A fixture in the Pittsburgh dining scene is pressing pause.
Joseph Tambellini Restaurant announced on its website that the fine-dining establishment is “currently on a break until further notice.”
The restaurant has been a Highland Park staple for nearly two decades after it replaced Laforêt in a converted brick house on Bryant Street. It was known for a highbrow approach to traditional Italian fare.
“We are grateful for your continued support and truly appreciate our wonderful community,” the statement continued. “This pause allows us to focus on what’s ahead.”
A phone call to Tambellini’s went unanswered. The voicemail message indicated the restaurant would “not be returning calls.”
Members of the Tambellini family have run restaurants in Greater Pittsburgh since the 1940s. Joseph Tambellini himself has been working in Pittsburgh restaurants since the 1970s, beginning with stints at family members’ restaurants in Downtown and the South Hills.
He and his wife opened the Highland Park Restaurant in 2007. Tambellini also served as executive chef at Franco’s Trattoria in Dormont. That location has closed, but Franco’s continues to operate a Peters Township location.
The BizBuySell website lists the restaurant as available for purchase for $1.25 million and cites retirement as the reason for the sale.
The fine dining scene has shifted in Pittsburgh in recent years, with relative newcomers such as Fet-Fisk, Apteka and Lilith grabbing national attention for their unique takes on older culinary traditions and focus on farm-to-table ingredients.
For those with a Tambellini-sized hole in their stomachs, the owners of Lilith are planning a new upscale Italian restaurant, Giulia, in Bloomfield, that will spotlight the flavors of Sicily. The restaurant is slated to open later this summer.