L'Opera

L'Opera Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: One of the more elegant spots in downtown Long Beach, L'Opera presents Italian cuisine amid a vintage earth-toned interior that wouldn't have been out of place a century ago. Attentive old-school service may strike the gastropub-going crowd as pretentious, but others might enjoy its throwback level of pampering.

Food & Drinks: The menu features a sturdy mix of dishes --- some classic and others contemporary, yet approachable. Kick off the meal with an abundant order of calamari fritti or a trio of meatballs accompanied by sauces like arugula-horseradish pesto or cucumber tartar sauce with balsamic reduction. The baby greens salad with feta, strawberry and toasted almond is a pleasant second course to share. Entrées of braised osso buco with soft polenta and the loaded cioppino are offered alongside intriguing pastas such as homemade beet and spinach tagliatelle with jumbo lump crab and black truffle peelings. Be sure to save room for desserts including the sacchetto di cioccolata, which is an edible chocolate grocery bag filled with wine custard and berries. The wine list features plenty of Italian labels, or you can choose to start the evening with a handcrafted cocktail.