Sicilian Style at Safina

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Downtown Milwaukee is really starting to find its footing when it comes to fine dining. North Jefferson Street has some of Milwaukee’s favorites and is also seeing a lot of transition on the block between Wells and Mason, including Safina at 785 N. Jefferson Street. 

Nestled in one of the ever-beautiful stone mansions often filled with retail, Safina is a celebration of all things Sicily. The restaurant’s goal is to make you feel like you’re a guest of owner and chef Giovanni Safina’s dinner table. With his three sons, they’ve certainly chosen the right spot to make it feel like you’re walking into an Italian home, and you’re greeted at the door by at least one of them. 

Upon entering, you realize the intimacy of the space and that the kitchen is located in the basement. Truly, it’s like you’re a guest at a dinner party except you’re footing your own bill. The menu touches on classic Sicilian dishes and adds some more Americanized plates as well. It’s an ideal combination for people who always order the same thing at Italian restaurants and those who are looking to try something new.

This night, we were celebrating a birthday and were lucky to get a windowside table facing Jefferson Street. While the dining room is small, the acoustics are quite good for an older building. Every table was full and so was the bar in the back. You can tell Safina is a hit with Milwaukee eaters. 

Olives from Sicily

None of us had been before and in our true fashion, we wanted to try a bunch of things on the menu. We started with the beef carpaccio which was so light and decadent—this was definitely the appetizer of choice. We also had the bruschetta forno which was homemade bread with roasted San Marizano sugo (sauce), charred onion, nostralina and castelvetrano olives, fontina and avorio served hot. This looked anything like bruschette when it arrived at the table but was a very surprising complement of flavors. Fun fact, Giovanni Safina owns an olive farm back in Sicily and some of the olives are imported directly from there. And, they serve house-made extra virgin olive oil made from the same source and you can purchase a bottle on your way out! 

Then, we were on to the entrees. The special that night was a linguine with clams served in a butter sauce and was an obvious choice for one of our three mains. Then, a frutti de mare (black linguine brodo pesce, shrimp, calamari, octopus and calabrain chili) and a Momma’s Vesuvio Sicilian herb-crusted free-range chicken with roasted fingerlings, peas, onions in a white wine and lemon sauce were also on the table. Honestly there was no best dish to decide as they were all uniquely delicious and very specific tastes. Depending on if you’re a land, sea, or garden person, there will undoubtedly be something for you on this menu. 

And being that you’re at a family-owned restaurant, the owners overhead it was a birthday and brought out a piece of Giovanni’s original cheesecake topped with burnt vanilla salted caramel and macerated strawberries for the table. The crust on this cheesecake is something I will continue to think about well after this evening. 

All in all, Safina is a wonderful choice for a night out of fine dining. Needless to say, you will not go home hungry, but you will want to come back for more someday soon. It’s places like this that really make what I do so enjoyable and keeps me excited for what’s to come in Downtown Milwaukee’s future.