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Tuscan Kitchen in Burlington Reopens as Sorella
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Tuscan Kitchen in Burlington Reopens as Sorella

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Burlington’s Tuscan Kitchen is now the “energized and fun” Sorella, with an emphasis on events.

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A wooden table set with a variety of dishes and drinks, including a plate of gnocchi with sauce, a bowl of pasta with greens and cheese, a steak garnished with roasted garlic and herbs, a salad, and toasted bread. There are also three cocktails: a green martini, a red drink with a garnish, and a creamy cocktail with an orange peel. A glass of red wine and a small dish of bread with butter are also present. A large vase with green leafy plants is on the left side of the table. The background shows a restaurant setting with chairs and tables.

A spread of dishes at Sorella, with lobster gnocchi and orecchiette with sausage in the foreground. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

How does a suburban mainstay keep things fresh after over a decade? Rebrand, renovate, and double down on private events. Burlington’s Tuscan Kitchen reopens on February 20 as Sorella, “the cool younger sister” of the previous restaurant, says owner Joe Faro. With a lighter, modernized design, bigger bar, and more space for parties, it’s “an energized, contemporary look” at what Faro’s growing Italian-food empire, Tuscan Brands, is today.

Modern restaurant interior with wooden floors, round and rectangular tables set with glassware and napkins, patterned cushioned chairs, hanging plants, and warm ambient lighting from chandeliers and bulbs. Shelves with decorative vases and greenery divide the space.

Sorella. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Think: Eataly, with a New England accent. Tuscan Brands’ roots date back 16 years with the opening of Tuscan Kitchen in Salem, New Hampshire; since then, Faro has opened a number of Italian food-related businesses (moderately upscale restaurants, markets, and more) around New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Burlington Tuscan Kitchen opened in 2014, “one of the original yellow-stucco-and-stone locations,” says Faro (compared to the decidedly more glitzy version in Boston’s Seaport). So, not a bad time for a refresh.

A hand is pouring balsamic vinegar from a dark bottle onto a small black dish containing cheese. The dish is on a wooden board alongside slices of rustic bread and a small white plate with green olives, garlic cloves, and rosemary in olive oil. The setting includes a wooden table with a blue glass, white plates with a folded napkin, and silver cutlery.

Bread and accoutrements at Sorella. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

A plate of Caesar salad topped with grated cheese, placed on a wooden surface. Green leafy plants and a large white decorative object are visible in the background.

Sorella’s Caesar insalata, with anchovy, parmigiano, crispy pancetta, and focaccia. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

“Over the course of our history, we’ve had some success reinventing ourselves from time to time,” says Faro, pointing, for instance, to the evolution of the original Tuscan Kitchen and Tuscan Market in Salem, New Hampshire. Now, they’re part of Faro’s giant mixed-use development, Tuscan Village, which includes a cooking school, hotel, dining, and retail from Tuscan Brands and other companies. Tuscan Brands businesses in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, have changed as well, including the rebranding of a Tuscan Market into a Neapolitan-inspired pizzeria.

A long, oval pink plate with thin slices of raw fish garnished with red citrus segments, microgreens, and crushed nuts, accompanied by a pink cocktail in a clear glass with ice, a lime slice, and a wooden spoon topped with small yellow spheres. The setting is on a white marble table.

Sorella’s hamachi crudo with Sicilian pistachio vinaigrette and blood orange. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

“The brand continues to innovate and evolve, and we try to get better every time we change,” he says. “We want to bring our guests the latest and greatest.” But one thing that’s constant? “Our celebration of being artisanal Italians,” he says. (Faro is the son of Sicilian immigrants.) “We love to make pasta; we love to make gelato; we love to make focaccia.”

A white bowl filled with orecchiette pasta mixed with cooked greens, crumbled sausage, and grated cheese, placed on a wooden table next to a fork and spoon.

