As Fashion Week returns to New York City, countless models, editors and street style influencers will attend nearly seventy designer shows scattered around town. While clothing is the lure, contrary to public opinion, scoring a table at a hip restaurant is as important as the fashion itself. And the most desirable tables are often at Italian eateries. “Italians are the most fashionable, sexiest people in the world,” says Chef Alfred Portale, who recently opened his interpretation of a stylish Italian restaurant in Chelsea. He suggests this is why Italian cuisine is a big hit among the jet-set fashionistas.
Since most models living in NYC reside downtown, it’s no surprise that the chicest Italian places, located south of Fourteenth Street, are magnates for the beautiful people. With its legendary sidewalk café spilling over with celebrities, Bar Pitti is well known as a frequent hangout among the likes of Kendall Jenner, Bella and Gigi Hadid, Kourtney Kardashian, and Hailey Clauson. Even former Project Runway hosts Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn chose this Greenwich Village hotspot to lunch and be seen when building momentum for their old show. Model/actress Emily Ratajkowski also favors the tasty Tuscan menu.
Shockingly, models aren’t nibbling on “insalata mista” in between smoking breaks when dining Italian style. They enjoy the food, especially pasta, which Kendall Jenner unabashedly once proclaimed on her app, “My love for pasta knows no limits.” She isn’t the only catwalker indulging in carb-heavy delights. “If they are into carbs, models will eat pizza after Fashion Week,” offers Nikola Neskovic, Floor Manager at Gemma, an Italian trattoria at the Bowery Hotel. Spaghetti with rock shrimp, spicy tomato sauce and pistachios, or sedanini with basil pesto, haricot vert, and potatoes are popular pasta dishes among the “easy-going” models, he says, as are the branzino and salmon entrees. “We only serve full seating dinners, so when people come here, they know they just can’t order appetizers.”
Gemma
Whether popping into the coffee bar for one of NYC’s best cappuccinos or dining on their signature Milanese specialties like linguine cacio e pepe, Sant Ambroeus outposts in SoHo and the West Village are revolving doors for fashion-types. Anna Wintour was recently lunching with Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, at the West Village restaurant. And last Friday afternoon, Katie Holmes was dining at a table in SoHo. Fashion journalist Andre Leon Talley, Italian blogger Chiara Ferragni, Halima Aden, the first model to wear the hijab walking the international runaways, are also big fans of these locales.
Sant Ambroeus Soho
Those with a penchant for red-sauce, including Kim Kardashian, Serena Williams, and musician turned clothing designer The Weeknd, will flock to “retro-glam” Carbone in SoHo where the waiters are dressed in burgundy tuxes designed by Zac Posen, whose fashion house sadly shuttered in November. A short stroll away on West Broadway, Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Hailey Baldwin, along with hubby Justin Bieber, have each dined at the younger, hipper version of Cipriani Downtown. Classic plates like baked taglioni with ham are big hits, as well as the year-round outdoor seating made toasty by a heated sidewalk during cold months.
Not all of the action taking place at NYC Italian restaurants is limited to Fashion Week. In January, the Hadid sisters hosted a glitzy 56th birthday for their mom Yolanda at the romantic, NoHo hot spot Il Buco, and they created a special menu for the occasion.
Uptown Italian eateries don’t exude the same cool factor as their downtown counterparts. Nonetheless, Upper East Side stalwart Nello has no shortage of genetically blessed guests. They include supermodels Gisele, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber who are perhaps ordering the pasta with truffles costing a small fortune. Across Central Park is Lincoln Ristorante, located in Lincoln Center, former home to Fashion Week. General Manager Justin Marquez finds that although the diet of his fashion guests may vary, they share a similar taste for spirits. “Sparkling wine tends to be the drink of choice, either prosecco or champagne, but bubbly versions of our Negronis like Rosato Sbagliato are also popular.”
Photo Cover: Picture from IG @carolinevreeland