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Cornicello sweeps Exeter’s 2026 great cocktail challenge with Italian‑inspired drinks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE EXETER, NH — Il Cornicello swept both categories in the Exeter Chamber's Great Cocktail and Mocktail Challenge this year, bringing home the win with drinks reminiscent of an Italian summer. The Water Street restaurant won diners’ votes for best cocktail for the second straight year and captured its first‑ever mocktail title. Il Cornicello bartender Sophia Lemerise created the winning cocktail after the staff held an in‑house contest to brainstorm new drinks for the competition. Her drink, also named Il Cornicello, blends vodka, blood orange liqueur, passion fruit liqueur, blood orange juice, fresh lime and prosecco. Winning cocktail called a 'spritz for summertime' Maggie Dodge, the floor manager for Il Cornicello’s speakeasy lounge SottoCello, described Lemerise’s vision for the cocktail as a “spritz for summertime,” a way to encapsulate the restaurant’s Italian flair. Football is back: Stream every big game, rivalry matchup and can't-miss moment all season long The story behind Lemerise’s cocktail also ties back to the restaurant’s desire to bring people together, according to Il Cornicello’s general manager Jackie Bradley. “When you come together and meet somebody, it’s sort of like the first drink that you’re gonna have,” Bradley said. “And so, we were looking for something that was low-ABV (alcohol by volume), something that was refreshing.” Bradley said that the cocktail was about “bringing people together, relaxing, having a great time, and just enjoying the moment, being present and enjoying that.” When asked how customers have responded to the drink, Dodge said they are “loving it.” Even on a slow day, she says she goes through three bottles of prosecco making the cocktail. Il Compagno is a mocktail for mom Elle Grodzicki, the server who created the winning mocktail, said guests responded immediately when she first tried it out on them. She recommended the not‑yet‑on‑the‑menu drink to a table, and they loved it. “They had it for the first time, and they said, ‘wow, this should really be on the menu,’ and that’s how we decided that we were going to enter it into the contest,” Grodzicki said. Elle Grodzicki, a server at Il Cornicello, paid homage to her mother's love of the restaurant and citrus with her winning mocktail, named "Il Compagno." The mocktail is made with blood orange ginger beer, pomelo juice, rosemary simple syrup and lime. The drink, called Il Compagno — companion in Italian — is an homage to her mom. “She loved Cornicello, and she had an… affinity for like oranges and pomelos and that type of citrusy stuff,” Grodzicki said. The mocktail is made with blood orange ginger beer, pomelo juice, rosemary simple syrup and lime. Her love for her mother and the community at Il Cornicello made it meaningful to create the “companion” drink to the restaurant’s cocktail, which also has a citrusy flavor. The rosemary note is another nod to Il Cornicello’s Italian cuisine. “I feel like every time I come in here, everybody is family,” Grodzicki said about Il Cornicello, which she says celebrates everyone’s accomplishments, big or small. “I’m so grateful that I’m able to work here and honor my mother, and I kind of put my heart and soul into my work in a way.” Grodzicki said that it was “really exciting” for her to help Il Cornicello bring home the win in the mocktail category. “It’s the first time that I’ve made a mocktail, let alone had it entered into any sort of competition, and to be able to do that and win this kind of title for the place that I work in, the place that I care so much about, it’s just…really cool,” Grodzicki said. Award-winning drinks will be on the menu all summer long Bradley said that winning felt “fantastic,” a big smile spreading across her face. Going into the competition, Bradley said she was a little nervous because Il Cornicello is only open four days a week, and there was stiff competition. “So I am so over the moon that we won because I feel that what it tells me is that we have a very loyal following of customers, and that we really do a great job of engaging and providing a level of hospitality to our customers that they love,” Bradley said. She explained that the fact that there are two drinks also mirrors the restaurant’s two sides: Il Cornicello, its restaurant on street level, and SottoCello, its speakeasy lounge a floor below. The similarity between the drinks’ flavor profile also allows for people who want to enjoy a drink without alcohol with their friends. “I think what I love about Exeter the most is that we have so many eclectic, so many passionate restaurants, restaurant owners, and menus, that to me, (the contest) is just a reward for all of Exeter," Bradley said. "It’s a draw to bring somebody into our community.” Customers hoping to try Exeter’s contest‑winning cocktail or mocktail can order both at Il Cornicello, where the drinks will stay on the menu through summer and into the fall. About Cornicello & sottoCello Cornicello is an authentic Italian restaurant in Exeter, NH, offering fresh, farm-to-table dishes and handmade pasta inspired by the culinary traditions of Southern Italy. The name "Cornicello" refers to a charm meant to ward off bad spirits. Located in the basement is sottoCello, our Wine Cellar and Provisions. It offers a unique and lively atmosphere with a full bar and Cornicello's full dinner menu; no reservation required. Contact: Tim Ober Owner, Cornicello & sottoCello tober@obereasy.com
