Tarantella on 4th — Restaurant in Long Beach

AVOID!!! My boyfriend and I went for Valentine's. As another review stated, they did not tell us it would be a limited menu when we made the reservation. Nor was the price listed anywhere on the menu. Just the 20% auto tip.

The "menu"- 4 courses: 1 shared appetizer (3 options), 1 salad/person (2 options), 1 entree/person (4 options), & 1 shared dessert (3 options).

1st, we were given bread served with pre-packaged butter. That was the 1st red flag. We then asked for oil and vinegar and were given a plastic ramekin of an oil/vinegar combination. No words.

The appetizer- tuna carpaccio- it was served on a plate smaller than our bread plates. There were 4 tiny pieces of tuna completely covered with garnish shavings that totally drowned out the tuna.

The salads- 2 tiny limp pathetic salads.

The entress- salmon and chicken risotto. The salmon was ok, but the vegetables had a very odd flavor, which my boyfriend didn't mind, but I found them uneatable. And the chicken in the risotto was super dry. No fresh ground pepper or freshly grated parmesan was offered.

The dessert- lava cake, which was more of a lava cupcake. It was literally enough for 2 small bites for both of us. And it was no lava cake. It was like a brownie bite topped with fudge.

We left still hungry.

Service- terrible. It took forever to order anything. Not even sure who our server was. The hostess who also might've been the manager/owner? She sat us down & only gave us a wine menu. We asked for a food menu, & she pointed at the QR code on the table. We had just seen printed menus at the counter, so my boyfriend got up and grabbed them for us. Literally 10 feet away. She couldn't just bring us the menus when she sat us or after we asked for them? I understand Valentine's is a very busy night, but don't overseat your venue if you can't manage the service. They had most of their seating in the back, where thankfully we did not sit. I peaked back there & people were packed in like sardines, sitting outside in the freezing cold, with some terrible loud live music. Not the romantic Italian atmosphere anyone would want on Valentines. At least the atmosphere in the front seating area was ok. Except for the random music (not Italian) they played from a bluetooth speaker placed on the floor right by the door.

Cost- I didn't even know the cost until I read the other review that it was $90pp. $90pp for half of a tiny appetizer, 1 tiny limp salad, 1 entree, & 2 bites of a brownie bite. Let's estimate actual cost- $15 app, 2 x $15 salads, 2 x $30 entree, and $15 dessert= $120. Charged $180 = 50% Valentine's upcharge= RIP-OFF. My boyfriend finally admitted that dinner was $322, & we only had 1 bottle of wine that was $50. So I'm not sure how $230 in food and wine totals to $322. Either way, I don't mind giving 20% tip IF IT IS EARNED, which it wasnt. 20% auto tip- another rip-off.

1 of the worst dining experiences ever. Definitely hands down THE worst experience for that price. They literally had 12 items on the menu, & they didn't get a single one right. I can't even imagine what the food is like when they have to serve their full menu!

I served in restaurants for 12 years. I know you can have an off night, or that an item might come out wrong, or that you simply don't like something. That wasn't the case here. Giving feedback in the moment wasn't really an option. Everything from start to finish, the cost, the auto tip, the service, the food, the atmosphere in the back patio, attitude/service from the hostess/manager/owner... it was all bad. The owners should be ashamed of themselves and need to truly re-evaluate what they're doing, because they won't last long otherwise. They probably ruined a lot of people's Valentine's night while costing people a lot of their hard-earned money. Highway robbery for a disgusting dining experience with terrible service. I'd go to Olive Garden 50 times before I'd step in this place again. There was a couple waiting outside when we left. We warned them "DON'T DO IT!" We hope...

