Sogno's Caffe Anello Opens in Westwood

Caffe Anello, the new reservation-only restaurant connected to Westwood's Sogno, opened on Broadway this week.

The restaurant offers traditional Tuscan dinners with the same attention to detail that the owners already bring to the coffee roasted in-house and Parisian-style crepes at Sogno.

They make their own mozzarella. They press their own olive oil. They bake their own bread with basil, garlic and sea salt. The pasta is cut fresh daily. The tomatoes for their homemade sauce are grown without pesticides at a Tuscan-style farm in Sussex County. 

"We make it all here," chef John Vitale said. "That should be the difference in your experience."

Like Sogno, which opened last year, the idea for Caffe Anello was inspired by the honeymoon of Vitale and his wife, Alissa, when they visited Tuscany. That inspiration goes beyond the food itself to the setting of the eatery.

The fully renovated interior features an open-air kitchen and the decor includes a mural of local businesses, picked as a credit to the support offered in Sogno's early days. The inclusion of local sites was also inspired by Tuscan restaurants, which will sometimes include photos of paintings of local scenes, Alissa Vitale said.

The restaurant is also family-owned through two generations, a point which John Vitale said he wanted to emphasize. Their staff also includes close friends and the open-air kitchen lends itself to a forum-like atmosphere.

"You're not eating at our restaurant, you're eating in our kitchen," Vitale said.

Reservations can be made for as soon as next week by calling (201) 786-8137.