Celestino Ristorante – Los Angeles – USA

For over 17 years, Celestino has delighted the palates of Pasadena locals and travelers from all over the world, treating them to a taste of authentic Italian cuisine in the valleys of Southern California. Owner Calogero Drago infuses Celestino with all the hallmarks of a famed Drago Brother’s restaurant — seasonal cuisine made with the finest, freshest ingredients, comingled with an elegantly casual environment where every customer is made to feel like family.

Calogero’s other focus is creating authentic Italian food, as he quickly discovered that Italian cooking in Los Angeles was inauthentic to his taste. He set out to change this by creating more traditional elements and dishes, combined with fresh ingredients. Coming from a farm, the Drago Brothers acquired a taste for fresh and organic ingredients, which is why they won’t have it any other way. They don’t believe in cutting costs by compromising the quality of the food to turn a profit. The Drago Brothers set out to show Los Angeles what true Italian and Sicilian cuisine consists of. Calogero has a very strong Sicilian influence in his dishes, exceeding expectations by providing the freshest seafood, house-made pasta, and organic meats. He takes a hands-on approach when training his kitchen staff, and most evenings you will find him cooking up a storm and hustling out of the kitchen to personally hand your dish to you!