Been meaning to give this place a proper checking out for a long time so I stopped by today for happy hour. Overall a solid experience. Happy hour is 4:30-6 now for anyone wondering. I showed up at 5:50 thinking it went later but was able to get my order in just in time. Just a heads up if you are looking at old menu photos on here! The food itself was slightly above average, but I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much at its full price point. Calamari was decent and the chicken milanese was a little charred for my liking. Regardless, at under $10 each during HH I can't complain much. I think pasta might be the move here though based on what I saw at other tables. The bartender (didn't catch his name) was super friendly and really knew his drinks. Had a nice chat with him and he really held it down behind the bar. Might stop back again soon for the friendly banter alone. LA needs more good bartenders. Not a bad spot for some Italian food if you're in the area. It's not top tier but I still enjoyed it. read more

Vito Restaurant - Chicken Milanesa - Italian Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Came here last Friday for date night and we absolutely loved it. We've been here several times before - all with great experiences. The food was truly delicious and our server was attentive and nice. Vito has a nice heated patio if you're worried about dining indoors, but if you're not concerned about sitting near other diners, then I would recommend sitting inside. The atmosphere and décor is lovely with an "old school" vibe. House Wine - 5/5 SO GOOD! Great pour. At $15/glass for "house" wine, it's kind of expensive but worth it. Carbonara - 5/5 DEVINE. I was supposed to share this with the hubby but after one bite, I told him it was all mine!! Definitely order this. It was perfection. Zuppa di Pesca aka Cioppino - 5/5 Tasty! Save some bread to dip into the broth. Coconut Cake - 4/5 Pretty good Tiramisu - 5/5 Mmmm!! Huge portion, too. This place isn't cheap but it's so good. Needless to say, I cannot wait to return for more carbonara!! read more

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Wow, finally authentic Italian food in LA! I love the "old school" Italian feel of the restaurant which reminds me of the wonderful Italian restaurants we went to in Jersey and NY. Everything about Vito's was delicious from our delicious shrimp scampi to the filet mignon. I'm just sorry we did not have room for some of their delicious desserts... The service was also impeccable... We were greeted by Cynthia and Jason Reed, the owners, who really made us feel at home. Ernesto, our server, was also excellent and was making sure we had everything we needed. As the were many other things we wanted to get on the menu, we will be back and cannot wait to share this place with our friends. read more

Great service and the food is off the hook. The new owners have hit a home run! The wine list is superb.

Amazing spot in Santa Monica. One of the best arrabbiata sauces I've ever had! Service was excellent. Drinks were delicious. Such a nice vibe for date night or dinner/drinks with friends. read more

Vito Restaurant - Lemon drop - Italian Near Me - Santa Monica, California

An outstanding dining experience! Even more so because, when I remarked that my Sweetheart's dish was over-cooked and that is why she didn't eat it, there was an immediate credit to my bill. We'll be back and you should go there, too. You won't be sorry you did. read more

Soo yummy! I had the salmon Fettuccine w/a tomato cream sauce and loved it. The restaurant was busy on a Friday at 7pm. We got a table right away because it's actually a big restaurant. The patio looked really cute but we were sat inside by a window. The decor looks old school red leather booths, lots of wood. The bar is beautiful & the restaurant is cramped but the food is perfect. Bread w/ butter is served right away. They give you rolls but slices of bread which is great after covid so you don't have to use your hands to break. The deserts looked amazing but I was too full by then. Must come back. So in love. read more

Vito Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Since the new owners the food quality has gone down. Plus the owner was pretty snarky with my 80 year friend. Who's been a member of this establishment for over 30 years. I know she won't be going back, plus there's such better Italian food in and around the area. I wish them luck read more

Came here for my girlfriends 22nd birthday. It was beyond incredible. Drinks 10/10 - try the espresso martini & make sure to ask for the dessert cart. The owners checked in on us & the waiters made sure we felt at home. If you are near by or celebrating definitely consider this spot. Also JJ at the bar is the man. Dude made better drinks than most of the top LA restaurants that I've been to. read more

