Tredici in Midtown Village was worth the wait

Whether you’re sitting in the cozy dining room at 13th and Sansom or kicking back at the bar at 32nd and Chestnut, both locations of Zavino are home to the kind of warm energy that comes when the decor is just right, the food is well executed and the wine is flowing.

With his third concept, owner Greg Dodge sought to keep the same vibe. Set just across 13th Street, his latest, Tredici, is brand-new and already buzzing. With a menu that takes inspiration from the warm climes of the Mediterranean, a wine list built for exploration and an icy raw bar, Tredici was built to wow with the help of locally based Boxwood Architects. It’s been in the works for a while now.

“Greg had told the owner if this space ever became available, please let him know [because] he’d love to do something here,” Tredici partner Jason Brooke says.

When Dodge and company got their hands on the space (one half a former Doggy Style pet boutique and the other storage space for Springboard Media) it was completely raw and ready to be built out to spec — and made into the current stunning restaurant.

What you’ll eatand drink

An open kitchen helmed by Zavino vet Carlos Aparicio focuses on plates geared toward sharing with warm flavors from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea (think za’tar-spiced crispy chicken, spiral-cut zucchini salad with mint pesto and pistachios, and house-made fresh pastas). A fully stocked raw bar offers oysters and shrimp cocktail along with cracked crab claws and a trio of crudos.

The extensive wine program is Brooke’s baby. “The food menu is meant to be shared so you can play around and try a brunch of things, and the wine list is set up like that as well,” he says.

Instead of ordering a bottle or even a full glass, Tredici offers two pours to allow curious guests to work their way through everything from a semi-sweet sparkling red lambrusco to a muscadet (“oyster heaven,” according to Brooke) and robust Rhone blend, pairing each taste with an appropriate plate from the menu.

For those in the market to dig deeper into Tredici’s wine program, a temperature-controlled Cruvinet system sits behind the bar stocked with the kinds of bottles that make oenophiles sit up straight and are rarely cracked to pour by the glass, like a Caymus cab and a lovely Chassagne-Montrachet.

Made for sharing

Whether Tredici diners are sharing bites from small plates or passing around a glass of something special to taste, the experience is all about sharing.

“Nothing pleases us more than when we see people picking up their plates and passing them around,” Brooke says. “That’s home to us.”