Roman pizza has a new throne in Los Angeles. Just three weeks ago, Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, the Prince of Venice, opened his first Italian restaurant in Westwood Village, serving pizza al taglio, homemade pasta and Italian deserts in a fast casual setting.
The grandson of Italy’s last king did not dream of becoming a restaurateur as a child, but he’s proven to be quite good at it.
“I grew up wanting to eat well,” he said, explaining his approach. “So, I try to choose the best chefs there are for pasta and for pizza. They’re all Italian.”
Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, the Prince of Venice, just opened an Italian restaurant in the Westwood Village neighborhood of Los Angeles.
It's been four years since Emanuele sent a light blue food truck to roam the streets of Los Angeles, cranking out fresh pasta (it cooks the fastest) right off the curb. It was a pioneering move, and in no time, it had a following. Even Vice News documented the pasta-making on wheels. Soon Angelinos were looking for pasta to-go with Piedmont truffles shaved on top.
After COVID-19 hit, the truck has been parked for months. But Emanuele has used the time to launch the Prince of Venice restaurant.
In normal circumstances, the neighborhood of Westwood Village would be swamped with UCLA college students. Instead, young families and small groups of friends walk by, some speaking in Italian.
Inside the restaurant, pizza al taglio sits in sheet pans– just like you see in Rome– decorated with a variety of toppings, from cacio e pepe with rosemary sprigs to meat lovers. Boxed arugula salad, tiramisù, and gelato stand ready for the taking.
The Arancini served at the Prince of Venice restaurant are shaped like Mount Etna. The Chef Pietro Vilardo prepares them in the style of his city, Catania, in Sicily.
Lunch and dinner at the Prince of Venice means not only pizza, but an array of eight pastas to choose from and Sicilian specialties, like arancini, made by Chef Pietro Vilardo.
The prince stays impartial about regional recipes–even though the Margherita pizza was named after his great-grandmother.
“What I want to do here is not the Savoy experience, but an Italian global experience,” he said. “I believe in fast-casual, to eat well, but fast, and at a reasonable price.”
Fast casual does not mean rushed. The restaurant overlooks a tiled Spanish Revival courtyard, a quiet sunny space to relax while eating. It was this outdoor area that convinced Emanuele to settle in the neighborhood.
The first time Emanuele experienced Italian food cooked in Italy he was already 30 years old, having lived all of his life in exile. He visited Venice a year after.
“It was better than you can imagine,” he said, recalling the first visit. “It was no longer only in your dreams and in your thoughts.”
Thus, we can better understand and appreciate the restaurant’s simple motto, “See it. Taste it.”