Chef David Fhima has cooked through continents and cultures, but at Vagabondo, he turns inward. His newest restaurant is a deeply personal tribute to his grandmother’s Sicilian kitchen—one built on memory, family, and dishes that carry decades of meaning in every bite.
Photo by Terry Brennan
What’s Up
Vagabondo is Chef David Fhima’s most personal restaurant—and you can feel it in every dish. “It’s very emotional,” he says. “I should have done this 30 years ago. This is food I grew up with 55 years ago.” Fhima has long explored his Moroccan roots at at his namesake restaurant, Fhima’s, and his French background at Maison Margaux, but revisiting the flavors of his earliest memories feels different. “The only memories I have of my grandmother are related to food,” he says. “I remember the gnocchi, I remember the lasagna.” Family is at the heart of every Fhima restaurant—you’ll spot his wife Lori troubleshooting and his son Eli greeting guests or chatting with NBA stars. But this menu required deeper digging: 18 months of emotional conversations with long-lost Sicilian relatives, including an estranged 80-year-old sister. “My daughter brought us together through a research project in law school,” he says. “I don’t believe in accidents. I believe things are meant to be.”
Courtesy of Vagabondo
What’s Cooking?
Do not miss the pizza: It’s one of the most unique doughs I’ve had in my life. Made with the famous sourdough starter that Fhima brought here from Morocco, which he believes is 100-plus years old. It’s somehow doughy and light. Cooked in a Neapolitan style (90 seconds at high heat), there’s a little flop in the middle, and it’s served the traditional way—uncut. The Four Cheese ($26) has mushrooms, artichokes, and Sicilian olives. Salty, cheesy, and so good, we ordered another one to take home with us. Start with a Sicilian version of a caprese salad, made with burrata and datterini tomatoes ($22). Vagabondo’s Panzanella Salad ($18) is also delightful with tomato, cucumber, and onions, along with little chunks of ciabatta toast. We loved the creamy Pappardelle Pancetta Carbonara ($32). This isn’t the Olive Garden version of carbonara—“We finish it in the sauce. The pasta spends 90 seconds in the water, so it retains the starch,” Fhima says. “Cream, butter, pecorino, Parmesan, and the pasta sucks all that flavor in.” It’s big-flavor pasta. Seafood Risotto ($49 full/$29 small) featured big shrimp, crab meat, and mussels on top of a buttery, creamy, French-style risotto. They offer full and small sizes (or as Vagabondo calls it, “nico”) of many of their pastas and risottos. Make it a casual hang with a pizza and glass of wine or a fancy night out with a T-bone steak or Sicilian baked fish.
Photo by Terry Brennan
What’s The Vibe?
Light, bright, and artful, Vagabondo reflects Fhima’s collaboration with artist Stephanie Dillon, whose floral and vine illustrations adorn the walls and windows. Little surprises await throughout the 100-seat upstairs dining room, the bathroom doors, and the staircase to the basement bar, Capuchin. Guests can reserve either space—the menu and hospitality are the same. “This is about family,” Fhima says. “If my kids remember me fondly, the way I remember my grandma and dad, that would be my greatest achievement.”
Vagabondo, 205 Water St., Excelsior, vagabondomn.com
