Barone's — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I've long been wanting to visit Barone's and finally got the opportunity on Mother's Day. It was kind of hectic, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt because it was Mother's Day.

Let's start with the good. The ambiance and old world charm of this place is fantastic! I LOVE the inside. Totally old school. It felt like the type of place my grandmother would love and take the whole family to when I lived in New England. The ambiance is 5 stars plus!

The food was also very food. They have a thin crust rectangular pizza that actually looks kind of reminiscent of the style (not the taste) of the old school cafeteria pizzas you used to get in elementary school. We had the House Special, which is pepperoni and sausage and substituted the green peppers with mushrooms. It was delightful. I was SUPER hungry and was sharing with my 4 year old son (who I admit didn't eat much) and we still took half of it home (we ordered the large). My wife's carbonara also got fabulous grades.

I'd say the value here is just okay. It prices itself in a place that is above the casual dinner outing and into the "for special occasions only", which kind of stinks as I would love to eat here more often. But for the price, I a) Can't. b) Probably won't because for the price, I'd like to try another new place. I just wish I could make a place like this my go-to.

The service was (again) just okay. Very matter of fact and not particularly pleasant. That's fine, but it also took a long time to get the staff's attention whenever something was needed. So room for improvement there. Oh! They also asked if we wanted bread or garlic bread, and then CHARGED US for it!!!

Now for the unforgivable... They force you to valet park for $4.50! That is ridiculous! I understand the need to valet when you're in a busy area with no parking lot, and they need to bring it off sight. You're paying for convenience, but you also have the option to street park. Most restaurants when they have a valet AND their own private parking lot offer free valet. Even that to me is annoying... just let me park my own GD car! Even that is forcing me to tip for doing nothing. But okay... I get it... some places do it. But this... paying for valet when they already have their own private lot AND the prices are as high as they are... that's insulting and in my humble opinion and unforgivable decision by ownership. That is COMPLETELY avoidable. They don't have to do that. On top of all this... the valet doesn't accept card. So I had no choice by to drop off my wife and child and search for parking, which there is VERY little in the area. Almost everything around is red zones or resident parking. It just makes me angry. Why do that to your customer?

My overall feelings towards this place are more in the 3 star category... but maybe the service was due to Mother's Day. And the ambiance is so great that I have to slip it up to a 4 because you HAVE to see it at least once. They're shot at getting 5 stars will never come until they remove...

*My review can be validated by similar reviews on Yelp.

LAURA RUANO is probably the rudest person I've ever encountered in customer service. I feel completely validated that there are MANY other people who have had similar experiences with her. It's sad to me that I walked out of there telling my family that I will never go back because of my interaction with her. I have been going here my whole life. My mother has been going her whole life. Lifelong customers lost.

Our reservation was very early (4:30p) because we were coming straight from another event. I should have been tipped off by the way we were greeted by the blonde woman who seemed really stressed out and not very friendly as she sat us (perhaps she had had a stressful interaction with Laura too). The restaurant was nearly empty. Our waiter greeted us almost immediately and took our drink orders and salad orders. He took forever to bring our drinks, we all kept looking out for him, and when he did finally come he forgot my father in laws drink (twice). We asked for bread two different times. They finally brought 2 baskets of (not warm) bread for a table of 10. I asked if we could get more, and they said they ran out. I asked what happened to the bread they usually serve and he said they weren't able to order enough due to all the restaurants re-opening (which I understood)..... but I wish this explanation was given to us when we first sat down rather than an hour into being there. My father's pizza was missing a topping that they ended up charging us for, and they charged us for extra toppings for our salad (which would have been fine had our waiter mentioned this at the time of ordering to see if we still wanted the items at an additional charge). I also had to go find the waiter to place our pizza order. We ended up leaving around 7pm ..... not because we were enjoying each other's company, but because we were waiting for our waiter and pizzas.

They tacked on a hefty gratuity so I approached my waiter about adjusting the cost of the four topping pizza (for which we only received 3) and the extra topping for the salad (it was the PRINCIPLE, not the $8 it was going to save me on a $275 tab). This was when I encountered Laura who first asked me if we "looked under the cheese for the missing item"..... rather than offering an apology, and refused to credit me for the $6 in extra salad toppings. Then she brought over the waiter (after she complained she was short of staff ), and said "this woman claims her service was bad and that her order was wrong".... mind you, she was trying to embarrass ME in a lobby full of people, not trying to address a problem with her waitstaff ( which would have been an inappropriate time to address the issues regardless). My interaction with her escalated and I told her not to bother crediting me anything..... I wanted to get away from her toxicity.

Anyone feeling in the mood for a Barone's pizza , go to the other locations who are owned by their relatives.... who seem (thus far) to value their life...

BARONE'S PIZZERIA, an old-school, California eatery, provides excellent Italian meals and caring professional service. Opened in 1945, this large, family owned eatery was the first pizzeria in the San Fernando Valley to offer Neapolitan style, rectangular, thin-crust pizza.*

There are rumors about Barone's unique pizza. Here's my favorite:

The original Barone's was located near several movie studios. So when an East Coast actor asked the kitchen to make a New York City (NYC) style pizza the Chef responded, "But, I'm from Buffalo."

So the Chef asked a few Italian friends, NYC actors, to help him re-create Gotham's round, thin-crust pie, that's ladled with Neapolitan sauce, and layed with shredded Mozzarella cheese.

Barone's "pie" isn't quite an exact recreation.

The Chef's thin-crust pizza was built on a rectangular sheet, the thin wheat crust is ladled with Neapolitan sauce, then layered with thin slices of Monterey Jack cheese. It's still presented that way.

Barone's extensive Italian menu includes: salads, sea food, beef, pork, veal, and chicken entrees. So, of course, our party of five ordered four pizzas and vegan pasta.

My vegan, angel hair primavera is delicious. The pasta is presented al dente, and includes lightly sauteed vegetables, complimented with a rich tomato sauce. There is, of course, no cheese. My wife and I shared a small dinner salad, with a mild Italian dressing.

Our party's four rectangular pizzas are ordered with various toppings. All are enjoyed and everyone brought home wonderful leftovers.

For dessert, my wife ordered a Sicilian cannoli. Juan, our waiter, said the secret of preparing a crackling good cannoli is to fill the pastry shell with sweetened ricotta cheese, just before serving. She loves it.

UPDATE: On a another visit, I ordered lunch, a small, Veggie Deluxe pizza, prepared without cheese. The dinner-sized plate pizza comes loaded with the roasted veggies and bathed in their delicious Neapolitan sauce. The thin crust, round, vegan pizza is crisp, flavorful, and honestly, one of the best I've ever tasted.

STUFF: Barone's has a full service bar. Paid parking in their lot is easy. Some nearby street parking. Everything is ADA compatible.

The eatery has moved twice. It expanded into it's present...