Roberta’s Vast Midtown Location Will Open Next Month

The first standalone Roberta’s in Manhattan, at 1 Pennsylvania Plaza, between 33rd and 34th streets, is finally on track to open in June. The destination will include a second location of the newly-minted R Slice; an upstairs, full-service Roberta’s; and a vast patio with a tiki bar, similar to the outdoor one at the Bushwick flagship.

The new location has been in the works since 2018, when the Roberta’s duo, Carlo Mirarchi and Brandon Hoy, started talking to developer Vornado Realty Trust about opening a location in Midtown that’s more ambitious than their onetime stall in a food hall. In early talks, the restaurant was supposed to be a shop in Moynihan Hall; along the way, around 2022, that plan shifted to a bigger-deal location.

Six years later, the Midtown Roberta’s location has been finalized: It will be a 5,200 square foot bi-level spot that is part of a massive transformation of a hardscrabble area around Penn Station that includes office towers with amenities, including restaurants. Near the new Roberta’s, there’s a Blue Ribbon, Los Tacos No. 1, and a pickleball court, all within spitting distance of Madison Square Garden.

There are several New York-area Roberta’s now open since 2008, when it became a Bushwick destination for some of the city’s best pizza. Outside of New York, there is a Roberta’s in Culver City and another on the way in Miami Beach.

Hoy and Mirarchi have opened other restaurants, too: Years after closing its tasting menu destination, Blanca, this past January, it reopened with a menu from Victoria Blamey, recently landing the New York Times No. 2 spot on the city’s 100 best restaurants. The team also opened the head-turning pizza-free pasta spot called Foul Witch last year in the East Village. In the process, the brand has extended its tentacles to supermarkets with Roberta’s frozen pizza.

The Midtown R Slice on the ground level will offer 20-inch, New York-style pizza and those pies by-the-slice; it will also offer Roberta’s style 12-inch Neapolitan pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven. This will be the second R Slice; the first location opened last month in Brooklyn.

“It’s something we’ve always wanted to do,” says Hoy about the opening of their first slice-shop this year. “Now is the right time.”

The team’s New York-style and Neapolitan pizzas are similar in terms of ingredients, with different hydration and proofing for the dough, says Hoy; the New York-style is thinner and more crisp, yet sturdy. In terms of toppings, for both styles, Roberta’s is still going for “capturing the freshness of the tomato without overworking the sauce,” he says, “while emphasizing the creaminess of the mozzarella.”

Beyond the to-go emphasis of the ground floor, an 80- or so-seat Roberta’s with a bar resides on the second floor, up a muraled staircase with light fixtures painted in orange and golds like the side of a retro van. The sit-down Roberta’s will offer wood-fired classics and a full kitchen menu. It’ll also have some steaks and dry-aged meats featured in their March pop-up, Ezio’s Steakhouse, named for Mirarchi’s father.

“The last thing we want to do is repeat the old Roberta’s” in terms of design, says Winter D’Angelillo of Parkbench Architects, who has spearheaded projects like Roberta’s Domino Park and Williamsburg’s Leo. For this location, they’re going for “sexy grandma” says Winter, threading a retro vibe throughout, while, in an all-windows building, bringing the outside in. Hoy, who’s from California, cites design influence from California’s John Lautner, known for geometric Googie architecture.

Past the dining room upstairs, there’s a vast outdoor terrace with a shipping container on one end, a big bar, and many communal umbrella tables. It’s there you’ll find some tiki options similar to the frozen drinks and cocktails at the Bushwick Roberta’s.

“We’re super excited to do this,” says Hoy of the new Roberta’s in Midtown. “It’s always been a dream for us to be in Manhattan. We were just waiting for the right opportunity to come along.”