39
Walnut Creek, CA — Today, the nationally recognized Italian concept North Italia, beloved for its scratch-made cuisine, hand-tossed pizzas, and stunning craft cocktails, opens its newest outpost in Walnut Creek, California.
The new restaurant marks North Italia’s first in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as its seventh within the Golden State. In the spirit of welcoming the community, North Italia is donating 10% of opening day sales to White Pony Express, a Bay Area nonprofit dedicated to rescuing fresh surplus food and delivering it to neighbors in need.
Located within Plaza Escuela at 1179 Locust St., North Italia Walnut Creek is situated in the popular open-air mall, providing a prime gathering space for weekend brunches, everyday lunches, and dinner with friends and family. Occupying over 8,500 sq. ft., the dining room and al fresco bar comfortably seats over 200 guests and parties of all sizes. With the restaurant’s signature open kitchen format, guests seated in the dining room can watch the action unfold throughout their meal, as the expert culinary team handmakes pastas, pizzas, and other beloved dishes from scratch in-house daily.
Paying homage to Walnut Creek’s celebrated outdoor landscape and the iconic San Francisco Bay Area, North Italia commissioned San Francisco arts agency Local Edition Creative to create a stunning mural for the restaurant’s interior, showcasing a reimagined Venus adorned with native wildflowers in her hair. The mural is complete with rolling hills representing local hiking trails and a sweeping valley view leading to the Golden Gate Bridge, serving as a nod to both the spirit of Northern California and North Italia’s romantic Italian heritage.
Braised Short Rib Marsala. Image by Eddie Sanchez
Leading the restaurant’s culinary program and daily operations are General Manager Cole Weidel and Executive Chef Ilse Castellon-Estrada, who are ready to serve Walnut Creek residents and visitors alike. Open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, guests can experience fan-favorite dishes like the Wild Shrimp Scampi, Yellowtail Crudo, Chef’s Board, house specialty Bolognese, Grilled Branzino, and Prime New York Tagliata. Plus, Walnut Creek guests will be the very first to taste North Italia’s latest seasonal menu before it rolls out nationwide on April 29. Made with the freshest and finest ingredients that spring and summer have to offer, the menu features standouts including:
Grilled Artichoke with sea salt, argumato, and lemon aioli
Kale & Goat Cheese salad with fresh strawberry, avocado, broccolini, candied almond, herb breadcrumb, and poppyseed vinaigrette
Caprese Sandwich (lunch + brunch) with heirloom tomato, stracciatella, arugula, and basil pesto
Agnolotti al Pomodoro with ricotta, pecorino, simple tomato sauce, and basil
Chicken Scarpariello with chicken thighs, fennel sausage, piquillo pepper, and mascarpone polenta
Fig & Prosciutto pizza with fontina, rosemary, and black truffle honey
In addition to these signature and seasonal eats, guests in the new restaurant can enjoy a specialty pizza created for North Italia’s annual Pi Day campaign: the Nashville Hot Chicken. Made with house-made dill pickles and garden herb ranch, this pizza is available at all North Italia restaurants now through April 10.
Cocktails designed to complement any meal include the Donatella with gunpowder fig gin, luxardo bianco, grapefruit, honey, and lemon and the savory Neapolitan with nikka vodka, pepperoncini, and gorgonzola olive, or zero-proof options like the Just Peachy with white peach, raspberry, lemon, and ginger beer and the 00 Spritz with mionetto NA aperitivo, crushed lemon, and bubbles.
Credit: Eddie Sanchez
HOURS OF OPERATION
Reservations are encouraged through OpenTable. To view full menus or place takeout and delivery orders, please visit NorthItalia.com.
Lunch | Mondays – Fridays from 11:30am – 4:00pm
Dinner | Sundays – Thursdays from 4:00pm – 10:00pm
Dinner | Fridays – Saturdays from 4:00pm – 11:00pm
Brunch | Saturdays – Sundays from 10:00am – 4:00pm
ABOUT NORTH ITALIA
North Italia was conceived by Fox Restaurant Concepts founder Sam Fox in Arizona in 2002. Since then, the neighborhood Italian restaurant has expanded to nearly 50 locations across the U.S. Using only the season’s best ingredients, North Italia’s chefs create a variety of modern Italian dishes, including pastas made from scratch daily, hand-tossed pizzas like the classic Margherita or fan-favorite The Pig, and savory lunch and dinner entrees like the Grilled Branzino and Chicken Parmesan that deliver flavors that go above and beyond the expected. Complementing North Italia’s food menu is a full-bodied wine and beer list accompanied by an array of handcrafted cocktails. For more information, visit northitalia.com.
ABOUT WHITE PONY EXPRESS
1 in 4 Americans are skipping meals or relying on food donations. Equally troubling is the fact that Americans throw away nearly 40% of our food supply—perfectly good food that could wipe out hunger three times over if it was rescued and delivered to those in need. White Pony Express has solved the logistical challenge that food markets face—what to do with surplus fresh food—by rescuing and delivering it to address the problem of hunger and malnutrition. The organization has provided more than 31 million meals across the county. By recovering food that would otherwise be wasted, WPE also reduces landfill waste and protects our environment. Powered by volunteers and partnerships with local businesses, farmers, and nonprofits, this work creates a circle of giving rooted in human connection. We see our neighbors as members of one human family and strive to serve with reliability, respect, and love—because when one person is uplifted, we all are. For more information, visit whiteponyexpress.org.
Dining and Cooking