Currently in his third summer at Osteria La Civetta, and with years of bartending experience in Boston, Mike Scafuro has found a lot to love about his job.

“I love the pace,” he says. “I love how social it is. If you take the time to make it a creative position, it can really be fun and creative.”

That creativity hasn't always been a major factor for him, Mike says, but has increased “as I've matured as a bartender.”

Mike splits his time between Boston and the Cape, along strictly seasonal lines. “Here would definitely be my preference, during the summer,” he says.

A major part of the Cape's appeal is Osteria. “The people who own this restaurant are some of my best friends,” he says. When they brought him in to run things behind the bar, “I just fell in love with the place.”

And the owners have rewarded him for his enthusiasm, making him head bartender. “I like that they've given me a lot of creative control,” he says.

Mike is constantly at work developing a menu of unique drinks, tinkering, testing, rejecting, and refining. “It's really hit and miss,” he says. “The more misses I have, and the more hits I have, the better I get.”

He also solicits feedback from the rest of the staff. “It's an ongoing process,” he says. “It's like the entire restaurant working as a whole.”

One of his creations, the Farmer's Market Cocktail, has already begun to attract attention. Perfectly aligned with Osteria's philosophy of using fresh, locally sourced products whenever possible, Mike's signature drink draws its inspiration, and its ingredients, from the Falmouth Farmer's Market.

Each Thursday, Mike takes the short walk up Main Street to Peg Noonan Park, where he pieces together the ingredients that will combine to make a unique cocktail, choosing from the huge selection available at the market.

“It's just fun to work with fresh, aromatic ingredients,” he says. “There's something really beautiful about craft, artisanal cocktails.”

Because his selections are different each week, the Farmer's Market Cocktail is always changing. Last week, it involved blueberries, peaches, and basil so fresh it could be smelled from across the room. This week, who knows? The one constant is Mike's, and the restaurant's, commitment to fresh, local, and most of all delicious, food and drink.