Raffaello Ristorante — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Raffaello is only 1.5 blocks from Crowne Plaza hotel (on 7 street side of hotel walking away from the harbor). Plenty of tables available with ample space in between for both patrons and staff to maneuver around (10-15 tables outside by enclosed sidewalk setup, 15-20 tables on smaller partition by the long bar setup, 25 plus tables in main dining room, and an upstairs which I figured is for private parties).

The seafood is very fresh; my mom mentioned it several times and she is a hard-to-please customer since she is a great home cook that used to get her seafood from fisherman in our neighborhood.

Pricing and quantity is also a great bargain. Our dishes cost $20 each and could easily feed 2-3 persons per plate.

With that many tables, the staff were constantly jumping from table to table because they were very attentive. Our server Giorgio had new drinks on the table before I could finish the last sip on my diet coke (free refills on soda orders).

Since they are so attentive during your meal, we did have a rather longer wait time getting our orders in so I had to silently signal the staff that I was ready to order by placing all our menus on a pile in the corner.

They did place a complimentary order of cooked sweet peppers (my mom said it was well made and reminded her of a dish from Spain) and a basket of very cold bread (I like my bread freshly baked or toasty warm).

We started with a Fried Seafood appetizer which had fresh calamari and shrimp that was lightly breaded and fried. I personally wanted more shrimp because it was perfectly seasoned and tasted delicious.

I didn’t like the accompanying marinara sauce so I ate the remaining calamari with lemon but it wasn’t tart enough. To be honest, the dish was good enough without the sauce.

I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs since most italian restaurants have very gamey meatballs and I wanted to compare basics (like when you compare pizzerias with only a cheese or pepperoni slice).

The meatballs were very soft but the meat was slightly gamey and bland but I learned the trick to eating this dish (better late than never). You have to mash the meatball and mix it in the sauce. It was delicious! Only thing missing was al dente pasta. Unfortunately both our dishes had the pasta cooking a bit too long so it was softer than we liked.

My mom ordered the seafood pasta which was very fresh but she did wish the mussels had been better prepared since it still had the byssal threads or “beard” in the sauce (had to look up the official name).

Bathrooms are down the hallway by the bar but I didn’t use it.

For Dessert, I ordered a Tiramisu and a pistachio ice cream cup. Tiramisu was fine but I like mine with a thicker cream and not as soggy. The pistachio was very aromatic and sweet with tons of real pistachio mixed into the ice cream.

Just like the cannoli, the pistachio ice cream is just not my favorite type of dessert despite its great quality (had to try cannoli and pistachio ice cream from several places like New York, Miami, Los Angeles etc… but it is official).

Our only complaint was the cold bread basket and overcooked pasta but everything else about Raffaello’s was wonderful. From ambience, pricing, food portion and service, this is definitely a place to try whether you are a local or a tourist waiting to get on a cruise the next day.

One last tip, since they use aluminum pans to package your left over food (unless you plan to eat family style and share multiple dishes) make sure you tighten your bags and ask for a second bag to carry because it will spill out sauce no matter what.

Bon appetit, buen provecho, Enjoy your meals at San Pedro (quiet picturesque harbor town in...

My little boy and I made special trip to the SS Iowa and decided to have an Italian lunch. This place was so close by and we said “Why not try it out?” I’m so glad we did! We arrived on a Wednesday around 12....right before the lunch crowd. Small owned family business and I kept seeing the people that worked there really caring about the service and getting to know their customers. I ordered spaghetti with no sauce (just butter and Parmesan cheese) for my son and the lasagna for myself (waiter recommended it). They serve you very large portions! It took a while to get our food, but it totally worth the wait! They serve a cold roasted red bell pepper with olive oil that was to die for, then a salad (that I didn’t care to much about because of the dressing (it was too much for my taste buds). The bread tasted fresh and it was warm and toasty and soft on the inside. The timing of the service was just right between courses. I highly recommend the lasagna! The balance of cheese and meat was perfect, but the pasta and sauce is what really made this so delicious! All of the ingredients tasted so fresh! This was very close to meals I’ve had in Italy. My son is a picky eater and he almost finished his entire plate! The pasta was cooked just right and not dry...right amount of butter. I also recommend you split all the courses, because the portions are huge! It’s so difficult to find an Italian restaurant with authentic ingredients and hospitable service! I’ll definitely be back and bring my entire family! Parking is a little difficult to find, so just keep driving around the block. I forgot to mention, we ordered the chocolate cake for dessert and it was rich and served chilled which was actually perfect, because it was so hot that day! I highly recommend this place for delicious...

I always get the Shrimp Alfredo and I absolutely love it. I first ate here about 2 years ago, before they moved. I wish I could give them 5 stars but my experience has been inconsistent. I have only ordered the Shrimp Alfredo from here and every time I've been charged a different price. I never complained because the price was very reasonable. However, I did think the price differences for the same exact meal was strange. Once they moved to a new location, I decided to order for pick up. I called 2 times before I went to ask about the cost, knowing the history, but they were very busy and the lady that answered didn't know the price. I didn't worry because as I've said, the price has always been very reasonable. I was shocked when I got there and I was told the price was almost 4 times as much as I paid in the past for the very same meal! I had nowhere near enough money on me and the guy who brought me the food out was quite frustrated that I didn't have enough but he didn't know I called beforehand twice to no avail. I'm also sure he didn't know about all the different prices I had been charged in the past for the same dish. I must say it was quite embarrassing to have to deal with that and the guy who brought me the food was quite frustrated as well since they were very busy. I see that business is doing quite well for them since the move to the new location and I congratulate them for that. But I can't pay those prices. Looks like they forgot about one of the little people out here in San Pedro. ...