Fiore Rosso is different from the restaurant you remember. Once under the eye of chef Marc Vetri, the eatery has a new leadership team that strives to create a fresh narrative around the distinguished Italian steakhouse in Bryn Mawr.
Following a mixed review in Philadelphia Magazine in 2022 shortly after opening, the restaurant picked up what the staff considered an unearned reputation, one that made Fiore Rosso seem excessively superior without the chops to back it up.
General manager Gina Alfano and executive chef Marie Lavizzo-Mourey, respectively hired and promoted within the last calendar year, aim to change that narrative. On one hand, the original Picasso does hang on the wall as it did upon opening. The space is still cavernous, with high ceilings and exposed ductwork giving the feeling of an old bank or warehouse. What’s changed, however, is that the service and presentation feel more down to earth.
“All the chefs that were here at the time once we read the review understood that [it] was more personal than it was about the business. But we didn’t let that affect us at all,” Lavizzo-Mourey shares.
Though the review didn’t change the team’s outlook or planning at the time, the turnover that followed across both front- and back-of-house positions over the ensuing two years helped create an atmosphere that feels markedly distinct from the original.
First and foremost, Fiore Rosso aims for a more home-cooked style on its menu. The kitchen team hopes guests will feel like nonna is making their dinner, filling it with tradition and all their favorite flavors.
Of course, Fiore Rosso still uses high-end ingredients and well-trained chefs to prepare its recipes. Lavizzo-Mourey is acutely aware of the importance of maintaining that style.
“[We’re] still taking the best ingredients, not dumbing things down, staying true to technique,” she explains, adding, “because when you’re not putting yourself into that, you can taste it through the food. It’s missing the love ultimately. When you’re inspired about something or you’re really passionate about something, it comes through, whether it’s your managing, your cooking, your parenting. If you’re not into it, it’s never going to work. And I’m very passionate.”
For Alfano, it’s especially important that the love shines through. She and Lavizzo-Mourey are on the same wavelength in that regard, and both work hard to make sure thought and care are evident in all they do. Plus, coming from a big Italian-American family, Alfano can pick out real Italian dining from miles away.
“Marie could come hide out in my mom’s kitchen, put together a full Italian-American meal, and everybody would think it was from my mom,” Alfano enthuses. “That’s what makes me like really love her food is that it reminds me of home a little bit.”
As Lavizzo-Mourey explains, the new Fiore Rosso aims to have an “approachability” factor that makes it an attractive place to dine around the Main Line. The new menu places a strong emphasis on local, seasonal ingredients to craft dishes that are filled with flavor.
“We want something that’s more like that neighborhood-style restaurant where it’s like, ‘I don’t feel like cooking a pasta dinner tonight. Let’s just go to Fiore because it’s going to be just as good as the one I’m going to cook,’” Alfano says.
For the most part, that sentiment rings true. The seafood pasta, bucatini al pescatore, is both wholesome and tasty, featuring thick-cut pasta in a simple red sauce with mussels, clams and squid. The dish feels like something nonna would make to warm the soul. The chicken parmigiana hits the same note; it’s crispy and thin, layered with melty cheese and delectably simple. And the crispy calamari are already a standout, with just the right amount of chew that keeps you coming back for more.
The grilled scallops and tomato burrata, however, strike a different chord. The scallops are served with mussels atop a zucchini fumet bathed in chili oil with a sprinkling of saffron. The burrata, meanwhile, sits among the freshest yellow tomatoes, stone fruit and thin slices of crostini. Both dishes are elegant affairs—not necessarily the sort of thing you’d find on nonna‘s dinner table—but they’re highly enjoyable all the same.
As a visit to Fiore Rosso makes clear, this is not the same restaurant it was when it first opened. Lavizzo-Mourey and Alfano have put their own spin on the space to transform it into an establishment that’s precisely the sort of place that’s just as welcoming for special occasions as it is for Friday nights out of the house.
Though the dishes retain their higher price tags, both fare and atmosphere feel friendlier. The air of superiority that may have once lingered over the restaurant is no more. Lavizzo-Mourey’s bubbly attitude and attention to detail mix with Alfano’s professionalism to create something special in Bryn Mawr.
While it’s certainly not what was originally envisioned by owners and management upon opening, Fiore Rosso has reacted to loyal customers, disgruntled reviewers and local feedback to mold itself into what’s become a charming eatery that is just as much about community as it is top-tier dining.
Fiore Rosso
15 Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr
Fiore Rosso is going into a remodeling period on July 14 and big changes are coming. They’ll be closed for about a month, but their team, vision and food aren’t going anywhere.
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