The Hyatt Regency invited press members for the informal reopening of Café Piccolo. The restaurant appeared on the scene 25 years ago, with the opening of the resort as one of the in-house dining options.
Guests responded favorably and couldn’t get enough of its authentic Italian dishes, wood-fired brick-oven pizza, and yummy desserts.
As the Food & Beverage options at the resort were refreshed in 2012, Café Piccolo gave way to a bigger Ruinas del Mar and a new Mexicado. But cravings for pasta persisted, and the decision was made to revive the restaurant and let it reclaim its rightful place as the premier Italian kitchen on island.
General Manager Joel Bunde, was on hand to meet and mingle with guests at the informal opening, as the Café Piccolo sign was reveals by enthusiastic staffers. “Guests,” he says, “have been asking for it for years, so we’re reintroducing the restaurant, as the pet project of chef Vincent Pellegrini,” and with a name like that, you know where the Chef’s culinary heritage is from!
I asked Chef Pellegrini for his recommendations and he rattled off a long list of entrees such as Saltimbocca Alla Romana, with genuine Parma ham, Salmone Alla Salsa Fiorentina, with artichoke and asparagus, on a spinach & cream bed, and the house specialty, baked in the exhibition kitchen, Arugula Pizzetta! All of the chef signature’s dishes from risotto ai funghi porcini to giant Lobster Ravioli, reflect his passion for carefully sourced food, and the freshest seasonal ingredient.
The wines at Café Piccolo are carefully curated and I couldn’t resist the Italian white house blend, made with as many as five grape varieties, and artfully married. That’s of course a new trend, blended wines, not based upon traditional regional compositions, but based upon personal preference of the client or the wine maker.
Café Piccolo offers indoor and outdoor seating for 80 guests in a truly romantic setting, with dancing flames, waterfalls, fountains, and tropical vegetation al fresco, or in air conditioned elegance, in full view of the kitchen inside.
Beautiful Carolina Merryweather, a PR diva, partnered with Zyndra de Jongh of Gerira Marketing, and gathered an impressive number of press people for the informal opening. We had fun!
For reservations call 297-586-1234. Café Piccolo is open nightly from 6:00pm to 10:30pm, except for Wednesday.
