Philadelphia is getting a new taste of la dolce vita.
Ellen Yin’s Bar Cicci opened Aug. 18 in Rittenhouse Square, offering an all-day neighborhood café and aperitivo bar inspired by Venice’s convivial bacari (wine bars).
The name comes from ciccio, an Italian term for “little ones” or “little bites,” a nod to the restaurant’s focus on small plates. To bring the concept to life, Yin — along with Christina McKeough, Culinary Director of High Street and The Bread Room, and the High Street team — traveled through Milan and Venice.
They found inspiration in cicchetti — small, shareable snacks traditionally enjoyed alongside wine and aperitivi — to become the foundation of Bar Cicci’s menu.
“One of my favorite parts of traveling through Italy is seeing how neighborhood cafes serve as the heartbeat of daily life,” says Yin, founder of High Street Hospitality Group. “People stop in for espresso in the morning, return for a quick snack or lunch, and gather again in the evening over aperitivi and cicchetti. We wanted to bring that same sense of ritual and community to Philadelphia.”
Helmed by Chef McKeough, the new venue is designed to be what Yin loved about her culinary travels overseas: An all-day destination through food and drink.
During the day, guests can expect rotating Northern Italian-inspired specialties, including Pizza Bianca sandwiches filled with combinations like prosciutto, pesto and burrata or eggplant, Calabrian chile paste, basil and radicchio.
The pastry case during the day has its own set of picks. Think olive-studded sfilatino, Roman maritozzi filled with whipped cream, and cornettis with flavors like pistachio, chocolate, lemon and mortadella. Other opening sweets here include a cannoli-inspired croissant bun filled with ricotta and mascarpone and a pistachio-topped orange-cardamom rice pudding tart.
As the sun goes down, Bar Cicci shifts into its aperitivo setting with wine, cocktails and a menu “built for lingering and sharing.” The selection centers around roughly a dozen daily-changing cicchetti, featuring cheeses, cured meats, seasonal vegetables and fish served in groups of three. A flywheel slicer will also be used daily for freshly cut salumi, Wagyu beef carpaccio tonnato and a few other tasty selections.
Desserts here keep the Italian theme going, with treats like zabaglione served with seasonal fruit, house-made Campari sorbet (that can be topped with prosecco), classic tiramisu and an assortment of Italian biscotti. The selection also includes gluten-free Sardinian options.
The beverage program is just as integral to the experience. Wine is overseen by Frank Kinyon (Wine Director for High Street Hospitality Group) and the cocktail program by Omy Bugazia (formerly of The Sergeantsville Inn and Detroit’s award-winning Ladder 4 Wine Bar). Aperitivo classics at Bar Cicci include a Negroni, a sparkling Negroni Sbagliato and a Garibaldi, combining Campari with fresh-pressed orange juice. Guests can also order up sips like an Espresso Martini made with Onyx Eclipse espresso and vodka, as well as the Martini Sporco, a savory vodka mixture garnished with pickled onion and anchovy.
Bar Cicci (1620 Sansom St.) will be first-come, first-served, open for coffee and pastry at 8 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 9 a.m. on Saturday (Note: hours will be adjusted in the fall.) Bar Cicci will close at 9 p.m. weekdays and 10 p.m. weekends. For more information, visit barcicciphl.com
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Keywords
Bar Cicci,
Ellen Yin,
Rittenhouse Square,
Philadelphia restaurants,
Food and Drink,
Italian food,
New restaurants,
High Street Hospitality Group
Dining and Cooking