Business executives and well-heeled diners flock to Marea for their superbly executed Italian creations. It’s a reliable place that keeps crowds happy. Located at 240 Central Park South (just across the park), the restaurant is elegant yet unstuffy. And the service is warm and welcoming.

Executive chef Lauren DeSteno is responsible for the fine seafood-centric menu here. Start with antipasti of grilled octopus partnered with smoked potato, radish, pickled red onion, chilli and tonnato sauce. Or tuck into the perfect combination of plump and naturally sweet Nova Scotia lobster mingling with creamy burrata, basil and eggplant al funghetto. For the dinner menu, several types of raw fish and shellfish are offered on the crudo section.

What’s really sublime is the selection of house-made pastas. Recommended ones are the signature fusilli bound with richly flavoured red wine braised octopus and bone marrow as well as the Sicilian-style casarecce fused with jumbo lump crab meat, uni puree, basil and Calabrian chilli.

For mains you can choose to have whole fish or pan-seared dover sole among other seafood dishes. Portions are not too massive so you’ll have room for desserts like the signature tiramisu. The cube shaped cake is filled with luscious mascarpone mousse, espresso sabayon, chocolate crumble, and served with mascarpone gelato. The wine selections are substantial and include mainly wines from Italy, France and the US and a few more uncommon labels from Greece and Slovenia.

Find out more here.

Opened in early 2022, Nonna Dora’s Pasta Bar is a unique spot run by an 86-year-old first time restaurateur. At this small casual restaurant in Manhattan’s Kips Bay neighbourhood, you will find Addolorata Marzovilla (Dora) behind the glass enclosed area rolling out fresh pastas in the morning. She usually leaves before the restaurant opens at night. Dora uses pasta-making techniques she learnt 78 years ago back home in Puglia. Here, she offers fine-dining variations of the classic dishes she grew up cooking and eating.

Dora used to make pastas at her son Nicola’s restaurant –  I Trulli – in the Flatiron district for more than 30 years. Nicola decided to close his restaurant to spend more time in Italy. But these days, he also helps Dora out at the pasta bar.

Different varieties of fresh pasta are handmade daily, and the accompanying sauces are not something you’d find in other restaurants in the city. Tuck into the signature orecchiette in rabbit ragu, or the maccheroncini grano arso (burnt what pasta) with duck confit, squash and greenhouse pea shoots. Another interesting option is the ceci e tria – fresh and fried pasta with chickpeas, tomato and pecorino.  There are also gluten-free pasta options too.

Sit at the bar counter and mingle with other diners or if you’re with a group of friends, choose one of the high top tables. It’s ideal to order a few antipasti and pastas to share so you get to sample more variety of dishes. Besides fine Italian wines, there’s a huge cocktail list and about 10 negronis for you to choose.

Find out more here.