Drake’s Favorite Old School Italian Restaurant Madeo Closes on Saturday

Upscale West Hollywood hotspot Madeo is closing, weeks after rumors first started swirling about the restaurant’s demise. A call in to the place yesterday confirms that the final night of service will be Saturday.

There’s not much time for all the celebs and power brokers to make it over to Madeo in its current form, given the final few days the restaurant has left. For years Madeo has been a popular option for the moneyed WeHo-Beverly Hills crowd and high-profile stars alike, even earning a shoutout earlier this year on a new track by Drake. Apparently that wasn’t enough to keep the developers at bay, as rumor has it the property is being turned into condominiums in the near future.

Not all is lost, however, as Madeo reps say there are plans in motion to revive the restaurant just down the street in the shuttered Prego space on Camden Drive. That would put the reborn Italian destination right next door to Mr. Chow, adjacent to reality star Lisa Vanderpump’s Villa Blanca. Apparently it’s going to be a quick flip (though no word on whether or not Madeo ownership has signed a long-term lease), with a rumored reopening to happen by the end of the month. Publicly all the restaurant is saying is that they are closing for good, ending a decades-long run that has seen names like Thomas Keller come and go nearby.

What’s more, Madeo’s ownership is still moving ahead with plans to open at the redone Caruso Pacific Palisades project later this year. The new restaurant will be called FdeiM by Madeo Al Forte, offering northern Italian food as an ode to the Tuscan beach town Forte dei Marmi. Expect that project to be ready by late September.

Update: The name of the Pacific Palisades project will be Al Forte, not FdeiM by Madeo.

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