This week, Calabasas Patch is back with another great restaurant in town worth checking out. Here's this week's choice:
–There's something enticing about a Venetian style restaurant with warm Italian food and an even warmer fire place.
That's Riviera Restaurant and Lounge, a cozy place to sit back and enjoy the daily happy hour to the home spun ambiance. The pure leather seats and other swanky decor aren't nearly as stuffy as you might think. Insider tip: there are no corkage fees on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, so cheers to that.
Ranging from pasta to crab cakes, it is hard to pick just one menu item, but the bucatini with "straccetti" filet mignon, Roman style, is too tasty to resist.
My plate came out with warm, hollow spaghetti filled with filet mignon, tomatoes, onions and cheese. The bucatini was unlike anything I have had before pasta-wise. It was a little hard to eat without spilling off of my fork, but the effort was well worth it.
Riviera Restaurant and Lounge, 23683 Calabasas Rd.; 818-224 2163. Hours: Lunch: Mon - Fri, 11:30am - 2:30pm. Dinner: Sun - Thu, 5pm - 10pm; Fri, Sat, 5pm - 10:30pm.
