Look inside La Chitarra, a new wine bar and restaurant in Bronxville
La Chitarra owner Randy Restiano has invested decades of his life into two of the world’s “greatest guilty pleasures: wine and pasta.”
La Chitarra, which opened Dec. 22 in Bronxville, offers something that hasn’t been seen before in Westchester.
On one side, it’s a pasta shop where you can pick up the same housemade sauces and pastas served in the restaurant. On the other, it’s a cozy wine bar and dining room stocked with more than 100 bottles and a menu so obsessively curated that owner Randy Restiano, who’s worked in the restaurant business for 20 years as a sommelier, and chef John Poiarkoff, another industry veteran, tasted a dozen different brands of tomatoes before selecting a Bronx importer who’s “head and shoulders above the rest.” (They did the same thing with cheese, ultimately settling on a company that delivers once a week from Brooklyn.)
Restiano, who owns the business with his cousin Peter Diana, says his place, where one half is a market and the other a restaurant offers “the two best guilty pleasures — pasta and wine.”
“They’re the two things I love the most — and think a lot of people love,” he said. “So it made sense to combine them.”
Creating a taste of Italy
But first that required some serious work. Restiano took what had been an existing pasta shop — it was previously Bacione — and elevated the quality. Everything served at the wine bar is also available in the shop, from housemade mozzarella and sauces to fresh pasta, including the signature Spaghetti alla Chitarra — named for both the region where Restiano and Diana’s families are from and the guitar-like tool used to make it (a replica sits in the corner to the right of the bar).
He also added more offerings like focaccia sandwiches, roast chicken and three versions of Frittata di Maccheroni, a traditional Neapolitan dish, along with a curated selection of pantry items.
As for the restaurant portion, he took what had been a hair salon and had it completely gutted — think four tons of garbage and a revamping of the ceiling which previously had hidden a skylight. Layers of old construction came down, literally “walls on top of walls,” according to Restiano, ultimately gaining the restaurant about six inches on each side.
What emerged feels distinctly Italian: a charming storefront with a striking display of fresh pasta front and center, plus counter seating for a quick bite, leading through double doors to a cozy wine bar. Everything is new, from the five-seat marble bar to the bottle-lined shelves to the blue-and-white patterned floor, which neatly mirrors the colorful plates on the tables.
Simple is best at La Chitarra
The room sets the tone, but it’s the food that fully delivers on the Italian promise. Having grown up making pasta with his Ripi-born grandmother, Restiano’s philosophy is rooted in honoring his heritage while letting the ingredients speak for themselves. A longtime sommelier — he was most recently at Gramercy Tavern, but also worked at Eataly Flatiron and with Eli Zabar — he naturally approaches the menu with wine in mind, featuring bottles that best complement the food.
Pairings are a huge part of the business with 20 vintages by the glass and 100 wines representing different areas of the world (70% is Italian). That list will be expanded as the pastas change.
Restiano and Poiarkoff describe the menu as “creative seasonal Italian,” meaning it’s not necessarily Italian American, nor does it lean toward a specific region of Italy. Some dishes, like the aforementioned Spaghetti alla Chitarra, with slow-roasted San Marzano Dop tomatoes, parmigiano and basil, won’t change (this was the dish the two obsessed over finding the perfect tomatoes), while others, like their seasonal catch (currently Montauk tilefish), will.
They’re also leaning into preparations people don’t traditionally do. Case in point: the Ravioles du Dauphine, usually associated with the historical region of Dauphiné in South-Central France featuring ricotta, black Périgord truffle, parmigiano, and thyme which Poiarkoff has created using a giant plate’s worth of pasta. The chef, who has 19 years of cooking under his belt, also cites their Montauk Tilefish with braised Sorana beans, garlic breadcrumbs, caper gremolata, honeynut squash as an example of their commitment to sourcing local.
“We could have gone with a West Coast halibut, like many other menus do, but we wanted to support our local fisherman. So while tilefish is lesser known, it’s a beautiful fresh fish.”
Their oven roasted half chicken is another example. It features Hudson Valley mushrooms, lemon and parsley and comes from LaBelle Patrimoine, a Pennsylvania farm known for its exclusive heritage chickens with, as its website states, “the highest animal welfare standards in the industry.” (Their all-natural chickens are also air-chilled instead of being chilled in water with added chemicals.)
Italian food is straightforward, Restiano explained — often just three or four ingredients — but it’s all about quality. Every component matters, from the olive oil to the eggs, nothing is an afterthought. That’s why he and Poiarkoff are so meticulous about sourcing clean, high-quality ingredients: organic flour, cheeses devoid of stabilizers or additives and free-range, organic and humane certified eggs from Latremore Farm in Chazy, New York.
“There’s a reason people say food tastes different in Italy,” said Restiano. “We’ve gotten used to a culture of faster and cheaper.” Too many products, he adds, are manipulated. “In Italy, they’re using pure ingredients.”
Having traveled to the country many times — and spent time in the field with farmers— he’s deeply committed to honoring that honest approach. His goal is simple: respect the culture and the ingredients so that when a dish lands on the table, it’s unmistakably delicious. “I want people to see Italian food the way I see Italian food,” he said.
“When it lands on your plate, it should scream with flavor.”
If you go
Address: 4a Cedar St., Bronxville, 914-652-2591, la-chitarra.comHours: For the restaurant: Noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday for lunch; from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday for dinner. The pasta shop hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Sunday.
Good to know: Come warm weather, there will be outdoor seating.
Fun fact: Look closely and you’ll see a few guitars on the restaurant shelves as “la chitarra” (aka guitar in Italian) refers to the tool — a frame with a series of parallel wires crossing it — that Spaghetti alla Chitarra is produced with (the tool rests on the bar on the far right). The pasta is also the traditional dish of the Ciociaria in Frosinone, Italy where Restiano’s grandmother and Diana’s mother grew up.
The details extend to the music: The guitar theme carries through to the soundtrack. Raised on grunge, Restiano curates a rock-forward playlist—especially Italian and ’90s rock—setting a vibe that’s relaxed, and effortlessly cool. The lumberjack shirts the wait staff wear also emulate the grunge era, showcasing his thoughtful approach and attention to detail.
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Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram @jeannemuchnick or via the lohudfood newsletter.
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