Matteo Sogne, owner of his namesake Salt Lake City restaurant, Matteo Ristorante Italiano, grew up in Modena, Italy, the land of fast cars and slow food. His birthplace also happens to be the home of Balsamic vinegar and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. “Modena is a place where food is a lot more than just fuel for your body,” he says within two minutes of our sit-down conversation. “It’s fuel for your soul as well.” 

Matteo spent a lot of time with his grandparents as a child, “My grandma, Romana, was an excellent cook. My grandpa, Franco, was involved in the Parmigiano Reggiano industry. My grandma taught me how to cook, and my grandpa still makes the balsamic vinegar we use at the restaurant today.” Matteo’s grandmother taught him his love of food, and mirroring her was how he learned to cook. Literally. Romana made tortellini almost every day in the cold season. Traditional tortellini differs from the fluffy ricotta-filled pasta you find in grocery stores. In Modena, it is hearty—filled with meat and parmesan cheese. “I learned to make tortellini sitting down in front of her,” he explains. “But I learned to do it by looking at her. So I make them the opposite to this day, a mirror image. I close them the other way around.” 

With that legacy, Matteo decided to come to the United States on a swimming scholarship and study mathematics. Huh? But he explains, “When I left Italy, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I knew I wanted to run my own business. I knew I wanted to work hard. With my degree in math, I’m a nerd at heart. But food is my passion. Food is my fun.” The mathematics degree comes in handy. “If anything, it teaches you a mindset. And that mindset, you can apply to everything in life. How to look at a problem that you don’t know how to solve.” Which is daily life when opening and running a restaurant.

Originally, Matteo’s plan was to open a sandwich shop in 2019. He was a week away from signing a lease in February 2020, and his mom, Manu called and said to hold off just a moment because there were a lot of people getting sick in Northern Italy. She said it might be the flu, or it might be something else. Turns out, you should always listen to your mama. The whole world shut down a week later. So Matteo took a step back. And it turned out to be for the best. After working in several local spots, learning   the ropes, and figuring out his concept, he opened up Matteo in late 2023. “It allowed me three years to gain experience and to learn a lot by working with very successful people.” In other words, it set him up for success.  

The concept for Matteo Ristorante Italiano simmered into fullness, just like the family recipe for Nonna’s bolognese.  

In keeping with the family theme, Matteo’s parents, Manu and Enzo, arrived in August of 2023 to support the  restaurant launch. And Matteo appreciated the support. “It’s a family business, right?” he says, “So we should do it all together.” Manu dabbles in a bit of everything from taking care of the books to making house-made bread and focaccia. When I was there, she brought out a new sandwich bread she was testing, hot from the oven. Enzo is the perpetual patriarch. In fact, the entire staff calls him dad. “I’m very I’m grateful to do it with them by my side. Because there’s a lot of ups and downs when you start.” In addition to his parents, Matteo set himself up with an all-star adopted family to run the restaurant. With Chef Damiano Carlotto and Sous Chef Matt Sullivan heading the kitchen, everyone from the servers on down has worked together for years. You’ll see familiar faces when you stop in. 

The menu at Matteo is curated. For every dish on the menu, 50 recipes have been discarded as not quite spectacular enough. While the menu changes some with the seasons, there are family recipes that are evergreen in perpetuity. “The bolognese is my grandma’s recipe,” Matteo says. “Every time we make a batch, I taste it and make sure it is how it is supposed to be. Lasagna, same thing.” 

When I asked about his favorite dish, Matteo picked a dish with some history. “My favorite, story-wise, means a lot to me. It’s the risotto. Risotto Moderna is from my hometown, which also means a lot to me,” he says. “It’s made with my  grandpa’s balsamic, which he started when my mom was born 58 years ago.  We have this tradition that when you have a daughter, you start a barrel of balsamic when she’s born because the    idea is that by the time she’s old enough to get married, the balsamic is old enough to be enjoyed. And so my grandpa started this when my mom was born in 1966.” He adds, “Balsamic is extremely valuable because it’s one of the few things in today’s world that still takes time. You cannot speed it up. You can’t rush the process. So, to me, that’s a dish that is very close to my traditions. And it just tastes like home because it’s Parmesan cheese and balsamic, and that’s what I used to eat basically every day growing up.” Ultimately, Matteo and Chef Carlotto believe in using high-quality ingredients and preparing them simply. 

Matteo’s mathematical and analytical mind extends to the wine list. There are lots of options for by-the-glass, but I recommend that you call the man himself over to the table and let him guide you through the selection based on your meal. He will steer you right. “Wine is such a fascinating word to me,” he says. “I find it so fun to explain to people what they find in their glass, because it’s not just a wine. No, it’s the work of hundreds of people to make the glass in front of you perfect.” He is almost giddy in his discussion of wine. “It’s always great to pair the perfect glass of wine with the perfect food. It’s another tailored experience because the perfect glass for you might not be the perfect glass for me. It’s fun that when I get to know people, I remember what they drink. And it’s like a journey we go on together. Seeing their excitement makes me so happy.”

Ultimately, the tagline from the website stands true: “Portiamo gioia e unione,” translated as “We bring joy and union.” 

And that is what Matteo and his family have built for generations leading up to the restaurant’s opening here in Salt Lake City. 

“What I want people to feel when they come to the restaurant is that we’re part of our food,” says Matteo. “Food is a tool to share joy and togetherness.  If  you think about it, most of the great memories with great people are around food and a good bottle of wine if you drink. I think most of my memories as a kid were around Sunday lunch at my grandma’s house with all my family. And I just wanted to recreate that here. So that’s the reason I do this.”

In early winter, Matteo’s moved from its 900 South location to Downtown, as they outgrew their space relatively quickly, which is a great problem to have. Look for the original concept, a sandwich/pasta shop serving deli-style to-go food in 2025.  

When You Go

Matteo Ristorante Italiano
(Reservations recommended)
77 W. 200 South, SLC   |   matteoslc.com

Matteo is one of our 2025 Dining Awards winners, find all 19 restaurants here!