It's one of my favorite restaurants to visit when I'm in the LA area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
EZ4ED
It never misses. The fresh, homemade food is always the best. The in house freshly made pasta is the best. Took some friends who'd never dined there and now they are in love with the restaurant.
Михаил Михайлов
Perhaps the best Italian pizza in LA!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marilynn M.
I was with William J tonight who just posted a review. Caffe Pinguini should be a fun experience like it was last time. I ditto William's comments. The wait staff was excellent. The food tasted great. But, a a very big but... I am one who constantly weighs and measures my food at home so I have a real good idea of how much is on my plate. $38 for veal piccata. The last time I was at Caffe Pinguini I ordered the veal piccata. Same price. $38. Last time it was plentiful, so much so that I brought half of it home. Tonight, there were three pieces of very thinly pounded veal on my plate, each piece being the size of perhaps two silver dollars or 3" in diameter round pieces. That was probably 2 1/2 ounces of veal total. There were 3 chunks of roasted potatoes on the plate too along with two pieces of broccoli and three thin slices of carrots. The empty spaces on the plate were covered with the piccata sauce and an overabundance of capers. I was stunned! What a disappointment. There are many choices of restaurants on the West Side. I will probably not be returning to Caffe Pinguini in the future.
William J.
In January I dined at Caffe Pinguini with my family. We had a wonderful time. The wait staff was very helpful. The food was excellent. The portions were so generous that I remember taking home lunch for the next day. I really liked the place. So I decided to go back the next time that I was in the area. I did tonight. I was very disappointed. The wait staff still was very helpful. The atmosphere still was nice. The food still was excellently prepared. Regretfully the portion size was greatly reduced. I ordered a chicken dish. I received two small pounded portions of chicken. I doubt that together they were even a single whole chicken breast. My girlfriend order a veal dish and received three small pieces of veal. Clearly much less than what she expected. In order not to disrupt the meal, neither of us said anything to anyone until after dinner as we were driving home. Independently we both formed the same judgment: Our dinners simply were an effort to stretch leftovers after a weekend. For the price that I paid, we should have received much more generous portions. So, sad to say, given this experience, I will have to think twice before I go back to Caffe Pinguini.
WilliamJ
In January I dined at Caffe Pinguini with my family. We had a wonderful time. The wait staff was very helpful. The food was excellent. The portions were so generous that I remember taking home lunch for the next day. I felt that this place was a real find. So I decided to go back the next time that I was in the area. I did tonight. Sadly I was very disappointed. The wait staff still was very helpful. The atmosphere still was nice. The food still was excellently prepared. Regretfully the portion size was greatly reduced. I ordered a chicken dish. I received two small pounded portions of chicken. I doubt that together they were even a single whole chicken breast. My girlfriend order a veal dish and received three small pieces of veal. In order not to disrupt the meal, neither of us said anything to anyone until after dinner as we were driving home. Independently we both formed the same judgment: Our dinners simply were an effort to stretch leftovers after a weekend. For the price that I paid, we should have received much more generous portions. Sad to say, given this experience, I will have to think twice before I go back to Caffe Pinguini.
Lexmare
Food and service are consistently very good. They take reservations seriously and the owners/managers are friendly and helpful. Prices are very reasonable. We're repeat patrons.
Very lovely place in Playa del Rey, the service was very attentive and had a nice local ambiance. We had the seafood pasta, four cheese pizza and spinach and mozzarella salad. The pasta was very well made and had a nice variety of seafood. The salad was basic and made well. The pizza was a little disappointing as it was too dry and we ended up putting the salad on top to eat. Overall a wonderful place and would recommend.
One of our favorite places for dinner. The food is excellent. The ambience is pleasant and it's right on the beach if you want to take a walk afterwards. Go and enjoy.
This is a regular go to restaurant for us. The food is always excellent, as is the service (on occasion recently they seem to be understaffed, but that seems to be the new normal in Los Angeles). One comment. One of their best dishes is the eggplant parmigiana. My wife gets it almost every time we go. On this visit she talked it up to a friend, and they both ordered it. To our surprise, the portion size was noticeably smaller - it appeared to be almost half the size we've become accustomed to. Both plates were the same. It was a bit of a surprise. Hopefully it was a one-off, this visit only. It IS a wonderful dish.
Andreas D.
for sure the very best penne arrabiata in all of California. we always travel for 80 miles just to have it. that's authentically Italian
Maya H.
Been there twice. Authentic Italian cuisine, friendly staff and great seating ambience. Love how even when they are la led their wait time is not that crazy for walk ins.
Gr8diner
Our latest visit to Pinguini was even better than prior visits. Reservation on time good table and wonderful service by all staff. Cuisine and wine choices were sufficient for all palates. Wine suggested by Marco was superb. Thanks again for an enjoyable meal.
