Pepe Rosso

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Pepe Rosso To Go is one of the best kept secrets in Soho. Most photographers, creatives and designers of the area order takeout from this popular restaurant between work meetings and photo shoots. The place is not just intimate, it’s tiny, with very reasonable prices and consistently good quality day after day. Its charm is best experienced in person, onsite.

Learn how to play their game: order quickly and clean up whatever mess you leave behind. Never before have four tables, a bench and four chairs satisfied so many stomachs. You’ll come across a good assortment of fresh pastas, paninis and entrees with meat and fish featured. Accompany it with mouthwatering bread with oil, balsamic vinegar and peperoncino (a real luxury in this city).

Choose between the spectacular meat lasagne, macaroni with bacon and vodka sauce, and fresh ricotta with spinach, tomato and basil. The options are numerous and there’s no wrong choice – the pasta is always al dente and the parmesan always ready.

Among the main courses don’t miss the lemon chicken with sautéed spinach or the classic Milanese meat, breaded and covered with fresh arugula and tomato. As if this wasn’t enough, they have some of the best sandwiches in the area – try the focaccia made on location with bresaola, arugula, truffle oil and goat cheese.

Impressing people with simple recipes is a challenge, but Mauro Servisi and Michele Costa succeed in doing so. These friends from Milan are the owners of this restaurant, the first of its kind followed by Pepe Giallo, in Chelsea (253 10th Ave), and the recently opened Pepe Rosso Social (between Little Italy and Chinatown, 173 Mott Street). Both follow the same formula but with more space. Of course, the espresso is excellent, as you’d expect from Italy.