Osteria Vera Reviews

Dear readers, I am thrilled to introduce this restaurant to anyone who seeks an old school way of dining. The owner in kitchen visible to the dining room. The space is cozy and you can hear a conversation. The food, like you are in Rome. A place for locals it feels like but to all you tourists, an absolute must!

After walking in the front door and the curtain closes- you are in Italy- they talk, they teach and the really know how to cook Italian! A Must try is the Pasta mixed in the Fresh cheese in the Huge Cheese Wheel flown in Monthly from all places= Italy-

What a wonderful place to dine on a Sunday night! Nothing to dislike: good wine list, flexible menu, lovely food.

Party of six, 1/3 loved their dish, 1/3 good, 1/3 not so good. We had a female waitress that was average service at best. Dishes did not come out at once - rather staggered. Also, no pepper offered with salads & no one was around to ask during that course. Prices high given these limitations

The caccio e pepe is worth the trip alone. Made in the classic style with al dente pasta and plenty of pepper, scraped into a wheel of pecorino. A real treat. I also love the seafood salad

Very nice selection of authentic Roman food, good food good service. Small but comfortable, and relatively easy for a table of 5 to talk without difficulty.

Unlike the more traditional Italian restaurants in this area of Brentwood, Pecorino felt more like a trip to Tuscany than "Little Italy". The staff and the food were delicious and not your average American Italian. The setting was quaint and the service while at times a bit slow, was very pleasant and authentic. Definitely worth the stop if you are in the area.

Food was excellent. Cacio e pepi as good as in Rome. Quiet, even on a Saturday night. Recommend it if in the area.

I went there with my family, wife and three kids. Service is good. Atmosphere is nice, not noisy which is important to me. Food was good. Dinner for two adults and three kids (2 glasses of wine) cost $260 with only two appetizers. I'm sorry, but that's too much for lasagna and pasta. I'd go back but not with the kids. Maybe for business if I was trying to impress. The name Pecorino led me to believe that it was more of a down-to-earth place and it is... except for the prices.

Recent dinner was just delicious All had fish but one and he had tripe and said it was great. The fish dishes were excellent. The pasta starters were wonderful too. Highly recommended. Pricey but worth it.

A lovely Italian restaurant. I've eaten there about 4 times which visiting LA. Their Italian dishes such as pasta, risotto, etc. are delicious. But when you get to chicken, fish dishes, there is little flavor and not worth it. They really need to work on that or just serve straight Italian food.

Fantastic as always! Chef/Owner Raffaele and Erin are great and are now remembering me!!! :-) They have my all-time favorite dish...Cacio e Pepe! After Roma, Italia, only the namesake in NYC and Pecorino do it almost just as well! If I'm within 90 minutes of Pecorino, I go! BTW...everything else on the menu is also delicious! ENJOY! Ci vediamo presto! CIAO for Now!

Brentwood has no shortage of wonderful Italian restaurants, but the food at Pecorino reminded me so much of the restaurants we discovered while on a recent trip to Tuscany. We started with the squash blossoms which melt in your mouth, then moved on to the extremely light risotto, before moving on to the chicken milanese. The staff could not have been nicer or more accommodating, and we will definitely return.

great looking cozy restaurant but...waitress was horrible. ordered a glass of wine which took 20 minutes to get to our table and both our pastas were beyond al dente. they were tough and chewy. the restaurant tries hard and I sad that they didn't come through. With so many italian restaurants on San Vicente I expected a better experience.

Went with my family after reading reviews and expecting a neighborhood gem with best Italian ever. Unfortunately it's more a reminder of a Roma tourist trap with inflated prices, small portions and B food. It's fine if you are willing to fork over the dough. Just remember you gotta pay for the bread and it ain't cheap. Even the wine was a thimble and not a legit pour. As for me, no go.

This cozy place is a great place to dine - superb food even for those who want a gluten free meal (though I'm sure the home-made pasta is amazing). Hubby and I had the chilean sea bass/Branzino, which was cooked en papillote and was really great. Our friends had dover sole (they adored it) and the pork chop special - also fabulous. Hubby and I shared an avocado salad (yummy) and our friends were pleased with the tuna tartare. We shared the "chocolate morsels (fudge) for dessert - which were OK, but they should have warned us they were not what one would expect with "fudge" in the description as they were more bittersweet chocolate than sweet chocolate - but they were exquisitely made...our friends shared the creme brûlée when they said was great.

We ate here during our trip to Los Angeles. The food was absolutely delicious and includeed freshly cooked pasta. This place certainly has style and has a nice atmosphere with friendly waiters too.

