As a second generation restaurateur, Salvatore Marino has always cultivated an incredible appetite for contemporary Italian dishes for his diners. But as chef and owner of his famed West Los Angeles restaurant, Marino provides more than just an extensive culinary background—he brings a life-long passion and craftsmanship of the cuisine to the kitchens of Il Grano.
His father, Ciro Marino, opened Villa Capri in Los Angeles while Salvatore was still young. After years of unofficial training in the restaurant, young Marino developed quite a reputation for his uncanny knowledge and appreciation of fine wines as well as for food in general. When it became quite apparent that he was destined to follow in his father’s culinary footsteps—and that he shared his father’s tremendous enthusiasm for food and wine—he decided to further his training in Italy.For years Marino worked throughout the Italian peninsula in all manner of local eateries, including the Michelin three-star Gualtiero Marchesi and the two-star Tornavento.
When he returned to Los Angeles, he opened Il Grano in 1997 with the assistance of his brother, Mario and his sister, Rosanna. Instead of the typical pasta dishes served under a canopy of chianti bottles, Il Grano’s food—especially the seafood—was contemporary Italian, the ambiance was hip, and the wine list was unmatched in its caliber of vintages. Marino also opened La Bottega Marino, a lower-priced Italian deli restaurant right next door to Il Grano and received accolades for both places from such local publications as the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles magazine and national magazines like The Wine Spectator and Food & Wine. A second La Bottega Marino was opened in 2001 on Larchmont Village.
