The eggplant parmigiano is one of chef Edoardo’s specialties at edo at The Grove. (photo by Jill Weinlein)

When the Whisper Lounge closed at The Grove, Rick Caruso offered the space to Edoardo Baldi to open his third Tuscan-style restaurant in the greater Los Angeles area.

Baldi moved to Los Angeles with his family as a young boy, where his father Giorgio opened Il Ristorante di Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica. He grew up working in the kitchen for years before opening his first restaurant in Beverly Hills.

Baldi personally redesigned the interior at the new Grove location into a stylish and casual modern lounge.

At the entrance of edo by Edoardo Baldi is a walk-up pastry and espresso bar, serving a variety of brewed coffees, espresso, cappuccino and caffe latte beverages. The interior has an intimate dining area and an inviting outdoor terrace that is covered and heated.

The all-day menu offers breakfast, lunch, happy hour and dinner fare that is already gaining a following for its croissant, famous chicken salad, Roberta’s beef meatballs, and tomato and basil fusilli.

Earlier this month, I brought my family to experience some of Baldi’s signature Emilia-Romagna recipes, paying homage to his mother’s pasta and ravioli dishes including savory green chard pasta lasagna and eggplant parmigiano.

We ordered drinks from the creative cocktail list – a blood orange margarita and Moscow mule.

While sipping on our drinks, we enjoyed the fresh flavors of a Farmer’s Market salad with red grape and multi-colored heirloom tomatoes, a handful of basil and a dollop of burrata cheese.

Baldi’s famous roasted chicken salad arrived with a handful of nutty-flavored mache leaves mixed with frisee, sliced green onions, celery and bite-size cubes of avocado. The greens are finished with a tangy light mustard and lemon dressing.

Since Baldi is known for his homemade pasta, our server recommended his sweet corn ravioli in a corn broth, served with a large spoon to ladle the luscious golden liquid. The kitchen also makes a variety of pizzette including arrabiata, Margherita, prosciutto, four cheese, and a burrata with truffle oil.

The main event was the delicious eggplant parmigiano, which was served in a bowl with a creamy tomato sauce, almost like a tomato bisque. Perfect slicess of eggplant finished the dish, topped with parmigiana cheese and a sprig of basil.

For dessert, our server immediately suggested the Torta della Nonna. The double-layered crust has chocolate with pastry cream in the center and toasted pine nuts on top to offer a balance of textures and flavors.

We also ordered an Italian mille-foglie, similar to a French mille-feuille (a thousand layers), popular for any Tuscan celebration.

The restaurant combines Edoardo’s signature culinary favorites from his Tuscan-style Beverly Hills fine dining establishment, e.baldi, with his more playful edo little bites in Palisades Village. edo by Edoardo Baldi is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. $$

189 The Grove Drive, (323)452-0354.