Point Loma's To The Point Cafe will soon shutter to reopen in early 2019 as Cesarina, an all-day Italian restaurant with scratch made pasta - all inspired by strong Italian women.
Set to unveil in February 2019 is Cesarina, an Italian trattoria from restaurateurs Giuseppe Scognamiglio and Giuseppe Capasso, cousins from Naples, and Niccolo Angius, who hails from Rome. Situated in the heart of the Point Loma’s upper Voltaire Street corridor, Cesarina replaces To The Point Café and will offer all-day dining with a nod to European-style breakfast. Cesarina previously operated as a farmer’s market pop-up offering vegan handmade pastas and all-natural sauces. Cesarina, named after Niccolo’s wife, remains the muse for the trio’s brick-and-mortar establishment. But the restaurant also honors another lineage - the Italian matriarchy.
"Cesarina is a grandmother, a mother, a daughter - our personification of a nurturer who feeds and cares for her community,” said co-owner Niccolo Angius. "From the meticulous attention to detail and fresh ingredients, to the warm and inviting atmosphere, this restaurant will be a celebration of the power of food and family," added Giuseppe Scognamiglio.
The team has hired Italian-born Executive Chef Patrick Money to lead Cesarina’s culinary program. Influenced by his nonna's techniques and tradition, Patrick developed an early appreciation and aptitude for the art of making pasta. An ambitious young chef, Patrick procured nine years of experience working for a variety of family-owned restaurants in Northern Italy before graduating from culinary school in 2008. Soon after, he moved to the United States to refine his skills through a number of pastry and sous chef positions. Between nine years spent in Florida and Georgia, Patrick worked at a mix of fine dining and full-service Italian restaurants as well as a high-end catering company. In 2017, attracted to the abundance that the Southern California region offered, Patrick moved to San Diego. He spent the next 15 months working with Urban Kitchen Group’s California-Italian staple, CUCINA entoteca in Del Mar, before moving to the position of head line cook at North Park’s neighborhood institution, The Smoking Goat.
At the heart of Cesarina’s culinary program, an open-air ‘pastificio’ (pasta factory) will be visible for all to see while churning out fresh handmade pasta daily for Chef Patrick’s weekly changing menu and seasonal creations. Drawing upon traditions of rustic Italian cooking, the restaurant will be an advocate for locally grown produce and sustainable farming practices. Through conscious efforts to eliminate waste and a commitment to zero plastic, Cesarina will serve quality-driven meals while ardently supporting San Diego'sregional ecosystem.
Cesarina enlisted Stefania Sciomachen, an emerging Italian interior designer, to overhaul the 2,700 square-foot indoor-outdoor trattoria. While design details are under wraps, renovations are slated to begin in mid-January upon the closure of the existing operation. Cesarina plans to open doors to the public in February 2019.
Cesarina will be located at 4161 Voltaire Street in San Diego's Point Loma area. For more information, visit CesarinaPasta.com.