If you are looking for red sauces and pizza this is not the restaurant for you. However, if you are looking for authentic Abruzzo (and beyond) cooking this place is not to be missed. We always feel like we are actually in Italy! Mario greets you at the door and his brother is the chef. Try the sole with thinly sliced potato on top or the lamb with baby artichoke. Always a great meal!

We had a lovely dinner on Valentine's day- choice of appetizer, entree and dessert. We enjoyed the avocado salad and zucchini blossoms tempura style; lobster and spaghetti; branzino with mushrooms and artichokes; topped off with pear au gratin and almond tiles with strawberry mouse. Good service- crowded room.

We organized a small family dinner at Pecorino last week, and were rather disappointed. The “bruschetta” was so thick that they served it with a steak knife, and it was smothered in (way too much) raw garlic; I could still taste it the next morning! The calamari in the “Seafood orecchiette” were like rubber bands. Staff were friendly and attentive, but that was not sufficient to offset the problems in the kitchen. Rather expensive.

The best thing this restaurant has going for it is the atmosphere. With exposed brick, it has a lovely feel. But there are too many tables jammed into a rather small room and the waiters were constantly bumping into one another as they passed by our table. The host kept several parties waiting at the door for about 10 mins before he checked them in while he chatted with a guest, which considering the prices of this location, is unprofessional. The food had a nice presentation but tasted bland. It appeared that most of the effort was put into making the food look very special and unique without much thought into the flavor. This seems to be the theme of the restaurant--effort put into appearances with little substance.

This is absolutely THE BEST Italian restuarant we have ever eaten in in the U.S. The staff stayed open past closing to accommodate us. They were welcoming, knowledgeable, unobtrusive, wonderful. The menu is glorious, and the specials even more so. We had pasta of such quality, we could only remember the taste from years ago in Italy. Everything we were served from bread, to salads, to entrees, to wine was simple, delicious, and truly impressive. We will plan future L.A. trips around meals at Pecorino. There is a lot of debate about Italian restaurants in L.A., listen to us, don't go anywhere else!

Expensive but worth every penny. The portions are large and the meals are delicious. We started with the Caprino, which is "Warm goat cheese “Crouton” served on a bed seasonal greens with hazelnuts". This was mouth-wateringly delicious. Our entre' was the Carbonara which was unbelievably tasty. No view, but Ihighly recommend this romantic little restaurant.

We experienced a delicious dinner at Pecorino restaurant in Brentwood,CA last night. We started with the special salad of Burrata cheese, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, topped with fresh avocado slices and a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar(Delicious). Our friends enjoyed the fresh house salad and said it was very good and very fresh. I had the homemade lasagna that I loved and my husband had a pasta with pork sausage and spinach. Our friends also had two other pasta dishes and everyone loved their food. We can't wait to go back for another yummy meal.

We went to Pecorino with another couple for dinner. My husband ordered the onion appetizer which sounded interesting, but it was undercooked, relatively tasteless and still had the outer skin on it. I ordered the artichoke appetizer which was 3 small pieces of artichoke that had no flavor and were not even cleaned properly. The meal was downhill from there. Two of us ordered the lobster pasta. We couldn't eat it. I thought it tasted like soap. My husband had the seafood pasta which had 3 tiny shrimp, 3 tiny (and I mean tiny) mussels and a lot of rubbery calamari that I am sure came out of a bag in the freezer. The only dish that was interesting was their pecorino pasta which was made by putting the warm pasta inside the center of a wheel of pecorino cheese and adding a lot of pepper. Great idea and was tasty, but for $18.00? Their wine list was a joke. We ordered a bottle of Zinfindel, which was very good and one of the least expensive wines on the list at $48. Most of the bottles were hovering at $100.00-$125.00. As far as the service, our waiter was nice, but we were never asked if our food was OK? We would have been tempted to send it back. The restaurant was charming, but a bad meal at $130 a couple, is ridiculous. We would never go back.

