To enjoy this traditional, Sicilian-style restaurant, you need to know what you’re in for: all the typical Italian fare, a rollicking repertory of show tunes, opera, and old standards, and Chianti-bottle decor that just misses being over the top. The food is decent; they do best with the sauteed mushroom appetizer, the bruchetta, the lasagna, and eggplant and Italian sausage cacciatores. The singing is top-notch; if you have to wait tables while waiting to be discovered, this is the place do it. It is loud, though, and performing sometimes takes precedence over serving. It’s a great place for kids (and conveniently located next to  Universal Studios), but your only chance of a romantic evening is the private mezzanine table, reached by a spiral staircase that carries you above the activity. It books well in advance.

-Christine Delsol