Bar Bianchi Brings a Taste of Milan to the East Village

1. Expect the same curated feel and immaculate vibes you’ve come to know from this group.

When you’re responsible for spots like Le Dive, Deux Chats, and The Nines, you start gathering a reputation for curating a certain “vibe.” While the above forementioned restaurants and bars are frequently characterized as cool-kid hangouts, with Le Dive’s sprawling outdoor dining setup in the heart of Dimes Square, and The Nines’ live piano music, Bar Bianchi, Neidich says, will similarly follow suit.

“I think that the energy in Bar Bianchi is really special. It’s got this classic European, and yet New York feel to it,” he says. “I think it’ll have that buzzy New York energy that every restaurant or café or bar seeks to have.”

2. Housemade is the name of the game for the menu.

As is the case at other Golden Hospitality spaces, executive chef Nicole Gajadhar will be leading the kitchen here, and serving up a menu of Italian-style small plates and housemade favorites.

“For a lot of the dishes, we were inspired by all of our R&D trips to Milan and Rome,” Gajadhar says.

The team is making mozzarella and all their pastas in-house, and that’s highlighted in dishes like their caprese salad and rigatoni de Nash (named for Neidich’s seven-year-old son, who loves the dish) with sausage and fresh peas during the spring. There are house roasted peppers, veal Milanese for two, and even complimentary potato chips and olives during apéro hour, honoring the Italian custom with a classic side snack.

“There’s something about the European style of eating and drinking that has always appealed to me,” Neidich says. “It’s such a part of their life and culture. It’s almost like there’s a more casual feel to it.”

3. Spritz season is in full swing.

For drinks, spritzes will, not surprisingly, play a big role. The team worked with Cody Pruitt, owner of Libertine and the forthcoming Chateau Royale, on the cocktail list, crafting beverages like Negronis of the mezcal and white variety, two sizes of spritz, and sgroppinos that they’re making with sorbets and ice creams from Caffè Panna.

For wines, the list is fully Italian, Neidich says, with natural-leaning and biodynamic selections.

“[The idea for the menu] started off with that feeling of sitting down at an outdoor table in a European city, on a piazza, looking at people, getting the free potato chips and olives, and enjoying, like, a cocktail made with some sort of bitter liquor,” he says. “There’s something special or magical about that. It just hits differently than anything that comes out of American culture.

4. It’s as Italian in the dining room as it is in the kitchen.

The Italian influence doesn’t stop at the menu. The entire space was designed based on inspiration from Rome, Milan, and other Italian cities.

There are pistachio green Venetian plaster walls, maple wainscoting, handmade Italian clay floor tiles, and rattan chairs.

“It’s all vintage lighting — that’s almost a brand standard for us now,” explains Neidich. “It’s all old Italian and European lighting from the ’60s and ’70s.”

A primary focal point of the space is the zinc and Formica bar, complete with a green Art Deco canopy to anchor the room. In the back, there’s a 25-person private dining room, tucked away from the rest of the restaurant.

5. It’s all about location, location, location, too.

Bar Bianchi is taking over one of the most recognizable corners in the city on Avenue A and Houston, formerly the home of the bar Boulton & Watt. For Neidich, it was an ideal location thanks to its corner real estate and large space for outdoor seating — something that’s become a signature of the Le Dive experience.

“It’s a very visible corner in New York. I had known it for years,” Neidich says. “I was wanting to create a concept that would really make use of it.”

They plan to populate the space right to the left of the entrance with a variety of outdoor tables and planters.

“We have this beautiful outdoor patio that spills out onto the street, and the entire storefront has openable windows,” Neidich says. “It will all flow between the inside and the outside. It’ll be different from what Le Dive has, but I think this will be its own version of that.”

Bar Bianchi will be open daily, from 4 p.m. until late Monday through Thursday, from 2 p.m. until late on Fridays, and from noon until late on Saturdays and Sundays.