{"id":204951,"date":"2026-04-21T17:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/204951\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T17:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:46:13","slug":"bar-ferdinando-opens-in-brooklyn-new-york-restaurant-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/204951\/","title":{"rendered":"Bar Ferdinando Opens in Brooklyn, New York: Restaurant Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"Bar Ferdinando is now open on Union Street. Noah Fecks<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a resurrection of sorts on Union Street in Carroll Gardens. While Bar Ferdinando<\/a> is technically not a revival, it is an homage to Ferdinando\u2019s<\/a> Focacceria, the 121-year-old neighborhood institution that closed in early 2025. Between the longtime regulars eager to check out what\u2019s happening in the space they frequented for decades and the Y2K-chic Gen Z crowd curious about the latest venue from Swoony\u2019s<\/a> and Cafe Spaghetti<\/a> owner Sal Lamboglia<\/a>, 151 Union Street is buzzier than ever.<\/p>\n

The previous owner of Ferdinando\u2019s, Francesco \u201cFrank\u201d Buffa, took over the eatery from his father-in-law, Ferdinando Ciaramitaro, after Ciaramitaro\u2019s death in 1975. Now, not long after closing up shop, he has passed the torch to restaurateur Lamboglia. <\/p>\n

The fact that Ferdinando\u2019s Focacceria had such a longstanding, loyal following is not lost on Lamboglia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an immense amount of pressure,\u201d he tells Observer. \u201cI\u2019ve been telling staff, \u2018we\u2019re going to get people in for whom there\u2019s so much meaning here, so just take it all in.\u2019\u201d Lamboglia has been doing just that himself, sitting down with Ferdinando\u2019s patrons returning to the\u2014albeit revamped\u2014space for the first time in over a year. \u201cOne woman was crying because she was sitting at the same table where she and her grandmother would have lunch years ago,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Sfincione crostini. Noah Fecks<\/p>\n

Opening a bar or restaurant is its own herculean task, not for the faint of heart. Doing so in New York City requires an added level of near insanity. Carrying it out in a space with over a century of history and a dedicated following eyeing your every move to see what you get right or wrong? That\u2019s a level of tension Bar Ferdinando<\/a> could have easily crumbled under. But in its first week since opening on April 15, Lamboglia\u2019s balance of tradition and reinvention is proving successful.<\/p>\n

Bar Ferdinando is an all-day spot. It starts with coffee and pastries like bomboloni from pastry chef Jackie De La Barrera<\/a> (of Agi\u2019s Counter<\/a> and Radio Bakery<\/a>) and moves into cocktails, wine and small plates. Ricardo Echeverri<\/a> helms the bar program; he\u2019s been behind the stick at Frenchette<\/a> and Minetta Tavern<\/a> and is the general manager at Swoony\u2019s. His cocktail menu is easily the most noticeable difference between Ferdinando\u2019s Focacceria and Bar Ferdinando, as the former simply didn\u2019t have one. It feels both very Italian aperitivo hour<\/a> and very au courant in its low-ABV nature and spritz focus, from a 50\/50 martini on a big rock to a limoncello spritz and an olive-briney Negroni. Next to the food menu that kept a good number of Ferdinando\u2019s Focacceria classics, it\u2019s an interesting meeting of old and new\u2014and it works.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Bar Ferdinando is keeping the iconic fried chickpeas. Noah Fecks<\/p>\n

Lamboglia has kept the panelle, much to the relief of many Ferdinando\u2019s regulars. This is a Sicilian chickpea fritter, and it\u2019s served piled on a crusty sesame seed roll with fresh, creamy ricotta and a squeeze of lemon juice. He also kept the arancini: rice balls that arrive halved and crowned with a snowy pile of grated pecorino. The items he\u2019s added\u2014his signature seafood salad, a green salad with gold raisins, a clam and potato dish\u2014are so in step with the original menu items that, if you didn\u2019t previously frequent Ferdinando\u2019s, you might not even realize they\u2019re new additions.<\/p>\n

I did enter Bar Ferdinando with my own Ferdinando\u2019s Focacceria-shaped expectations. Discovering the Carroll Gardens staple was one of the few highlights of an otherwise regrettable college relationship. Biting into a panelle sandwich\u2014pane e panelle\u2014always made me feel both grateful and a little smug about living in New York and having access to a place like Ferdinando\u2019s. Let other college kids heal their hangovers with McMuffins; I had Sicilian chickpea fritters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Bar Ferdinando looks much the same as the original. Noah Fecks<\/p>\n

