​The team behind Noto Italian Restaurant will open Bacaro, a Venetian cicchetti bar, in early March. Bacaro will be located in the same building as Noto at 5105 Westwood Drive in St. Peters.

The restaurant borrows its name from the Venetian taverns where patrons sip on wine or aperitifs accompanied by cicchetti, which are essentially Venetian-style tapas. Indeed, it was a trip to Venice last year that inspired Noto owners Wayne Sieve and Kendele Noto Sieve to create the concept in their own little corner of the world. “We wanted to come up with a concept of an aperitivo bar where people can come and have small bites, have spritzes, have Italian wine and just casually hang out and eat,” Kendele said.

Bacaro is based out of a lower level space that Kendele said is “pretty much underneath” Noto. The space was formerly used as a garage, but has been completely transformed, with an indoor patio extension and new interior features. “We made it look old, added a lot of textures, we have marble and stone and tiles, so the vibe is very rustic, but modern at the same time,” Kendele said. Bacaro will seat around 75 guests inside, and an outdoor patio will soon be added to accommodate a further 20 guests.

With the design of the space, Kendele and Wayne said they’re not trying to recreate the style of an actual bacaro in Venice. Instead, the decor pays tribute to the city itself, incorporating identifiable Venetian elements like Venetian masks, photos of Carnevale, the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square, stone walls and a graffiti wall that echo the streetscapes of Venice. “There’s definitely elements that will be very familiar,” Wayne said.

The food and drink at Bacaro will be a different matter. “We’ve matched our drink program and our food program to be exactly what you would do or what you would get out of a bacaro in Venice,” Kendele said. Wayne Sieve is developing the menu alongside Noto executive chef Justin McMillen, the former culinary director of Niche Food Group, who also operates his Elsworth Supper Club pop-up with Amelia McMillen. The menu will feature around eight crostini-style cicchetti options, small bites served in portions of three. Kendele said her personal favorite on the Bacaro menu is the mantecato, a creamy, salted cod-based cicchetti that is a staple in Venice. Another traditional Venetian option is mortadella with ricotta and pistachio garnish.

Bacaro’s menu will also feature a few tramezzini, a sub-category of cicchetti. These little triangular sandwiches are reminiscent of an afternoon tea sandwich, served on soft white bread with the crusts cut off and with a variety of fillings like Venetian-style tuna salad or prosciutto. Salads, charcuterie and a couple of desserts will also be offered on the menu, adding up to a total of around 15 to 20 items. Kendele said they’re still working out what desserts to put on the menu, but they’re not lacking options. “We might do a fragola, which is a strawberry and limoncello trifle, we’ll make our sponge cake, we’re also debating if we’re going to do panna cotta, gelato or sorbetto or maybe another pastry,” she said.

The experience at Bacaro is designed to be adaptable to what you’re in the mood for. “If you want to make it a meal, you can easily make it a meal,” Wayne said. Equally, if you want to stop in for a glass of wine and some cicchetti before or after a pizza at Noto, Bacaro’s menu is amenable to that too.

Spritzes will feature prominently at Bacaro, with eight spritzes on the menu. Travis Shook is creating the drinks, including a selection of seasonal cocktails. “It’ll be more of a mixology menu upstairs at Noto, where downstairs here at Bacaro will be more spritz, wine, Italian beer and then a small cocktail menu,” Kendele said. A sprtiz and cicchetti pairing option will also be offered. “Everything is definitely very much to be enjoyed with a spritz or amari with the cicchetti,” Wayne said. The spritzes come with an order of potato chips, another tradition in Venice and across northern and especially north-eastern Italy.

Wayne and Kendele are keen to differentiate between the northern and southern Italian culinary traditions that each of their restaurants represents. “We’re keeping the southern Italian amari upstairs, and then down here for Bacaro, it’s more northern,” Kendele said. The opening selection at Bacaro will include 10 to 12 amari, with names like Bordiga, Meletti and Amaro Montenegro represented. Shook is also working on creating Bacaro’s own amaro in-house – that won’t be ready in time for opening, but it’s in the pipeline. “I don’t know if it will be readily available all the time, but it could be something we offer once the batch is ready,” Kendele said.

As well as serving its own crowd, Bacaro will also provide a backup option for anyone who can’t get a table at Noto, which is essentially reservation-only with very limited space for walk-in guests. “We've been very fortunate with Noto, it's been successful and we couldn't be more thankful or grateful for that,” Wayne said. “We didn't intend for it to be reservation-only and that's just the way it's kind of been, it's always booked and that's a great thing. And we wanted to be able to still offer an extension, so [Bacaro] was a way for us to be able to offer walk-in guests that may not have a reservation a way to still experience what we do.”

Bacaro is aiming for an early March launch, and will be open for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday each week.

