San Francisco, Calif. (December 20, 2018) – Martino DiGrande, owner and mâitre ‘d of Palio d’Asti, the iconic Italian restaurant in San Francisco’s financial district that originally opened in 1990, is pleased to announce the restaurant’s reopening today as Palio. After closing in May to undergo an extensive renovation, Palio has been completely reimagined, offering a brand new, 200-seat dining space, expanded bar and lounge, full-service dining room, and three private and semi-private dining rooms. Unlike Palio d’Asti’s original menu, which focused on the Piedmont region of Italy, Palio’s new pan-Italian menu features different regions of Italy while maintaining its emphasis on seasonal, sustainably sourced California ingredients. Palio’s beverage program is overseen by San Francisco Chronicle 2018 Bar Star Matt Grippo and SF Weekly’s 2018 Best Established Bartender, Shirley Brooks, the founders of Bottom of the Barrel cocktail consulting.

“I am beyond honored to be able to build upon Palio d’Asti’s legacy,” said DiGrande. “The restaurant has always been known for its welcoming atmosphere, delicious food, unparalleled customer service, and exceptional private dining. Over the past three decades it has also become a special place for guests to return, year-after-year, to host special occasions, milestones, birthdays and anniversaries. We are so excited to offer our longtime and new guests a truly stunning space for their celebrations. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get to where we are, but I couldn’t be more excited for this next chapter and all the great memories – and dinner parties – that lie ahead.”

Born and raised in San Francisco, DiGrande became Palio d’Asti’s third owner in 2012 and, since then, has only strengthened the restaurant’s reputation for providing a refined yet approachable Italian dining experience. Part of a large Sicilian restaurant family, DiGrande worked for his father at DiGrande’s restaurant in the Sunset District, and later at Alioto’s on Fisherman’s Wharf while earning a degree from the University of San Francisco’s hospitality program. DiGrande is a Golden Gate Restaurant Association “Rising Star” award recipient and won an internship to work at Sicily’s famed Planeta Winery before joining the team at Palio in 2006 as the restaurant’s dinner manager. By 2008, DiGrande’s hard work and dedication led him to become the general manager, then partner, then owner four years later at the age of 28. Palio is a family business, as Martino’s wife Valeria DiGrande is the restaurant’s director of special events and is integral to the restaurant’s ongoing success.

Executive chefs and brothers Mauricio and Jose Alberto Martinez, who helped establish the original Palio d’Asti in the 1990s, have created a seasonal Italian menu with a modern twist. Over the past 28 years working at Palio and other renowned San Francisco restaurants such as Stars, Etrusca and Antica Trattoria, both chefs have developed a reputation for creating mouth-watering dishes, using traditional techniques and only the finest and freshest ingredients. Highlights of the new Palio menu include house-made pastas such as Tonnarelli Nero di Sepia con Salmone (squid ink square-cut spaghetti, salmon, sea urchin butter and chives; $14/21); braised meats including Brasato al Barolo (Barolo wine braised Sun Valley beef short rib, soft polenta intergrale and horseradish breadcrumbs; $36) and fish such as Branzino(whole Mediterranean sea bass, herb dressing, sautéed spinach and roasted potatoes; $35); four different wood-fired pizzas ($14-$18), and weekly lunch and dinner specials celebrating the different regions of Italy. The lunch menu features a Zuppa del Giorno ($11), and a selection of Palio classics such as Porchetta (roasted crispy skin pork belly, broccoli rabe, provolone cheese, pickled onion, crema di pepperoncini, salsa verde, toasted focaccia; $15).

