Locanda Verde’s Chic New Dining Room Embodies Italian Elegance

Carmellini, with business partners Luke Ostrom and Josh Pickard of NoHo Hospitality and the actor Robert De Niro, found an ideal spot for Locanda Verde’s next chapter: a 6,000-square-foot bilevel corner space on the ground floor of 50 Hudson Yards, a 77-story office tower by Foster & Partners. “We opened Locanda Verde 15 years ago and felt it was the right time to bring our signature Italian cooking style and approachability to this wonderful neighborhood,” says Carmellini, who cut his teeth at the legendary French restaurant Lespinasse before opening Café Boulud as Chef de Cuisine.

As it happens, achieving a sense of warmth and nonchalance in an area anchored by imposing glass skyscrapers isn’t the easiest task. Fortunately, longtime collaborators Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of Galerie Creative Mind firm Roman and Williams were up to the challenge and stepped in to help make Carmellini’s vision a reality. “Our aim was to create a warm and inviting space that makes you completely forget you’re in Hudson Yards,” Standefer says. “It’s a place that makes guests feel at home and encourages them to return time and time again.” 

That meant forgoing the rustic vibe of Locanda Verde’s original digs and taking notes from the design playbook of two cities: Tokyo’s integration of restaurants and office buildings, and Milan’s elegant mélange of early Italian signatures with modern elements. Eschewing the moody atmosphere of clubby interiors, they embraced a palette inspired by what Standefer describes as the “golden warmth of Milanese modernism—honeyed woods, amber hues, and plush textures that exude comfort.” Specifically, she channeled Milan’s stately Villa Necchi Campiglio, completed by architect Piero Portaluppi in 1935. “We’ve always loved the building’s refined architecture and the power of his vision—so understated and material-focused, and such beautiful detailing.”

Much like how Portaluppi intended Villa Necchi Campiglio as a modernist refuge from Milan’s ornate palazzos, Locanda Verde serves as a high-craft palate cleanser from the chaos and rigidity of Midtown. Each room deftly balances refined materials, stylish colors, and intriguing design elements. Rectangular blocks of dark green Italian Verdi Alpi marble clad a fireplace; plush furnishings upholstered by one of the last remaining mohair manufacturers in the United States outfit the soaring dining room, where integrated arches and four massive silver-and-blown-glass chandeliers deepen the thrills. The whole spectacle is further illuminated by softly diffused fixtures—including custom Venini glass pendants and Art Deco–inspired sconces and alabaster table lamps from Roman and Williams Guild—that achieve a warm, flattering glow.

An abundance of craft suits Locanda Verde well—Chef Carmellini’s father worked as a terrazzo artisan north of Venice. De Niro, meanwhile, tapped into his own heritage to outfit the dining room with Expressionist drawings and paintings by his father, the prolific New York School artist Robert De Niro, Sr. Sourced from his personal collection, most have never been shown publicly. A breathtaking hand-painted mural by Dean Barger awaits in the private dining room; its walls are bursting with life thanks to a stampede of Cubist-inspired horses in the style of Portuguese modernist painter Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso. Perhaps it’s foreshadowed in the café, where a rich blue midcentury carpet featuring the work of Pablo Picasso is mounted above chestnut wall panels.

Despite the new Locanda Verde’s sheen, its menu hews closely to fan favorites—Sardinian sheep’s milk ricotta, lamb meatball sliders, fire-roasted garlic chicken—to keep the cuisine as faithful to the original as possible. “There aren’t so many new dishes as bringing back the classics,” Carmellini says, though he recommends the Spanish mackerel with green olives. “After 15 years, I’ve learned people crave the original dishes more than ever.”

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