"Via Veneto is an expensive spot in Santa Monica that seems custom-built for memorable special-occasion meals. The servers wear ties and call you “Signora,” and the dining room is dark, loud, and wouldn’t feel out of place in Lower Manhattan. You’ll eat things like lobster carpaccio and veal chops the size of your head, and have two too many glasses of wine from the massive wine list. If you’ve got a birthday date that you want to be low-key (but also kind of not), Via Veneto is your spot." - brett keating