Utopia Good Food & Fine Art

My husband and I went to Utopia for the Valentine’s dinner special. It was the second time we’ve been and it did not disappoint! There was a prix-​fixe dinner menu which was a great selection. The price was reasonable for such an occasion and the quality of the food was excellent! The atmosphere was very romantic yet semi-​casual. Piano being played in the background added to the romantic vibe. The décor is fresh and contemporary and as the night fell, the restaurant took on a warm and inviting mood which matched the great food. If you are looking for a great restaurant with an awesome interior and patio — check out Utopia. We will definitely be back! Amir, thanks for your friendly hospitality — your staff is top notch!

How is this place not five stars? Amazing food, great location, cool vibes. I was there for an evening reading the paper and getting a salad. Matthew the server/​bartender/​manager made me feel like I was sitting at home having dinner. That Japanese eggplant appetizer??? I would marry it!
Matthew stopped in every few minutes to check in. He was bomb. He called me «awesome» and told me he good the food was until I tried it. I was not disappointed!

My husband & I have eaten here since 1999. Was good then & continually gets better in terms of food as well as ambiance & service! The owners work hard to cater to customers, to keep the restaurant lovely both inside & out, their corner uncluttered & clean, decorated with gorgeous landscaping. They actively work to improve Long Beach & the arts. They provide an asset to our community that we all need to support by voting with our dollars about the kind of businesses we want.

Delcious food and good service. This was a solid pick on a busy night. Nothing about my visit here was remarkable (no 5 stars) but it was good and I would recommend it in the future.

Very nice burgers we do recommend to everyone to try this eatery away from the tourist places

Wow I don’t even know where to start. I cycled here with my friends from Los Angeles. We were hungry and tired. We sat in their patio and placed our bikes against the back gate. The owner came out to say that they get very busy and when they do, we need to move our bikes. Okay? The patio was empty and so was the inside of the restaurant. My friend order his tiny little 7 $ salad and a Coke. When the owner found out I ordered from the village grind next door, he came charging out. «You can’t sit here if you order from them! I have very high rent!» I told him, «but my friend ordered from you? We can’t sit with him? He has to eat alone?» He said fine but next time we cannot. Next time? You think I’m dining here again after how you yelled at us?
Anyways, we all felt very uncomfortable and my friend took his salad from here and sat at the village grind’s patio with us. The waiter took his Coke glass and I don’t know what happened with it. He never refilled, just took it away. He never acknowledged us at the other table, even though my friend was trying to wave him down about the drink. It was like he was trying to avoid us. I was surprised when he brought the check. Horrible service from the angry owner to the scared waiter.

My husband and I were asked to leave TWICE by the manager!
We came by during the «buskerfest“and decided to try this restaurant. We were sat
on the patio. We ordered a couple of appies and a meal to share and (2) glasses of wine
each. The food was good and our waitress was very attentive. As we were finishing our
meal our friends popped in and asked if they could join us! They brought over a table and
our friends ordered similarly to us with (2) glasses of wine each as well! So, since they sat down we went ahead and ordered (2) additional glasses of wine each. Our friends had just finished their meal when the manager came by and said if we were finished we should MOVE ALONG as they had people waiting. Our friends were not finished with their wine yet and their waiter had been absent for some time now! ALSO, i would like to add that their dining room (inside) was half empty! So we ignored him and just as our friends were finishing up their wine
(waiter still hadn’t come by to give them the check) the manager asked us again to leave! We spent over $ 150.00 on dinner and drinks and were really appalled and offended by his request.
Food was good but don’t linger too long! REALLY RUDE!

Great atmosphere, great service and amazing, delicious food. I had the Japanese Eggplant and Penne Aribiata and boy was it good! Each dish was filled with tons of flavor and packed with my favorite… Garlic! So delicious. The patio/​outdoor seating area is very cute as well and a great place to dine. If it’s your first time here, don’t be afraid to ask the staff for suggestions because the menu is great and the staff is good about giving recommendations.
P.S– don’t forget to check into Unilocal and get your free sangria!