Came here to treat myself and try a new Italian place. I was intrigued since my dad's name is Vito and it has been here for decades. There was miscommunication with the waitstaff from the moment I sat down. I didn't receive a menu and had to ask for one after a few minutes of awkwardly sitting there. I also had to ask if I could order. They thought I was waiting on someone and was apologetic throughout the night. Everyone around me appeared to receive great service. One of my favorite Italian dishes are Amatriciana and Cannolis and they severely disappointed me. The Amatriciana is not made like an authentic Roman pasta. It was a normal red pasta sauce with bits of bacon (I was expecting cubes of pancetta). The cannolis tasted like whipped cream rather than the traditional ricotta. They also were drizzled with chocolate sauce where I was hoping for chocolate chips that I have seen traditionally. I wasn't expecting authentic Italian dishes but I was hoping it would taste like an Italian grandmothers home cooked meal. Overall I'm extremely disappointed by my experience and food at Vito's especially at the price point. read more

An old school treasure, beautifully decorated and serving up some of the most delicious, authentic, italian favorites in town. The restaurant exemplifies tradition, when you walk through the door. Servers wear elegant and impeccably fitted outfits, the tables have gorgeous, white table clothes and the food is bursting with flavor, served with freshness and pride. As a local, I have a loyalty card, and we are blessed to have Vito's in our neighborhood. read more

Mediocre and overpriced sums it up. Service was good, but I should have sent my linguine pescatore back. It was cold and shellfish was embarrassingly overcooked. Plus, it was just ordinary. I've had this dish many times at other restaurants and it was just....ordinary! Nothing memorable. And certainly not justifying the premium price. Same pasta as anyplace else, and definitely not fresh. This place was a bummer. I left pissed. I should have checked the Yelp reviews first because I see the same complaints from over 8 years back! Responding to Owner's comments. We were with another couple so it was difficult, much less embarrassing, to send the food back, which arguably I should have done. But, your kitchen manager/expediter should have never let that dish leave the kitchen! There are too many good restaurants in the area and considering that I wasted $160 on that dinner, I'm not inclined to try again. read more

Had dinner there Sunday (9/11) evening with a party of four of which two were children. We started off with appetizers and the kids had Spaghetti and I had the Seafood Special and my guest had the Uso Bucco which was spectacular! Everyone liked the appetizers (tomato and mozzarella) and their main courses and we finished with a variety of deserts with tea. The total bill was around $295 with a $60 Cash Tip for good service! We dined outside, but next time I will sit inside because it is so different an environment. This is the quintessential Italian food experience on the Westside. Two thumbs up! HIGHLY RECOMMEND! read more

When we arrived the vibe here was very chill. I ordered the pasta was so good and I would recommend. Thank you guys for the perfect presentation of desserts! read more

Food was excellent! Great quality ! I loved the ambiance because it's got this old timey fancy vibe. The service is really good waiters are all really nice read more

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Cynthia and her husband the owner are absolutely fantastic and she's breathtaking. The beautiful and the staff is exquisite and incredibly well appointed they're bilingual wonderful. The food is exceptional. The ambience is beyond compare and I am so happy that I came here and I recommend this to anyone who ever reads this post. This is an 18 star restaurant.! read more

Such a amazing Italian resturant in the heart of Santa Monica. This place is delicious and had great service. All the pasta we had tasted fresh and we loved the table side salad option! We also finish the night off with a carrot cake dessert. read more

Vito Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Came here for my one of my girlfriend's birthday dinner. Love the whole old school look, very "mafia style/old style" reminded me of the movies. Had a drink at the bar while we waited for the rest of the group showed up and the bartender was really good, too bad that their system is so outdated that when we asked for the bill, it took longer to close it out because he had to leave the bar area to go to the restaurant area to charge us since the bar wasn't updated with a computer to close us out; We get seated, and our waiter was really nice, gave us the day's specials and left us so we can decide what we wanted to eat. I shared the House Salad, which was really fresh and you could share it with 3 ppl, that's how big it was; for dinner I had the Fettuccine Allá Burino and it was delicious ; for dessert shared their Tiramisu which was done to perfection. The reason I gave this restaurant 3 stars instead of the 4.5/5 it truly deserves is because of their outdated check out and their busboys was extremely pushy in clearing out the tables, it was extremely annoying to keep telling him that we weren't ready for our plates to get cleared and had to remind him to refill our water glasses. Those are the only "issues" we had. Other than that, the meals were delish. read more

