The team behind San Diego’s expanding Ambrogio15 restaurant group unveiled their newest dining concept Ciao Ciao Piadina, an Italian speciality sandwich restaurant and aperitivo focused natural wine bar set that opened in La Jolla on April 1.

Milan-turned-San Diego residents Giacomo Pizzigoni, Andrea Burrone and Luca Salvi opened the flagship Ambrogio15 on Turquoise Street in San Diego’s North Pacific Beach community in August 2016. The team expanded in 2018 with a stall within the Little Italy Food Hall and also has plans in place for a micro-version of Ambrogio15 to debut within Del Mar Highlands Town Center‘s incoming, 20,000 square-foot, multi-restaurant food hall called The Sky Deck. The Ambrogio boys have no plans on slowing down and will also be launching Semola The Ambrogio15 Pasta Bar in the former PrepKitchen space in La Jolla later this this year.

Ciao Ciao Piadina will open in partnership with longtime friends of the Ambrogio team, Francesco Burnazzi and Lauren Turton. The group has redesigned the 1,200-square-foot space that last housed Poke Go on Pearl Street in La Jolla to have a playful interior space with a pink bar, fun murals and pink velvet booths, as well as outdoor patio seating, perfect for Aperitivo. The menu is centered around piadina, which is an Italian flatbread sandwich from the region of Emilia-Romagna. Expect a variety of sandwiches like the #1 with Parma prosciutto, crescenza cheese and baby arugula, and the #4 with red beet hummus, vegan mozzarella, grilled veggies and balsamic reduction. The menu will be rounded out with a variety of salads, sides like Italian poke and vegetable crudités, and dessert items like a pink canoli and tiramisu panna cotta.

The team is now ready to welcome you to their new venture, for Aperitivo and Piadina in this picturesque instagram friendly decor.

https://www.sandiegoville.com/2021/03/ciao-ciao-piadina-to-open-in-san-diego-la-jolla-on-april-1.html

The glorious tradition of aperitivo, the Italian custom of whiling away an afternoon or evening with a glass of vino in hand and some complimentary snacks from the bar, has arrived in downtown La Jolla via Ciao Ciao Piadina, which opens this Thursday, April 1 on Pearl Street. The team behind the highly-anticipated bar and social club includes the owners of Ambrogio15 pizzeria, which is soon expanding to Del Mar Highlands, and Semola, their fast-casual pasta spot that’s reopening next month in the former Prepkitchen La Jolla space.

At Ciao Ciao Piadena, the stretch between 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. will be dedicated to aperitivo, offering $29 or $39 sets that include one drink plus unlimited free finger foods and small bites like olives, bruschetta, and imported meats and cheeses. Additional drinks, from natural and biodynamic wines including a private label prosecco to a range of spritzes, can be ordered a la carte along with any plates off the daytime menu, which centers around flatbread sandwiches called piadina, one of the official food products of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, as well as salads and other light snacks.

The 1,200-square-foot restaurant and bar, which will have both indoor and outdoor seating, plans to eventually extend its hours to include a breakfast menu of coffee and Italian pastries.

https://sandiego.eater.com/2021/3/31/22360162/ciao-ciao-piadina-italian-aperitivo-bar-restaurant-la-jolla

San Diego’s best-known Italian restaurateur trios are unveiling new culinary projects this week. The Milanese trio who launched Ambrogio15 pizzeria in Pacific Beach in 2016 have three new projects this spring: Ciao Ciao Piadina, an aperitivo/sandwich wine bar they’re opening today with two partners, as well as a reinvention of their Semola pasta bar concept in La Jolla and a more upscale Ambrogio15 location in Del Mar.

Ciao Ciao Piadina

Ciao Ciao Piadina is billed as a “social club,” where diners can enjoy a new take on the traditional Italian aperitivo service — pre-dinner drinks and unlimited appetizers — as well as piadina, which are the famous toasted flatbread sandwiches from the Italian coastal city of Rimini.

Semola, the Ambrogio 15 Pasta Bar

In mid-to-late April, the Ambrogio15 trio will open the new Semola, an elevated Milanese-style sit-down restaurant in the former PrepKitchen space at 7556 Fay Ave. in La Jolla. The partners originally launched Semola in 2019 as a quick-service pasta booth at the Little Italy Food Hall. But Pizzigoni said the experience convinced them that they’re not fast-food purveyors, so they closed the booth last fall.

The new restaurant, which will seat about 30 to 35 patio diners initially, will have a menu developed by Michelin-starred Italian chef Silvio Salmoiraghiand Italian gastronome Paolo Tucci. Head chef will be Daniela Martinez, formerly of Il Dandy and Ironside. Pizzigoni said the menu will feature modern Italian pasta dishes and entrees like veal Milanese that incorporate seasonal local ingredients at affordable prices.

