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Conjure a stylish neighborhood Italian, and you might come up with Barosa. Tuscan-gold walls, Casablanca ceiling fans, polished wood floors: all made to spec. Inviting dark-wood bar, Seriously Sinatra on Sirius: also on the mark. Valet parking, male bijoux, personnel who reserve the charm for famiglia: covered. The key to savoring Barosa is another cliché: Come twice, and you’ve joined the party. Regulars relish “How ya doin’?” welcomes and a shot at the coveted barside booth. They also quickly develop a trial-by-error familiarity with the uneven pan-Boot menu: Many regulars share a full-size pizza from the brick oven; others commence with a salumeria-strong antipasto or a refreshing shrimp-in-avocado concoction. Pasta is nicely cooked, though the Bolognese ragu is bland. The ravenous move on to Barosa’s robust entrees. Some are done scampi, redolent with garlic; others are pan-cooked in a Marsala reduction; still others are piled with sautéed hot cherry peppers. Everything improves with the decent, yet cheap, house Montepulciano. Homemade desserts include—how did you know?—tiramisu, ricotta cheesecake, and freshly filled cannoli. — Karen Tina Harrison

The restaurant is so popular, it unfurled a storefront next door, Barosa To Go, to handle takeout and delivery. Natch, the brick-oven pizza—priced like a run-of-the-mill storefront pie—is a bestseller. Barosa To Go also bakes and sells garlic knots, calzones, and Italian desserts.

Pizza, $8-$25; Barosa salad, $7.95; seafood avocado, $9.95; cannoli, $4.95