South Lamar Loses Yet Another Italian Restaurant

Looks like 3403 South Lamar Boulevard wasn’t meant to be home to an Italian restaurant. First, it was Aroma Italian Kitchen and Bar, and then there was ManinPasta, which is being transformed into a new gastropub, Kicked Up Grub. It’s set to open on Friday, June 29.

The wide-ranging menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch. Think salads, meatballs with fried shishitos, French toast, and baked goods. Kicked Up is holding onto ManinPasta’s Neapolitan wood-fired oven as well. It’s courtesy of chefs Charles Cherentin, Steffi Gutierrez, and Samuel Albert.

Cherentin and Gutierrez have previously worked at the Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas, Valley View Casino in San Diego, and the St. Regis Monarch in Dana Point, California. The couple opened their own bakery, Breadologie, in Granada Hills, California. Albert grew up in Italy.

For drinks, there will be wine, frosé, and cocktails with an emphasis on bourbon.

Kicked Up Grub will be open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and until 9 p.m. Sunday.

The Italian-leaning Aroma opened within apartment complex the 704 in May 2014, and closed in 2017. It turned into another Italian restaurant, ManinPasta, in December 2017, under a new owner and chef, but is now, obviously, closed.

• Kicked Up Grub [Official]
• Kicked Up Grub [Facebook]
• All Coverage of ManinPasta [EATX]