New Restaurant, Old Soul

When the good Italian restaurants of the red-checked tablecloth sort time-travel to the ‘90s, they become places like Antonio Orlando, a brand-new restaurant with an old-fashioned soul. Bittersweet pizza-restaurant tunes drift quietly out of the sound system, service is attentive and the food is hearty and robust, but not rustic in the way of the more cutting-edge places in Los Angeles.

Of course, there are no red-checked tablecloths. The place is full of wood columns and brick walls and floral wall paper. Ceiling fans gently rotate where you might expect a flank of empty Chianti bottles.

The chef and owner is Antonio Orlando, whom many know from his food at Valentino and Fresco. Nothing he cooks is gimmicky or particularly trendy. Osso buco, scaloppine and linguine and clams all turn up. There’s a good garlicky tomato broth with mussels and clams. The pizzas, halfway between thick crust and thin, are crisp and delicious.

Orlando does make one especially daring move: He offers customers the opportunity to have their risotto made any way they want. This means the risotto is cooked to order--as it should be. On the other hand, such freedom to choose may be over-excite some customers. Orlando may find himself cooking some very, well, unusual food.