Italian restaurant La Pecora Bianca will be opening its sixth location this Thursday at 359 Columbus Avenue, at 77th Street. It will initially be open for dinner only, with lunch and brunch to follow in the coming weeks.
The space was most recently home to Mediterranean restaurant 8th Hill, which opened in mid-2019 and closed in August 2020. Isabella’s was the previous tenant, closing in May 2017 after operating out of the storefront for thirty years.
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Established in 2015, the popular Italian restaurant has locations in Soho, Midtown, Meatpacking, Nomad and Bryant Park. Owner Mark Barak is also planning an outpost on the Upper East Side, which he tells us is slated for a late summer or early fall opening.
The restaurant has pretty solid reviews, as well as a sizable IG following. Pastas are made in-house, with one standout being the Black Burgundy Truffle Tagliatelle. The restaurant’s burrata can be added to any pasta, and is offered as an appetizer (with “squash caponata, Calabrian honey and country toast”).
Signature dishes include La Pecora Bianca’s Gramigna with sausage and broccolini and Tagliatelle with beef and pork bolognese.
Gramigna — $26 on the UWS menu
Each restaurant has a handful of unique menu items. As the New York Times wrote, the Upper West Side location will be the only one to offer summer melon panzanella, spice-crusted tuna, and heritage pork Milanese. Barak also tells us there will be a dry aged ribeye with cipollini agrodolce and potato torta ($48) on the dinner menu.
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In addition, the UWS outpost will carry a unique collection of older wines including a 1990 Bordeaux and a 2001 Barolo.
Each location also boasts a unique design; with the “history, architecture and tastes of the neighborhood in mind,” Barak says. He tells us those familiar with the old Isabella’s or 8th Hill will be walking into something brand-new.
La Pecora Bianca means “the white sheep” in Italian, and the owners have designed the restaurants to offer a “relaxed, all-day dining experience and vibrant Italian fare in a beautiful setting.”
Learn more at www.lapecorabianca.com.
Probably another high priced, over priced, menu from another upscale Italian restaurant chain. Do we need another Italian food joint most likely offering plain pasta dishes at $20 and up?
If only it were $20 and up….These days it’s more like “$27 and up” for pasta dishes. On top of that, everyone wants to nickel and dime you over bread which was always abundantly supplied in ALL Italian restaurants, no matter the price point, even mixed with fresh baked focaccia with olives tossed in for good measure. Now? Such generosity is a thing of the past. And, we the dining public are expected to be the generous and gallant ones and besides paying way too inflated prices, no less than 20% tips are expected to demonstrate how much we care after so many of us (including the dining public, I hasten to add) have suffered due to the deleterious effects of Covid and all its variants. With menu prices soaring 20-25%, in some cases 33%…. call me Scrooge but I’m letting common sense prevail and returning to doubling the tax as my tip. And because of the heart-wrenching price gouging, we are all eating in a lot more frequently. Sadly, that sure doesn’t help waiters, cooks, chefs or wine stewards or bus boys pay their rent and expenses. Something has to to give.
I will be there. Can’t wait and glad something good is going into that great space. Welcome to the UWS!