4th of July L.A. trip - Vivoli Cafe

For me, a trip to Los Angeles would not be complete without a visit (or two, maybe three) to Vivoli Cafe. This hidden gem located just off the Sunset strip, right across the street from the Crunch gym has the best Italian food I have ever had, and has propelled almost to the top of my favorite restaurants list after my initial visit 2 years ago. I would drive 400 miles to L.A. just for that restaurant, that's how much I love dining there.

I have this free bread test, and my theory is if the restaurant puts in a lot of effort to make a tasty bread that they give out for free, then most likely their food will be pretty good. It doesn't always work, but in this case, my theory was dead on. Vivoli cafe actually serves fresh baked focaccia bread with a minced olive and parsley dip. It is so tasty that most of the time I would fill myself up with the free bread before my main course comes.

Since my boyfriend and I have been here a few times now, we decided to order a few staple dishes and try out a few new items. We started out with their calamari fritti and Prosciutto di Parma e Mozzarella.

The calamari was perfectly cooked! Unlike some restaurant that has a heavy breading, the calamari here has an air light crisp exterior, and the calamari itself is still tender and is perfectly seasoned. It comes with their homemade marinara sauce that is actually warm.

Our next appetizer was the prosciutto with fresh mozzarella with fresh basil on top, sitting on top of a bed of mixed green. I took a slice of prosciutto, wrapped it around the cheese and took a bite. Oh wow.... What a great way to start our lunch! The saltiness from the thin sliced prosciutto, the light, creamy fresh mozzarella cheese, and the freshness from the basil balanced each other out so well. It was so tasty, and I'm ready for my next dish now....

The pastas at this cute little establishment is definitely their strong suit. I have sampled quite a few different pasta dishes here and each and every one of them were terrific!

My absolute favorite is the gnocchi and is a must have when I come here. Vivoli Cafe really spoiled me; I always stayed away from gnocchi because my boyfriend told me they are not that great, he has had it in several restaurants and non of them was to his liking, and this is coming from a guy whose favorite vegetable is potatoes. Against "his" better judgement, I still ordered the gnocchi upon our first visit. I couldn't help it cause the table next to us ordered it and they look so so SO happy! I wanted to know why I'm seeing the deli scene in "When Harry met Sally" again, well... maybe it wasn't that good, but you get my point.

My gnocchi came, I took a bite, and my oh my, if you can taste happiness this is what it must taste like. They are like little pillows of heaven; so soft, so fluffy, so light that they almost melt in your mouth! All my worries in the world have gone away with every bite I take. Ever since that first time, I have been on the search for a restaurant that makes gnocchi like Vivoli Cafe, and so far all the ones that I had were disappointments. The only other gnocchi that I liked was from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bistro, but it was not a potato gnocchi so I can't really compare the two together.

And to show you how much I love their gnocchi, here is my dish after I was done eating. I wiped it clean! If I was not in public, I would probably pick up the bowl and lick it, that's how good it was!

In my opinion, a successful restaurant not only needs to whip out good food, but they should also provide excellent service; and there were a few occasions where we enjoyed the food but have not returned to the restaurant because of the lack of service they provided. At Vivoli Cafe, the service definitely matched the food. All of the servers I had seems like they are Italian and are either part of the family or is friends with the owner. They are so friendly and every time they come to check up on us, it feels like they are genuinely concern if we like our food and want to make our dining experience the best they can.

I love this restaurant, but I am not so high on their food to say they do not have their down side. First of all, they are hidden away in this little plaza on Sunset, and if you don't look for it, you can easily miss it two or three times, like us. Second, you need to valet park your car. The restaurant did not set up this valet, though, somehow if you're visiting any of the stores in this tiny plaza, someone will valet park your vehicle. It doesn't really make any sense to me, but oh well..... Lastly, the restaurant itself is really small. So far we have not had a problem getting a table, but during busy nights it is possible that you are so close to your neighbors that you can grab food off their plates.

Vivoli Cafe is a friendly place that cooks up authentic Italian food that will make your taste buds jump for joy. It might not be a place for everyone, but for me, I would drive 400 miles just for another taste of their food any day, especially for the gnocchi!