Golden Age Hospitality is expanding its reach in the East Village — again. Owner Jon Neidich opened Monsieur on East Fourth Street with Baz Luhrmann earlier this year, followed by a new rendition of Tompkins Square Park neighborhood-dive bar Lucy’s on Avenue A. Now, just in time to welcome New York’s warmer months, he’s opened the doors to Bar Bianchi a short walk away from both.
“We weren’t actively looking to go long on the East Village,” says Neidich, who’s also behind stylish downtown haunts including The Nines, Acme and Le Dive. “But there were some great spaces and great opportunities, and I do think that the East Village is the neighborhood that post-pandemic has taken a little bit to come back,” he adds. “Whenever something goes through a little bit of a moment, it’s prime for revitalization. And as a New Yorker and someone who lived here for the first five years when I moved back from college, I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it.”
Bar Bianchi is located where Avenue A meets East Houston Street, in a corner space that evokes Italian “aperitivo culture” with a refined but laid-back setting. The room’s aesthetic draws inspiration from 1920s and 1930s Milanese design, as well as 1960s space age, modernism and art deco. The color palette is rooted in pistachio green walls with graphic black design accents and chrome detailing, with clay tile flooring that references old school Italian trattorias. Artwork is similarly nostalgic, with vintage Italian movie posters and advertisements throughout the space. The dining room continues outside with window siding that opens onto the sidewalk.
“It’s really got a vibe. It has this magic energy with the lighting and the way it basks,” says Neidich of the space, likening the location to the easygoing, colloquial appeal of Keith McNally’s LES bar Schiller’s, which closed in 2017. Neidich hopes that Bar Bianchi will similarly become a social “beacon” within the neighborhood, with its European meets classic New York vibe. The large exterior neon — a literal beacon — speaks to the signage of nearby neighborhood staples like Katz’s Delicatessen and Russ & Daughters.
The culinary program is led by Golden Age Hospitality executive chef Nicole Gajadhar. The trattoria-style menu features an extended antipasti section including fried zucchini, tuna carpaccio and burrata with roasted peppers, as well as several pastas and larger plates, like veal Milanese for two.
“That type of Italian [cuisine] that you feel like you can eat all the time, because you can go there and have a steak salad, or you can go there and have a branzino and some roast potatoes,” says Neidich of the menu’s wide appeal. “Or you can go there and have pasta.”
Or, you can go there and just enjoy a leisurely drink and prime people-watching. The focused beverage program includes iterations of negronis and spritzes, alongside a selection of wines. “It’s about making classic Italian apperitivo cocktails really well,” Neidich says. “The spritz is definitely one of the stars, and we use some modern techniques to have the flavor be just right.”
A sunny New York corner, good food and a spritz: is there a better way to toast the start of summer?
Bar Bianchi.
Liz Clayman
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