Crawford’s exploration of Adriatic cuisine immediately became one of the region’s most distinct menus, and its dining room, featuring works from artist Thomas Sayre, feels like it transports you from Raleigh to an airy bistro near the coast of the Mediterranean.

For Scott Crawford’s third Raleigh restaurant, the acclaimed chef looked to the Adriatic sea, cooking the cuisines of Italy and Croatia. Brodeto opened as Crawford’s largest restaurant yet, with a glowing marble bar and a menu fueled by live-fire. The results are tremendous and dramatic, like whole grilled fish, squid ink pasta and a giant roasted pork chop.

Yes, this is an upscale restaurant, not an ice cream parlor. But it’s one place to make sure to save plenty of room for dessert after dinner (or to skip the mains altogether), as chef-owner Scott Crawford has some of the best soft serve in town. The secret weapon is the specialty machine that his team uses, which makes the ice cream pretty much fresh to order. Flavors rotate regularly, but try to catch the Sicilian pistachio when it’s there.

When he left his restaurants each day, he kept his mind busy imagining what other concepts he might launch. Serendipitously, his phone began to ring as talented service industry professionals who worked for some of the top hospitality companies in the country realized they could move to a market like Raleigh for a lifestyle change.

Between the concepts that Crawford spent his evenings drawing up, the talent that his team was adding, and the pandemic receding with the rollout of vaccinations, the Crawford Hospitality team was ready to make those dreams a reality.

In many ways, salt is a core concept within Brodeto, cementing itself in the design, execution, and inspiration behind the ethos of the restaurant. When reading through the menu, you can feel that distinct sea breeze and trace the current of the sea through each dish.

“It’s not just a fish soup, it’s a representation of every town or village (in Italy), made with what they have available,” Crawford said. “It ties all the towns together. There might be different recipes, but it all creates something humble that’s craveable and soul-warming. We wanted to evoke those same kind of feelings.”

Despite the immense, almost overwhelming popularity of Italian food in the United States, by pulling from a less touristy and not as culinarily explored area around the country’s bootheel, Crawford can offer something that for many will feel familiar and fresh.