More Details Emerge About Fabio Viviani's Siena Tavern

Siena Tavern, the new restaurant by Top Chef "star" Fabio Viviani, won't likely open until February, but more details have started coming out about it. The 10,000-square-foot River North Italian restaurant will have a separate 600-square-foot crudo and pizza bar just off the main dining room that will have its own honed-granite-topped bar and an open kitchen where a Woodstone Oven will fire up 16 pizzas at once in under five minutes.

For this project, which will have rustic-meets-modern-industrial vibe, Viviani has partnered with DineAmic's Lucas Stoioff and David Rekhson, the guys behind Bull & Bear and Public House. The trio traveled to Italy not long ago to research dishes and gain inspiration for the project. Upon return, the team enlisted Femme du Coupe's Revae Schneider to create Siena Tavern's cocktail program, which will feature a twist on limoncello.

The restaurant will have six distinct spaces in addition to the crudo and pizza bar, including a main oval-shaped bar, an elevated deck with a separate bar and a 15-person private dining room. The menu hasn't been revealed, but Viviani recently said, "I'm involved so it'll be fairly Italian." Duh.
· Fabio Viviani's Restaurant Will Be Called Siena Tavern [~EChi~]

[Photo: The Siena Tavern partners during their Italian excursion]