Panzanella Ristorante

The food here is delicious! It is definitely pricey for an Italian restaurant, but they deliver in terms of flavor and presentation. The service here is also impeccable, as I rarely have to even ask for my water glass to be refilled. more

Panzanella is one of those great Italian restaurants where the food is delicious and not too heavy, the servers are kind and attentive and t... more

I have never eaten at Panzanella, but did go there for drinks. The bar was very cozy and beautiful and my french martini was delicious. The ... more

I read some of the reviews on this site which seemed pretty positive, so decided to give this place a shot. Unfortunately, while it wasn't terrible, it was something of a disappointment. The room was quite loud so everyone was practically yelling, including my date and I. This problem was compounded by the fact that the table for two was of the long, narrow variety, so we were sitting much further apart than usual. The wine list was extensive, and mostly focused on Italian wines, obviously, although the ""by-the-glass"" list was much shorter. Mixed drinks were served with almost all alcohol. The food was very much a mixed bag. We ordered the eggplant appetizer, and it had much an appearance similar to a tin of cat food, and the flavor was not ""world-class"" but more like the fare you would expect at much cheaper restaurants. One of our dishes was a passable gnocchi dish, which was somewhat bland, not at all what one would expect from somewhere this expensive. We also had a veal special, which was quite good. The service was in line with what you would expect, quite attentive and responsive. Dinner for two came to about $110 with a couple drinks and an appetizer.\r \r The net of all of this is that I probably won't be returning. At these prices, I expect a high-end ambiance and a solid line-up of food. If you are in the mood for Italian, I would recommend the Sisley up the street on Sepulveda and Ventura or thereabouts from personal experience.\r \r Ambiance: 2/5\r Drinks: 4/5\r Service: 4/5\r Food: 2/5 Pros: Good service, solid wine list, reasonable parking Cons: Mixed food, awkward seating, loud environment more

I read some of the reviews on this site which seemed pretty positive, so decided to give this place a shot. Unfortunately, while it wasn't terrible, it was something of a disappointment. The room was quite loud so everyone was practically yelling, including my date and I. This problem was compounded by the fact that the table for two was of the long, narrow variety, so we were sitting much further apart than usual. The wine list was extensive, and mostly focused on Italian wines, obviously, although the "by-the-glass" list was much shorter. Mixed drinks were served with almost all alcohol. The food was very much a mixed bag. We ordered the eggplant appetizer, and it had much an appearance similar to a tin of cat food, and the flavor was not "world-class" but more like the fare you would expect at much cheaper restaurants. One of our dishes was a passable gnocchi dish, which was somewhat bland, not at all what one would expect from somewhere this expensive. We also had a veal special, which was quite good. The service was in line with what you would expect, quite attentive and responsive. Dinner for two came to about $110 with a couple drinks and an appetizer. The net of all of this is that I probably won't be returning. At these prices, I expect a high-end ambiance and a solid line-up of food. If you are in the mood for Italian, I would recommend the Sisley up the street on Sepulveda and Ventura or thereabouts from personal experience. Ambiance: 2/5 Drinks: 4/5 Service: 4/5 Food: 2/5 Pros: Good service, solid wine list, reasonable parking Cons: Mixed food, awkward seating, loud environment more

This was our second bad experience here in the past 2 months. First experience: Had the special artichoke ravioli with shrimp. I got 3 shrimp with it- and they were cut in HALF! For $25 I expected a little more shrimp than that! I mentioned it to the server, who basically told me, ""oh well, that's how it comes"" and then blew me off. I wasn't happy with my meal that night. We decided to give Panzanella another try and went back last night. I ordered the homemade pasta with broccoli and sausage. Since I don't eat red meat, I asked the server if they could substitute somethng else for the sausage. He said ""no problem"", they substituted chicken for the sausage, and then charged me $4.00 extra...for CHICKEN! I can understand if it were shrimp or steak, but CHICKEN? seriously? That's just bad form. Since this was our second unpleasant experience at Panzanella, we asked to speak to the manager. He did NOTHING for us. He said he'd talk to the chef, gave us his card, and told us he'd ""take care of us next time"". Sorry, there won't be a ""next time"". He completely blew us off and didn't seem to care at all about us. Did I mention the serivce is mediocre and they are patronizing, especially if you bring your own wine and don't look like you're going to spend a ton of money?\r I expect MUCH, MUCH MORE from a DRAGO Restaurant. This place is disappointing, at BEST. Don't even bother-there are a ton of better Italian places to go to in the Valley. Pros: comfortable booths Cons: service, management, value, portion size, prices, food quality more

This was our second bad experience here in the past 2 months. First experience: Had the special artichoke ravioli with shrimp. I got 3 shrimp with it- and they were cut in HALF! For $25 I expected a little more shrimp than that! I mentioned it to the server, who basically told me, "oh well, that's how it comes" and then blew me off. I wasn't happy with my meal that night. We decided to give Panzanella another try and went back last night. I ordered the homemade pasta with broccoli and sausage. Since I don't eat red meat, I asked the server if they could substitute somethng else for the sausage. He said "no problem", they substituted chicken for the sausage, and then charged me $4.00 extra...for CHICKEN! I can understand if it were shrimp or steak, but CHICKEN? seriously? That's just bad form. Since this was our second unpleasant experience at Panzanella, we asked to speak to the manager. He did NOTHING for us. He said he'd talk to the chef, gave us his card, and told us he'd "take care of us next time". Sorry, there won't be a "next time". He completely blew us off and didn't seem to care at all about us. Did I mention the serivce is mediocre and they are patronizing, especially if you bring your own wine and don't look like you're going to spend a ton of money? I expect MUCH, MUCH MORE from a DRAGO Restaurant. This place is disappointing, at BEST. Don't even bother-there are a ton of better Italian places to go to in the Valley. Pros: comfortable booths Cons: service, management, value, portion size, prices, food quality more

other reviewers seemed to have service problems but not us. he was knowledgeable, and even gave us an extra tapenade to go we fell in love with so much! great dishes and romantic settings. i'm definitely going back! more

other reviewers seemed to have service problems but not us. he was knowledgeable, and even gave us an extra tapenade to go we fell in love with so much! great dishes and romantic settings. i'm definitely going back! more

