Farewell, Rex

After 15 years, Rex il Ristorante, L.A.’s elegant and sophisticated Italian restaurant, closed its doors on Jan. 25. The mood that week was bittersweet as longtime customers sat down to table one last time.

Only the late Mauro Vincenti, a Roman-born restaurateur with a passionate and scholarly interest in Italian cuisine, could have envisioned the former haberdashery in the Oviatt building as the celebrated restaurant it became. There’s still nothing like it in Los Angeles.

(Luckily, that’s not the end of the story. As soon as they find the right location, Maureen Vincenti and chef Gino Angelini are planning to open a restaurant on the Westside.)