Santa Rosa’s L’Oro di Napoli will officially open its 8,000-square-foot Petaluma restaurant Wednesday, Feb. 19, featuring a new menu, bar and impressive Italian wood-fired pizza oven. But one thing will be missing — the lasagna.
“No lasagna here,” said co-owner Domenico De Angelis, whose mile-high lasagna filled with layers of fresh pasta, Bolognese, béchamel, tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese is a bestseller at the Santa Rosa location and pushed the Fourth Street restaurant to the top of my Italian dining “best of” list.
De Angelis said he wants to keep the lasagna a Santa Rosa-only dish. But Petaluma will also have unique offerings, including veal Milanese, crispy arancini, whole Branzino and zucchini Parmesan. It also will serve wood-fired pizzas, like the Santa Rosa location.
Unlike the pocket-sized kitchen in Santa Rosa, the lavish new kitchen build-out in Petaluma will allow L’Oro di Napoli to expand its Neapolitan-influenced menu.
The 208 Petaluma Boulevard North restaurant (formerly Thai Issan) also has separate bar and restaurant seating, a pizza dough-rising room, a private dining area and the charming Neapolitan “windows” and faux balcony overlooking the dining room similar to the Santa Rosa restaurant.
“We want you to feel like you’re in Italy when you’re here,” said De Angelis.
You can reach Dining Editor Heather Irwin at heather.irwin@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Heather on Instagram @biteclubeats.