The restaurant at 182 Main St., which describes itself as a “free-styling” Italian eatery, will open Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 4 p.m. Sei Bella had a soft opening last week to iron out the kinks.
So far, patrons have been raving about their signature dish, called “Half Baked,” rigatoni with a bolognese made with tender beef short ribs, according to co-owner Julien Garcia. Cherry peppers are added to the meat sauce lending heat to the dish, then it’s popped into the oven until the mozzarella on top turns bubbly and gooey.
The bolognese, he noted, is a telling detail: “The way you can judge an Italian restaurant is by your meat sauce,” he said.
Garcia, a restaurant consultant-turned-restaurateur, acquired the business in May with the intention of selling, but he “saw the potential, and I jumped on it,” he said. He partnered with industry veteran Brenda Torres who has owned Criollisimo Restaurant, a Puerto Rican eatery in New Britain, for 32 years, he said.
Sei Bella serves fusion Italian fare, allowing chefs to freely mix and match other cuisines with classic Italian specialties. Garcia pointed to dishes like Jamaican-style jerk oxtail served over a mushroom risotto, a marriage of Latin and Italian flavors.
Despite any bold experimentation, he said, “The core of it is always going to be Italian.”
Sei Bella is not a typical Italian-American eatery as it is a “pan sauce restaurant,” which means “we build the sauces in the pan,” he said. Sautéing the mirepoix — garlic, peppers and shallots then adding other elements intensifies the flavors, he said.
Garcia came up with the name Sei Bella, because he wanted something that sounded “posh,” modern and approachable. The name looped in his head for 36 hours, he joked.
Starting late next week, Sei Bella’s hours will be Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Dining and Cooking