Co-owner Yalchin Helvaci pours a glass of wine at his newly opened restaurant, Bellini Bistro, in Foster City.
Partner Sinan Karachan preps coffee.
Zachary Clark/Daily JournalBellini Bistro, the only Italian restaurant in Foster City, opened earlier this month in the Beach Park Plaza shopping center.
“Our first day [on Sept. 3] was very good and busy. People were waiting three months for us to open,” said Yalchin Helvaci, who opened the restaurant with partners Sinan Karachan and Sergio Polidori. “All the nice people came, they were so happy and everybody hugged us like family. I’m so happy too.”
Helvaci, who currently lives in Mountain View, said he’s so happy working in Foster City he plans to move there.
“I’m moving here, I love it,” he said. “It’s a nice quiet and clean community. The people are so nice and the schools are great.”
Bellini Bistro serves Northern Italian fare at reasonable prices — pastas are priced between $13 and $21 and entrees range from $14 to $33 and vary depending on the size of the dish.
Signature dishes include veal served with capers, lemon and butter sauce or with mushrooms in a Marsala wine sauce; as well as frutti di mare al pomodoro, which brings together prawns, scallops, squid, clams, mussels and fish of the day in a tomato sauce. Pasta can be added for $3.
The menu also features a new fish, soup and risotto every day; staples such as chicken Parmesan and plenty of pastas, gnocchi in a four-cheese sauce, a variety of salad, homemade focaccia and lamb shank on weekends. During lunch, a variety of paninis are on the menu.
A beverage menu offers a selection of beer and wine from Italy, California and Oregon as well as espresso, coffee and cappuccino made with Vallejo-based Moschetti beans.
Formerly occupied by See U Café, the 1,500-square-foot space features 80 seats plus a private room for events and an outdoor patio space. The walls are adorned with paintings of Italian landscapes and cities by local artist Jim Kent, most of which are for sale.
Helvaci and Karachan worked at Restaurant Don Giovanni in Mountain View for 20 years prior to opening Bellini Bistro and Polidori, the head chef, hails from Rome, Italy.
Bellini Bistro is open for lunch and dinner every day except Sunday, when it’s only open for dinner. The restaurant is located at 1465 Beach Park Blvd. For more information call 315-2999.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
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