Hostaria Piave - Redondo Beach

I was looking forward to trying a new Italian restaurant that wasn 't corporate and hopefully had some authentic recipes. Unfortunately, my first visit left a bad impression. I decided to order the soup since it was a cold and foggy night. I was told that it was 'made to order ' which is unusual for soup. This dish was nothing more than canned pinto beans and pasta trimmings. It was void of BROTH, vegetables, herbs and salt/pepper. Basically just beans and noodles. Soup is the easiest dish to prepare and if done correctly, can be a delicious starter. But if a restaurant cannot make soup properly, they miss the foundation of culinary wisdom. Whomever made this should be required to eat it, I threw mine away! Worst $12 spent ever

The food was not that bad but the service was horrible. We were seated at 5:30pm and did not leave until 8:45pm.

It is a shame this place is closed. The food was affordable and authentic just like in Italy. Restaurants of this caliber are far and few. It really breaks my heart that it is no longer open. Another one bites the dust. The risotto, gnocchi, and braised meat dishes were exceptional. The wine selection was perfect for pairings with the food or to drink alone. I was referred to this restaurant by a co-worker who lives in the Redondo Beach area. The service was impeccable I had zero complaints. If I were to open an Italian restaurant I would mimick this restaurant's flare and authentic menu.

Wow! What a wonderful Italian restaurant and wine bar! A cute little place decorated with Venetian masks and paintings all over, very unique and beautiful. We chose to sit at the booth, very cozy and comfy. They have their own wine cellar, so the wine list is like a book! A lot to choose from, some very expensive reserved wines too of course. They have two menus, a regular one and a special one, we took time to look through them, the pasta selections look so good, as well as the appetizers and entrees. Also some reserved wines half prices on the special menu. Starters: Complimentary bread: the crusts were a little too hard for me, but I liked the warm butter. Thin spaghetti with cuttlefish and mussels: I only eat pasta once in a long while, when I crave and want to indulge in carbs, glad I shared one with hubby as appetizer. The pasta was so good, loved the texture and taste, I believe it's daily handmade. The mussels and cuttlefish were so fresh and tender, the sauce was amazingly delicious! I don't think I have ever had any spaghetti tasted THAT good! Entrees: Traditional fish soup: it was actually seafood soup, no fish in there. Big pot of hot soup filled with scallops, shrimps, mussels, clams, baby octopus, they were very fresh and tender, the soup was so light, but with a lot of flavors, it was heavenly delicious! Filet with potatoes: they really cooked it on the rare side, it was **** and flavorful just the way hubby liked it, the housemade red wine sauce was great to go with the steak, hubby loved the potatoes in there too! Desert: Chocolate and hazelnut parfait: it was very delicious, not too sweet, hubby loved it, it was rare to see him eating desert like that.... Drinks: Sparkling water with lemon: refreshing of course. Sparkling wine: bubbly and sweet. White wine: it was a mix of Pinot Grigio and other two white wines, I loved it, fruity and refreshing, we had two of those. Green tea: I was surprised they had green tea at an Italian restaurant, very strong and tasty tea, liked it a lot! Double espresso: to ease hubby's food coma as usual. The portions were a little bit on the smaller side, the flavors were very light, I think it's better to eat light at a wine bar, that we can taste more wines. The food was just too delicious, it is rare that I love Italian food, but I enjoyed every single bite of my food! Our waitress was extremely friendly and attentive, she managed to pour sparkling water and wines for us most of the time. Absolutely loved our Italian casual dinner date, everything was so lovely, a great place to dine and wine whenever we are in Redondo beach area!

I have been a loyal regular at Hostaria Piave since I first moved to California 4 years ago and this restaurant has never ceased to surprise my taste buds. In an age where many restaurant flaunt their Italianess serving clicheed dishes that nobody ever heard of back in Italy, it is comforting to see that there are still a few Restaurants the capital is intentional that do not sacrifice quality and do not trade original Italian dishes to cater to the masses. While looking at a few comments in the negative reviews, I was astonished to read that somebody complained because there was no garlic bread and cheese covering their dish. This actually made me laugh, if it weren 't caused by a wrong culinary tradition of false restaurateurs claiming that they serve true Italian food when the closest they have been to Italy is looking at a map. So, I am sorry for the lengthy review and for ruining your expectations but I think it is time to clear some misleading facts so grab a glass of wine and relax while reading this: 1. GARLIC BREAD AND CHEESE It is a common fact that the first waves of Italian immigrants came to America from Southern Italy in the late 19th Century to look for a better future. These poor families took jobs at very low wages to support themselves and of course they couldn 't get all those products that were cheap and easy to find in their motherland: good-quality olive oil, fresh produce, rice Carnaroli Arborio, Vialone Nano to name a few . In America it was easy to find and afford ample quantities of cheese and meat so these first Italian settlers made do with what cheaper and at hand. If you ask for Garlic bread in Italy, even if you speak perfect-accent-free Italian, you will get an empty stare. The closest thing to garlic bread is bruschetta, made with olive oil, oregano and fresh tomatoes. No garlic. 2. ALFREDO WHO? It amazes me how people can complain and write negative reviews about a restaurant because it does not serve Alfredo pasta in the menu. Let me be frank: Alfredo does not exist in Italy, so why would an authentic Italian restaurant serve this dish that does not exist in their motherland? If you ask for Alfredoin Italy, most likely you will be introduced to a nice-looking guy whose name is Alfredi but if you expect a plate of fettuccini Alfredo, you are in for an endless wait. 3. RICOTTA and Lasagna While ricotta is an Italian cheese, no Italian worth of this name would put it in their freshly made lasagna. 4. Cheese in the pasta I have read a few reviews of people complaining about the tasteless cheese. The only cheese to put on your pasta dish is grana padano or parmigiano reggiano. None of them looks like the yellow stuff you get on some restaurants. 4. LONG WAIT To me, waiting longer at a restaurant is a warranty that my meal is going to be freshly made and not coming out of a freezer and re-heated. In an era of fast-food and hectic social life where everything seems to me rushed, I enjoy to be able to sit at a restaurant and wait that my meal is ready because I know that it is being made from scratch. I can enjoy the conversation at the table and sip a glass of wine during the wait and think that if I wanted to be rushed during my meal, I could go to a fast food restaurant instead. I am sorry for the lenghty explanation but it just does not feel right to read some reviews that are based of wrong expectations. This restaurant is a Venetian restaurant so it features a lot of dishes based on fish, as per Venetian culinary tradition. It is definitely an upscale restaurant and as such, the prices reflect this fact. However, since I have been coming here I have never had a bad meal and experienced a diverse menu with an impeccable service. The wine selection is excellent. I would recommend their lunch special $20! and their Sunday dinner if I am not mistaken, at $35 to the people who are budget-conscious but would gladly choose this place again and again over a restaurant that flaunts Italian cuisine that has never seen the light of day in the land that inspired it.