Charleston has long had an affinity with Italy (Spoleto, for starters), but considering the rate at which Italian restaurants have been opening in town lately, it’s possible we’ve reached peak pasta. That said, Volpe, the Radcliffeborough trattoria opened by chef Ken Vedrinski in March, has already managed to distinguish itself from the pack.
Admittedly, the restaurateur had a running start with Coda del Pesce, his long-vaunted seafood spot on Isle of Palms, as well as the erstwhile Trattoria Lucca on Bogard Street, with a family-style service on Monday nights that inspired the concept behind Volpe. The ever-changing menu is prix fixe and designed to share. Our server explained that it’s possible to order á la carte from that evening’s lineup if your appetite is not up to a table full of antipasti, a pasta course, two entrees, and dessert.
This is not fancy fare, rather it’s the rustic, soul-satisfying food that many Northeasterners were weaned on, whether in grandma’s kitchen or at the first-rate, unfussy restaurants found in bigger cities (“Jersey Italian,” Vedrinski has called it). On a recent Friday night, that meant a pair of perfectly crisp shrimp arancini to start, along with a creamy burrata with walnut pesto—for full effect, order the optional focaccia—mushrooms agrodolce, and an endive-romaine salad with pistachios, grapes, and gorgonzola dolce. All paired beautifully with a glass of Samas vermentino from the exclusively Italian wine list, which is refreshingly priced at $44 for bottles of white and $48 for red.
Just like at nonna’s, the dishes kept coming at a clip (lingering is not a thing here). There was a light scampi tossed with fusilli lunghi, an exquisite fillet of skate wing in brown butter vinaigrette with capers, and pork scallopini Marsala-style, which made a fantastic lunch the next day. Wisely, the kitchen kept it somewhat light that night for dessert, a butterscotch budino.
The interior takes cues from the menu, cozy and unpretentious, though the noise level can get uncomfortable when the house is packed. Next time, I’ll ask for seats at the bar, where the patrons seemed to have no problem talking among themselves and with the friendly bartender. But for those of us who pined for Lucca after it closed in 2020, it’s well worth the lively volume to once again put ourselves in Vedrinski’s hands for an evening.
