Ristorante Asselina: Swanky and sophisticated (photo courtesy Helen Pearson)
An upbeat, energetic, sexy vibe greets guests as they enter Ristorante Asellina, located in the ground floor of the Gansevoort Park Avenue Hotel. Asellina made its debut about nine months ago and is already one of the hottest spots on the street.
The rustic Italian concept is the latest entrée from hospitality trendsetters The One Group, who also count STK (with locations inNew York, Miami and Los Angeles) Tenjune and The Collective under their culinary umbrella.
Asellina is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and recently started a killer Saturday and Sunday brunch, all overseen by gastronomic maestro, executive chef Marco Porceddu, who captures the flavors and passion of his native Sardinia, and translates them to vibrant menus and scrumptious specials.
The beautiful space, created by ICRAVE design studio, features gleaming warm words, polished leather and contemporary lighting that makes the attractive crowd and more so.
You wouldn’t know that it seats more than 300 people, because the venue is divided into unique areas inside and out. With the warm weather, there’s outside dining on Park Avenue. Just inside, there’s a space called the Library Bar with a lounge environment with the full menu available. The main dining room features spacious tables and a communal bar to which solo diners have flocked.
Off the main dining room, where a DJ spins Wednesday through Saturday nights is the Taverna, a separate bar that can be used for private events–and another outdoor area called the Garden.
That gives guests a variety of environments in which to enjoy the food and drink. And unlike other large restaurants that have a nightclubby vibe, the noise level is under control.
During lunch and for the late afternoon/early evening, it’s a business crowd, but as the night grows later, the crowd gets younger.
Wild Mushroom Flatbread with Stracchino Cheese and Spring Onions (photo courtesy Noah Flecks)
They’re coming back to get some of the signature dishes. To start, there are the fresh Cerignola olives stuffed with veal and parmesan in a semolina crust and finished with truffle oil, a swordfish carpaccio with pink peppercorn and orange zest and wood-fired meatballs.
Once you dive into the Porceddu version of pizza and flatbreads, there’s no going back. Very few people have been spotted with doggie bags– they can’t resist the thin-crusted delights.
Pasta lovers will be very pleased with the offerings, which include the square spaghetti with pomodoro sauce, fresh gnocchi with basil pesto and air-dried ricotta, tagliolini which combines clams and calamari and pappardelle with wild pork, red wine and fresh nutmeg.
Secondi, main courses, are based on classic Italian dishes that are contemporized with an array of tasty ingredients like veal chop Milanese with arugula and cherry tomatoes, braised lamb shank with potato gnocchi and fresh basil and grilled calamari with sautéed asparagus and oven-dried tomatoes.
Save room for dessert, because no Italian meal would be complete without dolci. Among the choices, citrus panna cotta topped with candied pistachios.
- Brunch star: the Quartino with the trio of fresh fruit juices (photo courtesy Noah Flecks)
Weekend brunch has all the makings of a New York institution and orders pour in for the Quartino Bellini, a carafe of Prosecco served with fresh peach, blood orange and raspberry juices. It’s just $15, and for $9 more you can have the prix-fixe brunch, which features an entrée like Italian frittatas and wood-fired eggs, coffee or tea, and homemade muffins.
On Sundays, a live jazz trio accompanies the festivities from noon until 3 p.m.
Speaking of spirits, the wine list and cocktail selection is superb. The great wine-growing regions of Italyare represented in a wide array of selections, but the list also features vintages from Spain, Argentina and California.
Mixology also takes full advantage of the aperitifs that are native to Italy, but might be new to you. A perfect summer refresher is the Lupanare, which combines blood orange flavored Solerno liquer with lime, white cranberry and Bacardi O.
If you wonder about the origins of the name Asellina, it’s the name of the woman from an ancient Pompeii legend. She was a beautiful, sensual entrepreneur– the owner of a tavern — with a sign over the door that said “Here Dwells Happiness.”
The same could be said of the new establishment that bears her name.
Asellina, 420 Park Avenue South, New York City, (212) 317-2908, www.asellina.com
