Woman shot during robbery at famed Beverly Hills restaurant Il Pastaio

A woman eating at a famed Beverly Hills Italian restaurant Thursday afternoon was shot as three men robbed another diner, authorities said.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the three accosted a man who was eating a meal at Il Pastaio in the 400 block of Canon Drive, according to a statement issued by the Beverly Hills Police Department.

The robbers ran off, and the woman was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to Beverly Hills Police Capt. Max Subin.

A second person was treated for injuries at the scene, but was not shot, police said.

Subin said the thieves appeared to be targeting the man, not the restaurant.

A law enforcement source who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the open investigation said police believe the man who was robbed was targeted for his high-end watch. The source said the woman’s injury was a graze wound.

Opened in 1994, Il Pastaio is one of several high-end Italian restaurants owned by chef Celestino Drago, who also runs eateries in Santa Monica and Los Angeles. A call to the restaurant seeking comment was not immediately returned Thursday afternoon.

In recent weeks, robberies have ticked up in some of the West L.A. neighborhoods that border Beverly Hills, including the nearby Wilshire area, authorities have said.

Between Jan. 30 and Feb. 15, seven people were robbed of Rolex watches in the area around Mid-City and the Melrose corridor. Many of the robberies occurred during the day, with criminals targeting people who were “wearing high-end jewelry, specifically Rolex watches,” investigators said.

The thieves have “used multiple types of vehicles and appear to follow victims from restaurants and stores in the area,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release last month. “In most instances, the suspects wait for victims to walk to their vehicles and reach an isolated area before they attack them at gunpoint.”