Newport This Week

World Class Chef Just Right for Giusto

SAVORING THE CITY


Chef Kevin O'Donnell shows off the view from the outdoor dining area at Giusto, the restaurant he'll be heading up at Hammetts Hotel later this summer. The hotel itself is slated to open June 26. (Photo by Dave Hansen)

Chef Kevin O’Donnell shows off the view from the outdoor dining area at Giusto, the restaurant he’ll be heading up at Hammetts Hotel later this summer. The hotel itself is slated to open June 26. (Photo by Dave Hansen)

In Italian, “Giusto” means “just right,” and to chef Kevin O’Donnell, the restaurant he’s set to helm at the nearly completed Hammett’s Hotel this summer couldn’t have been better named.

“The opportunity came along at just the right time and in the right place,” O’Donnell said in a recent interview with Newport This Week.

O’Donnell’s culinary career is impressive. After graduating from Johnson & Wales University in 2004, he honed his skills in Italy at Ristorante Zeppelin in Orvieto, before returning home to take a job at Castle Hill Inn.

After a second stint in Italy, he worked at Michelin-starred Del Posto in New York City, served as the executive chef who helped launch the internationally acclaimed L’Office in Paris, and, along with chef-partner Michael Lombardi, was a 2017 James Beard Award semifinalist for “Best New Restaurant in America” for their venture, SRV in Boston.

A fortuitous set of circumstances has brought the Rhode Island native home to settle with his young family in Newport, close to a tightknit group of relatives, and to dive into a high-profile restaurant project on Commercial Wharf in the heart of town.

New York City transplant Wendy Logan is a career writer whose work is fueled by a passion for food and libations, art, music, and culture.

New York City transplant Wendy Logan is a career writer whose work is fueled by a passion for food and libations, art, music, and culture.

The Hammett property being developed by the Peregrine Group includes an 84-room hotel, 2,500 square feet of retail space, and Giusto, a 4,000-square-foot, indoor-outdoor restaurant whose concept is entirely O’Donnell’s.

“I first met with [managing partner] Sam Bradner from Peregrine. We hit it off. I got a really good feeling after that meeting and decided to move forward, and within a few weeks, I met the others. I asked what they had in mind, what they envisioned for the restaurant. They said they just wanted a great operator who would bring life and fun to the restaurant, and something that would last. Those were the only parameters.”

After consulting with his wife, O’Donnell committed to the project last October, and the passion he had developed for Italian food in Orvieto became the inspiration for Giusto.

“Newport is a very special place,” he said. “I’m familiar with the scene and have lots of friends who are chefs. So, the concept had to be different enough to stand out, but also something that will fit in with the community, the restaurant industry here, and the people who live here, [as well as] the tourists and visitors.

“What I want to do is offer something different, a little unique … [menu items] that maybe people aren’t used to in Rhode Island but that are still familiar through an ingredient or a dish they’ve seen before,” he said. “I want people to have fun and enjoy the restaurant so that it’s unlike any they go to.” He is calling his offerings “freestyle Italian.”

O’Donnell said his personal favorite dish, what he’d choose for his last meal on earth, is Tagliatelle Bolognese.

“Unless it’s another day, when it would be Spaghetti Carbonara,” he said. “But those are two examples of classic dishes you never mess with because they’re perfect. No need to reimagine them. It’s all about the quality of the ingredients.”

Those items will not make the first iteration of the Giusto menu, but down the road, diners can expect to see plenty of spins on dishes that are evocative of other Italian and Italian-American favorites.

“It’s really important to me that I branch off and create something different,” he said, mentioning an interpretation of local littlenecks in a dish reminiscent of chowder, but not its exact replica, and lemony calamari.

To O’Donnell, freestyle means cooking that hits the sweet spot between the guidelines of the basic tenets of Italian cooking and the somewhat unexpected. He’s looking to blur the lines between regions, for example, citing the Braciole Picatta he created at SRV.

“I want to draw [inspiration] from all over Italy, from different regions, adding our own twists and turns and interpretation of Italian food,” he said. “And, of course, the quality of ingredients is most important.”

Giusto will seek provisions seasonally and whenever possible through Farm Fresh RI in a show of support for area farmers, ranchers, and fishmongers, many of whom the chef has established relationships with over the years. Local beer from Ragged Island and Grey Sail brewing companies will also be featured as part of a comprehensive “freestyle” beverage program, and a largely Italian wine list will complement the food.

The chef is looking for the restaurant to be up and running in time to catch the latter part of the summer, while the hotel is slated to open on June 26. Numerous employees will be sought to staff Giusto, which will seat 76 inside, including a small private dining room for 12 to 14, plus 18 more at the bar. An expansive outdoor deck will hold an additional 108 diners, with added bar seats for 17. Three enormous bay windows can be flung open, bringing the outside in.

“It’s looking really good,” he said. “It’s beautiful, the owners are great people, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

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