Taco Daddy Owners John and Morgan Nealon Open Cugine’s Italian in Harbor Point, Stamford

Branzino, roasted potatoes, roasted red peppers, Catelvetrano olives

Recently, news broke that Taco Daddy owners John and Morgan Nealon would completely switch their next door concept in The Lila Rose to Cugine’s Italian, focusing on a sit-down, upscale Italian experience.

If The Lila Rose—which closed for good on May 8—was Taco Daddy’s only slight alter ego, Cugine’s is its polar opposite. Think NYC speakeasy vibes—when you walk in, there’s a mini flower shop “front”—complete with dim lighting, antique chandeliers, and a nice touch in a tribute wall of notable area chefs the Nealon’s are friends with and inspired by before you hit the restroom.

Visitors to The Lila Rose should find the space to be completely different. Ya see?

The “entrance”

For John, it’s not only the Sinatra you’ll likely hear through the speakers that’s meant to bring you a bit back in time, but also the overall experience, including the food and Cugine’s focus on classic cocktails, even if there are a few small liberties taken. “Fortina (where John was one of the founders) ushered the way for casual Italian in this area, and Roberta’s really sort of originated it way back when, and that’s great,” John says. “I wanna bring back the sit down upscale Italian restaurant.”

What you’ll be sitting down to eat are an array of handmade pasta dishes like pillowy ricotta cavatelli with pesto cream, ribbons of tagliatelle dressed with vegetable ragu, capellini al limone, and red wine braised wild boar gnocchi.

Around six crudo will be featured like this one…

Fresh, sliced thin tuna with shaved foie gras and torched pickled strawberry

Running the show in the kitchen is chef and co-owner Rick O’Connor, formerly of Golden View Firenze in Greenwich, Moderne Barn in Armonk, Kawa Ni in Westport, and he worked the line at Marea in NYC when they earned their Michelin Star. Humble and personable, he’ll tell you he worked practically every single kitchen station there is at these combined restaurants, soaking up as much knowledge as possible, including in the front of house as a bartender.

Spaghetti boia for your twirling and slurping pleasure

Yes to meatballs.

What O’Connor brings with him as a result of all his previous stops is the ability to rock out fried meatballs, but he’s not afraid to show off his creative crudo game, no doubt sharpened by his time at the seafood driven Marea. He even has a dish special to his heart on Cugine’s menu in the spaghetti boia that’s an ode to his time at Golden View Firenze. “It’s salty, sweet, cheesy,” he says. “It wasn’t just on the menu, we would eat it all the time as a staff.”

Zucchini, shaved raw, then grilled and dressed in a mint salsa verde

The rest of what diners can expect at Cugine’s is a chef driven menu of locally sourced ingredients that translate to fresh vegetable appetizers, focaccia made by Flour Water Salt Bread, a very Mediterranean branzino with potatoes, roasted red peppers, and briny Castelvetrano olives, and creative pizzas that’ll with toppings like zucchini-clam and charred chili pineapple with pepperoni and red onion.

“The Savoy” in all its glory

Matching the refined Italian cuisine theme is the cocktail list. Morgan, who I ran into a week prior to a preview of Cugine’s, joked that she was glad to swap the colorful drinks The Lila Rose was known for classics like martinis, a negroni, old fashioneds, and interpretations of said classics. “The Savoy,” for example is her take on a boulavadier, minus the sweet vermouth and instead using maraschino liqueur with the orange peel and pulp frozen inside a large ice cube. Cocktails, Nealon told us, are the obvious focal point of Cugine’s bar program, but they’ll offer a solid wine list (by the bottle and the glass) and around eight beers.

Tiramisu? Don’t mind if I do.

Their intro hours starting from opening day on June 10 will be Friday from 5 p.m. – 1:30 a.m., Saturday from 4 p.m. – 1:30 a.m., and Sunday from 4 p.m. until close. Cugine’s will soon follow with a Sunday brunch service beginning at 11:30 a.m. after their first few weeks are in the books.

Your best bet to score a seat at this Italian restaurant meets speakeasy is by making a reservation on OpenTable.

121 Towne Street; Stamford
Instagram: @cuginesitalian