Sotto Sopra's Second Season Stays Strong

Rose Evangelista, owner of Amagansett’s Sotto Sopra, says she wasn’t planning on getting into the restaurant business, but now that she’s here, she loves it. 

Originally in the toy manufacturing business, Evangelista moved out to the East End fulltime nine years ago and got into real estate. When she noticed the empty location at 231 Main Street, she originally approached Joseph Smith of Bobby Van’s about the opportunity. Smith, she said, replied, “I’m not doing anything with it, unless you’re my partner.”

Her eye for real estate played no small role in her choice of Amagansett, she says. “Amagansett is the hot spot to be now,” Evangelista said, “There’s much less traffic than some of the other towns, and it just has a better feeling about it.”

Evangelista refers to her restaurant as having, “A friendly, warm atmosphere with great food.”

“Our bar is the bar from Cheers,” she said, “Everyone brings friends, and it just multiplies.”

In this second year of business, Evangelista reports a surge in business. “It’s amazing,” she said, “It’s doubling and tripling our numbers from last year.” 

A large part of that surge, Evangelista said, is because of her nephew’s work behind the bar. Rob Giglio, 26, has been working in various restaurants for the last 10 years, but this is his first year full time behind the bar. An innovative mixologist, Giglio has invented several cocktails on the Sotto Sopra menu, including the South Fork— a mix of Jameson Irish Whisky, cucumber, mint, lime, simple syrup and orange juice— which he affectionately calls, “my concoction.”

Giglio has his own theories for this summers success. “The Amagansett strip doesn’t have anywhere between a dive bar and an upscale restaurant,” he said, “We take all kinds. People come in in board shorts and others come in dressed up.” 

“Also,” Giglio said, “It helps that we’re open to 2 or 3 a.m. to catch the Talkhouse crowd.”

On Fridays and Saturdays Sotto Sopra offers a late night menu of wood oven cooked pizzas and salads till 3 a.m.

Evangelista’s personal favorite dish off the main menu is the Spaghettini a la Greco— a mix of shrimp, spinach and a spicy arrabbiata sauce— which sells for $26.

For more information or to make a reservation, call the restaurant at 267-3695