2. The menu features a unique Roman style of pizza, plus pastas and small plates.

The first essential piece of turning the space into their vision was the menu, for which the team has placed a focus on a unique Roman style of pizza known as mattarello. The dough is stretched not by hand but with a rolling pin (the mattarello), which they say gives it a thin, almost croissant-like texture. The choices for toppings range from a classic marinara pie to a “shrimps n’ turf” that’s served with, well, shrimp, ‘nduja melt, mozzarella, and basil. The pies are cooked in a Morello Forni oven, one of the only ones in the entire state, the team says.

“It’s like normal pizza, but it’s way lighter,” Rubini says. “You can share one and [still want to] eat small plates, drink wine, have some pasta.”

Some such small plates include montanarina, a fried dough dish that they say Pelliccioni has been perfecting for years. “The first time that I tried it, it’s usually really chewy and a little bit heavy. Luca made it as a cloud. It’s a really crunchy, super light cloud,” Lucchetti laughs.

The chef, Michael Cusumano, was born in New Jersey, but moved soon after to Italy. “We fell in love with [him]. We don’t know any other American who lived for 20 years exactly where all [us] guys are from,” Lucchetti jokes.

Also on offer is an insalata di mare “Balera,” made with octopus, shrimp, razor clams, and vegetables, a mozzarella in carozza that they liken to mozzarella sticks, and a selection of salumi and cheeses all served with housemade focaccia. All pasta is made in house, with three choices on offer: There’s a tagliolini with clams, mussels, and cuttlefish in a traditional soffrito sauce; pillowy potato gnocchi with slow-cooked veal and pork white ragù; and rotolo di crespella, a savory crêpe filled with stracciatella and mascarpone, served with tomatoes and basil.

Larger dishes include a grilled Spanish mackerel and seared, thinly sliced beef. And for dessert, there’s tiramisù topped with candied walnuts, sponge cake with a Bergamot sugar glaze, and an Emilia-Romagna-style crème caramel topped with citrus.