**** (4 stars)

A very good restaurant that, with a little work, could be great. The best way to experience it is with the Chef’s Table Menu (a confusing name, since you don’t have to be at the chef’s table to order it). The seven course meal is assembled to your preferences, and at $75 is a bargain. The night we were there, the standouts were the spinach starter, the squash ravioli (which would have been better as a dessert because of its sweetness) and the fish and beef main courses. Seven matching wines for $50 was also a good deal, although the wines weren’t perfect matches to the food, and were all rather pedestrian.

Service was a bit uneven, with water refills hard to come by and some wines showing up after the course was finished.

Chef Ken was extremely personable, and his visits to present each course were the highlight of the meal. Unfortunately the room is so loud it was hard for everyone at our table to hear him. I would return, but only if I didn’t want to have an intimate conversation with my fellow diners.

Firenze Osteria
4212 Lankershim Blvd
Toluca Lake, CA 91602
(818) 760-7081
http://www.yelp.com/biz/firenze-osteria-toluca-lake-2