Oct. 10, 2022

The doors are nearly ready to open at downtown’s new Italian restaurant, Maribella Ristorante.

Owners Riccardo and Marybeth Tarabelsi are overseeing the finishing touches on the space at Washington Square. They also own Brix Wine Bar, which opened in the building this summer, and R Wine Bar & Kitchen on East Eighth Street.

“Our objective is to transport people,” Riccardo Tarabelsi said. “You’re going to feel like you’re in Italy. You’ll be dining under the arches and inside the dome.”

The restaurant is designed with a variety of seating areas, including a 60-seat full bar with a combination of high-top tables, bar seating and lower seating that will be walk-in only.

“We realize people are spontaneous and want to go out without plans, and we wanted ample seating in the bar for that,” Tarabelsi said.

An additional 90 seats in the dining room will be available for reservations.

A reproduction of a painting given to the Tarabelsis for their wedding is a highlight there, and the dining room is a mix of booth and table seating.

The same menu will serve both sides – and it’s a broad one, inspired by the cuisine of Northern Italy and featuring all Italian wines.

“Nearly all regions of Italy will be represented,” Tarabelsi said. “And we’ve developed some Italian-inspired cocktails.”

The design of the restaurant is highlighted by an open kitchen with a pizza oven as a focal point. Thin-crust pizzas will include everything from a classic margherita to the “quattro staggioni,” or “four seasons,” that will include artichokes, olives, prosciutto and mushrooms on quarters of the pizza.

The menu is divided into appetizers such as arancini, calamari and a spinach gnocchi with clams; salads; entrees including osso buco, two cuts of steak, veal, pork and chicken dishes, cioppino and branzino fish.

“The biggest difference is Southern Italy is influenced by the sea, and Northern Italy embraces the land, so you’re getting a lot of fresh produce, braised meats, hearty sauces,” Tarabelsi said.

All dough, pasta and bread is made in-house, he added. And that will be a lot of pasta. The menu’s dishes include everything from pappardelle bolognese to seafood risotto, squid ink pasta and carbonara. Can’t decide? There’s also a tasting menu to sample six pastas.

“I feel like a lot of people will walk in and not be able to decide,” Tarabelsi said.

And, of course, there’s dessert, which will include tiramisu and the signature bongo, a handmade pastry filled with vanilla sweet cream and topped with chocolate ganache.

The target is to be open by the first Friday in November, Nov. 4, if not sooner. Patio seating will be added in the spring.

Getting to this point has been a supply chain challenge tackled by the team of Lenae Design, which was “instrumental in finding everything from tile to wall coverings to furniture,” to Van Laar Construction, “who are nothing short of heroes,” to “the unsung hero” Envision Kitchen “that helped us put everything together and consider flow and operational issues and helped us procure kitchen equipment,” Tarabelsi said.

“It’s pretty cool to be able to dream of a concept and then to see it laid out on a blueprint, but it’s a whole other thing to see it and feel it and touch it. It’s an amazing feeling.”