By Lauri Lee
Northside Economic Development Coalition

Café La Bellitalia, located at 1026 N. Sherman Ave., reopened their dining room at the end of March for in-house dining. “We are very excited to welcome back loyal customers, and we look forward to meeting new diners who are anxious to venture out to try a restaurant that is new to them after a year of not being able to safely dine in a restaurant,” said Joe Pipitone, the front of the house manager of this family-owned restaurant. Joe’s mother, Josephine, still makes the sauces from scratch and pasta by hand, and his father, Pietro, runs the kitchen.

Due to the intimate size of the restaurant, the dining room was closed in mid-March 2020 because the in-house numbers allowed for serving food meant only a handful of customers could be seated at one time during COVID-19. “We existed during this time on a handful of takeout and delivery orders on Friday and Saturday nights. Our family is excited to return to the restaurant’s large menu and hope everyone visits us once again.” 

The family immigrated from Sicily in 1993 and opened Café La Bellitalia in 2006 to serve authentic Sicilian/Italian food on the Northside of Madison. The sauces, pizza dough and pasta for entrees are handmade for an authentic Italian flavor experience. The popular restaurant is also a regional destination, drawing customers from far and wide. 

The restaurant is open seven days a week. For those who want to order carryout, delivery or catering, visit cafelabelletia.com or call 608-243-1200.