A new restaurant in Bethany Beach, Delaware is making a splash this summer, with upscale Italian fare and a delectable drinks menu to match. Via Sophia by the Sea, after its success in Kennebunkport, Maine, and Washington, D.C., opened a third restaurant in Bethany Beach in June 2023. The upscale osteria promises to combine Italian tradition with Delaware coastal cuisine.
You can see the care put into the restaurant's design the moment you step inside. With 164 seats and an emphasis on fresh and local food, Via Sophia offers "a taste of the Italian seaside," marrying Delaware coastal cuisine with traditional Italian and Mediterranean dishes.
Enjoy the summer weather and the sea breeze when you dine on the outdoor patio at this beachfront osteria. The location and the views really can't be beat.
Creative dishes such as saffron gnocchi (with pattypan squash, lump crabmeat, zucchini, and espelette) are standouts on the dinner menu. And Artisan pastas made from scratch of course play a starring role, along with local fish and poultry, and seasonal herbs and vegetables.
Via Sophia is also open for lunch, and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Try the lemon ricotta pancakes with candied hazelnuts if you're stopping in for brunch. (Although you really can't go wrong with anything on the menu.)
The cocktail menu is similarly inspired. For instance, take the "Long Walk Short Pier," which features old forester bourbon, house red aperitivo blend, vanilla-hibiscus syrup, lemon, and cherry bark vanilla bitters.
