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A small slice of Italy sits just across from the water on Bay Street in Sag Harbor. Tutto Il Giorno, a candlelit restaurant specializing in modern Northern Italian cuisine, has recently reopened for the season, dedicated to bringing the gustatory delights of Italia to the Hamptons.
In a dining room accented by a crackling fireplace, chef and owner Maurizio Marfoglia seeks to transport each of his patrons to his native country via a menu that’s big on cultural tradition. Mr. Marfoglia, who hails from Lake Como in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, arrived at Tutto Il Giorno last April when he followed his business partner, Larry Baum, to Sag Harbor and became enchanted with the waterfront location of the restaurant, which opened two years prior. “As soon as I parked the car, I knew I wanted to be here,” he said in accented English. “In summer, with the boats, it’s so nice.”
Prior to his move to the East End, Mr. Marfoglia served as a corporate chef and as the executive chef at numerous Italian restaurants in New York City, including Sette Moma, Le Madri, Tuscan Square, Coco Pazzo and Ristorante Barolo. He has opened more than half a dozen restaurants in the United States and Europe, served as a private chef to the Italian ambassador to the United Nations, and taught at the Cooking Institute of America. A regular contributor to La Cucina Italiana and Italian Cooking and Living magazines, Mr. Marfoglia has brought a wealth of culinary experience to his newest restaurant.
The goal for the interior of the restaurant is serenity, “Zen-like,” as Mr. Marfoglia described it, placing his palms together in gesture resembling a yoga pose, smiling.
The main dining room features a long, “common” table in the center beneath a few large chandeliers and perpendicular to the fire. Around the common table are smaller tables, as well as some booths. The idea behind the crisp and classic look, Mr. Marfoglia said, is to create a casual, friendly atmosphere.
It is not immediately apparent that it is an Italian eatery. “We like people to feel they are really in Italy,” explained Mr. Marfoglia, “but not the stereotypes with mandolins and opera singers.”
Adorning the walls are large, framed photographs of pastoral American scenes.
Simplicity and style are the watchwords for Tutto Il Giorno, which roughly translates to “all day long.” This simplicity is reflected in the menu. Each dish, Mr. Marfoglia noted, includes no more than three or four ingredients.
Among the “antipasti,” or appetizers, the burrata, which consists of organic tomatoes and fresh basil, is a favorite, Mr. Marfoglia noted. The select list of antipasti spans choices ranging from $11 to $14. The polenta e funghi, soft polenta, wild mushrooms and black truffles, is “well accepted” among patrons. The carpaccio features Kobe beef, pantelleria caper berries and local zucchini salad, while the barbabietole offers organic roasted beets, lettuce, blue cheese and crushed hazelnuts.
The pasta selection, one of the staples of the restaurant, includes a rigatoni served with sweet and hot homemade sausage, peas and vodka sauce, and the Granny Smith apple and buffalo milk ricotta ravioli, which is served with braised lamb ragu. Pasta dishes range from $20 to $26.
Among the “secondi piatti,” or second courses, which range from $27 to $39, Mr. Marfoglia picked out the branzino, imported wild sea bass poached in white wine and fresh tomatoes, as a favorite selection.
Four sides are available: sautéed broccolini, roasted Brussels sprouts, sautéed spinach and pane carasau, a flat bread from Sardinia that is cooked on a flat stone and prepared with rosemary, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.
Desserts are offered only verbally, but recently included panna cotta, a traditional, custard-like dish made without eggs or flour, a “super dense” flourless chocolate cake—“It’s like a bar of chocolate,” Mr. Marfoglia said with a smile—a fruit tart incorporating seasonal berries and a variety of local produce, and an upside-down apple tart that is served with ice cream. “It’s gooey, good for winter,” the chef said.
The wine menu—divided into “bianco” and “rosso,” or “white” and “red,” features labels from small producers, Mr. Marfoglia said, all personally selected by him. Bianco wines are categorized according to whether they are sparkling, white or rosé.
A “prezzo fisso,” or prix fixe, menu is available on Thursdays and Fridays for $35, which includes three courses and a free glass of wine. “Dolci,” or desserts, on the prix fixe menu include tiramisu, panna cotta and affogato al caffe.
Currently, Tutto Il Giorno is operating on a winter schedule, open for dinner from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, lunch and dinner from noon to 12 a.m. on Saturday, and lunch on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. During the summer, the restaurant is open seven days a week.
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