After a relocation and a hiatus lasting a couple months, Il Radicchio is preparing to host a soft opening at its new spot tomorrow (Friday).
The longtime Italian restaurant will reopen at 4 p.m. at 2909 Wilson Blvd, owner Rishi Nagpal told ARLnow. The menu will be almost entirely the same as it was, as Nagpal intends to carry on the tradition of “a real pasta house” dating back over 30 years.
The restaurant has been accepting orders on Uber Eats and Doordash, but is in the process of revamping its new location and preparing to restart its full operation. The soft opening will have a limited beverage menu, Nagpal said.
Il Radicchio is recovering from a period of some uncertainty.
When the restaurant closed in June amid redevelopment plans at its longtime location at 1801 Clarendon Blvd, the ownership said it was planning to relocate but didn’t say where. The establishment finally moved into the home of another Italian restaurant, Mazaro, when that business shuttered.
“We didn’t know we were going to move here,” Nagpal said.
Nagpal said he has taken the reins from his father, who stepped down for his health.
Open since 1994, Il Radicchio serves pasta dishes such as gnocchi with sausage, arugula and roasted pine nuts; penne with sauteed chicken, spinach, tomato and goat cheese; and linguine with chicken scallopini, broccolini and mushroom ragu in a marsala wine sauce.
“Specialita” include dishes such as lobster ravioli, grilled eggplant parmesan and linguine di mare with scallops, shrimp, clams and calamari. Pizza options, meanwhile, include the “Classico” with Italian sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella and tomato sauce, or the “Pollo e Funghi con Pesto” with wild mushrooms, grilled chicken, mozzarella and pesto with light cream sauce.
The restaurant also offers Italian desserts such as tiramisu, a Sicilian cannoli and the “Tartufo al Limoncello,” lemon gelato with a core of limoncello, covered in meringue.
