If you notice a long line of cars down Barrington Place in the early evening, there’s a good chance it’s the bustling valet at Brentwood’s latest restaurant arrival: Terroni. For Angelenos, the name is familiar. Terroni has been a Los Angeles institution for nearly 20 years, known for its pitch-perfect pizza, impossibly light and crisp calamari, handmade pastas and a fiercely held commitment to doing things the Italian way. But the story begins more than three decades ago and some 2,500 miles away.
Terroni was founded in Toronto in 1992 by Cosimo Mammoliti and Paolo Scoppio. Mammoliti, raised in Toronto by parents who immigrated from Calabria, began working in restaurants as a teenager and developed a deep connection to the food and traditions of his family’s homeland. At 25, he and Scoppio opened the original Terroni on Queen Street West, a humble storefront selling specialty Italian products and made-to-order panini. More than three decades later, that storefront has evolved into Gruppo Terroni, with restaurants, bakeries and other food concepts spanning Toronto and Los Angeles. Yet its philosophy remains consistent: authenticity, tradition and an uncompromising focus on materia prima—the quality of the raw ingredients at the foundation of every dish. That same philosophy now occupies a large corner of Brentwood Village.
The new restaurant—the latest of Terroni’s three current Los Angeles locations—was years in the making. Terroni’s journey from Toronto to Los Angeles can largely be traced to Shereen Arazm. The Los Angeles co-owner and longtime hospitality entrepreneur first worked with Mammoliti in Toronto in the 1990s before making her way to Los Angeles. “The only reason I opened in LA is because Shereen was there,” says Mammoliti. “My first ever visit to LA, 20 years ago, she said, ‘Hey, why don’t we open a Terroni down here together?’” Mammoliti thought she was joking. After returning to Toronto, he received a call from Arazm saying she had already found the perfect space. “I couldn’t believe it,” he recalls. He flew back to see what would become Terroni’s first U.S. location on Beverly Boulevard. The restaurant took off, eventually leading to locations downtown—which later closed during the pandemic—and on Larchmont Boulevard.
Today, Terroni remains very much a family affair. Arazm oversees the Los Angeles restaurants as co-owner; Mammoliti’s brother, Vince, is a managing partner; and his daughter—and Arazm’s goddaughter—Simona, serves as marketing director and brand ambassador. That history is also captured in La Cucina di Terroni: The Cookbook. Written by Mammoliti with text by food and travel writer Meredith Erickson, it features more than 100 southern Italian recipes, including Terroni favorites such as Spaghetti al Limone and panzerotti, alongside pizza dough, sauces, breads and desserts. Part cookbook, part family history, it offers a glimpse into the traditions that have shaped Terroni from the beginning.
So why Brentwood—and why now? The neighborhood’s dining scene is booming, with a growing roster of restaurants turning the once sleepy hamlet into a culinary destination. For Arazm, however, the search for a westside location had been going on for years. “I did feel like the area was missing a Terroni and was a bit of a restaurant desert, yet everybody in this neighborhood has such a sophisticated palate,” she says.
Arazm considered the former A.O.C. space, but it didn’t feel right. "When you know, you know, " she recalls of the search. "It's a lot like finding the perfect wedding dress." She had spent time in Brentwood Village with friends whose children attended the surrounding schools and noticed the limited lunch options. Originally, she came to look at a much smaller space for a wine and cheese marketplace. That space, across the complex from the restaurant, is becoming Terroni Forno, a bakery inspired by the company’s Sud Forno concept in Toronto. “We have a master baker from Puglia,” says Arazm. “We moved him here. We’ll be doing bread, Italian desserts, pastry and gelato and Roman-style square pizza by the slice.” While scouting the future bakery during COVID, Arazm noticed several neighboring storefronts—including a former shoe store and hair salon—were also vacant. “I just thought, if I'm coming here to do this small space, why wouldn't we have all of this space?” she recalls. “I walked through the hall and felt like it was a fit. This is it.” Three-and-a-half years later, Terroni Brentwood is finally open.
The restaurant transitions easily from day to night—a leisurely lunch or afternoon Aperol spritz gives way to a packed dining room after dark. A patio will offer another place to settle in for a meal or perhaps a limoncello from one of the organic producers Terroni works with in Italy. “We try to be as authentic as possible,” says beverage director David Alfano, who has been with the company for 15 years. “Only the good stuff.” That philosophy extends to an award-winning, approachable wine list spanning the Italian boot from Piedmont to Sicily. Terroni sends its sommeliers to Italy every year, investing in both its team and relationships with producers.
Of course, the food remains the main attraction. Bestsellers include Spaghetti al Limone, Bolognese and branzino prepared by Executive Chef Federico Mainardi from Bologna and CDC Leonardo, who also hails from Italy. “We sell a lot of proteins, pasta and house-made gelato,” says Arazm. “Everything is made fresh every single day, with flour that we import from Italy. And we always have an Italian in the kitchen.” The space reflects the same mix of polish and warmth. An open kitchen puts the action on display, while a central marble bar lined with olive-green seating divides the dining room. Banquettes and booths sit beneath chandeliers, and a hallway collage of family photographs reinforces how personal the business remains. That family sensibility feels particularly suited to Brentwood Village, surrounded by schools, homes and a community where restaurants become part of the rhythm of daily life.
“The people here have been amazing and so appreciative, and understanding of why we do what we do,” says Arazm. And Terroni does have rules: no cheese on fish, guests cut their own pizza, calamari does not come with red sauce and substitutions are discouraged. “It’s more of traditions that we follow that maybe some people don't understand,” she says. Arazm, who spent four years as a judge on Top Chef Canada, believes food television has helped diners understand the reasoning behind them. “We're not just trying to be jerks by not letting you have substitutions—there's some reason behind it. And in Brentwood, people have been fantastic and excited to have us here.”
“Different parts of town have different demographics,” says Vince. “Even though the food is the same, and our culture is the same, the people that come here just kind of work off each other.” In Brentwood, that means families with children, date nights, solo diners and business meetings sharing the same room. “We want to feed everybody, and we want to feed you two to three times a week,” adds Arazm.
That accessibility is part of the Terroni equation. Despite the imported ingredients, handmade food and carefully sourced wine, the menu remains well-priced and designed to encourage regulars rather than special-occasion-only diners. Perhaps that is why a restaurant born in Toronto more than three decades ago already feels so at home. “They get us here in Brentwood,” says Arazm. “People are so happy that we're here, and that makes us feel amazing. It’s like that in Canada, too. It feels like a warm hug.”
Terroni Brentwood
155 S. Barrington Pl.
424-208-3254
terroni.com
“We sell a lot of proteins, pasta and house-made gelato. Everything is made fresh every single day, with flour that we import from Italy. And we always have an Italian in the kitchen.”