Tried vito restaurant tonight for the first time and it didn't disappoint. The ambiance is magical. It feels like an old school Italian restaurant which it is. It was packed and now i know why. The service is excellent. They Treat you like you grew up with them. I thought everything was too good to be true, then the food came. We were a party of 6 and everyone's plate was empty within minutes. Not one complaint from any of us. How rare is that? The bar was fully stocked and looked really cool. That's probably why there weren't any empty seats. The desserts looked delicious but all of us were so full we didn't order any. If you're looking for an old school Italian joint, this is your place! read more

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Everything here is FANTASTIC! Love the food, service, ambiance, prices, and always enjoy going here! read more

All i can say is WOW what a gem! How have I never been here? The restaurant itself is so cute, old school Italian with a great ambience. Great for a romantic date or birthday celebration. We were celebrating my daughter's birthday and could not have picked a better restaurant. Enrique was the best! Made us feel like we knew him for years and made the BEST caesar salad tableside that we have ever had. Food was absolutely delicious! Everyone at our table ordered something different and we all raved about our food. The desert cart was out of this world with so many choices it was hard to pick one so we ordered a bunch and shared and yum! Wish I would have taken a photo. The owners Cynthia and Jason were so warm and welcoming and came to our table several times to check on us. Cannot wait to go back! I highly recommend !!!! read more

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Food was so tasty. No frills. Well presented Service was great Tuxedos are a nice touch. And the wine selection will challenge any self acclaimed expert Returning for my birthday! read more

Second time for dinner. Probably the best Italian food in WLA. Good portions but fairly expensive. Service could be better. Desert cart is irresistible with homemade whip cream toppings. My new favorite pasta place read more

My guys and I don't just eat anywhere. Vito knows how particular we are. And he know we mean business. Our last time in, this poor waiter spilled a full glass of wine on my wool suit. I had no problem with that. Why? The Spaghetti Della Casa. Try it, you'll understand. We're grown men, and the staff always treats us as such. We'd eat there every night if we had the money... read more

Vito Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Santa Monica, California

The best food on the planet. Seriously!!! The pink sauce and the Caesar salad is unbelievable! Trace Hanock 25 years and still coming! read more

Love this place!!! Classy old school joint.... My favorite Italian food restaurant in Los Angeles. read more

I'll start by saying my wife and I have been going to Vito's since it opened in 1980. Over the years we have had many great meals there and were always impressed with the food and the service. We moved out of the city 10 years ago and were not able to go there, but will be returning next month and are looking forward to another great meal. read more

Very Classic style and there food like the salad dressing, they make it right there in front of your eyes! And famous for Italian foods like pasta. read more

Love the place The food is amazing. The service is outstanding. Very cozy old-school Italian restaurant I highly recommend this place for a classy, old-school dining experience read more

Vito strikes again!! I've been to both Mother Wolf and Felix in the past month, and can confidently say that Vito has BETTER pasta than both these places! I didn't even know it was possible to make gnocchi with as light and pillowy a texture as Vito does, and the pesto sauce is the creamiest and most delectable that's ever graced these tastebuds. The wait staff is incredibly friendly and fits right in with the cozy Italian atmosphere (though it can get a little loud in the main dining room). Vito himself also assured me that the entire menu is keto and gluten friendly-- I don't know how they do it! Anyone looking for a 5 star classic Italian meal must come here. read more

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I took my best friend Patricia here for her birthday dinner, Melisa and Sean welcomed us like family. Our server was kind and very knowledgeable guiding us through the menu. We had fantastic food and one of the nicest experiences I've had a very long time. Thank you again and I will tell everyone I know how wonderful you are. Daniel W. Pedersen read more

We told this restaurant we were on a time crunch to make it to a movie screening after dinner. I don't know how it's possible and wasn't even expecting to be on time, but we have 2 rounds of drinks, and all of our food within an hour. We kept saying "A+, A+!" because we are very big on Service. The staff made sure to ask us if we would like a plate taken away as soon as they saw it was done, and if we wanted another drink as soon as the last sip was about to be taken, and split our salad into 2 dishes for us for convenience, etc. Tremendous service, and the food.... ALL delicious. The meat was absolutely perfect, even the salad was great, and I am not a salad person. PS this is in an area that has a lot of other food spots on the same block if you wanna hop around on a night out read more

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This is a NY style restaurant that has been here for many years. The food is excellent and never a disappointment. The service is great. The only problem is parking. read more

