A bronze chandelier filled with 15 types of coffee shines above the bar at Borsalia, a new Italian addition to Brooklyn's café scene. As customers choose their preferred blend of Arabica and Robusta coffee, baristas rotate the chandelier wheel, and the beans are released. From then on, its perfection in a cup.
This week, Borsalia celebrated its grand opening in Williamsburg. The Brooklyn café serves breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as Italian hot beverages, pastries and chocolate confections. Soon, they will open a second location at the trendy NoMad Hotel in Manhattan.
A mixture of contemporary and classic taste will likely be a signature trait of this café. A residency program with pastry chefs and award-winning chocolatiers from Italy will be kicking off. The café has already added to its roster chefs Pietro Macellaro, Gennaro Esposito and Pasquale Marigliano.
Borsalia's baristas are trained “coffee sommeliers,” ready with recommendations. Foamy cappuccinos come in five seasonal flavors: pistachio, white chocolate hazelnut, pistachio cinnamon, rose star anise and vanilla. Chocolate-lovers can sip on rich Italian hot chocolate and watch the bars melted down into liquid or purchase a box of chocolates.
The coffee bean chandelier at Borsalia, a new Italian Cafe, opened on Nov 17 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Chocolate, of course, is a main ingredient on the desert menu. Try the “Perla negra,” for a potent bite of ricotta, dark chocolate, orange and gold leaf, or the best of both worlds, “Babamisù” a boozy tiramisù laden with “babà,” a rum-soaked sponge cake found in Naples.