On a mid-March night, less than two months into opening, almost every table and barstool at Costiera percolates with energy and excitement. Diners on dates, or with little ones in tow, or sitting solo at the bar, occupy every inch of the space, whose name means “coastline” in Italian.

“It’s almost as if everyone was waiting for a restaurant like this to open,” says assistant manager Gilles Mascarell, as patrons twirl ribbons of tagliatelle between sips of Sicilian wine. That’s exactly the case.

Situated on the edge of Little Italy in a neighborhood of mostly red-sauce joints, Costiera offers a lighter spin on Boot Country cuisine with its focus on seafood and vegetable-laden dishes.

Back in 2019, chef—and Howard County native—Brian Lavin closed the doors of his Highlandtown darling Gnocco, and headed west to the sunny climes of California to spread his culinary wings and work in the same state as his pastry chef sister. Before that, Lavin burst onto the culinary scene some 15 years ago, first making his mark at Salt in Butchers Hill and later at Fork & Wrench in Canton. This was at a time when innovative chef-driven spots were just beginning to burgeon in Baltimore. So it’s safe to say that before leaving town, he’d built a loyal following.

Opening Costiera has been a full-circle moment for the now-36-year-old chef. He and Costiera co-owner, Sam White, became fast friends while rooming together in Rome during a study abroad program. They later became co-owners of Gnocco. Both worked with Mascarell when he was a server at Gnocco, and Lavin also worked with Mascarell at Salt.

“I always knew we’d get the band back together,” jokes Lavin.

At Costiera, Lavin pushes the envelope on classic Mediterranean cuisine, with a focus on local sourcing and modern flavors—and seafood reigns supreme. The reasonably priced menu includes snacks, salads, and crudos, small plates, pastas, and several entrees.

A meal here should start with all of the following: the instantly addictive fried Castelvetrano olives spiked with a spicy Calabrian ’nduja salami and topped with a dollop of lemon-parsley aioli; the whole-wheat focaccia with flecks of sea salt that’s dense and delicious and served with a sweet and creamy, cloud-like whipped ricotta; and a plate of swordfish meatballs served on a house-milled polenta topped with a zesty puttanesca sauce.

A slate of salads and crudos—including a fennel and celery “Caesar” and a scallop crudo with crispy sunchokes and a splash of tarragon-grapefruit vinaigrette—are equally worthy of some real estate at your table. Order a few of these snacks or starters over a negroni or consider a glass of prosecco on tap or a bottle of wine from White’s well-curated spirits list while you contemplate the other offerings.

Any visit should also include at least a few of Lavin’s flavorful pasta dishes. On our visits, the standouts were a toothsome rigatoni with a bright kale and walnut pesto that’s mixed with threads of hand-stretched stracciatella cheese; and the rock shrimp bucanti lacquered in a tangy, basil-scented tomato cream that’s tossed with rapini and toasted breadcrumbs. Fans of Lavin’s squid ink gnocchi—featuring slow-braised calamari that reduces to an umami-rich ragu—will be happy it’s just as they remembered at Gnocco.

Beyond the pasta, there’s also a terrific whole roasted orata stuffed with fennel fronds, fennel, and lemon resting on a swoosh of garlic labneh. With its crispy, caramelized skin and juicy flesh, the dish is a master class in how to cook fish. And the accompaniments—crisp smashed potatoes and slightly bitter escarole—round out the plate perfectly.

On both of our visits, Mascarell, who helped tend to our table—and whose artwork graces the walls—enhanced the experience by doting on every detail. (At this point, his C.V. includes so many local favorites, from Arômes to Alma, he feels like a friend we keep bumping into by accident.)

The space itself boasts double-height ceilings, a commodious bar, pots of greenery in the double-height windows, and a Technicolor hand-painted mural of a squid, an icon of the Mediterranean sea. (Our only complaint: Come nightfall, the lighting is so dim that it’s sometimes difficult to fully appreciate the chef’s picturesque plates—some trendy table lights or even track lighting would go a long way.)

