In a city filled with see-and-be-seen restaurants, few draw a daily crowd quite like Il Pastaio. For more than three decades, this Beverly Hills icon has been a favorite of locals, Hollywood regulars and visitors alike. At the center of it all is Giacomino Drago, the passionate owner and chef, who greets guests with air kisses and warm hugs as though welcoming them into his own home. A native of the picturesque Sicilian town of Galati Mamertino, Drago brings his charm and infectious spirit to every table, turning a meal into a memorable occasion.
That love of la dolce vita plays out every day at Il Pastaio, where Drago often stops to chat with old friends and new. When the Real Madrid soccer club came by for pasta, the ebullient owner posed happily for photos with the players.
The bustling dining room is clearly his favorite playground. Drago trades one-liners in Italian with his staff and waves to regulars, who blow him kisses from across the room. What he serves is not just a meal but an invitation to the good life: laughter, indulgence and, in his words, “great Italian meals with history.”
“I respect my guests, and I listen to what they want,” Drago says of the restaurant’s gluten-free and whole-wheat pastas. “If they like a special dish that’s not on the menu, we’ll make it to please them,” he adds, waving hello to a guest. “I want everyone to enjoy themselves and feel happy when they come here.”
Throughout the afternoon, Drago works the room, trading banter with two stylish women at the bar one moment and bidding farewell to a departing friend the next. A dozen cheerful, fast-moving waiters glide between closely set tables, adding to a lively, informal and wonderfully noisy scene. The handmade pasta is delicious and refreshingly reasonable, with most dishes priced between $19.95 and $35.50, a rare find in Beverly Hills.
The youngest in a large Sicilian family, Drago grew up helping his mother and older siblings prepare fresh meals every day, though the classroom never held the same appeal. “When we were kids, I loved to play all day. I never liked school,” he says, laughing at the memory. “I even told my parents, ‘I’m never going to be a dentist or an accountant!’”
As a teenager, he joined his older brother, celebrated Beverly Hills restaurateur Celestino Drago, and trained in his kitchen before opening Il Pastaio in December 1993. More than three decades later, it remains one of the most popular restaurants in Beverly Hills.
“When we first opened on Canon Drive, the streets were empty by nine o’clock at night,” Drago recalls. “Now, it’s busy past midnight!”
That success has also brought The Olive Room, a private dining space for 30 guests with a wine room holding some 1,400 bottles of wine and spirits.
Il Pastaio Private Dining, the Olive Room.
Homemade fetucini with meat sauce.
The Olive Room
Pasta made fresh daily
Alfresco dining at Il Pastaio on Canon Drive.
Black truffle pasta
Chef Giacomino Drago and his fantastic Il Pastaio Beverly Hills team
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