Like so many restaurants, there’s a never ending story of “where are they now,” but for Alejo’s Presto Trattoria Italian Restaurant, their history is well established over the past 40 years. Alejo Castro at the age of 18 explored the art of cooking in Montevideo Uruguay, Verna, Switzerland and Argentina. After a few years of cooking various cuisines, Alejo mastered the art of making pasta. He then moved to the United States to work as a personal chef for several high ranking officers in Virginia, later accepting a position at the world famous La Scala Restaurant in Malibu, California.
It is here that he was responsible for creating the tri colored pasta. With success under his wings, it was just a matter of time for him to open his own restaurant, La Traviata, located in Hermosa Beach. After a long homesick feeling for Spain, he and his wife Claudia decided to sell the restaurant and open another successful restaurant with a similar name in Spain.
Claudia missed her life and family, so the couple returned to California and opened what is now Alejo’s Presto Trattoria Italian Restaurant.
Since the passing of Alejo, his recipes have been protected by Claudia and her two sons, Tony and Christian.
Keeping it in the family was the most important factor in the success of the restaurant. Another important fact is the experience Tony and Christian learned from working all operations of the restaurant, especially Christian who has a marketing background.
The cuisine has kept its quality and the service is right on target. We started our journey with Alejo’s salad, prepared with chopped romaine lettuce, garbanzo beans, mozzarella cheese, salami and California ripe tomatoes with vinaigrette. We also ordered the Calamari salad, prepared with cooked calamari and roasted garlic, peppers, onions, green olives, marinated in vinaigrette sauce. Both are great pick-me-uppers.
Our main entree was a great pizza with all the fixins, and Linguini Pescatore, prepared with shrimp and fish, in a tomato wine garlic sauce.
I also had the Veal Marsala, which is prepared with baby veal, garlic, mushrooms and marsala wine sauce.
What a great meal; music and good conversation. With a full stomach, there was room for a couple of deserts. Tiramisu, and a Gelato cup was enough to send us floating away for retirement.
So you know I had a great dining experience, and a great talk with Tony, Claudia’s son.
Alejo’s is located at 8343 Lincoln Blvd. in Westchester, just up the hill from Marina Del Rey. Call for reservations or catering at (310) 679-6600. Hours of operation are from 11:00 am until 9:30pm Monday -Thursday, and 11:00 am -10:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Celebrity Scene News awards 4 stars for an authentic atmosphere, friendly service and some excellent cuisine.
