Anyone who has children knows that you can’t please everybody all of the time, especially when it comes to dining out.
But Bixby Knolls’ new spot, Tony’s Kitchen, has the solution.
Chef Antonio Gomez, 46, with his wife and general manager Nery Ursulo, 44, opened Tony’s Kitchen at 4280 Atlantic Ave. in the former home of Bixby’s Brooklyn Deli in early March, and their concept is based on their own experiences of going out to eat as a family.
When the family goes out, Ursulo is always looking for the Mexican dishes on the menu, their kids love American food, and Gomez is the one that likes all cuisines and loves to try new food.
“A little of everything” was the spark of their idea, and now it’s become their restaurant’s tagline. Their goal: to create a restaurant where the whole family can eat together and everyone’s cravings are met.
Standard diner-style breakfast and lunch items make it easy to appease the less adventurous, but Gomez recommends some of the more unexpected items on the menu.
Featured items include linguini del mar ($17.45) with salmon, shrimp, scallops and clams in a tomato cream sauce; blackened chicken panini ($11.45), which includes chicken slathered with garlic aioli, topped with coleslaw and guacamole; and the Hawaiian burger ($11.45) with grilled pineapple, teriyaki and jack cheese.
While they’re still working on the decor and ambiance, the Gomez family describes Tony’s Kitchen as a “dreamy plaza that can transport you to Mexico or Italy.”
When the doors first opened, the couple admits they had very minimal decor and didn’t know how to translate their Italian/Mexican/American menu into a visual ambiance, but they were able to work with the neighborhood art school, StudioPick, which led a community painted mural that created the beautiful “town” inside Tony’s Kitchen.
Tony’s Kitchen started as a shared space concept. The initial test market began inside El Sol Bakery, 1503 Magnolia Ave. in May of 2020, serving mainly carry-out orders during the pandemic shutdown. But after 18 months, Tony’s Kitchen quickly proved its concept and gained a loyal following, and in December of 2021 Chef Gomez decided to expand.
“We have always loved this area, and [the] community in Bixby Knolls. Once we found this location, we knew it was perfect for us to share our fresh homemade dishes.”
The Gomez family is serving the Bixby Knolls neighborhood their homemade a little bit of everything menu seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Tony’s Kitchen, 4280 Atlantic Ave., 562-509-6805
Follow them on Instagram: @tonyskitchenlb
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