Bar del Corso just turned 15, and the Beacon Hill pizzeria marked the occasion with a free birthday celebration that packed the restaurant with friends, fans and a 4-foot-high ice sculpture crowned with the number 15. Chef Jerry Corso worked the bar himself that night, pouring what he described as a large amount of prosecco while the local band Pocket Theory Jazz played through the dining room. By Tuesday evening, the restaurant had already returned to its regular service, wood-fired oven humming as usual.
The milestone caps a 15-year run for the small Italian restaurant at 3057 Beacon Ave. S., which Jerry and Gina Tolentino Corso opened on July 15, 2011, after raising their startup funds through backyard pizza parties, according to Bar del Corso. As The Seattle Times reports, the couple spent six months renovating the space themselves before opening, uncovering the building's original fir floors in the process. The site had previously housed the Beacon Pub, a dive bar that closed in December 2010 after its lease ended when the building changed ownership.
Jerry Corso's path to Beacon Hill started young — he began working as a dishwasher at age 15, according to the same account, before eventually cooking at Seattle spots including Campagne, Cafe Lago and Harvest Vine. He grew up in Poulsbo, and in 2004 he and Gina spent three months traveling through Italy studying regional cooking. That trip led him to a year working in restaurants across Rome and northern Italy, followed by a stint making dough at the Neapolitan pizzeria 2Amys in Washington, D.C., where he eventually became head chef at the restaurant Obelisk.
A Wood-Fired Oven Doing the Same Job for 15 Years
That Italian training shows up most directly in the restaurant's centerpiece: a wood-fired oven imported from Naples that has been in continuous use since opening. Pizzas cook there at 850 degrees Fahrenheit for about 90 seconds, made with Shepherd's Grain flour and dough that ferments and proofs for at least 48 hours before it ever hits the oven. The Salame Piccante pizza has held a spot on the menu since day one, and the restaurant also runs a chanterelle and Sungold tomato pizza as a seasonal special, with pies priced between $23 and $24.
Beyond pizza, the kitchen leans on a house-made soffritto — a slow-cooked base of red onion, celery, carrots, fennel, leeks, garlic and herbs — as the building block for small plates, braises and ragus, according to Seattle Magazine. That technique underpins dishes like Suppli al Telefono, fried risotto balls filled with mozzarella, and baccalà mantecato fritters made with salt cod, potato, garlic and Parmigiano. The small plates and salads run $5 to $19, and the menu also includes fried squash blossoms stuffed with anchovy and mozzarella, tonnato with fried capers and heirloom tomatoes, and a tuna spread served on crispy crostini. The kitchen uses figs from a neighbor's tree and plums described as locally sourced, and the all-Italian, small-producer wine list is rounded out by spritzes made with Cynar. There's no decaf espresso on offer, and pizza isn't available to go.
National Recognition and a Beacon Hill Incubator
The restaurant's reputation has traveled well past Beacon Hill. In February 2022, the James Beard Foundation named Bar del Corso a semifinalist for Outstanding Hospitality, recognition that arrived as the foundation returned from a two-year hiatus spent overhauling its selection process for equity, inclusion and transparency. In July 2025, The New York Times included Bar del Corso among the top 25 restaurants in Seattle, building on earlier acclaim from Condé Nast Traveler, which named it one of Seattle's 21 best restaurants back in 2019.
Bar del Corso has also served as a launching pad for other Seattle culinary talent. Chef Melissa Miranda developed her now-acclaimed Filipino restaurant Musang while working at Bar del Corso, hosting Sunday pop-up brunches and a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner there before opening her own brick-and-mortar spot on Beacon Hill in 2020, according to Seattle Met. Jerry and Gina gave Miranda the space to start Musang as a pop-up, along with what she has described as a home and community; Jerry taught her that the best food starts with the best ingredients. Miranda was later named Food & Wine's best new chef in 2022 and has since been a James Beard Awards finalist.
A Party Built From Neighbors and Friends
The birthday celebration itself leaned heavily on those neighborhood ties. Perihelion Brewery, another anchor of the Beacon Avenue South dining strip alongside Musang, gifted a pistachio cake for the occasion, according to earlier Hoodline reporting on the area's most popular spots. Bar del Corso also ordered additional cakes from Deep Sea Sugar & Salt, Delite Bakery and Fuji for the party. As for the towering ice sculpture that anchored the room, Jerry Corso said it was a gift from a former Westin colleague but that he couldn't disclose its exact source.
Gina Tolentino Corso, Jerry's spouse and the restaurant's co-owner, has left her own mark on the space beyond the kitchen — she created all of Bar del Corso's graphic design and curates the local art hanging on its walls. The couple reportedly plans to get matching tattoos of the restaurant's artichoke logo to mark the anniversary. The restaurant offers staff time off and closes every year during Labor Day week and again between Christmas and New Year's, and it remains accessible with no obstacles and two gender-neutral restrooms, accepting reservations through Tock or by phone at 206-395-2069.
