Chef Sandro Nardone channels the flavors of his Italian upbringing into the food served at his Michelin-listed restaurant, Bello by Sandro Nardone at Newport North Shopping Center. While many associate Italian cuisine with heavy, red-sauce classics, Nardone is on a mission to introduce Orange County to pizza contemporanea and the vibrant, raw seafood traditions of his heritage.
The chef’s modern Italian menu ranges from housemade pastas to seasonal seafood crudo, and Neapolitan-inspired pizza. At his namesake restaurant in Newport Beach, Chef Nardone greets regulars and shares a few of his recommendations for first-time diners. Chef’s tip: Start with the crudo.
Bello by Sandro Nardone is tucked into Newport North Shopping Center. The Michelin-listed restaurant is known for its sophisticated atmosphere and progressive Italian menu. Pastas are crafted in-house daily and Chef Sandro Nardone prides himself on the restaurant’s rotating selection of seasonal seafood crudo.
Nardone first influenced the Orange County culinary landscape in 2012 with the opening of Angelina’s Pizzeria. Seeking a larger kitchen to evolve his menu beyond traditional wood-fired pies, he opened Bello in 2019 to showcase a broader range of his Italian cuisine.
Nardone’s perspective is rooted in Atina, Italy, a small town located between Rome and Naples, where he was born. Nardone’s childhood was surrounded by food and defined by the culinary mastery of the women in his family, who inspired him to create food with heart. His mother, Giovanna, was an executive chef who prepared charcuterie by hand and pressed her own olive oil from the family’s trees. His aunt, Angelina, gained local fame for her Scamorza cheese. Today, Nardone harnesses these influences and channels them into his food.
At Bello by Sandro Nardone, “we keep with our Italian roots and then play around with the ingredients and flavors found here in California,” said Chef Sandro Nardone.
This philosophy is best reflected in the restaurant’s coastal seafood program. While comforting dishes like spaghetti with lemon zest and clams evoke the Amalfi Coast, his crudo, brightened with yuzu, lemon, and parsley showcases the versatility of modern Italian flavor profiles.
We spoke with Nardone about his favorite dishes for spring, the secrets behind his pizza contemporanea, and the morning he discovered his Michelin Guide honors. Read his responses below:
Tell us about your spring dishes.
We dictate the menu by the seasons. It’s spring, so we make food that’s light. So that includes the seafood that we find this time of year. Matter of fact, we import some seafood from Spain. Line-caught turbot is served tableside. We’ll serve the whole fish, that’s really cool.
We’ll also have scallops served in their shells. But, that’s for the seasonal crudo.
You serve seafood crudo at Bello by Sandro Nardone?
This time of year, we have three types of crudo. A tuna crudo, hamachi, and scallops served in its shell like a ceviche. It’s Italian-style because we use a lot of basil. It’s different from classic ceviche. We’ll have strawberries on it, so it will be tart and sweet.
There’s an aguachile made with a lot of fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro. There’s lime, yuzu, and lemon, of course, because in Italy we use a lot of lemon. Then extra virgin olive oil and some jalapeño to give it a little kick.
Are diners surprised to find crudo on your menu?
People think of raw fish and they instantly think of Japan. But Italy has been eating raw seafood for centuries. Not because it was a fancy thing but it was what they had. In Italy, they were eating raw seafood in the 1300’s because of necessity.
At Bello, we keep to our Italian roots and then we play around with what we have available in this area, specifically in California. That’s why the scallop crudo has strawberries.
Tell us about how modern Italian cuisine incorporates global flavors.
This is a trend in Italy that has existed for a long time. People don’t realize how the food has evolved. For people who have never traveled to Italy, Italian food to them might be just the classic American Italian food. But, in Italy, there’s been a big revolution. I will try to bring that Italy here to Orange County.
Tell us more about the pastas.
The pastas are all made in-house. So we have spaghetti, which is a long noodle. We have tonarelli, which is another long noodle, like thicker Roman-style spaghetti. We have tagliolini, which is a Northern Italian-style long noodle. It’s made with a one-to-one ratio of flour to egg yolks. It’s a very rich pasta. That one is usually served with truffles. We also make rigatoni which is a great seller. It’s a short pasta that we serve with pork sausage. Then we top it with truffles. We also make our guanciale (salt cured pork cheek) in-house.
What’s special about the pizza at Bello by Sandro Nardone?
The pizza here we can call it pizza contemporana. But it’s really my way of doing it. So I don’t follow any of the rules. It’s Neapolitan-style, but I do it my way.
How did it feel when you learned that Bello by Sandro Nardone was honored by the Michelin Guide?
Everybody wants to be in the Michelin Guide. I wasn’t expecting it. But, one morning my phone was ringing and ringing. I didn’t want to answer so I turned it off and I continued sleeping. When I turned my phone back on, it was like, ‘Congrats you’re in the Michelin Guide!’ That was a big surprise. It’s been five years since we’ve made it to the list and we’ve remained on it.
Last year, in 2025, it was the first year that we received the actual plaque. I put it up on the side of the building. It was a great feeling. I’m not looking for Michelin stars. It’s obviously a very hard thing to keep. So I’m very happy where I am.
Michelin was such a big help for business.
Good things happen. Bad things happen. I’m not out there bragging that I’m in the Michelin Guide. But I have a lot of interactions with my guests. I’ll ask, ‘How did you hear about us?’ Usually if it’s their first time, it’s because of the Michelin Guide. We’re very fortunate and lucky to be on it.
Any words of advice?
There’s always room for improvement. Once you think you’re done, that’s when you’ll fail.
*This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.
BELLO BY SANDRO NARDONE
Newport North Shopping Center
1200 Bison Ave. #C2, Newport Beach, CA 92660
