New Italian Restaurant To Open In Shirlington In Early December

ARLINGTON, VA — A new Italian restaurant is coming to where Cheesetique now calls home in the Village at Shirlington in Arlington. The restaurant, Corso Italian, is a new concept from the owner of Cheesetique and will feature a modern take on Italy’s classic dishes.

The space at 4024 Campbell Avenue will close as Cheesetique on Nov. 22 and reopen as Corso Italian early December, serving dinner in the main dining room. Expanded dinner service in the Mona Lisa Salon and lunch service will be added in the following weeks.

“Italian food is broadly appealing and incredibly diverse and The Village at Shirlington is the perfect location for Corso Italian,” Jill Erber, owner of Cheesetique and Corso Italian, said in a statement. “The Shirlington crowd is worldly and hip, but unpretentious.”

Erber opened the first Cheesetique in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria in 2004. The second location opened soon after in The Village at Shirlington, which is now becoming Corso Italian.

Cathal Armstrong, Corso Italian’s chef, is the former owner and chef at Restaurant Eve. Erber and Armstrong met more than 20 years ago.

“The canvas we have here is incredibly inspiring,” said Armstrong, an Irishman who began his career cooking Italian food in Dublin. “I love waking up in the middle of the night needing to write down menu ideas.”

“We are going to cook classics to perfection, but with our unique personality,” Armstrong said. “Everyday you will see us making pasta in the front window. In the spring and summer we’re going to source fresh, local ingredients and in the fall and winter, the menu will build on homemade cured and preserved elements.”

Menu items will include Italian-American classics like chicken Vesuvio, bone-in veal parmesan, and carbonara with hand-made pasta.

A gourmet retail market will be featured in the front of the restaurant with fresh pastas, sauces, Italian cheeses, salumi, and Italian wine. The restaurant will include bar and bistro seating, and two private dining rooms.

“We are thrilled to welcome Corso Italian to the lively Village, a destination filled with restaurants that offer many different flavors and cuisines,” said Stuart Biel, senior vice president of Federal Realty Investment Trust, owner of The Village at Shirlington.