Italian-inspired gastropub Prato 850 succeeds Ciao Baby in Commack
Burrata and prosciutto pizza, Parmesan French fries and buffalo wings are on the menu at Prato 850 in Commack. Credit: Prato 850
Prato 850, a contemporary Italian-inspired restaurant, has opened in Commack, succeeding the branch of Ciao Baby that had been in the Mayfair Shopping Center.
The grand opening of the restaurant is slated for Sept. 1, said manager Raymond Panza. Currently, Prato 850 is "softly" open from 4 p.m., Monday to Thursday; and for both lunch and dinner Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Prato 850, a self-described "wood-fired gastropub," is named for the Tuscan city of Prato, a textile center (as in Pratesi sheets), and the temperature inside the restaurant's wood-burning oven.
The current menu takes in pizzas in the $14 to $17 range; appetizers and salads, $10 to $16; pastas, $16 to $25; sandwiches and burgers, $14 to $16; and main courses, $24 to $31.
The menu, which will be expanded in September, now includes dishes such a lobster roll served on a warm croissant; fried cheese-stuffed zucchini blossoms; fried calamari; wood-fired calzones; five types of pizza; and six preparations of chicken wings.
The choices also include "Nona's Sunday sauce" with rigatoni, sausages, meatballs, whipped ricotta, and crostini; avocado-basil-arugula pesto with fettuccine, toasted pine nuts, wilted arugula, and tomato confit; a bacon cheeseburger; Kentucky "hot chicken" sandwich; skirt steak frites; skewered scallopine of veal; and salmon with artichoke hearts, capers, cauliflower, and beet puree finished with beurre blanc.
Ciao Baby in Massapequa Park continues to serve its traditional menu of Italian-American favorites. The restaurant is at 50-74 Sunrise Hwy., Massapequa Park, 516-799-5200, ciaobabyrestaurant.com.
Prato 850 is at 204 Jericho Tpke., Commack, 631-543-1400, prato850.com.
