Hey Foodies, New Restaurant Alert: Check Out Italian-Inspired Casanova New Haven

NEW HAVEN, CT — Yes, it's that Casanova. The restaurant’s namesake is the 18th-century Italian explorer, adventurer, author, intellectual, and amorous Giacomo Casanova.

Yale University Properties announced that Italian-inspired restaurant Casanova New Haven at 278 Park St., in the Broadway District, celebrates its official ribbon-cutting Thursday at 12:30.

Executive chef and co-owner Joseph Iannaccone, general manager and co-owner Giuseppe Passeggio, Mayor Justin Elicker and others will cut the ceremonial ribbon and "enjoy a taste" of Chef Iannaccone’s rustic pizza.

At the heart of the restaurant is Casanova New Haven’s open-hearth, wood-fired pizza oven and pizza bar, where customers can see Iannaccone’s unique recipes come to life.

"What I think will draw people in will be that moment when they look through the windows and see the wood-fired pizza oven and what it is we’re doing," Iannaccone said. "The pizza-bar seating brings customers into the action, where they can watch us making pizza and ask questions. We love that."

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Iannaccone honed his talent working beside celebrated chefs and restaurateurs, including the late James Kent of New York. Between 2016 and 2020, Iannaccone worked at such Michelin-rated restaurants as The French Laundry, in Yountville, CA, and Le Bernardin, Crown Shy, and Vestry, all in New York City.

In 2021, he returned home to Connecticut to work with Passeggio at Goodfella’s, now known as Encore by Goodfellas, the popular New Haven eatery owned by Iannaccone’s father.

Iannaccone said he took some cues from Kent’s concept of imbuing a casual sensibility when putting together Casanova New Haven.

"We want everyone to feel comfortable, have fun, and enjoy themselves," he said.

As a New Haven-area native who hails from a family of successful restaurateurs, Iannaccone said he and Passeggio couldn’t have found a better location for the restaurant, the former home of the celebrated Tarry Lodge.

"The history of this location really excited us," he said. "The bones are here, the pizza oven’s here, the pastalator is here. We have Italian heritage and that’s really what drove us to come to this location, as well as the building’s beautiful architecture. It’s a gem."

The interior’s book-lined shelves and its bar, The Library, are designed with a nod to Casanova. The menu will feature fresh, seasonal dishes made with locally sourced ingredients, with a focus on pizza and pasta. Among Iannaccone’s signature dishes are a truffle pizza made with black truffle slices, and corn agnolotti, made with ricotta-stuffed agnolotti pasta, corn pudding, and corn pieces topped with tiny pops of sorghum.

"The food will be rustic—a creative play on traditional Italian cuisine," Iannaccone was quoted as saying. "I want to bring my own twist and flair to it, and we’re excited to offer something fresh and new to the New Haven dining scene. It’s sophistication at its finest, but not everything on the menu is high-end. It’s going to also be affordable for people who want to come and enjoy a great meal."