Rhode Island has the highest percentage of Italian Americans in any state, at 19 percent. So when Kevin O’Donnell was ready to return to his native state after cooking at award-winning Italian restaurants like Del Posto in New York City and SRV in Boston, he knew his first solo venture would feature the cuisine of his mother’s Italian family.

Giusto opened inside the Hammetts Hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, during the pandemic last year, closed for the winter, and reopened this spring. Chef O’Donnell calls his food here “Freestyle Italian,” and describes it as an homage to Italian cuisine through the lens of New England.