Out and About

Vidrio opens Monday on Glenwood

Vidrio is housed in a 13,500 square-foot space that also includes a second floor banquet and semi-private meeting space upstairs.

Posted Updated
Vidrio
RALEIGH, N.C.Vidrio, a new restaurant that aims to give patrons a window into the Mediterranean, opens its doors Monday on Glenwood Avenue.

“At Vidrio, our guests will be transported to the Mediterranean, experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells of the region,” founder and owner of LM Restaurants, Lou Moshakos, said via a press release. “We are proud to bring a new concept to Raleigh for people to try something vibrant and flavorful.”

The project has been eight years in the making. LM Restaurants purchased the building back in 2008, with the plans to put a Carolina Ale House on the top floor and take time to build out the first and second floors for Vidrio.

Vidrio is housed in a 13,500 square-foot space that also includes a second floor banquet and semi-private meeting space upstairs. The second floor also boasts its own kitchen.

The daily menu features a mix of Spanish, Greek, Italian, Lebanese, Moroccan and other coastal flavors. There will be a focus on fresh seafood and slow-roasted meat. Guests will be able to watch as executive chef Ian Sullivan and his team prepare food on the wood-fired grill and stone hearth oven.

The rotating menu will include snacks, small plates and shareable platter-style meals.

A look at the menu at Vidrio, a new restaurant opening at 500 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh, in January 2017. (LM Restaurants)

Snacks include olives and spiced nuts and dips such as harissa, hummus and baba ganoush. Small plate selections will include a rotating list of cheese, seafood, and charcuterie, in addition to beer tartare with a pomegranate gastric herb salad, chestnut gnocchi in a parmesan broth, and flatbreads. There will also be fresh seafood, including grilled octopus, grilled prawns with grapefruit and winter greens, and scallop crudo with fennel and pickled lemon.

The larger, shareable plates will include whole grilled fish, such as a snapper with scallions, basil and mint, or seared salmon with pistachio pesto, and various pastas such as linguini all’amatriciana with tomato and guanciale, and black rice risotto with confit mushrooms and pecorino romano.

A look at the menu at Vidrio, a new restaurant opening at 500 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh, in January 2017. (LM Restaurants)

The bar menu will include more than 50 wines on tap, 300 bottles and craft cocktails. The signature cocktail, a gin and tea-based drink called the "Amortentia," changes colors from blue to purple as it's made and the longer it sits on the table.

Vidrio is also importing its own olive oil directly from the Lou Moshakos' Greek village.

Vidrio is Spanish for "glass" and its decor reflects that. The main dining room has a wall with more than 350 hand-blown glass pieces. Keeping with the theme, design elements also include hand-painted tiles, mosaics, wooden dowels, rope chandeliers, original European furnishings and custom guillotine windows.

Vidrio opens Monday for dinner. It will also be serving up brunch on Sundays. Valet parking is complimentary for Vidrio guests.

LM Restaurants also owns Taverna Agora, a Greek restaurant on Hillsborough Street.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.