FOR LOCALS BY LOCALS: Limoncello Ristorante

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Limoncello Ristorante

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Limoncello is a new Italian restaurant in San Marco where you can experience fine-dining for affordable prices.

“Basically, a family of four can come and eat at Limoncello and spend somewhere around a hundred bucks,” Villani says. “So we make our own pasta, and all the other ingredients that we make helps us keep the prices down.”

Created by owner Marcello Villani, the family-friendly Limoncello is dedicated to the memory of his late mother Mamma Lulu, who died of brain cancer.

Marcello plans to donate proceeds to cancer research in her honor.

The restaurant features signature Mamma Lulu recipes, including Marcello’s favorite childhood dish.

“My favorite item is actually a very, very simple item that I remember my mother used to cook for me when I was sick, and it’s called Cacio Pepe,” Villani says. “It’s a homemade pasta. It’s basically just made with a cacio, which is a type of cheese. Caciotta is a little bit salty, and black pepper.”

Limoncello’s newly renovated kitchen is designed to make homemade pasta, breads and cheeses, including recipes handed down by Marcello’s mother.

“She used to put like a little something different in order to make it Mamma Lulu lasagna, or the Mamma Lulu meatballs,” Villani says. “Instead of doing the meatballs like everybody knows, she used to make the meatballs and then make like a acid-sweet lemon sauce with it. That’s what we have on our menu.”

In the spirit of family-style dining, the restaurant is decorated like a bright yellow and blue Capri Island home, with affordable cuisine ranging from $10 to $15 dollars.

Limoncello’s soft open was in late November, with the grand opening happening by Christmas.

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