Disotto, a new addition to the Francesca restaurant family, opened in Highwood on April 13 in the space formerly occupied by PM Prime. The space has been completely transformed to convey the intimate and convivial ambiance of a rustic Italian wine cellar. “Disotto” in Italian means downstairs.
The first visual upon entering the restaurant is an entryway walled with wooden sidings from authentic wine cases and a framed window lined with decorative olive oil dispensers. The raised ceiling interior of the restaurant has been redone in brick with weeping mortar and floors made from reclaimed Indiana barn wood. The tables are bleached wood topped with butcher paper. The main dining room is lit by exposed Edison lamps and brass sconces.
The concept for the restaurant, explains General Manager Edgar Lincoln, is expanded from DiSotto Enoteca, the downstairs area of the Francesca’s restaurant located on Chicago’s Gold Coast. Unlike its small plate menu, Disotto in Highwood features a full, traditional style menu. “The idea was to go with food you might get at your grandmother’s house for Sunday dinner,” Lincoln said.
The comfort level is enhanced, he added, by mixed-pattern silverware and plate ware scored from antique stores.
The restaurant, including the full-service bar area, seats 75. Two downstairs rooms, for either private parties or additional weekend seating, seat an additional 70 in total. The bar itself seats 12. A chalkboard depicting a world map is a work in progress. Lincoln expects the illustration to be replaced by a depiction of an Italian small town.
Why Highwood? “My mother’s family is from Winnetka,” Lincoln said. “They would often go out to eat in Highwood, which has built a name for itself as a restaurant destination. There’s a resurgence going on here and it’s something (Francesca’s) wanted to be a part of.”
The initial menu was not created “to blow anyone away with something they hadn’t seen before,” Lincoln said. “Our comfort dishes are made using high-quality traditional ingredients.”
An early popular entree, he said, is a roasted half chicken ($19) that is brined in house and cooked fresh on brick to create a crispy skin. Another one of the restaurant’s “best dishes,” Lincoln enthused, is the steamed mussels appetizer ($12) and a salami and cheese plate ($19), whose offerings are changed regularly. The homemade focaccia di recco, two thin layers of crisp baked bread with Italian cheeses, is another house appetizer specialty.
Other entrees include a 24-ounce ribeye steak ($59), salmon accompanied by locally sourced vegetables ($22), several pizzas ($13-$15), and pasta offerings, including spaghetti ($15) and a pepper-accented pappardelle ($16). Desserts include a chocolate hazelnut torte, Italian doughnuts and tiramisu ($8 each).
Disotto’s ambitions, Lincoln said, are modest with an eye on becoming a neighborhood fixture like other Highwood institutions, such as Del Rio’s. “We just want to be a neighborhood restaurant where people can feel like they’re at home and will be taken care of at a high level,” he said.
Hours: Open daily at 4 p.m.
Disotto is at 310 Green Bay Road, Highwood. Call 224-765-9490 or go to www.disottoitalian.com.
Donald Liebenson is a freelance writer.