Order take out.
Food: 5
Great spot for a sunny lunch on the patio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It's one of my favorite restaurants to visit when I'm in the LA area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It never misses. The fresh, homemade food is always the best. The in house freshly made pasta is the best. Took some friends who'd never dined there and now they are in love with the restaurant.
Perhaps the best Italian pizza in LA!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was with William J tonight who just posted a review. Caffe Pinguini should be a fun experience like it was last time. I ditto William's comments. The wait staff was excellent. The food tasted great. But, a a very big but... I am one who constantly weighs and measures my food at home so I have a real good idea of how much is on my plate. $38 for veal piccata. The last time I was at Caffe Pinguini I ordered the veal piccata. Same price. $38. Last time it was plentiful, so much so that I brought half of it home. Tonight, there were three pieces of very thinly pounded veal on my plate, each piece being the size of perhaps two silver dollars or 3" in diameter round pieces. That was probably 2 1/2 ounces of veal total. There were 3 chunks of roasted potatoes on the plate too along with two pieces of broccoli and three thin slices of carrots. The empty spaces on the plate were covered with the piccata sauce and an overabundance of capers. I was stunned! What a disappointment. There are many choices of restaurants on the West Side. I will probably not be returning to Caffe Pinguini in the future.
In January I dined at Caffe Pinguini with my family. We had a wonderful time. The wait staff was very helpful. The food was excellent. The portions were so generous that I remember taking home lunch for the next day. I really liked the place. So I decided to go back the next time that I was in the area. I did tonight. I was very disappointed. The wait staff still was very helpful. The atmosphere still was nice. The food still was excellently prepared. Regretfully the portion size was greatly reduced. I ordered a chicken dish. I received two small pounded portions of chicken. I doubt that together they were even a single whole chicken breast. My girlfriend order a veal dish and received three small pieces of veal. Clearly much less than what she expected. In order not to disrupt the meal, neither of us said anything to anyone until after dinner as we were driving home. Independently we both formed the same judgment: Our dinners simply were an effort to stretch leftovers after a weekend. For the price that I paid, we should have received much more generous portions. So, sad to say, given this experience, I will have to think twice before I go back to Caffe Pinguini.
In January I dined at Caffe Pinguini with my family. We had a wonderful time. The wait staff was very helpful. The food was excellent. The portions were so generous that I remember taking home lunch for the next day. I felt that this place was a real find. So I decided to go back the next time that I was in the area. I did tonight. Sadly I was very disappointed. The wait staff still was very helpful. The atmosphere still was nice. The food still was excellently prepared. Regretfully the portion size was greatly reduced. I ordered a chicken dish. I received two small pounded portions of chicken. I doubt that together they were even a single whole chicken breast. My girlfriend order a veal dish and received three small pieces of veal. In order not to disrupt the meal, neither of us said anything to anyone until after dinner as we were driving home. Independently we both formed the same judgment: Our dinners simply were an effort to stretch leftovers after a weekend. For the price that I paid, we should have received much more generous portions. Sad to say, given this experience, I will have to think twice before I go back to Caffe Pinguini.
Food and service are consistently very good. They take reservations seriously and the owners/managers are friendly and helpful. Prices are very reasonable. We're repeat patrons.
Very lovely place in Playa del Rey, the service was very attentive and had a nice local ambiance. We had the seafood pasta, four cheese pizza and spinach and mozzarella salad. The pasta was very well made and had a nice variety of seafood. The salad was basic and made well. The pizza was a little disappointing as it was too dry and we ended up putting the salad on top to eat. Overall a wonderful place and would recommend.
Restaurantji Recommends
One of our favorite places for dinner. The food is excellent. The ambience is pleasant and it's right on the beach if you want to take a walk afterwards. Go and enjoy.
This is a regular go to restaurant for us. The food is always excellent, as is the service (on occasion recently they seem to be understaffed, but that seems to be the new normal in Los Angeles). One comment. One of their best dishes is the eggplant parmigiana. My wife gets it almost every time we go. On this visit she talked it up to a friend, and they both ordered it. To our surprise, the portion size was noticeably smaller - it appeared to be almost half the size we've become accustomed to. Both plates were the same. It was a bit of a surprise. Hopefully it was a one-off, this visit only. It IS a wonderful dish.
for sure the very best penne arrabiata in all of California. we always travel for 80 miles just to have it. that's authentically Italian
Been there twice. Authentic Italian cuisine, friendly staff and great seating ambience. Love how even when they are la led their wait time is not that crazy for walk ins.
Our latest visit to Pinguini was even better than prior visits. Reservation on time good table and wonderful service by all staff. Cuisine and wine choices were sufficient for all palates. Wine suggested by Marco was superb. Thanks again for an enjoyable meal.