Cotto Modern Italian will serve as Gainesville’s newest dining option beginning Monday inside the Renaissance building on the Historic Downtown Square.
The owners, Scott and Alexis Kinsey own a 14-store restaurant group which includes Taqueria Tsunami, also located inside the Renaissance building, just a few doors down from Cotto.
“Doug Ivester approached us about opening Taqueria Tsunami in the Renaissance and this was about three years ago now,” Alexis Kinsey said. “I loved this corner of the building when we came in and looked at this space, and I'm like, ‘I want this side’. And he said, ‘Well, I'm saving that side for an Italian concept’. And I said, ‘Well, we can do Italian.’”
Cotto is a high-end restaurant with moderate pricing that will serve traditional-style foods ranging from pasta to wood-fired pizzas baked to perfection in an oven imported from Italy. The restaurant also features handmade desserts and an Italian wine selection.
The restaurant is an intimate space with a full-service bar that seats up to 14 guests. Seating will rely ‘heavily on reservations’ according to Kinsey.
“So you definitely want to try to get a reservation coming in here, but we will take walk-ins as well,” she said.
The restaurant will also include patio seating; however, that portion of the restaurant will not be quite ready for Monday’s opening. The restaurant expects the patio to be complete two weeks after its grand opening, Kinsey said.
Cotto will be open for dinner service Monday through Friday and will be open for lunch and dinner Saturdays and Sundays. A link to reservations may be found here.
