"Very mixed experience. First, the good: nice ambiance (all/the majority of their seating is covered and outdoors , the tables for larger parties are spacious and well appointed (blankets and plentiful heaters . The food was pleasant enough the squid ink risotto had the right texture and flavor, although the clams were a bit of a challenge to deal with (no bowl for the shells, no extra napkins for the black ink stained hands, etc. . Which brings me to the bad part of the night: the service. First of all, at this price point, while you might think it 's charming/rustic to leave a bucket full of cutlery/paper napkins on the tables for self service, you (the restaurant should make an effort to make certain it 's replenished appropriately, and that silverware is replaced as needed between courses. There was no effort to reset the table between the appetizers and the entrees, or to bus it. We had stacks of dishes piled up at various points, and our server could have cared less about that. She was not rude, but she was maybe something even worse indifferent. When the much vaunted 18 percent that 's not a gratuity padded check came to the table, our group was confused about whether we were expected to tip on top of it, but since we couldn 't locate our server to inquire, we weren 't encouraged to pile another 20 percent on top of $450 of additional charges (yes, the food is overpriced for what it is, as the photos demonstrate the portion sizes, other than on the pasta dishes, leave a lot to be desired; but hey, that 's L.A. for you . Last but not least: we tried to inquire before dinner whether we were allowed to bring a bottle for a corkage fee, but we couldn 't get through to a live person on the phone. When we showed up for our reservation and asked at that time, the host barked at us NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR BEVERAGE! Okay, we were just asking, sir. No need to be harsh about it. Many restaurants do allow corkage this one does not. It would be great if they would put that info on their website, ahem."
