Sleepy South Pasadena is about to get a dose of upscale Italian food thanks to prominent Westside dining group Piccolo. The plan is to take over the closed Crossings space at 1010 Mission, right on the standalone city’s main drag, with an opening to come likely sometime in early March.
Fans will know Piccolo as an upscale casual neighborhood spot that has been serving fresh pastas and other Italian fare on and off for years out in Venice and Santa Monica. Piccolo Venice actually closed permanently back in 2015 before being resurrected last year, and now partners Tony Black and chef Antonio Mure are back and expanding. The two current Westside Piccolos operate at 2127 Lincoln Boulevard and 1616 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, respectively, and Black and Mure also jointly operate the cozy Barrique on Main Street. Prior to all that, Mure was running the show at La Botte, a Michelin-rated Italian spot in Santa Monica.
As for this new Piccolo location due east, Black tells Eater that while the space seems mostly done from the outside — and there’s even a now hiring sign in the window — the restaurant still needs several weeks to get up and running. When it arrives, though, expect plenty of fanfare for Mure’s pastas, seafood starters, chops, and wine. After all, it’s not every day that a prominent restaurant group decides to open in South Pasadena, just steps from the Gold Line.