Jeni's Table with Tommy Pontolilo of Romeo’s

There is nothing more critical than our health, and nothing more scarce than our time. That has become the conundrum as we have slowly become the unhealthiest country in the world – with fewer people cooking, the microwave as the number one cooking device, and through our reliance on prepared food – often high in fat, salt, sugar, preservatives, and highly processed ingredients. All of this has been made even worse by the rising cost of food, and the excessive amount of food waste, some of which occurs when we don’t know what to do with “what’s left” after trying to follow a recipe. We’re here to help, so let’s get cooking!

Let me introduce you to Tommy Pontolilo, the exceptionally down-to-earth Chef/Owner of Romeo’s in Falmouth.

His desire to cook started at 15 years old working at the Back Eddy in Westport. He graduated from Johnson & Wales University and worked under Chris Schlesinger at East Bay Grille in Plymouth. He had a focus on cooking with live fire, wood fire grills and barbecue – big bold flavors and regional cuisine. His career took him to Washington state, Alaska, and back to Boston, where he became a corporate chef with the Coje group, that includes Lolita, Cavo, and Coquette.

Tommy moved to the Cape in February 2024 and opened Romeo’s in Falmouth on May 20^th. He decided to relocate closer to his parents in Westport and had originally planned on getting a bit closer than Falmouth, but the former C Salt location on Davis Straits became available. With the encouragement of longtime friend, Blane Toedt (co-owner of The West End in Hyannis), he decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up, and Romeo’s was conceived.

Most people would naturally assume that Romeo’s is an Italian restaurant, but you’d be wrong. Romeo is Tommy’s 12½-year-old New Orleans street dog, a Shepherd/Collie mix, that he rescued through the MSPCA – mostly blind, always charismatic, smart, friendly and oh, so cute!

Romeo’s features modern American cuisine with a focus on social dining – small shareables is how he describes the concept. It’s intended to be a fun experience, with delicious food, and slightly higher end – not fancy or pretentious – but built to be shared, similar to tapas. He really wanted to stay away from the appetizer/entrée format. Ultimately, he wanted to create a restaurant based on how he likes to eat…try a bunch of things and share them with people you care about.

Tommy explains, “the reason I chose to feature this recipe is because it’s one of my mom’s favorites”, and goes on to say, “I always start with my vegetable dishes. Instead of being an afterthought, l believe they’re my core, and everything works off of them.” His passion for fresh ingredients, bold flavors and shareable plates is sure to make Romeo’s a favorite of many for years to come!

Watch for upcoming wine dinners, monthly soirées and Sunday brunches!

Jeni Wheeler is the Director, Co-Founder, and creative mind behind the Family Table Collaborative (FTC) in South Yarmouth, MA, as well as the Owner of Jeni’s Joy, a boutique catering/private chef company that addresses allergens and food sensitivities. She is passionate about providing nutritious, delicious meals, to anyone who needs a “little extra love”, while working to improve the way society addresses nutritional security, through innovation and creative partnerships that reduce waste and increase sustainability. Her beliefs that access to healthy, real food should be a basic human right and that creating sustainable change is possible are at the core of the philosophy behind how and why she built FTC. Jeni has her MBA, with a focus in Social Entrepreneurship, from Babson and is a proud member of the World Central Kitchen Chef Corps. familytablecollaborative.org

Romeo’s
75 Davis Straits, Falmouth
romeosfalmouth.com
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