Escape rooms – you know those intriguing spaces where you’re given clues to, well, escape from – have become quite popular as of late. I was invited to participate in an escape room adventure in downtown Los Angeles and I wasn’t sure what to expect. An hour later, and my daughter and I, along with several other participants, had failed to solve the series of puzzles and challenges at Escape Room LA. We decided to pick up spirits after our defeat with a delicious Italian dinner just down the block at Terroni.

Pizzas, pastas, salads and grilled fish are among the many dishes at Terroni, a pleasing Italian meal, anytime of the day. (photo courtesy of Terroni)

Terroni, a chain of restaurants in Canada and the United States owned by Cosimo Mammoliti and Paolo Scoppio, has another location in the Fairfax district, but the downtown Los Angeles shop is much more formal, located in a historic, 1920s bank.

Walking into the restaurant, we admired the beautiful coffered ceiling (they certainly don’t build banks like this anymore), and elegant floor-to-ceiling arched windows. There is also an impressive glassed-in wine room and a large bar that offers an array of specialty spirit bottles to make creative cocktails. The main dining room features cozy booths and a viewing window with hanging meat and sausage, bottles of cooking wine and cheese.

The menu offers an array of creative southern Italian dishes with starters including olives and handmade taralli, an Italian snack similar in texture to a cracker or breadstick. Other crunchy “apristomaco”– which translates to “stomach opener”– include deep-fried zucchini flowers with ricotta and Parmigiano, deep-fried arancini with meat and cheese, and fried calamari served with lemon. The chefs also grill calamari and serve it on greens with sliced onions, a sprinkling of capers and tomatoes.

In the salad section, I ordered the nizzarda and enjoyed the mixture of arugula, Italian tuna, potato cubes, sliced eggs, chopped red onions, tomatoes, black olives, green beans and anchovies. White wine vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil really enhanced the dish and brought out the “niçoise” flavors.

All of the pastas on the menu are handmade by the restaurant’s chefs. Along with several spaghetti dishes, Terroni also offers bucatini, potato gnocchi, and rigatoni decorated with dandelions and slices of homemade spicy Italian sausage. The tagliolini dish is topped with fresh clams, mussels, calamari, scallops and tiger shrimp in a light tomato sauce. However, my favorite dish was one that we all shared – the slow-cooked lamb ragu on top of the peapod-shaped capunti pasta.

With over 30 pizza varieties on the menu, we ordered two of the thin and crispy pies. My daughter enjoyed the traditional margherita with flavorful tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Another person at our table ordered the c’t mang white pizza with ripe slices of pear, chopped nuts, and a sprinkling of Gorgonzola and mozzarella. To balance the sweet and savory flavors, the pizza also featured long strips of smoked prosciutto and a drizzle of honey on top.

As were leaving we noticed next door to Terroni is a Italian marketplace named “Dopolavoro,” which translates to “after work.” The Terroni owners opened it for locals to swing by at the end of the day, and pick up some Italian delicacies and pre-made meals. The store offers olive oil, cheese, wine, bread, milk, eggs and handmade pasta to prepare at home.

Looking for a fun outing this weekend? Escape to downtown Los Angeles for a fun night of solving clues before or after a meal at Terroni. 802 S. Spring St., (213)221-7234. Dopolavoro, 808 S. Spring St., (213)954-0300. Terroni in Fairfax district, 7605 Beverly Blvd., (323)954-0300.