Our taste-and-tell guide to some of the latest food-and-beverage openings in Charleston
Monza
After expanding into neighboring bar Closed for Business, Monza has reopened as the latest venture by Brooks Reitz and Tim Mink. Fans of the previous iteration will recognize familiar fare and decor, from wood-fired pizzas to Italian race car memorabilia, mingling fluently with mod additions like the carrot-colored bar stools. Executive chef Reid Henninger and chef de cuisine Emily Hahn have treated the menu to a tune-up, too. The butter bean salad is now a sunny mix of cherry tomatoes, lemon, and dill, livened with bread crumbs and crème fraîche. Follow that with the Enzo—a prosciutto, baby potato, pistachio pesto, and Parmesan fonduta pizza—and couple your slices with the energetic giardiniera (house pickled veg). Nutella budino and negronis on tap round out this revamped pie shop’s second wind. monzapizza.com
Malagón
Short of a jet to Catalonia, Malagón—a new Cannonborough taperia and mercado—is Charleston’s quickest ticket to Spanish small plates and pintxo bar fare. Chef Juan Casselett (Chez Nous) has composed a comprehensive, spirited menu; for those in a snacky mood, share the appetite-rousing Gilda (Manzanilla olive, anchovy, and guindilla pepper skewers). Or choose from the impressive charcuteria selections, like the mojama (salt-cured tuna belly) or the iconic jamón Iberico (made from acorn-fed pigs). But the star dish is a Catalonian pasta, rossejat negro: tender loops of squid, ink sauce, and fideo noodles, crisped on a pan paella-style, finished with a whorl of garlic aioli. An adventurous wine list and a charming “market” wall stocked with purchasable, imported Spanish specialty products make dynamic use of inspiration and space. Be sure to reserve your seats online, even for the bar. malagonchs.com
