Tra di Noi — Restaurant in Malibu

I have been a customer of Tra di Noi since the 1980's. There was a time when it was truly excellent, the food was consistently wonderful, the service great and the owner charming and involved. I have gone less and less over the years after we moved from Malibu. Tonight sealed the deal, I will never go there again. The prices are far too high for what they are serving in terms of quality. The risotto fungi ($29.00) was too al dente, it was flat and tasteless, save for the salt I asked to be brought to the table to attempt to give it some depth of flavor. The Caesar salad should have been sent back to the kitchen. We paid for a split on it, as if $17.00 was not enough, it jumped to $20.00, for a skimpy limp dish of slimy romaine, not a crouton in sight, not even a hint of garlic, or anchovy. It was simply dressed with olive oil and perhaps lemon, it had a tang but no taste. It was the worst excuse for a Caesar salad I have ever had, tasteless. The bread and tapenade were very good and my dining partner's dish of chicken, fusilli , broccoli and sun dried tomatoes was passable at best, but far better than mine. To add insult to injury we had a waiter who visited our table infrequently, and seemed not to show the slightest interest in being of service even though we asked for nothing other than a salt shaker. I don't normally salt my food at a restaurant, that is how flat it was. All in for $93.00 before tip, with no alcohol! Three things and all were beyond subpar. I honestly wanted to kick myself for going there and wasting money on such awful food. Never again. If it changed owners then that could be the reason. If it did not, then where on earth has his sense of quality gone? Don't...

Sometimes sharing wonderful experiences is like a reflection of the light behind you to illuminate the path after you today I was fortunate enough to experience this I’ve been dreaming of chicken fettuccine all week long and I came to this place for one of the most wonderful experiences I think I could have in a long time I can’t take the staff enough for being so friendly I actually recommend the lemonade I’m in my middle aged part of my life so lemonade is about as dirty as I get and this was a clean experience thank you so much for everything!!

Each bite well welcome the next

Update for July 25, 2022 I love the tranquility of sitting outside the service greeted me immediately and I couldn’t wait to order the fettuccine with chicken

I understand this place is a little further up Scale in price but it’s worth every penny of it the seating is perfectly fenced off with glass windows but channels are nice breeze that gently cools you while you sit sipping whatever apéritif and enjoying the wonderful bread that is accompanied with a fantastic in-house spread.

The fettuccine has larger noodles and you’ll be used to put the texture of the creamy wonderful sauce and the chicken fried so perfectly I blended pepper to give it the perfect aftertaste

I literally would’ve eaten 20 pounds of this if I could but this is my special place to come every so often it is a Christmas and birthday...

This was the BEST chicken I've EVER had... AFTER I took it home, added Italian herbs and Kasmirhi peppers and slow-cooked it for 2 hrs. Otherwise the food here was what you would expect at a university faculty cafeteria- just slightly better than the student food.

While browsing the menu, we overheard the table next to us ask about the veal. The waiter made a cartoonish chewing motion and said, “can be kinda chewy, to be honest,” so they asked about the sole. He responded with a slow-motion shrug, like a man who’d seen things and couldn’t unsee them, signaling it wasn't worth the $68.

We thought, "Okay, let’s go rich and slow-cooked. Lamb shank! You can’t screw up lamb shank!" Oh but I guess you can. It somehow managed to feel dry, flat, with an over-the-counter tomato sauce pasted onto it like emergency varnish applied to a row boat. We don't waste food, so we ate it.

That’s when it hit me: this wasn’t an Italian restaurant. This was the "idea" of an Italian restaurant. No Italians in sight. Just waiters in pressed white shirts and bowties, hypnotizing us into believing the food was better than it was.

On the drive home, we tried to figure out how a place like this survives in Malibu. Lack of competition? Rent controlled by some ancient coastal curse? We may never know.

Somehow we got to $175 after tip and with no drinks. At least I rescued...