Utopia Good Food & Fine Art is one of, if not my favorite Italian restaurant in Long Beach. Their outdoor dining is a great way to spend your evening when the weather is good. Our original intent was to east at a wine bar this particular night. While walking to find it, we stumbled upon this spot and I’m glad we did!
Located on a nice quiet street in downtown Long Beach, Utopia Good Food & Fine Art sits on a quite corner near some bars and shops. They have a 20 person or so L-​shaped patio with heatlamps surrounded by nice smelling flowers around their patio fencing. The ambiance is romantic.
I’m not sure what the «Fine Art» in the name of the restaurant is all about; the restaurant does not look much like a gallery but sure…
Everything we ordered on this particular night was amazing except for the free watered down sangria you get when you check in on Unilocal.Our waitress was nice enough to replace our white sangria with a red sangria, but we got the same watered down result. Other than that, everything else, including the service was remarkable.
Our server brought out each dish from inside, each time having to open and close the side entrance of the restaurant, cross the sidewalk and walk our orders over to us; she provided great service doing this considering we ordered quite a few items.
We ordered the calamari (very good and tender, even better dipping sauce)
, and clam chowder (one of the best if not thee best in the area)
, to start.
We shared the fettucini with grilled chicken and added Italian sausage (great flavors!)
and the beef medallions (tasty and tender)
.
I ordered two beers from the menu, an Italian one
and a craft selection
, both good.
Dogs are also allowed and welcome!
Our waitress was very good to us and our dog, bringing a big water bowl out without us even having to ask.
Lastly we had the breadpudding with ice cream to end our night.
Yes it’s as good as it sounds, minus the raisins (I don’t like raisins).
Utopia Good Food & Fine Art is an exceptional spot with great food and service. If you are looking for a great outdoor spot in Long Beach, this is one you should try. Will definitely be back.

Got this dance that’s more than real
Drink Brass Monkey — here’s how you feel
Put your left leg down — your right leg up
Tilt your head back — let’s finish the cup
M.C.A. with the bottle — D. rocks the can
Adrock gets nice with Charlie Chan
We’re offered Moet — we don’t mind Chivas
Wherever we go with bring the Monkey with us
Adrock drinks three — Mike D. is D.
Double R. foots the bill most definitely
I drink Brass Monkey and I rock well
I got a Castle in Brooklyn — that’s where I dwell
Brass Monkey — that funky Monkey
Brass Monkey — junkie
That funky Monkey
So maybe I wasn’t ACTUALLY drinking the Monkey but I do LOVE that song. RIP Adam Yauch! Anyway, I was here with my wine meet-​up group. The reason for this shin-​dog was of course to partake if either a wine tasting or you could just get a glass. Plus we were collecting toys for some ankle biters for Christmas. One of our members is a doctor so she thought it would be great for us to get together for a GREAT cause and have some wine while we were at it. GREAT IDEA!
Utopia is an AWESOME wine bar/​restaurant located in DTLB right on the corner of 1^st and Linden so you can’t miss it. They have two outdoor patios areas which we didn’t get to enjoy since it was raining out but one of the patios has heaters and umbrellas which is NICE. There are two entrances. One is right on the corner which is the restaurant side and the other is located on 1^st and is the bar entrance.
We all gathers in the bar area which has a few high tables and chairs, as well as, a bar. They have a NICE selection of wines and some YUMMY appetizers that they prepared for us probably to help with the alcohol absorption. This is GREAT because I tend to be a light weight and it goes to my head pretty quick.
They also serve REAL FOOD but I didn’t get to try anything. When you check in there is a FREE sangria with an entrée purchase so that is PRETTY COOL. The restaurant side is dimly lit and decorated NICELY and there are two rooms of tables and chairs.
Since this is DTLB parking is a premium of course and for the most part NOT FREE, but I managed to find FREE parking that wasn’t limited to 2 hours! But there are parking garages a few blocks away or bring change for the meters because LB Parking Enforcement have NO PROBLEMS in writing out tickets! I think they ACTUALLY ENJOY IT! How else do you think they were able to rebuild the DT area? The money has to come from somewhere. SO bring PLENTY of CHANGE and check your meter before the time YOU THINK the time will expire to be on the safe side.
I had a Riesling from Monterey, Cali which was FAN-​TAB-​ULOUS! We even had a guy Yohan that was on holiday for 6 months from Paris and joined our group just to experience something different and NOT so touristy. He even said the Riesling was VERY GOOD compared to one from Paris. NOT BAD!
There also was a REALLY NICE live entertainment from this young man from NC. He played like 3 or 4 instruments and kept us entertained with the piano and sax all night. REALLY GREAT! LOVE live entertainment. He and the rest of the staff were SUPER NICE and UBER attentive to our group!
REALLY NICE cozy atmosphere without the DTLB hype of Pine street traffic. Stop by and try this place out for a NICE glass of wine or maybe try them out for dinner. The ONLY reason I didn’t give this place 5 stars was because I want to go back and try the dinner.