Cheesetique in Shirlington will close after Thanksgiving and reopen in early December as Corso Italian, a restaurant that pays homage not just to fromage, but all foods Italian.Â
The transformation will begin a new chapter for Cheesetique owner Jill Erber, who is partnering with chef Cathal Armstrong to remake the space her cheese shop and wine bar has occupied in the Village at Shirlington since 2011.
“I’ve been doing Cheesetique for 20 years,” she says, referring to her business’ flagship location in Del Ray, which opened in 2004 as a cheese shop and added a restaurant four years later. “I want to do something different. We have this beautiful space here in Shirlington, and it’s only 2 miles away from our Del Ray location. What if we were to transform that [with] a new exploration of hosting, hospitality, delicious food and fantastic wine that people would really be excited about?”
Armstrong, an eight-time James Beard Award-nominated chef, is also the creator of Kaliwa, a Southeast Asian eatery at the Wharf in D.C.; Mattie and Eddie’s Irish bar in Westpost (Pentagon Row); and Hummingbird in Alexandria, which serves regional American fare. He was also a founder of Alexandria’s now-closed Restaurant Eve.
“The very first restaurant that I ever worked in was an Italian restaurant” in Ireland, says Armstrong, who hails from Dublin. He started as a dishwasher and eventually worked his way up to chef there. He says cooking Italian fare is nostalgic for him.
At Corso, he’s planning a menu that will still incorporate cheese—especially Erber’s favorite piave vecchio, a hard cheese similar to Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy’s Veneto region. But the new concept will be quite different from its predecessor, he says, drawing heavily on Italy’s diversity of regional flavors and foods. “I don’t want to limit us or pigeonhole us into any one particular region.”Â
Diners can look forward to dishes such as Armstrong’s favorite—fettuccine carbonara—and variations of veal Milanese, a bone-in veal chop topped with several sauces and mozzarella. Other offerings will include porchetta (a pork roast) and chicken Vesuvio with red chili and sage.
“We tested out an artichoke agnolotti the other day that turned out really good,” Armstrong adds.
All pastas will be made in house at the restaurant’s front window, encouraging patrons and passersby to watch its preparation.
Corso will have an extensive all-Italian wine list, plus spirited quaffs including Negronis, spritzes and 24 types of amaro, a digestif. “You can obviously start with them as well, but they really are a wonderful end-of-meal treat,” Erber says.
The restaurant’s interior is getting a makeover, too. “It’s going to be really cool—hip and edgy, playful and comfortable,” Erber says. “Nothing too pretentious or snooty at all. Just very fun.”
Each room will have its own personality that comes out through in the artwork, she says. A Vespa scooter—one of Italy’s most popular and quintessential modes of transportation—will be mounted on one of the walls.
Two private dining rooms, the Mona Lisa Salon and the Chairman’s Lounge, will be available for parties.
There is one commonality Corso will share with its cheese-centric predecessor: a retail market where patrons can buy house-made pastas, sauces and cheesecake, plus Italian cheeses, meats and wines to take home.
The partners believe there’s a niche to be filled in Shirlington’s dining landscape. “We’re going for Italian that is both elevated and playful,” Erber says. “It’s not old-school red-sauce Italian, but it’s also not neo-futuristic Italian. It’s twists on classics that will give people something unique.”
Corso Italian will be located at 4024 Campbell Ave. in Arlington. Initially, it will serve dinner only, but will add lunch service a few weeks after opening.