Experience Authentic Italian Flavors Today
Indulge in exquisite Italian dishes
Welcome to Trattoria San Nicola
Trattoria San Nicola is much more than your typical Italian restaurant. It is truly an experience where authentic Italian cuisine meets the arts. The restaurant blends traditional Italian flavors and spices to create an atmosphere filled with fragrant aromas and delectable dishes in a quaint setting straight out of an Italian landscape.
From the moment you walk through the doors, you will be transformed from the Main Line to the mainland of Bari, Italy, just off the coast of the Adriatic Sea, the hometown of Chef Vito Giannandrea. Feast your eyes on our unique Italian artwork while you savor a delectable meal and a bottle of fine wine. Enjoy the ultimate culinary experience time and time again in an atmosphere that is sure to stir the senses.
San Nicola was a real man who lived in the Fourth Century in Asia Minor, now Turkey. He is remembered for his holiness, zeal and miracles. No less than 21 miracles have been attributed to him. He is known as the patron saint of many, including children, fishermen, sailors, travelers, unmarried woman and robbers (with an eye to repentance.)
In l807, a boatload of Italian sailors rescued the bones of San Nicola, bringing his earthly remains to Bari, Italy where he became that town’s patron saint. During a long famine in Bari, the fishermen prayed to San Nicola, and were rewarded with a huge catch, ending the hunger in the village.
Chef Vito Giannandrea was born and raised in Bari, Italy, where he graduated from the Culinary Institute in 1978. Wanting to bring a little of his homeland to Pennsylvania, he opened his first Trattoria San Nicola in Berwyn in 1995 and named it for the patron saint that is the protector of his home town. He started a second restaurant in Paoli in 2004. Chef Vito is married and has four children with his wife, Cristina.