Basalt has a new taste of Italy.
At Gemma, Chef Angelo Elia is serving up handmade pastas, family recipes and the flavors of his Italian upbringing in the former Free Range Kitchen space overlooking Basalt River Park.
For Elia, the restaurant is about more than serving Italian cuisine. It is rooted in an idea familiar to many Italian families: Food is love, and the table is where people come together. That philosophy runs through a menu that is unpretentious yet elevated, built around simple dishes and quality ingredients.
Chef Angelo Elia.Nikki Hausherr/Courtesy photo
Among the menu’s standouts is the homemade potato gnocchi pesto, served with basil and pine nut pesto, peas, asparagus, haricots verts and pecorino Romano. All of Gemma’s pastas are also available gluten-free.
The melanzana has an even more personal connection to Elia. Based on his mother’s traditional eggplant parmigiana, the dish is made with fresh mozzarella, smoked provola and tomato-basil sauce. It is one of several dishes that reach back to Elia’s childhood in Salerno, Italy, bringing the food he grew up eating to the table in Basalt.
Unlike its predecessor, Gemma will expand beyond dinner service, offering brunch and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Dinner will be served daily from 5 to 9:30 p.m.
“Lunch and dinner have their own personalities. At lunch, we have pizza, which is something we really wanted to bring to Gemma. In the evening, the menu becomes a little more elevated, while still staying true to the Italian food we love,” Elia said.
That distinction gives Gemma different rhythms throughout the day, but he said the philosophy remains the same: quality, authenticity and value.
The restaurant also embraces the Italian tradition of lingering around the table: eating, talking and sharing dishes rather than treating dinner simply as a meal to get through. It is the spirit behind the familiar Italian invitation, “Mangia” — eat.
Polpette Rustiche: pork and beef meatballs in a marzano tomato sauce, braised onions, fresh ricotta and sourdough crostoni.Nikki Hausherr/Courtesy photo
And there is, of course, tiramisu. The classic Italian dessert offers a fitting finish to a menu built around familiar flavors and the kind of food intended to be shared over conversation.
Even the restaurant’s name carries meaning. “Gemma” translates to both “gem” and “bud” in Italian, a nod to beauty, growth and the beginning of something new.
Creating a space that felt like home was an important part of that new beginning. Local designer Kristin Dittmar, architect Ryan Doremus and David Mansor of Burlingame Construction worked on the restaurant’s design, balancing an elevated aesthetic with the warmth and comfort Elia wanted for the space.
“Basalt has such a laid-back, welcoming and genuine spirit. That’s exactly what we wanted Gemma to feel like,” he said.
Some of that familiarity comes from the people behind the restaurant. Many members of Gemma’s team stayed on from Free Range Kitchen, which had built a loyal following in the community. General Manager Alisa Roth has helped bridge the old and new while bartenders Seth, Ted, Josué and Lance have helped turn the bar into the kind of place where introductions between strangers can quickly become conversations.
Elia and his wife, Denise, said they were drawn to the space in part because of Free Range Kitchen’s history and connection to Basalt.
“We’re incredibly grateful for how warmly this community has welcomed us,” he said.
Gemma by Angelo Elia in Basalt. Nikki Hausherr/Courtesy photo
Gemma hopes to build on that legacy while creating its own identity.
“Our goal is simple: great food, genuine hospitality and a place where people want to come back,” Elia said.
That may ultimately be the most Italian thing about Gemma: the idea that a restaurant is about more than what arrives on the plate. It is about who gathers around the table, the conversations that unfold there and giving people a reason to return.
For more information and reservations, visit gemmabasalt.com.
Dining and Cooking