From cocktails at Later Bye to game-changing fried chicken at Lorena, Midtown has been on quite a tear lately. The latest opening, though, is unlike anything the neighborhood—or the city at large—has seen or sampled. Welcome to Malfi Enoteca, the culinary equivalent of jetting off to the Amalfi Coast for an Aperol-soaked vacation.
Malfi Enoteca is the new Oklahoma City location of the Tulsa-born brand—a partnership between Sheamus Feeley Hospitality Group and McNellie’s Group, and a splashy new addition to a booming district. Where the longtime American restaurant Packard’s once stood, guests are newly greeted by shiny Vespas, lush floral bouquets, pink-striped walls and black-and-white portraits of glamorous people on vacation. It’s a striking, sunny backdrop for a restaurant rooted in effortless escapism.
When the iconic space became available, Feeley and McNellie’s CEO Elliot Nelson saw a niche to fill. “We were talking about it, and the thing we don’t have is a casual Italian spot that isn’t old-school pasta and red sauce, [although] there’s nothing wrong with that,” Feeley explained, calling Malfi an evolutionary step past what we’ve had historically—one that’s casual, befitting a variety of dining experiences, and highlighting different aspects of the Italian palate. “The goal is to create a place where we want to eat on our days off,” he added. “If you want to come for a casual Tuesday lunch, or date night on Friday night, or just sneak in and grab a chopped salad, we can do that as well.”
Despite the fact that the decor looks like lavish set dressing from an episode of “The White Lotus,” the restaurateurs were very mindful of the value proposition, offering a menu where all but four items are under $20, and affordable options are designed to make it a “neighborhood” enoteca. Along with the kinds of cocktails you’d drink on vacation, like Limoncello Spritz and Frozen Jungle Birds, even the wine list is intentionally accessible, featuring bottles in the $30s and affordable standards alongside esoteric novelties.
Eschewing red sauce standards, the menu—displayed on a retro newspaper—treads in lighter, brighter flavors, like pancetta-dotted white bean dip with toasted pistachios and sourdough; meltingly tender carpaccio with creamy tonnato sauce and peppery arugula; and a bountiful chopped salad, erupting with toothsome salumi, pepper Jack, basil, olives, garbanzos, tomato, cucumber, parmesan and herb vinaigrette. It’s a carnival of textures and flavors. Pastas include hand-cut taglioni al burro, dripping in butter and parmesan, and perfectly chewy bucatini, bathed in basil cream, pesto and burrata.
Some of the most underrated items, Feeley said, are not pastas. The Caesar salad, sprinkled with toasted levain and parmesan, is a favorite, as is the roasted salmon with tabbouleh. The latter is a nod to Oklahoma’s Lebanese immigrants who famously offer tabbouleh at restaurants like Jamil’s Steakhouse; Feeley grew up visiting the Tulsa location from his hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Said Feeley, “All I wanted to do was tip the cap to that culture, and do it in a way that makes sense through a Mediterranean prism.”
It’s the kind of food, the kind of spritzy cocktails and the kind of wine that transport diners to sunnier shores and simpler times. Post-war Italy, Feeley noted, was a big aesthetic inspiration for the enoteca, resplendent in couture, vivid colors and a general sense of relaxation. “It’s the simple art of doing nothing,” he said, describing the boom in Italian cafe culture. “I can’t think of many cultures that do it better.”
Italians, during that time, finally had time to sit back and enjoy la dolce vita, the sweet life. Now, with Malfi Enoteca, so do we.
