After four years of feeding hungry customers in Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, Cioccolata Di Vino is getting a revamp that includes a new menu and a new name.
Now called Oggi, the Italian word for “today,” the restaurant reopens Thursday and will feature a weekly rotating menu with brand-new items and a few customer favorites, according to co-owner Rebecca Bernstein.
Bernstein, who co-owns the restaurant with her husband, Curtis Redwine, said one of the reasons for the change was that people assumed the restaurant was either only a wine bar or only served chocolate.
“A lot of people didn’t realize we were a full-service restaurant with lunch and dinner,” Bernstein said. “I liked the idea of having a name that was fresh and current.”
With the makeover, the co-owners are attempting to breathe life into the restaurant with strong ideas and fresh food.
“It’s going to be fresh,” Redwine said. “Everything is made to order. Say you order a pizza — it is cut to order. The tomatoes are cut right then and there — they’re not precut. Everything is cut fresh.”
In addition to a new menu and name, the restaurant’s interior will also get a slight tweaking.
“We’re changing it around a little bit — no construction, just a little painting and adding decor to the restaurant,” Redwine said.
The reopening also coincides with the restaurant’s four-year anniversary, which will be celebrated on Friday and Saturday with live jazz music, according to Redwine.
“It’s exciting that we’ve been part of and supported by the community for the last four years,” Bernstein said. “That’s a great feeling, and we’re just excited to turn the page.”