LADERA RANCH, CA – Pino’s Cucina, offering the traditional Italian restaurant experience, is now open at the Mercantile East shopping center in Ladera Ranch. Pino’s Cucina is a full service, sit down restaurant that is open for lunch and dinner daily, and offers an array of courses including appetizers, pasta, meats, seafood, and specials. Their menu features a variety of appetizers including Bruschetta al Pomodoro and Calamari Fritti, and over a dozen pasta dishes including Ravioli di Casa, Fettuccine alla Primavera, Linguini Mare, Gnocchi, Lasagna Casalinga, Linguini con Vongole O’Cozze, and Rigatoni al Forno. Main entrée dishes include Pollo Cacciatore, Eggplant Parmigiana, Vitello Piccata, and more. For dessert, customers can enjoy flavorful cannolis, which is one of Pino’s specialties.
For lunch, Pino’s Cucina caters to local community residents and business workers by offering fast, freshly prepared dishes at affordable prices, creating the perfect destination for lunch time gatherings. For dinner, this family-friendly restaurant serves evening traditional Italian and Sicilian meals and regional specialty dishes. The restaurant will eventually offer wine, serving a variety of wines by the glass and bottle, to accompany specific dishes on the menu.
Pino’s Cucina is owned by Frank and Monica Domicolo and Giovanni and Sharon Magro. Both Frank and Giovanni grew up in Sicily and together have more than 50 years’ experience working in fine dining and casual dining restaurants in Europe and the United States, specifically Orange County. Frank is Chef Pino’s nephew, and Giovanni is Chef Pino’s longtime friend.
“We are really excited to open our first restaurant here in Ladera Ranch,” says Frank Domicolo, an owner of Pino’s Cucina. “We are hoping that every time customers come in to Pino’s Cucina, they will feel like they have been transported to Italy for a home cooked meal.”
Chef Pino is a natural born chef who learned to cook in Sicily from his mother, Giovanna, who was known in town for her home-cooked meals. Pino perfected his culinary skills at a young age and later worked as a chef at Princess Cruise Lines for 10 years. Pino relocated to Orange County in 1995, where he worked at some of the best Italian restaurants including Antonello Ristorante, Nello Cucina, and Stella’s Serious Italian Restaurant in Dana Point. Chef Pino now brings his skills of Italian cooking to Ladera Ranch.
Pino’s Cucina is open Monday through Thursday from 11am to 9:30pm, Friday and Saturday from 11am to 10pm, and Sunday from 11am to 9:30pm. The restaurant is located at the Mercantile East shopping center, at 27522 Antonio Parkway in Ladera Ranch in between Corky’s and Wells Fargo. For more information, call (949) 388-4931.
