Bardinelli Bounces Back With New Bistro

Luciano Bardinelli - the man who helped ignite the bomb that became the local Italian restaurant boom - is back after three years in sunny California. Is it any surprise that he's got another restaurant in the works? Not to those of us who know him. A chef and peripatetic restaurateur, Bardinelli made his name in Seattle after opening Settebello on Capitol Hill in 1982, serving such then-unheard-of dishes as risotto and osso buco.

Settebello, which had a 10-year run, was a veritable breeding ground for restaurateurs. Among the former waiters on its payroll were Peter Lewis, owner of Campagne/Cafe Campagne, and the late Kenny Raider, who opened al Boccalino with fellow waiter Luigi De Nunzio. De Nunzio later split with Raider to open La Buca with Raffaele Calise, who was the original owner of Salute near U-Village (now owned by his ex-wife, Dana), Salute in Citta (now the Yakima Grill) and Salute in Bellevue (still his). Today De Nunzio is the sole proprietor of La Buca, which recently spawned Cafe Bengodi. Former Settebello waiter Gino Borriello opened Ciao Italia in Edmonds (sold to employee Patrick Girardi, then Ciao Bella (which he still owns), and Isabella Ristorante (since sold to Hamid Khaddad).

A year after opening Settebello, Bardinelli launched Paparazzi (now Cafe Viscaya), with the help of Calise and Gianfranco Bafaro (chef/owner of Kirkland's Calabria). Next he opened Stresa at Carillon Point (now a Cucina! Cucina!), then Italianissimo in

Woodinville (sold to chef Kent Betts). After turning an ailing Italian restaurant, Pompeii, into the very-short-lived Settebello in Bellevue, he opened Italianissimo at Sand Point (now The Roasted Pepper).

Bardinelli also lent a managerial hand to Sostanza's original chef/owner, Erin Rosella, engaging in a limited partnership before the restaurant was sold, in 1996, to Lorenzo Cianciusi, the former chef and co-owner (with Mauro Golmarvi) of Assaggio Ristorante. Golmarvi later snagged chef Don Curtiss to run Assaggio's kitchen. Curtiss is an alum of al Boccalino who came to Seattle's attention as opening chef at the much-lauded Andaluca.

After two years at Assaggio, Curtiss was hired last month to run the kitchen at Prego, the Italian restaurant atop the Madison Renaissance Hotel. He took the place of departing chef Peter Orel, who spent five years at Saleh al Lago prior to stints at Sostanza and Serafina. Managing Prego is Jodi Bardinelli, late of il Fornaio and ex-wife of You Know Who.

Oh, about Luciano Bardinelli's new restaurant. No, he's not calling it Lucky Luciano's, he's calling it Sans Souci, and it has a subtitle, too: "A Bistro of the Two Rivieras." The location? The Wintergarden adjoining Bellevue Place - a spot old-timers will remember as the short-lived second-story home of the Eastside version of Cafe Sport (10520 N.E. Eighth St.). Bardinelli says that Sans Souci (French for "happy-go-lucky" or "carefree," which is more than I can feel about trying to keep this fellow's career straight), will focus on seasonal fare influenced by the French and Italian Rivieras (pastas, seafood). There will be a daily changing menu that he promises to keep affordable. Tentative ETA: Day One of 2000.

Seattle recently welcomed two new Italian restaurants that, as far as I know, have no connection, tenuous or otherwise, to Luciano Bardinelli. The skinny little half-hidden space behind Cassis, on Capitol Hill, has been taken over and transformed from its former incarnation as a Mexican joint to Spaghetti Red's (2355 1/2 10th Ave. E., Seattle, 206-709-8744). Among the investors in this venture are Jeff O'Felt and Wade Weigel, owners of Bimbo's Bitchin' Burrito Kitchen, the Cha Cha Lounge and the Baltic Room. Dinner only, served nightly.

Umberto's, long a fixture in Pioneer Square, is now Bartalameo's Ristorante (100 S. King St., Seattle, 206-262-0441). Owners are Bob Perriella and his son, Robert Wells. The restaurant has undergone an extensive remodel, and now offers separate lounges for smokers and nonsmokers.

Lunch is offered Monday through Friday, dinner served daily. Perriella also owns Palmer's Bar and Cafe, in Belltown. ------------------------------- Nancy Leson's phone number is 206-464-8838. Her e-mail address is: nleson@seattletimes.com