Located in an old building at the end of Main Street in Santa Monica, Via Veneto is an oldie-but-goody Italian bistro serving classic Northern Italian cuisine with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. The romantic room is small and intimate with real candlelight on each white-tablecloth, and upon entry, you are greeted in Italian. We recommend starting by ordering prosecco before moving onto the extensive menu that changes from time to time. Everything is superb but here are our top recommendations:

Fritto Misto

The lightly battered calamari is fresh and the spicy sauce packs just the right amount of heat. You may have had fritto misto many times but this one is like nothing you’ve had before.

Lobster Carpaccio

This dish is citrusy and delicious. With flavor in every bite, we finished feeling content and refreshed.

Steak

The menu often changes but the steak is always amazing. One of our favorites was the mouth-watering truffle-crusted filet mignon.

Funghi Portobello with Flash fried Arugala

This pan seared dish with white truffle olive oil flash fried with rucola parmigiano is a must-try!

Enjoy!