Acqua Pazza – beginning in Naples, Italy
Enzo, Tullio, and Valerio Rosano grew up in the Mergellina suburb of Naples, Italy, situated on the picturesque harbor of Porto Sannazzaro where hydrofoils jet out to Italian gems, Capri and Ischia, on a daily basis.
“Growing up, every day in our home was like living in a restaurant,” says Tullio Rosano, who now serves as General Manager at Acqua Pazza in San Mateo, Calif. “There were nine children, so my mother would cook huge meals, making her own pasta, pizzas, or bread every day.”
It’s no surprise all three brothers completed the rigorous and very prestigious, 5-year Scuola Albergheria culinary and hospitality course in Naples, Italy before moving on to prestigious beginnings in the industry.
The brothers Rosano
In 1996, Enzo Rosano took his first professional post as a bartender at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Vong’s in London. He moved on to work at The Berkeley Knightsbridge luxury hotel – also in London – where he served as bar manager for one year before relocating to Half Moon Bay to open Mezza Luna with family friend Roberto and Dolores Giovanni. After successfully managing the opening of Mezza Luna, Rosano joined his brothers at Caffe Riace in Palo Alto where they began to make plans to open a family restaurant.
Enzo’s older brother Tullio Rosano worked as a chef at acclaimed local Neapolitan haunt, Sbrescia, in Posilipo, Naples for 6 years before relocating to Palo Alto.
Valerio Rosano, who began cooking at age 14, worked as a chef at Due Torri in the 5-star Baglioni Hotel in Verona and at The Hotel Excelsior in Naples before being hired as one of the primary chefs at The Vatican, under the reign of Pope John Paul II. He then relocated to Miami, Fla. to work at Il Gabbiano, owned by Fernando and Gino Maci of New York’s Il Mulino. After one year, he felt family calling in Palo Alto, as his brothers had, and moved West to Palo Alto to help plan the future family venture.
Naples, meet San Mateo
In June, 2008, the Rosano brothers opened Acqua Pazza, bringing the authentic flavors of their Naples upbringing to downtown San Mateo, Calif. In the style of many family-run restaurants in Italy, Enzo and Tullio split General Manager duties. One of the brothers is always at the front door, greeting patrons with the warmth of an Italian family.
Executive Chef Valerio runs a vibrant kitchen in which fresh seafood and many of the ingredients he used in his early days cooking in Naples take center stage. His signature thin crust pizzas ($11.95-14.95), made according to the same recipe as world-famous Da Michele in Naples, feature imported caputo flour – the “world’s best pizza flour” – and buffalo mozzarella.
Chef Valerio’s Branzino Acqua Pazza (A.Q.), which literally means “fish in crazy water,” is a classic dish indigenous to the Amalfi Coast. Chef Valerio’s version features the day’s freshest fish baked with olive oil, chopped garlic, cherry tomatoes, and fresh herbs. Agnello con Fragole (Half rack: $18.96, Full rack: 27.95), a New Zealand rack of lamb grilled with Barolo red wine reduction and local berries, is another house specialty, showing off Chef Valerio’s skill with Northern European cooking methods.
Transported to the Italian Coast
The Rosano brothers have effectively transformed the former Hoturo Japanese Restaurant on the corner of E. 3rd Ave and S. Ellsworth Ave. into an ode to Italian coastal style. A jocund, sea blue-and-beige striped awning shades the outdoor seating area, which seats 15 and holds two live lemon trees. Soothing sand and water tones color the walls of the adjacent 70-seat interior, which converts into an open-air dining room on warm days.
Major focal points in the breezy, light-filled space include a ceramic art installment by local artist Claude Klari Reis and an eight-seat rose-and-marine blue tiled bar. Behind the bar, the “Positano Room” seats private parties of six to ten, or guests who wish to wait for their dinner reservation at one of the two high bar tables.
Upstairs, the 30-person private “Capri Room” is flanked by an electric working fireplace and bedecked in colorful images and memorabilia from the Amalfi coast.
Special Times at Acqua Pazza
Seventy-year-old Mamma Carmela’s presence can be felt daily at Acqua Pazza via her recipes and the welcoming family spirit of the restaurant, yet patrons can meet her in the flesh periodically throughout the year when she comes to visit her boys. On each trip she prepares a special prix fixe menu at Acqua Pazza. Interested diners can call the restaurant directly to learn when Mamma is planning her next visit.
Italian pop and opera singer Pasquale Esposito (http://www.italianmusicman.com/) performs live on the last Wednesday of the month starting at 7:30 p.m. in the main dining room.
Every night of the week, parties of six or more who arrive from 5 to 6:30 p.m. can partake in Acqua Pazza’s Happy Hour special. For $20 per person, each person gets unlimited happy hour cocktails, beer and wine, and an all-you-can-eat assortment of the restaurant’s favorite appetizers, such as fried calamari, bruschetta, and guazzetto Amalfi, sautéed clams and mussels in a light spicy tomato sauce.
About Acqua Pazza
A breath of fresh Amalfi Coast air in downtown San Mateo, Acqua Pazza is run, back-to-front, by the Rosano brothers: Enzo, Tullio and Valerio. The spacious interior includes a 15-seat outdoor patio, 70-seat main dining area, and an eight-seat bar. Acqua Pazza is available for full buyout, yet smaller private parties may wish to reserve the eight-seat “Positano Room” or 30-seat “Capri Room” on the restaurant’s mezzanine. The restaurant is located at 201 E. 3rd Avenue in San Mateo, Calif. From Monday through Friday, dinner is served from 5 to 10 p.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the restaurant is open from 11:30AM to 10PM. Reservations are recommended. All major credit cards are accepted. For more details, please visit the Web site at www.acqua-pazza.com or call 650-375-0903.
