The Upper East Side is getting another excuse to order a glass of wine and call pasta a perfectly reasonable dinner plan.
Madame Bonté Café’s East 84th Street location is being transformed into the second Bicchiere Italian Wine & Pasta Bar, bringing the restaurant concept to a new Upper East Side address. For fans of Italian food, wine and the increasingly popular “just one more glass” approach to dinner, this is welcome news.
Bicchiere, which translates to “glass” in Italian, is built around a simple proposition: good Italian food, carefully selected wines and a setting that encourages lingering. The new location will take over Madame Bonté Café’s space at East 84th Street, giving the neighborhood another destination for pasta and vino without requiring a downtown subway adventure.
The concept fits neatly into the Upper East Side’s evolving restaurant scene, where casual Italian restaurants and wine bars continue to attract diners looking for something more relaxed than a formal night out—but considerably more exciting than eating dinner at home.
Expect the emphasis at Bicchiere to remain on Italian wine and pasta, with a menu designed for sharing, grazing and ordering something “small” that somehow becomes an entire meal. Because in New York, “I’ll just have a little pasta” has never been a legally binding statement.
The arrival of the second Bicchiere Italian Wine & Pasta Bar also signals an expansion for the brand, taking its formula into another Manhattan neighborhood while giving local diners a new option for date nights, casual dinners and post-work drinks.
For anyone searching for Bicchiere NYC, Italian wine bars on the Upper East Side, pasta restaurants near East 84th Street or new Upper East Side restaurants, this is one opening to keep on the radar.
Madame Bonté may be exiting the address, but its replacement sounds ready to make sure the wine glasses stay very much full.
