AGO, the elegant Italian Trattoria named after its celebrated executive chef partner Agostino Sciandri, is on the latest additions to grace the enclave of prestigious restaurants in West Hollywood. And Hollywood loves it!
With the financial backing of Miramax moguls Bob and Harvey Weinstein, actor Robert De Niro, directors Tony and Ridley Scott, entrepreneurs Gianni Nunnari and Meir Tepper, the popular chef has created his own rendition of an upscale Italian Trattoria. ?It?s just like the charming seaside or countryside trattoria you?d discover 30 kilometer outside Florence or Siena,? not Agostino, who recruited architect Ralph Gentile & Sophie Harvey, to implement the design.
The popular chef who came into prominence as co-owner and chef extraordinaire of Toscana in Brentwood (gaining a loyal following among its star-studded clientele) says, ?This was a one-and-a-half million dollar remodeling project. Everything is new.? He stresses, about the site, which formerly house five popular restaurant venues.
Out side, 30-foot Italian cypress and graceful olive trees, indigenous to northern and central Italy, ingratiate the southeast entrance, which has been transformed into an Italian villa courtyard, providing convenient valet parking. A metal trellis along the east façade diffuses the light at windows, which face courtyard and is the support structure for grapevine and bougainvillea. Inside, the 3200 square-foot space has been revamped into an intimate, cozy setting which ?is playful mix of the old and rustic; the new and modern,? according to architect Gentile.
??You can order a special ?off-the-menu? item for $50 or a chicken dish served with potatoes for $16? said Agostino. ?It?s a rich man-poor man type of food. The same as you get in Italy.?
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