Novo Cafe - Westlake Village

Review summary

1. D

   Donna VIP

   Los Angeles32 reviews

   5.0

   Dined today

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Always a great experience when dining at Novo Cafe! Great food and great service!!
   

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2. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Los Angeles3 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   I love this place. They have wonderful gluten-free food options.
   

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3. K

   Keith

   Central Coast3 reviews

   2.0

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   I sincerely want to like this restaurant. I truly do. However, based on my experience last night, I can’t recommend it. To be fair, it has been a while since I’ve been here, so I decided to revisit the restaurant last night. The cuisine is average and overpriced. I had the lasagna, and my dinner companion had the lobster, ravioli, and both entrées were mediocre..at best. My server was unprofessional and greeted us with “Hey! What’s up? Are you guys ready to order yet?” He did not offer us bread, wine or cocktails, or any other beverages. He was inattentive during our meal, and we were neglected for much of the evening. Overall, there is nothing special about the ambience, the menu, or the entire dining experience. It’s all so ordinary and perfunctory. For Italian cuisine in this area, you can do much, much better.
   

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4. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Denver1 review

   5.0

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Greatest Italian food in the area by far. They also have a happy hour where all meals are 30% before 5:30
   

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5. T

   Tammy

   Los Angeles5 reviews

   2.0

   Dined on March 1, 2025

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   First let me start with the good... the hostess was very friendly and welcoming. She immediately left to ensure our table was being prepared. We waited for only about 5-7 minutes to be seated. There was live music, which is also a big plus and the reason we chose this restaurant. The waiter was very pleasant, so I won't fault him for anything negative here. My husband and I waited for quite a long time to be regarded. It appeared as if our waiter was the only wait staff in the main dining room and there were a few large parties. When he finally came to us, we were very understanding and polite. We felt bad for him. Just ordered wine for now. Allow him to get caught up. No stress. Then we awaited for our glasses of wine for about 10 or so minutes more. We were still being understanding. We weren't in a hurry. Then, we ordered our dinner about 15 minutes later. I ordered the vegetarian pizza. Pizza is a fairly large part of their menu. 5 minutes later, the waiter comes back and says "We aren't serving pizza tonight". That was crazy. Said the pizza cook didn't show up for work. OK... we were there for about 30 minutes now. The hostess, waiter, no one mentioned no pizza tonight until NOW. Weird. I ordered something else begrudgingly. 5-10 minutes later, I see a PIZZA served to a table. Not even to a kid... it was to an adult . I approached my waiter and asked what was going on. He said that the owner made the pizza and said he didn't feel like making anymore. He said he would send the owner over.... but I guess the owner decided that we did not deserve an explanation. So rude. The owner should have at least come over to apologize, maybe offer us a glass of wine. Whatever. This is our 2nd time here. The 1st time we ate at a bar table... also waited for a VERY LONG time to get served. The 1st time the food was just OK (same as this time). We will not be coming back here. I don't blame the overworked waiter... I blame the owner/management. Not OK.
   

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6. P

   Peter VIP

   Portland12 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on February 23, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Good place for dinner with the family. Fairly loud. But good food and good device
   

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7. L

   Lior

   Los Angeles1 review

   5.0

   Dined on February 15, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great food and service on a busy night. Appetizers and entrees were fantastic, however the desserts cream puff and lemon “cake” left a lot to be desired.
   

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8. S

   Steven

   Dallas1 review

   3.0

   Dined on February 15, 2025

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   Valentines day fixed price, 8pm reservation. Had to wait 15 minutes to be seated (not unreasonable by itself) Various Waitstaff took orders 4 times. Fresh bread delivered relatively fast, but without butter. Took 45 minutes to receive bottle of wine after ordering it. Part of the reasking of order was by time food was received they had come back to say our original selections were no longer available for one of the starters and both entrée. Dessert tray selection was similarly limited to two things, neither of which we did we want. Waitstaff seemed professional, polite, etc., but was overwhelmed. They did cut price in recognition of issues. Seems like it could be a decent place, when not busy.
   

   Novo Cafe - Westlake VillageResponded on February 16, 2025

   Hi Steven, As I’ve mentioned to others, we experienced an unfortunate combination of events that led to some tables receiving subpar service. One of our best servers called out sick unexpectedly, and with a surge in last-minute reservations, things became overwhelming for us. We sincerely apologize for the experience, and I would love to make it right if you choose to visit us again. Please know that I’ll personally take care of you during your next visit. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience and truly hope to have the opportunity to serve you better. Best regards, Massimo"
   

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9. C

   Chuck

   Pittsburgh1 review

   5.0

   Dined on February 15, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Truly our favorite! Always great food and great choices.
   

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10. T

    Tim

    Los Angeles7 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on February 15, 2025

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 4

    Fixed menu for Valentines Day. Food was superb. Service was nonexistent. In over two hours we saw our waitress once to take a drink order and once to take our food order… the food was delivered by bus boy, we then sat for over an hour waiting to get a second glass of wine and never got it. We left without eating dessert and saw 10 other tables all upset because of a total lack of service. Novo is a good spot but this was a horrific experience.
    

    Novo Cafe - Westlake VillageResponded on February 16, 2025

    Dear Tim, We truly apologize for the poor service you received. We were aware of the situation and worked hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, one of our key servers fell ill unexpectedly on the same day, and combined with a higher volume of reservations during peak hours, it led to the lapse in service. We understand how disappointing this must have been, and we'd love to make things right for you. Please feel free to contact me privately so I can personally ensure a better experience if you choose to visit us again. Once again, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. Massimo
    

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