One of the East Village’s favorite pasta shops and bars is currently getting ready to launch a brand new expansion in Hudson Yards later this year.
Bar Primi is a long-running pasta shop on the border of NoHo and the East Village. Established in 2014 by founders Andrew Carmellini, Josh Pickard, and Luke Ostrom of NoHo Hospitality Group, Bar Primi launched to near-immediate praise and quickly joined Esquire’s list of “Best New Restaurants.” Chef Carmellini is a veteran restaurateur and hospitality professional with decades of experience in the industry, having begun his career working at numerous Michelin-starred restaurants in the 90’s after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America. A veteran of both L’Arpege and Le Cirque, Carmellini opened his first restaurant as Chef de Cuisine, Cafe Boulud, in 1998. Carmellini would later go on to win the James Beard award for Best Chef New York City in 2005, before opening up the Michelin-starred A Voce in 2006.
In 2009, Carmellini was tapped by Robert De Niro to open up his now-iconic Locanda Verde in The Greenwich Hotel, partnering up with Pickard and Ostrom for the first time. Josh Pickard was well known in the industry at the time as the founder of Time Cafe & Fez as well as The Public Theater’s legendary bar concept Joe’s Pub, transforming downtown Manhattan’s nightlife scene for many years to come. Luke Ostrom meanwhile is a veteran of hospitality culture and design, and has produced numerous upscale and casual dining concepts for VV Ventures, OTG, Marriott International, Howard Hughes, and Madison Square Garden. After launching Locanda Verde together, the three partners would go on to establish the NoHo Hospitality Group and eventually launch the Bar Primi we all know and love on the Bowery.
Now, nearly 8 years after launching Bar Primi, Carmellini and his team are now getting ready to bring their popular concept to a brand new neighborhood. The group is currently in the process of applying for a new liquor license for a new Bar Primi at 349 West 33rd Street, moving into a long-vacant building between Ninth and Eighth Avenues.
According to a sample floorplan attached with their application, the new Bar Primi space will span multiple rooms in order to offer multiple different dining experiences. For example, one room will feature a private dining room with one long 28 seat table, while another room will offer more traditional dining at smaller tables and booths. One room will feature a huge central bar in the shape of an oval, while the proposed outdoor space will feature both a bar and a traditional dining area. In total, the proposed layout is expected to offer guests a staggering 320 seats, cleverly sectioned off from other spaces in order to maintain the feel of intimacy and privacy.
For the menu, guests can look forward to the same premium pasta options that have earned Chef Carmellini so much acclaim. Guests will be able to enjoy a healthy array of different pasta options as well as an impressively curated wine selection. Guests can also expect to enjoy craft cocktails designed exclusively to compliment Bar Primi’s menu. While there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order to transform the space into Hudson Yard’s hottest new pasta restaurant and bar, you can follow Bar Primi on Instagram for regular updates as the owners continue to prepare the space.
