Last updated: December 6, 2023

In the Weeds

There are some places that pop into your mind every time you ask, “Where should we go for dinner tonight?”

These places earn that right over time, with constant delivery from the kitchen, the cellar, and in service.

Stagioni will quickly become that kind of go-to, for everything from date night to too-tired-to-cook night. There’s something about restaurants in historic dining rooms that are immediately welcoming, and this one, with its warm red accents and soft light, invites you to stay a while. Daily specials and seasonal menu changes keeps things interesting, but some dishes stay year-round, meaning you can always fall back on the comfortable.

Even those comfort dishes are made more fun at Stagioni. Take the pizzas; they use house-made ingredients (such as the sausage) when they can, and are served with a pair of pizza scissors so you can cut your slice as you wish. The pizzas are cooked in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven, a cool process to watch from the restaurant’s no-reservations pizza bar overlooking the open kitchen. And for a night when you’re craving something easy and delicious after a long day, it’s just what you’re looking for.

When you want to be fancy, though, Stagioni is there too, with squash blossoms (one of my favorite dishes here), fresh fish, or rich pastas. The arancini is a must-order; the fried balls of rice change daily. You can order a bunch of executive chef Drew Dodd’s small plates or go straight for entrées, making Stagioni flexible enough to fit any occasion. The portions are hearty, and the house-made pastas are generally cooked to textbook doneness and served with unctuous and bright flavors.

General Manager Lee Ann Dolcetto leads a front-of-house team that knows the menu in and out, from the wine list to the daily specials. Lean on them to recommend a wine by the glass or bottle from the mostly Italian wine list; just let them know what you’re in the mood for. The small bar, tended by Russ Johnson, is the spot for cocktail lovers. Wherever you dine, you’ll leave ready for another meal there, and when you return again and again, bet on the staff to remember you as much as you remember them.