{"id":323290,"date":"2026-05-19T19:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/323290\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T19:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:29:11","slug":"chef-matthew-accarrino-cycles-into-a-new-napa-venture-with-two-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/323290\/","title":{"rendered":"Chef Matthew Accarrino Cycles Into a New Napa Venture With Two Restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new resort in Napa Valley has snagged a James Beard Award-nominated San Francisco chef to help open two restaurants on its property: Say hello to Vetra and its sister cafe opening inside the Elene<\/a>, which debuts in late 2026. Chef Matthew Accarrino, who runs Italian favorite SPQR<\/a> and opened all-day restaurant Mattina<\/a> in 2023, is consulting on the menus at those two restaurants.<\/p>\n

Accarrino worked his way through various acclaimed restaurants in the States and Italy, including Emeril\u2019s<\/a>, Charlie Trotter\u2019s<\/a>, and Per Se<\/a>, before landing in San Francisco full-time as of 2009. He began consulting on the Elene\u2019s kitchen layout, before continuing the working relationship and developing the menus at Vetra and the yet-to-be-named cafe space. Those two restaurants embody different dining experiences for guests and visitors, but both will lean into Accarrino\u2019s Cal-Italian experience. The other project is a more casual, cafe-like experience, while Vetra is the main restaurant for the property, running from breakfast to dinner.<\/p>\n

Accarrino\u2019s early involvement in the layout of the kitchen plays into his plans for the restaurants, informed by his past restaurant experiences, particularly helping to open Thomas Keller\u2019s restaurant Per Se in New York. \u201cOne of the most amazing things was to walk into that kitchen and see that really all the tools had been put there for us,\u201d Accarrino says. \u201cI\u2019ve always held onto that idea of, let me lay this kitchen out with all the tools that we need to make great food. And then we have the ingredients \u2014 it\u2019s like you\u2019re just assembling things in your favor.\u201d The tools Accarrino has put in place for Vetra\u2019s kitchen include a brick oven, and an open, wood-fired hearth. There\u2019ll also be a dedicated dough room with pasta machines and space for bread-making. Accarrino envisions items such as large-format lasagna, milk bread, biscuits, and piadina, a type of Italian flatbread that he stuffs with potatoes at Mattina.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Elene<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Elene<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Elene<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Elene<\/p>\n

An onsite garden will fuel the seasonal menu. Accarrino is directing the planting of fruit trees, such as persimmons, as well as the building\u2019s raised beds to accommodate a \u201crobust\u201d herb garden of lemon verbena, lemon balm, various basils, and other things that can be utilized in the kitchen. Accarrino also aims to leverage the surrounding vineyard; he\u2019s mulling over dishes using grapes and grape leaf pasta, potentially with duck sourced from one of the meat purveyors he\u2019s partnering with. Accarrino plans to set up a dry-aging program, complete with a meat saw, to custom cut (for instance) bone-in, dry-aged wagyu, porterhouses, or a Barnsley cut of lamb.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not [meant to be] an off-putting monolith of a restaurant. It\u2019s a place to come and hang out,\u201d Accarrino says of Vetra. The restaurant has a long communal dining table, and an open kitchen.<\/p>\n

He plans to serve a quicker lunch format with bread, seasonal salads, and an entree at an accessible price for guests and locals alike, as well as a chef\u2019s menu option at night that Accarrino says is meant to be \u201ca bit bespoke and designed per table.\u201d Ultimately, it won\u2019t be Accarrino running the show when Vetra opens; taking the helm of the restaurant upon opening is chef Phillip Moratin, who\u2019s worked throughout Napa at restaurants such as the Charter Oak<\/a>, Ang\u00e8le Restaurant & Bar<\/a>, Charlie Palmer Steak Napa, and Ad Hoc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Rendering of the cafe space at the Elene. The Elene<\/p>\n

Beyond being a chef, Accarrino is a former professional cyclist who continues to race to this day, and it\u2019s not often a project intersects those two interests. Yet, the Elene manages to do just that: One of the hotel\u2019s bragging points is a cycling program with access to the Napa Valley Vine Trail<\/a>, a planned 47-mile pedestrian and biking trail that leads from the Vallejo Ferry to Calistoga. (The trail currently stretches 33 miles through Solano and Napa counties.) The hotel goes further into the cycling realm than just a stopping point, with the Barn serving as a space to get apparel and helmets, take out high-level bikes, and bike computers with preloaded routes. On top of that, there will also be meetups and group rides \u2014 a few with Accarrino playing host. \u201cWhat a great backdrop to have a product launch and bring people in to experience the food in the Napa Valley, and the whole culture and scenery around another objective [like cycling],\u201d Accarrino says. \u201cI think it just has a lot of iterative possibilities as a hub, and that we\u2019ll have all the essentials that you need for great riding.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cafe is the casual component that the team is banking on as a neighborhood hub for the trail; Accarrino envisions it as a place to get coffee, pastries, and sandwiches before or after a ride, for both hotel guests and locals. The team will make much of the offerings from scratch, like breakfast sandwiches, caramelized banana cinnamon buns, and maritozzo, a Roman soft bread stuffed with cream, that will get a dose of house jam. A smoker will work double-duty for both restaurants, producing smoked meats such as beef or turkey for the sandwiches in the casual space, served on the aforementioned homemade bread. Visitors should also keep an eye out for a porchetta sandwich, as well. \u201cWe want people in the neighborhood [to visit],\u201d he says. \u201cWe want people who are going on bike rides to all feel like they want to go there and not have it feel like the lobby coffee kiosk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Elene<\/a>, Vetra<\/a>, and the cafe (5091 Solano Avenue, Napa) debuts in late 2026.<\/p>\n