I took my wife to Pecorino for Valuntine's Day. We usually never go out for a holiday like that, but I was delighted that we did. The food was outstanding - I had an all-ster dinner with the octopus salad, the sole in parchment, and the pear au gratin. Un- bloody - believable. Enjoyed it all with an excellent red from Multipuciano. I haven't enjoyed myself as much in a restaurant for quite a while, and this was on a busy night! Service was great. The waitstaff, including the busboy, were delightful. The owner, even though he was very busy, spent alot of time clowning around with us (p.s., he is the only Italizn that I have meant who is not obsessed with soccer -er football - but I am a sports nut, so I had a great time with him anyway. The atmosphere was very reminisent of a number of places in Rome that we have been to. Whenever I get back from Italy, I always lament that the Italian places in the US are never as good as those in Italy. - Pecorino clearly was! i see why my friends recommended it to me. My wife had an excellent lentel soup, an excellent lobster-asparagus pasta, and their strawberry / almond tower. You'll over it, but please don't take the last reservation on a night that I want to come back. Finally, I have no conflicts of interest to declare - just a happy first-time diner.

The valet parking in front is very easy and affordable. From the moment we entered the small restaurant everyone was friendly - as though we had been there many times although it was our first visit. The food was excellent and fresh - although I would not order the baked onion appetizer next time. The salads were delicious. The pasta was delicious and so was the salmon. The restaurant was noisy very briefly, but then quieted down. The wine list was extensive and reasonably priced by the glass. It was an extremely relaxing evening. We weren't rushed and, in fact, had to request our check.

Very good food, excellent service, willingness to customize per request. Good wine choices. Pricey. Small. A little noisy.

I had lunch here yesterday with a friend, it's one of those places that I've driven by a thousand times and wondered how it was. My friend and I ordered the zucchini blossoms and tuna tartar as a starter, then I had the Tripe (best I've ever had in my life), and my friend had a Veal dish with shaved cheese and prosciutto. You have to try this place it's not just another Italian restaurant on San Vicente and the food and service are truly exceptional.

Every time I comeback to LA, I eat here at least once. They make their own pastas, sauces, and the fettuccine swirled in a round of cheese is to die for. They don't have restaurants like this normally outside of Italy. Prices are not cheap (and hey guys the wine is 20% too expensive..almost nothing under $50.00...not fair to the real people of the world...but otherwise...super..

My wife and I recently had yet another terrific meal at Pecorino. We shared a delicious avocado salad that was light and flavorful, followed with a perfectly done cacio e pepe, made in the Pecorino wheel and with home-made think spaghetti, and then a wonderful filet of sole, on parchment paper, topped with layers of scalloped potatoes and thinly sliced vegetables. Pecorino is not a restaurant "to be seen". One does not have to book a month in advance and beg for seats. And yet, week after week it is filled with locals who know an unpretentious, great restaurant when they see it. This is what a restaurant should be. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, the staff are friendly and attentive, and the food is delicious. Highly recommend.

The restaurant is way too expensive for what it offers. The food isn't bad, but the service is. Restaurant employees work at the table next to you on their computers as you dine. The management is impolite and self important. Stick with Parmesan!

This is my favorite Italian restaurant in the US. Sure I haven't tried them all but I estimate I have been to at least 75 Italian restaurants in the US and Abroad in the past 10 years, and this is my favorite. Mario is always a welcoming host and I have multiple things on the menu that I love. Though the service can be touch & go, especially for new staff, I always feel taken care of. My favorite thing on the menu is the filet with shallot sauce. Better than any steakhouse I've been to. It's absolutely perfectly cooked medium-rare and covered in the tastiest sauce imaginable. Add in the side of mashed potatoes and you've got the best dish in the house. If you're not in the mood for steak there are always the go to dishes of Penne Pecorino and Lasagna, two of my other favorites on the menu. I always start my meals with the arugala salad with pecorino, which seems fitting. Some have complained that the portions are small. I must counter that the Lasagna portion seems quite large and the starters are as well. It is only the pasta dishes that are small but this is the way it is actually done from my experiences in Italy. This is also the quietest of the local Brentwood Italian restaurants because they have carpeting and drapes to reduce noise.

Brilliant dishes, great ambiance, wine selection and service. We will return.

I come here a lot but it is usually at lunch and, quite honestly, I am more focused on the meeting than the food. Having said that, I have always liked it here. Last night we must have really hit an off night, because everything was less than expected and less than it should be. The menu here has not changed in almost the ten years that the restaurant has been opened, and that's either a good thing or a bad thing. For me, that means I almost always order either the branzino in parchment or the always-available off-the-menu signature dish, Dover sole with thinly sliced potatoes and veg, sprinkled with pecoroino cheese (of course) and grilled on (not in) parchment. I went with the latter and it was completely under-seasoned and virtually devoid of the pecorino or any other flavor. My wife traded her spaghetti with lobster with our friend, since the captain did not bother to tell us the spaghetti was a wheat pasta. She reported that a lobster had walked through the lobster fettucini special and that it was anything but special, but at least the fettucini was not wheat-based. The appetizers were better, with the stuffed zuccini flowers probably being the best thing we ate. The goat cheese on toast resting on greens was also good, if slightly predictable. On the other hand, the one desert we ordered for the table - creme brulee - had too thick a burnt sugar crust (making the dish cloying) and the desert itself was neither as light or creamy as it could have, and should have, been. Service was largely inattentive and there were only five - count them, five - occupied tables. At one point, my wife got up to get the pepper mill for the main courses. Considering that we had to ask for the cracked pepper for the appetizers, someone could have remembered to offer us the pepper mill again. There was also no follow up to ask us if we were enjoying the meal and no thank you or farewell on our departure. Now I'm left wondering - has Pecorino been mediocre for at least some time I just haven't paid enough attention at lunch?

