By Kristen Wile

Former Bardo and Vana mixologist Amanda Britton will join chef/owner Paul Verica at his newest venture, Orto. The upcoming NoDa restaurant is an Italian concept with a name that translates to kitchen garden, a fitting phrase for Verica’s cooking style. Orto will use seasonal, local ingredients to create a casual, chef-driven menu of pastas and pizzas. Verica expects Britton will share his focus on local sourcing with the restaurant’s Italian-inspired bar program.

“What we’ve talked about so far is a lot of amaro-based cocktails,” Verica says. “We definitely want to make sure that we’re tying the kitchen in as well. It’s always important to me that there’s a culinary and food focus in both the front of the house and back of the house.”

Britton’s perspective on mixology pairs well with Verica’s on cooking. Both excel in understated complexity and use of unexpected ingredients. At Bardo and Vana, Britton’s beverage programs reflected the identity of the kitchens seamlessly. She’s looking forward to creating a cocktail menu that focuses on Italian offerings, like amaros (a bitter, herbal liqueur), and ingredients, such as figs, as well as collaborating with the chefs.

“We’re probably going to be doing amaros, digestifs, aperitifs,” Britton says. “We’ll definitely focus on Italian ingredients. Orto means kitchen garden, so it’s going to be cross-utilizing — using herbs, using the vegetables that they’re using back there [in the kitchen].”

Orto will open in the next several weeks in a corner space with a large patio near the light rail on 36th Street, across from cocktail bar Idlewild. Verica, a James Beard Award semifinalist, is also the owner of The Stanley in Elizabeth. He originally hoped to open the restaurant last spring, but construction delays amid the pandemic pushed opening back significantly. The timing, however, allowed him to hire Britton, who recently left her position at Bardo.

“Everything felt kind of meant to be,” Britton says. “I’ve just always loved Paul and respected him. Obviously, his track record and his talent are well documented. He’s an incredibly talented person and to be able to work with someone like that will be super exciting.”

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