Kitchen party for 10! Ex-Segovia chef Adam Donnelly and partner Courtney Molaro flex their creativity with a small space, big ambience and creatively changing menu By: Eva Wasney Posted: 7:00 PM CST Monday, Nov. 7, 2022 Last Modified: 9:31 AM CST Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 Updates

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This article was published 06/11/2022 (682 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Petit Socco is designed with a dinner party in mind. The hosts, owners Adam Donnelly and Courtney Molaro, are constantly within reach while cooking and mixing drinks in a small open concept kitchen. Guests — 10 at a time, situated in a cozy dining nook — are served a curated meal of chef favourites.

“It was always a frustration for me,” Donnelly says of large, disjointed menus. “If I have people over at my house they’re not picking and choosing, they just come and eat and it’s so carefree.”

The five-course globally influenced menu changes often based on inspiration and availability. The day’s lineup is scribbled on a black chalkboard near the door and intended to be eaten in full: bread with bites of cured meats, cheeses and pickles followed by meaty mains and dessert.

“You don’t necessarily have to try everything,” Molaro says. “But, if you’re open to it… that kind of flow is already built in.”

Petit Socco is Donnelly’s first venture since the 2020 closure of Segovia — the acclaimed Osborne tapas restaurant he ran with former partner Carolina Konrad for more than a decade.

The pandemic and time away from the daily grind of restaurant life gave the chef a chance to slow down and reassess. He spent more time with his daughters and got hooked on breadmaking. When the world started opening up again, he knew balance and bread would be central to the next phase of his career.

The closure of Close Co. — another notable pandemic casualty, which was included in this year’s Canada’s 100 Best Restaurant list — created such an opportunity.

“I was always interested in this space,” Donnelly says of what might be the smallest full-service dining room in the city. Save for a fresh coat of paint, new lighting and some Picasso prints, the couple has changed little about the look of the restaurant.

The spatial limitations of Petit Socco have allowed Donnelly to get back in the kitchen and flex his creativity.

“Everything has to be inherently simple,” he says. Ingredient procurement included. “I don’t need a case of peppers from California, I can just grab, like, 10 peppers because there’s only 10 people coming in — it seems more doable and more personal.”

Petit Socco is open four days a week with Donnelly and Molaro as the only staff members. The pair have been together for four years and met at Segovia, where Molaro was working front-of-house following serving positions at Deer + Almond, Langside Grocery and several other local eateries.

Working together full-time has taken some getting used to, but the couple says they’ve found their stride since opening in mid-August.

“It was a really big learning curve,” Molaro says. “I’m the first point of contact, where I’m chatting with (guests) about the way the menu is designed, so it’s really important that we’re on the same page.”

The line between front- and back-of-house is naturally blurred by virtue of the small space and the shared workload.

“I’ve never talked to so many guests before,” Donnelly says with a laugh. “It’s really nice to have that interaction.”

During the first few months in business, the guestlist has been flooded with Segovia fans looking for a familiar tapas experience. While the food comes from a similar style, the format at Petit Socco is intentionally different. In his attempt to break away from the mold that made him a household name, Donnelly expects some to be disappointed. And he’s OK with that.

“It’s a honest representation of what we love to eat and drink,” he says. “That is very freeing.”

 

eva.wasney@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @evawasney