Pacino’s Real Italian – described by its owner as “a contemporary Italian restaurant” – has opened at The Village at Las Sendas in northeast Mesa. The restaurant takes over the short-lived Anzio Landing space between D’Vine Bistro and Breadsmith. The space originally was Zocolo Spanish Fusion.
Owners Frank and Alicia Spaccarelli opened two Pacino’s in Southern California, the first about eight years ago. Frank Spaccarelli, who’s been in the restaurant business for 28 years, says he chose the name Pacino’s because customers have remarked on his resemblance to actor Al Pacino.
The Spaccarellis sold both restaurants last year and moved to the Valley to open another. “Everybody told us to avoid Mesa,” says Spaccarelli, who came close to signing a lease in Gilbert, but then saw the space at Las Sendas. “I didn’t even bother to drive the neighborhood. It’s perfect.”
Several caricatures of Al Pacino decorate the walls of the 90-seat interior. A 20-seat bar, as is the popular custom nowadays, features a garage-style roll-up door for access to a 40-seat patio.
While his SoCal restaurants were “spaghetti-and-meatball joints,” the New York native wanted to offer a nicer, seasonal menu. He hired Charles Delli Pizzi, who worked under Daniel Boulud and Neil Gallagher before serving as executive chef at a couple New York restaurants, to head the kitchen.
House specialities include meatball sliders ($8); “fra diavalo,” linguini topped with shrimp, mussels, clams, and peppers ($17); and seared diver scallops with a roasted mushroom risotto ($21). Plus, of course, 12-inch, New York-style pizzas with six different combinations of toppings ($11-$16).
Pacino’s offer 20 wines, most of them Italian, and 10 beers on tap, including some from Mesa’s Desert Eagle Brewing.
Happy hours, which runs 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, features $3 glasses of wine and $3 draft beers, among other specials. There’s also a reverse happy hour from 9 p.m. to close Friday and Saturday, and live music Thursday through Saturday.
