North Italia Topanga 6600 California 27, Los Angeles, CA 91303

"Most of you will like this place.. especially mature audiences and those in their golden years. The main reason for that is that the flavors are very flavorful. There's no subtlety here. I couldn't quite give this place five stars. Here's some of the highlights though. 1. "Cass" served us, and she was great! 5 stars! I'd say she checked on us at least a dozen times over the course of about an hour and a half. And we were a decent sized group! Service in general, 4 stars. I think they're still finding their stride as a group. Something's were really slow to come out, and it looks like there wasn't even a single busboy that can do some of the things like bringing water to the table, extra plates, things like that. 2. Came in for dinner, and the atmosphere was what you'd expect from an Italian version of Huston's, if you remember that place down Canoga. Loud and noisy. The Acoustics in here are like a packed bar. So maybe more intimate tables for two would be appropriate. But if you're in a large group of six to eight people, good luck trying to hear each other. 3. The flavors of the food are intense. Everything has a lot of flavor, maybe too much flavor? Maybe a touch too much salt. My personal favorite was the white Pizza we got. Very flavorful, very crunchy and thin. Very napolitana Style. The porketta was great, especially the potatoes. There is some kind of spritz of lemon going on there that just really brings the potatoes to a whole other level. The sour lemon note on the potatoes counteracts the charred pork skin quite nicely. There might have been just a pinch too much salt on the crust of the pork though. The short rib pasta with cream sauce is a piece of art. I like how it's presented, and you can see everything, then you can either mix it up, or eat each component like a Cobb salad. The chicken parmigiana is great. Even covered in sauce, you can still get the crunchy texture of the fried chicken cutlet. It's good, and the sauce is intense. Very deep, Tangy Tomato flavor. But again, maybe just a pitch too much salt in the sauce. Squid Ink Pasta: apparently this is one of their most requested dishes. I personally was lost in how to define it. The subtlety of the squid ink just wasn't there for me. It was overpowered by this super ultra Tangy sauce, and the heat of the pepper. I'm trying to understand why you would take something so delicate, and then cover it in a different sauce entirely. To each their own I suppose. 4. They're busy hours are like Thousand Oaks or Westlake village. It's packed between 6:00 and 8:30. Either come before or after. Personally, I can't eat too much tomato anything after the Sun goes down. Lol. I think I'd rather come here for lunch next time. Or the happy hour! 5. Restaurant Logistics / Protocol. The first thing when you walk in the door, there's no chairs to sit on, no couch or anything while you're waiting. So everyone is standing literally in a 10 ft by 10 foot square. Here's where things get weird. It takes three people to put your name in at the front desk? One person checks to see what the table situation is, another one takes your name into an ipad, and then a third person actually seats you. What mystified me is that we couldn't make a reservation for 6:30. But yet, when we walked in at 630, there was a 20 minute wait, half the restaurant was empty, and stayed empty for a half an hour. Go figure. Their outside open patio will be nice in Spring and Fall. Summer is too hot. Winter too cold. Cover it. 6. Parking is horrendous! It's not their fault though. This parking lot is used by everyone in the mall. 7. Note to Management. Get rid of the round tables in the middle of the restaurant. You put five chairs at a round table. Who comes in with five people? It's either two or 4. Five people sitting at your round tables is tight. And even if you wanted to put those tables together for a larger party of 6 or 8, they're round, not Square. Hello? Will I be back?? Maybe for happy hour, if it was just me and a buddy, or me with a date trying to sit at the bar."

"North Italia offers a diverse selection of dishes, ranging from small plates to share, fresh salads, gourmet pizzas, and delicious sandwiches. While it may be pricier than other local restaurants, the variety on their menu makes it an appealing choice for diners with different preferences. We opted for the Naples White Pizza as our main course, which we customized by adding flavorful sausage for an additional burst of taste. North Italia takes pride in making their pasta in-house, so I couldn't resist trying their Ricotta Cavatelli, featuring juicy crab and shrimp pieces scattered on top. It was undoubtedly my favorite! They serve lunch until 4 pm every day, after which they transition into dinner service."

"One of my favorite restaurants and I’m so happy there is one in the valley now! So much closer. There is not one thing that I don’t like at North Italia. I asked for a side of polenta to go and they accidentally made me a side of butternut squash that was on top of polenta. I am not a fan of butternut squash, but sure enough, it was so good from here! I really can’t recommend this place enough!"

"Great addition to the neighborhood. I loved the farmer/garden accents in their design. Many interesting items on the menu that I'm looking forward to trying. Welcoming atmosphere. Delicious food. The kitchen is a little slow, probably since they just opened less than 3 weeks ago. This place most likely will become my go to for Italian food when I'm near the mall."

"It was tasty! I like the calamari and the vodka pasta. Everything was a tad bit saltier than I would’ve liked and my sister had a weird stomachache right after her salad (only thing she had), but it was still tasty."