East Idaho Eats: Italian, American fusion at Fresco Kitchen and Grill

REXBURG — A new dine-in restaurant is offering items a little more fresh, “or fresco” than nearby locales.

Fresco Kitchen and Grill opened April 5 next to the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Rexburg. Locals are raving about having a classy spot, which serves made-from-scratch menu items.

“We have Italian in us, but we also have some American. It’s almost like an Italian American fusion. We have pizzas, pasta, some really good sandwiches, and a really good burger,” General Manager Matt Pyles said.

The restaurant offers high quality artisan pizzas, pasta, salads, and sandwiches to name a few. Pyles said the hand-crafted pizza dough and sauces are made fresh daily.

Pyles said the restaurant and nearby hotel share the same owners. He said the owners decided about a year and a half ago that they wanted to bring something new and authentic to Rexburg. Construction for Fresco began in November and a few months later it opened its doors to the public.

“We’ve been having… really fun conversations about what we wanted and how we created this wonderful building and this wonderful concept,” Pyles said.

Fresco’s infrastructure is a modern, open-concept design. It also has an industrial concepts that the owners aimed to incorporate. Pyles said they would frequent restaurants and gain inspiration from other designs. There’s also an outdoor patio where customers can dine.

“We love being able to see outside, we love a lot of windows. We like the industrial look so we grabbed that from a couple places down in Salt Lake,” Pyles said.

Pyles said locals have responded well to the new spot. Initially it had a soft opening, but the turnout was larger than expected. He said locals are happy to not have to travel too far for a nice sit-down meal.

“We didn’t tell anybody. It was the hardest soft opening that I’ve been a part of because of how many people came from Rexburg and how many people were excited,” Pyles said.

WHAT TO TRY:

Fig tree pizza: This is a Fresco must try. It’s a mix between a fresh salad and sweet tasting doughy goodness. Instead of traditional pizza sauce, This sauce is a fig jam. The pizza also comes with prosciutto (cured ham), cheese, arugula and pine nuts on top.