Little Italy’s customary cuisine and (pre-dinner) cocktails have traveled northwest into the trendy West Village neighborhood for a restyle. Aperitivo ‘tails, such the fizzy Aperol Spritz, are experiencing a thoughtful upgrade under top restaurateurs and bev-experts—calling the “who’s who” to the city’s West Side.
“There’s been an uptick in regional Italian restaurants and bars, versus the classic Italian-American red sauce joint, that has dominated the [West Village] scene,” shares Robert Goldman, developer of Saint Theo’s on Bleecker Street. “The rise in popularity of certain aperitivo cocktails, like Aperol Spritz and Negroni, have sparked interest and demand for concepts—that are specific—to the diverse ways of Italian dining and drinking.”
Below are four restaurants-slash-wine bars showcasing updated aperitivo drinks (accompanied by regional snacks and small bites) within stylish surroundings attracting the New York City “scene.” Prego!
Saint Theo’s
New to restaurateur Kyle Hotchkiss Carone’s Grand Tour Hospitality (American Bar, Café Clover), Saint Theo’s is a coastal Italian institution praising traditional and twisted Venetian aperitivi in old-fashioned digs.
Designed in collaboration with Martin Brudnizki (Annabel’s, Soho House Miami), the upmarket restaurant boasts a 110-seat dining room lined with deep-green linen banquettes, plus Venice Biennale exhibition posters set above. The adjacent, authen-tique bar and lounge called Venice Bar is covered in colorful Murano glass sconces and framed Pirelli calendars.
The food menu transports guests to Venice in seconds with a selection of common Venetian ‘cicchetti’ such as sarde in saor (fried sardines with marinated onions and toasted pine nuts). The beverage program, led by head bartender Kyle Sheridan, is dedicated to the love of Italian aperitivo and digestivo – call attention to pre-dinner cocktails, the grand collection of amari and vermouth, and dessert vino.
“The bar team did an incredible job encapsulating the feeling of vacationing on the coast of Italy in our cocktail list,” Goldman adds. “The Serenisima is great – what you can imagine sipping on while you’re lounging in the Cinque Terre or Amalfi Coast. It’s made with vodka, Galliano, orange blossom water, sparkling wine, and fresh lemon zest.”
Model Italian drinks (styled Select Americano) are available next to new takes on those classics like The Moonraker, mixed with gin, bergamot liqueur, homemade lemon-thyme tincture, and other Italian botanicals. “I love to pair Death in Venice, a mezcal cocktail, with the fritole, a honey covered fried dough specialty dessert,” Goldman suggests.
Inspect and indulge each serving in the reflection of the oversized Maitland Smith mirror.
Dante West Village
Dante West Village is a stylish seafood “grill” and Martini-meets-aperitivi bar in a white-washed space on the corner of Hudson and Perry Streets.
Related to the century-old Dante on MacDougal Street, the West Village offshoot boasts a wood-fire grill and charcoal oven alongside award-winning aperitifs. It remains true to the Italian heritage while building a sense of community, which up-to-date New Yorkers love (and look for) day after day.
“We lean more on the New York side of things with [a focus on] martinis alongside contemporary-style aperitifs, like the Aperol Spritz 2.0,” bar director Chris Moore mentions.
The layered Aperol Spritz is lifted to the Aperol Spritz 2.0. Tapped into a tumbler, the adaptation is an admixture of Altos tequila, a trio of aperitivi (Aperol, Contratto, and Capelletti), raspberry syrup, and rosé and Prosecco wines; a raspberry and orange wedge skewer to garnish.
“Batching drinks is a purely positive thing in my opinion – it allows [us] greater interaction with our guests, gives us greater consistency, and means we can provide a much quicker service,” Moore includes. “This extra speed of service also allows us to expand our menu and provide our guests with more options.”
Gather over charred Italian bites and world-class drinks, and celebrate classic Italian and quintessential New York, alike.
B’artusi
B’artusi is an ‘Italiana’ restaurant and wine bar from the team behind the beloved restaurant L’Artusi. The femme space is outfitted in bright colors and mixture of patterns (and plants) attracting a cosmopolitan crowd of young professionals who appreciate the quality of food, drink, and design.
“Due to our corner [Hudson and West 10th] location, with floor-to-ceiling windows, b’artusi was designed to feel open, light, and airy,” describes owner Kevin Garry. “It’s a great place to have a cocktail and watch the world go by.”
Aperitivo cocktails – best enjoyed with the chef’s choice of ‘affettati misti’ (a platter of delicious Italian cured meats) and cheeses – stand at different heights, dressed with fruit and floral garnishes. The Orange Outline combines Cocchi Rosa, Cardamaro, and Aperol in slender stemware; topped with frizzante Prosecco and a grapefruit wedge-olive skewer like a true Venetian spritz.
“We love the West Village and feel that it’s the best eating and drinking neighborhood in the city. The L’Artusi brand is distinctly ‘West Village’ – we felt strongly that b’artusi’s location needed to be in the same neighborhood,” Garry concludes.
Bar Pisellino
Bar Pisellino is a triangular hangout for all-day coffee and cocktails. Award-winning chefs Rita Sodi and Jody Williams (Via Carota, I Sodi) share the ‘arte del bere’ here. Meaning the “art of drinking,” the standing-only bar honors the remarkable 200-year-old Italian ritual of the aperitivo.
Espresso and aperitivi are served next to bomboloni, panini farciti ‘e’ spuntini, in ode to the classic Italian bar. Maestro bartenders craft cocktails from a collection of amari and vermouth.
Arrive early for ‘Aperitivo Hour’ on the shaded sidewalk or ‘al banco,’ or “at the (curved, marble) counter.” It is a chic gateway to and waiting room for the West Village “scene.”
