The Upper West Side’s newest Italian restaurant, Sempre Oggi, is opening Wednesday at 164 West 75th Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues) – the space which was occupied by ‘Cesca until it closed in 2020 after 17 years.
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“Sempre Oggi is all about embracing the very best of right now,” the restaurant website reads.
Mr. Guarino was in the restaurant Tuesday overseeing last-minute preparations for opening day as carpenters finished detail work on the decor and the smell of fresh sawed wood filled the air.
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The menu will highlight pasta made in-house, seasonal vegetables and herbs, and a specialty roasted chicken and roasted rolled pork loin, called porchetta, cooked in an enormous oven in the center of the dining room visible to guests.
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Sempre Oggi’s executive chef is Phillip Basone, most recently the executive chef at Barbuto restaurant in Greenwich Village.
Pastas will range in price from about $19-$35 and entrees will range from about $35-$50, Mr. Guarino said.
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The interior decor was inspired by 20th century architect and designer Gio Ponti. “We’re modernizing the space, giving it a fresh, clean interpretation,” Mr. Guarino told ILTUWS. According to the restaurant’s website, the new bar “is an expression of (Ponti’s) later career.” The bar is decorated with custom handmade ceramic tiles and there is also a custom floating chandelier that nods to Ponti’s love of playing with geometric forms, color and light.
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“Aperitivi hour is a big thing in Italy,” he said.
Mr. Guarini owns the restaurant with Simon Oren and Chef Driven Hospitality, a business that also owns five other restaurants on the UWS: Playa Betty’s, French Roast, 5 Napkin Burger, Dagon and Nice Matin.
Sempre Oggi will be open for dinner Tuesday and Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Aperitivi hour will be every day 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. For the first few weeks, the restaurant will be closed Sunday and Monday. To learn more, visit semprenyc.com or follow @semprenyc on Instagram.
Good luck but I’m not sure anyone was waiting on this.
Looks like a nice space, but do we REALLY need another Italian restaurant in the UWS?
Looks beautiful, and I’m excited to have that space occupied again. But the prices are a bit … high.
Nice idea but this is not Italy where people take a nice midday break and have time for apertivi. Willing to try it but price points seem a bit steep … so that $34 rigatoni better be amazing if I’m going to go more than a few times.
Those bar seats look very uncomfortable compared to the bar chairs when the place was Cesca.
Cesca had a great happy hour,– many glasses of very good wines were about half price during happy hour. Wising the place good luck.
With all due respect, they clearly don’t have any interest in having people come in for their 3-5 PM, Aperitivi “Hour” or two….because, even if we’re working from home most days, we still have to be reachable until 5 or later or we’re on our way home….Aperitivi Hour will be over and done. Guys, think smart and offer it from 5-7 PM, keep the scene vibrant and crowded with some folks staying on for dinner at the bar like ‘Cesca always did. Also, plan on adding 1/2-priced hot and cold appetizers during that 5-7 PM Happy Hour and you really will have a bustling bar scene feeding into the rest of your evening. As you currently have it, 3-5 PM? Nothing but crickets.
This sounds wonderful! We need a restaurant on the UWS that has a daily menu based on local, seasonal ingredients. I can’t wait to go!
That bar looks very cool!
A restaurant (Italian or otherwise) with a daily changing menu sounds like a smart idea. We don’t need another stale place that has the same menu as the competition down the street. We also don’t need another place where the menu simply doesn’t change over the years. We have enough of those comfortable neighborhood favorites.