An Osteria Francescana Alum Opens His Own Casual Pasta Restaurant in Flatiron Tonight

Today, New York City gains an Italian restaurant from a chef who trained in Massimo Bottura’s famous three-Michelin-starred restaurant Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy.

Chef Stefano Secchi makes his local debut tonight with Rezdôra, where the cuisine will be heavily influenced by the years the chef spent in northern Italian kitchens. He brings experience from well-regarded restaurants like Osteria Francescana and Hosteria Giusti, both of which also appeared on Netflix’s Masters of None.

Rezdôra, opening at 27 East 20th St. in the Flatiron District, will have a menu largely focused on the region of Emilia Romagna, famous for its Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, balsamic vinegar, and prosciutto — three ingredients that’ll anchor the restaurant. Everything from homemade pastas to vegetable dishes will change with the seasons; Secchi and chef di cucina Mark Coleman, who previously worked at high-end Italian restaurant Marea, plan to incorporate produce from the nearby Union Square Greenmarket.

The menu is laid out like most Italian restaurants: antipasti, like buffalo mozzarella served with charred greens and pesto to start, followed by pastas, such as cylinder-shaped noodles with duck ragu, and finished off with protein-focused entrees, such as a five-hour braised veal cheek in a spring onion purée.

Other dishes will include the cappelletti verdi, pockets of spinach-infused pasta filled with roasted leeks, tossed in a black mushroom sauce with spring peas; a cacio e pepe salad, made with pecorino dressing and cracked pepper; and a pan-seared sirloin steak rubbed with porcini mushrooms and salt. See the menu in full below.

A pasta tasting menu will also be on tap, for $75 per person. Naturally, Italian wines will take center stage on the drink front, primarily northern Italian wines from Tuscany, Piedmont, and Veneto, among others. Classic cocktails like a negroni will also be on tap. Sidonie Rodman, who previously worked at the Breslin and Agern, is behind the drink program.

Though Secchi comes from a fine dining background, the 60-seat restaurant, including a 12-seat bar, is meant to be a fairly casual affair, he says. Pastas range from $22 to $26 and bigger entrees top out at $32 (except a $110 dry-aged ribeye for two).

Rezdôra opens tonight at 5 p.m., and will close at midnight Thursday to Saturday and until 11 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday.