Bar Toscana

Thursday night dinner — straight from work so at 6pm there was just a few people at the bar. The atmosphere is modern cozy, dim and chic — ambience is A+ in my book.
The reason for the 3 stars — the food is overpriced. Not bc the food isn’t good, it was (more on that…) I know, I know, Brentwood. But these prices seem inflated over similar spots I’ve been to in Santa Monica, Bev Hills, etc.
The tuna tartare was very good — smart move on their part to serve the crostini slightly toasted and buttery.
Beef carpaccio — not my favorite. Tasted like deli roast beef, but minus any flavor — like the low sodium kind you buy in effort to be healthy (anyone?)!
Truffle pizza — Pretty good, but $ 30 seems high.
Overall, had a great time here bc of the ambiance and catching up with a dear friend, but when the bill came made me doubt I’d ever be back. It crossed that threshold of even though this place is great in a lot of regards, ultimately didn’t feel worth it.

Solid effort on the drinks. Fun. Stiff. Delicious. I like the atmosphere here and after having seen their menu, will return to try some yummy food. And more drinks, of course.

Great atmosphere and drinks. The bartender was really friendly.

Really nice place if you’re on a date or something. The food wasn’t too impressive. But the staff was really friendly. Small place too so it’s more intimate.

One Word… YUMMY.
Cocktails were amazing. Thank you William.
Appetizer (the trio) I was back in Italy.
The Pasta was perfect.
Highly recommend it.

I’ve long been a fan of Toscana, and wanted to love Bar Toscana as much. I’ve been here about a dozen times, and the food is, in general, very good. I do, however, think that it’s a bit on the pricey side for what it is meant to be a more casual, less expensive version of Toscana next door.
A couple of niggles, though: a couple of months ago, I had to send back my pasta Bolognese as it was so salty that it was inedible. Last night, someone at our table ordered the same dish, and she too had to send it back for the same reason. They offered to make a fresh plate without added salt, which was fine (though it clearly wasn’t put in as a rush order — we waited ages for it to arrive), but what really grated is that after the second dish was delivered, our server never once came to the table to ask if everything was okay. He walked past us several times, but not once did he stop to ensure that the diner was happy with her new plate. Nor did anyone apologise for the plate arriving after everyone else at the table had finished eating. An over-​salted dish (twice in two visits!) is unfortunate, but not enough to prevent me from returning. But the absence of basic service etiquette is really irksome.
As it’s a cocktail bar environment, it’s very noisy, as you’d expect. If you want to have an audible conversation with your fellow diners, ask for one of the two tables at the back — the acoustics are slightly better there.

Delicious, amazing & meticulously crafted. Robert at the bar is an absolute mixologist expert.

I ventured over to Bar Toscana from my office in Brentwood with a friend after work instead of sitting on the (405) freeway.
I really liked Bar Toscana the trendy offspring of Toscana next door. Toscana has been a Westside staple for great Italian food, snooty attitude and service not to mention celebrity central for years…
Bar Toscana has the same wonderful food in a very upscale, vibrant, edgy yet welcoming wine bar cocktail lounge setting. A very cool space…
The handcrafted drinks and select wines are showcased here alongside truly wonderful Italian food.
The Burrata and Speck was simple yet flawless.
The Tuna Tartare was wonderful with Peppers, Asparagus and black truffles.
The Rib Eye Sliders sooo good.
The service is much more welcoming and attentive than big brother. The prices are as expected top shelf as is the food.
Bar Toscana is a great space and place for the well heeled to relax, unwind, savor really good food, wonderful specialty drinks and wine not to mention see and be seen in casual elegance on the Westside…

I’m a regular here. so all I can say it’s outstanding from the food to the service to the ambience! Great people great choice of wines and the food is just fabulous! It’s definitely a try!

Being right behind my house, I frequent Bar Toscana quite a bit.
It’s classy but not too uppity. You can get some decent food. Some items I recommend are the salad with fresh watermelon and their pizza. Yum, yum. I have eaten a ton of other menu items, but these were what stood out for me.
Most drinks are good, or just go for a glass of vino. Bartenders are nice.
Be cautious of creepy old men. A lot of scumbag lawyers like to come here and prey.

I enjoyed my time here, but had to dock down a few stars because of value. This is a more casual setting than Toscana across the way, which is great. I met up with a friend for happy hour and we split a charcuterie plate, a pasta dish, and a side of veggies. Everything was very tasty, but I really couldn’t wrap my head around the price tag — particularly since the service left something to be desired. If I’m going to spend $ 75, I would like to at least be full when I leave or be completely blown away by the food. Or at least be wowed by the service. :)
This place does have potential and I would venture to try it again. Perhaps I just ordered wrong or went at an off time.

This review is just based on the drinks. I only went once and only tried a couple cocktails. They were delicious! The mixologists are fantastic, the servers are very nice, and the drink menu is great! I’ll definitely be back for the drinks! The food menu looked very good as well so I wanna try that too

Imagine one of your favorite restaurants on the planet had a more casual spot, next store to the place, with a bar, TVs, the same food as the restaurant with additional choices and some bar food option, with some nice tables, with great service, with great martini’s, with a late night menu and pure casual elegance then you have Bar Toscana.
So Toscana was my place for years but a few years back. Really has not been in my path at all but that really is the only reason. I haven’t gone for years I really miss the place. The food, warmth of staff and the experience is one of a kind. The other evening, I had a business meeting at the Bar and it all that as mentioned. I felt home right away. Just loved what they did with the place next store to the original and I will be back. Only little thing that one should always mention. Look out for plastic fact cougar attacks with Amex black card. Is it daddy’s, ex, cheating on spouse or earned? There were 2 of them. A perpetual den.
Love the place

I went to the bar at Toscana last night with a friend and it was amazing.
We started with a funghi pizza and spiedini di pesce. The mushrooms were very fresh on the pizza and the gratineed shrimp and calamari skewers had a wonderfully powerful, but not too rich, full-​bodied flavor.
The orecchiette pomodorini e basilico is a must. Each of the ingredients in this dish created a super positive experience for the pallet and the aromas were extraordinary.
To close out our meal, my friend ordered the panna cotta for desert and I would eat it a thousand times over.
The two of us walked in knowing it would be great but we didn’t anticipate an enormously ‘tasteful’ connection we won’t forget.
Ciao!

