Alejo's Presto Trattoria Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Los Angeles

This place was my go-to place whenever I needed a break from the stresses of college. After 3 years of eating at this place, I feel like I have the warrant to critique it.

Lemme start with the service. I think the service is great. The waiters are kind and they are responsive. When I ask about a menu item, they explain it well, and I have a better understanding about what I am ordering. I also remember one day when I did have to wait over an hour for my food (the cooks must have had a bad day, that happens, it’s fine), and the waiters apologized to me about the food wait time, and gave me the option for a refund. I do respect that.

As for the food, the highlights for me are anything that has the tomato sauce. Their spaghetti and meatballs are SO GOOD. It was my meal of choice when I went there. The sauce is so flavorful, it has a great balance of sweetness, acidity, and savory. The meatballs are perfectly juicy and are seasoned well. Other red sauce dishes like the chicken parm and the sausage & peppers are also really fantastic as well. And they also give you enough sauce that you can mop it up with their complementary ciabatta, and it’s awesome.

My least favorite, however, is anything with a cream sauce. The chicken alfredo it legitimately unappealing and unappetizing. Whenever I had them, the pasta itself was overcooked, but the worst part is that the cream sauce is WAY too loose. Good American alfredo should be creamy, and just a little goopy, and it should coat the pasta. The sauce was so watery, and combined with the mushy pasta, the texture was just off.

Also, they have carbonara, but it is just straight up not carbonara. Ideal carbonara should be eggs, a cured meat of some kind like pancetta, and parmeggiano or pecorino. If it’s American style it can have cream, along with the egg and pancetta along with peas or something. Their “carbonara” is a pink sauce with mushrooms, which I don’t know why or how that can be called carbonara. It’s like some kind of messed up vodka sauce. If you’re gonna have carbonara on the menu, make it with the correct ingredients, or else it’s just a completely different dish.

I may seem like I’m overly criticizing them in the latter half, but I’m doing it out of love. This place held a special place in my heart whenever I had a straight up bad day in college. I go to the restaurant, and order myself a spag and balls, and on those bad days, it always made me feel better. I know they can do so much better with their white sauce, and it’s just small adjustments to make them so much better. Thicken the sauce, cook the pasta al dente, etc. It’s so simple, so easy, they can totally do that.

Overall, I give this place four stars, some of the dishes aren’t great, but the ones that are are fantastic, and nostalgic...

Went for dinner Friday night. My friend has been a long time customer. We got there on the early side so it was a little bit quieter when we started our dinner. They have a large menu. The bread they bring to the table is excellent - made in house. Was a little disappointed in the Caprese salad as they put it on a bed of iceberg and romaine lettuce. Ordered the chicken piccata which was good. My friend had the chicken cacciatore which she liked and she had a chopped salad to start. She asked for them to put the dressing on the side which they didn't. The dessert was a little disappointing the tiramisu was a slice of cake not the traditional style tiramisu... Prices are pretty average for the area. Servers are friendly and we didn't have to ask for things repeatedly. Once the restaurant filled up it was quite loud. There's no artwork in the front room or anything to really absorb the noise. They have a few small fabric baffles that really don't do anything. It's really lacking in atmosphere and decor. Would be very charming if they would just put checkered tablecloths on the table and candles and some art work. Would love to see a pressed tin ceiling with some sound absorption behind it... I will probably come back and try their pizza at a different time or do take out. Heard very good things about their Pizza. I would give it three and a half stars but there isn't an option for that depending on the pizza I may raise it back...

Updated review Since the start of the year, the staff and service over has been much better than the past few years. I really love this restaurant and the food overall. They hired more staff to handle the influx of traffic and is overall more attentive to each customer.

• Old review* This Italian diner is a locals favorite and has been mine for several years living in pdr. However in the past 2 years the biggest issue I have quality of service, the food it still taste great no complaints there. Attention to detail in what your customers are saying is what matters, if you can’t hear someone politely ask them to repeat themselves instead of getting the order wrong. I don’t think it’s right to mention names or descriptions but a particular server treats everyone like it’s his/her last day at work, they have the demeanor of wanting you to leave and always staring at you. It’s actually a very discomforting feeling, another thing to note is the lack of checking up on your tables if I can go refill my glass of water or wine I would make myself at home. These are my latest experiences dining here whether takeout or dining indoors, I still go here occasionally since it’s a 3 minute drive from my house. I hope the service improves or they clear house and find a new system that works...