Bacio di Latte, an Italian-born gelato brand beloved by SoCal celebrities and millions of Brazilians, is now scooping at Santana Row.

The San Jose shop is only the second in Northern California. The first opened in 2025 at Palo Alto’s Stanford Shopping Center.

Bacio di Latte, or “kiss of milk,” was launched in Brazil by two Italian brothers who discovered that the populous country had a serious gelato void. Since 2011, Edoardo and Luigi Tonolli have opened about 100 shops there and a dozen in the Los Angeles area.

Their shops are known for making gelato in house daily, using organic Sonoma County milk, Belgian and Italian chocolate, pistachios from Sicily, hazelnuts from Piedmont, Italy, and locally sourced ingredients. For example, the new Arancia Rossa flavor, or blood orange, is made with fruit grown at JJ’s Lone Daughter Ranch in Redlands, San Bernardino County.

Fresh flavors, including vegan sorbet, rotate in every month.

A popular choice is the Ciocchino, a sugar cone or waffle cone coated inside with Nutella or pistachio cream, then loaded up with gelato and the rim rolled in crushed nuts.

Details: Open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Fridays, until 10:30 p.m. Saturdays, 3090 Olsen Drive, near Mendocino Farms, Santana Row, San Jose; baciodilatte.usTony G’s Slice Houses coming to Menlo Park, Brentwood, Livermore

Slice House by Tony Gemignani, the Bay Area’s celebrity pizzaiolo, is bringing new shops to three Bay Area counties: Contra Costa, San Mateo and Alameda.

A Menlo Park restaurant is listed on the Slice House website as coming to 775 and 777 Santa Cruz Ave., at the location of the former Pet Place pet supply store, which closed in 2020.

Construction is expected to begin in a couple of weeks, and the goal is to open the restaurant in around seven months, according to on-site workers.

Additional new locations are also in the works at 2523 Sand Creek Road, #120, in Brentwood, and at 1948 First St. in Livermore, according to the Slice House website.

The fast-casual pizza chain’s menu includes craft pizza, fresh pastas, beer, wings, salad and more. Gemignani is the chef behind Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood and is a 13-time World Pizza Champion.

Mendocino Farms seasonal cafe expands to Dublin

The seasonal sandwich and salad specialist Mendocino Farms has opened its newest Bay Area restaurant in Dublin, the first for southern Alameda County.

The location at Persimmon Place just north of Interstate 580 features indoor and patio seating in a spot that formerly housed Patxi’s Pizza.

There are now 16 Mendocino Farms eateries in the Bay Area — with two more on the way. According to company representatives, a Mill Valley restaurant could open as soon as this spring and a Concord location is in the works with a planned fall opening.

Mendo Farms partners with sustainable California farm and culinary artisans and changes the menu seasonally. Look for new salads, sandwiches and side dishes when the spring menu launches on Tuesday, Feb. 24. If you’re a fan of the current winter specials — like the Spicy Calabrian Turkey Focaccia, the Golden State Cobb and the Southern Potato Salad — you’ve got until then to enjoy those.

Details: Open daily at 5130 Dublin Blvd. from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., with catering orders taken as early at 8 a.m. mendocinofarms.com

Send restaurant news tips to Linda Zavoral at lzavoral@bayareanewsgroup.com, Kate Bradshaw at kbradshaw@bayareanewsgroup.com or John Metcalfe at jmetcalfe@bayareanewsgroup.com.