La Piazza Pasta Cafe

This Italian café on Hollywood Boulevard packs them in, its recipe for success based on the tried-and-true formula of aesthetic setting plus buoyant bar scene plus accommodating service plus fresh, accessible cuisine at affordable prices yields a wait to get in on weekends. It also helps that the menu is made up of ever-popular Italian foods: salads, pastas, wood-burning-oven pizzas, grilled meats and seafoods, and a number of chicken and veal scaloppini dishes. Skip the mass-produced desserts for a cup of espresso and shot of sambucca.

• Cuisine(s): Italian

  Hours: Daily: 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday: open till 5 a.m. (Hours flexible; call for details.)

  Price: $$

  Payment Types: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, cash

• Attire: casual

  Features: Smoking, Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout, Private Party, Catering, Banquet Facilities, Wheelchair Accessible, Kid Friendly

  Serving: Dinner, Late Night, Lunch

  Alcohol: Full bar

• Reservations: Accepted, Recommended

  Parking: Lot Available, Meters