Chef & Design Updates on Whisknladle's New Italian Cousin, Catania

We've been getting queries from Italian food fans about Catania, Whisknladle Hospitality's newest offering in La Jolla.

Due in late January or early February, the 3,750-square-foot restaurant will be perched on the top floor of the La Plaza building at the corner of Girard Avenue and Wall Street and here's a first peek at how it'll look.

Working with Bluemotif Architecture on a "clean, modern, elegant and timeless look, owner Arturo Kassel said that as promised, the design will not include reclaimed wood or Edison bulbs. Kassel, who conceived the concept with Whisknladle Hospitality executive chef/partner Ryan Johnston, told Eater that "the whole industrial look, anything too thematic or anything born out of a garage sale" are off-limits.

Much like at Whisknladle, Catania will host more than half its seating on the patio, where diners can look down at the street action below or out onto the ocean; inside, there will be four oversized booths and bench seating with a view of the kitchen and its prized wood-burning oven that the restaurant is calling Beatrice.

Catania's newly-appointed executive chef is Vince Schofield, who has been with the company since 2013. Shofield cooked around San Francisco, including at the famed Boulevard, and had his own eatery called Taco Libre in the city. He's working on developing an authentic coastal Italian menu for the restaurant and he and Johnston recently returned from a trip to Italy.