First Look: Bar Sotto in basement of The Village
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Bar Sotto opened this week in the basement of the Italian Village complex. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
The fourth-generation owners of the Loop's century-old The Village have relaunched their 70-year-old basement cantina as Bar Sotto, a modern Italian restaurant, community gathering space, neighborhood watering hole — and maybe even an Italian disco.
Why it matters: Bar Sotto permanently reopens the space to the public for the first time since COVID as a cozy third place for regulars in an area of the Loop destined to become increasingly residential.
What they're saying: "This space was like a '50s basement bar, and that drifted to an Italian steak and seafood house and somewhere along the way it lost its identity," Jonathan Capitanini told Axios during a recent visit.
- Unlike the famous festive upstairs rooms where "you might entertain a business client," Bar Sotto offers "a space where you could just sit and hide away in the corner," says Captitanini, who runs the business with his sister Giovanna.
Dig in: Modern takes on Italian cuisine from chef Steven Mendez including cacio pepe arancini ($11), black garlic pappardelle with shoyu ($24) and giardiniera braised short ribs ($36).
Join in: In addition to the free Wednesday wine tastings, Capitanini wants to offer art shows, a community bulletin board and Italian disco nights — he even has a DJ booth and disco ball ready to go.
- "A lot of people are going to be living and working down here in very close proximity and they're going to need a third location to really relax and enjoy themselves," he says.
