Michael Lombardi

Chef Michael Lombardi, a native of Connecticut, first moved to Boston to attend Boston University. After discovering his passion was in the kitchen, he switched from his intent on the corporate life and attended the Culinary Institute of America.

Lombardi discovered his love for Italian cuisine while cooking in the Umbrian city of Orvieto. After six months, he returned to the States and took a position at the Michelin-starred Mario Batali restaurant, Del Posto, in New York City. He spent two years at Del Posto before heading back to Europe where he worked alongside chef Kevin O’Donnell in opening L’Office in Paris.

Upon his return to the States, Lombardi landed at Gwynnett St. in Brooklyn before coming to Boston in early 2013 to reunite with his former colleague and now Executive Chef, Kevin O’Donnell, as the Chef de Cuisine of The Salty Pig in the Back Bay.

When owners Michael Moxley and Jim Cochener set their sights on expanding their empire with SRV, Lombardi jumped at the chance. The pair signed on as Co-Executive Chef and Partner at the South End restaurant, which opened in early 2016.

In the summer of 2022, Lombardi opened Si Cara in Cambridge’s Central Square. The upscale casual pizza joint with Italian artisanal roots, is his first solo venture and a loving tribute to his Nonna who always responded “si, cara” (“yes, dear”) to his and his cousins’  requests for pizza or other treats from her homeland.

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