Sunday Gravy — Restaurant in Inglewood

They’re clearly experts at hiring because every single person working there was wonderful, capable; brilliant.

So, they shunt you over to Open Table for the reservation where they’ve primed the page to require a credit card to make a reservation admonishing you not to be more than fifteen minutes late or they’ll cancel the reservation and charge a penalty of twenty bucks. I can sympathize.

They have a reputation and there was a nice write up plus a heartwarming backstory and they’ve been on my list of things to do. We were three people, my son and daughter and I, making an 8 PM reservation on a Friday night for a celebratory dinner. I definitely pushed hard behind the scenes that everyone in our party was prompt.

Parking be confusing, but they have valet parking that is genuinely a bargain and what I said about the people goes double for the valet guy. He was totally amazing.

We were told very kindly that our table wasn’t ready yet and we were welcome to peruse the menu which was no problem and I liked them immediately. It eventually ended up being 20 minutes that we waited and it was a disappointment when they finally seated us at what was the table right by the front door, basically in the way of the front door, the loudest busiest table in the restaurant that every single person has to walk closely around as they pass in and out or through the restaurant. ( Half of our conversations actually had to be paused for a moment while the noise died down so we could keep communicating and the other half we just tried lip reading. )

It was another 10 minutes rereading the menus (again) before the waiter first introduced themselves. (The first five minutes were kind of confusing because I was wondering why anyone hadn’t brought us water or said hello and then the second five minutes we realized the waiter was actually hanging out at the next table over, chatting it up as he was dropping off the check.)

When the entrées were dropped off they came out delivered by different individuals. My daughter had the Alfredo and I had the chopped salad and those items sat on the table in front of us for minutes while we waited for my son’s food to arrive, which was weird, since it feels rude to begin to enjoy your food until everyone has their food, and then it wasn’t really new by the time that process could begin for any of us. My son’s meal was delivered with great flourish but no apologies by someone who clearly missed the point I’m making here.

The Alfredo was really perfect. Generous portion and every bite was heaven. Just excellent. The pizza special was fun and innovative, and came with a housemade ranch dressing on the side that was transcendent. We were all impressed. I had the chop salad and it was as soggy as coleslaw and infused with so many dried chilies that I gave up after three bites. I don’t know for a fact, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it had been made as soon as they put in the order and then sat and waited for everything else. There was no crunch whatsoever. Just sog. I didn’t mention it to anyone at the time and I’m fine with my decision to share it with you instead. It was a celebration. I was there for the company of my children and they were beautiful. I tipped heavy and we left smiling, but I think I’ve been composing this since, therapeutically.

Your results may differ. My suggestion: maybe have your celebration...

This was the best meal I had on my trip to California hands down. I am still thinking about it days later. I was iffy about coming because of some bad reviews but those people at either picky or just a pain in the a** because this was fantastic. We had 6:30 reservations on a Saturday night, the place was packed. There is no parking, I think when it is nice they turn the parking lot into outdoor seating. But there is valet parking for I think it was $10, worth it not to drive around looking for street parking during busy time. We had to wait a few minutes for a table to free up, not very long. We got the Caesar salad and mozzarella sticks to split. OH MY GOD i am still dreaming of both. I keep going back to look at the pictures I took. I love a good Caesar salad and this one was fun with a little bit of spice. I don’t usually like spicy things but this was just the right amount. The dressing evenly coated the lettuce and it was a good mix of the rib parts and the leafier parts of lettuce. The mozzarella sticks were crispy and just perfect. Really nice mozzarella. I got the vodka pasta, also fantastic! And the perfect portion size. Normally restaurants serve these disgustingly huge portions and I can never finish anything but this was just right. There was also the perfect amount of time between the appetizers and the pasta. I find so often that it is rushed and your food comes out just shortly after the appetizers so then there’s no time to enjoy anything, but that was not the case here! I never finish a full meal but between my mom and I, we finished the plate of five mozzarella sticks, the salad, and our two pastas. She got some white sauce pasta that she added the garlic butter shrimp to and she really enjoyed that. The waitstaff was very friendly and timed everything well. I will be recommending this place to anyone who asks and will definitely visit if I’m ever in...

Backed by residential homes and apartments surrounding the busy strip off of Centinela Avenue in Inglewood, my partner and I came to this establishment on our last night in California for dinner. Reclaiming the space from their father, who ran the restaurant Jino’s Pizza, Sunday Gravy is a brother-sister duo team family run. The name is derived from East Coast slang for red sauce. As the Italian American tradition goes, on Sundays everyone goes to Grandma’s house, and on the stove she’s got her red sauce (gravy) that’s been bubbling away all day. Upon arrival, it’s a pretty small place with limited tables and parking spots. It’s recommended to make a reservation or go during off-peak hours. For a party of two, there was a 35-minute wait with no reservation. The staff would call your cell once a table was available. The vibe was warm and inviting. One orders at the counter and grabs a table after that. Their small menu was authentically local-made, fresh pasta dishes using wonderful ingredients. We decided on Lasagna al Forno (Bolognese, Besciamela, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Pecorino Romano) and Clams (Linguine, Clam, White Wine, Garlic, Red Pepper, Parsley, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Breadcrumbs). The food arrived hot, well-seasoned, and delicious. The pasta itself was cooked perfectly, and the texture was so good. However, portions were quite small for the price. It was nothing fancy, but it worked great. If you are in the area, give this place a try, which we...