The team behind Quattro in Shaw didn’t want to open just another traditional Italian restaurant. No pictures of Sophia Loren on the wall, no limoncello, no chicken parm. Instead, they went for a glam vintage vibe, an eye-catching cocktail list, and modernist Italian fare available as a three- or five-course tasting menu ($50 and $75 per person) or à la carte.
Opened at the beginning of August, the self-dubbed “alternative Italian” venture is a joint effort from Louie Hankins, owner of next door’s Latin-ish El Techo and Rito Loco burrito shop, and siblings Giovanni and Salvio Ippolito, Italian natives and longtime hospitality vets. Both spent time working for chef Roberto Donna, and Giovanni was employed for several years at Tosca.
The kitchen is under the command of Andrea Candito, a recent Italian import whose resume includes time cooking at the two-Michelin-starred Arnolfo in Tuscany and the one-Michelin-starred Hotel Il Pellicano on the Tuscan coast. When he was offered the job at Quattro, he was given free rein to design the menu. His idea is to create what he calls, “a new vision of an old Italian kitchen.”
This means using Old World recipes and classic techniques – including handmaking all the pasta – while being playful with presentations and expectations. The charcuterie platter’s mortadella and prosciutto arrive draped over a wooden rack, as if they’re drying out, while tiramisu comes in the top half of a Moka pot, a traditional Italian espresso maker. Sometimes it’s the flavors that surprise. Tortelli plump with braised beef ragu hide under a cloud of smoked mozzarella foam, while rack of lamb is accompanied by pureed potatoes yellow with saffron.
Other dishes lean into tradition. Linguini tossed with mussels and cherry tomatoes is showered with shaved pecorino, and grilled octopus on a bed of creamy stracciatella cheese is offset by crunchy anchovy-laced breadcrumbs.
Giovanni oversees the all-Italian wine list, though he will start adding West Coast reds this winter. El Techo’s bar manager, Kevin Banegas, a Founding Farmer alum, runs Quattro’s cocktail program, which prizes Instagramability. Take the Love on the Rocks, an Old Fashioned-style cocktail made with bourbon, peppercorn, cinnamon, and bitters, which arrives under a smoke-filled cloche just waiting for its hazy reveal. Deep On The Bottom, another favorite with barstool shutterbugs, is an orchid-garnished gin and champagne sparkler accented with crème de violette and rosemary syrup.
Taking over the former Bistro Bohem space, the corner restaurant is spread across nearly 1,700 square feet. There’s an outdoor patio and a terraza-inspired area inside with a six-seat bar and faux grape vines wrapped around rustic wood beams traversing the ceiling. The back dining room boasts floor-to-ceiling bifold windows opening onto Florida Avenue, bringing an outdoor attitude into the room when the weather permits. A cozy chef’s counter for two faces the open kitchen.
Everywhere you look, there’s the glint of gold – from gleaming champagne bucket stands and the painted empty frames decorating the rear wall to shiny bird cages enclosing the light fixtures and on the gilded rims of the coupe glasses. These touches and many other vintage finds – a live edge wood table, an antique door, old church window frames – were discovered in a series of American Pickers-worthy road trips taking the business partners to 150 stores in 8 states.
The partnership began nearly a decade ago, when Giovanni and Hankins crossed paths at Club Space in Miami. When Bistro Bohem closed last summer, Hankins saw an opportunity. “I felt the neighborhood needed a really good restaurant,” he says. “I already had tacos, which is my number one favorite food. I realized I needed an Italian restaurant to satisfy my other food cravings.”
Seeking to inject authenticity into his project, he contacted his friends, the Ippolito brothers, who were eager to be a part of it. “We want to create an experience that transports you to real Italy,” says Giovanni. “But just a little bit, well, alternative.”
Quattro Osteria is located at 600 Florida Ave. NW. Open Monday-Thursday 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 p.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 5 p.m.-9 p.m.