We wanted a quiet meal so we could talk and very good food in a local neighborhood. Pecorinio was a perfect choice, but I am glad we booked for an early start as it wasn't noisy at all at first. The meals we chose were delicious - had a steak salad, with tender strips of meat, shaved cheese and plenty of them in the salad. The roasted capsicum as a side dish was great too. And I couldn't resist the tiramisu - thankfully - now I never have to have another tiramisu. It was so good...perfectly made.

I went with my wife during a recent visit to Los Angeles. She ordered the branzino but it was "baked" rather than the ways she prefers the preparation --- she said it was "fine" but not exceptional. I ordered the very unusual lamb stew which was very tasty indeed. We shared an appetizer -- a "boiled onion" -- big mistake. We thought it might be fun to try something different --- they should scrap this item. On the other hand we shared a chocolate and mint mousse dessert that was quite tasty indeed. The service was just fine and it was not noisy -- easy to speak and be heard!

Thank you to our friends who brought us to their favorite LA restaurant. Now, your turn! From the moment we walked into the lovely Pecorino, we felt like we were at home. The service was top notch. The food? Heaven! So, whether you live in LA or visiting our wonderful city, make this restaurant one of your destinations. Once you do, you'll remember to return, I assure you. The owner/chef was approachable and kind as we left the restaurant thanking him for putting the "special" back into an evening out with my husband and friends. Send them our best we miss them already.

Pecorino never disappoints....Of course, I always order the same dish which is pasta swirled within a wheel of cheese...Not cheap so bring money but worth the price...PS do not over order as portions are big.

The most authentic Italian Restaurant in Los Angeles! Excellent food in a warm and friendly atmosphere. If you love Italian food (Abruzzese) it is absolutely to try it! Highly recommended!... Il più vero ristorante italiano a Los Angeles! Piatti eccellenti in un ambiente caldo e accogliente. Se vi piace il cibo italiano (Abruzzese) è assolutamente da provare! Altamente consigliato! ... Alessandra

This restaurant is a neighborhood gem, with really quaint interiors, and a kitchen area that is exposed to the dining room. Their food is authentic Italian with variety of interesting appetizers, wonderful pastas, and great entrees, however a little pricey but worth every penny! Their pasta is one of the best in LA, and their meats are incredible. I always order their carbonara (spaghetti w/beaten eggs, home made bacon, and pepper), because it is unlike anything I've had here locally. However, almost any other pasta I've had is really amazing, so definitely try it any or ALL. For our main, we split the 20 oz. Bistecca, their bone-in rib eye steak, and it was excellent! This restaurant is one of my top favorites in Los Angeles, and it never disappoints!

Once again great food! As much as I LOVED the stracchetti at il Gabbriello in Rome, I have to say that the stracchetti alla roma at Pecorino was better!! Authentic Rome and east of Rome (Abruzzo) cooking. Bread is traditional for this region and is served with an Abruzzo hummus -- excellent! For the quality this is an excellent value. Excellent selection of wines -- we always try something from Abruzzo to go with the cuisine -- often good values in the region that the owners know best. Do not go here if you expect American Italian cooking with red sauces, burnt garlic and bread drenched in olive oil! Staff makes you feel like you are in Italy and you are!

Great dinner with all my traditional favorites, served by an Italian staff! Prosciutto e Melone - the melon could have a little more ripe; however, the Prosciutto was fantastic. I went for my all time favorite - Cacio e Pepe - and it did not disappoint. Finished in the wheel of Pecorino!The freshly made sfogliatelle were outstanding!

