Cento

Went for an early Valentine's Day dinner and it didn't disappoint! The vibe here is trendy but unpretentious, and there's not a ton of seating inside (outdoor patio is gorgeous though) so it feels cozy. The counter seating surrounds an open kitchen which is a cool concept, and I loved watching the chefs do their thing throughout the dinner. We had a late reservation but it was still super lively throughout the restaurant.The heated patio looked so pretty so I'd definitely recommend getting a seat outside if you can! Inside was a bit cramped. The food was fantastic -- I was most excited for the sweet corn agnolotti and the iconic banana pudding tiramisu, but my favorite pasta was actually the cavatelli with sausage. Soo good and not too heavy! The corn agnolotti was great but I didn't expect it to have truffle in the creme fraiche (I'm not a huge fan of truffle).We also got the hamachi crudo (yum, very refreshing) and the beef meatballs with polenta (so tender and amazing polenta!! we scraped the plate clean). The banana pudding tiramisu was the star of the show -- so decadent and such a surprisingly good combo. We also devoured this. I need to recreate it myself at home. Definitely worth a trip for a special occasion! Service was fantastic.

Octopus: delicious. No complaints. Perhaps I was hoping for a bigger portion but good regardless. The squid ink pasta: interestingly flavored a little spicy. Not very strong in tomato flavor as I would expect. Tasted more like the north western cuisine of china. Duck confit: so creamy, buttery and tender. Must try. Outside patio is very cute and romantic. The establishment is smaller than I expected but very cute. Service: on time and caring.

This is an extremely belated review, but I want to write it nonetheless. My friend and I ordered the grilled octopus, corn agnolotti, the viral spicy pomodoro with whipped ricotta and basil oil, and shared a tiramisu for dessert. To sum things up, in the words of Asia, the resident foodieb*tch of LA, "It [Cento] was not worth the gentrification." My fatal flaw is that I am rarely willing to shill money for pasta when I can make something at home that could probably scratch the itch for a fraction of the price. I am so sorry, Italians :/ It's just the way I operate. Pros: -Reservations are easy to make online -The staff is friendly and attentive -The best dish of the night was the grilled octopus, which had a nice char and was very tender. I faintly remember there being a fresh Romesco-esque sauce paired with it. - The food was good, don't get me wrong, but I don't see myself becoming a frequent customer due to the price point. Cons: - Idk. The pasta did not blow me away. The spicy pomodoro was not spicy and it was missing depth--something could have been added to amp up the umami tomato flavor. The whipped ricotta and basil oil are nice touches, though. The agnolotti was better, but I think the sweet corn flavor was a little one-note. I also don't understand the addition of Old Bay seasoning...It didn't do much for me. I think basil oil would have been a nice addition to this dish. - Tiramisu was decent but not something I would return for. - Parking in the area kind of sucks but there is valet

Everything was tasty! We had a reservation and though it's not a big deal, we still waited a little bit before we got seated in the patio area. This place is a chic casual place located in LA, where parking was a bit tough but good thing we were able to find street parking a few blocks away. The portions were small but keep in mind it's a tapas place, so it's perfect for sharing to try multiple dishes. The hamachi crudo was fresh and flavorful with its lemongrass and coconut pairing. Meatballs were a good protein source without being too heavy, and the spicy pomodoro pasta was flavorful with a hint of truffle and basil. The cocktails were also mixed very well without it being too sweet or strong.Everyone was very attentive and made sure our table was clean. We were there to catch up but we felt a bit rushed as they kept asking if we were finished with our dishes, when we clearly weren't. Eventually they said another party was waiting so we left to another place to finish our conversations.Overall cool vibes and place to check out!

Parking: valet or street parking. Service: friendly and very attentive. The table was never left with empty dishes for longWait: gets very busy. Highly recommend reservationsOrder: Hamachi crudo: 10/5 so unique. Was refreshing, tangy and sweet, soo delicious!Beef meatballs: 4/5 good flavor on a yummy puree. The meatballs went well with our pasta tooSpicy pomodoro: 10/5 very creamy, good amount of spicy and very well made. Would highly recommend

Really lovely ambiance in their outdoor patio (loved that it felt indoors). It is a bit loud but I liked that tables were well spaced out and loved the beautiful tree in the middle of the space. The inside part had a nice open kitchen concept but did seem a bit tighter.For food, we ordered the beef tartare, steamed mussels and clam, corn pasta, and banana pudding tiramisu to share. Beef tartare was really tart and had interesting textures and flavors. It was good but not the best we ever had. We loved the sauce and the bread that came with the steamed mussels and clam and felt like the portion size was well worth the price. Corn pasta came out really slowly and we were a little disappointed by the small portion (it felt smaller than the appetizers) but we loved the flavors. We also loved the banana pudding tiramisu!!

Yummmmm is all I have to say - if you're looking for a date night spot with amazing food and cocktails, look no further! This place came highly recommended by fellow Yelpers as well as friends as the "best Italian restaurant" in LA. At first, I thought that everyone was over exaggerating but after going last night, it definjtely lives up to the hype. We ordered a few cocktails including The Wave and a Gin and Saffron and they were very tasty with good amount of alcohol. We also ordered the infamous Spicy Pomodoro which not only looked beautiful, but also definitely was the best pasta dish I have had in LA. Servers were very attentive and helpful with recommendations on what to order.Overall, it was a wonderful time with great eats and drinks - will definitely be coming back and bringing friends!

Food 3/5: 2/3 pastas we ordered were salty, the one was good was the spicy pomodoro, and the other two were squid ink and carbonara. The meatball was not as juicy as I thought, and the seasoning wasn't going well with the lemon sauce. A bit salty as well...Service 2/5: our server didn't make wye contact with us, did not refill water, did not try to serve us well, and I asked if there was any complimentary for my husband's birthday and she said no, just adding a candle on top of my choice of dessert with monotone. Ambiance 3/5: it's pretty but too small inside and close tables on patio.Overall? It was okay experience. Not highly recommending.

I really wanted to like this place, but I think this place is overhyped. Maybe I came on an off day / ordered the wrong things.Although all the pasta dishes were unique, I felt like they didn't have depth in flavor. Also, I felt like pasta was overcooked/too soft. We got the sweet corn agnolotti (although prettier than the one from amiga amore, still think the one from amiga amore is tastier) and the carbonara (nothing special). Our drinks were also okay - their cocktail menu contains elevated basic cocktails, nothing too fancy. If you're here for "the vibes," definitely recommend trying to sit in the main outdoor patio which has ample heaters. If you sit indoor, you're basically sitting counter style. No complaints about the service though!

TLDR: Circled 15 minutes for parking, dropped ~$200 for 3 people, and this pasta specialty restaurant was just fine. I would only come back for the Banana Pudding Tiramisu.My favorite part of my experience here was the ambiance. I loved that there's an olive tree in the middle of the patio section. This beautiful olive tree in combination with the warm, soft twinkle lights really created a romantic, cozy environment. Also, even though we were technically outside, we felt comfortable because there are floor standing patio heaters to combat the chilly air. Be warned, this is a trendy restaurant with a lot of customers taking photos and videos. In the interest of brevity, this is what I would order again if I had to come back: *Hamachi Crudo ($26) - Order.*Meatballs ($27) - Pass.*Broccoli Bucatini ($28) - Pass. *Grilled Branzino ($38) - Pass.*Tiramisu ($16) - Order. I was disappointed by the food and I'm surprised that their pasta was not better than what I could make at home (I feel like pasta is hard to mess up). I'd much prefer to eat at Andres or C&O which are both less fancy places but serve quality pasta.