For nearly three decades, Caffe Pinguini has been a part of the Playa del Rey community, serving traditional Italian meals on the Westside. With a dining experience brought straight from Rome, the restaurant quickly built a loyal customer base that owner Tony Cotrufo says has become family.
“It’s a place for a relaxing, beautiful lunch,” Cotrufo said. “During the lunch time, it is beautiful because there’s the sun — the patio is amazing and very relaxed. It feels like you are not in LA, but you are somewhere on vacation. This is a corner of Italy. You come here, and then you just go to Italy.”
Cotrufo traveled to California in 1992, noting that “it was cold in Rome,” and chose the West Coast over Florida. Soon, he fell in love. What was meant to be a three-month trip became a new home. Five years after he moved to the Westside, he, alongside partners, opened Caffe Pinguini at age 27. He would buy out the partners, and he has been the sole partner of Caffe Pinguini since 2020, leading it alongside his wife Mary.
“I was very scared because I didn’t know nothing,” Cotrufo said. “You learn by working, and that’s what I did.”
Playa del Rey is very different than bustling Los Angeles, Cotrufo emphasizes, with the laid-back community boasting a loyalty to its local dining scene and enjoying the experience of Italian dining. It is a favorite, with locals voting it the “Best Restaurant” and “Most Romantic Restaurant” in the 2025 Best of the Westside.
Caffe Pinguini offers a menu of traditional Roman-inspired Italian cuisine, with pasta made in-house and fresh. A highlight of the menu, homemade gnocchi is offered every Thursday and can be paired with various sauces. The linguine mare is a seafood-forward dish that features clams, shrimp, mussels and calamari in a choice of red tomato or white wine sauce.
Alongside its pasta offerings, Caffe Pinguini has pizzas, including a namesake dish topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, red and yellow bell peppers, onions and basil, as well as antipasti and homemade bread. The drink menu is centered around a curated selection of Italian and French wines, as well as non-alcoholic Italian drinks like Danesi coffee. Diners can top off their meal with desserts including homemade tiramisu, pistachio cheesecake, gelati and peach sorbet.
Caffe Pinguini is open for lunch Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and for dinner starting at 5 p.m. daily. The restaurant is known for its daily specials, with sometimes up to 12 different ones available at one time.
Caffe Pinguini is a unique name for a restaurant, literally translating from Italian as “Penguin” Cafe. It was chosen, Cotrufo said, because everyone loves penguins.
“It’s a good karma,” he said. “It’s a cute name. I love penguins, and that’s how we became Caffe Pinguini.”
Italian dining is as much about the experience as the food, and Caffe Pinguini delivers through a candlelight ambiance that proves both family-friendly and romantic.
“Families always are welcome at Caffe Pinguini,” Cotrufo said. “It’s relaxing. Usually, when we open up, we have a family coming in for lunch. Then, around 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., it’s (people) coming for a date, to celebrate their birthday or celebrate their marriage. You can everything here at Caffe Pinguini.”
Caffe Pinguini
Caffe Pinguini is located at 6935 Pacific Avenue, Playa del Rey — just a short walk from the beach. Learn more by calling 310-306-0117 or by visiting caffepinguini.com.
Dining and Cooking