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Picca restaurant in West LA is set to close on Sunday, sources tell Eater. The onetime Ricardo Zarate restaurant first opened in the summer of 2011, but won’t quite make the full six year mark.
A call to Picca last night mentioned that as of this coming Sunday, the restaurant would be “closed for renovation” for an undisclosed amount of time. That’s usually industry parlance for a true shutter, and Eater was able to confirm with reps for the restaurant that indeed Picca will cease to be as of Sunday. They send along the following statement:
We wanted to share the news that Picca will be closing its doors after 6 great years of service this Sunday, June 4th. Please join us through Sunday for one last causa, ceviche, alfajore, and pisco sour. We are grateful and thankful to the community, our past and present team members, and to our patrons for their support these past 6 years.
Fans of Picca know how important the restaurant has been to Los Angeles. Not only did the Peruvian-Japanese mashup eatery help to solidify the young career of then-chef/co-owner Ricardo Zarate, it was also an early launch for the Sprout Restaurant Group. That team would go on to become the backbone of much of LA’s dining scene, pushing money and manpower into places like Bestia, Republique, The Rose Cafe, Broken Spanish, Otium, and many more.
Folks will also remember that Stephane Bombet was an early partner with Zarate at Picca and elsewhere before a falling out took down the Peruvian chef’s empire, while Bombet has gone on to open Faith & Flower, the short-lived Terrine, and now The Ponte. Even barman Julian Cox earned some early recognition through Picca and Playa (now Petty Cash), before moving on projects in Chicago.
Thankfully Zarate’s Peruvian influences will soon be on display again with Rosaliné, opening in mere weeks along Melrose in West Hollywood. The final night of service for Picca is this coming Sunday.
