The team behind Amalfi Cucina Italiana on Lake San Marcos has taken over the Orfila Vineyards Tasting Room & Kitchen in Oceanside and will soon open a new location of their authentic Italian-inspired restaurant concept.
In late 2020, four Italian friends who previously worked together for San Diego's Buona Forchetta Group of restaurants took over the second story space perched above Lake San Marcos and launched Amalfi Cucina Italiana in the unit built in 2016 to house Eat.Drink.Sleep's Decoy Dockside Dining.
Chef Marcello Avitabile is a world pizza champion and was long the executive chef of the San Diego's Buona Forchetta group of Italian restaurants. Joseph Serra is a a five time world champion Neapolitan pizza chef that has been honing his craft since he was 13 years old. Giuseppe Annunziata is an experienced general manager who worked for 10 years in San Francisco and is well versed in wine. Lastly, Emiliano Muslija recently moved from Florence, Italy after owning his own restaurant from a very young age and worked at Buona Forchetta before deciding to join with his friends to open their own restaurant. Upon opening, Amalfi Cucina became a North County hotspot overlooking San Diego's picturesque Lake San Marcos.
In 2022, the Amalfi team took over the former Tap In Tavern clubhouse restaurant space at St. Mark Executive Golf Course in San Marcos and completely renovated the unit for the launch of Amalfi Enoteca Italiana. Last year, a new location of Amalfi Cucina Italiana opened in the space that previously housed Flora Bar + Kitchen within The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch in Carmel Valley.
The Amalfi Cucina team has been tasked with operating Oceanside's Orfila Vineyards Tasting Room & Kitchen, which was purchased earlier this year by the daughter of the co-founder and president of Pacifica Enterprises Investments, a Rancho Santa Fe-based real estate investment firm that owns such local properties as Belmont Park in Mission Beach, Lakehouse Hotel on Lake San Marcos and more. After the summer, the team will reimagine the space and rebrand the restaurant to become a new Amalfi Cucina Italiana.
At the new Amalfi Cucina in Oceanside, expect a menu of authentic Italian dishes including appetizers, daily specials from Chef Marcello, and an expansive selections of traditional Neapolitan-style pizzas, as well as homemade pasta dishes and full entree main course items made with local ingredients and fresh seafood inspired by Southern Italy. The bar will serve international & local beer and have a wine cellar with a large selection of domestic and imported varieties.
Amalfi Cucina Italiana #3 is anticipated to open this fall at 221 North Cleveland Avenue in San Diego's North County city of Oceanside. For more information, visit amalficucinaitaliana.com.
