North Italia, a chain restaurant that doesn't feel like a chain restaurant,' is coming to the Bay Area

"North Italia will plant its flag in downtown Walnut Creek, with a March 25 opening scheduled. The 8,500-square-foot dining room and alfresco bar will offer seating for 200. For starters, brunch every weekend and lunch every weekday, with hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at which point the dinner menu kicks in."

"Merrill Shindler, a longtime Los Angeles area dining critic, calls North Italia a chain restaurant that doesn't feel like a chain restaurant. There's an open-view scratch kitchen, with pasta made fresh daily in-house and a menu that changes seasonally. Dishes with roots in northern Italy include the house specialty, Pasta Bolognese, along with Cacio e Pepe Arancini, White Truffle Garlic Bread."

"Although the Cheesecake Factory has owned this chain since 2019, there's no cheesecake on the dessert menu. Instead, diners will find Hazelnut Torta, Tiramisu, a Seasonal Butter Cake and the Italian doughnuts, Bombolini, among other sweets."

North Italia, an Italian restaurant group established 23 years ago in Arizona, is expanding to the Bay Area with its 49th location opening March 25 in downtown Walnut Creek. The 8,500-square-foot restaurant features an open-view scratch kitchen where pasta is made fresh daily, with a menu that changes seasonally. The restaurant offers weekend brunch and weekday lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by dinner service. Specialties include northern Italian dishes like Pasta Bolognese, Cacio e Pepe Arancini, and Breakfast Carbonara Pasta, alongside southern Italian tomato-based dishes and regional specialties. Despite being owned by the Cheesecake Factory since 2019, the dessert menu features Italian sweets like Tiramisu, Hazelnut Torta, and Bombolini rather than cheesecake.

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