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It may not have the flash of Scarpetta or the hominess of Lupa, but what Cesca does have is stylish accessibility. Though it’s gone through a chef change since its opening in 2003 (when Adam Platt awarded it two stars), the understated, mid-size dining room still packs a jovial buzz nearly every night of the week. Current chef Kevin Garcia (formerly of Del Posto), steers clear of showiness and trends - there’s nary a pork belly or offal variety in sight - and instead gives the people what they want: a highly satisfying and diverse, southern Italian menu executed with polish. Make a light dinner out of the addictive escarole salad dotted with mint, snappy yellow tail crudo, and a tasting of silky, housemade pastas like the hearty garganelli with salty chicken sausage or the piquant linguini alla vongole. Entrées are flavorful with seasonal accents roasted in a wood-burning oven: scallops come deliciously carmelized atop a bed of cauliflower and stewed white grapes; grilled meats - like the standout Heritage pork chop - are rustic and well-seasoned. The whole operation gets a worthy assist from an Old World-heavy wine list and a roster of standard desserts. — Carolyn Murnick

Escarole salad, $12; garganelli, $23; heritage pork chop, $28; sea scallops, $32

Related Stories

New York Magazine Reviews

• Adam Platt's Full Review (11/14/03)

Best of New York Awards

• Best Antipasti (2004)

Featured In

• 101 Best New York Restaurants for 2006 (1/9/06)
• Small Plates (12/8/03)

Recipes at 'Cesca

• Seafood Salad (2004)
• Grilled Marinated Chicken With Panzanella (2003)