Il Piccolo Verde (Brentwood)

With the rise of inventive and off-the-wall menus these days, we sometimes forget how good how good old school cooking is - like classic Italian, for example. At Il Piccolo Verde, a cute, small, Italian place in Brentwood, I was recently reminded of it.

The Baked eggplant parmigiana is a bit different, since it is stuffed with zucchini ($12)

There's an old school wood fired pizza oven here.

We tried the Pizza Napoletana, topped with tomato sauce, fresh burrata, and basil

I liked the crust, which was similar as the hot bread they give out at the beginning of the meal - the bread that I couldn't stop eating. There was just enough tomato sauce on the pizza, no more to overwhelm the creamy burrata.

Pappardelle Bolognese ($17)

The portions of the pasta dishes were quite generous and this bowl of pappardelle was dense with the meat sauce.

While most of the menu is classical Italian, they do have a list of healthier item, which included things like Buckwheat Risotto (gluten free, organic buckwheat groats, broccoli, spinach, organic carrots, arugula, onion, shallots, garlic, Celtic sea salt, light verde marinara sauce, tomatoes - $18)

It's lighter and healthier but still a warm, comforting bowl.

When I see tiramisu on the menu, I always have to order it. I loved the one at Il Piccolo Verde, just the perfect ratio of all the ingredients, at least for my preference. The coffee liqueur was apparent but not too strong.

While I like all the new Italian restaurants with their inventive pastas and dishes, there's always the charm of nostalgic comfort food. I've seen this place while going to barre classes across the street and was quite enjoyed my first meal here.


Il Piccolo Verde
140 South Barrington Pl
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 472-4939
http://www.ilpiccoloverde.com/