A new trend was sparked in 2022 and that is the combination of pasta, seafood, and pure fantasy. A “Coastal Italian” restaurant is supposed to make you feel like you’re on vacation on the Italian riviera rather than sitting at your Nonna’s kitchen table. That begs the question, what is Coastal Italian?
The concept of Coastal Italian restaurants has opened across the United States with the spotlight on great seafood…and spritzes, of course. Instead of saying “Regional” Italian cuisine, “Coastal Italian” offers a broader interest in the Mediterranean and Adriatic regions of Italy. This idea is a way of building a restaurant atmosphere rather than pigeonholing one culinary tradition. Hues of Mediterranean blues and art deco design embrace an aesthetic that makes you feel like you’re on an Italian vacation. The core of this hospitality concept is to refresh customers, relieve them of daily worries and construct a larger fantasy, unrelated to the cuisine itself. This fantasy happens to be one of the year’s most desirable in the restaurant world.
Between 2021 and 2022, the number of international tourists in Italy rose by over 170%. That popularity is based on an illusion: Positano, Sicily, Portofino, all these places are outwardly and obviously beautiful but there is an idea that you have just stumbled upon these majestic views and picturesque towns where people know how to enjoy life. But is there really a place on earth that could live up to what Americans have built up in their minds? The Coastal Italian Restaurant lets you live in that daydream for an evening.
Source: Eater