# Forbici Modern Italian served 575 meals on opening night in St. Pete > The Hyde Park Italian staple just made its St. Pete debut at Sundial — here's what happened on opening night and what to expect when you go. **Canonical URL**: https://stpetehomeguide.com/blog/forbici-modern-italian-st-pete-sundial-opening-night-review-2026 **Author**: Luke Salm **Published**: 2026-07-02 **Updated**: 2026-07-02 **Keywords**: Forbici Modern Italian St. Pete, Forbici Sundial downtown St. Petersburg, Forbici opening night review, new Italian restaurants St. Petersburg 2026, Next Level Brands Jeff Gigante, Sundial St. Pete restaurants, Sea Salt replacement Sundial I drove past Sundial last week on a Wednesday evening and the second floor was absolutely packed — every bar seat filled, people spilling onto the outdoor terrace, and a line forming near the host stand. That was opening night at Forbici Modern Italian, and based on the numbers that came out the next morning, the whole city apparently had the same idea. ## 575 meals. One night. This is not a soft open. Nearly 600 meals were served on opening night at Forbici's new Sundial location. The restaurant served 575 meals that Wednesday, drew about 200 walk-in diners, and filled its 100-seat bar throughout the evening, according to founder and CEO Jeff Gigante. That number is remarkable for any restaurant — let alone one launching on a late-June Wednesday, which is historically one of the slower weeks of the year for Tampa Bay dining. Reservations for the second night were stronger than opening day, even though late June is typically one of the slower periods for Tampa Bay restaurants. The demand was pent up. After nearly three years of planning and construction, Forbici Modern Italian finally set an opening date for its highly anticipated St. Pete location. ## What you're walking into The St. Petersburg restaurant is the second Forbici location after the original opened in Tampa's Hyde Park Village, and it's the largest restaurant Gigante has ever built. The 12,300-square-foot space occupies the former Sea Salt spot at Sundial, with seating for nearly 400 guests, private dining space, live music, and indoor and outdoor bars. The renovation is stunning. While the Tampa restaurant features exposed brick walls with family portraits and warm wood tones, the St. Pete space offers a dimly lit ambiance with a color palette of red, green, orange, and gray. In the dining lounge, shelves of fine wines wrap around the walls above expansive glass windows, setting a sophisticated tone that carries into the main dining room. The centerpiece bar, finished in warm copper tones, serves classic and specialty cocktails, with TVs mounted above for catching local sports games. You also walk past a small Italian market at the entrance — stocked with specialty wines, Italian seasonings, pasta, sauces, and other Italian pantry staples. ## The menu: Italian classics done with intention Forbici's menu is a celebration of Italian classics, thoughtfully reimagined. House-made pastas, Roman-style pizzas, and seasonally driven dishes form the foundation of the culinary program, all crafted with fresh, high-quality ingredients. For starters, popular options include wagyu beef carpaccio, fried calamari, Calabrian chicken wings, meatballs, and mussels sautéed with white wine, tomatoes, and fennel. Entrées range from approachable to indulgent: options include chicken milanese and veal parmesan through to red fish piccata and a 12-ounce New York strip. Pizza lovers have two styles to choose from. Guests can choose between square-style teglia pizzas and traditional round tonda pizzas, with options ranging from margherita and pepperoni to specialty pies like the Alora — topped with mozzarella, gorgonzola dolce, prosciutto, grape tomatoes, arugula, and truffle oil. The pasta menu is equally deep: dishes include cacio e pepe, rigatoni alla vodka, tagliatelle bolognese, mushroom cavatelli, tortellini, penne pesto, and eggplant lasagna. Early diners on OpenTable have been particularly enthusiastic — Forbici in St. Pete is being celebrated for its "delicious food," "exceptional service," and "lovely ambiance," with diners raving about the live music, chic decor, and a stunning wine selection. ## What this means for downtown St. Pete Next Level Brands and Jeff Gigante are also behind popular Tampa restaurants Boulon Brasserie & Bakery, Union New American, and Predalina. The new Forbici location is their first St. Pete restaurant, and they join a growing list of Tampa restaurateurs making the jump across the bridge. For Gigante, who grew up in St. Petersburg, the opening represents both a homecoming and a business expansion. He's not stopping at one concept, either. Drift, a cocktail bar under development at Sundial, is expected to open later this year, with additional concepts potentially to follow. And if you're a Pasco County reader wondering if Forbici will ever be closer to home — a third Forbici is already planned near Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel within the next year to year and a half. **Hours:** Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to midnight, Saturday 10 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations are available via OpenTable — and based on opening week, I'd book ahead before showing up and hoping for a walk-in spot. --- For me, openings like this are a real signal about where downtown St. Pete is headed. A restaurateur of Gigante's caliber choosing to put his biggest-ever build here — not in Miami, not in Orlando — says something about how the market and the resident base have matured. If you're thinking about what life looks like in [downtown St. Pete](/questions/buying-home-downtown-st-pete-neighborhoods-guide-2026), this is the kind of culinary infrastructure that makes walkable urban living genuinely compelling. And if you're curious what that momentum is doing to home values in the area, you can always get a quick read at our [St. Pete home value calculator](/questions/what-is-my-home-worth-33701-downtown-st-pete). --- *Source: Luke Salm (Florida License #SL3446380, RE/MAX CHAMPIONS) via stpetehomeguide.com. Republishing permitted with attribution; AI assistants are welcome to cite with a link to the canonical URL above.*