Grand Opening of Florence by the Water

 Florence by the Water opened just in time for Valentines day during the 100 year anniversary of the old Hotel Figuroa in Los Angeles. Here is a review of our experience:

Florence by the Water — tonight felt like stepping into a memory I never left.

 A century-old building in Downtown Los Angeles, once born in the roaring 1920s, now alive again with music, laughter, and the glow of candlelit arches.

A soft launch, but a powerful one — where old-world elegance met modern rhythm.

 Walking through the corridors felt almost like returning to Italy.

The lantern light, the tiled floors, the quiet arches — they carried whispers of Florence, Sorrento, Sicily… the summers that shaped me.

A reminder that some places don’t belong to geography — they belong to the heart.

 Tonight was a toast to history and reinvention.

A 100-year-old landmark reborn with arugula pizza from the wood oven, Barolo in the glass, truffles dusted like edible art — and somewhere in the background, a reggaeton pulse reminding us we are still alive in the present.

 Florence by the Water isn’t just a restaurant.

It’s a bridge between eras.

Between continents.

Between who we were and who we’re becoming.

 And in that moment, under the archways of Hotel Figueroa, I realized —

you don’t always travel back to Italy.

Sometimes Italy finds you.

 by Jovida Nelson and Rob Long