About The Restaurant
Ristorante Del Porto
From a newly renovated location in the heart of historic downtown Covington, Louisiana, Ristorante Del Porto offers locals and visitors alike a taste of both traditional and innovative regional Italian cuisine.
Since July of 2002, Chefs David and Torre Solazzo have strived to reinvent the local notion of Italian, and have set the standard for Tuscan-inspired cooking with fresh, house-made dishes which highlight local and seasonal ingredients. Ristorante Del Porto's dynamic menu reflects this priority, changing in tune with availability to offer handcrafted dishes from locally grown items at peak quality. Voted among the Times Picayune's Top 10 Restaurants for two years running, Del Porto continues to grow and evolve, bringing exceptional Italian dining home to southeast Louisiana.
A friendly and knowledgeable staff serve both food and drink with gusto, inviting diners to enjoy this singular experience in a smart, yet comfortable dining room in the center of Covington. Reservations are strongly encouraged.
The Chefs
Ristorante Del Porto is owned and operated by husband-and-wife team David and Torre Solazzo, who met in the kitchen of the renowned Tra Vigne restaurant in Napa Valley. David Solazzo, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, works daily alongside wife Torre Solazzo, herself a graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. The pair relocated to Torre's native New Orleans in 2000, and both spent time working under Chef Gerard Maras before branching out into their first independent venture two years later.
From a humble beginning in 2002, Ristorante Del Porto has more than doubled in size, garnering numerous accolades and an enthusiastic and dedicated customer base from both the Northshore area and greater metropolitan New Orleans. In 2008, the Solazzos were jointly nominated for the prestigious James Beard award in the category of Best Chefs in the southern United States
Our Food
The Solazzos' contemporary Italian cooking focuses on fresh, seasonal ingredients from local farmers and purveyors. The dedication to quality ingredients is the foundation for a menu which offers an assortment of breads, pastas, cheeses and sausages, which are handmade daily. Fresh fruits and vegetables are featured prominently, allowing the simplicity of quality ingredients to shine through as the focal point of Del Porto's cuisine.
The lunchtime menu includes a variety of panini on homemade focaccia and ciabatta, as well as a different Roman-style pizza and fresh fish selection daily. The dinner menu expands to include grilled meats and fish, and both lunch and dinner at Del Porto feature various salads and antipasti.
Our Ingredients
The majority of the restaurant's fresh produce is locally sourced - seasonal fruits and vegetables come from both from the Covington farmers market and from local purveyors, and Del Porto also has it's own garden in the local area which is used to grow seasonal organic produce for the restaurant. Fresh fish and seafood comes from the gulf coast, and our naturally raised meat and poultry comes from the local area as well as other parts of the country.
Our Wines
Ristorante Del Porto's extensive wine list places a heavy emphasis on Italian wines, representing 16 of the 21 major viticultural regions of Italy, in addition to select California and domestic wines. Del Porto also offers a unique cocktail menu, with drinks handmade from fresh fruits, juices and herbs, as well as classic cocktails. The drinks list also showcases an assortment of traditional Italian liqueurs, as well amari and grappa.
