If you’re a lover of Tutta Bella’s Neapolitan-style pizza, but not so much a fan of the family-friendly atmosphere, you might want to stop by and check out their new glassed-in bar area, dubbed “The Jewel Box”, which officially opened this week.
The Jewel Box is located on the NW side of the building, with easy access from the N. Allen Place entrance. The area has seating and standing room for up to 24 people, and the new bar adds cocktails and spirits to the menu.
Until now, the Stone Way location was the only one of the four Tutta Bella restaurants without a jewel box.
Mallet Design and Construction provided Tutta Bella with a project summary:
The jewel box was conceptualized to provide an adult respite within the bustle and noise of the main dining room of the pizzeria. The transparency of the glass box provides connectivity and at the same time protection from the active surrounding environment. Inspiration is drawn from the ultra-modernist Italian architecture juxtaposed on a more traditional background. The glass allows the space within to blend seamlessly with the original space, as is often seen in restorations of historic monasteries, wineries, and castles in an around Naples.
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nice – but I wish it were more of a walk in closet than a jewel box
I think it looks wonderful…can’t wait to check it out!
This is fantastic! Not that we hate children or anything, but this helps make the case for Tutta as a cheap date night spot for us 🙂 Also, I’m going to guess getting a table there will be much easier, but we shall see.
Hmm… taking away valuable space from their core clients; families with children? This is probably from the same brain-trust that let to the great Mista Salad debacle of 2012
1. Stripping down all the good ingredients down to lettuce and some cheese (cost-cutting anyone?)
2. Having everyone ask what happened to the old Mista salad.
3. Bringing back an In-n-Out like secret menu for the “Legacy Mista.”
4. Getting rid of the Mista Salad on the menu and just adding the “Legacy Mista”
Every time I go into TB nowadays, just seems like they are trying to make a buck. Time to build a backyard brick oven and wake up my sourdough starter!
Since I’m on a rant, would it be possible for them to keep a pizza on their menu for more than 6 months? Every time I get a favorite it disappears the next time I go in and then have to reverse engineer the pizza in my head to try to tell the waitstaff.
I don’t know… This seems kind of silly to me. I would love to see a pack of wild toddlers run over to the glass and smush their little wet noses and mouths up against the glass, covering the “jewel case” with tiny gelato handprints while all the adults inside seethe with anger and complain to the staff.
Don’t get me wrong — I totally understand the need for adult-only venues. I just think that people spend way too much time and energy getting annoyed by things that are pretty insignificant.
This is probably a great way for TB to make more money, in the end…
What? Tutta Bella is trying to make money? The shame of it all.
CL, I think that’s a bit unfair. From my perspective, as part of a childless couple that doesn’t mind kids, we usually choose to dine places that aren’t crazy loud because dining out is a treat. It is a known fact that the Wallingford Tutta Bella is a family friendly and kid dominated place. I think as a childless couple when we choose to go to Tutta, we know what we’re getting into and don’t make complaints about other people’s kids. It’s their turf and we acknowledge that. Now, is their pizza tasty and do we still brave TB from time to time? Sure. Will it seem like a more attractive dining option to have an adult only space? Sure. To me I don’t see how this isn’t win win for everyone. I doubt it takes much space from the main dining room (I’m going to guess that a majority of these jewelbox tables are two-tops, which most parents are interested in anyway), and parents can feel even more freedom from judgement or complaints and let their kid rock their kid self out over some pizza?
CL, I’d suggest that this remodel for Tutta Bella offers the best of both worlds. As a single person, one of the reasons I like to go to TB is to be around the energy of families with kids. I also like to sit at the bar and read my book while having dinner, and for the record, I’d hardly be one to “complain” because there are kids six feet away having a rambunctious good time. (If I had that kind of animosity toward children, it would be, to use your word, “silly” to frequent a restaurant so clearly geared to a family experience.)
So for me, the jewel box is an ideal configuration, keeping the atmosphere of the vast majority of the TB space very apparent and near, while also affording just a bit of separation. I say CHEERS….for everybody!
Guys, I really just said that the fishbowl configuration seemed a little comical to me. I was laughing at the image of it all, but maybe I have an inappropriate sense of humor.
Fruitbat and Meg — sounds like you have a healthy attitude towards kids in public, which is great. There are rare cranksters, however, who will visit places like Mighty-O Donuts and complain about the fact that there are kids present. When I say that some people spend too much energy getting annoyed about insignificant things, I’m referring to that type of person, not you guys.
To be clear, I think there is nothing wrong with our community having kid-free spaces when/where appropriate.
oops — meant to write Neighbor2You, not Fruitbat.
🙂
I like kids, too. Been one, had one.
As long as they’re not running around a restaurant tripping the servers. The Tutta Bella crowd seems fairly good about that.
I think it’s a great idea, Tutta Bella has such great pizza and is an excellent spot for large groups/families/etc, but if you’re a two-top, it’s easy to feel a little lost in the shuffle. It sounds like this is a nice compromise by creating a little more of an intimate space for smaller, child-free diners.
Tip: if you want to have a slightly quieter dining experience, just eat late, especially during the week – little people have to go to bed early, we’ve showed up at 8 and had the place practically to ourselves.
It looks, however, that there are no actual tables in this area. It clearly states that there is sitting/standing room for up to 24 people. That would seem to indicate that you can either sit at the bar, or stand at the bar along the glass. That doesn’t sound nearly as cozy….. Can anyone confirm if they will even have 2-top tables available? Or is it strictly bar seating and standing along the glass?
I just tried the jewel box because of this post on friday and loved it. I don’t mind kids but this place has been completely taken over by kids. It was a nice oasis, and I will repeat it again.
Update: I dropped in to check out the “jewel box” set-up today. Very nice! Along with the bar, there are three two-top tables, and one four-top. So, while not diminishing the main space in a significant way, it creates a terrific option for adult’s-only. I give Tutta Bella an A+ for this remodel. Yay!