Chef Michael DeLone started working at Chef Nunzio Patruno’s Monte Carlo Living Room at 2nd and South Streets in Philadelphia in 2000 at the age of 18 years old. Now, 24 years later, he and his wife Lisa will be converting Patruno’s Nunzio at 706 Haddon Avenue in Collingswood, NJ, which they purchased exactly three years ago, into Michael Coastal Italian Grille — a wood-fired, seafood-driven BYOB specializing in coastal Italian cuisine.
The restaurant will officially change from Nunzio by Chef Michael DeLone to Michael Coastal Italian Grille on Friday, June 6th at 5 p.m.
The expansive restaurant contains 130 seats, including 50 in a private dining room, within its nearly 5,000 square-foot footprint. The menu includes a ‘Raw/Chilled’ section ($14 – $22) with items such as tuna crudo, chilled shrimp, , wagyu beef carpaccio , a gem lettuce salad, and a wedge salad; a ‘Veg’ section (all $12 apiece) includes fried Brussels sprouts, charred cauliflower, roasted broccoli au gratin, roasted carrots, chickpea fritters, and fried potato skins; the ‘Mids’ section ($17 – $25) features grilled octopus, charred lamb ribs, mussels, truffle gnocchi, spaghetti with crab gravy, porcini agnolotti, ; a “Sea” section ($36 – $49) features cioppino, Dover sole, branzino, and fluke; and the “Cuts” section ($28 – $55) includes a Prime Aged Ribeye, Kurobuta pork chop, harissa spiced lamb chops, filet mignon, and a half roast chicken. Desserts, bread and pasta will all be made in-house, and there will be a chef’s tasting five-course menu option for $65 per person.
Additionally, Michael will feature a chef’s table inside the kitchen which can accommodate up to 10 guests for a very special experience.
DeLone said there will be tableside whole fish service, as well as rotating dessert specials that will all be produced or finished tableside, including items such as a “bourbon apple,” waffles with gelato, and Bananas foster.
“While we will be an Italian restaurant, I wanted our menu to be very different than Italian restaurants you find in Philadelphia and South Jersey,” said DeLone. “I’m really excited to celebrate the foods inspired by Italy’s coastline, but also to feature large cuts of steak and chops while getting away from traditional Italian-American menu options. After decades of experience in this industry, I am so excited to be opening my own spot with the vision Lisa and I have had for years.”
Michael and Lisa made major improvements to the former Nunzio’s space, including changing the flooring from tile to hardwood, and opening up the front of the restaurant. Structurally, the space is the same, but the design and décor will be much different than it was.
DeLone, 43, was born and raised in Roxborough, where he and Lisa currently reside. After attending culinary school at the Culinary Institute of America, he would eventually finish his education at the Art Institute of Philadelphia and continued to work through school to gain more experience and culinary knowledge. Before joining the Monte Carlo Living Room team at 18, he worked for Chef Derek Davis at Sonoma in Manayunk between the ages of 15 and 18, starting as a busboy before moving behind the line. He took approximately a year off between working and attending culinary school to make sure a career in the culinary arts was the path he wanted to take. From 2003 until 2016, DeLone worked at Le Castagne in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse neighborhood, and then after leaving the industry for a year, took over Nunzio’s during the pandemic after Patruno asked him to join him in mid-2020.
Working alongside Michael and Lisa is Anthony Masapollo, Michael’s new General Manager, a longtime friend and work colleague who worked with the DeLones at Le Castagne.
Michael will be open for service Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m., and Sunday for brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by dinner until 8 p.m.
Good luck to Michael!
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