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Since 2016, chef Silvia Barban has kept us full and happy with handmade pasta (especially her smoked spaghetti) and plenty of natural wines at her Clinton Hill restaurant, LaRina Pastificio & Vino. For her next act, Barban and her business partners, Andrea Mancin, Federico Cesi and Luca Pelliccioni, are introducing an authentic Italian trattoria, done the right way.
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Barban’s latest, Briscola (798a Franklin Avenue), opens on September 13. Named after one of Italy’s popular card games (and also slang for a hangover), Briscola aims to give a true trattoria experience, something that Barban sees as lost in the New York scene.
“Many restaurants today call themselves ‘trattoria,’ but few honor the roots of what a trattoria truly is,” Barban said in a press release. “In Italy, a trattoria was a no-frills stop for highway travelers—a place to indulge in hearty, comforting meals prepared with love.”
Paying respects to those traditional dishes, Briscola will feature the show-stopping Bomba di Riso, a rounded dome of rice filled with Agerola mozzarella and green peas, with hand-rolled meatballs spooned on top. Classics continue on with the Doppio Raviolo Spinach and Ricotta, Pollo e Peperoni and Zucchine Ripiene. At the end of the meal, a sweet cart will weave its way through the dining room. Known as the Carrello dei Dolci, the cart will soon offer an array of Italian desserts from Profiteroles to Zuccotto, a classic Italian cake made with ice cream at its center.
Soon, the restaurant plans to introduce Briscola Nights, which will only be offered for the last seating of the evening. Here, guests can stay after service and learn how to play the Italian card game with restaurant staff. In this way, Barban hopes to build community over food and tradition.
“Briscola is more than just a restaurant; it’s an invitation to experience authentic Italian culture—the food, the hospitality, and even the joy of a good card game,” said Barban. “We want our guests to feel like they’ve stepped into a cozy, old-school Italian trattoria where they’re part of the family.”
Briscola is located at 798A Franklin Avenue and will open on September 13th. Reservations will be available through Resy.