New Italian Restaurant To Replace Tavolino
Former Tavolino chef plans to open L'incontro this spring at east-side location.
Site of future L’incontro, 2315 N. Murray Ave. Photo by Dave Reid.
A new Italian restaurant is slated for the East Side, offering handmade pastas and other traditional dishes, along with wine and seasonal cocktails.
L’incontro, Italian for ‘meeting’ or ‘encounter,’ plans to open this spring at 2315 N. Murray Ave., between the Izzy Hops bar and Kawa restaurant.
The space that L’incontro will occupy has sat empty since Tavolino‘s abrupt — and controversial — closure last October. Amid the search for a new tenant, building owner Mike Vitucci found his solution closer than expected: right next door.
Paul Piotrowski, manager of Izzy Hops, will partner with Tavolino’s former head chef, Juneil Cabreza, for the new venture. The pair boast a wealth of industry experience in both front-of and back-of-house positions across the city.
Since becoming acquainted via their own l’incontro, Piotrowski and Cabreza have fostered a strong relationship while working together in the building. Though it’s not obvious from the outside, Piotrowski explained, Tavolino and Izzy Hops share a single kitchen space.
The decision to open an Italian restaurant was one that came naturally, Piotrowski said. “I think it’s just a really big missing piece right now,” he said. “We knew Italian was going to be a natural fit for the neighborhood.”
The building has been home to a handful of Italian restaurants since 1970. Prior to Tavolino, which opened in 2020, the space was home to Divino Wine & Dine. Before that, Palermo Villa operated there for several decades.
Cabreza’s 20-year career in Milwaukee has included work at Izumi’s, Honeypie, Blue Jacket and AP Bar & Kitchen. Throughout the past decade, the chef has focused primarily on Italian cuisine. He plans to leverage that experience to design a menu that’s equal parts authentic and creative.
Along with traditional preparations of dishes such as cacio e pepe and chicken parmesan, Cabreza said he hopes to punch up the flavor of menu items with umami-forward ingredients such as fish sauce.
“These aren’t just random things that I put in dishes,” he said, noting that each addition will act as a connection to other cuisines and cultures. “There’s going to be a little more thought put into how we include that.”
Seasonality will also play a major role in the menu, with featured dishes and ingredients constantly shifting in order to highlight peak produce. Cabreza said he hopes to source meat, vegetables and more from local farms as much as possible.
“We want to introduce these types of things back into people’s ideas, especially when they’re eating out.”
A beverage program will feature a variety of New and Old World wines and seasonal cocktails.
The restaurant space, though recently renovated following a fire last summer, will soon see additional changes. “We want it to feel like a completely new space,” Piotrowski said.
No further construction is planned for the building, though the pair are planning a series of aesthetic updates, including paint and new decor, to create a fresh look and feel.
The partners said they hope to offer a top-quality experience for guests while keeping prices in check.
“The sky’s the limit for what we can offer the neighborhood, Cabreza said. “But we’re trying to be aware of our clientele. As a chef, and with Paul here, we can definitely agree that our goals need to match our guests’ expectations.”
If all goes well, Piotrowski and Cabreza are aiming to open the restaurant in early spring.
Kawa continues to operate at the nearby Crossroads Collective while the restaurant space — which suffered the worst damage in the fire — is repaired. The restaurant is expected to return to the building later this year.
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