Maria’s Italian Kitchens often remind guests of the casual, sometimes boisterous, neighborhood eateries of another era. It began in the Italian quarter of Hoboken, New Jersey, where Madelyn’s mother, Maria, grew up learning the recipes for real Italian food of Naples from her mother, Luisa. This home-grown education in the fundamentals of Napolitano sauces, soups, dressings, ravioli, lasagna and other regional fare was put to delicious use in 1968 when the Alfano’s and their five young children moved to Los Angeles and bought a tiny grocery store called the “Village Mart” in L.A.’s prestigious Brentwood Village located at Barrington Street and Sunset Blvd. and converted the one car garage into the first Maria’s Italian Kitchen in 1975. She must have learned her lessons well because that first Maria’s Italian Kitchen was a huge success. In 1985, Maria’s daughter, Madelyn Alfano followed in her footsteps and opened the first table-service Maria’s Italian Kitchen in Sherman Oaks. Madelyn ultimately expanded the successful concept to nine more locations, and still personally supervises the kitchens and oversees all the restaurants. Each one carries on the Alfano tradition of warmhearted service, painstaking attention to detail, and a commitment to using only the highest quality ingredients. To this day, Maria’s Italian Kitchen is proud to be a family-run operation. And we will welcome you like a member of our own family.
