Tucked away in a residential pocket of Riverwest, Dino’s (808 E. Chambers St.) has undergone plenty of changes since it first opened as a neighborhood tavern in 1968.
This summer third generation owners Anthony and Lawrence Lococo remodeled the space and reopened the kitchen, which is already drawing robust crowds on the weekends. Don’t let the bustling bar and popular fish fry mislead you: This is a full-service Italian restaurant specializing in thoughtful, made-from-scratch family recipes, and the kitchen works with a gentle touch. The gnocchi, tossed with an understated coating of arugula-basil pesto and pine nuts ($12), are marvelously fluffy, nothing like the dense, premade shortcuts some restaurants take. For diners who can’t decide between meatballs and Italian sausage, the Sunday Sugo ($13) offers one of each over a fantastic linguine with red sauce, and both are as light as any you’ll find in the city.
For its part, the bar whips up some smart cocktails, including a ginger basil gimlet, a lavender daiquiri and a signature bourbon Old Fashioned flavored with burnt orange peel and three varieties of bitters.
