Settecento DTLA

Settecento - Review - Downtown LA - Los Angeles - The Infatuation

"The grassy patio at Settecento is a pleasant pocket of green in Downtown’s Financial District. On Wednesday and Thursday nights, this indoor-outdoor Italian restaurant hires a jazz band to play in the Maguire Gardens outside LA Central Library, so you can eat antipasti under string lights with an Aperol spritz. Look in any direction and you’ll see business types doing just that, so, when at Settecento, do as the buzzed finance people do. If you plan on having a full meal, prioritize the Neapolitan-style pizzas, which are the only memorable dishes on the menu. They come out blistered and just flimsy enough at the center, and the pomodoro is just tart enough. photo credit: Settecento Food Rundown Carpaccio di Manzo In what felt like two bites and a sip of wine, this whole dish was gone. This carpaccio came as two layered sheets of thinly pounded beef, and arrived too cold to appreciate the meat’s flavor. Pass. photo credit: Sylvio Martins Insalata del Settecento This nearly $20 salad didn’t live up to its price. The pile of chopped lettuce and hard-boiled egg is underdressed, and the sparse drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette is the only flavorful thing happening. photo credit: Sylvio Martins Bucatini all’Amatriciana Overcooked pasta and undercooked guanciale. There’s also not nearly as much guanciale as we’d hope, so this pasta is another miss. photo credit: Sylvio Martins Della Nonna Besides the jazz band and wonderful patio, Settecento’s pizzas are the reason we’d send someone here. They’re what a solid Neapolitan-style pizza should be: thin and chewy with a well-distributed char. The Della Nonna with meatballs and roasted eggplant gets crisp in the oven, and the salty parmesan cream splatted on top compliments the tangy pomodoro. photo credit: Sylvio Martins" - Sylvio Martins