Nestled in Lomita of all places is a pretty good steal for very different lunch. iL Chianti is a Japanese Italian restaurant. Yes, you heard it right. Japanese Italian. No, it’s not penne with natto or pasta carbonara alla tofu, but Italian for people with a Japanese palate. Since noodle making is a staple of Japanese cuisine, pasta seems like a obvious and natural extension for the Japanese.

I had a chance to check out the place with the folks and the interior was impressive; clean, open, minimal – a typical restaurant in Japan. The staff was all Japanese, which made it very handy for my parents and me. iL Chianti is actually a part of a small chain in Japan, so I guess this shouldn’t be too surprising. Gardena and Torrance have other established Japanese Italian places that I have had a chance to sample, but they mostly serve that weird fusion stuff with hot dogs, natto, etc., which I’m not a big fan of. The place and the food is nothing like Italian Tomato and its other Japanese Italian fast food brethren in first look, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.

I ended up ordering the lunch special, which only cost 10.50. Great deal, and gave me the chance to sample a variety of their offerings. An Italian bento box, I suppose. I ordered the spicy tomato spaghetti with beef and was pleasantly surprised by the rest of the small dishes that came with it.

They first brought out a small fish consommé, which was perfectly light and flavorful. The small salad, which was basically mixed greens with a miso-based sauce was decent, a little salty, and nothing special. The grilled halibut coverd with a wasabi-cream sauce was overcooked, but the sauce was delicious. Sadly, the rubbery fish that could have been. The squid-ink risotto was wonderful, with a very mild and earthy flavor – you have to request this as they didn’t offer it as an option and I have a feeling they might have hooked it up only because we were Japanese. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente and the sauce was spicy, but not overpowering. I enjoyed the smaller dishes – tomato risotto, spinach frittata, and some sort of puff pastry lasagna – as they were a great complement to the main dish, although they lacked one thing. Heat. Too bad they were lukewarm. The meal was finished off with a small blueberry panna cotta, which was deliciously simple and sweet. Can’t believe I just ate all of that for 10.50.

My biggest regret was not reading the menu fully. You can order a drink from the menu with your lunch special and this includes wine and beer – no cost! Sigh, next time, no tea. I definitely must try some of the other dishes such as the mentaiko pasta and the Greek pasta. The specials are listed on the wall in Japanese, so that might pose a problem for all you non speakers, but the waitstaff seems to be cordial and helpful. iL Chianti is definitely a place catered to Japanese expats, but seems to attract a relatively diverse crowd. I would heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to try Italian food with a twist.

iL Chianti
24504 Narbonne Ave., Lomita, CA 90717
310-325-5000
Open lunch and dinner. Closed Mondays. Japanese a plus.