Bianca's Dining Room Becomes Lulu's Coffee in the Morning

One address, two businesses, and a daughter's nickname on the morning one.

A restaurant that only opens at five in the evening leaves a lot of hours on the table. Michele Galifi has decided to use them. In mid-August, the chef-owner of Bianca Sicilian Trattoria launched Lulu's Coffee inside his own Arts District dining room, running breakfast and espresso in the same space where he serves Sicilian dinners.

It is a sensible piece of business and a nice piece of family bookkeeping. Bianca carries the name of Galifi's older daughter. Lulu is what the family calls the younger one, Lucia. Galifi told the Los Angeles Downtown News that Lucia is "a little feisty one," and that the quality seemed to suit coffee.

How it came together

Galifi had wanted a morning service at Bianca from the start but was not in a position to run one. He brought in an outside operator to work a coffee pop-up in the space for roughly four months first, then took it over himself once the restaurant found its footing. He has described Lulu's as a modern coffee shop with quick, comforting breakfast food, leaning California rather than strictly Sicilian.

That footing was hard won. Galifi, born and raised in Palermo, opened Bianca about a year ago after falling from a ladder during the buildout and breaking his wrist, arm and elbow. He opened anyway, then spent the following twelve months cooking traditional Sicilian food in a neighborhood that had not had much of it.

The Lulu

The signature drink shares the name. The Lulu is built on espresso with caramelized plantain, milk and a cream top, which is not a combination you will find anywhere in Palermo and is exactly the point. The rest of the menu runs coffee and quick breakfast items rather than a sit-down morning service.

Galifi has been open about how his cooking lands with some Angelenos. He has said diners occasionally tell him the almonds taste too much like almonds and the pistachio too much like pistachio, which he treats as confirmation rather than criticism. His framing is that he is not reinventing anything, just staying faithful to the flavors and ingredients he grew up with in Sicily.

On the neighborhood

Galifi has also made a point about where the Arts District now sits in the city. He sees downtown drifting outward from its historic core, with a second downtown forming just beyond it, and reads that as a good thing rather than a loss.

It is a fair observation from someone with a stake in it. The Arts District has absorbed a wave of restaurant openings over the past two years, and the Historic Core has lost some of its most recognizable names in the same period. Our coverage of Cole's French Dip closing after 118 years sits on the other side of that shift.

Visiting

Lulu's Coffee operates inside Bianca Sicilian Trattoria at 1200 E. 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013, at the corner of 5th and Mateo in the Arts District. Reach the restaurant at (213) 915-0052.

• Lulu's: mornings, inside the Bianca dining room. Hours are posted on Instagram at @luluscoffeedtla, and the coffee side is newer than the restaurant listing, so check before an early trip.

• Bianca dinner: Tuesday through Sunday from 5 p.m., closing at 10 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday and 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Closed Monday.

• Parking: street parking out front, plus a paid lot next door that has been running around seven dollars.

• The room: open-air with a front bar serving beer and wine, which is a different proposition in the morning light than at dinner.

What we have our eye on: the Lulu itself. Caramelized plantain in an espresso drink is either a very good idea or a novelty, and the only way to know is to order one. FJM will report back after a visit.

Follow along with more LA restaurant news, see what else has opened in our guide to new restaurants in Los Angeles, or browse our picks for the best food in Los Angeles.