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Even as questions about the future of traditionally office-concentrated neighborhoods like midtown and the Financial District continue to make headlines, new restaurants and bars move into the formerly much buzzier areas.
Firenze Ristorante Toscano & Bar is the latest addition to the former, an Eataly operation on the third floor of 101 Liberty Street. It joins the plainly named La Pizza and La Pasta and elaborately punctuated Vino &... under the same roof. This new addition will also serve three of those titular items–pasta, wine and and–but not pizza.
Firenze Ristorante Toscano & Bar, which, in a tiny departure from the superstore’s more literal titles, means “Florence Tuscan Restaurant & Bar,” will serve a chickpea flatbread with rosemary and extra virgin olive oil to start, plus a classic ribollita Toscana, meatballs, burrata, and large plates like pollo al rosmarino, pesce alla piastra and a 42-oz bistecca alla fiorentina dry-aged for 30 days.
A dedicated martini menu numbers seven cocktails that all incorporate Italian elements. The Vespro adds Borgogno Bianco to vodka, gin liqueur and orange bitters, the Mezzo-Mezzo includes Bordiga extra dry vermouth and even the Originale is made with Portofino gin. Other sips like the Arno spritz aim to “capture the spirit of Florence.”
The design is also meant to evoke Florentine architecture, and curved caramel-colored tufted leather booths and long banquettes look out on Lower Manhattan below.
Firenze Ristorante Toscano & Bar is located on the third floor of 101 Liberty Street and is open Tuesday-Thursday 11:30am to 9:00pm and Friday and Saturday from11:30am to 9:30pm.