Great Italian Food At Piatti La Jolla

We lived in Del Mar for many years, and one of our favorite Italian restaurants was Piatti, in La Jolla.  We would go for both lunch and dinner, and were never disappointed.  There's a big tree in the middle of the outdoor patio which makes Piatti a wonderful lunch spot during the warm weather.  We had not been to Piatti in years, since it's now about a  45 minute drive from our home, and unless you go on Saturday or Sunday, you face rush hour traffic.  Laura and Richard suggested we revisit Piatti on a Saturday night, and we were happy to do so.

I remembered  from the many times we had dined there that their dipping sauce was spectacular.  I was delighted when a big basket of warm bread and Piatti dipping sauce showed up at our table almost immediately after we got seated.  How much bread and sauce I cannot say, but I was  still tasting the effects of the heavily garlic dipping sauce the next day.  It was soooo good.  Piatti is known for their rotisserie chicken.  Richard ordered that.  He devoured the whole thing, including mashed potatoes and veggie.  Laura had a specialty of the night.  It was grilled swordfish with chopped veggies and garlic on top.  It was served with crispy roasted potatoes and veggies.  Ron ordered a simple salad, with butter lettuce, tomato, walnuts and apples, served with a gorgonzola dressing.   I ordered grilled polenta topped with marinara sauce, kale and parmesean.  Excellent.  Finally, Ron and I both ordered the beef carpaccio, served with arugula and parmesean cheese and lemon.  One of my favorite dishes, and Piatti does it very well.

The only negative thing I can say about Piatti is the noise level.  It is extremely noisy, and very hard to talk.  It is best to go early or late, or try the middle of the week.  It's packed on Saturday night.  I guess younger people like all the noise, but we don't.  My next trip there will be during the week.

Piatti is part of the Moana Hospitality Group, with restaurants all over the country, many different kinds of restaurants, but all innovative and upscale.  They also have a group of Piatti restaurants, mostly in California, but also one in Denver and a few in Texas.  Moana seems do a great job at producing consistently excellent food and service, and keeping the menu interesting and seasonal.