New Italian Restaurant Opens in the Old Carmen Space in the North End

A new Italian restaurant is now open within a storied space in the North End. Forcella (33 North Sq.) opened Thursday, December 20, taking over where Carmen left off after 16 years when it closed in 2016. (The Carmen team, meanwhile, is on the verge of opening a new Italian restaurant, La Cucina, at Somerville’s Assembly Row, an evolution of earlier plans to open a restaurant called Carmen’s Trattoria & Italian Pub at a different space within the Somerville development.)

Forcella (“fork” in Italian) has the familiar menu structure for local Italian restaurants, with primi, secondi, pasta, and contorni, or sides. There’s a poached lobster bisque, seared beef carpaccio, and meatballs to start, and pasta dishes include linguine with clam sauce, gnocchi with braised rabbit, and black pepper spaghetti with guanciale. Forcella serves a daily risotto, along with a salmon entree and porcini-rubbed pork with roasted sweet potatoes. On the beverage side, there are wines by the glass or bottle, three beer options, and a handful of soft drinks.

The restaurant operates for dinner from 5 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 5 to 10 p.m. on Sunday. It is closed Monday.

• Forcella [Official Site]
• Forcella Is Opening in Former Carmen Space in Boston’s North End [BRT]