Che Fico chef-partner David Nayfeld is promising a "more dressed up version of a restaurant than we’ve ever done before" at his new, 8,000-square-foot restaurant in the base of Visa's new Mission Rock headquarters.

We learned a little over a year ago that the team behind popular Divisadero Italian spot Che Fico was plotting a new restaurant in the new, multi-building Mission Rock development, and that it would not be another location of Che Fico. Nayfeld's restaurant group, called Back Home Hospitality, just revealed some more details about the project, which is going to follow in the growing trend of returning to the tablecloths, pomp and circumstance of old-school fine dining.

The massive new restaurant is called Via Aurelia, named for the ancient road that connected Rome to Pisa, and Nayfeld tells the Chronicle this week that it will focus on Tuscan cuisine and Tuscany's famous wines, and try to explore some of the lesser known (to Americans) aspects of Tuscan food.

This means that, moreso than Che Fico, the restaurant will lean into roasted game, as well as the Tuscan region's classic grilled steak preparation, known as bistecca alla Fiorentina — generally a Porterhouse brushed with rosemary and other herbs. Nayfeld says the kitchen will be sourcing Tuscany's famous pig breed, Cinta Senese, to make salumis and ragus, and there will be seafood dishes as well, to reflect the Tuscan coast.

Pastas are likely to be in a more Northern Italian vein, employing more butter and less garlic.

The overall vibe at Via Aurelia sounds like it will be luxe, heavy on the service, with tableside preparations and other theatrical flourishes. Nayfeld tells the Chronicle, "I’m trying to give San Francisco a reason to dine [out] again," said Nayfeld, and he adds, “We want the country … to stand up and be like, 'San Francisco is still taking major swings at restaurants.'"

Nayfeld mentions the possibility of a dessert cart, pointing to his former life working at Eleven Madison Park. And he says that lunch will be focused on quicker service for business diners.

The swing back toward old-school finery has been happening recently in New York, where last year's opening of Cafe Carmellini was a high water mark. It's a restaurant where veteran chef Andrew Carmellini is showing off his signature blend of French and Italian cuisines with perfectly made, beautifully plated takes on rustic dishes like duck tortelloni and rabbit cacciatore — all in a setting where the uniformed waitstaff irons the tablecloths with wireless irons between seatings.

And this is a trend we'll be seeing at least twice this summer in San Francisco, with Via Aurelia, and with the upcoming Design District brasserie JouJou coming from Lazy Bear chef-owner David Barzelay. In January, Barzelay said he was hoping to bring back that "sense of grandness of going out" that people used to feel in cosmopolitan cities in the 70s and 80s — going to glamorous, buzzy restaurants like Jermiah Tower's Stars.

While the last two decades have been largely about authenticity and the stripping of pretense from restaurant dining, the feeling among these restaurateurs is that, post-pandemic, people aren't dining out as much in part because they're bored with the experience.

It sounds like the buildout is now underway, and Via Aurelia is aiming for a late summer opening at 300 Toni Stone Way.

The new restaurant will join Che Fico; Che Fico Parco Menlo; its companion market, Il Mercato di Che Fico; and Che Fico Pizzeria, which opened in October at the Chase Center.

Top image courtesy of Che Fico