Sambuca, the Italian restaurant at 20 West 72nd Street famous for its heaping family portions and gluten-free pastas, is turning up the music and turning on the sex appeal.
Sambuca’s owner Liza Wetanson recently redesigned the front of the restaurant and is looking to spice the place up — she’s hired new staff and changed the menu to encourage people to stop in for drinks and small plates instead of sitting down for heaping piles of pasta. The restaurant is looking to “attract a new kind of clientele,” which I presume means people like the ones in the Meatball Bar photo at the top of this article (Except for the image of the guy wearing sunglasses inside. What’s with that guy?)
It’s not quite the meatpacking district, but if you’re looking to get lucky at Sambuca, you just might.
When I talked to Liza last week, she said that after operating a family restaurant for more than 25 years she wanted to create a space for people who “like to party” like her.
If you’ve been to Sambuca before, the renovations might be a bit of a shock. At a preview event last week, a DJ was pumping dance music and an attractive woman serving vodka asked me “Are you an actor? I swear I’ve seen you on TV.”
“No, I’m a blogger.”
Turn-off!
At the preview event, there was a “new kind of clientele” in abundance — short dresses that shimmied this way and that, shiny shirts, alcohol flowing. Liza said she’s considering hiring a DJ to play once a week.
The new bar menu (link below) is tasty. Pizza, fried and grilled calamari, and salads go well with the new expanded wine list.
And luckily, the old family-style restaurant isn’t going anywhere; it’s basically just being pushed further back into the restaurant. Sambuca will still offer its family-size pastas and gluten-free specials. The prices can feel a little steep, but then again the restaurant is right next to The Dakota and The Majestic.
And you never know. You might get lucky.
Photos courtesy of Sambuca.