Ambrogio15 Del Mar

On May 27, a new incarnation of Ambrogio15 pizzeria will open at the Sky Deck, a 20,000-square-foot upscale food hall a the Del Mar Highlands Town Center at 12925 El Camino Real in Carmel Valley. The 55-seat, indoor/outdoor restaurant, designed to resemble Milan’s Piazza del Duomo, will offer pizzas that Pizzigoni hopes will revolutionize pizza-making in California, if not the U.S. Semola’s menu developer, Salmoiraghi, has also created the recipes for the new Ambrogio15, that will combine unique doughs with gourmet, seasonal toppings. The restaurant will have its own sommelier.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/dining-and-drinking/story/2021-04-01/two-local-italian-restaurant-groups-unveil-new-projects

Jacques Calame, the General Manager of Ambrogio15, began working in the hospitality industry at the age of 16 in an Italian deli in Salt Lake City, Utah.

After high school, Jacques moved to San Diego to pursue a biology degree at San Diego State University. While studying for his Bachelors degree, he continued to work in hospitality at large concert venues to help finance his education, finishing as  the VIP supervisor at Levy Restaurants.

After receiving his Bachelors of Science degree from SDSU, Jacques continued to take multiple extra curricular science classes at SDSU and the University of California San Diego including Immunology, Microbiology, Phlebotomy and Analytic Chemistry. However, he found that he was drawn to the fast pace and friendly people in the hospitality industry. Fortunately, at about this time, the owners of Ambrogio15, Giacomo Pizzigoni, Luca Salvi and Andrea Burrone, asked him to join them, as Ambrogio15’s first employee, at the inception of Ambrogio15.

Jacques Calame has dedicated himself to promote and execute the vision of the Ambrogio15 Milano Pizza Experience which is to provide high quality Italian food and wine in a friendly and welcoming environment.

Favorite Appetizer

Bresaola e Parmigiano: A dish traditionally served with thinly sliced cured beef,  fresh arugula, aged Parmigiano Reggiano and seasoned with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  “It’s a simple, salty, and savory dish that I fell in love with while visiting Milan to see a close friend that I met through Ambrogio15.“

Favorite Hobby

Hitting golf balls at the driving range right before sunset.  “At dusk, it’s refreshing looking over the freshly cut grass with the San Diego Sunset in the background.  At this time of day it’s impossible to see the shot, thus the only way to know the ball was hit well is by feel. The combination of nature’s beauty enveloping me while I focus solely on the mechanics of my swing is extremely relaxing.”

Sardegna Island Wines meet Ambrogio15 New Nuvola Gourmet Focaccia for Aperitivo

Join us Monday March 2nd anytime between 5 and 8 pm for a special aperitivo! We’ll introduce our New Nuvola Gourmet and we’ll pair it with a special wine tasting of Audarya Winery from Sardegna, Italy.
The owner and winemaker of Audarya, Nicoletta Pala, together with our Sommelier and Chief of Wines Marina Snow from DOCG Imports, will present 6 outstanding Natural Wines from the Beautiful Island of Sardegna:

• Nuragus
• Vermentino
• Rose di Cannonau
• Monica
• Cannonau
• Nuracada

Ambrogio15’s New Nuvola Gourmet

An even fluffier gourmet focaccia bread topped by our Executive Chef with the best Italian cold cuts and cheeses and local sustainable produce, inspired by our New Partnership with Michelin Star Chef Silvio Salmoiraghi
Mix of gourmet pairings (Porcini, Truffle Oil and Fontina, Prosciutto and Burrata, Smoked Provola Speck and Olives etc etc.)

$ 49 per person (including 6 Wines and Aperitivo Tasting) before tax and grat.

Let’s Talk More about Aperitivo

Aperitivo is a cultural thing in Europe, jus like happy hour in the United States. It can take place before each meal, like it can also happen before lunch. It is centered over drinks, accompanied with light food offerings to nibble on. This makes Ambrogio15’s New Focaccia Nuvola Gourmet the perfect dish for this. It is best shared with friends, for an early girls night out during the week, and is best appreciated with fun and light hearted conversation.

We are bringing the perfect setting for you to enjoy a really good moment. Delicious focaccia inspired by a Michelin star chef from Milano, six delicious natural wines from the islands of Sardegna handpicked by our partner DOCG Imports. You just need to come with your friends and enjoy the moment. Make your reservations from 5 to 8pm on March 2nd for this special event.

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