Tra di Noi

About Tra di Noi

Tra di Noi — "between us" in Italian — has been operating in the Malibu Country Mart since the early 1990s, which in Malibu restaurant terms qualifies as ancient history. The Country Mart itself is a small, shaded enclave at the junction of Pacific Coast Highway and Cross Creek Road, a place that manages the improbable feat of feeling like a genuine neighbourhood while surrounded by one of the most expensive zip codes in California. Tra di Noi fits the Mart's character precisely: distinguished but never showy, comfortable enough to visit regularly, good enough to make you glad you did.

The cooking is traditional Italian with the California sensibility that comes from three decades in this particular county. Handmade pasta — ravioli finished tableside with fresh parmesan dusted from a rind, bucatini with San Marzano tomato that has been reduced to something close to essential — is the kitchen's pride and deserves to be. The branzino is reliably good. The tiramisu is made in-house and is exactly what tiramisu should be. The wine list covers the Italian regions without trying to be encyclopedic, which is the correct approach.

For a first date, Tra di Noi is close to ideal. The room is warm and well-lit in the flattering way that good Italian restaurants understand without being told. The menu is broad enough for different preferences but focused enough to suggest that the kitchen knows what it is doing. The pace is unhurried. The noise level allows conversation. And the price point — generous for what you receive — means that no one is calculating while they should be listening. Ranked #7 among Malibu restaurants, Tra di Noi has earned its position through quiet consistency rather than spectacle.

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