A Forkful of Changes in Ben Lomond

October 24, 2023 – Do you remember Star Bene Ristorante on East Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz? It was the place that brought chefs Mario Ibarra and Sandro Costanza together. 

Costanza, who hails from Fuscaldo in southern Italy, came to San Francisco in 1993, gaining experience at Via Veneto, Piazza D`Angelo in Mill Valley and Mezzaluna Restaurant in Half Moon Bay. He started Star Bene in 1997 with a couple of colleagues from Italy, and owned the restaurant until 2005. 

Ibarra, from La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, was a fast learner and rapidly picked up enough Italian during his 10 years there to pass for a paisano. The two of them then collaborated to open in 2007 Ristorante da Mario, which became one of Saratoga’s favorite Italian restaurants. The food was amazing, the hospitality always warm and endowed with monstrous bear hugs, and the pillowy gnocchi that Sandro made was my husband’s favorite thing, drowned in butter and Parm. 

The winemaker dinners there were festive and exceptional, the kind you remember for years afterwards, like the time Bradley Brown of Big Basin vineyards and Jim Cargill from House Family shared the spotlight and traded stories, while Jerry Lohr himself enjoyed the hearty banter. He came to every one of those dinners until, as often happens in the restaurant world, the partnership hit a rough patch in 2013 and Ibarra departed.

Ibarra then opened Casa Nostra in the former Ciao Bella location in Ben Lomond, partnering with Raffaele Cristallo, who hails from Puglia, and Pasquale Bianco, who hails from Naples. 

Famous for its local bar action and music, the place boasts an enormous ring of redwood trees, connected by benches and ringed with tiny white lights, providing a fairy like atmosphere. 

One night, I brought some Danish colleagues there for dinner. As they took their seats under the towering trees, watching the lights twinkle on at dusk, their faces were awash in wonder. For folks whose trees back home are vertically challenged, sitting inside a circle of giants was quite an experience. 

In early 2022, Cristallo—who also once ran The Oak Tree in Felton—decided to open a new location of Casa Nostra in Scotts Valley. 

Ibarra and Bianco elected to part ways with Cristallo and opened a new restaurant in Ben Lomond, called Aroma. The two took over the old Tyrolean Inn, famous for its hearty German fare since 1975, transforming it into a fusion of continental and global cuisine.

It too is surrounded by redwoods and has an enormous outdoor patio. lbarra is excited about the new menu, which is slowly becoming more Italian as they learn what works.  

Our waiter, a young French soccer player named Thomas Bugnet, hails from St. Émilion, and serves as bartender as well. He recommended the crab cakes, which were quite tasty, owing to the El Salvadorean influence in the kitchen. Packed with plenty of crab and studded with a smoky-sweet pepper, they were accompanied by a sweet-heat laced mango-chili salsa that was utterly addictive. The fennel onion slaw with jicama was wonderfully crunchy and just the right amount of spicy. 

TJ Caesar salad was fresh and topped with two massive croutons that made for nice crunch, and loads of parmesan cheese, but the star was the fried artichoke salad, which I ordered with sautéed prawns. Absolutely amazing flavors. 

For lunch, they also offer Peruvian ceviche, wasabi poke nachos, fish and chips, and a sherry ribeye burger. The focaccia is blessedly similar to that once served at Casa Nostra. On the dinner menu, you’ll find seafood chowder, beet salad, BBQ Kalbi ribs, steaks, chicken adobo, sea bass, salmon and pork chops. The sole Germanic vestige is the schnitzel. 

Ibarra holds special “German nights” to please the many patrons of the previous restaurant, and recently held his first highly successful Oktoberfest. He invites all his fans from Casa Nostra and Star Bene to come visit him in his new location.

It’s easy to enjoy the festive camaraderie of the new space, which features a large redwood bar, serving up tasty cocktails, like the Espresso Martini that bartender Bugnet says he switched up by adding Hennessey. Only a Frenchman would do that. Ibarra says he’s bringing back crowd favorite musician, Claudia Melaga, to entertain diners in the Italian tradition, on Friday nights. 

Cristallo closed the Ben Lomond location of Casa Nostra last weekend. When asked what might become of that space, Ibarra just shrugged, but when I expressed hope that it would become something great, he lit up with telltale electricity, assuring me that it absolutely would. “Just give it time,” he said.

As for Costanza, after shuttering Ristorante da Mario, he returned to Santa Cruz, where he founded Pizzeria La Bufala in Abbott Square Market. His wood-fired pies are highly prized and his commute is a whole lot easier. Perhaps there’s another chapter yet to be written.