Rare is the sports bar that pours more pinot grigio than PBR and favors soppressata over fried zucchini sticks. But Adesso isn’t trying to be a meeting place for meatheads (cheap booze, greasy snacks, oversize TV). Chef Jon Smulewitz, who also co-owns Dopo, a block away, serves soph­isticated spreads of pâté and piadina and challenges your lexicon of restaurant Italian with dozens of varieties of house-cured salumi, from sweet finocchiona (seasoned with fennel pollen) to sbriciolona, its deep notes accented with pro­secco and thyme. Even as SportsCenter flashes on a flat-screen, more compelling highlights involve antipasti, like yellowfin crudo and pork-filled arancini. The space is snug and lively, and the noise exacts a small price on your eardrums, but that’s a modest payment for what Adesso gives you. A banquet of fine bar food is complimentary at happy hour, and the foosball is always free. 4395 Piedmont Ave. (at Pleasant Valley Rd.), 510-601-0305 $$ DW ★★1/2
By Josh Sens