Tra Di Noi Malibu - Review - Malibu - Los Angeles - The Infatuation

"Nowadays, the Malibu Country Mart is mostly just another shopping mall with a Lululemon and Chipotle, but it is still home to one Malibu classic: Tra Di Noi. This white tablecloth Italian restaurant has been around since the early ‘90s, and is the kind of charming spot that plays Pavarotti while a vested server dusts your ravioli with fresh parm tableside. It's also perfect for a nice family dinner that avoids any Malibu sceney-ness, though you still might see a celebrity or two. In terms of food, Tra Di Noi ticks all of the usual osteria boxes, with calamari, caprese salads, and braised short ribs in reduced wine sauce, but the pasta dishes are the main draw, especially the jumbo-sized gnocchi. These fluffy potato dumplings are light as clouds, and their minced veal sauce glows orange from the amount of cheese melted into the red sauce. And although Tra Di Noi’s wood beam-framed dining room is open for lunch, there’s a daytime take-out window where you can order from a shorter menu of pizzas and panini. RESERVE A TABLE WITH RESERVE A TABLE Food Rundown Insalata Siciliana We like this salad’s individual components, but there’s not enough olive oil and lemon to bring them together. Unless you’re really in the mood for a salad before pasta, skip. photo credit: Sylvio Martins Lasagna Bolognese This lasagna is delicious, but the pasta sheets are overcooked, causing the whole thing to melt into cheesy gloop. It’d be nice if there were a little more meat in the bolognese, too. photo credit: Sylvio Martins Gnocchi Al Ragù Di Vitello These are some of the largest gnocchi we’ve ever seen (each one is roughly the size of a campfire marshmallow), and they’re so soft they melt away with barely a chew. The ground veal sauce—infused with so much parmesan it’s practically a tomato cream—is also excellent. photo credit: Sylvio Martins" - Sylvio Martins