"Terroni Downtown is an Italian restaurant that has a branch close to Beverly Hills, where I have dined. My first time dining here at the downtown LA. My fashion designer friends who work close to this area always Italian food and always eat here. I eat Italian food daily and prefer to eat at my fav iL Pastaio in Beverly Hills. This time I agree to meet for a late lunch and was dreading the meal. The waitress informed us the pasta is made daily in house, that was assuring but I was still cringing. I figured on ordering what I usually eat and ordered The Seafood Pasta Del Mar, the simple green salad and tiramisu for dessert. First off, the complementary bread and olive oil was served first. I asked for balsamic vinegrette and was informed, it is not served/available because they wanted the diners to appreciate the purity of the bread and the EVOO(extra virgin olive oil). I was not happy with this stupid rule. The bread and olive oil were good, but I wanted the balsamic vinegrette nevertheless, and it should be to the discretion of the diner, not the restaurant! The green salad was good, basically an assortment of micro greens, cherry tomatoes and small artisan olives and aromatic herbs and light lemon dressing, I had to add olive oil to it for more flavor. The seafood pasta in a light tomato base sauce included a large prawn, a medium scallop, calamari, mussels and clams. This pasta dish was really delish after 8 added more olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes for spice. Might reorder this next time here. The tiramisu was in a small mason jar and was good but the not best. The cookie with it was an afterthought, since the tiramisu was subpar. Service from the front host and hostess was pleasant and cordial. The waitress and servers were nice but seemed green, as I did not have the right tableware for my meal. I had to ask for a pasta spoon and another fork. I hate using the same fork for different courses. Also hate waiting to flag waitress for additional requests, so service was subpar just like her tepid demeanor. Terroni's building was formerly National City Bank in the 1920's The building exterior and interior is Italian neoclassical style. Inside the decor is cool, simple minimal, equating to an upscale diner. Outside is icky, but there's infinite construction of some sort and transients wonder about. In no time this area will be cleaned up and should improve the surrounding businesses. Meanwhile, it's an urban jungle and I caution you during night time visit here. Good thing Terroni is within 2 blocks from 2 or my fav ice cream shops: Little Damage and Dolly Llama. Where I headed to next. Terroni is worth a visit alone for that delish seafood pasta, the green salad and the classic building rates a 4. The lack luster unaccommodating and their ridiculous rule of no balsamic vinegar is reflected as the 3 star."
