San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Cherished Napa Valley restaurant gets a creative reboot
Ciccio reopens with casual Italian fare from a Michelin-lauded chef
A beloved Napa Valley Italian restaurant recently reopened with a new menu of vegetable-forward pizzas and pastas from chef Christopher Kostow of three-Michelinstarred Restaurant at Meadowood.
Kostow and his wife, Martina, took on the task of reviving longtime locals’ hangout Ciccio earlier this year; the Yountville restaurant closed temporarily in 2022 after a 10-year run. Local vintner and restaurant founder Frank Altamura is still the owner of Ciccio while the Kostows are handling the daily operations. It’s the first Italian restaurant for Kostow, who has been steadily growing his Napa Valley footprint; his company Team Kostow also includes the Charter Oak, Loveski Deli and the Restaurant at Meadowood, which remains closed after a 2020 fire. They refreshed the space and added creative twists on the negroni and Aperol spritz.
Perhaps the most significant change is that Ciccio now takes reservations — and with a capacity of 50 people, it’s bound to become one of Napa Valley’s toughest tables to snag. (Weeks ahead of its reopening, Ciccio was already booked through May.) The Kostows will leave the six bar seats and a pair of antique German beer tables out front for walk-ins.
“It was a difficult place to get into,” said Martina Kostow on the former no-reservation policy. “We’d have to leave at 5 p.m. so we could be there at 5:30 p.m. when they opened. There was always a window and if you missed it, you missed it.”
Like before, the menu focuses on traditional, Italian comfort fare. But Christopher Kostow wanted to put his own stamp on it, which means patrons won’t find exact replicas of old favorites. He’s bringing an emphasis on fresh produce: a pork mezzelune pasta ($28) comes with fermented mustard greens; the pork chop Milanese ($34) is paired with a side of preserved plum mostarda; squash blossoms and herbs elevate the Aqua Pazza ($30), a traditionally simple dish of fish poached in broth.
“I’m a little more willing to utilize less traditional products without doing super challenging flavor profiles,” he said. “It’s all very understandable and easy to appreciate, but feels unique at the same time.”
The pizzas ($22-$26) include simple pepperoni and sausage options, but also more unconventional combinations like potato with leek confit, fontina cheese and a caper salsa; an artichoke dip-inspired pizza comes with artichoke hearts, Parmesan, cream cheese and crème fraîche. Employing the same sourdough starter as the Charter Oak, Kostow describes
the pizzas as Neapolitan but with “a lot of texture” and “crunch.”
For dessert, Christopher Kostow is especially excited about a whipped mascarpone ($13) served with prunes cooked down in spiced wine, a tribute to a dish at Frankies 457 Spuntino in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ciccio was well-known for its extensive negroni menu, and beverage director Micah Clark has ensured that negronis and spritzes ($16-$18) are “the backbone” of the restaurant’s new cocktail list. Frank’s negroni, a recipe of Altamura’s that’s a slight spin on the classic, remains the menu’s stalwart, while the Kingston negroni is made with rum instead of gin. Clark said he typically “hates” white negronis — he doesn’t like Gran Classico — but has substituted Amaro Lys (made with bitter botanicals) in its place, which he feels “works better.” For spritzes, there’s an Aperol version with an added splash of dry white wine, more like what you’d find at “a family-run trattoria in Venice,” said Clark. The Italian Spring Punch (vodka, myrtle liqueur, lemon and soda) is another play
on the spritz trend.
The wine list is mostly Italian, with a few “esoteric” selections, said Clark, like a Carignan from Sardinia and a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere from Trentino. There’s also a handful of recognizable Napa Valley additions.
The renovation of the space was quick — more of a refresh than an overhaul. Most noticeably, the Kostows added a new coat of paint on the interior walls and bar; the latter is now a striking hunter green paired with brown leather stools. The red exterior, featuring the word “Market” in bold white letters, remains an homage to the building’s early 1900s roots as an Italian market. The cozy vibe inside — including the original orange booths, orange light fixtures and red-tiled, wood-fired pizza oven in the open kitchen — feels brighter, but generally unchanged.
“We want people to feel like they’re coming home again,” said Martina Kostow, whose family used to dine at Ciccio weekly. “We don’t want to take away from that feeling we had when we’d walk in. This space does create a certain feeling, it’s warm and welcoming, quaint and charming.”