Great place for a quick meal. Nice atmosphere not too loud but lively. The food was simple but very curated: we had a great salad with peas and artichokes, an array of 3 Italian cheeses really special, especially the blue cheese which was not too strong as it usually is. A great strawberry and pickled onion jam was accompanying the cheeses, and the bread was perfect.
The pizza was truffle and mozzarella really good flavor combo and nice texture to the dough.
Cocktails were also very well done, I got a pear Bellini and my hubby a smoky rye concoction, not too sweet! Will go back again, hoping to get a table in the middle of the action. I recommend to reserve as it’s quite busy.

This review is just for the bar, bartender and drinks … had no food. My buddy and I went in late on a Tuesday night for a few drinks after dinner, and it was still reasonably filled, which was a good sign. The one cocktail (something with jalapeño and tequila and mezcal) we had was pretty good. The drinks are a little on the pricier side, but par for the course in the area and this is a nicer bar. The ambiance was great and the atmosphere is trendy, a little upscale. In addition to muted TV’s behind the bar, they have a well-​positioned, soothing (at least to me … might be a bit problematic for someone with epilepsy) electronic backdrop that scrolls flowers and other electronic designs.
But what blew us away was the service and friendliness of the bartenders, and especially the bar manager. This guy is truly passionate about his drinks and extremely knowledgeable. When you mix someone with a passion for what they do and who actually wants to make the customer happy, that’s a recipe for a top-​notch establishment. He overheard me asking my friend about grapa and it’s origins, and this being a true Italian bar, he taught me all about it and offered us multiple tastings, and you could tell he wasn’t doing this to try to sell us or for good business, but because he really just wanted to share his passion for the fine grapa. He had the perfect balance of chatting with us and telling us about his craft, which we appreciated, while not being too intrusive. Definitely will be back!

It’s a cool vibe. Service is ok, they are friendly enough. Drinks seemed decent although I didn’t have one.
Now to the food, it was just OK. I did get a fairly plain pasta dish and it was REALLY plain, just tomatoes. The Tiramisu was really good though.
Overall it was just ok, but would give it another shot.

I am really on the fence about giving this place 4 stars because of the most bizarre bartender.
We walked in around 10:45/11 pm and the manager/​man in a suit was gracious and accomodating and we sat down at the booth.
Bar Toscana is a great neighborhood bar. It’s not divey, but classy in a very compfortable way. There are TVs, everyone’s just there to take the edge off their hard day and enjoy themselves. They have great floor light show that looks like a pond but isn’t. We were having dinner nearby and just wanted a nightcap.
The bartender told us it was last call and they only had beer, wine and vodka available. We were like okay, we just want a bottle of wine so that’s not a problem. However, when we we asked for water, the bartender told us, there’s no ice. Confused, as to, how does a bar work with no ice, he informed us that the machine is being cleaned for tomorrow.
Now, there were atleast 10 – 12 other people in the bar, and its a small bar so it wasnt empty and Toscana the restaurant is across the hallway. LIterally across. So we told him, well, your sister restaurant is across, can you get us ice from there? and he’s like, «well, you can go ask» and walked off. Bizarre right?
So we asked the man in the suit and he was mortified. He was no, that’s not the case, Let me get you ice. Told Le Bartender Bizarre something and voila, we had ice!
Sorry Bar Toscana, would have 4 stars, but the bizarreness knocked you down.
Otherwise, go for a fun relaxed environment and enjoy!!!

Got here for a night drinking. Pretty dark from outside, a little bit hidden.
Fancy brentwood area, they have valet parking on the side street.
A little bit small than I thought. It was all full by the time we got there. It was about 9pm on a weekday.
We sat at the commu table. The girls next to us were already too drunk and were flirting with the guy sitting in the couch, saying ’ you are the kind of man i want’. really loud.
Music is good here. Wine is pricey, exceeding the cocktails for majority of them. I barely see this happens. I hope this indicate their wines are good. Cocktails are about $ 14, and there is a big selection. Wines are over $ 15 for most of them. Tried the champagne, a little bitter, but really refreshing. My friend had a dessert wine, which smells like flowers, and tastes like apple. Really sweet.
As we were not really hungry, only tried their burrata appetizer. It was good. tasty and fresh. For $ 15, yes, it is a $$$ bar. I think it is a good place for a drink, for a date, for a second round of the night.

Total props for this bar… why? 1) they have purse hooks under the bar (yippeee, love that), 2) they have plugs available to charge your phone assuming you have your charger with you that is a great plus and 3) the drinks were great.
I was checking out the margherita pizza the folks next to us were having and it looked scrumptious. Too bad I had just had dinner.
Know before you go… they don’t have an specific closing time. It depends on how busy it is on week nights, so this night it was busy and they were open late — good for us!
Valet parking. They serve food and drinks. They have tables with great window views and plenty of seats at the bar.