An LA’s The Place Top Pick for 2011!
If you love well-crafted, authentic Italian food, Italian-style art deco architecture, and charming old-world service, then Tanino Ristorante & Bar in Westwood is a must-try. LA’s The Place has found it to be one of the best restaurants in LA for its well-executed, fine Italian cuisine, great ambiance and friendly, professional service.
Offering an authentic Italian dining experience, from the building that is reminiscent of Florence’s Pitti Palace to the menu that captures childhood favorites of Chef Tanino Drago, Tanino Ristorante & Bar remains one of LA’s best Italian restaurants since 1998.
Dining at Tanino’s, you will feel as if you’ve traveled back in time to Old Italy. Executive Chef Tanino Drago grew up in a small town in Sicily. His father made the family’s wine, cheese and olive oil. His mother made the fresh pasta and bread. Tanino found he had a passion to master the art of fine Italian cuisine. It all comes together beautifully at Tanino’s in Westwood, where you can experience for yourself Tanino’s authentic regional fare with contemporary touches.
Some outstanding dishes you can find on Tanino’s menu include Tortelloni di zucca e salvia ~ Tortelloni stuffed with pumpkin and ricotta in a cream and sage sauce, Pappardella al ragu d’agnello ~ Homemade wide fettuccine with lamb ragu, Costolette d’agnello all’ aceto balsamico ~ Grilled lamb chops served with caponata and basalmic mint sauce. If you are a foodie and appreciate well-crafted dishes and delectable cuisine, you owe it to yourself to find out why Tanino Ristorante & Bar has been a favorite of Angelino’s for over 18 years!
Although Chef Tanino is thousands of miles away from his native hometown of Galati, in Sicily, he crafted every detail of the Tanino Ristorante & Bar to recreate and celebrate his early life experience of great Italian cooking, eating and passion for life. Chef Tanino, in creating his menu, incorporates family recipes with his culinary education to create a mix of both old and new world Italian menu items.
Historical Ambiance
The gorgeous Tanino bar, with etched mirror.
The moment Tanino saw the spectacular renaissance building that legendary architech Paul Revere Williams designed and built in 1929, which is reminiscent of Florence Italy’s Pitti Palace, he was smitten, and there was no way he could pass it up.
Back in the 1920’s, Westwood Villiage had a Mediterranean theme. Tanino features high ceilings, black and white terrazzo-marble checkerboard deco floors and an impressive wood bar with grand, marble arches and pillars that take you back to Old Italy. Elaborate chandeliers hanging from intricately carved wood ceilings accentuate the white tablecloths dressed with votive candles, the walls Travertine marble… a magical place to design a memorable experience in.
Architech Paul Revere Williams was known for restaurant designs including celebrated haunts such as the original famous Chasen’s, Perino’s and The Polo Lounge, as well as the homes of Lucille Ball and Frank Sinatra, the Saks Fifth Avenue building in Beverly Hills, the Second Baptist Church in South Central Los Angeles.
Special Events & Catering
This beautiful historic building which is decorated with original artwork, Tanino Ristorante & Bar offers unique spaces for private events and intimate dinners. In the spirit of the restaurant’s intrinsic charm, combined with elegance and first-rate service, Tanino is a wonderful place to host a wedding party, graduation celebration, family reunion and many other festive occasions where you want every detail to be flawless.
There are two private rooms to suit your needs. The Tano Room, named for Executive Chef Tanino “Tano” Drago, is an intimate space located directly off the kitchen in a stone walled, cave-like space. The room accommodates up to 12 guests and is an ideal location for a small dinner party with a seasonally-inspired menu created exclusively by Chef Tanino.
The second room, La Stanza, is appropriate for a larger group, up to 70 guests. The room is enhanced with murals, ceiling frescoes and rich burgundy booth seating. Also as an added bonus, diners in the La Stanza enjoy a great ‘voyeur’ view of the downstairs dining area, but can opt for complete privacy by closing the curtains.
Seasoned professionals in catering and party planning business, Tanino Restaurant can also coordinate the details, including menu, flowers, rentals, of your next home party or on-site corporate event.
Like Family
Who doesn’t love going to a place where its comfortable and ‘everybody knows your name’? Since establishing themselves for more than a decade as the go-to restaurant for home-cooked Italian, Tanino Ristorante & Bar has developed a large following of regulars who are welcomed and treated like part of the Drago family.
More about Chef Tanino Drago
Chef Tanino Drago
“My father made all of our wine, cheese and olive oil himself. And my Mom always made our pasta from scratch and baked fresh bread every other day,” remembers Tanino. His deliciously palatable and formative early years eventually led to an after-school and summer vacation job at his uncle’s trattoria beginning at the age of 12.
At the age of 18, Tanino signed up for a two-year program with the Giarre culinary school in Taormina, on Sicily’s eastern coast.
Meanwhile, Tanino’s family-inspired appreciation for fine foods had also captivated four of his brothers, who all decided to pursue careers in the restaurant business. Three of them, the older brothers Celestino and Calogero, and the youngest, Giacomino, had left Sicily for more promising and potentially rewarding culinary career options in the United States.
In 1990, after graduating from the culinary academy, Tanino followed suit and joined the expatriate part of his family in Los Angeles. Under the leadership of the oldest and most experienced, Celestino, the four brothers joined forces in 1991 at the elder Drago’s newly opened namesake venue, Drago in Santa Monica. For the next seven years, Tanino happily took charge of day-to-day kitchen operations as Chef de Cuisine of the acclaimed eatery, constantly honing his skills in the preparation of traditional, authentic and exquisite Italian cuisine. And in 1998, restaurant ownership came knocking on his door with Tanino Ristorante & Bar and many others to follow…
To learn more about Chef Tanino’s other restaurants: www.taninodrago.com
Tanino Ristorante & Bar
1043 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310.208.0444
www.tanino.com
Read our article on Via Alloro, one of the gems in the Drago Collention of fine dining establishments in Los Angeles here…
To read other LA’s the Place articles on Tanino, click HERE.
