Local Restaurant Highlight: Giorgio’s By Writer and Contributor Emily McGinn
Giorgio’s just passed its 11th anniversary as a staple on Deep Valley Drive this September. However, owner and chef Giorgio Borrelli and his family have been in the local restaurant industry for much longer.
Giorgio
Borrelli’s father opened his own restaurant, Borrelli’s, in 1972 on Silver Spur Road, not far from the current Giorgio’s spot. Borrelli recalls that at the time, there were only a few restaurants on the Hill, two of which were Borrelli’s and the longstanding Mexican staple, The Original Red Onion.
“I grew up in it,” Borrelli says. “I started in ’83 as a 10 year old washing dishes. And then I said, ‘I guess this is it for me.’ I was always hanging around my dad and watching him cook. All the menu we offer here at Giorgio’s is the same menu he had, and I learned from him.”
The original Borrelli’s closed in 1994 but the family business came back in 2000.
Although the current Giorgio’s has a different name and location from the original Borrelli’s restaurant, the concept is the same: an Italian mom-and-pop restaurant serving homemade pastas, pizzas and entrees.
Borrelli keeps the menu as is, joking that his regular customers would get upset if he removed something from the menu. For newcomers to the restaurant, he recommends the Fettuccini Michangelo, a homemade pasta dish with sautéed onions, mushrooms and prosciutto in a cream sauce with grilled chicken. Other menu highlights include entrees like the poached salmon and classic protein dishes like chicken parmigiana.
Locals report their favorite dishes:
“I won’t order Spaghetti and Meatballs anywhere else. Giorgio’s makes it like my Italian family.” Joe S., PV Resident
Alta G of Torrance says “I almost always get the Eggplant Parmigiana. It’s so light and heavenly. I’ve given up on red sauces anywhere else!”
Today’s Special Halibut
Today’s Special Lobster Ravioli
Tortellini Panna Prosciutto Piselli
Although Giorgio’s has stayed the same, the area around the restaurant has changed quite a bit. Borrelli has seen the Promenade area grow to more storefronts and restaurants, and then fluctuate in recent years. Though there has been a lot of turnover of businesses in the area over the years, Giorgio’s has remained steadfast.
Fabio
“We're all doing okay, as long as we're still here,” Borrelli says. “We're making it.”
Borrelli enjoys serving the community, and the business has even seen some celebrities, including the late Lyle Alzado, who played for the Los Angeles Raiders, and Larry of Sit n’ Sleep mattress commercial fame. His regulars on the Hill have remained loyal, visiting the spot for their favorite dishes and even helping the restaurant weather the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to massive unemployment throughout the hospitality industry.
“It's interesting characters that come in and [our customer base is] homegrown,” Borrelli says. “Most of the people are very nice, humble people. [Our regulars] were very helpful during the COVID-19 time, supporting us and ordering as much as they could, which helped us survive that little episode in history.”
And it is not just customers that come back. Borrelli says that the staff has basically been with him since the beginning more than a decade ago, without much turnover.
Caesar
“A lot of other places have a lot of turnover,” he says. “We've all been here together for the amount of time that I've been here. For 10 years, we've all been here. So that says something. And the people [of the community] are nice to come in and patronize us.”
You can visit Giorgio’s at 777 Deep Valley Drive.
Emily McGinn is a journalist based in the Los Angeles area. She enjoys reporting on and writing about a variety of topics from lifestyle to news, especially in her areas of specialty, environmental science and political science.