SOHO — One of the late Pope Benedict XVI’s favorite dishes was gnocchi, which Salvo Lo Castro knows for certain as one who used to cook it for him.
The Sicilian-born Lo Castro was the Vatican chef for 10 years, from 2000 to 2010. He recalls spending many happy hours in the kitchen preparing meals for Pope Benedict XVI and, for a brief time, his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
“For me, it’s a very beautiful experience for 10 years to cook for two popes, for many guests of the popes,” he said. “It’s a very beautiful human experience.
“And now, it’s a beautiful experience in New York City.”
In 2025, Lo Castro brought his culinary artistry to the Big Apple, opening Casasalvo Ristorante, an Italian restaurant at 195 Spring Street in Soho that offers diners the chance to eat like a pope.
Lo Castro was born at the foot of Mount Etna in Sicily, and Mediterranean fare is at the heart of his cuisine.
“My kitchen is Sicilian,” he explained. “I look at the Mediterranean Sea — this is my DNA of the kitchen.”
His menu features dishes like Salmon Oreganata, Bigoli all’ Aragosta (lobster with Pachino tomato and oregano), Carnaroli Risotto, Char Grilled Octopus and Sicilian Pure, Bluefin Tuna Tartar, and Mediterranean Ceviche.
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Lo Castro pays tribute to Pope Benedict with a dish named Gnocchi di Papa Benedetto ai 6 Formaggi (gnocchi with six cheeses). It was a dish he often cooked for the late pontiff.
“I prepared the gnocchi. Papa Benedicto was German,” he said, noting that Pope Benedict also loved potatoes.
All the pasta dishes served at Casasalvo feature homemade pasta carefully crafted by hand by Lo Salvo, who noted he uses only the finest flour.
However, he added that a customer favorite is the meatballs, which he makes from his mother Maria Angela’s recipe. They are also a personal favorite of Lo Salvo’s, who said he always asks his mother to make them when he visits home.
“I eat meatballs for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” he joked.
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Casasalvo is Lo Castro’s latest contribution to New York’s dining scene. Prior to opening the restaurant in 2025, he established four coffee shops — called Casasalvo Cafés — featuring coffee and freshly baked pastries.
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Although he is no longer at the Vatican, Lo Castro has maintained ties with the Church. In January, he prepared food for Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Still, he said, no matter where he cooks, his attitude remains the same.
“My style of kitchen is the same,” Lo Castro explained. “You work in the Vatican, you work in New York, you have one style of kitchen.”
The key for Lo Castro, who grew up in a Catholic family that said grace before meals, is to do everything with love.
“Normally,” he said, “every meal I prepare with just my hands and my heart.”