Bianca in Greenwich Opens From Owners of Popular NYC Italian Restaurants

Greenwich Avenue is booming with new restaurant openings.

Last year, “The Ave” saw an influx of new additions with Kissaki, Hinoki, and the now closed Moon. In 2022, Ruby & Bella’s just quietly opened up and a second iteration of Brian Lewis’ The Cottage should arrive shortly.

The latest, though, is Bianca, an Italian restaurant that’s not planning on serving pizza, chicken parm, or spaghetti and meatballs any time soon.

Some red sauce, mostly not. Veal meatballs half in sauce with a crusty top after being run through a high temperature oven.

Bianca comes to Greenwich by longtime friends and former Naples, Italy countrymen, Rosario Procino and Raffaele Ronca, both of whom have extremely popular restaurants in Manhattan. Procino is a partner at Ribalta, the lauded Neapolitan pizza joint that’s always a good time, while Ronca owns two successful classic Italian restaurants, Rafele, in the West Village and in Rye.

“This was the only good outcome of the pandemic for me,” Procino says. “Raffaele and I had coffee every day and we kept talking about doing something together. It took time to find the right space. We babysat this one.”

Tender roasted octopus over fava bean puree and creamy stracciatella

The space he’s talking about at 30 Greenwich Avenue was a few different concepts. Procino mentioned it was a few different pizza places (Ignazio’s and Skinny Pizza) and it was once Greenwich Healthmart, a market that sold vitamins, supplements, granola, and soft serve froyo.  

They’ve quickly wiped away the remnants from all of those past occupants except for a high powered gas oven with flames visible from your table. The long dining room, the open kitchen, and an eclectic playlist with disco, salsa, and Michael Jackson hits are all contribute to a vibrant atmosphere, and that’s the idea.

Chocolate Negroni using Copalli Cacao Rum mixed with Campari, and vermouth

“It’s two restauranteurs, two friends getting together to bring authentic Italian food with a New York City vibe to Greenwich,” Procino explains. “A lot of people moved from the city, so we brought that here.”

Roasted chicken

Salmon over charred lettuce

What the pair didn’t bring over from NYC is the red sauce fare they’re both known for. Think along the lines of pan seared meats and fish dishes (there are even a few high grade crudo appetizers), some finished off in the oven for char and juiciness, all with seasonal vegetables. In the summer months, expect lighter choices, including more seafood.

Pastas like ravioli, gnocchi, orecchiette, and this paccheri (amatriciana style with guanciale) are made in-house. Bianca only doesn’t make spaghetti because certain dishes need the starchy water that dry pasta provides.

But that’s not to say there aren’t some guilty pleasure red sauce options. Tender veal meatballs, a melt-in-your-mouth version of eggplant parm, oven baked gnocchi, and classic Naples spaghetti pomodoro are all there for you to dig into.

What didn’t make it over from Ribalta or Rafele is pizza.

“Our first idea was pizza,” Procino says. “We wanted to challenge ourselves with something different. I’ve been doing Neapolitan pizza for 15 years and knew if I did, it would have to be the same as that or better. Not that Greenwich has anything bad, but we opened Bianca here because we thought this is what was missing.”

Desserts include caramel panna cotta, tiramisu, affogato, biscotti, and this ricotta cheesecake that’s light, floral, and has citrus notes.

Instead of pizza, what is on the menu at Bianca are four different gourmet breads using a similar dough recipe to that of pizza. One is a fried dough from Bologna that’s topped with 24-month aged prosciutto and imported buffalo mozzarella, while another is stuffed with that same prosciutto, mozzarella, and house pickled eggplant. The remaining two are flatbreads, one is a vehicle for robiola, speck, and truffle carpaccio (thin-sliced truffles marinated in extra virgin olive oil) and the other is draped with smoked salmon, arugula, and Stracciatella.

Greenwich Bourbon - Bulleit, homemade ginger simple syrup, crème de cassis, lemon, soda

If anything else was borrowed from Ribalta and Rafele that was brought to Bianca, it’s a lofty selection of Italian wine and a solid cocktail program. Mixed libations include a new creations, standards, and three Negronis in classic, fig, and chocolate.  

Aside from wanting to bring some “different” Italian to Greenwich, Procino hopes Bianca will catch on as a place people will patronize if even for a drink, or that you’ll stick around after dinner. “There aren’t a lot of places on the avenue with a bar crowd, so come by and mingle,” he says.

30 Greenwich Avenue; Greenwich
203.900.1177; biancaofgreenwich.com