Rarely do I ever get to have lunch with the numerous friends I have working Downtown but yesterday I received an email from one of said friends inviting me to lunch at Bottega Louie on Grand & 7th. I had seen this place on my normal drive in to work and even walked passed it last week when I took the Metro into work. It had just opened and seemed very very pricey given the amount of staff alone that it takes to run this place let alone the beautiful marble floors and super high ceilings. Can you imagine the air conditioning costs? Anyways…
I met up with my friend whom I had not seen in about a month despite us being regulars at IO West on Hollywood. Immediately you could tell this was a different class of establishment with friendly hosts who make small talk while they walk you to your table. Once there not a few seconds had passed when a friendly server came by. He already knew our names and a couple simple facts based on the small talk we had with the host. It made the relationship with not only the server but the entire restaurant a little warmer. He immediately made a few recommendations which we took under advisement as he gave us a few minutes to decide while sipping on our fresh lemonade which rivaled that of Hot Dog on a Stick but not quite.
We decided on ordering a pizza with a couple of side dishes to supplement. We had been recommended the Clam Pizza which sounded amazing but were dead set on having the Tuna Carpaccio as a side dish and thought it might be overkill so we went with the Bianco which had some yummy ricotta, garlic and arugula. Delicious, as was the tuna carpaccio but for the the star of our lunch were the portobello fries. Juicy, tender and they came with the most amazing dipping Definatly will have to return soon and try the clam pizza but I think those portobello fries will become a favorite of mine for a long time.
The pizza was a good size with six slices and the side dishes were small to average and overall moderately priced. Great food with decent portions and an affordable price. The only downside I found was that it was far too loud. The acoustics seem perfect for a concert hall rather than a restaurant you want to sit down and have a quite conversation with a pretty lady.
I totally recomend this place if only for the portobello fries and lemonade but overall a great experience.
Tags: Bottega Louie, Downtown, Food —