If you knew the original Ferdinando\u2019s, then walking into Bar Ferdinando is a trip. It looks almost exactly the same. Lamboglia left the mismatched tile floor, and the brick and yellow walls hung with Buffa family photos, to which he has added some of his own. He had to build a bar to accommodate the major change between the old and new businesses, and used the marble and granite slabs from Frank Buffa<\/a>\u2019s kitchen prep tables. Like the new menu dishes, the bar looks like it\u2019s always been there. One of the most noticeable differences, really, is the crowd. On its first Friday night, Bar Ferdinando bustled with neighborhood regulars catching up over tables crowded with wine and snacks, but there were also women cosplaying as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy with their headbands, white bias-cut tanks, 517 Levi\u2019s and low-heeled slingbacks sipping martinis while standing at the bar, and young Brooklyn creative types adding their names to the ever-expanding waitlist for a table (Bar Ferdinando doesn\u2019t take reservations).\u00a0<\/p>\n

It felt a little uncanny to sit in the old-school space, itself the embodiment of its old-school neighborhood, and see it packed with scenesters. It begs the question of how long the shine will last. Judging by the food and drinks, it\u2019s likely the waitlist will remain stacked.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Bar Ferdinando\u2019s cocktails shine. Noah Fecks<\/p>\n

That 50\/50 martini was a beautifully simple, more refreshing and approachable way to enjoy the drink\u2019s classic profile. A Campari spritz with strawberry and basil was fragrant, bright, and satisfyingly bitter. Fernet with cola and mint felt medicinal in the best possible way\u2014a true Italian amaro treat, especially appreciated after a carb-heavy parade of snacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The panelle sandwich is about as carby and starchy as a dish can get. When it arrived at the table and my college memories came flooding back, I realized I was putting a perhaps unfair amount of pressure on a humble sandwich that I had felt was akin to a religious experience. But it didn\u2019t disappoint. With Buffa\u2019s recipe and Lamboglia\u2019s chops, each bite is an ideal combination of soft yet toothsome fritter, crispy and fluffy bread, rich ricotta, and lemony acid to cut through it all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"The arancini. Noah Fecks<\/p>\n

The arancini is moist and savory, and the green salad with raisins is a fresh and lovely counterpart to all of the fried this and cheesy that. A crustless, panna cotta-like cheesecake with lemon, olive oil and candied lemon peel strips defies logic: How can it taste like rich white chocolate fudge, yet feel as light as a mousse? The Brooklyn Special, Echeverri\u2019s own house-made version of the Manhattan Special coffee soda Ferdinando\u2019s would serve, was a perfect accompaniment to the end of the meal.<\/p>\n

In the same way that Ferdinando\u2019s Focacceria felt like a representation of the Italian-leaning Carroll Gardens neighborhood of generations past, Bar Ferdinando feels like it epitomizes the area and its denizens today. It maintains a healthy respect for tradition, but also keeps a finger on the pulse of how people like to eat and drink out now, paying homage to long-loved dishes and serving up sophisticated, low-ABV cocktails. With its all-day menu, Bar Ferdinando complements the other neighborhood businesses that are more strictly defined as coffee shops, restaurants or bars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thanks to that flexibility\u2014longer hours, a coffee program, a bar program, snacks that can easily build into a full lunch or dinner\u2014Lamboglia says Bar Ferdinando can be whatever people want to make of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can be where you come to work in the morning and have coffee. We can be a restaurant in that we have a menu, table service, and we serve drinks\u2026and so we\u2019re also a bar. [A group] came in who was going to Cafe Spaghetti for dinner but had some time, so they shared some panelle and croquettes.\u201d Having something on offer for anyone who walks through the door at any time is important to Lamboglia. \u201cI just want people to be happy,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t like saying \u2018no\u2019 to a lot of things\u2026being open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., we\u2019re saying \u2018yes,\u2019 we\u2019re not denying people anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, Lamboglia also realizes you can\u2019t make everyone happy, and certainly not when taking over a space like Ferdinando\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Pane fritto with Nutella and pistachio. Noah Fecks<\/p>\n

\u201cOne woman came in and asked if we still had panelle and rice balls,\u201d he says. \u201cI told her yes, and she said, \u2018Oh, good, I\u2019ll be here tomorrow.\u2019 Then a guy came in and asked if we still had the spleen sandwich. I said, \u2018not yet,\u2019 and he left.\u201d Most people have seemed really excited, but Lamboglia has accepted that there\u2019s a small percentage of people who read about Bar Ferdinando opening in the old Ferdinando\u2019s Focacceria space and write it off, thinking no new business could ever compare and maybe shouldn\u2019t even try.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lamboglia did get one meaningful nod of approval. Frank Buffa brought his family to Bar Ferdinando\u2019s friends-and-family night before opening, and for the first time, Lamboglia met Antoinette Ciaramitaro<\/a>, Buffa\u2019s wife and the daughter of Ferdinando himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt probably was a little surreal for them to be sitting in Ferdinando\u2019s with a new owner,\u201d Lamboglia says. \u201cBut then [Ferdinando\u2019s daughter] grabbed my arm and said, \u2018My father would have been proud of you, he would have loved this.\u2019 That\u2019s all I needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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