With how often restaurants come and go in downtown St. Pete, a concept celebrating 10 years in the bustling district is definitely an impressive milestone.

Il Ritorno (stylized as “IL Ritorno”), located at 449 Central Ave. N, celebrates a decade in The ‘Burg at its 10 year anniversary dinner on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 6:30 p.m.

It will feature 10 courses—one for each year the rustic Italian concept has occupied its Central Avenue parcel—featuring high-end ingredients like caviar and wagyu, unique pasta dishes and a variety of seafood.

There’s actually another dinner happening this Wednesday, but tickets sold out so quickly that restaurant decided to add a second iteration on Thursday night.

“Celebrate the last 10 years of Il Ritorno by joining us for a special tasting dinner and take a trip down memory lane as we revisit our favorite dishes from the past decade,” the restaurant writes. “Our culinary team has carefully selected the most popular and beloved dishes from our menu over the years, for a unique and unforgettable dining experience that showcases the very best of our cuisine.”

A few dishes featured at this week’s anniversary dinner include a caviar-topped polenta cake, wagyu tartare, olive cake and a variety of seafood crudo that owner and Executive Chef David Benstock says will be “an evolution of different fish applications we have done in the past,” featuring octopus, oysters and kombu-cured kanpachi.
Tickets to Thursday’s 10-course anniversary dinner cost $235 each, but do not include any alcoholic beverages, although a toast of champagne (or a N/A cocktail) will welcome each guest.

Reservations can be made via Tock or by calling 727-897-5900.

Il Ritorno—which is Italian for the phrase “the return” and represents the homecoming of Chef Benstock—has truly made a name for itself over the past decade in St. Pete. From hosting its popular “Midnight Chef Fight” charity competitions and being featured in a popular Buzzfeed series to Chef Benstock beating Bobby Flay on the Food Network and the continuation of its specialty tasting dinners, Il Ritorno has proved to be one of the most creative concepts in all of Tampa Bay.

Creative Loafing even deemed the Italian restaurant as one of the many concepts that are “Michelin Contenders Looking East Across the Bay.”

For more information on this week’s anniversary dinner, head to its Instagram at @ilritornodowntown or Facebook at @ilritornodowntown.

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