From All Day Service to Accessible Luxury: NYC's Newest Italian Hotspots

New York City -- In New York's West Village, you'll find a distinctive Italian establishment with the intriguing name Travelers Poets & Friends. Created by Emanuele Nigro, founder of One More Hospitality Group, which operates Osteria57 and Alice Restaurant, this comprehensive dining destination offers an extensive range from morning coffee and pastries to evening service featuring handcrafted pasta and pizza. The venue incorporates a dedicated pasta-making station, an Italian import retail section, cafe facilities, lunch service, an evening dining space named "Alaluna," and a gelato store called "Pamina." It effectively serves as the ultimate Italian food hub.

"The feeling inside of us as we were building this place was to call it Casa Mia, my home. But luckily we have a creative director that said 'no way, you're going to call that place Casa Mia. So we are trying to express the same concept of a place where you can live through a name," said Nigro, "Going against the short and sweet, because life is not short and sweet, we went for a very long name."

Nigro said the establishment champions a poetic lifestyle that encourages relaxation and social connection. The concept emerged from his nostalgia after making the leap from Italy to New York two decades ago. His vision aims to introduce New Yorkers, who are always on the run, to the authentic, leisurely Italian approach to daily life.

"In my life there was always somebody making pasta somewherethere was always somebody cooking in the kitchen. So living away from home, I recreated myself the same feeling here in this city."

In Nigros words, the dining section Alaluna, operating within Travelers Poets & Friends, features a "new Italian cuisine" developed by Italy-born Chef Riccardo Orfino, "a cuisine rooted in Italian tradition that also incorporates global and local influences."



While Travelers Poets & Friends focuses on delivering authentic Italian lifestyle experiences, renowned Chef Michael White is pursuing culinary innovation through his latest venture. The acclaimed culinary master, known for establishing Marea and Ai Fiori, who significantly influenced New York's Italian dining landscape during the 2010s, according to the Luxury Guide, has launched Santi right where Alto Restaurant used to be. He describes it as "truffles and blue jeans" dining, aiming to create an accessible luxury experience that welcomes all patrons.

"There are a lot of good Italian cooking in New York City, and each of us does it in a different fashion," said Chef White, "We are pretty much hyper focused on how we make our pasta and stay very true to the ethos of hand-made pasta and the methods and techniques behind it."

Travelers, Poets & Friends is located at 457 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011, and Santi is at 11 E 53rd St, New York, NY 10022.