One of San Diego's more popular Italian restaurants, Cesarina has taken over the 1930s-era building that long housed BO-beau in San Diego's Ocean Beach for the opening of Elvira, a modern Italian restaurant and pizza shop with a full bar.
After relocating to San Diego from Rome, Cesarina Mezzoni and her husband Niccolò Angius started their Cesarina brand as a pasta vendor at area farmers markets before launching their first brick-and-mortar restaurant in March 2019 in Point Loma. In order to expand operations, the couple took over the space across the street that previously housed Richard Hosker Whyte Antiques with plans open a compact bakery with a pizza component named Angelo. The couple has since rethought their plans for Angelo, due to the sheer size of the space, and are now considering opening the Angelo concept in a different space.
Cesarina ownership has now leased the 2,400-square-foot, standalone building in Ocean Beach that housed Bo-Beau Kitchen + Bar for over a decade. Expect the space to receive a complete remodel by Italian design firm Limes Architetti to become a new Italian restaurant outfitted with reclaimed materials and family portrairs. The building will have a wood-lined dining room with a full bar, a covered outdoor patio housing a gas pizza oven, and a private dining area made to replicate an Italian grandmother's home.
Named after Angius's great grandmother, Elvira is expected offer a menu of traditional Roman cuisine ranging from house made pasta, wood-fired Roman pizza, and full entrees, all listed on blackboards sited around the space. Parties of up to eight patrons will be able to reserve "Cucina di la Nonna, a private dining area accessible through the restaurant's kitchen that will offer a homey feel.
Named after Angius's great grandmother, Elvira is expected offer a menu of traditional Roman cuisine ranging from house made pasta, wood-fired Roman pizza, and full entrees, all listed on blackboards sited around the space. Parties of up to eight patrons will be able to reserve "Cucina di la Nonna, a private dining area accessible through the restaurant's kitchen that will offer a homey feel.
"My great-grandmother was a self-made woman - incredibly independent and fueled by passion despite the lack of opportunities afforded to women in the early 1900s." said Niccolò. "The kitchen was her happy place, and food was her love language."
Elvira is anticipated to open as early as August 2023 at 4996 West Point Loma Boulevard in San Diego's Ocean Beach. For more information, visit cesarinarestaurant.com.
Elvira is anticipated to open as early as August 2023 at 4996 West Point Loma Boulevard in San Diego's Ocean Beach. For more information, visit cesarinarestaurant.com.
