Photo | Drew Lazor

Mediterranean small-plates restaurant Bocca opened last Thursday in the former Amici Noi (it’s still owned by Mario and Natale Presta, who also have La Bella Trattoria and Sapphire on Main Street Manayunk). It’s located at 236 Market (215-625-6610), just east of PrivĂ©, the other Mediterranean small-plates spot on Market Street.

Chef Chris D’Ambro, a Chester County native who’s a vet of Savona, Sovana Bistro and the high-end Whitleigh Hotel in Massachusetts, has staged (apprenticed) with Marc Vetri and worked in Florence, Italy. He offers a small-plates menu split up according to preparation — “Raw,” “Cured,” “Crafted,” “Baked,” etc. Highlights include beer-battered olives that are pitted, deep-fried and served with blue cheese; hand-chopped beef tartar with black truffle purĂ©e, quail egg yolk and balsamic vinegar sphered to ape the look of caviar; and a risotto-based play on carbonara, featuring bacon and herbs, egg yolk and a fresh English pea cream.

On the boozing/entertainment end, they do bottle service and host DJs regularly. GM Massimo Spatola, who formerly bartended in South Beach, offers signature cocktails like the Watermelon Basil (Absolut Citron, watermelon purée, lemons, basil, Sprite); the Cucumber Float (St-Germain, Champagne, cucumber foam); and the Absinthe Bocca Frappe (absinthe, blue curacao, lemon juice, OJ, orange slice).

Bocca’s open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. on.

Click to enlarge

This entry was posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 3:27 pm and is filed under Menu Time, Openings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.