Photo: @lovelyfoodies
Gnocchi lovers rejoice! We can soon expect a gnocchi-dedicated takeout restaurant at 228 Columbus Avenue (between 70th and 71st streets).
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Gnocchi on 9th, which already has two downtown locations on East 9th and Orchard streets, left a written note and a QR code on the space’s brown-papered facade to tease their arrival. The small storefront was previously home to specialty chocolate shop Kee’s Chocolates, which opened in 2019 and just recently closed.
The concept at Gnocchi on 9th is very simple. A base of gnocchi is served with your choice of sauce in a take-out box for immediate consumption. The menu offers pomodoro and vodka sauces with the option to add a lump of burrata cheese. The Orchard Street location also offers pesto and truffle cacio e pepe sauce, though it’s unknown whether these will be available at the Columbus Avenue outpost. A Caesar salad is also available, and for dessert, a tiramisu by Brooklyn Cannoli Co.
Photo: @2foodiefriendz
The pricing is relatively affordable at $10 for a gnocchi alla vodka and $13 if you add burrata. Coupled with the quick service design, Gnocchi on 9th turns a sit-down Italian classic into a convenient option. Their spaces tend to be small, with no seating available.
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Gnocchi on 9th is co-owned by Ariel Strizower and Mike Salzano. They created the restaurant after seeing a lack of Italian fast-food options in NYC.
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In a June 2024 interview with WABC, Strizower said “You get a burger you get pizza anywhere. If you want Italian food, you have to sit down for 20, 30, 40 minutes and take all the time, every day, a lot of money. Why not do something quick, easy, and affordable?”
Gnocchi on 9th opened in the East Village in April, with the LES location following in early June. They’ve been enjoying quite a bit of buzz on TikTok and Instagram, so UWS gnocchi fans might want to brace themselves for long wait times.
The East Village location has a Yelp score of 4 stars and a Google score of 4.3 stars (both out of 5).
“This place is meant for takeout. While the space is small, the service is very quick and the prices are very reasonable,” said one recent reviewer. “The Gnocchi al Pomodoro con Burrata is creamy, and the cold burrata paired with the hot gnocchi hit the spot.”
In contrast, someone else wrote that they were “…really looking forward to trying Gnocchi on 9th after seeing all the buzz on social media, but it ended up being a big disappointment. The gnocchi, which were made in large batches, turned out to be gummy and not the fluffy texture I was expecting.”
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There seems to be widespread disappointment that the gnocchi is not made fresh, with one reviewer claiming “Their gnocchi does not seem to be homemade (according to recorded video on Instagram, they use boxed De Cecco pasta) but nevertheless this is an okay place if you’re in the area and hungry, but also on a budget.”
Their Instagram bio confirms the new location but gives no further details on a potential opening date. We’ve reached out to Gnocchi on 9th and are awaiting a response.
I love gnocchi. I hope it’s a large enough portion to make it worthwhile.
I tried the 9th Street location and this place is a colossal disappointment. The gnocchi is dense and chewy, not the potato pillows they should be, and the pomodoro sauce is acidic.
If it’s not freshly made, why bother? You can get a pound of gnocchi from Trader Joes for $5. You don’t have to know how to cook to prepare it. And no place to sit! Am I supposed to eat my gnocchi while walking down Columbus dodging the folks glued to their phones? No thank you!
That Trader Joe’s frozen is actually pretty good.
Perhaps some of you don’t have the experience to comment….
So it doesn’t; have to be hand made (which is tough if you ever tried it) to be made with love and delicious! Anyone with Italian heritage and 64 cousins would appreciated a ‘grab and go’ gnocchi!
I do have the experience to comment and hand made is the best. I make my own. I’ll of course try this when it opens and I hope it’s good. Also hopefully there will be a place to sit.