Bar Pisellino

For their evocation of that nexus of social life and civilization that is the classic Italian bar, Jody Williams and Rita Sodi took inspiration from the grand cafés and venerable hotel bars of Venice, Turin, Rome, and Florence and sourced materials and fixtures and serving pieces both domestically and abroad. All of that, says Williams, in pursuit of a particular mood, something akin to what you might experience at a train station in Europe, where you meet someone and start talking and suddenly you’ve missed your next three trains. So no, Bar Pisellino was not envisioned as a Wi-Fi-equipped all-day café or your average rambunctious New York watering hole. At only 600 square feet, the corner space has almost three times more seats outside than in (seasonally), but most of the activity is meant to ensue at the standing bar, an expanse of oak panels and Carrera marble that segues from serving Italian-style morning coffee and pastries to afternoon tramezzini and Aperol Spritzes on tap and an array of original cocktails listed in hand-lettered booklets published six times a year.