This place is as good as good gets for restaurants. The setting alone is worth a visit as you are teleported from an industrial area of Hollywood to NYC once inside featuring a setting you'd normally find in the East Village, NYC or Mulberry Street...in NYC's Little Italy. The delicious smells just smack you in the face the moment you walk in while simultaneously being made to feel welcome by the hostess and managers. The customer is treated so well here which is such a noticeable difference from most LA-based restaurants where you're often just a number. The menu is filled with RAO's favorites (which will soon be yours) and caters to all tastes and dietary needs. I always enjoy the fresh fish as they prepare it oh so good. The pasta and sauces here are all perfect in every way. Service is old school in that they actually care about you and your experience - and it shows. RAO's is my go-to Italian restaurant in LA. Patrick the manager is the best in the business and helps ensure you have a great experience every time you dine here. Easy valet parking just outside the entrance or often you can find street parking (be sure to read the crazy LA parking restrictions, however) and be sure to make a reservation. This location is a lot easier to score a seat than its NYC sister however that just means we in LA just haven't caught on yet. I understand they will be moving to a new location as the area around becomes too studio-industrialized however I know they're here for a year plus so be sure to stop by.More

We got takeout from here during our visit to LA. First off the clerk let us leave with only half our order. Thank goodness we checked it in the car and realized that most of our order was still inside, so we went back. The...food was ok but the meatballs- really that is the reason to love Rao's- did lose a bit of their excellence when packaged up for takeout--- I know that's not the restaurant's fault necessarily of course. I'd recommend eating in for the full experience and the best meatballs.More

This restaurant tries very hard to look like somewhere the Sopranos or Sinatra would hang out in. Maybe they try a little too much. It's charming. The staff was nice. Our server Marco was right our of central casting and he was wonderful. The food...was good. I can't say great, but good. The pastas were good. The bread was very good. The caprese salad was very disappointing. The “hoeoom” tomatoes were.... Frozen. Huh? I didn't get that at all. I would do back, but I would skip the tomatoesMore

Wonder twin manager duo on severe power trip - will make up rules, harass you, will threaten you, will only give you a 1/2 pour of your cocktail (but still charge you full price), will only give you a 1/2 order of your desert (but...still charge you full price) & will make your dining experience so miserable that you'll consider devoting your life to telling your story so that they don't do it to someone else too. To save time and space, I'll bullet point all of their atrocities. 1. Tried to shoot me in the head with their temp gun despite me telling them not to and explaining how rude, mannerless and classless that is. 2. Seated us at our requested table but then refused to lower wind screen (like we've done 10+ times previously) due to their inability to read & comprehend health code rules. She claimed she couldn't put a screen WITH HOLES IN IT down because of needed airflow. It's a screen, that air clearly passes through but it breaks the wind. 3. Tracy the incompetent manager refused to move us out of the wind/cold 48 degrees but luckily our nice server found us a warmer table. 4. Tracy continued to stalk our table despite us asking to be left alone. 5. Tracy brings the health department document over, thinking that she's won but really she simply exposed herself. My husband is an attorney and read it and tried to politely explain to her that she's completely wrong in her interpretation & she then continued to argue with him telling him that he's wrong. Not possible. She has now engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. 6. Tracy sends tiny Patrick to our table to kick us out, claims things "aren't working out". He's correct, they weren't but not because of us, it was because of THEIR strange tyrannical behavior. We request that he call the police so that we can file a report against them. He shivers and runs away, he knows what they've done. 7. My husband's drink comes out 1/2 pour, his dessert comes out 1/2 order. We get a bill for our full meal despite the theft of food/drink & ruining our meal. 8. Tracy and Patrick stalk our table 6 times while we're sitting quietly trying to eat. Tracy even tells us that WE'RE rude and stands directly next to the exit to harass us one more time on the way out. What a hit job. Feels like someone paid them off to harass us for some unknown reason. I hope whatever they got for it was worth it because we'll never return as long as the wonder twin destructive duo is in charge.More

We were promptly seated and shown to our 2-seater booth. It was a very tight fit in their booth, much more so if we had been weight-challenged. The seats and back of the booth had no cushioning, and it was quite uncomfortable. Next time I...will opt for a table. Bread was served and it was absolutely delicious. We had the Fritto Misto as an appetizer and it had excellent, non-greasy and tender portions (the only negative was the piece of cod which was bland and totally unseasoned). One of us had Linguini Clam Sauce and it was very tasty. I had the Fiochette which were ravioli fashioned into little “purses” – a nice presentation, but quite colorless – I would suggest a bit of chopped parsley to give it color. The Fiochette had a bare hint of pear along with the ricotta filling, but overall I found the dish underwhelming. Its sage and brown butter sauce was just too bland. For dessert, we tried their cheesecake which was true New York on a dish – outstanding! Service was pleasant, although at the end of the meal the check was delivered with a plop on the table sans comment, another silent plop after my credit card had been processed. What’s with that? A nice older gentleman came around to all of the tables and bantered a bit, but it would have been nice if he had introduced himself by name and role (I asked the server who he was, and found that he was the maître d’). We will return to try other menu items.More

If you are looking for traditional Italian food - highly recommend going here. Great service and huge portions.

Great atmosphere! Loved the food and the service was fabulous. Will definitely come here again and recommend it to friends. Can't believe it's been in my neighborhood for so long and I somehow missed it!

Like it’s NYC counterpart...only the weather is better! The food, waitstaff, ambience equally as good. A true Italian celebration of food!

Big celebration dinner with my lawyers, Booby G and Omar. We beat Charles Schwab in court. Best place for booze and meat! Say hi to Gabriel the bartender...my angel😎

Tonight I had a reservation for 4 that was made on Open Table; which open table messed up and made for 2. This was no fault of the restaurant; but it completely on Open Table. The hostess and manager were excellent in trying to accommodate...us. Unfortunately knowing Rao's from NY there was no room for us this evening; which is understood. I do have to say they handled the situation perfectly; all attempts were made to seat us. I will be back the next time I am in LA.More

Loved the food, service, ambiance and music. We had a 6:45PM reservation and were seated promptly. For starters, we ordered the fried mozarella and it was delicious. For our main course, I had the spaghetti agliolio with a side of grilled asparagus and my husband...had chicken parmigiana. The portions were very generous. For dessert, my husband had the cheesecake. I’m glad I found this restaurant and can’t wait to go back. Everything from beginning to end was excellent.More

Great service and bar. The staff are wonderful. A few pasta dishes were a little overloaded with oil. Very good cheese cake.