Dante Serves Lunch This Week to Preview New Belmont Burger Bar
The de Magistris brothers' Cambridge restaurant will share a first taste of the Wellington, opening later this year.
A cheeseburger in the works for the forthcoming Wellington in Belmont Center is on the limited-time-only lunch menu at Dante. / Photo via Facebook
Later this year, chef Dante de Magistris and his brothers and business partners, Damian and Filippo, will add a fourth restaurant to their portfolio: A neighborhood spot called the Wellington is headed for Belmont Center.
The brothers, who own Dante at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, and Il Casale in Belmont and Lexington, announced in April that they took over 3,500-square feet in the former Macy’s in Belmont. The new restaurant is just about 400 feet away from Il Casale. It is part of a new development that includes a location of Foodie’s Market, a kitchenware shop Local Root, and Belmont Books, which has an in-house café called the Black Bear. It’s on the same block as the original Craft Beer Cellar, Rancatore’s Ice Cream, and more.
“We see this location as an opportunity to further establish Belmont Center as a dining destination and offer more options with broad appeal for locals and surrounding communities,” Damian de Magistris previously told the Belmont Citizen-Herald.
Burgers and more casual fare is what appeals to locals, the Boston Globe previously reported.
“We asked our Belmont customers what they might be hoping for, and almost everyone said, ‘Let’s have a big bar with burgers and prime rib. We’re looking for great, everyday American food,'” Dante de Magistris said.
Plans for the 135-seat Wellington were OK’d by the town’s Planning Board in September, the Belmontian reported. The new restaurant will be more casual than il Casale, with seasonal, American cuisine, including the aforementioned burgers, oysters, and vegetarian options, plus craft beer and cocktails. It plans to serve lunch, dinner, and brunch.
Restaurant Dante doesn’t typically serve lunch, but is open daily through Friday, Jan. 26, from 11:30-2:30 p.m., with a limited menu of Dante and il Casale favorites, like porcini arancini with truffle honey, tagliatelle alla Bolognese, and salmon with lemon risotto; plus two burgers being tested for the Wellington menu. A prime beef cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and shaved red onion comes with fries for $14; and the Awesome burger is topped with gruyere, horseradish crema, crispy onions, and sprouts ($16). Reservations are recommended.
The website thewellingtonbelmont.com will launch later this spring, and the Wellington is eyeing an early summer debut.
The Wellington, coming early summer 2018 to 75 Leonard St., Belmont, thewellingtonbelmont.com.
Dante, 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, 617-497-4200, restaurantdante.com.
(L to R) Dante, Damian, and Fillippo de Magistris. / Photo by Ford Rackemann provided
