There's not a bad seat in the house at Rella. That's because any seat you choose -- and there are only 15 -- is a seat at the chef's table. The new restaurant, which opened on Monroe Avenue in June, is an intimate dining bar where you can watch the kitchen's every move. There are no tables, and no waiters. Instead, the cooks do double duty, deftly plating and serving dishes while chatting with the diners just feet away.

Rella is the sister establishment of popular Italian restaurant Rocco, located three doors down at 165 Monroe Avenue. Both are owned by Mark Cupolo, a Rochester native who got his start in the restaurant industry in Boston in the 1980s. Cupolo opened Rocco in 2008, and in the decade since has several times considered opening another restaurant nearby. By the time the space at 181 Monroe Avenue became available, Cupolo already had an idea of what he wanted his next restaurant to be.