An Italian restaurant from the team behind two popular North Fulton County eateries is set to open in downtown Alpharetta in the next few weeks.
Sorella Vicina will debut at 35 Milton Ave., on the bottom floor of the Hamilton Hotel.
The concept comes from Phillip Cooper’s Cellared Roots Hospitality Group, which also owns Vin 25 in Roswell and Citizen Soul in Alpharetta.
Corporate chef and operations manager Sean Clark said Sorella Vicina’s menus will focus on Italian dishes, although some items will show influences from northern Spain and southern France.
Credit: Mood + Theory
Credit: Mood + Theory
He said it was important to Cooper, a certified sommelier, to highlight cuisine that would also be complemented by a wide range of Mediterranean wines.
“Every time we look at the wine list, I design the menu around the list,” Clark said. “There’s a common thread with all our restaurants that food and wine are presented together.
Dishes on the opening menu will likely include tuna crudo, housemade pear and tarragon cacio e pepe, lamb ravioli, pappardelle with short rib Bolognese, and lemon broiled bronzini. Clark said he’s also hoping to introduce some lighter dishes that go against the reputation that Italian food has for being on the heavier side.
Menus will be seasonal and will feature local ingredients when possible. Meat will come from Italy’s Piedmontese region, known for its “lean yet tender” beef, Clark said.
In addition to the dine-in component, the space will also be home to Sorella Mercado, a small retail market at the front of the restaurant that will stock Sorella Vicina’s housemade pastas, charcuterie, cookbooks and bottles of wine.
The market will also offer an educational component, with an area to teach wine and pasta-making classes.
Designed by Cooper’s wife, Sarah, the Sorella Vicina space will have a “modern, bright” feel, Clark said, with 23-foot ceilings and seating for about 100 guests.
Sorella Vicina will join several other food and beverage concepts in the Hamilton Hotel, which opened about a year ago, including Fulton Public House, Carrie’s Conservatory and Roaring Social. Clark said that while some of the restaurant’s customer base will likely be hotel guests, he hopes it will also be a destination for locals.
The restaurant will be open for dinner Tuesdays-Sundays. Lunch hours will be added early next year.
35 Milton Ave. SE, Alpharetta. sorellavicina.com.
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