Pizzeria Vivoli & Italian Grill — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I used to go here very frequently as I lived just a stone's throw away, and it WAS one of my favourite Italian restaurants in West Hollywood, but it has turned into such a SORRY ESTABLISHMENT that you'll literally get better service at McDonald's. Most of the Staff that's presently there is ABOMINABLE. My last couple of visits left a lot to be desired, but just last night, I met the ABSOLUTE WORST SERVER I have ever encountered in this world (and I've travelled to over 25 countries, including Italy of course).

This MISERABLY ILL-BRED man, Alessandro, had neither a greeting nor a smile, and after I asked for some water to start with, the miscreant proceeds to spend a good 7 minutes at the very next table taking about himself to the 2 middle-aged women seated there, and actually trying to persuade one of them to leave her boyfriend (The woman seemed vaguely amused throughout all this, and politely affirmed that she had no such intention). Several minutes passed after this odious conversation, and the man showed absolutely no signs of wanting to take my order. There were a number of other people working at the restaurant, but this was the only person doing the rounds for whatever reason. I finally caught his attention and asked him, in a very even tone, whether he could PLEASE take my order. The idiot says Yes, and then proceeds to VANISH OUT OF SIGHT to the back of the restaurant.

5 minutes later (a.k.a nearly 15 minutes after I first sat down), I arose from the table, complained to one of the workers standing by the counter that NO ONE HAD TAKEN MY ORDER, and left the place. The worker I complained to, who definitely spoke English as I heard him on the phone earlier, stood there mute and nonplussed, along with one of the bus-boys. No apologies, NOTHING.

I called afterwards and asked for the Manager - the first person who answered the phone put me on hold and never returned to the phone. I called back, someone else picked up and claimed that the Manager wasn't there, and that they didn't know when he WOULD be there, but that his name was Bernardo (who knows). I'm not going to let this go, and since I often visit the Burke Williams Spa that's round the corner, I intend to speak to someone in charge over the next couple of weeks.

Suffice it to say, please do not even THINK of going here. Alessandro the waiter is a DISGRACE TO ITALY, and should be relegated to doing the dishes if he's incapable of even TAKING DOWN A PATRON'S ORDER (apparently one has to be a middle-aged woman to capture his attention....

After having a new years full of coughs & colds, we were ready to finally treat ourselves to this !!! If you'll look at our pictures you'll see we had a fantastic dinner in this petite special hidden gem in Hollywood, you must have reservations, as the place was packed at 7pm & the staff is incredible at getting people seated & set for a delightful evening. We started with glasses of wine & the Carpaccio & the Piramide Salad... just delicious, fresh & good sized portions. OH YEA... that fresh bread & olive tapanade is addictive. For mains we had the Lasagna Alla Bolognese w/bechamel just delightful & much lighter than expected, and the Chicken Piccatta tender & beautifully seasoned. Ample portions, easy parking valet ($2.50?) in the lot. We finished with canolli which were yummy, though we ate them at home a bit later. Vivoli is a local treasure, we drove quite a ways from the valley to come, but everyone else in the place was a local & repeat clients. The staff were as busy as can be but Sabri took care of us & did an amazing job of keeping the place humming with smiles. Make a reservation, the Trattoria is petite & you want to be sure to grab...

I've never been here before, and now i want to come back. Our server, Sabri made our dining experience much more enjoyable, too. He was very knowledgeable about the food, knew what would pair well and also was very friendly and accommodating.

The parking lot is a little small, but you can also park across the street where the laugh factory is, but at the time i went, there were plenty of spaces and only the people going to that plaza is allowed to use that parking lot.

The restroom is located towards the back of the restaurant subtly hidden by a striped curtain. The restroom is maintained cleanly and also offers a lot of space - no worried about tight fitting rooms!

The menu also has a lot of pictures - almost a picture of every item on the menu. They have extensive choices for breakfast, brunch and lunch. Now, im excited to try their dinner options in my next visit.

Keep up the good work!

by the way, the strawberry crepe is amazing and a great spot for couples or pictures is right by the counter lined with...