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Brothers Enrico and Robert Malta own over a dozen midrange restaurants in Manhattan, most of them clustered in the theater district. They've expanded their holdings with Bocca di Bacco, a collaboration with chef-partner Roberto Passon, whose eponymous restaurant down the street is also a Malta brothers production. Bocca calls itself a wine bar, which explains the 40 selections by the glass, the mixed olives, the meat and cheese plates, and the little nibbles like rice balls and marinated sardines. But its identity as a full-fledged, neighborhood-friendly Italian restaurant is substantiated with pastas like chestnut lasagnette with chickpeas and sausage, and entrées like lamb osso buco. — Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite

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• Restaurant Openings: 18 Avenue B, Bocca di Bacco, and Back Forty (10/22/07)