Novo Cafe

Great food. Great ambiance. If it’s a good day you can get love music outside on the patio. The waitstaff is really responsive and the pizzas are perfectly cooked. I got the pizza with arugula and loved it.
My one issue was with the dish one of the other people had on the table it was the arrabiata pasta dish, I found it really watery. The flavor was there but the sauce was to watery to stick to the pasta. All in all I highly recommend the pizza. The price is great for the quality of the pie!

Came here for lunch and ordered the tuna melt which came with a side salad. It was all good but for the price maybe not worth it. However it’s a nice little fast-​casual place which I like, with lots of seating inside and outside on their little patio.
I will be coming back though since it’s a good lunch spot!

Food is delicious. Pastrami sandwich awesome. All their pizzas are so good, healthy and filling. Their cannoli one of the best!

Burbank’s little secret… extraordinary pasta, extraordinary everything! Tastes run neck and neck with my favorite hole in the wall Italian phenomenal restaurant hidden away in the back streets of St. Germaine des Pres as well as my favorite family tiny gem of a restaurant in Campo de Fiori. Wow wow wow. If there were 10 stars I’d ask for 11.

Not many restaurants do you see the owner and his wife personally serving, taking orders, and interacting directly with customers… to me that shows they truly care about their business and want to be as involved as possible. The whole staff was very friendly and helpful, my wife and I both had salads (Arugula, Chopped Chicken). My wife is vegan so it’s always nice to find new spots for her to feel comfortable eating and trying new things. The chopped chicken salad had an amazing taste to it, I never honestly had a salad with beans on it before but the combination of olives+beans and everything else really gave it a unique and pleasant flavor — definitely a new favorite of mine now!

Don’t ever order delivery from novo café. I ordered food at 8.45pm through Unilocal,hoping for a quick delivery. The app estimated 1 hour. Oh well, I’ll wait. When my food hadn’t arrived by 10pm, I called the restaurant. Of course the restaurant closed at 10pm so nobody answered the phone when I called. At 10.30 I contacted eat24 and they could not reach the restaurant or the owner. They kindly refunded my purchase, but the food never arrived. Their stellar delivery team must’ve been hungry… like me. Would’ve been nice to eat dinner. Thank you novo café. I don’t like Unilocal and I don’t write reviews, but not receiving delivery + not answering the phone when there are pending orders is a recipe for a bad review, even from a non Unilocaler.

I wanted so badly to give this place a better rating, because the food is at best three stars. However the customer service that I experienced ensured that I’ll never order again.
After an hour of waiting on the food to arrive, I called to politely make sure they received the order, as I ordered through Unilocal.The man on the other end said it was out for delivery without even asking what I ordered or my name.
A half hour later — by now long overdue considering we live a half mile away from this place, I called back to see what was up. This time, he took my name and hung up on me, never calling back.
Nearly an hour later a man arrived at my door with the food, freezing cold. Pass.

Gluten free pasta, pizza, and paninis are just some of a the dietary alternatives that drew me here. So far I’ve tried their GF pesto pasta and it was delicious. I had to ask the waitress if the pasta was truly gluten free because it didn’t have the normal GF mushiness. I’m excited to try their other GF options and I’m also impressed with all the organic and vegan items on their menu too. Prices were reasonable for their Toluca lake location too. The place was cozy and had live music in the outdoor dining area. Score!

Novo Café is a nice lunch location for many of the inhabitants of the studios nearby. It’s walking distance from both Warner Bros. and Disney Channel and it offers a sophisticated menu to meet the demands of a demanding Hollywood crowd. They offer salads, sandwiches and pizzas, but the thing you come here for is the handmade pastas. Several different variations of pastas are available as well as gluten free options, however no vegan options. That is an unusual omission that I hope they’ll correct soon. You choose the pasta, then you choose the sauce and any sides. You order from the counter, but they provide table service. There is a nice patio that unfortunately gets a little hot during the summers and somewhat loud during lunch. If privacy is something you seek, I recommend you sit inside on the Riverside side of the restaurant. However, if you just want to be seen, then the patio is where it’s at. My only problem with this establishment is its price. I think for what I’m getting they are priced too high, but that’s my humble opinion. Your mileage may vary and I understand the market dictates the price and being diagonally across from Olive & Thyme allows for Novo to charge what they charge. However, I would say if shooting for more than just the business crowd, they’ll need to offer something more for the price. Otherwise, it’s a nice establishment for the location.