La Comunità Italiana di St Louis ha il piacere di invitarvi alla VI edizione del CARNEVALE VENEZIANO - la principale festa di Carnevale in stile Veneziano a St Louis. 

Data: Sabato, 17 Febbraio, 2024
Luogo: 8195 Lackland Rd. St Louis, Missouri 63114

Location: La sala ricevimenti privata di Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Jost, con area di 2,500 sq. ft. e una pista da ballo professionale, è  stata generosamente messa a disposizione per l'evento. Si ringrazia la famiglia Jost, tra i maggiori benefattori della Comunita' Italiana di St Louis, per l'ospitalità.

17.00 - apertura
17.15 - giochi e lavoretti per i bambini con le babysitters
18.30 - cena
19.00 - musica e apertura della pista da ballo 
19.30 - premiazione dei costumi dei bambini
21.00 - premiazione dei costumi degli adulti 
21.15 - lotteria
23.00 - chiusura

***Sono consigliati costumi in stile delle maschere Veneziane e tradizionali***
​
BIGLIETTI 

$10 - Adulti 
Partecipazione gratuita per bambini al di sotto di 12 anni 
Biglietti in vendita attraverso Venmo @Giovanna-Leopardi o chiamando Giovanna Leopardi: (314) 566-3873

Il biglietto include: due bevande alcoliche (vino o birra), due analcolici o bibite, pasta cucinata dallo Chef Alessandro Valentino, chiacchiere (crostoli) preparati al momento dallo Chef Alessandro Valentino. Per chi non lo sapesse, le chiacchiere sono il dolce tipico di carnevale. 

***Tutti sono invitati a portare un piatto o una bevanda da condividere***

PREMI

Miglior maschera/costume dei bambini (sotto gli 11 anni)
Miglior maschera/costume ragazzi (12 - 17 anni)
Miglior maschera/costume adulti (sopra i 18 anni) 

LOTTERIA

Avremo una lotteria a favore della Comunità Italiana di St Louis con premi per tutte le età 

"PHOTO BOOTH" / SCENARIO PER LE FOTO A TEMA VENEZIANO

Avremo un'area dedicata alle foto, con accessori e uno sfondo a tema del Carnevale Veneziano

BABYSITTERS

Buone notizie per i genitori che vogliono "staccare per la serata" ma portare i bambini! Avremo un'intera area dedicata ai bambini, con giochi, lavoretti (e.g. creare la propria maschera di Carnevale!) e tre babysitter dedicate e responsabili che intratterranno i bambini permettendovi di godervi la serata! 

RSVP: [email protected]
​
Per informazioni o per sponsorizzare l'evento, contattare Michael Cross al numero (225) 239-3897 o mandare un'email a [email protected]

​You are cordially invited to St Louis' 6th Annual CARNEVALE VENEZIANO - the Premier Venetian Masquerade Party in St Louis.

When: Saturday, February 17, 2024
Where: 8195 Lackland Rd. St Louis, Missouri 63114

​About the location: We are excited to have at our disposal Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Jost's private banquet hall with a 2,500 sq. ft. professional ballroom dance floor. The Jost family is a major donor of the Italian Community and we thank them for their generosity.

5:00pm - doors open
5:15pm - games/crafts for kids (babysitters provided)
6:30pm - dinner
7:00pm - music begins/dance floor opens
7:30pm - kids costume prizes
9:00pm - adult costume prizes
9:15pm - raffle
11:00pm - close

***Venetian style masquerade masks and/or costumes are strongly encouraged***

TICKETS

$10 - Adults
Free Admission for children 12 and under
Purchase your ticket via Venmo @Giovanna-Leopardi or call Giovanna Leopardi: (314) 566-3873

Purchase of an adult ticket includes: two alcoholic beverages (wine or beer), two non-alcoholic beverages, freshly made pasta dishes made by Chef Alessandro Valentino, and made-on-the-spot chiacchiere (crostoli) by Chef Alessandro Valentino. For those who are unfamiliar, this is the famous dessert that is customary during Carnevale all throughout Italy.

***We highly encourage all to bring a dish or drink to share***

PRIZES

Best Kids Mask/Costume (ages 11 and under)
Best Teen Mask/Costume (ages 12 to 17)
Best Adult Mask/Costume (ages 18 and older)

RAFFLE

We will have a raffle to support the Italian Community of St Louis with fun prizes for all ages.

VENETIAN PHOTO BOOTH BACKDROP

We will have a photo area with Venetian Carnevale backdrop and fun props.

BABYSITTERS

For those bringing your children but still want to "get away for the evening", have no fear!!! We have an entire area dedicated to kids with games and crafts (i.e.: kids can make their own Carnevale masks!) and three dedicated and responsible babysitters who will allow you to enjoy the evening!

RSVP: [email protected]
​
For inquiries or to sponsor this event please call Michael Cross at (225) 239-3897 or send an email to: [email protected]