A bigger and better Café Mezzanotte is now serving brunch, lunch and dinner, as well light dining and drinks in the lounge.
Severna Park’s award-winning farm to table Italian restaurant has reopened at 760 Ritchie Hwy., following renovations from top to bottom.
Held in conjunction with Kosmas “Tommie” Koukoulis’ 10-year anniversary as proprietor of Café Mezzanotte, the million dollar overhaul was designed to bring the ambiance up to the same high standard of excellence as the food and service, creating a “complete experience” for its guests.
Rebranding & Renovations
Overall, the rebranding concept of is “old world cuisine meets new world style,” with a focus on Italy’s Emilia Romagna region.
The new logo designed by Baltimore Graphics Company evokes a classic and modern feel with an “M” icon inspired by bridges from the Romanesque architectural period in Italy. A custom design pulled from the city hall building of Modena runs throughout the Café’s new uniforms and other building elements.
Designed by Foundry Architects, exterior upgrades include new outdoor signage with more visibility from Ritchie Highway, a new side door lounge entrance with signage, and new string lighting over the outdoor dining patio. Modern and clean interiors feature solid earth colors, straight edges and a minimalist design with white tablecloths to provide balance.
“There is an intentional connection between the simplicity of the design and the simplicity of Italian cooking,” Koukoulis explained.
Combined, the dining room, lounge and banquet rooms have added 75 seats for a total capacity of 325. Both the lounge and the dining room have entirely new tables, banquettes, chairs, flooring, paint and wall art.
Earth colors, terra cotta floor and wood grains throughout emphasize the restaurant’s connection to local farms, organic food and environmental sustainability. Additionally, all of the wall art is made of blown up images from the actual farms, wineries and distilleries from where the restaurant sources its ingredients.
The new design of the lounge is “modern Gatsby,” with clean lines and vintage patterns. A palette of rich colors and warm wood accents, featuring custom mosaic tile floor, with carpeted dining areas, and mixed dining and bar height seating, work together to create a new yet old feel. New furniture includes two-tone banquettes, tufted leather chairs and stained wooden tables.
Café Mezzanotte’s former offices were absorbed into the larger of two banquet rooms, increasing private event capacity from 60 to 90 guests, which can grow to 120 guests when combining with the adjacent second banquet space. The larger banquet room also gained a 10-foot, built-in fireplace, floor-to-ceiling glass telescoping doors and all new private patio access.
Behind the scenes, the kitchen got redesigned cooking and prep lines, including new equipment, such as a new pasta machine and specialty banquet oven. The server station was enhanced with new equipment and now features Maine Root craft sodas for guests.
New Menus
In addition to the physical enhancements, Café Mezzanotte’s Executive Chef Zack Trabbold has introduced over 20 new menu items, including such appetizers as: Charred Octopus, Stuffed Eggplant and Roasted Baby Root Vegetables. Entrée additions include Carnivale Risotto, Bison Lasagna, Maryland Porchetta and Selonda Bay Whole Bronzino.
New beers include Manor Hill Brewing IPA (Maryland), Key Brewing Dundalk Calling Double IPA (Maryland) and Troeg’s Brewing Trogenator Double Bock (Pennsylvania). New wines by the glass include Contessa Annalisa Primitivo (Italian Zin) and Luigi Righetti Campolietti Ripasso (Baby Amarone). New cocktails include Alpine Lemon Drop (featuring Purus Organic Italian Vodka), The Modena (a take on Aperol Spritz featuring sparkling Lambrusco Dolce) and the Lower Manhattan (featuring Sagamore Spirit Double Oak Rye).
