The New East Boston Restaurant Doing Southern Italian Coastal
Opening April 13, Mida sibling La Tavernetta features spritzes, Italian snacks, and a patio where you’ll want to spend your summer.
La Tavernetta. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Seaside spritzes, grilled meat skewers, fried mozzarella with anchovy dipping sauce—and a panoramic view of the Boston skyline. That’s the promise of La Tavernetta, a new East Boston restaurant opening April 13, courtesy of the Mida team, that’s built around one simple idea: What if an oceanfront tavern grew up Italian and served cocktails in glassware shaped like dainty purses?
“It’s a coastal tavern with an Italian kiss,” says co-owner Seth Gerber, pointing to the flavors and feel of Southern Italy in particular.
La Tavernetta’s Calabrian chile wings. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Gerber and chef/co-owner Douglass Williams are no strangers to running Italian restaurants, serving expert pastas and more at four Mida locations around Greater Boston, including one right across the wharf from La Tavernetta. “We focus so much on Italy [at Mida], and it’s a big part of our inspiration and what we love to eat, so we couldn’t help but bring that here with regards to the flavor profiles and ingredient inspirations,” says Gerber. But there’s no sense in putting identical spots next to each other, of course, so La Tavernetta has a decidedly different menu largely reminiscent of “tavern-style fare,” says Gerber. “We have wings, oysters, sandwiches, and an amazing grill program.” Just embellished with a touch of Southern Italy. (The wings, for instance, are sticky and spicy with a Calabrian chile sauce.)
Decorative tiles embedded in La Tavernetta’s counters feature sayings or bar games. “Forte e Gentile,” strong and kind, refers to the Italian region of Abruzzo. (La Tavernetta’s cocktail list borrows “forte” and “gentile” as section headers.) / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
The vibe, too, is meant to be transportive. “There are so many amazing venues throughout Southern Italy that are casual but have amazing food and drink, and they just feel so special near the water,” says Gerber. “We wanted to capture that energy and do a place that felt nautical and beachy without being theme-y. And there are a lot of places that already do ‘New England coastal restaurant’ really well, so this is our [Southern Italian-inspired] spin on what a tavern should be.” That includes an expansive patio wrapping around three sides of the restaurant, covered with massive teal-and-blood-orange-striped umbrellas; large windows throughout the space; and even tiles containing simple icebreaker-style bar game suggestions embedded in some countertops. “Maybe it’s your first date or your 1,000th, or you’re with friends—it’s another way to engage and show hospitality,” says Gerber.
La Tavernetta’s mozzarella en carrozza. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Compared to Mida, La Tavernetta has “a slightly more letting-your-hair-down atmosphere,” adds Williams. “Seth and I always talked about how we could expand the bar at Mida, and how it’s such a vibe. This is kind of a representation of Mida’s bar culture, expanded, and focused more on Southern Italy. More beach, more ocean, more salty.”
La Tavernetta. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
That plays out literally on the menu, too, in dishes such as the mozzarella en carrozza. “It’s essentially a fried grilled-cheese sandwich,” says Williams, with aged mozzarella, pecorino, and an anchovy-based dipping sauce if you want to add “an oceanic flavor,” says Williams. The dish is “super snacky; super yummy. We’re really excited about that.” Or a squid ink frutti di mare with cockles, rock shrimp, calamari, and lobster brodo, topped with a bit of basil, or a local striped bass ceviche with aji amarillo, cilantro, and lots of herbs. “All the bright, fresh things that you want when you’re eating on the coast, under the sun,” says Williams. “Dishes like this layer onto that seaside theme.”
La Tavernetta’s squid ink frutti di mare. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Spritzes are the star of the drink menu, light and breezy in flavors such as elderflower, limoncello, or the ubiquitous Aperol. There are a variety of highballs, too, and other cocktails that in many cases feature ingredients from Southern Italy, says Gerber. Club Cactus, for instance, is “basically a mezcal margarita” made with prickly pear, prevalent in Sicily. Carob, too, is widely found in the region; here, it lends a chocolatey taste to an Old Fashioned-like concoction. “That’s what we tried to capture with the drink menu: sneaking unique Southern Italian flavor profiles into recognizable cocktails,” says Gerber.
Cocktails at La Tavernetta. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Although La Tavernetta feels tailormade for easygoing warm-weather outings, it’s a winning formula for the colder months, too. The panoramic views of the Boston skyline can’t be beat, and even this opening spring menu has hints of hearty, comforting fare, from wagyu strombolis to the crowd-friendly grigliata mista (mixed grill) of spiedini (skewers of grilled meats), snacks, raw bar items, and more.
La Tavernetta’s fried fish sandwich. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Plus, Williams and Gerber plan to be open all day, including weekday “cafe/work-from-Tavernetta” service, says Gerber, with the goal of giving the neighborhood “a lovely little coffee program” and comfortable remote-work space, complete with “busy” flags you can display at your table “if you just want to lock in on your laptop and we’ll leave you alone.” There’ll also be full-service lunch, if you’d rather, and weekend brunch.
La Tavernetta. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Above all, the team is excited to highlight a style of Italian beyond pizza and pasta as Boston gets more comfortable with hyper-regional restaurants. “Doug gets to showcase really cool techniques that he doesn’t get to do at Mida,” says Gerber, “and a very specific kind of Italian food. So come, have fun, and let go of what your preconceptions are [about Italian].”
At La Tavernetta, a local striped bass ceviche with aji amarillo, cilantro, fried yuca, and avocado. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Adds Williams: “We’re stretching our legs on flavors, chiles, herbs, approaches, and techniques; this restaurant allows that. So if you’re not coming to have fun, then you’re at the wrong place.”
La Tavernetta, with sibling restaurant Mida in view across the water. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Opening April 13. Reservations will be available, but walk-ins will be encouraged. 45 Lewis St., East Boston, latavernettaeastie.com.
A spread of food on the patio at La Tavernetta. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
