I usually avoid soft-openings, I prefer to give a new spot a few weeks to find themselves, let alone share stories about those experiences, but as a fan of the chef, Nicholas Stefanelli I couldn't resist hitting up Masseria to show my support and indulge. It's been over six months since we've seen Stefanelli in the kitchen so it was long overdue to enjoy his cooking, plus the menu was half off for the first two weeks.
There's no denying that Masseria is a beautiful restaurant, its neighbors in the Union Market area are warehouses, wholesale vendors and a Motel 6, industrial chic I think Stefanelli calls it. The outdoor area is a compliment of concrete, rusted steel, wood and custom Greek flooring. There are three dining areas in the fashionable courtyard, a lounge with sofas and coffee tables (cigars permitted), the outside dining room with standard seating and bar seats, the latter two covered by a retractable roof.
Inside the main dining room there is a chef's table and seating at the open kitchen counter as well as the inside bar. A glass wall functioning as a wine cellar stretches one of the walls which pretty much serves as the backdrop to the restaurant, in addition to the "backsplash" of the open kitchen which is a stunning opal green subway style tile.
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