About Bellino Ristorante
Trattoria style authentic Italian cuisine in Corpus Christi, Texas. Bellino's is located in The Village Shopping Center, on the corner of Alameda at Doddridge.
Bellino is Corpus Christi’s only Italian restaurant with strong Sicilian influences, and Winner of The Bend’s Local’s List for Best Italian restaurant in CC. Featuring authentic Italian Sicilian cuisine and an extensive list of imported Italian wines, we offer classic dishes that are deeply rooted in traditional Sicilian culture. As supporters and members of GrowLocal South Texas, we use local and sustainable ingredients when available, from the South Texas Region. We also offer traditional Sicilian meat, fish and vegetarian dishes and freshly-prepared pasta dishes, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options available.
We also proudly are making all our bread, pastas, desserts and sauces in house daily and are the first restaurant in Texas to be making from scratch our homemade Pinsa’s, which are a Roman Pizza made with a unique blend of flours to create an almost gluten-free dough that is light, crispy and easily digestible. Our Bottega carries take home portions of our pastas, sauces, & desserts. Check out what’s available.
Executive Chef Francesco Inguaggiato
Born in Palermo, Sicily’s capital city, Executive Chef Francesco Inguaggiato, grew up learning the traditional preparation of Sicilian food while working with his mother in his grandfather’s trattoria in Palermo. When Francesco arrived in the US in 2003 with his wife, Susan, they opened a catering company named Buon Appetito, where they enjoyed introducing their passion for food and wine with friends and customers. In 2004 they opened their first restaurant in Rockport, Texas where they found success and fell more in love with feeding their community homemade Italian dishes! In 2011 they opened their second restaurant in Corpus Christi and have built a following of fellow Italian food lovers and created a warm and inviting space to relax and dine as if you were in Italy in a small village along the Mediterranean coast.
In 2014, Francesco and Susan ventured to the Pacific Northwest to open their 3rd restaurant, Bellino Trattoria Siciliana, in the heart of Portland, Oregon. They loved the challenge and excitement. It was an incredible experience where they deepened their knowledge of food, and understanding of working with local growers, and truly connected with their community. Francesco also worked during this time as a consultant, and then as executive general manager for Nicoletta’s Table, which is owned by dear friends who share his passion for great Italian food!
To allow them more flexibility and presence in their Texas locations, they have partnered with close friends to open Montesacro PDX, who now runs under their former restaurant, Bellino Trattoria Siciliana. Upon returning to Corpus from Portland, one of the first decisions was to renovate Bellino, create a new look, and new menu, and install a Reverse Osmosis water filtration system at the Corpus location to provide clean, pure water to their customers and to enhance the cooking quality. Bellino is a proud partner of the local food movement by supporting as Business members of the Grow Local South Texas organization that supports local growers. Also partnering with local fish providers such as Morgan Seafood, Alby’s in Rockport, CC produce, Moody’s meat...
They serve a weekly Farm to Table dinner every Thursday night in addition to their regular menu. Buon Appetito!
Growing up in Italy Francesco had many passions, from painting, playing professional basketball, and cooking! He played professional basketball for the Italian League in Italy for 18 years and coached professionally for three years. He bounced basketballs, filled his family home with oil paintings and he cooked and cooked and cooked...it’s his happy place, always has been, always will be!
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