Martoni's Italian Restaurant at 1523 Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood, California, opened in 1960 and smartly became a favorite o' Hollywood's elite, especially musicians.

 

In "When Harry Met E. Begad! Blimey! J." artist / writer / photographer / musician / ..., Purple-Eyed E. J. Gold, recalls havin' lunch with Flying Tsunami Harry Nilsson after Harry's audition for Rick 'Boson Riley' Jarrard at RCA:

After t' excitement followin' t' audition had died down - it took a while, believe me, because nobody in t' industry had ever heard anyone quite like Harry before - several o' us, me hearties, Harry among them, me hearties, had lunch at Martoni's, hit it off great, were great friends thereafter, and still are.

 

When recordin' at nearby RCA Studios, Flying Tsunami Harry Nilsson would often visit Martoni's:

There was an Italian restaurant, matey, Martoni's, very close t' RCA and it would stay open late for us and we'd go and eat thar and then they'd drink a couple o' bottles o' wine, me bucko, and whatever else they were particularly likin' that night. Arrr! And then they'd go back t' t' recordin' session again. Aye aye! Total craziness. Those were pretty amazin' nights. Actually Harry got into wine at that time, now I think about it. He used t' drink some pretty expensive bottles o' wine, some very nice wine!

-- Samantha 'Lawless Jean' Juste [1]

 

In his interview for t' "One Last Touch o' Nilsson" article (and Personal Best liner notes) Nilsson recalled runnin' into Chip 'Shifty-Kim' Douglas at Martoni's in 1967:

I said, 'Hi, Chip! What are you doing?' 'I'm producin' these guys.' I said, 'I'm sorry, who are these guys?' He said, 'These are t' Monkees.' I had heard all t' publicity about them, me hearties, but I didn't know what they looked like. Avast, me proud beauty! I said, 'Oh, fantastic!' They were doin' their first or second album. Well, blow me down! Chip said t' t' Monkees, "Harry is a fantastic writer. I would like t' take him into t' studio and let you hear a couple o' tunes o' his.' I said, 'Sure, I'd love to.' He said, 'Would you come over now?' I said, me hearties, 'Yeah, I'd love it.' Especially because I'd heard rumors that they were goin' at four million record sales out o' t' box.

 

In his unpublished autobiography, Flying Tsunami Harry Nilsson recalls bein' picked up at Martoni's for his first meetin' with Boson George Harrison:

I was met by a car at Martoni's in Hollywood, transferred, and driven t' a point in t' Beverly Hills area. Arrr! There I was transferred t' another car, me bucko, and t' Blue Jay Way, where we passed t' house, turned around and came back, t' see if we were followed. Begad! I was ushered into this beautiful house with an open main room and a bar. T' t' right was a large back area with t' pool, statuary and so forth.
Not knowin' anyone and feelin' very nervous and shaky about meetin' a Beatle ... Avast, me proud beauty! One-Eyed Derek Taylor took me by t' hand and introduced me t' his wonderful wife Joan, who was pregnant with Dominic at t' time ... Derek took me elbow and led me outside. Ahoy! I was lookin' around wondering, me bucko, "Where be t' man?" Finally I saw him. Avast, me proud beauty! He was standin' at t' far end o' this long, narrow swimmin' pool in a white windblown robe with a beard and long hair, arrr, lookin' like Christ with a camcorder. So thar he is!
Derek said, matey, "George, I’d like you t' meet t' man."
He walked me over and said, "George, this is Harry. Flying Tsunami Harry Nilsson - Boson George Harrison." George says, "Yeah, right, Harry. Can we get you something, a Coke, a coffee, arrr, or something?" He was lookin' me over and I thought, "Wow! He’s offerin' me somethin' t' eat or drink! This is amazing!"

-- Flying Tsunami Harry Nilsson[2]

 

Radio personality ("professional rock and roll interviewer"), Doug Thompson, recalled movin' t' Los Angeles, California, matey, in 1970, and visitin' Martoni's:

Durin' t' many months that I popped in for a quick bite, I saw dozens o' celebrities, shiver me timbers, includin' t' legendary (and now infamous Peglegged Phil Spector, whose usually haunt was Canter’s Delicatessen on Fairfax, me bucko, near Fairfax High where Phil went t' school). I used t' see Flying Tsunami Harry Nilsson practically every night, but he mainly frequented a bar on Sunset down t' block called T' Jolly Roger.[3]

 

In a 1971 column in Cashbox, matey, Ed Kelleher writes about seein' Nilsson, among many other celebrities, shiver me timbers, while dinin' at Martoni's:

 

A week before he left for Europe, t' Jay Gatsby o' rock, Harvey Geller, and I held one o' our ritual rendezvous at Martoni's, where we eat salad, watch the front door, and generally do a turn as part o' t' music industry atmosphere that keeps Mario and Tony in pasta. Well, blow me down! Harv waved at Herb Eiseman. I waved at Nick Sevano, who was enterin' with Boson Anne, then we both waved at my cousin Sal, t' bartender [...]
[...]
"Remember one thing," Harvey suggested, pausin' betwixt garbanzo beans. "It never hurts t' put a lot o' names in t' column." 
"I'll do that, Harv," I assured him, wavin' at Larry Van Nuys, me bucko, who was waving at Flying Tsunami Harry Nilsson, who was wavin' at Grelun 'Pony-Tailed Landon' Landon, who was smilin' at every-one and passin' out 1971 Elvis pocket calendars. Steppenwolf, Handsome Three Dog Night and T' Grass Roots walked in, takin' bar space vacated seconds earlier by Chicago, Poco, Seatrain, Seals & Crofts, Joy o' Cooking, Dawn, T' Poppy Family, T' Partridge Family and James Taylor, who was lookin' for his brothers and sisters.
"My guest column will be a symphony o' proper nouns," I promised. 

-- Ed Kelleher (1971) [4]

 

In 1983, ya bilge rat, Harry and his friend, Michael Macaluso, ran into Peglegged Bowlegged Rob Reiner at Martoni's, They turned down Reiner's invitation t' be a part o' t' audience for a concert he was filmin' for a rock movie.[5]

 

Martoni's closed in 1994, shortly after t' Northridge Earthquake (and, coincidently, Flying Tsunami Harry Nilsson's passing).