Photo courtesy of Stellina Pizza
Stellina Pizza
Antonio Matarazzo and Chef Matteo Venini will open their doors Friday, Feb. 12 at Stellina Pizzeria and Market in Shirlington.
The 2,000-square-foot space will house the fast-casual pizza shop, as well as a retail section of Italian pantry goods and a deli counter selling fresh pastas, sauces and pizza dough. The restaurant will open for outdoor dining only on a heated, 20-seat patio. Stellina’s flagship opened in April 2019 at 399 Morse Street NE in the Union Market District, and another D.C. location is set to open this spring at 508 K St. NW.
“With our expansion into Northern Virginia, we want to bring the Stellina experience to our guests in the region, while also being mindful of their specific needs and preferences,” said Matarazzo, in a news release. “Knowing the South Arlington community as a resident here with my family, I thought that a retail element for prepared foods and ingredients to cook at home would be a nice addition to our curbside pick-up, delivery, and outdoor dining offerings. As Stellina continues to grow across the DMV, we’ll keep an eye toward adapting the concept and menu to enhance and best serve the neighborhoods we join.”
Stellina’s Shirlington menu is similar to its Union Market counterpart, with a focus on neo-Neapolitan pizzas, Italian street food, pizza dough panini, homemade pastas and classic Italian desserts. Chef Venini has solidified a signature pizza style that begins with a crispy, yet light and slightly chewy, crust, and is completed with toppings that range from the classic Margherita to the inventive Cacio e Pepe and other seasonally driven combinations. This creativity also extends to Stellina’s panini, which sandwich fillings like fried octopus, burrata, Calabrian pepper, and broccoli rabe or braised short rib, fontina, and potato croquette between slices of oven-baked pizza dough.
New to the Stellina experience will be a deli counter offering fresh pastas by the pound, homemade sauces, pizza dough, cured meats, cheeses, olives, and other antipasti, as well as desserts like panna cotta and tiramisu. There will also be a small market area stocked with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and dried pasta, along with a freezer case of ready-to-cook lasagne and pizza.
Also different from its D.C. sibling is the absence of a bar. Instead, cocktails will be batched and bottled, then served tableside with glassware and custom ice. The classic Negroni, for example, will be poured over ice containing an orange peel, which will flavor the drink as it melts. Italian wines and beers, as well as a coffee program, will also be featured beverage offerings.
The glass-fronted restaurant, designed by Molly Allen of Allen Studios, will seat up to 20 guests on a heated patio, outfitted with umbrellas for additional comfort. Stellina will also have 75 seats inside when indoor dining resumes. Focal points of the space include Ischia-style tiles from the Amalfi Coast, as well as a mural by local artists No Kings Collective beloved Italian actor Totò on one wall and the iconic Sophia Loren on another.
Stellina Pizzeria, from owners Antonio Matarazzo and Chef Matteo Venini, modernizes the classic pizza counter with a menu that nods to the street food of the southern Italian coast. Since opening in 2019, the restaurant has been recognized as a 2020 Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient, included on The Washington Post’s list of the 10 best pizzas in D.C. for its cacio e pepe pizza, and featured on Washingtonian’s 100 Best Restaurants list.
Antonio Matarazzo co-owns Stellina Pizzeria. Originally from Avellino, Italy, Matarazzo turned to his upbringing on the southern Italian coast to develop Stellina’s fine-casual concept that modernizes the traditional Italian pizzeria with style and creativity. He previously served as managing partner of the upscale Italian trio Lupo Verde, Lupo Verde Osteria and Lupo Marino, and was instrumental in conceiving and growing the brand from its flagship location on 14th Street NW to the Palisades and most recently to District Wharf Matarazzo began his hospitality career stateside in 2006 as a manager of the sophisticated Peppercorn Duck Club at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo. He earned his Bachelor of Science in the Economy of Tourism & Events at the University of Perugia while also working as the general manager of La Tana dell'Orso Wine Bar from 2002-2006.
Matteo Venini is the executive chef and co-owner of Stellina Pizzeria. Prior to opening the fine-casual Italian street food and pizza concept, Venini worked as the corporate chef of high-end Italian properties Lupo Verde, Lupo Verde Osteria and Lupo Marino, a position he held since 2016. The Lake Como, Italy native previously helmed the kitchen at venerable power-dining fixture Ristorante Tosca as executive chef, and additionally spent eight years as executive chef of sibling restaurant Posto. Venini has now been cooking in the U.S. for more than a decade.
