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New Kid on the Block: Da Mikele
At Stuzzicheria‘s opening, when I told the owner that a restaurant from the folks behind Luzzo’s was opening down the street at 275 Church, he said, “Luzzo’s? I love that place!” That’s how a lot of people feel about Michele Iuliano’s food, both at Luzzo’s in the East Village and Ovest in northwest Chelsea. (I’m not sure I’ve been emailed more about a restaurant opening.) Now Iuliano has a third restaurant, Da Mikele, which is “a little more sophisticated” as befits the neighborhood, says manager Isabella Gligora.
Michele Iuliano
The space that used to be Neighborhood Restaurant & Bar has been handsomely revamped, the better to show off the brick wall, wood floor, and tin ceiling. All of the furniture—including the bar—was imported from Italy. While parts of the aesthetic—the Edison bulbs, dishtowel napkins—are familiar from other restaurants in town, there are idiosyncratic touches, such as the Vespa in the window and the gilt frames hanging from the ceiling.
As for the food, you’re going to want to know one thing first: The pizzas are rectangular, not round as at Luzzo’s (there are also three cone-shaped pizzas if you’re into that). The oven will get a real workout: Also on the menu are ‘a frusta (a Neapolitan specialty that’s sort of like a calzone); sandwiches on homemade focaccia; and friselle (topped flatbreads, not unlike bruschetta). There are also appetizers, salads, soups, pastas, and a few grilled entrées for carbophobes. Da Mikele is open daily from noon to midnight, and on weekends the brunch menu features several egg dishes as well as the full array of pizzas. The menu: page 1 and page 2.
Two more important details: Da Mikele has yet to receive its liquor license (and you can’t BYO in the meantime—yes, you read that right. The State Liquor Authority only allows BYO at restaurants that have not applied for a liquor license). And yes, Da Mikele delivers.
Da Mikele is at 275 Church (between Franklin and White); 212-925-8800, damikele.com.
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Went to Da Mikele a couple of nights ago.
Love the space and it has a great atmosphere. Lots of handsome Italian men all talking Italian. But then I could be a little bit biased !!
Had a very interesting and fun conversation with Isabella also.
Spoke to Mikele on the way out – he is a very engaging and fun Napoletano.
The food we had was great – neapolitan bollita with scarola (tasty beef broth with scarola), and rigatoni with ragu – sublime!
The experience would have been even greater with a glass of wine – but they are still waiting for the license.
Hope they get it soon as feel this will be a very favorite local.
We went today for lunch. The pizza isn’t the kind (Franny’s, or even Motorino) I’ve been hoping would come to Tribeca, but I do like the space. We had some first-week confusion when we asked how big the small pizzas are—the menu lists small and large—and the server kept telling us about the medium. So we ordered large, but they brought us the small anyway, which was just as well. (Small serves one hungry person; large would be fine for two people, I’d say, making large a much better value because the larges pizzas are only like $2 more.) Then we laughed as the server confused the folks next to us by talking about the medium pizzas….