Chef to serve Italian cuisine in smaller spot
Fattoria e Mare’s last day in business was March 15, right before the Bay Area’s shelterinplace order was announced.
It wasn’t immediately apparent that would be Fattoria e Mare’s last day in Burlingame, where the restaurant has served Northern Italian food for six years.
But as the coronavirus’ impact on restaurants became more and more apparent — coupled with the sale of the restaurant’s building — chefowner Pablo Estrada decided it was time to find a new location.
That’s because Fattoria e Mare was a giant restaurant with the capacity to hold 375 people, popular for corporate events and weddings. Those sorts of large celebrations might not return for a long time. The new Fattoria e Mare, opening in the former Pasta Moon space in downtown
Half Moon Bay, will have a dining room of 60 to 80 people, plus two smaller private dining rooms.
Estrada is excited for the change.
“With a smaller location, you can do better food,” he said.
Estrada, who previously worked at San Francisco’s Rose Pistola and Michelinstarred restaurant Luce, will continue Fattoria e Mare’s focus on the cuisine of Venice and other Northern Italian cities. He’ll keep staple menu item including squid ink risotto with escabeche and a familystyle bistecca alla fiorentina with a red wine reduction. But he wants to make the restaurant feel a little more upscale, with a new emphasis on seafood. His goal is to have 60% of the menu devoted to local seafood.
He’ll also debut a separate cicchetti menu with about a dozen Venetian snacks and tapasstyle dishes, only available in the bar area.
Estrada hopes to open by Father’s Day, June 21, but he knows that date might get pushed back. “It depends on this
thing,” he said, referring to the coronavirus. “We want to take our time as well, and make sure we do exactly what we want to do.”