Inside Sotto and Its Sibling Bar, Now Open in Chicago’s Century-Old Italian Village Restaurant | Eater Chicago

"Officially opened as of Wednesday, December 4, the duo’s new basement project is the first restaurant to open in the Village’s basement since 1955 and replaces La Cantina Enoteca, which closed in 2020. “We are going back to what it was,” says Jonathan of the lower-level space, which went through various designs and menus over the years, and Giovanna adds, “We wanted to bring new life into the space but do so respectfully.” Walk down the worn marble steps into a long, narrow room designed to feel like a picturesque alleyway in an Italian town — string lights, flower boxes, exposed brick, an old-fashioned bicycle painted on the wall, a blue-and-white neon sign announcing the arrival, deep red leather banquettes on either side, dark wood tables and chairs with seating for 50, and a refurbished original tan-and-cream checkered floor; one wall holds a hand-drawn collage depicting four generations of the Capitanini family and employees who've been at Italian Village for at least 35 years. On the left side is Bar Sotto, which originally opened as a pop-up in November 2023 and was the first Italian Village concept under the siblings’ purview. Chef Steven Mendez — who years back worked at Italian Village’s former main floor restaurant Vivere — was given free rein: “We needed to keep one foot in Italy, but the other foot could be anywhere else,” says Jonathan, “As long as you can tell a story about how this is Italian, we’re good with that.” Appetizers include cacio e pepe arancini with pastina replacing the traditional rice — the four deep-fried orbs sit on a bed of truffled robiola and a drizzle of saba — and handmade pastas range from traditional rigatoni with tomato, guanciale, eggplant, basil, and pecorino to experimental dishes such as black garlic pappardelle made with roasted mushrooms from local purveyor Four Star Mushrooms, shoyu, and pine nuts. Heartier plates include collard green–wrapped monkfish, porchetta, and giardiniera-braised short ribs, while tiramisu is presented in a pot de crème–style. Cocktails, created by beverage director Jared Gelband, include a spicy margarita dubbed the Red Reaper using Calabrian chili syrup, and the Reggiano, a riff on an espresso martini that uses Parmesan-infused vodka, which adds a “funky saline note.” The wine list draws from Italian Village’s award-winning collection of some 15,000 bottles. “We’ve been here for so long as a family, and there are parts of this restaurant that you can’t possibly recreate,” says Giovanna. “We’re embracing the basement and creating this full world down here.” Open 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday (Bar Sotto 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday); reservations via Resy." - Lisa Shames