La Tarantella Osteria

2120 E 4th St, Long Beach - 90814
207 reviews
Italian
(562) 343-5728

Pretty patio with excellent food and wine. Service was a bit slow but everyone was very friendly and helpful.

Well, it's trendy for sure, and the dishes are definitely inspired by high end Italian but sadly the execution is missed.I had the ragu, lemon chicken, spaghetti, Romaine salad and strawberry taramisuThe flavor of the ragu was definitely good with a great ratio of meat in the sauce, not to thick and definitely not too saucy... the sad part is, the pasta was very over cooked. Maybe people in this town (I mean everything seems to be hyper "Woke") enjoy things based on feelings and photo worthiness, and if that's the case then sure come check this place out. If you're looking for quality preparation and taste, I wouldn't come here. I'll break everything down next;Spaghetti was overcooked, but the sauce had good flavor and the meatballs were moist and had good flavor.Meatballs = 4/5 over all spaghetti 2/5Lemon chicken: this was the best dish out of all 3 I tried. However the potatoes were dry and very generic. At places that do fingerlings properly, you get a nice crispy crust with a moist center, and occasionally some nice herbs for added flavor. These were soggy over all and dry in the center. Like a bad cakey consistency. Not good. The broccoli in this dish was a big win. Great flavor and cooked will.The chicken was moist and generally good in taste and flavor however it was soaked in lemon. This was a chefs mistake. The artichokes were good, cooked as should be.Onto the ragu: flavor was a win, the very overcooked pasta ruined it. This pasta should always be cooked al dente. While some people have subjective preferences, pep pasta is always to be cooked al dente otherwise it tastes like mush, as experienced here.The Romaine salad was very good. Salad was crisp and had the right amount of dressing. The "croutons" were underwhelming though sadly. A bit dry and flavorless.The strawberry taramisu was a must try as I have never even heard of such a thing. While, overall this was quite tasty, the lady fingers were dry.All in all, for the prices they're charging this food should be on point and nearly all of it was a miss. There was something wrong with every dish. Could it have been because it was Saturday night? Perhaps. Oh that reminds me...lastly, the service was not very good. The server was nice enough and had a good personality which is lacking these days, so that was a breath of fresh air, however when it comes position duties, he failed pretty miserably. We were done with our food before he ever even came to check if everything was good. We went without water until our dishes were taken away. I almost forgot I also ordered a cappuccino that was just awful. I know, it sounds like I'd have to be trying to not enjoy it for this much to be wrong but those who know me, I never do this, I want to enjoy places and they either care and put passion into their craft or they don't. This place clearly doesn't. So the cappuccino was served in a fancy Tallgrass making the coffee sit underneath approx 2.5" of foam. Cappuccino should be served in a low,wide, bowl type cup so that the foam is evenly dispersed over the top of the coffee for a good and proper tasting experience. This is just wrong wrong wrong. Not to mention the equally bad part in my opinion, which was that the espresso was burnt. I didn't even drink it, I took 2 sips and just couldn't do it. No one offered to remove it from the bill either.Please remember I am diligent enough to not let one part of the experience effect more view on other parts. Like I said, the salad was good, the meatballs were good, everything else had issues and I am definitely surprised so much was wrong in so many areas.If you like good italian, go elsewhere. If you just want to patron a place because of "status" or photos, feelings or hipster level then come light your money on fire. Definitely will not ever return.

I took my mother there for her anniversary, she and I absolutely loved it. The food and wine were magnificent. We sat in the back patio under a tree with lights. It was so peaceful and indescribable. You have to try it for yourself. 2 thumps ups!

It was little while ago but I just want to write that my partner and I had a great experience here.We ordered seafood risotto and pesto gnocchi,and it was BUONO! Great potion too. The deserts were good too and Sangria pitcher was ok. Anyway, we had great time sitting outside and listening to the lovely accordion play. Nice staff too. Will go back soon.

Definitely not a fan, I asked to speak with the manager about the quality of their shrimp on a seafood plate. The lady who answered told me she was the manager, and when I mentioned I had a problem with the order she all of a sudden shifted me to the “other manager” who answered the phone with an attitude, and began trying to convince me I was wrong about the taste of the food. While I’m still on the phone the original woman who answered is screaming in the background “Don’t come back”. Seriously!?!? Is this how you treat customers when they have a complaint with their food? I didn’t even mention the fact their bread is dry and tasteless, along with them not having an item on the menu that was listed online in photos just a few months ago. Believe me, I WON’T be back!! We are talking about 20 bucks here folks. I could have just said nothing, does that help you though? Knowing that customers don’t like your food and won’t recommend your restaurant doesn’t help your business my friend, handling their complaints with respect makes you a better business. Wow!?

good music, good food.... is it possible to get some parmesan cheese or black pepper? no! _NO_ SERVICE HERE!!!

Great food, cute outdoor space with heat lamps in the back, and lovely live accordion music on Thursday evenings! My only minor complaint was that half of the desserts were unavailable that night.

Ambiance is cool.Unfortunately, the service was meh. Nice guy but butchered our antipasti order and tried charging us for it in the end.Food was meh.La Parrolachia is much better.

Great experience. Came here on a whim after coyote pizza told us an hour wait. Was so glad we came here instead. The back patio area is a great vibe. The waiters were very busy so we had to wait a bit for some things which wasn't a huge deal...they made up for it by comping our app and giving us free dessert which we didn't ask for but was of course appreciated. Food was very tasty. They also had an accordion player playing Italian tunes which was really neat. We'll be back!

Delicious- authentic Italian and wonderful customer service