'Feels like home': New Italian restaurant in south Fort Myers has recipe for success
Giuseppe Manco didn’t know what to expect on Oct. 20, the day his restaurant in University Village Shops near Florida Gulf Coast University held its soft opening.
“There were 150 guests on that first day,” he said. “They were lined up. I have to say, it was the nicest thing.”
And when San Matteo Italian Restaurant & Bar held its grand opening Dec. 4, about 450 showed up.
“I’m very grateful," said Manco, a co-owner along with his wife Eleonora Calvacchi and chef and business partner Fabio Casella. "I love this community."
The path that brought him here is a winding one.
While home for Manco is Napoli, Italy, he “always wanted to come to the United States.”
He was in the “right place at the right time” when he got a job, ironically enough, in Naples where he worked for Rossopomodoro’s first U.S. franchise. He ultimately worked his way to New York City where he accrued a list of honors and credentials, including three titles as World Champion Pizza Maker at the Las Vegas Pizza World Championship and stints as an executive chef for Iron Chef judge and chef Donatella Arpaia. He and Calvacchi co-owned the award-winning Mani in Pasta in the East Village.
After COVID, his “wife said, ‘Let’s go somewhere else.’”
“So we came back to Naples,” Manco said. “It was more beautiful than ever before.”
From Aldos to San Matteo
The plan was to open a restaurant in Naples, but a friend told him to try Aldos Italian Table & Bar off Ben Hill Griffin Parkway. It's in the same shopping and dining area as Mellow Mushroom, Fat Katz Slider Bar, Pelican Larry's, Poke Fusion, Skillets, Tacos & Tequilla Cantina and more.
“As soon as I walked in the door and looked at the space, I knew this was the kind of restaurant I would like to own,” Manco said. “It felt just like home.”
Hired as a pizza maker, he quickly became head chef.
When the opportunity to buy it arose, Manco and Calvacchi partnered with Casella, a two-time champion of Burger Bash in New York City who founded the popular San Matteo on the Upper East Side with his brother Ciro.
They took over Aldos on May 31, ran it for a few months, then closed for a remodel and rebranding. That brings us back to San Matteo’s soft opening when 150 guests showed up “without spreading the word to any of our beloved customers.”
“I expanded the pizzeria, added a hanger for our meats and dry-aged steaks from Pat LaFrieda and a wine cellar,” Manco said.
The vast dining room, which can seat 170, is industrial, modern, chic and lovely.
Red and white tiles — from the Amalfi Coast and representing places and objects in Italy — add pops of color to the timeless black, white and gray room.
Authentic Italian food with a modern flare
You’ll find Manco everywhere in that dining room — greeting customers, making pizza, cooking pasta, adding anchovies tableside, even singing with his staff to guests celebrating birthdays. He's in constant motion, working late into the night and early morning hours to make sure everything is just so.
You’ll also see his influence all over the authentic Italian menu with modern touches. While one section features Italian-American favorites held over from Aldos (think fettuccine alfredo, marsalas and piccatas), the rest is all Manco.
“We want to bring this to the next level,” he said. “About 80 percent try the new stuff now. Lots of people love it.”
Some of Casella's signature dishes from his New York location are on the menu, including the San Matteo burger and the Pollo San Matteo.
Although Manco will “recommend everything because all of the dishes are good,” he does have his favorites from all the starters, salads, fried and Neapolitan-style pizzas, homemade pasta made fresh daily, and seafood and beef options.
Take the Montanara for example. This pizza undergoes three cooking processes — it's fried, baked in a conventional oven and finished in a brick oven. Order the classica, di Cetara (with anchovies) or Genovese.
Then there’s the Figliata, a one-pound Burrata filled with Stracciatella cream and Bocconcini di mozzarella, served with aged Prosciutto di Parma, Castelvetrano olives, arugula and cherry tomatoes.
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Manco’s pasta favorites include the slow-cooked veal and onion ragu with Parmigiano and basil, and the spaghettoni con datterini with yellow and red tomatoes from Corbara.
The tuna tataki, another favorite, is a lightly pan-seared, sesame-seed crusted and marinated tuna served over farro and asparagus.
“We cook from the heart,” he said. “Each dish is special.”
And save room for dessert, Manco added.
The Delizia from Sorrento and ricotta and pear cheesecake from the Amalfi Coast are two of his favorites.
“My favorite dishes are the ones that you won’t find in any other restaurant around here,” Manco said.
You can find them now at San Matteo, thanks to Manco.
San Matteo Italian Restaurant & Bar, 19810 Village Center Drive, Suite 145A; open 4-10 p.m. Monday to Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday; happy hour daily from 4-5:30 p.m.; (239) 234-2536; sanmatteorestaurant.com or follow on Instagram
Robyn George is a food and dining writer for The Fort Myers News-Press. Send news to rhgeorge@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: San Matteo Italian Restaurant & Bar opens with a recipe for success