The way Italian food should be. Highest quality ingredients prepared simply. Mario runs the front of the house and is possibly the best at this in L.A. While his brother Rachael cooks and overseas the bustling kitchen. I have been going there for 7 years and have never been disappointed. I recommend the stuffed baked onion you won't see this on many menus. Sole in parchment with porcine mushrooms rocks. All the pasta dishes delivers as do the meats. The wine list is very reasonable and the markup is surprisingly low for such a venue. This is very much a local Brentwood favorite so make reservations for weekend or go later.

Pecorino is where we usually go for special occasions like a birthday or when a good friend comes into town. Everything is always good: the food, the size of the portions, the service, and the location is easy to get to. It's consistently very good.

My relatives had been here before and they made the reservation. The head waiter was very pleasant but the Valet was quite aggressive. We were seated in between two large tables of diners who were quite loud and the rest of the place was totally empty. We ordered an Eggplant starter which we shared between two of us and it was very good. Two of us shared the Veal Chop which was delicious even though it was a little fatty. The Pasta speciality of the day for a main course was a home made pasta filled with Mushrooms with a Cabbage sauté & Truffle Oil This consisted of 3 small Ravioli a small amount Cabbage & no discernible Truffle Oil at all . To also add insult to injury the Pasta was hard as in not cooked properly & terrible

Wow, Finally, the one that did it right! Not only was the ambiance perfect, the enviornment sublime (I saw both Robert Downey and Harrison Ford there, separate tables), but the food was simply to Die for! The Filet of Sole crusted in thinly sliced vegetables in parchment paper was extraordinary, the Fava Bean Soup (more of a puree really) was out of this world, the Pasta Pepe Pecorino was so simple yet the burst of flavors unimaginable! Desert. Mille Foglie, fresh Strawberries, Strawberry mousse and almond crisps all layered and decadent. Wine selection was optimum and this is quite frankly the Best dining experience I have ever had in Los Angeles!

You first judge an Italian restaurant by the bread. This was just average. I had to ask for olive oil to dip it in, for which they brought the big bottle to the table (looks like they just took it from the kitchen). I had a little plate of arugula for $14 and spaghetti for $18. Again, just average. I don't mind paying those kind of prices if something is really delicious, but it just wasn't that great. I must say the ambience was nice and the service attentive, but it seemed like one of those places that slaps high prices on everything to make you think you're getting something special. Save your money and your calories for better value.

Went here with family on their recommendation. Has the spaghetti Carbonara which I found to be on the bland side, the bacon was overcooked slightly. This is one of my restaurant test dishes so expected better. Main had Fettuccine alla Bolognese which was very good, both the pasta and sauce with perfect. Coffee was superb

Bad service, did I say bad service, did I mention bad service? Did I add rude staff? Did I add cold food? Did I add that their attitude sucks as does their food?

This is a very lovely Italian restaurant in an area with lots of choices in that category. The food is very authentic with the cheese for the pasta coming actually out of a giant wheel that the pasta is tossed in. Quite special and a first for me to see. The cod was baked on parchment with an array of beautifully arranged vegetables. Tiramisu was amazing and a gift of the house. Service was excellent. Will definitely return for the food quality.

There are a lot of quaint Italian restaurants competing for your dollars in Brentwood, but you're not going to find better than, or go wrong with, Pecorino. My husband and I have been eating here for years. We almost always go on the Saturday of a three-day weekend. We've gotten to know the staff pretty well. Peppino is our favorite server. We love that we are able to speak Italian here. The tables aren't so close together that you are closer to the person on your left or right than to the person at your table (a pet peeve of mine), and the ambiance to classy and quiet. We've had the fried pizza appetizer several times, and I think it's my favorite food in the world. It's a small piece of fried pizza dough lightly doused with an excellent tomato sauce. Last weekend the chef tried a cheese-stuffed veal chop, which my husband loved. The gnocchi, which were roasted a little to put a carmelized crust on the top and served on a bed of melted taleggio, were the best and most interesting gnocchi I've ever had. I would return just to try the gnocchi again (they were new to the menu). Great food, great service--our favorite restaurant in L.A.

A nice place to spend a night with friends. Good food, good service, everything is so good! Love that the menu is short and sweet and your head don't spin trying to decide what to order!..

Chef Raffaele and his team have created two magical dinners for us in the past month. Every dish has been beautifully prepared and presented. We look forward to many more. The service is personal and excellent. The atmosphere is quiet and comfortable.

Anyone who does not think this is th best Italian restaurant works for the competition. Totally fab food...I had salmon (perfect) guest had the most unusual lasagna...and dessert was totally yummy. Not cheap but a hang out for the rich and famous. But the food and service is the story. Don't believe any bad reviews. You will not be sorry.