Vineria

Restaurant & Wine Bar

We are inspired by simple, authentic food made with an uncompromising ethic and the joy of sharing it with friends. il Buco Alimentari and Vineria, a natural extension of il Buco Restaurant - a NoHo favorite for more than 18 years - offers house-made products crafted using traditional methods, as well as artisan provisions handpicked from independent producers we admire.

Come sample the fruits of our production with us in our casual dining room, or to take a taste of il Buco home to your friends and loved ones from our Italian market.

The Story

How we got started.

The first offspring of il Buco on Bond Street, the Alimentari & Vineria is as much a production outpost of the original – specializing in house-cured meats and home baked breads – as it is a casual dining experience in its own right. Here at the original site of the Great Jones Lumber Supply, Donna Lennard set out to fulfill a dream of the last 18 years.

Art gallerist, David Zwirner came on board to launch the project, and Antonello and Lorenzo Radi – Donna’s friends and collaborators from Umbria – handpicked the Italian pieces to round out the aesthetic with designers Ian McPheely and Christian Garnett of Grayling Design.

The recuperated joists from the original structure were incorporated into the design: bar paneling, banquette benches, tables, and even the cutting boards used to serve the salumi platters. Traces of the original lumber yard graffiti are still visible on the brick walls, and a plethora of Italian antique furniture, tiles and ceramic ware are juxtaposed against modern artisan steel and zinc touches.

Chef Justin Smillie (Barbuto, the Standard) put together a stellar team to run the rustic Italian kitchen which harkens back to Italian trattoria fare with a casual ease that keeps the room buzzing from morning to night. Chef Christopher Lee (Chez Panisse, Eccolo) flew in from Berkeley, CA to man the salumi program with longtime salumi veteran, Bernardo Flores. Kamel Saci, an artisan baker from Bordeaux arrived to make his delectable artisan breads with Keren Weiner (Chanterelle, Gramercy Tavern) running the pastry/gelato program.

Artist friend Warren Muller – whose studio was once the site of the original il Buco - built one of his whimsical chandeliers to hang in the open atrium and sculptor/jewelry designer, Jill Platner added a final touch with a steel sculpture over the upstairs roof garden.

Our Chef

Justin Smillie

Justin Smillie was born in Upland California, but raised in Hunterdon County, NJ, where he began his career at 17 as part of the team of the Bernards Inn, under Edward Stone. From there, Justin moved to NYC where he spent time at Jean Georges, Mercer Kitchen and Gramercy Tavern, before landing with Jonathan Waxman at Washington Park, and later as the chef of Barbuto. It was during his 6 years under the attentive eye of Waxman, that Justin fell in love with bold flavors, rustic technique, open fire, and farm to table cooking.

In 2010 chef Daniel Silverman invited him to be part of the opening team of Andre Balaz’s New York Standard, where he worked as a sous chef and then as the Executive Chef of Sunset Beach on Shelter Island for 2 seasons.

Fortune found him one afternoon when Justin was introduced to Donna Lennard of Il Buco. As the executive chef of Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria, Justin is able to incorporate the “farmer’s market” driven cuisine he loves. He lives with his wife and two sons in Hoboken New Jersey.

Private Dining

for parties of up to 50 guests

Much like the il Buco wine cellar, our private dining space is available for ala carte dining as well as private events for approximately 50 people. The room sits above the main dining room separated by an atrium from which is suspended an enormous chandelier by lighting genius, Warren Muller. A marble drink rail surrounds the atrium where guests can look out onto a resplendent roof garden. The décor combines warm antique Italian furnishings with wood and steel tables made from the original ceiling beams.

Menus are custom designed with a family style format. Cocktail hours with passed hors d’oeuvres pre-empt a variety of sit down dinners. Appetizers are often shared around the table, followed by a simple pasta tasting, and entrees such as whole sea bass roasted under sea salt, or rotisserie roasted short ribs, porchetta or Label Rouge chickens. Housemade gelato tasting parade out on wooden boards in overflowing tavern glasses along with other assorted desserts.

Menus

In addition to the house made salumi, cheese plates and home baked breads from the alimentari, a list of tasty appetizers incorporates many of the wonderful delicacies imported from Italy with local, market ingredients. Housemade and artisan pastas are reminiscent of Italian trattoria fare, and entrees from the rotisserie and wood burning oven such as peppercorn roasted short ribs and porchetta. House made sorbets and gelatos are the highlights of the dessert menu.

