'Modern' Italian Restaurant Osteria Umbra Opens In Smithtown
SMITHTOWN, NY — Osteria Umbra, a new Italian restaurant, officially opened in Smithtown earlier in September. Co-owner and chef Marco Pellegrini is at the helm of the kitchen, and he's providing a taste of traditional and modern cuisine inspired by his home region of Umbria, Italy.
Pellegrini, along with co-owners Daniel Bragoli; his brother Stephen Bragoli; and Stephen's wife, Diane Bragoli, sought to blend traditional with current as far as food and atmosphere go.
"We are in 2020. Some [Italian] restaurants are still on 1920 or maybe before," Pellegrini, 50, told Patch. "Osteria Umbra is a modern Italian restaurant. It’s also modern on decor; it’s not just modern on the food. Of course, we have tradition and we respect tradition: our BBQ and our way to make some sauces."
In Italy, every town has its own specialties, Pellegrini explained. Umbria features inland food.
"Typical Umbrian food is so much homemade pasta, of course, and the grilling," he said. "Real grilling on a wood-fire grill."
The restaurant's wood-fire grill, prominently displayed in the dining room, is the star of the menu, which is broken down into subsets: Lunch and dinner each feature starters, pastas and main courses. Under each of those categories are sections for traditional and Pellegrini's signature dishes.
The lunch and dinner entrees offer several kinds of meat, all cooked over the wood-fire grill: wood-fired Tomahawk and wood-fired lamb chop just to name a couple. Desserts, as well as options for vegans, pescatarians and those with a gluten intolerance round out the menu.
Providing Long Islanders a taste of his home region in a restaurant named for it was Pellegrini's dream, he said.
"That’s my vision. To really make people see what is modern food. Now, fortunately, many people travel so much more than before. You have so many Long Island people who go to Italy and they start to understand what is the real Italian food. When they come back here, they’re looking for the same stuff ... I’m very proud to bring that to the U.S.A."
Prior to the eatery's opening, Pellegrini would work 15 hours a day on preparations. If he wasn't at the restaurant, his work would entail being home on the computer. The menu, website and interior decor all needed designing.
With all the hard work he and the team have put into the restaurant, Pellegrini said opening it at a time when the country is still feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic is of "pretty high" concern.
"I’m feeling the people don’t go out as before," he said. "Every day, you had a set amount of people ready to go out, and now it’s so much less. Still, a good amount of people go out. But there are many less than before, and we have so many restaurants. Everybody needs to survive."
The 50 percent capacity limit and social distancing guidelines in regards to indoor dining have also been "very hard," Pellegrini said.
"It’s a little bit scary to me. It’s challenging ... I really want to be sustainable and survive, and then maybe try to thrive after the pandemic. I’m hoping we are not far away; for the health and for the business."
Osteria Umbra's opening doesn't mark the first time Long Islanders have gotten to indulge in Pellegrini's cooking. He served as chef at Caci North Fork in Southold from 2014 through 2018, but the restaurant never reopened after closing ahead of winter 2018.
Now, as a co-owner at Osteria Umbra, Pellegrini finds himself in an expanded role outside of just being the chef.
"It was my dream always to become owner of my restaurant," he said.
After the closure of Caci North Fork, Pellegrini decided it was time to search for his own location. A long search eventually led him to 197 Terry Road, Smithtown. The community's spot as a central hub on Long Island is what made it ideal, as well as its residents.
"They are classic American families, classic immigrant families," Pellegrini said. "A stable family, a good family who are probably looking for what I have to offer: real, homemade food."
Osteria Umbra can be reached at 631-780-6633 and is open:
5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday trough Thursday
5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday
Noon to 11 p.m. Saturday
Noon to 9 p.m. Sunday
More photos
This article originally appeared on the Smithtown Patch
