“In Italy, sometimes the food is the best at trattorias,” says Russell Bellanca (right), owner of Trattoria Cinque, which has just debuted in what was most recently Devin Tavern. “Casual places you find on the outskirts of Rome, family-run, where everything is homemade.”

Bellanca would know, having been born in Italy. His father, Guido, owned an auto dealership in Rome. “It was the most popular one in the 1960s,” says Bellanca. “Buying a car was a big deal, so my father paid the purchase the appropriate respect. He opened a dealership on the Via Veneto—that’s like opening one on Fifth Avenue.” Having already worked with his father on Alfredo of Rome—restaurants with outposts in Rome, Rockefeller Center, Las Vegas, and EPCOT—Bellanca wanted to create a trattoria. He chose Tribeca because “The area is going to get better and better. People are moving down here, don’t you think?”

The look of Trattoria Cinque reflects his family’s history. Originally a butter factory (Bellanca keeps calling it a soap factory, and wonders aloud why he confuses butter and soap—it’s agreed that as long as his chef knows the difference, he’s fine), the space has been completely overhauled. Designer Garrett Singer, who also did Hill Country and Klee Brasserie, came up with a subtle Italian automotive theme—in good part because the arches in the brick wall evoked the bays of a garage. There are black-and-white photographs of vintage Ducati motorcycles; the private-dining room is called The Garage; and the chairs have been painted a glossy Ferrari red by an auto shop. Rows of Aperol and limoncello bottles lend an Italian vibe, as well as a red or yellow tone to the light.

As for the food—and the name—it all comes back to five (“cinque” means five in Italian). Chef Marco Grassini, who was the chef at Dolce & Gabbana’s private club in Milan and is the executive chef for Alfredo’s, devised a main menu organized in groups of five: There are five small plates, five pastas, five large plates, and five desserts; the wine list has five whites and five reds. The offerings will change five time a year. Only the bar menu of 10 stuzzichini deviates from the plan. Bellanca says the limited menu helps keeps prices under control. “We have a 20-ounce aged ribeye, prime aged for 20 days—it should be 25 days, I guess—for $25,” says Bellanca. “It’s one of the best values in the city. And we have the best pizza!” Also notable is the restaurant’s Caesarista, a staff member who will be making Caesar salads in the dining room.

With its pared-down menu, 250-seat capacity, family-friendly atmosphere—kids will get toy cars to play with—and its accessible prices, Trattoria Cinque brings to mind Mario Batali’s Otto, in the Village. If his new restaurant can be as successful as Batali’s endeavor, Bellanca will feel like a Formula One winner indeed.

Trattoria Cinque: 363 Greenwich Street (Harrison/Franklin), 212-965-0555, trattoriacinquenyc.com. Reservations can also be made through OpenTable. The restaurant has plans to offer delivery but isn’t taking orders just yet.