The wine list consists of a handful of our favorite wineries both domestic and imported, highlighting a slate of wines from each winery both by the glass, quartino or bottle. The list of producers is in constant flux as we discover new gems. A great selection of artisan beers and local wines also available on tap.

Press

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Alimentari

Our Market

Reminiscent of the classic markets peppered throughout Italy, the alimentari is dedicated to producing and sourcing the best ingredients available in the market.

The Alimentari opens at 7am, serving artisan coffees and housemade pastries. The caffeteria is tucked behind the bar of an extensive market where house-cured salumi share a case with gorgeous local and imported cheeses, such as our unique selection of cave aged pecorinos, as well as fresh made pastas, Italian anchovies, bottarga and assorted delicacies. The bread is baked daily using organic grains and long fermented doughs for richness of flavor and crusty exteriors. A multitude of local and Italian imported artisan products line the shelves, including the il Buco original product line of Italian extra virgin olive oils, vinegars and sea salts, all available for refill in rows of stainless steel sansone.

Caffeteria

Cafe

Join us at 7am during the week and 9am on the weekends in our caffeteria for La Colombe’s organic Atelier blend espresso or cappuccino and a selection of drip coffees and organic teas. Sample one of the housemade pastries such as classic Italian bomboloni, or a chocolate, white chocolate or plain brioche from baker Kamel Saci, served Italian style with housemade granita or filled with fresh cream or gelato. Or try any of the sumptuous cakes, pastries or cookies from pastry chef Keren Weiner. Don’t miss the midday pizza bianca with thin sliced mortadella or salumi rosso after 11am, or the wonderful breakfast offerings: baked eggs with porchetta, housemade yogurt and granola with seasonal fruit, or the more savory torta pasqualina or tortilla spagnola served with our fresh baked breads.

By noon, the coffee bar morphs into a classic wine bar, serving savory snacks, beer and wine on tap as well as our selection of wines and spirits. Lunch is served all day at café tables spotted throughout the alimentari.

Salumeria

Cured Meats

It is with great pride that il Buco returns to our favorite artisan project: the curing of our own salumi following the knowledge we have garnered over the years from our dear Italian “norcini, ” and now under the loving guidance of consulting chef Christopher Lee (Chez Panisse and ‘Eccolo, Berkeley, CA) and il Buco veteran, Bernardo Flores. The majority of our salumi is cured in-house using pigs raised by farmers we have been beholden to for more than 10 years due to their dedication to humane animal husbandry. We continue to work with the Ossabaw pigs (Cane Creek Farm, NC), an ancient Spanish descendent discovered on a small island off the coast of Georgia, whose high fat content and rich sweet meat lends itself well to our program, as well as a number of heritage breeds we have enjoyed over the years from Flying Pigs Farms in Shoshan, NY and Eco Friendly Meats in Va. We also carry assorted salumi from other newcomers to the market whose craft we admire.

Panetteria

Bakery

We are so proud to be able to offer the talents of baker Kamel Saci, whose dedication to artisan baking yields crusty, flavorful breads made with organic flour and long fermented doughs. Try the lentil bread, ciabatta, filone, dried fig/hazelnut, country loaves or rye, pizza bianca or rosemary focaccia. The best baguettes in NYC are available Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays.

Formaggeria

Cheese Shop

We are honored to import directly an artisan selection imported from Renato Brancoleone’s Fossa dell’Abbondanza of Emilia Romagna, a selection of cave aged pecorinos never before available in the market aged exclusively for the Alimentari in Renato’s underground “fossa.”

Our hand picked local and imported cheese selection is in constant flux according to our “finds” in the local market.

Gelateria

Gelato

The front counter houses a vast selection of housemade gelatos, such as salted caramel, chocolate-peperoncino and meyer lemon, as well as a selection of seasonal fruit sorbets. Traditional granita with fresh brioche is also served beginning in the morning at the alimentari coffee bar with flavors such as: espresso with panna, almond and local strawberry. French doors open with the warm weather for direct access to the gelato counter!

Prodotti

Our Products

We are thrilled to finally have a home for the original il Buco product line, consisting of our selection of olive oil, vinegar and sea salts from Italy. We are now able to offer our clients the opportunity to use these products daily and to expand the line here with our selections from all over Italy and locally. Oils and vinegars are now available for refill from stainless steel “sansone” behind alimentari counter making them a staple product of the daily kitchen.

Other products: Pugliese tomatoes, jams, conserved veggies, mostardas, olives and olive pastes, anchovies, tuna, colatura and more, both imported and produced locally using artisan methods.