February 17, 2015 – One of Santa Cruz County’s best-loved farm-to-table restaurants is reopening Wednesday with a fresh coat of paint, a new name and a new chef/owner.
Luca Sergio Viara—who also operates Pizzeria Tramonti in the Seabright neighborhood of Santa Cruz—is a native of Turin, Italy and will be serving up northern Italian specialties like vitello tonnata, octopus salad, short rib ravioli, zucchini soufflé and lamb shanks braised in red wine.
“We’re 100 per cent organic, even the salt,” says Viara. “All the salad greens and most of the veggies are produced by us and with the big garden out back I can grow veggies I like that are not available anywhere else.”
The new 60-seat Soquel restaurant is called Gioconda, the Italian name for the Mona Lisa, and occupies the same craftsman-style bungalow that housed the legendary Theo’s in the 1990s and more recently Main St. Garden—where La Balena chef Brad Briske used to cook.
The cozy interior has been updated with Mediterranean flair. Wicker back chairs and walls have been painted white. There is Lucite seating and colorful expressionist oil paintings by Scotts Valley artist James Scoppettone adorn the walls.
“We want to keep it affordable, but with the quality of a Michelin starred restaurant, and keep the tradition as high as it was in the old days,” Viara says, adding that this is the 17th restaurant he has opened. Other places include restaurants in Turin, Milan and Venice—where he headed the kitchen at the sleek Philippe Starck designed Palazzina Grassi.
Gioconda will be open for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday from 4:30 to 9:30pm and Saturdays and Sundays for lunch from noon to 3pm.
A courtyard in front of the restaurant will feature outdoor seating and small plates for sharing “winery style.” There is a nice selection of 70 Italian and Californian wines.
One thing you won’t find on the menu at Gioconda is pizza, even though there is a fabled wood-fired pizza oven in the backyard. “We’ll leave that for Tramonti, which is a more casual, family-style place,” laughs Viara.
Then he relents. “In April, we want to start serving brunch in the garden out back,” he says. “Maybe we’ll serve pizzas for brunch.”
About the author
Deborah Luhrman is publisher and editor of Edible Monterey Bay. A lifelong journalist, she has reported from around the globe, but now prefers covering our flourishing local food scene and growing her own vegetables in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
