Legendary Former Da Silvano Space Now Has a New Italian Restaurant

The space of legendary Greenwich Village celebrity hangout Da Silvano now has a new Italian restaurant, from a chef who once worked at luxe fashion restaurant Armani Ristorante.

Avena Downtown opens today at 260 Sixth Ave., between Bleecker and West Houston streets, serving pastas, appetizers such as a seared scallop with truffles, and entrees like a grilled lobster or a branzino with broccoli rabe. Pastas, which can be made gluten-free, fall under $25, while entrees veer up to $44. Take a look at the full menu below.

Chef Roberto Deiaco also owns a location of Avena in Midtown East, and he once helmed the well-received East Village Italian restaurant East 12th Osteria, which closed in 2017 not long after some tax issues. (It was supposed to reopen in the West Village but has yet to do so.) Before that, he worked at Armani Ristorante, the New York City Italian restaurant owned by fashion design icon Giorgio Armani.

Da Silvano closed in 2016 after more than 40 years as a downtown hot spot, with visitors like Rihanna, Anna Wintour, and Madonna. At the time, owner Silvano Marchetto said he could no longer afford to keep the Tuscan restaurant open, saying that rising minimum wage and a $41,000-per-month rent was too much. Besides being a A-lister magnet, Da Silvano was one of the first New York Italian restaurants to serve food beyond red-sauce fare that was common at the time of its debut.

But Deiaco and his wife Giselle have revamped the space in hopes of bringing “undeniable culture and glamorous clientele” back to the restaurant.

Avena Downtown is now open daily for lunch and dinner.