I'd love to tell you about the food at this place, as we were excited to try it out - but our service was so lousy that after 1.5 hours of waiting on dinner - we had to leave. Our waiter had no personality, didn't know anything about the food or the wine, was apparently brand new and had no opinion of anything. \r \r Then our dinner never came - literally. Noone mentioned to us what was going on until we asked, and then asked again, and then asked repeatedly. Finally after 5 times of ""it will be here in 2 minutes"", we simply told them we were leaving. The female manager - who also seemed flustered and inept - at least comped us our wine and our salads (they screwed up my salad order also - no joke). Why put up with any of this? We live in the restaurant capital of the world - no reason to waste your time on amateurs trying to pretend to be in a grown up business. more

I'd love to tell you about the food at this place, as we were excited to try it out - but our service was so lousy that after 1.5 hours of waiting on dinner - we had to leave. Our waiter had no personality, didn't know anything about the food or the wine, was apparently brand new and had no opinion of anything. Then our dinner never came - literally. Noone mentioned to us what was going on until we asked, and then asked again, and then asked repeatedly. Finally after 5 times of "it will be here in 2 minutes", we simply told them we were leaving. The female manager - who also seemed flustered and inept - at least comped us our wine and our salads (they screwed up my salad order also - no joke). Why put up with any of this? We live in the restaurant capital of the world - no reason to waste your time on amateurs trying to pretend to be in a grown up business. more

Excellent service, thanks Alfredo! Try the rollini, creamy goat cheese wrapped in delicate slices of eggplant. The pumkin tortellini was amazing, spinach pasta cooked perfectly al dente surrounded by vibrantly colored pumpkin. Good wine list, moderate prices. It does tend to get noisy and crowded, however, the mellow candle lighting on the tables creates an illusion of romantic seclusion. more

Excellent service, thanks Alfredo! Try the rollini, creamy goat cheese wrapped in delicate slices of eggplant. The pumkin tortellini was amazing, spinach pasta cooked perfectly al dente surrounded by vibrantly colored pumpkin. Good wine list, moderate prices. It does tend to get noisy and crowded, however, the mellow candle lighting on the tables creates an illusion of romantic seclusion. more

I went here with my girlfriend one night. She likes picking out new restaurants for us to try (she doesnt really look at the prices, ha). This one sounded good even though I really havent had 'Amazing' Italian food in LA. \r \r Panzanella was very authentic, prices were reasonable and the food was delicious. The waiter was very friendly and knew his wines. I think I had the Risotta cooked in Squid Ink. I loved it. She had the pumpkin tortelini. We will definitely go back and perhaps try one of their other restaurants.\r \r We wish we sat by the window but I guess you need to reserve it well in advance.\r \r more

I went here with my girlfriend one night. She likes picking out new restaurants for us to try (she doesnt really look at the prices, ha). This one sounded good even though I really havent had 'Amazing' Italian food in LA. Panzanella was very authentic, prices were reasonable and the food was delicious. The waiter was very friendly and knew his wines. I think I had the Risotta cooked in Squid Ink. I loved it. She had the pumpkin tortelini. We will definitely go back and perhaps try one of their other restaurants. We wish we sat by the window but I guess you need to reserve it well in advance. more

One of the best restaurants around! consistently!! I keep coming back- wine list is goo too. more

One of the best restaurants around! consistently!! I keep coming back- wine list is goo too. more

The food lived up to my expectations of the Drago brothers and I have not received such great service in a very long time. Our server, Antonio, was very knowledgable and brought us the perfect wine for each course. The portion size was perfect, they don't try to disguise poor quality with quantity as many restaurants tend to do. The panzanella was perfect and it's no easy task to get good tomatoes in March! I had the duck ravioli with goat cheese sauce and my fiance' had lamb loin with a red wine reduction. We could not have asked for a better meal or service. Even the valet was great! We will definitely be back and take as many friends and family members as possible! Pros: great food, great service, romantic Cons: not for kids, pricey but worth it more

The food lived up to my expectations of the Drago brothers and I have not received such great service in a very long time. Our server, Antonio, was very knowledgable and brought us the perfect wine for each course. The portion size was perfect, they don't try to disguise poor quality with quantity as many restaurants tend to do. The panzanella was perfect and it's no easy task to get good tomatoes in March! I had the duck ravioli with goat cheese sauce and my fiance' had lamb loin with a red wine reduction. We could not have asked for a better meal or service. Even the valet was great! We will definitely be back and take as many friends and family members as possible! Pros: great food, great service, romantic Cons: not for kids, pricey but worth it more

I just had an amazing dinner here tonight with a friend and we both loved everything about this restaurant. The spinach ravioli with tomatoe sauce was excellent as was the ceasar salad we had first. The portions were definitely enough, afterall it's quality over quantity. We each enjoyed a glass of wine from the diverse wine list (however, they don't serve white zinfandel, but ask the waiter to prepare something special with a hint of champagne!) The tiramisu was delicious also. The service was exceptional and very attentive. The ambiance was nice, it wasn't hightly decorated, but I did like the mirrors and the dark wooden furniture. Overall, I highly recommend Panzanella for a dinner with a friend and also for a larger party....you will leave happy!! Pros: ambiance, dishes , service Cons: a little loud more