Ristorante Rafele Opens In New York City's West Village

Raffaele Ronca, former chef of Bellavitae, Palma, and Caff? Torino, has opened Ristorante Rafele in the West Village, at 29 7th Avenue South between Morton and Leroy Streets. The menu emphasizes classic Neapolitan dishes authentically prepared with the finest ingredients. The thoughtfully selected Italian wine list was designed by Wine Director Pierluigi Ossani, formerly of Amaranth, Villa Pacri and Per Lei. Rafele is currently open for dinner seven days a week, with lunch and brunch to follow.

The story of Ristorante Rafele began a few years ago, when Raffaele and his business partner Romeo Palmisano, one of his oldest friends from Naples who shares his passion for food and cooking, began discussing the idea of opening a restaurant featuring the cuisine of their beloved hometown. Their motto is "L'appetito viene mangiando," meaning "Food that makes you want more."

Rafele's menu features authentic Italian cuisine using the freshest, highest quality ingredients prepared at the moment they are ordered. The menu includes approximately eight specials each day, and Chef Raffaele preserves many ingredients in-house, including artichokes, tomatoes, and an eggplant caponata served as an amuse bouche alongside freshly baked focaccia. Highlights on the menu include a Ragu with Parpardelle that Raffaele watched his mother make each Sunday, a Zuppa di Pesce that he frequently enjoyed in restaurants as a child, and wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizzas prepared on a Carrara marble-topped counter. All desserts are made in-house, including a Ricotta Cheesecake recipe that he learned from his grandmother. Raffaele makes an effort to cater to his guests' dining preferences and offers a number of vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, including gluten-free pastas.

The restaurant's produce is sourced from several farms, including Blooming Hill Farm, the Union Square Greenmarket, and Romeo's and Roberta Bendavid's garden in the Hudson Valley. Roberta also creates the restaurant's floral arrangements. Cheeses are largely locally sourced with a few imported from Italy, including Burrata and Buffalo Mozzarella, and fresh pasta and breads are made in-house daily. Meats are grass-fed, free-range, and hormone-free, and almost all of the fish is locally caught around Long Island.

The restaurant's warm and rustic decor transports guests to Italy and features a custom-made, wood-burning brick oven imported from Naples. The oven was designed by the Acunto family, who has crafted Italian brick ovens for over 100 years. Raffaele says he wants "no secrets in the kitchen," which is open to the front of the restaurant with seating at a chef's counter. All of the dining tables, including a communal farm table and bar, are made from beams sourced from upstate New York's countryside. The bar and chef's counter are topped with Venetian marble countertops, and a wall display showcases fresh herbs and produce. The dining room is framed by built-in shelving displaying antique jugs, Italian wines, fresh produce, and jars of house-made preserves including artichokes, tomatoes and eggplant caponata. Rafele accommodates 110 guests and up to 30 in a private dining room on the lower level, with patio seating available seasonally.

The wine cellar is located downstairs in the restaurant's private dining room and houses approximately 120 Italian labels. Wine Director Pierluigi Ossani, who studied wine in Italy, Spain, France, England and New York, has curated a mostly Italian collection, touching nearly every region of Italy. The restaurant offers an Italian-inspired cocktail list developed by Cocktail Director Tommaso M, who studied mixology in Italy before his most recent positions as Bar Manager at Sora Lella and as General Manager for Bocca East, both in New York.

At the chef's counter, Raffaele offers a four-course Chef's Tasting me