Already holding the distinction of being the only Italian restaurant/poetry lounge in town, Poesia has its work cut out if it's going to succeed where so many others have failed: the upstairs space at 4072 18th Street. Not content with just going for a southern Italian angle, the 49-seat Poesia has tried to differentiate itself even more by taking the poetry schtick pretty far: there's that aforementioned poetry lounge, stocked bookshelves, poetry-inspired artwork, and our favorite of the lot, this little guy at the foot of the staircase, trying to entice the street-level crowd to the restaurant above. It's a small but notable operation on 18th Street, with Gregory Leon (Tapeo, Kelly's Mission Rock) in the kitchen; in the earlygoing, not a great deal of buzz has been generated outside the 'hood, so only time will tell if Poesia can turn the challenging space around.
Further reading on Poesia at Chowhound, Zagat and in the Eater Archives.
