Making its debut in the former Bellota space in SoMa, Bosco will be serving wood-fired meats, vegetables, and housemade pastas starting Wednesday.

Opened Wednesday in the former Bellota space at 888 Brannan Street is Bosco, a new Italian restaurant from The Absinthe Group. Where Bellota was the restaurant group's foray into tapas, paella, and all things Spanish, and where Absinthe is an ode to classic French brasseries, Bosco promises to be a new-school Italian restaurant with California genes from Ryan McIlwraith, the same executive chef who opened Bellota and the group's other former Spanish spot in Hayes Valley, Barcino.

McIlwraith is teaming here as co-executive chef with Kaili Hill — the pair met while working at Barcino and went on to open another restaurant outside The Absinthe Group umbrella, Alora on the Embarcadero. (Hill previously worked at the Post Ranch Inn, 25 Lusk, and Niku Steakhouse.) The two are now returning to work with their old colleagues, creating a menu that will be "hyper" seasonally driven, centered on a wood-fired hearth, and offering generous plates of roasted meats and vegetables, as well as house-made pastas, both fresh cut and extruded.

The team tested dozens of pasta ideas before settling on a half dozen for the opening menu — some of which guests at Bosco will see being handmade during service at a pasta station in the open kitchen.

One stunning looking opening pasta dish, pictured below, is a plate of twisted green and white gramigna, which is accompanied by a pork and beef ragù, and topped with crispy rosemary and Grana Padano cheese. A dish of chicken and chive tortellini also made the opening cut, and will be served with a choice of clear chicken broth or a parmesan cream sauce.

McIlwraith said in an interview with the Chronicle recently that he and Hill were not aiming for "classic Italian" with the dishes. "It feels San Francisco to us," he said.

Starters include sweet corn arancini over warm tomato sauce, an heirloom tomato and fig panzanella with whipped ricotta and a watermelon rind mostarda, and tiles of octopus carpaccio, with a caper-raisin purée, tomato-chili dressing, pickled red onion, and wild arugula.

Larger plates include a brined, smoked, and grilled half chicken, served with salsa verde and a burnt-lemon jus; and koji-glazed pork ribs dusted with fennel pollen.

The wine list, focusing on California and Italian bottles, has been curated by the restaurant group's beverage director Michael Goss.

The cocktail program is in the hands of former ABV bartender Ammiel Holder, featuring drinks meant to "feel transportive," like the Bosco Americano, a Negroni variation using a kiwi-and-mint-infused Campari and Brucato's Woodland Amaro — all keeping with the restaurant's name, which means "forest" or "woods" in Italian.

That woodland theme carries into the remodeled interior, which has the same general layout as Bellota, but now features more earthy tan leather banquettes, Bay Laurel wood furnishings, and forest-inspired decor, by designer Cam Helland of Helland Architecture.

Bosco - 888 Brannan Street - Now open Tues-Thurs 5-9pm, Fri-Sat 5-10pm - Reserve