By LILY TINOCO | Reporter
Longtime Malibu eatery Spruzzo Restaurant & Bar, owned and operated by Ray and his son Ryan Gowhari, is coming to Pacific Palisades this summer.
Spruzzo will open in the Highlands in the space that formerly housed Taste at the Palisades, located at 538 Palisades Drive.
Spruzzo is designed to be an “upscale family-friendly restaurant in Malibu with generous portions, great prices and excellent service,” according to its website.
Ryan shared that his father Ray has been running the treasured Malibu location since 1994—before he was born. Ray purchased the restaurant from two brothers and kept the name Spruzzo, which translates to “splash” in Italian.
Ryan said he became involved with the restaurant after graduating high school. He would work over the summer. Since graduating from California State University, Northridge, in 2018, Ryan took on the role of a full-time manager.
“I got involved because I saw the opportunity that was presented in front of me … my dad’s experience and willingness to teach me how to be an operator in this business,” Ryan said to the Palisadian-Post.
Although Spruzzo is known for its Italian flare, Ryan said his father also wanted the restaurant to offer comfort foods and cater to the people coming from the beach. Spruzzo offers “food cooked to perfection,” including pizza, sandwiches, pasta, chicken, steaks and fresh seafood entrees, according to the restaurant’s website.
Ryan said the Palisades location will offer the same menu with slight modifications and brunch on the weekends, which isn’t offered at the Malibu location. The new location will also have space for outdoor dining.
“We could fit about 20 to 25 people out there,” Ryan said.
He said when he and his father found the Palisades location, the duo thought it was the perfect family-friendly, neighborhood spot.
“There aren’t many other restaurants [in Malibu], especially in deep Western Malibu, a very high percentage of our business is [from] regulars, I know my customers by name and I know their families,” Ryan said to the Post.
“We feel that the Palisades Highlands shares a lot of the same values and is similar in a lot of ways … [we] look forward to continuing that tradition and serving the Palisades very soon.”
He said Spruzzo is slated to open in the Palisades Highlands by the end of June.
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