Bar Cilento (pronounced chee-LEN-toe), which opened in 2015, is named after the region in southern Italy where the owners, Sam and Gerardina "GiGi" Giordano, were born and raised. Even though they’ve been in the U.S. for over five decades, they still embrace many of their home country's traditions.
Long-time residents of Stirling, they were excited to open a restaurant right in their hometown. “My wife loved the idea of cooking all the time,” says Sam. “When she was a child, she cooked with her dad, and when we came to this country, we would have parties with 20, 50, 100, even 200 people, and she would cook everything.”
While GiGi did all the cooking when Bar Cilento first opened, more help was needed as the restaurant grew. Along with his wife’s cooking talent, Sam used his business skills, and the two formed a great partnership and a successful business.
The couple’s ultimate goal, then and now, is to combine Italian comfort foods and favorite American pub cuisine with distinctive old-world hospitality. “We wanted a place that would welcome all different types of people, so there’s something for everyone,” he says.
Families with children can enjoy a great dinner at one of the tables, young people and their friends can sit at the bar with their favorite drinks, and couples can enjoy a date night.
The menu includes lots of pasta dishes, such as GiGi’s Homemade Pappardelle with jumbo shrimp and cherry tomatoes in a creamy pesto, GiGi's Homemade Fusilli with slow-roasted lamb shank in a pinot noir tomato sauce topped with shaved parmigiano, as well as a delicious ravioli and gnocchi dish. Italian favorites such as Chicken Parmesan and Eggplant Rollatini are also available, along with pork chops, crab cakes, and filet mignon.
Bar staples include burgers, French fries, onion rings, and fried calamari. Children can enjoy mac and cheese, chicken tenders, and other kid-friendly dishes.
Special menus are offered every week from Thursday to Sunday, and Bar Cilento holds Wednesday Pasta Nights and Tuesday Taco Nights. “We also built an outdoor pizza oven so we could have a little bit of Italy on our large patio out back,” says Sam. “People often say they feel like they’re in Tuscany.”
The dessert menu also changes often. GiGi makes a delicious tiramisu, and every other week she introduces one or two different desserts.
While the bar has all the standards, such as whiskeys, liquors, and popular American beers from across the country, it also features a rotating draft list with various brands on tap. “We wanted to feature wines too, so we even brought wine in from our region of Italy, where we have a vineyard,” he says.
Along with lunch and dinner, the restaurant also hosts private parties. “We’ve had birthday parties and other family celebrations; we've even done some weddings on the patio,” says Sam. The hosts can choose the menu, or the staff can do it for them. For parties outside of the restaurant, catering is available seven days a week, as is take-out.
A large part of the couple’s success has come from them instilling that old-world hospitality in their employees. “Our customers love our staff,” he says. “We try to make everybody happy when they’re here. That's what it's all about, and we want people to feel like family.”
For Sam and Gigi, Bar Cilento is the culmination of their American dream. “It's more like a passion than anything else,” says Sam.
