New restaurant on Columbia Place

By on August 5, 2009 1:10 pm in Food, News
>> Andrea Mocci and Giovanna Fadda plan to open a new Italian restaurant at the old River Deli by October (BHB/Sarah Portlock)

>> Andrea Mocci and Giovanna Fadda plan to open a new Italian restaurant at the old River Deli by October (BHB/Sarah Portlock)

BHB caught up with Andrea Mocci and Giovanna Fadda yesterday, who are the new leaseholders at the former River Deli at 34 Columbia Place, at the base of Joralemon Street. The couple, who moved to New York from Sardinia nearly three years ago, hopes to open an Italian restaurant or café in the spot by mid-October.

“We’ll have pasta, pizza, steaks, and fish,” Mocci said.

The pair has applied for a liquor license, but Mocci noted that he doesn’t plan to open a loud bar, as neighbors sometimes fear.

“It won’t be a noisy bar — it’s not our intention to have that,” he said. “We’d like to serve some good food.”

Mocci and Fadda first found the long-empty space two years ago when they spent weekends at the temporary pool off Pier 5, and realized it would be the perfect spot for a restaurant. Fadda is currently the manager of a wine bar on Mott Street in Manhattan.

According to their liquor license application, which was approved in June by Community Board 2, the restaurant will be open for dinner until midnight on Sunday through Thursday, and 1 am on Friday and Saturday, and be open for brunch on Saturday and Sunday. They hope to have an outdoor seating area, and will sound proof the ceiling, Fadda told CB2.

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  • alex

    This makes my day!

    Andrea and Giovanna, as a Columbia Place resident, thanks! This is just what we need.

    I assure you I’ll be a loyal customer!

  • andy

    I’m looking forward to this, it will make the block feel so much nicer to have an operating restaurant instead of a row of empty storefronts and a laundromat.

  • aaron

    yay! welcome to the neighborhood. though i doubt the address is 34 columbia place, as the first door on that side of the street is #10. maybe 34 joralemon?

    good luck! in bocca al lupo :)

  • DrewB

    Sounds good. I was looking at an adjacent space a few weeks back and the Realtor said they were also planning to have Jazz there on the weekends. That would be a great addition as well! It will be nice to have some life down there again. It’s been pretty sad looking for the last few years.

  • The Where

    No one likes Jazz. No one likes Jazz Brunch.

  • http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/12022#more-12022 jb

    this is awesome. if the quality is as good as the heights cafe, i will likely eat brunch here every weekend. can’t wait. good luck!

  • Cranky

    Good!! I’ll definitely check it out when it opens.

  • JDS

    Great. Just what we need: yet another Italian restaurant in the nabe…

  • http://brooklynheightsblog.com Qfwfq

    I am hoping it will be the neighborhood’s first GOOD Italian restaurant, instead of another Olive Garden-esque disappointment.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    The Where: as Odysseus said to Polyphemus, “I’m no one.”

  • nabeguy

    Cheese and crackers, given the amount of griping about the dearth of restaurants in the nabe, I can’t believe that anyone actually has the nerve to dis this place before its even opened. JDS, perhaps you can follow The Where’s tired advice and get a room together.

  • http://www.onmontague.com montague

    I biked by there just the other night (after a photo session by the waterfront) and was wondering what was on its way in! thanks for sharing!

  • ntrc

    If it’s anything like Epistrophy (small, inexpensive and well-executed wine bar at 200 Mott), then it’s Exactly what’s needed.

  • AEB

    Of course it’s EXACTLY what’s needed. Jeeze!

  • heightsdiho

    to Where – You do not speak for me. I like Jazz – a lot! As for Jazz Brunch, depends on the brunch…

  • Hicks St guy

    sounds like a great restaurant. gotta keep it reasonably priced. hope it’s better than the much diminshed Heights Cafe.
    att: Qfw.., guess you never ate at Noodle Pudding.

  • http://brooklynheightsblog.com Qfwfq

    Actually, I was referring to Noodle Pudding.

    I have hopes for the Columbia Place restaurant, it will be good for the neighborhood.

  • PJL

    Noodle Pudding is like Olive Garden?

    What do you consider good Italian food, Qfwfq?

  • http://brooklynheightsblog.com Qfwfq

    I wouldn’t say it’s like Olive Garden, since that’s an insult to Olive Garden and all the hard work they put into their restaurants. I know it’s heresy in this neighborhood to say so, but the food at Noodle Pudding is really bad, certainly not worth the money or the wait.

    good Italian food I’ve had in NYC, off the top of my head:
    Lupa (pricey, but not as expensive as I expected)
    Supper (haven’t been in a while, but it once was very good)
    John’s on 12th street (good, solid Italian-American for a decent price, but I may be biased since I’ve been going there for 15 years and blind to its faults)

    I haven’t been to many of the Italian restaurants outside of the immediate brooklyn heights area (which is a shame), but I liked Savoia. It’s not consistently good, but they definitely make an honest effort, and never had a bad meal. I’m open to suggestions, though.

    Noodle Pudding, however, is a slop shop.

  • Peter

    Seriously, Noodle Pudding is like Olive Garden? Really?? What do you consider a good Italian neighborhood restaurant, and please don’t say high-end places like Babbo or Del Posto because those are hardly neighborhood pop-in places.

  • alex

    Okay, Noodle Pudding isn’t exactly like Olive Garden, but you’ve got to admit it’s gone downhill… I took some out-of-town guests there recently and was embarrassed by the horrible service and bland food.

  • Montague Mike

    seriously…i can understand legitimate debate over noodle pudding, but “Olive Garden-esque disappointment” is a bit much, no?

  • PJL

    The service at Noodle Pudding certainly has gone downhill (hope they read this as it used to be such a comfortable/welcoming place), but I’ve found the food is usually good (particularly for the price). I do tend to stick to the specials; they might not pay as much attention to other menu items…. Any other recommendations for good, reasonably priced Italian?

  • Monty

    Queen on Court St is a bit more expensive and certainly on a less picaresque block, but the food is outstanding and service is pretty good too. I like the food at Noodle Pudding also, but the service has been so slow the last few times, it was a real turnoff. I welcome this new place and hope they do well.

  • Melissa

    My husband and I thought we were alone in the Noodle Pudding is awful camp. We too welcome a new place. Bocca Lupo is very good but a bit of a walk.

  • sue

    two words. Red Rose. On Smith and Carroll. there before smith street was smith street.

  • Monty

    NB: I have eaten at Babbo and think Noodle Pudding is better. Lil Frankies is pretty good. Haven’t tried the others.

  • The Where

    Funny Monty I must have misread your comment. I thought it said Noodle Pudding is better than Babbo. Because if it did, that would just be a tragic look into your soul.

  • Monty

    @jane and where, perhaps you were not aware that different people can have different opinions. I only ate at Babbo once and was not impressed. Either way, we went to Rome last year and everything in New York kinda pales.

  • The Where

    Rome is for tourists.

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