Reviewing Giorgio Baldi: Upscale Italian food in Los Angeles.

There is a list of restaurants in L.A. that are known to have celebrity sightings. For special occasions, a girls’ night out, or a reunion, these restaurants are exactly the ones that first come to my mind. Giorgio Baldi is one of those restaurants that I’ve been wanting to try for a while now, and I finally got the chance to by celebrating my friend’s birthday there. First off, the location is absolutely ideal; it is right by the Pacific Coast Highway, so when you get out of your car, you can feel the ocean breeze and smell the salt in the air. You might even be so lucky to catch the sunset! Valet is definitely the move because it is a hassle to try to find a parallel parking spot on Channel Road. Upon getting out of the car, I looked both ways to see if any paparazzi were camped out waiting for celebrities to arrive. Our group was checked in and seated in the outdoor dining section. Although Giorgio Baldi’s original location is indoors, I really enjoyed the outdoor portion because there were heaters and string lights that lit up the area nicely.

To start, we ordered the Carciofin salad, made primarily of sliced raw artichoke hearts, as well as meatballs, and the Carpaccio di manzo alla salsa di tartufo, which is sliced raw beef under a truffle olive oil with melted fontina cheese and cream. The salad was very light and did not have a ton of flavor. The meatballs were thoroughly delicious, and a must-order when dining at Giorgio Baldi. The flavor, as well as the texture, made them so unique and truly memorable. They were soft on the inside, yet crispy on the edges. The beef carpaccio was a little too heavy for my liking, and not my typical order appetizer-wise, but I wanted to try it because it’s one of their signature appetizers.

For our main courses, we ordered several pasta dishes so that we could all try a little of each. The Gnocchi Pomodoro was our safe order, which meant we knew we’d like it — and we weren’t wrong. The gnocchi was so soft, well-prepared, and nothing like I have ever tasted before. The sauce was fresh and light, which honestly was the reason I

was able to appreciate the texture of the potato dumplings so much. We also ordered the Gnocchi al Vostro Gusto, which is gnocchi with a meat sauce and my personal favorite. The flavor of the meat sauce was so rich and flavorful, yet not too heavy. It went perfectly on the gnocchi.

The Ricciarelle al Tartufo was my second favorite pasta. It is pappardelle in a white truffle sauce. I love pappardelle pasta and truffles, so this dish had my name written all over it. Surprisingly, the white truffle sauce was not too creamy or rich and it had more of a light taste on top of the pasta. I think it was the ideal amount over the pappardelle. The Stracetti al Basilico is one of their signature dishes, which is a square pasta in tomato sauce topped with basil. It was one of the more simple dishes, yet it completely satisfied my taste buds. A fan favorite of my group, although not mine, was the Agnolotti ravioli with sweet white corn in a white truffle sauce. There were too many contrasting flavors going on for my liking, but others really enjoyed it.

Besides pasta, we also had to order the signature fish dish: the Dover sole. It was so fresh that it barely had a fishy taste to it, which is how you know a fish is fresh and well-prepared. It paired perfectly with the side potatoes and spinach. We also got the halibut, which was topped with tomatoes, olives, and a light tomato sauce. I liked how the fish was dressed with these toppings because it made each bite different and burst with flavor. For dessert, we had a banana foster crepe with salted caramel ice cream, and it could not have been a better ending to the lovely meal. My palate was satisfied with both my savory and sweet cravings.

The staff at Giorgio Baldi are extremely friendly and personable, and they treat each table as if they are serving a celebrity, which is the key to providing superb customer service. The ambiance is what people who do not live in L.A. expect dinner out on a Thursday night to be: fun and trendy. We did indeed have a celebrity sighting at our meal, so we were not let down as it was one of the factors in deciding to dine here. We even got to enjoy some of his music being played loudly while he was dining. I most definitely want to come back to Giorgio Baldi, but will have to wait a while considering the prices. I have to admit though, the quality of the food makes the prices worth it. Upscale authentic Italian food is exactly what you are served at Giorgio Baldi, so treat yourself!