LOTSA PASTA | 6030 W. NORTH AVE., WAUWATOSA
In the seven years Ca’Lucchenzo has been open, it has never courted attention. Drawing diners in for a meal, yes. Drawing undue attention to itself, no. “We almost by design fly a little under the radar,” says co-owner/chef Zak Baker, who this year scored his first nomination for a James Beard Award.
READ MORE FROM OUR “THAT’S ITALIAN” FEATURE HERE.
The restaurant is small – 10 tables, with another 13 seats at the kitchen counter and 10 seats at the bar. With Sarah Baker, front of house maven, welcoming people inside the restaurant, it’s a version of the old-school family-run Italian American joint. Only it’s not formulaic. It’s a chef’s reverent, modern Italian menu, with elegant antipasti, beautiful handmade pastas (hand-rolled garganelli, ravioli), a risotto and two large plates – one meat, one fish. In everything, there is so much heart.
Photo by Marty Peters
Architects, interior designers, renovators and landscapers: Submit your best work for consideration!
TRAVEL WORTHY | 522 S. EIGHTH ST., SHEBOYGAN
Stefano and Whitney Viglietti have built an Italian streetscape in downtown Sheboygan, and this restaurant is where it started in 1994, when Stefano was just 24 years old, self-taught and uniquely forward-thinking. Making the drive to come here – for a handmade pasta (Tuscan wild boar ragu over pappardelle!) or the veal Stefano (a pan-fried chop stuffed with sage, prosciutto and truffle cheese) – should be part of a strategic culinary self-care plan.
URBAN INCUBATOR | 2995 S. CLEMENT AVE.
When Tenuta’s opened 23 years ago on a quiet corner in residential Bay View, it was following in the tradition of Italian American businesses operating in tightknit, family-oriented communities. It’s tucked in there and feels like it could have an Italian nonna living upstairs. (It doesn’t.) People pack inside for its classic immigrant food and slightly fancier creations.
The white tablecloths don’t signal an uppity attitude but more of an expectation of a leveled-up dining style – which is decidedly middle ground between casual and high-end. The spot’s longtime head chef, Eli Murphy, is a low-high guy, giving you fried calamari with red sauce and carpaccio with arugula and capers, chicken parm and a Wagyu bavette steak. My order here would be the arancini, a mista salad and the mushroom ravioli.
COASTAL INFLUENCES | 777 N. VAN BUREN ST.
Before opening Lupi & Iris in 2022, co-owner/chef Adam Siegel was known primarily for classic French cuisine. But he trained under Italian chefs and lived and worked in Italy. His love of the French, Spanish and Italian riviera cuisines inspired every corner of Lupi’s menu. His pastas – Genovese coin-shaped corzetti with walnut sauce, for example – are elegant and though rooted in tradition, seem modern.
It is the only restaurant here that captures that singular fantasy of rocky cliffs, intense sun and dark-blue water through the lens of food. Siegel’s forthcoming Italian American restaurant is going to be more relaxed, as suggested by its name – Il Ponte (bridge in Italian, as in bridging the gap between low- and high-end). At a February Sunday Supper held at Lupi, Siegel served garlic bread, pasta alla vodka, chicken piccata and cannoli – little glimpses of what he’ll offer at Il Ponte, tentatively opening late this year.
ITALIA TOSA | 7616 W. STATE ST., WAUWATOSA
Over the years, executive chef Juan Urbieta has shown that he’s a very good storyteller, nimbly guiding diners from Northern to Southern Italy to the coasts and islands. It can be a lot to ask of diners to just meet him in one place, four courses, that place changing every six weeks (regions do repeat). But he continues to do it and make you fall in love with it.
The Lombardy menu earlier this year mixed the more mainstream (veal osso buco) with the unexpected – a risotto made with sorrel and braised frog legs, which we learned from the menu was very fitting since frogs populate the rice-growing areas between the north’s Lombardy and Piedmont regions. Right now, the menu is deep in Umbria (penne with creamy Italian sausage ragu) and will switch over to Lazio from April 16-May 20, offering classics from Rome such as veal saltimbocca.
Photo by Marty Peters
JERSEY BOYS | 2535 S. KINNICKKINNIC AVE.
This rustic, homey take on Italian cuisine comes from two guys from New Jersey. Owners Kyle Toner and Paul Damora also come from Italian American families, and the menu partially reflects that rich, homestyle cooking they grew up eating. Cavatelli with Monday sauce (which traditionally used meats leftover from Sunday dinner), baked ziti with béchamel and short rib ragu, crispy chicken parmigiana.
Toner puts a chef-y grandma touch on those dishes. And his wood-fired pizzas with charry, blistery edges are a holdover from his time as pizzaiolo at the old Wolf Peach. The partners will soon be opening a North Shore pizzeria devoted to Trenton and “grandma” styles – pies you’ll know if you’ve spent time in either Jersey or Long Island.
How to Cook Like a Nonna
Look for pasta-making and other Italian cooking instruction at these venues in and around the area.
Photo by Marty Peters
Semolina: Learn to make pasta – ravioli, gnocchi, hand-shaped, classic Italian egg pasta. Includes a beverage and pasta/sauce tasting. $65-$114. Bay View
Braise: Hands-on workshops focus on specific dishes, such as pappardelle puttanesca. $90. Walker’s Point
Milwaukee Public Market: Demo and hands-on classes of all kinds, including Italian cuisine. $45-$69. Third Ward
Chef Pam’s Kitchen: Themed classes: A Night in Tuscany, Traditional Italian, pasta-making. $69-$85. Waukesha
Troquet: Demo-style format, and guests are served a multi-course dinner with wine pairings. At press time, no Italian-themed classes were scheduled, but they are often in the mix. $110. Wauwatosa
Osthoff Resort: Hands-on pasta-making. $69-$79. Elkhart Lake
This story is part of Milwaukee Magazine’s April 2026 issue.
Find it on newsstands or buy a copy at milwaukeemag.com/shop.
Be the first to get every new issue. Subscribe.
Dining and Cooking