Cinque Terre West serves tagliatelle al pomodoro, made with fresh tomato, garlic and basil ($20). (Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
Austinites can now find authentic flavors from Cinque Terre and the Ligurian region of Italy in the Rosedale neighborhood. Diners can be transported to the Italian coast with fresh seafood dishes and Italian wine at Cinque Terre West ATX.
Marlo Vinzoni (left) stands with her husband, Gianba Vinzoni (right). Cinque Terre West is Gianba Vinzoni's passion project, according to the restaurant's website. (Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
Meet the owners
Cinque Terre West ATX is owned by husband-and-wife Gianbattista “Gianba” and Marlo Vinzoni. The pair first opened the concept in 2019 in the Pacific Palisades, where they lived for more than 20 years.
The Vinzonis relocated Cinque Terre West to Venice, where the restaurant didn’t have the same regular clientele that it had in the Palisades, Marlo Vinzoni said. After one year in Venice, the co-owners moved the restaurant to Austin in July.
On the menu
The menu features scratch-made specials and pastas. For starters, patrons can find crudi, including the Tonno, which is made with tuna, avocado, Cara Cara orange, cilantro and caperberries. Other offerings include the burrata made with grilled persimmon, watercress, orange agrumato and saba. Pastas include the spaghetti alle vongole, made with manila clams, garlic, white wine and parsley.
Cinque Terre West serves a ricciola crudi, with Hamachi, green apple, Eastern radish, micro cilantro and mango habanero sorbet ($24).(Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
Cinque Terre West recently switched over from a summer to fall menu in early October. One of the biggest differences between operating the restaurant in California and Texas is having a seasonal menu, Gianba Vinzoni explained. Due to hotter weather conditions in Texas, seasonal produce is more limited.
“The... challenge for us is that… you get the relationship with farms [where] they can give you a product for the whole season,” Gianba Vinzoni said. “Here we have a relationship with a couple of farmers and everything but the season here is like ‘oh I have [products] for two weeks’.”
Cinque Terre West ATX also serves wine, signature cocktails and various spritzes.
The interior of Cinque Terre West shows pictures and maps of the Italian coast. (Katlynn Fox/Community Impact)
Something to note
The Italian restaurant joins the couple’s other venture, Ciccio Bomba, which they co-own with actor and comedian Tom Segura. Ciccio Bomba opened at Fareground in downtown Austin last fall. The Italian bakery also has another location on South Lamar Boulevard.
“Sometimes we'll see the same couple or [the] same person in the morning and then they'll come here, which is great,” Marlo Vinzoni said.
In their own words
The owners are grateful to the Rosedale community for sharing news about the restaurant via word of mouth, Marlo Vinzoni said. The couple has seen patrons travel from Westlake, Georgetown and California to dine at the new Cinque Terre West.
