This place has it all figured out. A very inexpensive Italian Café in
the heart of the young hip Melrose shopping area but, don’t let the low
prices fool you. The food quality is the same as going to any upscale
Italian Cafe in Beverly Hills. Take desert for example, can you imagine
a cannoli for $3.50? In Beverly Hills an identical, perfect cannoli
would be $18.00. I am sold on the food, the fun, the ambiance, and this
terrific family.
This is truly a family affair; the two sisters Bianca and Stacey are
the muscle behind this fantastic pizza café. They are hard workers and
have to juggle their work with being full time college students. The
food is elegant and flavorful; at the first bite, you can tell that
they are using premium products. The result is a dinning experience
comparable to a any Brentwood Osteria, for a quarter of the price.
Upon meeting the mother Bianca, and the patriarch Abel, in an instant
you can look around and feel their handprint on everything…beautiful
and strong. Abel is the product buyer at three of LA’s top Italian
restaurants so you are being served very high end fare at very low
prices…get the picture now! His restaurants products are being served
up at Santa Margherita Café with prices even a student could afford. I
would run to Santa Margherita right now!
Here’s what I tried:
Pizza:
Santa Margherita with melted mozzarella cheese, original tomato sauce,
and topped with fresh basil.
Prosciutto Heaven with original tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese covered
with fine slices of Parma ham.
Just Enough Meat with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese covered with a
blanket of sliced pepperoni.
Mushroom-tastic with sautéed farmer-grown mushrooms and mozzarella
cheese over their original tomato sauce.
All the pizzas are fantastic, with very fresh ingredients, thanks to
Dad. You can order the pizza in two size pies, or get it by the slice.
Once again you could get this same pizza at a
high – end café in B.H. for triple the price!
Salads:
Shrimp Salad, with natural spring baby greens, sliced cherry tomatoes
and fresh mozzarella cheese. The shrimp is cooked to perfection, and
the greens are so fresh, with nice light vinaigrette dressing.
Calamari Salad, with organic arugula, sliced tomatoes, and sautéed
calamari. The calamari is tender; this salad is very light and pleasing.
Paninis:
Chicken and Prosciutto Panini, with grilled chicken breast, prosciutto,
sun dried tomatoes, and spinach. This one’s a keeper, the sautéed
spinach makes all the difference in the world, and the chicken is
flattened out and very tender.
Pastas:
Pomodoro with organic tomato sauce, basil and parmesan cheese. The
pasta is cooked perfectly; this dish is simple and terrific.
Pesto with basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese. This is wonderful and
can stand up to any expensive pesto in Los Angeles. My favorite dish
here!
Extra Goodies;
Spicy Buffalo wings with buffalo dipping sauce. These wings are not too
greasy, with yummy flavor.
Dessert:
Cannolis, wow, so fantastic! While the food is superb, I always like to
pair it with wine, sadly Santa Margherita does not have a liquor
license yet, but they are applying for one. Truly though, it doesn’t
matter, the experience here is the quality and amazing prices. The
family will make you feel so at home; and you can’t forget Mama Bianca
or the girls.
When you are shopping on Melrose, or checking out the local music
scene, make sure you stop by Santa Margherita Pizza Café! Not only will
you be very excited about this great new restaurant, but also you will
be able to afford this one at least once a week!
Santa Margherita Pizza Café
www.santamargheritapizza.com
7261 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, Ca. 90046
323-937-5526
