Three Italian immigrants are putting on a show at a new restaurant in Danville.
Rosario Mazzocchi, Giovanni Della Peruta and Valerio Viscopo are bringing more than 60 years of combined restaurant experience to Taverna Sorrentina, which had its grand opening on Monday.
The restaurant features a mix of modern and classic Italian dishes, but served with a side of entertainment, as the owners and servers are often delivering food and cocktails with a dazzling presentation.
Expect smoking cocktails, flaming steaks and a whole lot of personality.
“We want to have fun while we work,” Viscopo said. “That’s how tableside entertainment came along. We put music on. We present food and drinks right at the table. It’s not really work for us. It’s the best thing that could ever happen.”
Danville mayor Renee Morgan attended the grand opening Monday and declared Taverna Sorrentina the first-ever restaurant in Danville to do a tableside show, Viscopo said.
The concept? To bring people “something more than dinner,” he said.
“I see classic Italian restaurants: You come, it’s nice, the flavor is good, but we want to have that touch of entertainment,” he said.
Born in Italy, Viscopo worked at a pizzeria in Naples before he decided to move to the United States as an 18-year-old.
“I had $100 in my pocket,” he said. “I knew I had to work my way up.”
He started working as a pizza chef, then moved to bussing and serving, and eventually became a manager at Locanda Ravello, where he met his partners.
Della Peruta is also from Naples, while Mazzocchi is from Sorento.
Isola Osteria, the Sicilian restaurant that previously occupied the space, closed in August after just 18 months of service because of “serious health challenges” in the family, owner Agrodolce’s Angelo D’Alo said.
Viscopo reached out to the landlord and took over the restaurant the day after Isola Osteria closed. In just three months, Taverna Sorrentina was born.
“We were very lucky we got this opportunity,” Viscopo said. “It was not easy. We were looking at restaurants around Walnut Creek. Nobody was going to give us a chance because we’re first-time owners. Thankfully, we were able to get this chance.”
Taverna Sorrentina’s signature plate is the cacio e pepe, spaghetti with pepper and cheese, and it’s presented inside a flaming wheel of cheese.
Along with the pasta, steak and seafood are among the popular choices, the owner said. Order the steak, and there’s a chance Viscopo himself will deliver it to your table, light a knife on fire, then slice the steak right in front of you.
For dessert, the tiramisu is assembled at the table, as freshly made espresso is poured over the lady fingers, which are then combined with house-made mascarpone.
“You usually don’t see it made at the table like this in America,” Viscopo said. “They started doing it in Italy. So far, people love it.”
About 100 people dined with them on opening night.
“This is a dream come true for us,” Viscopo said. “We were young when we first came to America. We didn’t know what to do or where to go. But we know one thing, we have a passion for restaurants.”
Details: Open for dinner 5-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 5-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 5-9 p.m. Sundays, and for lunch 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays-Sundays, 100 Railroad Ave., Danville; tavernasorrentina.com.