What came after Cafe 9

by Dyske Suematsu  •  July 5, 2001

Here is what came after Cafe 9, Bel Air. I don’t think I’ve ever been there. It came and went so fast that I didn’t get an opportunity to go. I wonder what went wrong with this one. I suspect that it just didn’t do well enough to cover the rent and make profit.

This is not particularly a good picture, but this is what came after Bel Air. It was called “Pepe Rosso.” I believe the owner was Italian. Most of the customers were Italian. During the soccer season, this place would get packed with passionate fans. I liked their pasta dishes. They were cheap and good. Since I went to Rome recently, I could say with a certain authority that the atmosphere and the style of the place was very similar to restaurants in Rome, especially the way they served their wine in a short glass that would normally be used for serving water here in the US. Nadav and I used to order sandwiches from here for delivery. They were quite good too. Just for your information; after Pepe Rosso, came Paprika which is still in business now.