The neighborhood restaurant pairs comforting Italian cooking with live jazz, a Rat Pack-inspired lounge and a hidden speakeasy behind a bookshelf. On Tujunga Avenue, dinner can begin with garlic knots and house-made meatballs, continue through a plate of lasagna, and end upstairs beneath the low lights of a jazz lounge.
That progression captures the particular appeal of Vitello’s. The Studio City institution has grown from a modest bakery and sandwich shop into a four-part dining and entertainment destination, but its center of gravity remains familiar: Italian food served in a neighborhood that has been gathering here since 1964.
The room carries the evidence. Autographed photographs from decades of Hollywood visitors still line the restaurant, while red booths, white tablecloths and warm lighting preserve the temperament of an old Los Angeles dining room. The atmosphere feels dressed for dinner without losing the ease of a local restaurant.
From a Bakery to a Studio City Institution
Charles Vitello founded the restaurant in 1964, initially serving sandwiches on homemade bread. The business expanded under his nephew, Sal Zoida, before Sicilian brothers Joe and Steve Restivo took over in 1977 and introduced the hearty Italian cooking that helped establish its following.
Its location, close to several major studios, naturally brought actors, writers and production crews through the doors. Frank Sinatra, Candice Bergen, Jason Alexander, Michael Landon and Dom DeLuise are among the familiar faces represented in the restaurant’s collection of signed photographs.
New ownership arrived in 2005, followed by an expansion into live entertainment and cocktails. The result is a restaurant that respects its history without operating like a museum. Vitello’s still serves chicken parmigiana and spaghetti with meatballs, but the evening can now move through jazz, cocktails and a Prohibition-inspired room hidden behind a bookcase.
Italian Comfort Food With Room to Evolve
The menu begins where a neighborhood Italian restaurant should: bread, meatballs and plates built for sharing.
Artisan bread comes with truffle ricotta and hot honey, while Frank’s Favorite Meatballs arrive as a nod to the restaurant’s family-style roots. Other starters include arancini, burrata bruschetta, mussels fra diavolo, sausage and peppers, and lightly fried calamari and shrimp with marinara and tartar sauce.
The kitchen’s strongest argument is familiarity handled with care. Spaghetti and meatballs comes with two large house-made meatballs and a choice of marinara or Bolognese. Lasagna layers béchamel, ricotta, beef Bolognese, Parmesan and mozzarella into the kind of dish that requires no clever reinvention.
Chicken piccata brings lemon, butter, capers and shallots over linguine. Chicken Marsala leans into mushrooms and the sweetness of fortified wine, while chicken parmigiana delivers the expected combination of breaded chicken, tomato sauce and melted cheese.
Pasta choices range from fettuccine Alfredo and cacio e pepe to linguine vongole, carbonara and wild mushroom rigatoni in a creamy garlic-rosemary sauce. Plant-based diners receive a legitimate section of the menu, including vegan cacio e pepe, chick’n Parmesan and vegan sausage with peppers.
Seafood and larger entrées widen the table. The Tuscan salmon comes with cherry tomatoes, asparagus and spinach in a light cream sauce. There is also almond-crusted branzino, cioppino, shrimp scampi and linguine frutti di mare. For a heavier dinner, the porcini-crusted filet pairs petite medallions with onions, mushrooms and Marsala sauce.
Vitello’s also retains the casual side of its original identity. Lunch includes Italian sandwiches, salads, thin-crust pizzette and pizzas such as The Sal, topped with Italian sausage, bell peppers, caramelized onions and hot honey.
Dessert follows the classic route: tiramisu layered with mocha cream, espresso and dark chocolate; cannoli filled with sweet mascarpone and chocolate chips; cheesecake; panna cotta; and gelato.
One Address, Four Ways to Spend the Night
Dinner is only the opening act.
Upstairs, The Velvet Martini Lounge draws from 1950s Hollywood supper clubs. Curtain-lined booths, city views, live music and classic cocktails create a room where dressing up still feels appropriate. The lounge generally operates Thursday through Monday and has a $35 food-and-beverage minimum per guest; ticketed programming is scheduled on select nights.
Dino’s Den offers another intimate entertainment space, while The Rendition Room sits behind a concealed bookshelf. The speakeasy channels the 1930s with low lighting, close-set tables and craft cocktails. Reservations are limited, and business-casual or cocktail attire is required.
That range allows Vitello’s to serve several versions of Studio City at once. Families can share pizza and pasta downstairs. Couples can reserve a booth for jazz upstairs. Cocktail drinkers can disappear behind the bookshelf after dinner.
After six decades, Vitello’s understands that longevity depends on knowing what should change and what should stay on the plate. The rooms have multiplied and the entertainment has grown, but the reason to visit remains straightforward: a table, a bowl of pasta and enough time to let dinner become a night out.
For more information about the restaurant visit, vitellosrestaurant.com
Address: 4349 Tujunga Ave., Studio City.
Hours: Lunch is served daily from noon to 4 p.m. Dinner runs from 4–10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 4–9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday. Happy hour is available daily from 3–6 p.m. at the bar.
Photo credits: Images courtesy of Vitellos