Il Cornicello puts Exeter on the map with top‑tier Resy ranking
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE EXETER, NH. — Il Cornicello is among some elite company. The rustic Italian eatery on Water Street, renowned for its handmade pasta and rotating menu, was among the top 10% of all U.S. restaurants on Resy, the reservation platform owned by American Express that connects diners with high-end restaurants. The platform hosts restaurants across many major cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Il Cornicello, led by executive chef Joshua Herlihy, has put Exeter on the map. “For a local spot in Exeter to be performing in that same elite decile — outperforming 90% of venues on the platform — is a massive win for our community,” said Tim Ober, who owns Il Cornicello with his wife, Susan. The Italian restaurant’s kitchen is led by Herlihy, a Dover native who spent a decade on the West Coast and worked at Ciao Trattoria & Wine Bar in Durham before joining Il Cornicello in 2022. And despite the Resy recognition — and talks of a James Beard Award — Herlihy said he wants the restaurant to “stay the local neighborhood pasta shop.” “It’s like if we start to get so big, I feel like you start to lose some of that,” he added. “And staying small, staying humble, and staying true to what Cornicello is, I think, is our key to success. It’s not necessarily accolades or anything like that — they’ll come on their own.” Il Cornicello chefs find inspiration on Amalfi Coast trip In early January, when most restaurants enter their slowest periods, Il Cornicello’s team was hard at work. Ober, Herlihy and his sous chef traveled to the Amalfi Coast in Italy to get in touch with the restaurant’s rustic roots. The idea originated with Herlihy’s sous chef, who suggested the international trip in passing. “The next thing I know, Tim bought the tickets,” Herlihy said. Spending time in the country that shaped so much of Il Cornicello’s menu was energizing, he said. In addition to observing the service and food in Italy, the country’s historic architecture, dating back millennia, put it all in perspective for Herlihy. “The ingenuity and resilience of the Italian people were the most awe-inspiring thing for me,” he said, referencing how Amalfi was engineered into cliffs, with structures built into the rock. Il Cornicello grows its team and its community In the kitchen, Herlihy takes his role as a leader and mentor seriously. The restaurant recently added a sous chef with an impressive pedigree: He served as executive chef at the upscale CR’s in Hampton. “Now, it’s just nurturing and helping them get to the next step,” Herlihy said of his staff. “Use this as a stepping stone to get wherever they want and develop their style, through the lens of what we do at Cornicello, but also testing out dishes, because I know these guys aren't going to be here forever.” “I have a much smaller team here, but I would love to be the kitchen that helps start these guys’ careers,” he added. With a sous chef helping him with daily food prep, Herlihy said he now has more time to “think and bounce ideas off people” to push the creative limits of the kitchen, he said. Il Cornicello has also added a general manager, Jackie Bradley, a wine expert who has lived in Exeter for around seven years. Bradley is an alumna of Exeter staples Vino e Vivo and STREET, as well as Moxy in Portsmouth. The loyalty of Il Cornicello’s guests, she said, has driven the restaurant’s success. “It’s like fine dining in a casual way,” she said. “Things are a little eclectic — not everything matches, and that’s OK.” As for what makes Il Cornicello unique in the restaurant industry, Herlihy said the first thing that came to mind was the support of the Obers. “We were just on a call yesterday, and we were talking about it,” he said. “If anyone came to buy this place, they’d look at the wage bill and just be like, ‘Are you serious?’” Another aspect is Herlihy’s ability to work the dining room and speak with guests, 25% of whom are repeat customers, according to Resy statistics. He recalled one in particular: a woman who was pregnant at the same time as his sister. “Next thing you know, they’re coming in, and we’re having a whole conversation; she finally gave birth, and it was this whole (thing). I just love that sense of community that we’re starting to build here,” he said. And though he entered the restaurant industry in the back of the house to avoid customer service, “that argument has started to weaken for me a little bit,” Herlihy said. “I tell the servers: If you see anyone that’s having a great experience or something like that, let me go over and talk with them, give them a little insight as to what we do here, and thank them for coming in,” he added. “That has been super rewarding for me over the last nine months.” About Il Cornicello Il Cornicello is a family-owned Italian restaurant in the heart of historic Exeter, NH. Known for its dedication to handmade pasta, locally sourced ingredients, and a warm, inviting atmosphere, it offers a fine dining experience upstairs and a vibrant Wine Cellar and Provisions, SottoCello, downstairs. Contact: The Ober Easy Family Restaurant Group contact@ilcornicello.com