[Santa Monica] [Italian] Valentino Italian Restaurant

Valentino Italian Restaurant
3115 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 829-4313
http://www.pieroselvaggio.com/valentino/

When Dr. P and I first saw the participating restaurant list for this year's dineLA Restaurant Week, we immediately picked Valentino as one of the restaurants we want to try.  Since it was also our 3 years anniversary last week, we decided to have our anniversary dinner last Friday at Valentino.  But the experience at the one Michelin star restaurant was far away from romantic,  and actually quite disappointing.



When we first arrived at the restaurant, there were about 3 parties waiting in line.  The host tried to seat the people in front of us at this one table at the entrance of the bar area right next to the line of people.  Of course none of them wanted that seat.  When it was our turn, we gave our name and reservation time to the host.  But he didn't care to check us off.  Seemed like reservation didn't really matter that night.  The host again tried to seat us at the worst table in the restaurant.  We asked nicely if we could have a seat in the back dining room.  We were then brought into a small crowded room.  The host bumped his hand into a wine glass on the table on the way and broke the glass.  Yes, the restaurant was busy.  But I wish the host would act more "gracefully". 




We were seated at really weird table at the center of the room.  Dr. P had his back toward the entrance of the room.  Every time people try to get in and out (both patrons and wait staffs), they would have to ask Dr. P to move first.  It was a very very uncomfortable and awkward table.  As soon as we saw some people leaving, we requested to change to that table.  I don't know if the restaurant always had seating plan like that, or they just try to put as many tables and chairs as they can.  Also the dining room was really noisy. 



We waited for a good 15 minutes before a waiter brought the menu to our table.  3 courses meal for $44 seemed like a pretty good deal at this expensive restaurant.  We were getting a little impatient with the SUPER slow service.  But at this point, we still want to enjoy our dinner.


House Chianti ($12.00) & Bread

Dr. P ordered a house Chianti.  It was a really good wine.  The bread was good, especially the olive bread.  So we sat, and ate bread.... for maybe about 20 minutes.



Then we finished our bread.  ALL of it... because we were so hungry and tired of waiting for the food.  The waiter did brought us a second basket of bread.  This time we got bread sticks and jalapeno bread.


Tortino di Funghi
Wild mushroom tortino, parmesan, saffron sauce

Finally we got our appetizers.  Tortino di Funghi was delicious.  Very pungent mushroom flavor and we loved it.  The texture of the tortino was creamy, but the little bits of wild mushroom made it sometimes chewy, sometimes even crunchy.


Gamberi Valentino
Sauteed shrimp, tomato & basil

The sauteed shrimp seemed simple, but it was so flavorful.  No idea how they seasoned the shrimp, but it was just too good.  So we were really really happy with the appetizers.  We almost forgot about the bad service.  Then we patiently waited for the arrival of our main entrees.... maybe for another good 20 minutes.


Il Branzino con Carciofi
Grilled Mediterranean sea bass, artichoke sauce

The grilled sea bass was good, not nothing really worth awing about.  It just tasted like something I could've easily made at http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com.  Maybe we were expecting too much from Valentino?  Or maybe they didn't serve up to their regular standard for dineLA menu?


Il Vitello All'Uccelletto
Ligurian style veal casserole

The fish dish was alright.  The veal was just HORRIBLE.  I mean, really really bad.  The veal had a really bad after taste.  It tasted like.... petting zoo.  We had veal before and it never tasted like that.  I took a bite, thought it tasted like farm animal, so I thought of a little cow got killed, and now he's on my plate.  I wanted to vomit.  Yeah, it was that bad.  Meat really shouldn't taste like "animal" that makes people think of the actual "animal" that they're eating.


Almond Panna Cotta

After the horrible main entrees, we couldn't wait to get the dessert to wash away the "animal" taste in our mouth.  But I guess we just had to wait.  This time even longer than before....  The almond panna cotta was great.  It reminded me of this Chinese dessert "almond tofu".  So smooth, creamy, and light.  Delicious!


Ricotta Filled Sicilian Cannoli

Ricotta cannoli was divine!  It was the best cannoli I've ever had.  The fruit sherbet was a perfect accompany.  This dessert made me want to close my eyes when I eat it.  Like really close your eyes and just enjoy the taste.  Yum!



So what did I like about Valentino?  I like (1) the appetizers; and (2) the desserts.  What didn't I like about Valentino?  I dislike (1) host and server who seemed like they didn't care about the customers; (2) overcrowded and strange layout of the seating area; (3) super super super slow service (we were there for almost 3 hours for 3 courses!); (4) it took the waiter 20 minutes to refill my empty glass of water; (5) our table was full of bread crumbs (yes we were messy eaters) and they never cleaned it; (6) waiters were unfriendly and not so polite (they didn't smile and they didn't say thank you... almost seemed cold and stuck up); and (7) of course, the VEAL. 

Looking at all those things I didn't like about Valentino, it was almost all about service.  If I go to a restaurant, the food is alright and the service is great, I would go back again to give it another try.  But if service is bad, even the food is good, I probably wouldn't go back.  This was probably the first time and the last time to dine at Valentino for us.

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