Grippo and Brooks, partners in life and business, are the masterminds behind the beverage program at Palio. Founders of Bottom of the Barrel, they have over 30 combined years in the beverage industry and have developed cocktail programs for some of San Francisco’s most trending bars and restaurants. The cocktail menu they’ve created for Palio features three draught cocktails ($11): Venetian Spritz (Aperol aperitivo, Mionetto prosecco, soda, on the rocks, orange and Castelvetrano olive); Americano #7 (Alessio Chianto vermouth, coffee, Luxardo bitter, Sour Cherry gin, soda, served tall, lemon twist); and Amalfi Spritz (Malfy gin, Carpano Bianco, Italicus Rosalio, rosemary, on the rocks, lemon twist). Other inventive cocktails include the Gold Mirror (Malfy Limon gin, Mionetto prosecco, Limoncello, fresh lemon sorbetto, served up; $12) and Acrobata(Wild Turkey 101, honey, Luxardo Bitter Bianco, Sicilian olive oil, egg white; served up, $13). Palio’s bar menu also features a large amari collection, encouraging guests to enjoy vermouth, aperitivo and amaro on the rocks or with soda, a rotating selection of carefully curated California and Italian wines by the glass and bottle, and two draft beers on tap.

Designed by AnV Architects, the newly renovated Palio features a modern, white tablecloth dining room that spans the length of the restaurant’s original 800 square-foot exhibition kitchen, including a wood-fired pizza oven and a dedicated room for pasta-making. The focal point of the restaurant is the expanded bar, which has been rotated 180 degrees to face Sacramento Street and now seats 19 guests. The bar serves the new lounge area that seats 50 and is the ideal spot for a quick lunch, business meeting, party, or post-work, pre-dinner cocktails.

“We are humbled to have a restaurant with so much legendary San Francisco history behind it. A majority of our building was built pre-1906, but unfortunately the façade of the building was lost in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake,” said DiGrande. “There are still visible reminders of post-quake reconstruction in the restaurant today. For example, several large columns in the front of the restaurant, which had been covered with a smooth veneer for decades, have been restored to their original, rather rustic appearance. Partially composed of brick chips, wood blocks and rocks, they’re made of rubble from the quake mixed with seawater, which was a common construction practice at the time. We also found a hand-painted, wooden ‘no parking’ sign in one of the walls, and even a mysterious manhole cover, when we started construction!”

Open, airy and modern, the new Palio offers a dynamic, sophisticated dining ambiance with pops of black, white, red and metallic gold, as well as custom lighting that shows off its beautifully plated food. The restaurant will continue to offer a quiet meeting space for local business clientele, who have long appreciated Palio’s refined, high-touch service. In addition, Martino DiGrande pays homage to his family’s long history in the restaurant business with vintage family photos throughout the restaurant.

Many of Palio’s front- and back-of-house team members have been with the restaurant for more than 20 years, including Executive Chefs Martinez, Pasta Chef Eva Perez, Pastry Chef Esperanza Cuellar and Pizza Chef Donaldo Cruz. These and many more knowledgeable industry professionals have returned to the restaurant after its renovation and are committed to providing an outstanding dining experience with a fun, approachable spirit.

In addition to AnV Architects, other local vendors and craftsman that have contributed to Palio’s renovation include Zutalé Design, Rudolph and Sletten, Metropolitan Electric, Anderson, Rowe & Buckley, Restec contractors, Sunshine construction, Bakers floor and surface, Precision Tile and Granite, and ASF Electrical.

Palio is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Lounge is open from 11 a.m. to close. Happy Hour is from 2 to 6 p.m. The restaurant is located at 640 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA. For reservations and additional information, please visit www.paliosf.com or call 415-395-9800.

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Photography by Kristen Loken.

Photo 1: Palio’s newly renovated bar and lounge
Photo 2: Palio Owner and Mâitre ‘d Martino DiGrande
Photo 3: Palio Tonnarelli Nero di Sepia con Salmone (squid ink square-cut spaghetti, salmon, sea urchin butter and chives)
Photo 4: Amalfi Spritz (Malfy Limon gin, Carpano Bianco, Italicus Rosalio, rosemary, on the rocks, lemon twist)
Photo 5: Palio’s main dining room