Hospitality veterans Brendan McAlpine and Marjorie Tarter open a 40-seat neighborhood restaurant inspired by European cafe culture, pairing polished Italian cooking with an easygoing, come-often vibe.
Brendan McAlpine likes unpretentious restaurants that people return to often. Not just for birthdays or anniversaries, but on a random Tuesday when the fridge is empty. That sensibility is baked into Nonnina’s, the Italian restaurant he opened with his wife and business partner, Marjorie Tarter, just before Thanksgiving in downtown Wappingers Falls, a compact, 40-seat space that aims to channel the ease and sociability of a European cafe while delivering food and drink executed with fine-dining care.
“I don’t want this to be a special-occasion restaurant,” McAlpine says. “I want people to come every week.”
Nonnina’s occupies a modest storefront that previously housed The Hog, now reimagined with warm lighting, layered textures, and an immediately welcoming layout. You open the door and you’re essentially at the bar: about 10 seats, plus a few high-tops and a corner table that encourage lingering. Beyond that is a more traditional dining room with roughly 30 seats. The effect is intimate and neighborhood-oriented, a place where it’s easy to imagine running into someone you know and pulling up a chair.
The atmosphere is casual by design, even if the food suggests otherwise. Servers wear jeans and branded T-shirts. The music leans lively. McAlpine talks often about avoiding anything “stodgy or quiet.” His touchstone is the cafe culture he’s encountered in Europe—small places where the cooking is precise and serious, but the mood is relaxed and social. “Fine-dining-level execution,” he says, “but fun.”
by Lindsay Peyton December 12, 2025
McAlpine is well positioned to pull off that balance. A self-described “recovering attorney,” he left a career in big-law more than a decade ago and has since become a central figure in the Beacon-area hospitality scene. He was deeply involved in the early development of the Roundhouse, which his family still runs, before branching out with Tarter. Their current portfolio includes Wonderbar, the cocktail-focused spot attached to the Beacon movie theater; Cooper’s, a pubby American bar; and the farm-to-table-leaning Bird & Bottle Inn in Garrison.
Across those businesses, a consistent philosophy emerges: thoughtful design, strong food and drink programs, and an insistence that high quality doesn’t have to feel exclusive. Nonnina’s may be his clearest articulation yet of that idea.
The menu, developed with executive chef Ralph Bello, reflects what McAlpine calls “Italian comfort food, just presented in a glossier way.” Bello comes most recently from Primo in Newburgh and previously ran the kitchen at Il Barilotto in Fishkill, a restaurant McAlpine admired and missed when it closed. Their collaboration, McAlpine says, felt fated.
Rather than defaulting to red-sauce classics, the kitchen leans toward nuance. Starters include Grandma’s Croquettes ($12), crisp on the outside and creamy within, made with roasted garlic, potato, and truffle and served with cacio e pepe aioli. Burrata with mushrooms ($19) arrives with Calabrian chili salsa verde and focaccia, while Prosciutto Carpaccio ($21) layers crispy artichokes, arugula, pecorino, pink peppercorn, and honey. For groups, “Sunday at Nonnina’s” ($28) offers a chef’s selection of meats, cheeses, and accompaniments.
Pastas are the heart of the menu. Nonnina’s Lasagne Bianca ($27) swaps red sauce for beef bolognese, pecorino cream, smoked mozzarella, and vodka sauce. Spaghettini Cacio e Pepe ($22) is a straightforward, peppery pleasure. Gnocchi alla Norma ($26) pairs tomato butter with basil, preserved eggplant caponata, and ricotta salata. McAlpine admits his personal favorite is the Cavatelli ($26), tossed with shrimp, spicy ’nduja cream, broccoli rabe, and parmesan. “I’m a big spicy fan,” he says. “That one’s not even close for me.”
Instead of pizza, Nonnina’s serves pinsa, a Roman-style flatbread that’s lighter and airier than a traditional pie. Options include Morta e Pistachio ($22), topped with mortadella, pistachio pesto, mozzarella, red onion, and lemon, and Prosciutto Dreams ($24), with buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto di Parma, vodka sauce, arugula, and aged balsamic. There’s also the Casino ($23), a clam pinsa inspired by New Haven-style clam pizza, finished with garlic butter, oregano, Calabrian chili, and parmesan. It’s a dish McAlpine says he initially underestimated and now can’t stop ordering.
Entrees keep things focused: a 16-ounce bone-in New York strip ($44) with roasted garlic smashed potatoes and salsa verde; Brick Chicken ($30) served with parmesan polenta, kale, and golden raisin–caper agrodolce; and branzino ($36) with lemon-braised white beans, broccoli rabe, and fennel-citrus salad.
The drinks program reinforces the restaurant’s accessibility-first ethos. Cocktails are $15 across the board, whether you’re ordering classics like a Negroni or house creations such as the Negroni Verde, made with Italian parsley– and olive-oil–fat-washed gin, Cocchi Americano, and alpine genepy. The Fifth Course blends Borghetti, espresso, vodka, and mascarpone cold foam for a dessert-leaning finish. Spritzes, mocktails, and nonalcoholic options are treated with equal care.
Wine, too, is intentionally affordable. Glasses generally range from $10 to $18, with bottles that invite exploration rather than intimidation. “We want people to drink wine, eat pasta, and have a good time,” McAlpine says. “Expensive doesn’t always mean good.” The list, curated with general manager Connor Mercaldo-Barnard, leans heavily Italian but stays approachable.
Nonnina’s opened the week before Thanksgiving after a longer-than-expected build-out. McAlpine doesn’t regret the extra time. Letting the project breathe, he says, allowed the design and concept to cohere fully. Success, for him, is simple: a full dining room, visible even when he’s just driving by.
“It’s wild to create something and then realize it’s really for other people,” he says. At Nonnina’s, that generosity of spirit is evident—in the pricing, the vibe, and the sense that this is a place meant to be lived in, again and again.
Noninna’s is located at 2703 Main Street in Wappingers Falls. Dinner is served Wednesday through Saturday 4-10pm and Sunday 4-9pm. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday 11am-2:30pm.
