Irvington’s Cifone’s, An Italian Version Of Cheers

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Owners Michael Cifone (left) and Matt Kay (right)

September 19, 2025

By Shana Liebman–

The restaurant at the top of Irvington—formerly the River City Grille, followed by the Club Car Grille—just reopened as Cifone’s, a modern Italian restaurant with a late-night fantasy.
Co-owner Michael Cifone and his partner Matt Kay (who owns Hudson Social and used to own the Club Car) hope this more upscale incarnation will attract diners beyond Irvington while adding elegance and some nightlife to the Rivertowns’ culinary scene.
While the layout remains the same, the goal is to combine a neighborhood hangout with a destination restaurant. “We want to see families coming in after their kids’ baseball or basketball game, and then on weekends, there are a bunch of people coming from other areas,” Kay says.
“We want this to be the Italian ‘Cheers,’ he adds. “You can come in and have a chicken parm and a glass of wine and watch a little bit of golf or a sports game, or you can sit in the dining room with the family or a date and have an elegant dinner.” With two entrances: one to the newly tiled, speakeasy-like bar and one to the brightened dining room, Cifone’s encourages more church and state than its predecessors did.
The two friends, who both grew up in Dobbs Ferry, began discussing the idea of opening a restaurant six months ago when Kay was overwhelmed as the sole owner of Club Car. “I started to realize it was going to be hard to be in the kitchen, in the front, in a whole lot of different places. I knew I was missing the opportunity to spin ideas together,” Kay says.
Kay was also concerned that Club Car’s casualness wasn’t a big enough draw for Westchester residents to travel to Irvington “unless it was so, so special that you had to get a reservation 3 months in advance to get in, but that wasn’t the case,” Kay says. “I’ve always wanted to do an Italian restaurant,” he adds. “I think it’s one of those cuisines that — I hate to use the word ‘never’ — but will never go out of style.”
Cifone, who has been working in restaurants, wine, and hospitality for many years, was grateful to ditch his daily commute between his home in Tarrytown and the New Jersey restaurant he was running. Plus, he is an Italian American and has travelled extensively in Italy,
“We designed the menu to be about seventy percent of what you would expect in an Italian American restaurant,” Kay explains. “And about thirty percent has a little bit more flair to it. Peroni braised clams, a shrimp sambuca appetizer. We have beautiful, young artichokes that are in the Giudia style.”
One of the most popular dishes on the seasonal menu, according to Cifone, is Spaghetti alla Nerano. “It’s been one of my favorite dishes my entire life,” he says. “My grandfather and my father always had gardens, and we had fresh zucchini and fresh zucchini blossoms growing up.”
Inside Cifone’s: same room; different floor plan
And those addictive polenta bites that survived three restaurant changeovers? Thankfully, they are still on the menu with a new twist.
The wine list, designed by Cifone, who has worked in the wine business for 23 years, features a curated selection of boutique bottles. And there is a new craft cocktails list, with drinks like the Bacca & Basil ($17) made with Gunpowder Gin, that might attract a younger demographic, especially in the evenings.
“We want to have a DJ at night, and some dancing. You know, a lot of restaurants, especially the Italian restaurants in the Rivertown area, have been there for a very, very long time. They do a great job. The food’s amazing,” Kay says.
However, he hopes Cifone’s will generate a different vibe: “Fun, elegant, energetic. You know, as the nights get going, the lamps get lit, the lights get a little dimmer, the music starts going up a little bit. It’s fun. It’s a lot of fun.”