I order their arugula salad and it tasted amazing. We all had different fruit drinks which was very refreshing. Pizza was delicious and the atmosphere was quaint. We will be back again next time in the area.

You gotta love Novo. Every time I go and ask about their vegan options, they’re super helpful, giving suggestions, running around to check on things. They go above and beyond and it’s so very appreciated.
When I’m craving pasta within walking distance, I order the gluten free penne with olive oil and garlic, no cheese, add mushrooms and spinach. It’s too good to be true and I love it. All of their pastas have egg in them except the gluten free options. Their gluten free pasta, however, is NOT what you’d expect of a GF option. It tastes exactly the same as (if not better than) the non-​GF option. I was blown away.
They have vegan sauces, though they aren’t on the menu so you’ll have to ask. They also keep daiya cheese in stock for your pizzas and paninis. The food came out quickly, they have a large patio to dine on, and the portion was filling.
I really appreciate the changes they’ve made to become more veg and GF-​friendly, and will continue to stop by when I get that carby craving.

Beautiful scenery. A little pricey, but not too expensive. Service was great. We got a table on the deck right next to the creek and tree. It was so beautiful and romantic. Got the arugula salad with chicken. It was delicious. I would definitely recommend this for a cute little date with significant or with friends.

We were looking for a place to get lunch before our tour at Warner Brothers and thanks to Unilocal,we decided to stop in. It was honestly one of the best meals of our trip! We arrived before their valet was there but we found street parking. We were the only people in the restaurant so we looked at the menu for a bit and placed our order. The young man who took it was so nice and helpful. We got 2 cheese pizzas to split among 3 people and my mom got a pasta dish and we also got their cheese garlic bread to start. We also ordered drinks and although they are filled behind the counter, refills are free. You could see them making all their fresh bread in the open kitchen as well.
After we sat down, we noticed they had a burrata toast special on the board so we asked to add one to our order. For $ 17 I was expecting a few pieces, but it was one large piece of toasted bread with some fresh burrata, tomato, avocado and a dressing. It was REALLY good, but the only thing we ate that I felt wasn’t worth the price. The garlic bread came out first and was really tasty, you could see the fresh pieces of garlic on it. The pizzas were cooked to order and delicious and my mom really enjoyed her pasta.
While we were eating we saw Keifer Sutherland cross the street right in front of the restaurant so that was a bonus! Valet must start around 12pm or something because by the time we left, the valet stand was outside. I would highly recommend this place if you are in the area!

Meh… Overpriced for what you get. The breadsticks were over $ 1 each. The kale salad was $ 13 and plain the «margherita» pizza was not a margherita… It actually tasted like the pizzas in jnr high school (weird cheese, bummer tomato paste). The old fashioned was $ 13! (Pretty good, but not worth that much.) The whole thing was expensive and disappointing. The server was very nice, and the owner seemed super cool. He loved seeing the place busy and was really personable with everybody; and there was some great music on the patio. If it wasn’t for the incredibly loud table next to us, I would have really enjoyed the atmosphere. I really wanted to like it, but just felt gypped if I’m gonna’ be honest. Oh — and the «butter» gnocchi had a lake of olive oil on it that stayed with me for hours.

A group of girlfriends and I (plus my dog) descended on Novo Café for girls night last night. The wait staff was wonderful, the owner extremely attentive and friendly — he gave us all recommendations for dinner and kept bringing us wine — my dog was very welcome and we had an amazing night! The food was amazing. I had the pumpkin ravioli and it was delicious. We were all very happy with the amount of space for an outdoor seating area, great selections on the menu, and the live music was a bonus. We will definitely be returning!

Such a charming restaurant! Let me start with the positives; I loved the ambiance of the restaurant. We sat outside in their covered patio area. It was a Monday night, so there wasn’t a huge crowed, it was nice. The staff were very attentive. We started with their calamari appetizer, which tasted great. Heavy on the garlic flavor, but I’m a lover of garlic, so the more garlic, the better! We ended the meal with the tiramisu, which was incredible! Very large slice of cake, perfect for two.
Now the not-​so-​good part; I ordered their steak with the garlic kale and french fries as my sides, per the waitresses recommendation. The sides were great, but the steak was really dry. I asked for it to be cooked medium and it was well done. It was chewy and tasted like hamburger meat. I did like the sauce on top, something with mushrooms and was a heavy sauce so it masked the chewiness. Not the worst steak I’ve had, but I would highly recommend just getting a pasta or pizza dish, since that is what they are known for.
I will definitely be back here again and try other things from their menu.

