By Brenton Garen
Its comprehensive menu of made-to-order traditional Italian specialties have been pleasing the Brentwood community since fall 2013.
Now Il Piccolo Verde is keeping its doors open and deliveries going until 3am seven nights a week.
The new special late-night Luna Verde menu began about two months after owner Michael Scwartz noticed most restaurants in the area closed their doors and stopped deliveries around 11pm.
Located at 140 S Barrington Place just steps from Sunset Boulevard and a quarter mile from the 405 freeway, Il Piccolo Verde is known for its friendly staff, open kitchen, and cheerful vibe.
Chef Pablo Merida said the restaurant wanted its guests to enjoy dining out with them ‘after hours,’ whenever the mood struck them.
“We invite our neighbors to relax with friends or family over a beautifully prepared homemade meal, sip a nice glass of wine or artisanal beer, linger over a great cup of Italian coffee and sample our amazing desserts,” Merida said.
The heart of any successful Italian restaurant is its pizza.
Il Piccolo Verde steps it up with authentic pizza Napoletano (“Pizza as it once was”) baked in a hand-crafted pizza oven imported from Italy’s Naples, using Caputo flour, also imported from Naples.
“It’s heated to 1,000 degrees,” said owner Michael Swartz. “It cooks the pizzas in about 90 seconds and chars the crust a little bit.”
They also serve up a selection of hand-tossed, New York-style pizzas with a dazzling array of fresh toppings.
Swartz, a commercial mortgage broker and first-time restaurant owner, said his vision was to create a local value leader in casual fine dining and a contemporary, iconic Italian neighborhood favorite.
The earth-toned restaurant has a large selection of antipasti, salads, pastas, paninis and desserts, many made from scratch.
A special Verde Naturale menu is available for health-conscious guests: low-calorie dishes made with organic, unrefined raw and cold pressed oils, organic, unfiltered raw apple cider vinegar, Celtic sea salt, gluten-free, organic grains, leafy greens, and fresh vegetables.
A carefully-curated selection of wines and artisanal beer represent great value and variety and chosen to satisfy a range of discriminating palates.
Danesi Caffe, the finest imported Italian coffee, is also a reason worth just stopping by for.