My colleagues and I came to Vito for a team holiday dinner in early December. We had a reservation for 5:15 and were immediately sat outside per our request. For their outdoor patio being a converted parking lot, it was cute and cozy with lots of outdoor heaters. As a group, we shared their prosciutto and burrata and caprese appetizers which were fresh and tasty. For dinner, a colleague chose the Rigatoni Al Forno for me and it did not disappoint. Our meals were hot and fresh as they served us and we all became quiet as we took our first few bites. We all enjoyed our selections which also included the Gnocchi Sorrentina, Linguine Al Pesto, and Spaghetti Carbonara. The reason I docked a star from a perfect 5 star review was because of a charging mistake when we were ready to leave. Whoever had managed our bill added a 100% tip to our $350 bill which was a little concerning. Thankfully our server remediated this issue quickly and we left relieved. read more

Vito Restaurant - Rigatoni Al Forno! Was so delicious and rich! - Italian Near Me - Santa Monica, California

I have only been to Vito a handful of times. Each time has been a wonderful experience! I went today with a friend for lunch. Aside from the excellent Caesar salad, lasagna and fettuccine alla burino, Raymond made our dining experience phenomenal! He is very attentive, has great recommendations and a gem to talk to! My friend and I are definitely going to add Vito as one of our go to places from now on! Thank you for the wonderful lunch, Raymond!! read more

I used to always come here for dinner and absolutely loved it but moved further away. I'm so happy I came back! Definitely miss Vito but the new owners have done a great job. We started on the back patio for the happy hour but decided against it because it's very sunny and unprotected out there and extremely dilapidated looking. Not nice at all. They really need to fix up that back patio or just get rid of it. Dinner was amazing. We started with the calamari which had a lovely sauce with it. Then he had the fettuccine salmon in a cream sauce which he loved and I had their homemade lasagna which was excellent! Perfect amount of all the ingredients. Then they rolled out the dessert options which was very fun! We got the cheesecake. Delicious! Very creamy! Carlos was our server and did a fantastic job! Raymond helped us with the wine choice and was exceptional. Very friendly staff which made it very nice! By the way, the wine choice was perfect. Thank you all and hope to see you soon! Oh, and my martini was perfect! And we love the cozy booths. read more

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I made a reservation for my mentor to celebrate his birthday with my friend. Food was ok yet our server's attitude was very intense and we had to kindly mention to him about it-if he was ok. He said "This is the way I talk!" and he was not apologetic at all. We ordered Caeser salad to start, three entrees: today's special lamb, also special branzino, and pasta with salmon, then two deserts. For the whole night, he was really intense and rude as if he was above all of us. Once I asked the owner nicely if he was ok...she said that they were busy and 4 workers were not working today... yet that was not our fault and he could've been nicer to us as a professional. I asked him about a bottle of reasonable Italian wine and I mentioned that today was girls' treat for him. He brought his recommendation bottle, opened it, and let my mentor to taste (That was in a rude manner as well). My mentor said he liked it. (He is always polite.) The wine the server brought was California Malbec $25 at the store one/San Antonio Winery in DTLA , and he charged $99! 400 % markup for that wine? I did not say anything to the server because I did not want to ruin our celebration. I was deeply disappointed the way he treated us, with no smile entire evening at all. Why did we have to be nice to him? I liked Vito's foods and old school atmosphere, yet I will never go back! read more

Zero stars.... Service was horrible!!!! The waiter was unfriendly rude and impatient. He did not offer us the happy hour menu even thought it was 5pm. We had to find out by the table next to us. The waiter then told us we had to have all our appetizer and main course served at once. The food was mediocre and the pasta was cold and over priced. The place had a horrible stench. The waiter did not come once to check in to see how the food was even though the place was empty. No one came to clear the plates and we had to get up and look for someone to ask for service. I will not be coming back and shocked they are in business. read more

Love Vito - for old fashioned Italian food it is great! It is our neighborhood go to - great service too!

After a few years we finally came back to Vito with our friends. I cannot give enough praise for the outstanding service and the food! We ate on the beautiful patio in the back and thoroughly enjoyed every dish. We started with the warm bread then moved onto the amazing Caesar salad with the best homemade dressing ever. I make a great dressing that is very similar to this and this was just as good! We also had the minestrone soup which was piping hot and delicious. For dinner we had the scampi with pasta. It was so buttery and garlicky, just the way it should be. We also enjoyed the short rib special,the veal meatball special and the spaghetti vongole. A huge dish was perfectly prepared and served with a smile. (Under a mask!) we left feeling happy and full! read more