Sophia Loren is usually behind the bar—not filling wine glasses but on the big screen in colorful scenes from Italy via vintage movies. The music, purring at conversation level, suggests that same mid-century era (although here and there Billy Joel is heard). The long bar-dining room is dark and comfortable as a womb but also suggests something theatrical—the perfect setting for a restaurant that refines Italian classics to a high level.
Nothing remains of the dive bar on the Bay View corner now occupied by Santino’s Little Italy. Before it opened last winter, owners Santo Galati, Greg Huber and Nick Anton gutted the place, installed a new bar and a gleaming new exposed kitchen with an Italian-made hybrid gas-wood pizza oven capable of baking five pies simultaneously over fragrant cherry wood. That the results are delicious is no surprise.
Pizza occupies a big slice of the menu. Santino’s Chef Vasyl Lemberskyy is a Michelangelo among pizza makers. He insists on the finest Italian flour and cheeses. The crust is medium thin, almost airy, lightly toasted and oven singed outside but soft as homemade bread within. Some 16 varieties are on the menu ($14-$16), including a marvelous Greek pizza with artichokes, feta, mozzarella and Kalamata olives; a European chicken with fried potatoes, chicken and mozzarella; a vegetarian with seasonal vegetables; and the Deluxe with mozzarella, sausage, pepperoni, onion, black olives and green bell pepper. You can also customize your own.
If pizza doesn’t tempt you, the menu also includes antipasti, salads and pasta-based entrées. The Sicilian potato arancini ($8) could be called a stuffed potato, but that would be an injustice. Fried with skin on, it’s filled with tasty pesto and feta cheese and is light enough to serve as an appetizer. The Caesar salad, a special on a recent visit, is big enough for two and drizzled with light creamy garlic dressing and shaved cheese. Likewise, the Gigante Meatball Plate ($14), boasting a 10-ounce meatball with little filler surmounting a deep bowl of mostacelli, mozzarella and tomato sauce, is more than enough to share.
Given the ample portions, it might not be a bad idea to work backwards by starting with the desserts. There are homemade Galati family recipe Italian cookies ($7) and fluffy layered tiramisu ($6) with a light-roasted coffee flavor. The wine list is well curated and Italian libations seldom seen in Milwaukee restaurants, such as Fernet-Branca and grappa, are available. Check out happy hour for food specials and $3 bargains on wine and rail drinks.
Santino’s has become so popular on Friday and Saturday that most of the outdoor patio is being enclosed into a second dining room, which will nearly double the seating. Come summer, a few outside tables will remain plus a newly installed bocce ball court. Santino’s is another reason Bay View has become a Milwaukee area destination.
