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Chef Jonathan Benno Opens New Trattoria, Bakery and Cafe in Manhattan
July 10, 2018 5:17 pm
Last Updated: July 11, 2018 6:17 pm
Dishes at Leonelli Taberna. (Evan Sung)
Chef Jonathan Benno, of Per Se and Lincoln Ristorante fame, has opened two new Roman-inspired eateries, Leonelli Taberna and Leonelli Focacceria e Pasticceria, in the newly redesigned hotel The Evelyn in Manhattan’s NoMad.
“Since I was a kid I’ve always had a love affair with Italian food,” Benno said in a press release. “I remember sitting around the family table eating my grandma’s eggplant parmesan, and enjoying boxes of Italian bakery cookies at every social gathering. That’s the feeling I want to recreate at Leonelli.”
The menu at Leonelli Taberna, a casual trattoria with a craft cocktail bar and lounge, features rustic Italian dishes like spaghetti carbonara suppli; gnocchi with braised oxtail stew; and bistecca alla fiorentina, a 30-day dry aged T-bone steak for two. Drinks include a focused list of Italian wines and cocktails, and a dessert menu by Lindsey Bittner of Gramercy Tavern offers sweets like Arborio rice pudding with rhubarb sorbet.
Meanwhile, bakery and café Leonelli Focacceria e Pasticceria serves house-baked focaccia and focaccia sandwiches, as well as a selection of traditional Italian pastries, cookies, and confections.