So you can take the bistro out of the city, but maybe you can’t take the city out of the bistro. And that’s a good thing.

On Poulsbo’s famed Front Street, a new restaurant has emerged amidst ‘For Rent’ signs and empty storefronts, bringing an unwilted sprig of hope and, according to those in the kitchen, a clean, basic philosophy.

“It’s simple and it’s fresh,” says Burrata Bistro head chef Shannon Marinos, speaking of the menu. He stands behind the bar with owners Kim Tomlinson and Alfonso Valvez, a husband-and-wife duo with decades of combined restaurant experience. Surrounded by sleek, dark woods and rich, pristine tones, the three explain Burrata Bistro brings the feel of an upper-class city establishment, but turns its nose up at no one with modest prices and a quality array of Italian dishes.

“It’s not scaring people away because there’s a $34 lamb shank on the menu,” Marinos explained, noting meals top out no higher than $20.

Tomlinson and Valvez opened the restaurant at the start of this month, dusting away the expected economic fears because “I thought there was a need for another restaurant over here,” Tomlinson explained. She previously waited tables in Seattle, though she’s long lived in the North Kitsap area.

“It’s proven right,” she said. “It’s pretty incredible. People are thanking us for opening.”

At Burrata Bistro, pasta is rolled in-shop, focaccia bread baked fresh each morning, and ice creams and desserts whipped up from scratch.

“People are still going out, enjoying themselves,” said Tomlinson, recounting one customer who said Burrata’s was the best Italian food she’d eaten since visiting Italy; others commented on the bistro’s decidedly Seattle-esque environ, she said. Its Italian meals, she added, are a fitting comfort, providing that affordable economic escape.

For $11, a Burrata patron can enjoy lasagna with pesto and sun dried tomato; cannellonis go for $12. The restaurant seats 49 people.

Burrata’s name itself is a homage to a type of mozzarella, a signature dish on the menu. Tomlinson said the restaurant will begin serving lunch in March.

Burrata Bistro

19006 #100 Front Street

(360) 930-8446

Open seven days a week,

4:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.