Busalacchi's Trattoria Fantastica & Cafe Zucherro Transforms Into Classic Italian Restaurant Nonna

October 5, 2017

Considering the successful reinvention of the former Po Pazzo space into Barbusa, San Diego's Busalacchi family of restaurants is answering the call for classic Italian by breathing new life into two more of their older concepts - Trattoria Fantastica & Cafe Zucherro. After a nearly six month overhaul and many curious onlookers, the centrally-located restaurant is set to reopen this Fall as Nonna + Zucherro, a familial nod to every Italian family’s well-revered matriarch.

The roughly 5,000 square-foot indoor/outdoor space will boast a collaborative, well-curated menu by Chefs Nino Zizzo and Joe Busalacchi featuring such comfort Italian food classics as chicken parmesan and pasta bolognese (along with the obligatory spaghetti and meatballs) straight from the Busalacchi family recipe book that’s been passed down through generations.

Designed by Eugenio Velazquez, the minimalist vintage-modern space will be injected with various elements intended to conjure up decades of red-sauce soaked nostalgia from every vantage point, be it the 75-seat outdoor back patio or the various indoor options including a 10 seat bar or the front patio lining bustling India Street. While the two former spaces that were Trattoria Fantastica and Cafe Zucchero for more than two decades were once divided by a wall in the past, they’ve now been combined into one under the umbrella of Nonna. Maintaining the property's roots, the Italian café offshoot of Zucherro will still occupy a portion of the newly revamped space - serving traditional pastries, cookies and gelato.

Nonna + Zucchero is located at 1735 India Street in the heart of Little Italy. The restaurant and connected café will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week starting on November 3.