Given our focus on the savory side of the menu, we were too full for a proper dessert, but were delighted when Mascarell arrived with complimentary shots of house-made limoncello and tiny pine-nut cookies that come gratis with every check.

The goal, says Lavin, is “to make everyone feel welcome and happy and hopefully have a good time here.”

From the looks of the dining room, Costiera is doing just that, in part because Baltimoreans are nothing if not loyal—to their teams, to their hometown heroes, and to their chefs.

It turns out, you can go home again—and when you do, everyone will be waiting.

COSTIERA: 415 S. Central Ave. HOURS: Mon.-Sat. 4-9:30 p.m. PRICES: Snacks, salads, small plates: $6-21; pastas: $22-26; large plates: $35-39. AMBIANCE: Rustic simplicity.

As much as Chef Brian Lavin loves Baltimore—and the local food scene that he has been a part of for the past decade—he says it’s time for a change.

“I’m ready for something different,” says the executive chef of Gnocco in Highlandtown, which will serve its final meal this Saturday, May 11. “I’m still relatively young, and I didn’t want to wake up one day and be like, ‘Oh man it would have been great to experience a different city.’ Exploring different food cultures is something I’ve always really loved.”

In fact, the restaurant itself was inspired by Lavin’s study-abroad adventures throughout Spain and Europe with Gnocco’s general manager, Sam White. Now, he and the team have made the bittersweet decision to close the spot as he prepares to move to California to be closer to his sister, who is a pastry chef in Beverly Hills.

“Every time I go and visit her, I see what a thriving food scene it is,” says Lavin, a Howard County native. “And with all of the produce there, it’s kind of like a chef’s dream. I just thought it was a good time get a little change of pace.”

Lavin and White had been contemplating the future of the restaurant since last summer, when their two-year contract with the owners of the building came to an end. They were presented with the choice of either buying the property themselves, or putting it on the market.

It was around that same time that the restaurant technically changed its name to Gnocchetto, after it was getting confused with another spot of the same moniker in New York City. The new name never really caught on with diners—though the translation of “little dumpling” was certainly fitting.

Given the size of the tiny kitchen at Gnocco, they put the building up for sale and looked around for a larger space. Having formerly worked at local spots Salt and Fork & Wrench, Lavin’s skill set included techniques like milling his own flour and making pastas in house, but all of that was tough to execute in a cramped kitchen with only three burners.

“We were really limited in what we could do back there,” he says. “We took our time to talk to a lot of people about spaces that were available, and really figure out what we wanted to do.”

After a number of months, the property is still sitting on the market, so the team has decided that it was the right time for everyone to move forward.

“We have such a tight-knit crew here,” Lavin says, mentioning White and veteran server Gilles Mascarell, who came from Arômes and Salt. “We could have tried to keep it open if one of us were to leave, but we were really a team together.”

Looking back at Gnocco’s three-year run, Lavin mentions memories like the annual Feast of the Seven Fishes dinners and bar collaborations with Highlandtown neighbors Old Line Spirits and Monument City Brewing.

Aside from special events, the restaurant became a neighborhood spot for regulars to indulge in antipasti, comforting pastas, and White’s top-notch wine and cocktails—including one of the best Negronis in town.

For his final night of service this week, Lavin is planning to feature favorites off of the opening menu, including the squid ink gnocchi with tomatoes and spicy breadcrumbs, and grilled octopus with romesco sauce.

“Hopefully, everyone will drink all of the prosecco at the end of the night,” he says with a laugh. “I’m sure there will be some emotions, but we wanted to end on a nice high note.”

There’s no word yet on what will become of the space, but Lavin hopes that it would be appealing to another restaurant given all of the growth in Highlandtown. He feels grateful to have called the neighborhood, and Baltimore, home for the past 10 years.

“We’re proud of our tiny, little corner restaurant,” he says. “I appreciate all of the great opportunities I’ve had here, and all of the relationships I’ve developed with the guests. You have people who come in every week and they’re kind of like family. I’ll miss that.”