Well, it's trendy for sure, and the dishes are definitely inspired by high end Italian but sadly the execution is missed. I had the ragu, lemon chicken, spaghetti, Romaine salad and strawberry taramisu The flavor of the ragu was definitely good with a great ratio of meat in the sauce, not to thick and definitely not too saucy... the sad part is, the pasta was very over cooked. Maybe people in this town (I mean everything seems to be hyper "Woke") enjoy things based on feelings and photo worthiness, and if that's the case then sure come check this place out. If you're looking for quality preparation and taste, I wouldn't come here. I'll break everything down next; Spaghetti was overcooked, but the sauce had good flavor and the meatballs were moist and had good flavor. Meatballs = 4/5 over all spaghetti 2/5 Lemon chicken: this was the best dish out of all 3 I tried. However the potatoes were dry and very generic. At places that do fingerlings properly, you get a nice crispy crust with a moist center, and occasionally some nice herbs for added flavor. These were soggy over all and dry in the center. Like a bad cakey consistency. Not good. The broccoli in this dish was a big win. Great flavor and cooked will. The chicken was moist and generally good in taste and flavor however it was soaked in lemon. This was a chefs mistake. The artichokes were good, cooked as should be. Onto the ragu: flavor was a win, the very overcooked pasta ruined it. This pasta should always be cooked al dente. While some people have subjective preferences, pep pasta is always to be cooked al dente otherwise it tastes like mush, as experienced here. The Romaine salad was very good. Salad was crisp and had the right amount of dressing. The "croutons" were underwhelming though sadly. A bit dry and flavorless. The strawberry taramisu was a must try as I have never even heard of such a thing. While, overall this was quite tasty, the lady fingers were dry. All in all, for the prices they're charging this food should be on point and nearly all of it was a miss. There was something wrong with every dish. Could it have been because it was Saturday night? Perhaps. Oh that reminds me...lastly, the service was not very good. The server was nice enough and had a good personality which is lacking these days, so that was a breath of fresh air, however when it comes position duties, he failed pretty miserably. We were done with our food before he ever even came to check if everything was good. We went without water until our dishes were taken away. I almost forgot I also ordered a cappuccino that was just awful. I know, it sounds like I'd have to be trying to not enjoy it for this much to be wrong but those who know me, I never do this, I want to enjoy places and they either care and put passion into their craft or they don't. This place clearly doesn't. So the cappuccino was served in a fancy Tallgrass making the coffee sit underneath approx 2.5" of foam. Cappuccino should be served in a low,wide, bowl type cup so that the foam is evenly dispersed over the top of the coffee for a good and proper tasting experience. This is just wrong wrong wrong. Not to mention the equally bad part in my opinion, which was that the espresso was burnt. I didn't even drink it, I took 2 sips and just couldn't do it. No one offered to remove it from the bill either. Please remember I am diligent enough to not let one part of the experience effect more view on other parts. Like I said, the salad was good, the meatballs were good, everything else had issues and I am definitely surprised so much was wrong in so many areas.

If you like good italian, go elsewhere. If you just want to patron a place because of "status" or photos, feelings or hipster level then come light your money on fire. Definitely will not...

When we first arrived on Saturday April 5, no one came near to serve us or acknowledge our reservation. It was a birthday dinner celebration. When we got served the very first table bread it was burnt and we had to send it back but not until 20 minutes after our first interaction. Our impression plummeted after that interaction. When we ordered the appetizer it took another wait, granted the appetizers were the best thing during our dinner. The bruschetta and caprese di buffala were tasty and recommended. When we ordered our main course we had to wait 30-40 minutes to eat our main course. Everyone around us had their food and was served. Our waiter was no where to be found but we had other waiters checking in if we have been served. When the main course arrived it seemed all was well. Looks can be deceiving, the Lasagna di mama Bertha was sweet? House made marinara was described but seemed off. I understand marinara can be sweetened but this was canned sweetened marinara.The spaghetti mama mena was also sweet and cold. It was missing that savory taste and the meatball was missing the flavor of the salty marinara sauce (they had a mix up in the kitchen with only three entrees we ordered). The ravioli special was great addition and tasted well that’s the 2 star on food. Our dessert was the gelato and tiramisu. The tiramisu was lovely, had a great coffee taste and was very light. The gelato was not as good for the price and tasted store bought like Haagen-Dazs also it was a tiny one scoop that was melted when it arrived. The second order of table bread was also charged without being labeled that was a bit odd but not the end of the world(it was soft and rosemary finish) so good table bread.

Overall we thought we would be acknowledged more especially for a special celebration. It was our first impression and it was ruined by service and food was not up to par. The food was sweetened and cold. My party and I left the establishment very unsatisfied as well as no items being taken off the bill for the long waits we had to endure. Not to mention the portion size was small...