Two of Chicago’s most recognizable restaurant names, Art Smith and Phil Stefani, are packing their knives for Castel Gandolfo, where they will run the sole restaurant at Borgo Laudato Si’, the Vatican’s new ecological estate. The spot is billed as a farm-to-table, Italian-leaning restaurant with unmistakable Chicago touches, and it is slated to debut this spring.
One Restaurant, One Stage
According to PR Newswire, Smith and Stefani have been tapped to develop and run the only dining concept on the 135-acre Borgo property, along with its exclusive catering services. The restaurant is currently under construction, is expected to serve breakfast and lunch when the grounds are open to the public, and is slated to open in spring 2026. The broader Borgo project also includes a marketplace and educational programming that tie directly into its sustainability and ecology mission.
How The Partnership Came Together
NBC Chicago reports that Smith first cooked for a Vatican delegation in March 2025, an event the outlet characterizes as a kind of audition. Among the guests was Cardinal Robert Prevost, who later took the name Pope Leo XIV. NBC Chicago also notes that the on-site restaurant will be called The Borgo and that Smith’s longtime collaborator, Hector Guerrero, will serve as executive chef. The choice of the Chicago team follows months of planning linked to the Laudato Si’ initiative, which aims to open the Pontifical Villas to public programming and ecological education.
Garden To Table, With A Chicago Twist
The Vatican’s description of Borgo Laudato Si’ presents the site as a model of “integral ecology,” featuring farms, gardens, vocational training, and a solar-powered greenhouse that will supply produce directly to the kitchen, per the Vatican press office. Coverage of the partnership notes that the menu will lean Italian while weaving in Chicago and Peruvian influences. Among the dishes already mentioned are Southside-style barbecue, tacos, and porchetta with giardiniera, all deliberate nods to the restaurateurs’ Chicago background and the pope’s Peruvian roots.
Chicago Reacts
Back home, Stefani has called the Vatican project “a dream” and framed it as a chance for Chicago to showcase its food culture on an unusually high-profile stage, as reported by Eater Chicago. Mayor Brandon Johnson also praised the news as an example of the city’s cultural reach, according to WTTW. The appointment has already stirred debate over how American flavors and Vatican stewardship will coexist in a very visible setting.
For now, practical details are limited. Organizers say the restaurant will be available for private events year-round and will welcome day visitors once the Borgo completes its final construction work this spring, per the initial release from the restaurateurs’ team. For Chicago diners watching from afar, it amounts to a rare export of local hospitality onto a global and deeply historic stage.
.jpg){kind=link}