Italian-American Comfort Dishes Star in This New Hollywood Hangout

In Los Angeles, as in many American cities, Italian food almost always wins. Many folks find comfort and simplicity in a bowl of pasta or big pepperoni-covered pizza, which is exactly what Hollywood’s new Soprano is banking on. The corner restaurant, well-placed near the Pantages Theatre and right on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame, opens this week in one of the densest tourist destinations in all of Los Angeles.

While the restaurant doesn’t carry any HBO memorabilia or an overt mafioso vibe, the name Soprano is certainly nods to the Italian-American heritage of the the critically lauded Sopranos television show. Inside, the restaurant is a ring of muted black walls, tiled flooring, and lightly upscale touches like black tablecloths and brass pendant lighting. There’s a winding bar at one side of the room, overflow seating upstairs, and more than a few two- and four-tops under tall windows that peek out onto the busy boulevard beyond.

On the food front, owners Culinary Lab (Hinoki & the Bird, Blackship) and chef Brandon Kida are turning out a red sauce menu that meanders from meatballs and a chop salad to gnudi with honey nut squash, rigatoni bolognese, and a series of pizzas that carry celebrity names. There’s chicken parm too, of course, as well as strip steaks and a half chicken with salsa verde. Expect a full run of beer and wine, plus cocktails at the bar. The full menu is listed on the restaurant website.

Soprano opens this week, keeping weekday evening hours only from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. starting on Tuesdays, with 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. hours on Saturday and Sunday.

Soprano. 6263 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles.

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