In April I had the opportunity to visit La Traviata, a Long Beach restaurant that combines all the things that make dining out a pleasure: stunning decor, delicious food, and attentive service. Named for an opera, La Traviata is certainly something to sing about.
On the corner of 3rd Street and Cedar Ave — just a few blocks east of well known Pine Street — the green awnings, scripted signage, and gilded plate glass windows give a clue to the classiness of this joint.
Inside, elegance mixes with whimsy in the two dining rooms. In the smaller room next to the bar, tables covered with crisp white linens share space with antique chairs upholstered in leopard print. In the rear dining room, leather booths and a huge painting are bathed in natural light from an adjacent courtyard. Just sitting down here made me feel elegant!
OK, enough about the ambiance; let’s talk food. I tasted a few items from the appetizer menu — tuna tartar, calamari fritti, and a crab cake — with the crab cake and its spicy serrano aioli being the stand out.
I sampled a few of their entrees as well. Each one was a star in its own right, from the creamy lobster tortelli made in house to the fork tender filet mignon served with a balsamic reduction. My favorite was the delicate and flavorful Chilean sea bass.
Not to be outdone by the appetizers or entrees, the dessert selection unapologeticly stole the show. Tiramisu was there — this is an Italian restaurant after all — but the overwhelming favorite was an amazing homemade fig gelato. The gelato was a sweet, creamy blend of ripe figs and maple-syrup-flavored ice cream. I honestly had never tasted anything like it.
Aside from the food, the service is what really rounded out the experience of dining at La Traviata. I have to salute the manager, Mario, for leading his staff in really taking care of their guests. With a dedication to customer satisfaction, Mario is one of the main reasons Long Beach locals keep returning to La Traviata.
A bald, stocky man with a friendly smile, Mario speaks Farsi and Arabic but learned Italian before he learned English. A conversation with him is like chatting with a favorite uncle that left home and returned, replacing his hometown accent for the ones he learned abroad.
During our meal, Mario commented on his style of making his guests feel at home. “If you’re not at the door welcoming them, or asking them when they leave if they had a good time, what is the business for?”.
With many of the recent Yelp reviews giving accolades to Mario, it seems like the guests stopping by feel the same way. Thank you, Mario and the staff at La Traviata for hosting me for this meal. I’ll be back soon to enjoy the happy hour, and live entertainment, and most certainly for more fig gelato!
La Traviata Restaurant
latraviata301.com
301 North Cedar Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90802-2818
(562) 432-8022
Are you going to take me when I come to LA?!!