Pinocchio in Cucina has become a staple in Palisades cuisine since launching on Monument Street nearly 10 years ago, and thanks to Chef Giuseppe Barravecchia, who recently assumed ownership, it’s here to stay.
Better known as Pino to his staff of about seven employees whom he considers family, Barravecchia took over the Italian deli and restaurant about two months ago from Theresa and David Whitworth, a local couple also responsible for the successful La Luna eatery in Larchmont Village.
After losing La Luna about five years ago when the landlord opted not to renew its lease, the Whitworths declined to renew their lease for Pinocchio’s when it was up earlier this year. Pino says he was also content to let Pinocchio’s doors close for good—until he saw the sad looks on the faces of his longtime staff.
“I said we’re done, that’s it, we’re gonna close,” Pino admits. “But I felt like a family was breaking up, and I felt responsible to find them new jobs.”
Then during his commute home to Hollywood, “something clicked in me,” he says of decision to become owner. “So I jumped in, and I’m happy I did.”
Hailing from the Sicilian town of Piazza Armerina, Pino, 46, comes from a long line of gastronomers—his aunt and one of his sisters are also restaurateurs as well as his parents, who own the local Ristorante Pepito di Barravecchia.
“My grandfather used to make his own wine. I remember picking the grapes,” he reminisces in a tongue tinged with Old World flavor, and explains that he learned his recipes working at his family’s restaurant, a typical Sicilian place where men would order a carafe of wine and play cards.
Pino began as a dishwasher at age 11. “I put two cans of tomato sauce under my feet so I could reach the sink,” he recalls, and he rose through the ranks from busboy to server and eventually, chef. “The restaurant was mine in my heart—I ‘built’ it.”
After leaving his hometown at age 25 for the faraway shores of Los Angeles (he intended only to visit for six months to learn English), Pino decided to stay and eventually went to work for the Whitworths at La Luna. When they wanted to open a place in the Palisades, he suggested the name Pinocchio, one he was saving for his own future dining establishment.
“They were originally going to call it Panino’s or something,” Pino says. “I didn’t know if I should give [Pinocchio] to them. But I did, and they loved it.”
It’s a name that immediately conjures Italia, derived from a character popular in both America and Italy. But for Pino, it’s a personal connection to a beloved childhood story from his homeland. However, his real home, he’s quick to point out, is Los Angeles, and although he’s not a Palisadian (“I wish,” he chuckles), it’s Pacific Palisades that reminds him most of his hometown, with similarly sized populations, laidback mentality, scenic landscape and strong sense of community.
“This is a place for locals. It’s a beautiful area but you’re only three miles from the madness,” he jokes.
Laughter comes easy to the jovial chef, who when this reporter visited was busy preparing meals for a catering job, the client being a private school in Santa Monica. Such jobs are the kitchen’s bread and butter during what he describes as the off-season summer months, with local schools like Palisades High and Palisades Elementary now requesting catering services.
In a departure from the previous owners, Pino is focusing more on the café and less on the deli. “People come and see the deli counter and they think that’s all it is,” he says. “But in fact, we have a huge menu.”
To accentuate this, he’s removed part of the deli counter and a cooler and added some seating inside the dining area, describing it as a casual setting. He’s maintained the popular patio area, cozy as it is classy. The same great recipes that originated from his mom’s home cooking aren’t going anywhere either, but they do get worked over a bit.
“The East Coast is holding onto something that is so old, from the 1900s. Our food is changing and growing, I don’t want to get stuck,” he says, adding that the daily special is often “whatever I mix up” from whatever ingredients are fresh and beckoning his culinary touch.
As for standard menu items, Pino recommends any of the nearly dozen Panini sandwiches but especially the smoked turkey. The Pinocchio salad (laden with roasted tomato, cucumbers, and olives plus goat cheese, toasted almonds and honey-mustard dressing) is one of his personal favorites, as well as the farfalle salsiccia.
Happiest when work is plentiful, the hands-on owner is looking forward to autumn, which tends to bring with it a windfall of customers. As for the future, he hopes to realize his longtime dream of opening a second location in L.A. “where people appreciate what we do.”
“The quality is great, the portions are big and the prices are good,” he says of his menu items, with most being around $9-$10 as opposed to $15 charged by other establishments for similar fare.
But most important for Pino is the family atmosphere he cultivates at his cucina, for both patrons and the back of house. It’s a commitment he takes seriously and despite the hard work it entails, he doesn’t let it affect his laidback nature.
“For two months I’ve been so busy, working every day,” he relates with pride. “Now life is giving back to me and it’s very exciting.”
Pinocchio in Cucina is located at 970 Monument and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is ample underground parking. View their menu at pinocchioitaliandeli.com.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
