UPDATE: The restaurant part of 10 Corso Como is closed indefinitely, open only for corporate events.

10 Corso Como opened in the Seaport in September 2018, but I had never had the chance to get over there and Erik never wrote about it, so here we are, 15 months later, catching up with the Italian-born restaurant and gallery and shop that has the cornerstone space on the land side of Pier 17.

There’s nothing subtle, reserved or low-key about this place. Imagine every minimalist, neutral, clean-lined space you’ve seen around you for the past decade and throw it out the window. 10 Corso Como is only vibrant, loud, patterned, rich, glam – it’s an explosion of color and pattern. Now, this may not be your thing. But if nothing else it offers an antidote to the sameness of a lot of today’s interior decoration and as a retail experience, certainly stuff you have never seen before.

The notion behind all three venues at 10 Corso Como is art. Founded in Milan in 1990 by a former fashion editor (there’s also a version in Seoul), Carla Sozzani, the idea is to use the gallery and bookshop as the core of the theme, and all of the rest of it as a “living magazine” for style in art, music, food, fashion. Each wall covering, plate, table top or centerpiece is handcrafted and made to dazzle. The décor in the restaurant is outrageous – gold and floral at every turn. I guess it really does feel like Italy on the inside, in that Versace mansion kind of way, but with a modern twist. But the flip side is it is also very gracious. The seating is comfortable and spacious (perhaps because the restaurant is huge). I couldn’t help think if you brought your in-laws, they might actually sigh with relief.

The food seems almost like a footnote to the decor — the menu is small, or highly edited, and straight-up Italian with some subtle twists. The wine list is also not huge, but while they were out of the lambrusco, the somm made up for it by bringing a sparkling rose on the house, which my tablemate said tasted like a lollipop – in a good way. I’d go back for the calamari salad, and if not, some extended browsing in the shop. Also note: at the gallery till Feb. 2, a show of Getty archive photos of hip hop culture from the ’80s and ’90s.