Headliner
La Pecora Bianca
This is the sixth iteration of Mark Barak’s Italian restaurant, and, like the others, some of its features nod to the neighborhood. In the space that housed the popular Isabella’s — noted for its brunch-hungry crowds and densely packed sidewalk tables — Mr. Barak has installed a dining room, bar and lounge with warmer wood accents than in some of his other locations. Of particular note are sweet wall sketches by Kimmy Quillin of Brooklyn, showing the signature white sheep of the restaurant’s name strolling around the Dakota, gamboling on the Sheep Meadow, boarding the subway at West 72nd Street and enjoying other Upper West Side landmarks. “We’ve built a brand that keeps the neighborhood in mind,” Mr. Barak said. The Italian menu, overseen by Michael Berardino, the corporate chef who was at dell’anima, includes items not served at other locations, like summer melon panzanella, spice-crusted tuna, and heritage pork Milanese. The restaurant has 105 seats on two levels and 60 seats outdoors. Another restaurant in the group, with a more coastal Italian accent, is on tap for fall on the Upper East Side. (Opens Thursday)
359 Columbus Avenue (77th Street), 212-300-9870, lapecorabianca.com.
Opening
Gitano Island
This more elaborate version of Gitano Garden of Love, a seasonal outdoor restaurant in SoHo run by Grupo Gitano for four years, is a restaurant and beach club with capacity for 590 on Governors Island. Like its predecessor, which was dense with greenery, it will have a black dining tent, a marble bar, dining pergolas and a wood-fired kitchen. The new beach club area will have lounges and cabanas. The Mexican menu, by the executive chef Antonio Maldonado, evokes Tulum. Tacos, by Jose Luis Hinostroza of Arca Tulum in the Mexican resort town, will be a signature. This year, James Gardner, the founder and chief executive of the group, is introducing Club Gitano memberships with a number of perks. (Friday)
125 Carder Road, Governors Island, gitano.com/nyc.
Cecconi’s NoMad New York
In the former NoMad Hotel, now the Ned NoMad, the flagship restaurant is a Manhattan branch of Cecconi’s, the lavish Italian restaurant based in London. (Cecconi’s also has outposts in Los Angeles, Miami, Barcelona and Dumbo.) Here, the room is elegantly done with terrazzo and mosaic floors, plush upholstery and tablecloths. A bar is at one end. The restaurant has a wood-fired pizza oven and serves pasta made in-house on its lineup of trattoria fare, with some gluten-free and plant-based options, as well as an array of raw bar specialties. The executive chef is Brian Vandergast. The restaurant accepts advance reservations only from hotel guests and members of Ned’s Club, a private club, though public walk-ins are permitted. The hotel also includes Little Ned, a beautifully appointed bar and, for members, another dining room serving American grill items, and a rooftop venue. (Wednesday)
The Ned NoMad, 1170 Broadway (28th Street), 212-722-0555, thened.com/nomad/restaurants/cecconis.
