Maestoso is moving into The Hub at Hillcrest as early as February 2018. Named after Roman chef/owner Marco Maestoso, who moved to San Diego with partner Dalila Ercolani this year, the modern Italian restaurant is replacing the Hillcrest outpost of Napizza. Napizza founders Christopher Antinucci and Giulia Colmignoli, who are childhood friends of Maestoso and Ercolani, will be co-owners of this new eatery.

An alum of Gambero Rosso, the prestigious culinary school in Rome, Italy, Maestoso has trained with Michelin-star chefs and cooked for Italian luminaries; while living in New York City in 2013, he and Ercolani launched a well-received pop-up series that they’ve since taken all over the world. In 2015, the pair opened restaurant in Rome called Casa Maestoso.