One of the most sacred traditions that Italians celebrate every week is Sunday supper. Family members dress up and gather, often at the home of their grandma (or “nonna”), for multicourse meals that include desserts, coffee and digestif drinks. The meals can last three hours or more.
Now, the Italian trio behind San Diego’s Michelin Bib Gourmand-honored Cesarina restaurant are re-creating that same experience at their Elvira restaurant in Ocean Beach. Cucina Di Nonna, which can be booked for private parties of up to 14 guests, will not only feature a five-course, traditional Roman-style Sunday supper, it will also make the dinner guests part of the Cesarina family.
Cesarina and Elvira restaurant co-founders Niccolò Angius and his wife, chef Cesarina Mezzoni, and their business partner, Giuseppe Capasso. (Arlene Ibarra)
Cucina Di Nonna hosts will welcome guests as family members and offer them the opportunity to carry dishes of food from the kitchen, play dinner games, make coffee with a vintage moka pot and decorate the dessert before it’s served. Rather than having servers talk about Italian traditions, the servers instead create an immersive family experience for the diners.
Cucina Di Nonna was conceived by company chef/partner Cesarina Mezzoni, who said the idea draws on her childhood memories of family dinner in Italy, as well as those of her husband and co-owner, Niccolò Angius, and their longtime friend and business partner Giuseppe Capasso.
“When guests sit down for Cucina di Nonna, we want it to feel like you’ve been adopted into our family for the night,” Mezzoni said in a statement. “Those small rituals — helping finish a dish, gathering around the table — shift you from spectator to participant. It’s intimate, it’s playful, and it’s probably the closest we’ve come to recreating the magic of our Nonna’s table.”
Diners can now enjoy Cucina di Nonna, an interactive Roman-style Sunday supper at Elvira restaurant in Ocean Beach. This garden room can accommodate up to 14 guests for the private dinner bookings. (James Tran)
Angius said that the idea for Cucina di Nonna was inspired by growing demand among diners for experiential meals.
“As dining out has evolved, people are craving experiences that feel personal rather than transactional,” he said. “Immersive dining gives guests permission to slow down, connect, and leave with a sense of memory and meaning.”
The Nonna dinner will offer a multicourse menu that will change seasonally. Here are sample dishes from the winter menu now available.
The lighthearted meal will begin with bite-size snacks, including fried supplì, meatballs and more. Next comes a Tuscan kale soup course with focaccia bread. The third course is a baked pasta course sliced and served tableside. The main course is a Sunday roast, also served tableside with side dishes. The dessert course includes cookies, pastries and fruit topped with zabaglione sauce. A traditional post-meal cup of coffee is percolated in a moka pot and served. Then diners will conclude the meal with choice of two aperitif,s like limoncello, mirto, herbal digestivi or moscato.
Cucina di Nonna will only be offered for group bookings in Elvira’s private dining rooms, which have been decorated to look like an Italian grandma’s dining room with vintage photos, lamps and décor. The Elvira Room can accommodate parties of up to eight and the greenhouse-style Giardino di Nonna room can hold up to 14 people. Prices start at $105 per person, not including beverages.
Elvira is at 4996 W. Point Loma Blvd. in Ocean Beach, San Diego. Reservations can be made at ciaoelvira.com/book-cucina-di-nonna.
Dining and Cooking