About Us
A casual Italian(ish) eatery in the heart of Old Strathcona. Food inspired by the traditions and culture of Italy cooked with modern techniques and ingredients. Produce chosen and cooked when it is shining the brightest. Seasonal vegetables treated simply to showcase the quality . A selection of handmade pastas made from Alberta flour. Proteins in large format made for sharing just like at Nona’s table.
A beverage selection focused on Italian grapes grown throughout the world. An expression like the food that is rooted in tradition but, also pushing the limits of new & different.
Chef & and owner Riley Aitken
Riley began traveling as a young adult, passing his time and paying his way as a dive master, which brought him to the Danish summer island of Samsø. When he began his professional culinary journey, he worked at a destination dining restaurant, Isle Made, where he began to hone his skills and use of seasonal ingredients.
In 2014, Riley moved to Australia to work under esteemed chef James Viles at 2 hatted regional restaurant Biota Dining. Given an opportunity there, he developed his open-flame cooking skills and ultimately became head chef. During his tenure there, he lived on premises in the back of a 1984 Land Rover County. He spent any free time he had outdoors cooking over fire.
In 2019, he returned to his native Canada to open Smokey Bear. After four years, he has begun his second venture, Bella. A culmination of his travels to be shared with Edmonton!
Beverage Director Nico Larson
Like most, Nico entered the world of food and beverage: bright-eyed, naïve, eager to learn.
He is still, unfortunately, somewhat bright-eyed, quite naïve, and eager to learn.
Enamored with what restaurants can do to bring people together and transport them out of their day-to-day lives, Nico is excited to continue learning through Edmonton's food and beverage industry and use it as a lens to explore new places.