From the bustling Jackson Avenue sidewalk in the Old City, walking into the softly lit, stylishly designed interior of Osteria Stella feels like stepping into another era. It is a contrast to the bright décor of Brother Wolf, its sibling cocktail bar next door. “I wanted to create a dramatic contrast between the two,” says co-owner Jessica Thompson, who also created the speakeasy Peter Kern Library. “I wanted Osteria Stella to be lovely, warm, comfortable, and disarming.”

“It’s romantic and intimate,” agrees Sommelier Brad Poyner, as he demonstrates the technique for folding black napkins into roses. “Some newer Italian restaurants are using a darker and more dramatic approach to set them apart from the traditional white-tablecloth, red-sauce places.