italian restaurant
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
This restaurant is way overrated, overpriced with its small portions (including salty risotto and overcooked lamb chops), 90 minute limit for two people dining, $8 parking, noise, noise, noise--no will not return. I am sticking to my go-to Italian restaurants, Union (very unique) and Celestino for more traditional but great Italian cuisine.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Incredible Italian - best in Pasadena. Wood-fired pizzas and homemade pastas are incredible. Must go when in town for top notch Italian in a cute, cozy and modern setting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Oyster mushroom starters taste like steak! So good. Pizza (Calabrian salami ) was also amazing. Ask for Toni to make you an espresso martini as well!
3 stars on ambience bc the bottle shelving lighting was too visible and overall lighting too bright for ambient evening time…lower it a bit.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Oyster Mushrooms
Everything looks so beautiful and delicious in the Instagram photos of this place. In reality, there’s nothing from the menu available, the selection is a disgrace, completely different from the online menu, and has nothing to do with what’s shown on Instagram.
Every single dish was oversalted. The $50 crab risotto was a joke—just a bowl of oversalted rice with four tiny pieces of crab. Are you kidding me?
The atmosphere was terrible—tables were so close together that the servers kept bumping into me and my husband. The noise level was unbearable; we couldn’t even have a conversation because we couldn’t hear each other. The waiter had to repeat everything multiple times loudly because nothing was audible.
If you don’t value your money, time, or stomach, feel free to visit this so-called "Italian" restaurant, which has absolutely nothing to do with Italy.
Giving it 5 stars due to Daniel’s excellent service. The food is outstanding and lovely atmosphere. First time at what will be a neighborhood favorite soon. Having been displaced checking out different spot and it did not disappoint. Thanks to my dear friend for the introduction to Marina.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Super busy in a good way. Great atmosphere and great food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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