I’ve occasionally eaten here without much problem. Nothing great to post but nothing bad.
However, I’ve never had to return undercooked food. My salmon was basically sashimi.
I got to talk with the manager/​owner who told me that he will not refund my money but instead issued a partial credit. He told me that I ate most of my lunch. The salmon was raw on the inside so I didn’t discover until then.
I was in a hurry and I am not a very argumentative person (at least not for something as small as this)
and I just presumed a refund wouldn’t be a problem. This was my miscalculation. If you are going to run a respectable establishment, shouldn’t customer appreciation be a high priority instead of nickel and dimeing your customers on refunds?
So, beware if you want a refund for some reason.

Had the funghi pasta, v tasty and rich tasting. Mushrooms!
Nice outdoor seating, server was attentive. Tip when you order. Street parking.

Novo means New in Italian & has the right look & feel of an updated Osteria in disguise when really it is a walk up to the counter & order, get your stainless steel stand w/​a number on top, place it on your self-​claimed table type semi-​fast food joint. The young man who took my order was friendly & courteous and had memorized his prompts well by saying such things as, «That was a good choice for the first time coming here, sir.» or «That wine will go well with the lasagna, sir,»
Once you order, go to the huge honey bee hive shaped glass water dispenser, grab a clear plastic cup to take to your table which is up to you to find & claim. No problem w/​that since Novo is trying to recoup their investment by hiring less help, a strategy that seems endemic in post Great 2008 Recession America.
I claimed a table w/​plastic cup of water in hand in the pleasant side patio which has approximately half the number of seats vs the inside which is mostly for those rare Socal winter evenings which can get rather nippy. We Southern Californians take pride in being able to dine outdoors when the Eastern seaboard is frozen in a Polar Vortex.
Lasagna was brought to my table which had the stainless steel stand w/​#14 by a server. The smell was good, w/​a cheesy mozzarella/​parmesan but not Parmigiana Reggiana nor Grana Padana. The pasta was a bit over done so it was a bit soft, but OK. There is a Salsa Bolognese & Sauce Béchamel sauce w/​a whisper of ground beef.
It was mediocre but acceptable although it might have been a bit over priced at $ 12.50. This was definitely not like the delectable Lasagna w/​lamb ragu at Culina, but Novo is not an premium hotel restaurant. What made this lasagna at Novo a one star is that the bottom of the lasagna was baked so hot, the pasta was burnt to a texture of old leather. My knife could not even begin to cut through the wide ribbon of brown-​black pasta. Look at my uploaded pic for confirmation. –1 Unilocal star for such poor execution.
I chose Epicuro Nero d’Avola, Sicilia, Italia at $ 6.50 in an understandably dishwater resistant clunky wine glass. It was not for an epicure, but w/​its dark fruit slightly jammy, low acid, low tannin based anybody-​can-​drink-​it kind of wine was OK plonk which paired well enough w/​the edible part of the lasagna.
The food here has no «love» and almost seems premade delivered from some central kitchen. The staffers are young & nice, but the food here seems to be comparable to a slightly better grade of «TV dinner». 2 Unilocal stars for food which in a close word spelling in Spanish «No Va» means «It doesn’t go.»

This place is super close to my work and I decided to come here ONLY because Olive and Thyme was closed for filming. Boo!
I came in and ordered at the counter. I think it was my mistake for not ordering the right dish since this is an Italian restaurant but I just didn’t feel like a pizza or pasta so I went with my gut by ordering their Mediterranean Quinoa Salad that comes with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, EXTRA EXTRA virgin olive oil and fresh-​squeezed lemon for $ 9.25. I want to emphasize here on the word «extra!!» My salad was super drenched with oil and it was probably one of the worst quinoa salads I’ve ever had in my life. This was a complete bummer because the entire rave from other reviewers caught me by surprise. I mean, I do blame myself for not ordering something Italian but I would imagine that all their dishes should be great. Seriously? How can you mess up on a salad? =(