TASTE ON MELROSE

This place deserves 100 stars
Food super delicious
The ambiance is chill, fun and cozy
The owner is very nice and friendly

We booked Olivetta for an early Valentine’s Day dinner, based on its popularity and reputation. I would not classify it as fine dining, more so a really good Italian restaurant that specializes in drinks, and a more upscale and lively vibe versus a traditional fine dining restaurant like Madeo up on W Sunset. I would say it’s a great place to bring a date or dinner with friends or family, and not so much a work dinner location. The inside is beautifully done and has some great colors. There are tapestries all along the walls with lots of plants dividing the dining areas and a very muted red color that really adds to the ambience. They don’t have a dedicated parking lot, it will be valet or metered street parking. You have to check in with security street side first and then they let you walk up the ramp where you will next check in with the hostess. They have a large bar area as well as a lot of different seating options. Our table was extremely small, however, and the tables were very close together so this is not the sort of place that you’ll be able to have a private or sensitive conversation. Our server was very polite, although took quite some time to take our order initially but overall, I think he did a great job. The music is quite loud here so if someone has hearing issues they will really struggle to hear others at their table.

They have a fairly large menu with a lot of great options on it. We started off with a Squash Blossoms, which were absolutely fantastic. I have ordered these all over town and this is definitely one of the better versions. I was a bit disappointed that it only comes with three which is a hard number to share so I wish the portion size would’ve been a bit larger for this. Next we followed with the Caesar Salad and it was great. Again, not a very large sized portion, but still tasty flavorwise. For my entrée, I chose the Creste Di Gallo because having the bone marrow scooped in right before you eat is an unbeatable addition to me. It was a true treat. I love bone marrow anything so this was great pasta. The bone marrow itself added a great flavor and a crunch to the meal, which I truly loved. We also ordered the special for the day, which was the Dungeness Crab Tagliatelle. It was absolutely fantastic and had a ton of crab on it. The sauce was truly what made the dish and the pasta was cooked perfectly. For dessert we topped off the meal with the Brown Sugar Budino and I definitely would recommend it. It was sweet and salty and actually a great sized portion. it was a great end of the meal.

Overall, I would say Olivetta is a great date spot. It’s very lively and very noisy but in a fun way. They play the music quite loud so it has a very Friday night kind of feel to it. I would recommend and will try it again sometime in the near future.

Fantastic food, service & atmosphere! I was with a group of 4 and we walked in no problem for dinner and got a table. The bruschetta, pastas, crepes & other deserts were *chefs kiss*
The whole service team made sure we had everything we needed and was very attentive. Will definitely be recommending and coming back.

Our visit to Craigs was the absolute BEST experience that my boyfriend & I have had in ANY restaurant in LA. From the time we came thru the front door we were treated with such respect and with A warm and welcoming attitude from Patty the hostess to Amy our waitress. These people really made our visit and dinner the most enjoyable experience there is in food service these days. I only wish every restaurant treated their customers as good as these girls did , and even the busboys were awesome to us. Thank You to Craigs, for hiring the best

Loved this reataurant