Sorella’s orecchiette with house sausage, rapini, crushed red pepper, and parmigiano brodo. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

At Sorella, steps from the Burlington mall, that celebration of all things Italian prioritizes events large and small. “We have thousands of very loyal event guests who have had celebrations with us [at Tuscan Kitchen],” says Faro, “from graduations and Bar Mitzvahs to showers and corporate events.” The redesign focused on optimizing the 14,000-square-foot restaurant to dive even deeper into party bookings. “We squared off the event space so it would work well for a wedding,” says Faro, and the glass-walled room can be separated into smaller spaces if you’re not bringing in 300 people. “There’s not a lot of capacity for that in the Greater Burlington area,” he notes: If you want to book an event in the neighborhood, this is the place.

Modern bar interior with a polished concrete floor and patterned tile near the bar. The bar features a white marble countertop with blue upholstered bar stools with gold legs. Above the bar, there is a suspended shelf holding bottles and greenery. The ceiling is dark with hanging plants and exposed industrial lighting. The walls have framed posters and artwork, including a large

Sorella’s bar. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Plus, there’s a whole new bar—bigger than before and right by the entrance—to encourage casual dining. Sure, the events are a focus, but Faro wants to continue enticing regular lunch and dinner customers, too, to fill the gorgeous new dining room, dripping with greenery and drenched with natural light. (Boston native and TV personality Taniya Nayak designed the space; she’s worked with the group on various projects since the 2020 opening of Tuscan Sea Grill in Newburyport, says Faro.)

A long, oval pink plate holds a serving of gnocchi in a creamy sauce, garnished with herbs and pieces of lobster or crab. Next to the plate is a clear martini glass filled with a light green cocktail, garnished with fresh mint leaves. The setting is on a white marble table with a blue cushioned bench in the background.

Sorella’s Maine lobster gnocchi with truffle mascarpone and sherry riduzione. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

A plate with a serving of roasted chicken accompanied by sautéed broccolini and roasted carrots, all drizzled with a light brown sauce. The dish is presented on a beige, oval ceramic plate with a rustic background featuring green herbs.

Sorella’s brick chicken with squash mista, lemon broccolini, and jus. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

As for the menu, Tuscan Kitchen fans will find some familiar items (although in most cases plated differently), like Maine lobster gnocchi with truffle mascarpone and orecchiette with sausage and rapini. There are a couple pizzas—Rhode Island clam with crispy guanciale; cacio e pepe e Parma—and some hefty bone-in veal chops. (They’re “ginormous,” says Faro.) There are occasional theatrics, like tableside torching of butter atop a thick filet or shaving of black truffles. Loads of antipasti, cheese and meat selections, crudo, and pasta make sharing easy.

A cooked filet mignon steak topped with a pat of melting herb butter, served on a white plate with a sprig of rosemary and a roasted garlic bulb, placed on a white marble table with a blue upholstered bench and a decorative pillow in the background.

Sorella’s Brandt filet, with butter torched tableside. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

“I think we like to have a little more fun than we used to,” says Faro. “Pre-pandemic, the restaurant experience was [on average] one and a half cocktails, half an appetizer, an entree, and a quarter of a dessert [per person]. That’s totally changed now. It’s shareable, energized, loud, fun. It’s more of a vibe, this kind of evolved Tuscan personality.”

A stylish interior space featuring black metal-framed glass doors with intricate scrollwork. The ceiling is adorned with hanging greenery and multiple chandeliers encased in birdcage-like metal frames, emitting warm light. The walls are decorated with framed artwork and photographs, adding a cozy and artistic touch to the room. The overall ambiance combines natural elements with elegant lighting and decorative details.

Sorella. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

And more evolution is on the way: Soon, Faro will be ready to tell Bostonians about an exciting new Tuscan Brands project in the city proper. But for now, head to the ’burbs for lobster and saffron risotto arancini, rigatoni alla vodka, and a massive tomahawk steak in a snazzy new space, primed for your next big event or any old date night.

A lemon tart with toasted meringue on top, garnished with blackberries, a dried lemon slice, mint leaves, and small dollops of yellow sauce, served on a clear glass plate. Next to it, tea is being poured from a white teapot with blue floral designs into a matching teacup and saucer. The background features a blue and white striped wall.

Dessert and tea at Sorella. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

2400 District Ave., Burlington, sorellaburlington.com.

Dining and Cooking