Discover an exciting new Italian gem nestled next to Penn Station

With its friendly atmosphere and eclectic decor, memories of the original Bushwick of its 2008 debut flooded my mind as I wove through the Penn One complex, known as the Penn District—past Los Tacos No. 1 and a new ice cream spot—in search of the new Roberta’s, Manhattan’s first independent. Technically, its two-story structure, the latest in an unusual succession of projects by Carlo Mirarchi and Brandon Hoy, doesn’t have a proper street address.

Walk around until you find it, at the end of a narrow courtyard between 33rd and 34th streets. Around the corner, a slew of Roberta’s signs promise a tiki bar, a rooftop restaurant, and pizza by the slice, perhaps aimed at the travelers and sports fans who wander this neighborhood like lost pilgrims. On the ground floor is what looks like a regular neighborhood pizzeria, albeit one with a wood-burning oven. Walk around it and up a spiral staircase. Painted with a garish red monster, the staircase is reminiscent of the murals of Bushwick.

On the other hand, the second floor looks like a sports bar. Blade Runnerwith flashing neon signs and jumbled architecture radiating out from all sides. A dining room appears to be all glass, while an outdoor area with picnic tables is dominated by a bar that lacks the promised tiki flourishes (though there are cocktails with names like Jungle Bird and Banana Hammock).

Once you open the menu, the evolved sensibilities of Roberta’s restaurants, including the outliers Blanca and Foul Witch, emerge like smoke from a pile of kindling. After two meals here, I’m convinced that Roberta’s is one of the best Italian restaurants in the city, despite the incongruous setting, with a collection of classics and challenging new dishes.

The pizza

Start with a pizza from a modest selection of four to six, with a list of nearly 20 add-ons: honey, guanciale, jalapeños and red onions among them. Fans know to opt for the simple margherita ($22), cut into six slices, puffed at the edges, with plain tomato sauce and good cheese, perfectly sprinkled with char. After 16 years, these guys know how to make pizza, and I’d compare it to anything Una Pizza Napoletana offers.

The rest of the menu is divided into five categories, playing with the usual sequence of dishes in Italy: antipasti, starter, second, third and dessert. Here are some highlights.

Stracciatella and anchovy bread

Unsurprisingly, the bread service is one of the best items on the menu, if a bit pricey, starting at $19. The centerpiece is a steaming flatbread, puffed up like a poori or pita. Next to it is a bowl of stracciatella doused in cream and shaved cheese, drizzled with a trace of fruity olive oil. Dip the bread, being careful not to burn your fingers on the steam. Spend $8 more to have anchovies draped over the top for a salty, fishy counterpoint, and $4 more for house-cultured butter. It could be your entire meal.

Tuna carpaccio

Tired of tuna carpaccio? Try this one ($26). Sliced ​​thicker than usual and served at room temperature, the pink fish is topped with freshly grated horseradish and sprinkled with fresh cherries, a seemingly illogical flavor combination that somehow works, with a tang and a slight sweetness.

Old Tomato Salad

In the same starter section, there’s an heirloom tomato salad ($21), with deliciously sweet tomatoes. But it’s different in that the fruit has been charred around the edges and mixed with crumbs of tart sorrel and woody walnuts—flavors that suggest the end of summer and the arrival of fall.

Pasta with braised veal and linguine with mussels

The pasta section is divided between the classics and the experimental. Among the former is pappardelle (or sometimes lumaches) in a pale veal ragu ($29) seasoned with celery leaves and Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s surprisingly subtle, letting the wonderfully wide noodles shine. Among the pastas, there’s also a wild take on linguine with clam sauce ($29), in which mussels have been added to the little necks, and the white wine sauce is seasoned with squid ink; staring into the black bowl as you eat it is a little creepy: go for it, though.

Porchetta stuffed with herbs and piri-piri chicken

Entrees include skate wing with capers, lamb shoulder steak with mint, and a rolled, herb-stuffed porchetta ($36) that tastes exactly like the one from a Tuscan roadside truck, with crackling skin and smoky flavor from the wood-fired oven. Did I mention the roast is studded with golden cherry tomatoes? Consider them a side dish. A spice-rubbed piri-piri chicken ($30 for half, $56 for whole) served with red- and green-hued Jimmy Nardello peppers also benefits from the wood.

The wine list

Skip the cocktails and opt for the wacky wine list, with by-the-glass offerings ranging from $13 to $20, which seems partly formulated to answer the age-old question of what wine to drink with pizza. There’s the classic pizza wine, a sparkling, off-dry Lambrusco, as well as a Virginian called Family Meal, a strange blend of Gruner and Merlot, served cold. There’s also a Slovenian orange wine called Black Lamb, which has just the right amount of acidity to enhance the flavor of the tomatoes.

It’s nice to see that the new Roberta’s is experimenting with both food and wine in a way that reflects its collection of restaurants, while also looking fresh. The location gives New Yorkers a reason to brave a neighborhood they might otherwise avoid, sans Knicks or Rangers tickets.