By Yepoka Yeebo
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTANVILLE — A new Italian restaurant in West Harlem faces stiff competition from three other beloved Italian eateries nearby.
Bettolona, at 3143 Broadway, between Tiemann and LaSalle, celebrated a soft opening last week, and was doing decent business after their official opening on Monday, according to manager Sandro Guisino.
But during the Friday afternoon lunch hour, the restaurant was mostly empty, while well-known Italian spot Pisticci, just around the corner, was packed. Only an avenue away, the dining hotspots Max SoHa and Sezz Medi were already gearing up for the evening rush.
"We're waiting for our neighbors and Columbia students," Guisino explained. "We're waiting for everybody."
Pamela Knowles, the general manager at Pisticci at 125 LaSalle Street, said she was excited about the new restaurant.
"Hello, hello, welcome, welcome," she said. "We wish everybody well, there's plenty of room for everybody."
Knowles said that although she hadn't eaten at the new restaurant, she'd taken a look and liked the decor.
"I like the ambiance, I like the decoration, and it's totally different menu, different vibe, so we're fine."
Down the block at Sezz Medi at 1260 Amsterdam, owner and chef Angelo Scssa said he had a friend working at the new venture, and wished them well. But he did say that some of West Harlem's Italian chefs were skeptical.
"There have been four restaurants in that spot in about five years. I've been here eight years. It's a difficult spot because of the bridge," he said, referring to the elevated railway tracks and stone work on Broadway. "It's like a box, and people want to see more than just wall when they eat."
Bettolona manager Guisino said the nearby train tracks simply meant there were plenty of people passing by. Speaking over the sound of the 1 train rumbling by, the manager said the food at Bettolona would make the eatery stand out over the competition.
"We have very good pizza, fresh made pasta, and very nice appetizers," he said. "We opened because can be competitive...and the neighborhood is getting hotter."
Guisino said a "hotter" neighborhood meant there was space for everyone.
Bettolona's chef, Sebastiano Cappitta, is credited with bringing wood-burning ovens to the Upper West Side with his first restaurant, Isola, on Columbus Avenue, in 1991. The Sicilian chef also runs neighborhood Italian joints Bettola and Acqua, both on the Upper West Side.
Bettolona is his first trip uptown, where he joins the likes of Kitchenette, and Max SoHa, which both opened on Amsterdam Avenue between 122nd and 123rd after success in TriBeCa.
Neighborhood blogs have followed every movement at Bettolona closely, excited by the revival of a shuttered store front and the promising appearance of a brick oven.
The restaurant's warm interior features exposed brick, filament light bulbs, solid wooden tables and a prominent wood burning oven.
"I'm happy with every new option, especially one that means I don't have to wait at Pisticci," said Mary May, 43, who lives across the street from the restaurant.
"And now I won't have to go over to Amsterdam or down Broadway for a decent pizza, I'm excited."
Nieghborhood resident Foad, 29, (he did not want to give his last name) said he's an Italian food buff and was happy with the new addition.
"If the new place is better, I don't mind walking over to Broadway, I think it's a better location," he said, admitting that he would trade in the spaghetti carbonara at Max SoHa at 1274 Amsterdam if the food at Bettolona's was good enough.
Bettolona's menu features standard pasta and pizza dishes, as well as more substantial entrees, like Zuppetta Di Pesce, described as a stew of mussels, clams, shrimp and calamari in a tomato broth, which is the priciest dish at $17.
Student Jay Hesch, 24, said he was hoping for more variety when he saw that a new restaurant was opening.
"There's already plenty of good Italian around. How about something different?" he asked.
