The highly anticipated comeback of Lou Giovannetti restaurant has recently opened its doors as Primo Italia in Torrance’s Hillside Village in Los Angeles.
Giovannetti is no stranger to the South Bay. His previously owned restaurant, Lou’s on the Hill, was a hotspot for all to see. This time around, he has partnered with Allen Sanford, owner of Dia de Campo and The Rockefeller restaurants, to bring forth their shared love for great cuisine and music.
“Lou is an amazing singer who can can keep a room electrified. Plus he can do that in a restaurant and guys like that are rare,” says Sanford.
For generations, families have celebrated the tastes of life around a dinner table, enjoying tradition of homemade pastas, sauces, vino, e dolci—and Primo Italia wants to invite you to participate in that culinary heritage. Italian tradition is a re-lived as we reminisce about the past and create new memories, and every meal brings family and friends closer together with lively conversation and laughs.
A native of Italy and working most recently at Cecconi’s in West Hollywood, Chef Michelangelo Aliaga is passionate about Italian cooking and its deep history. He has created a rich, abundant menu using local purveyors and fine ingredients in making homemade pastas, wood-fired pizzas, and Mediterranean fish dishes. From the region of Campania, home of the Amalfi Coast and Naples, to the island of Sicily, Primo Italia brings you the heart and soul of their roots, tradition and cuisine. From the moment you walk in, you’re invited to be transported—as family photos illustrate their colorful past, and their menu expresses their living cuisine.
Featuring over 4500 square feet of exquisite Italian culture, Primo Italia offers priority table, booth, banquette, bar and lounge seating that extends to include a private room. In the main dining room the Proprietor’s Table, a private booth crafted in true luxury Primo style, seats up to twelve with a view of the open kitchen and allure of flames and flavors emanating from the wood-fire oven.
Rocco’s Room, includes a private dining room with a dry bar, table and banquette seating for up to 35 guests is easily transformed to meet your needs. Fully tech-equipped-and-conference-ready with behemoth satellite TV, Rocco’s Room can be reserved and custom-configured for multi-uses from board meetings to VIP events and political soirees to personal parties.
Giovannetti says, “We are trying to bring the marriage of true Italian heritage and what those people brought to America. It has been watered down over the years, and we are trying to recreate that experience!”
With a new team and partner at hand, Lou Giovannetti, along with Allen Sanford, and Chef Aliaga, are ecstatic to bring the heart of Italy back to the South Bay.
