A Little Rome in Brooklyn

December 2, 2022 Andrew Cotto

Chef Mauro Campanale Photo: Mireille Jaccard

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In the heart of hipster Williamsburg is an Italian eatery glowing with the ageless ambiance of the Eternal City. Adjacent to the decorated dining pavilion curbside at 115 Berry St. is a portal to a spacious room of dark wood, white brick, modern fixtures, adorned shelves, high ceilings, amber touches, a fireplace fronted by a couch and chairs, and the convivial spirit generated by a passion that is uniquely Italian: trumpeted greetings; extravagant gestures; handshakes and hugs; kisses on both cheeks; bursts of laughter; strains of music; the fragrance of a busy kitchen. The staff at Antica Pesa is almost entirely from Italy, as are many of the regular customers, and this provides the ethos behind the establishment opened a decade ago by the Panella brothers from Rome, whose family has been in the restaurant business there for a century.

Lorenzo Panella runs Antica Pesa. Photo: Will Engelmann

Lorenzo Panella is a frontman extraordinaire. A dashing, mustachioed host in stylish casual wear, his elegance is complimented by a physical energy that smacks of a stage performer. He is an aperitivo to anticipation, a stimulus to the sense of well being that can contribute to the best restaurant experiences. And he is a man, along with his two brothers, drawn to the bright lights of New York City to share four generations of familial culinary practice. “For us as brothers, we always loved to come to NYC where the biggest companies in our industry are – the best of the best!” Lorenzo says. “Antica Pesa Brooklyn was a way for us to honor our past, a way for our generation to continue this legacy outside of Italy.”

Francesco Panella also runs the restaurant. Photo: Raoul Beltrame

Within Italy, though, the original Antica Pesa in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood is an institution born from benevolence in 1922. Within a customs post, where wheat was weighed on scales (“pesa”), a tavern was opened to feed the less fortunate who lacked such basic foods. An authentic Roman cuisine emerged, recognized city-wide and maintained for four generations. Among the latest generation is Francesco Panella, a cooler customer than his animated brother, with the nonchalance of a movie star on vacation, who occupies, often literally and always figuratively, the space between the front of the house and the open kitchen in back. He is a hybrid of hospitality and cuisine, his expertise with the latter the impetus for his wildly popular show on Italian TV, Big Little Italy, where Francesco seeks true Italian food in New York. Do not get him started on eggplant parm…

Cacio e Pepe at Antica Pesa. Photo: Mireille Jaccard

The true Italian food at Antica Pesa is not just standard trattoria fare. Yes, there’s a cacio e pepe that will transport you to Trastevere. And roast pork. Whole branzino. Baked eggplant (not buried in mozzarella!). But there’s also a chicken cutlet with chamomile infused breadcrumbs; a nest of shredded phyllo dough hosting fava beans, a poached egg, pecorino romano, and black truffles; duck breast prosciutto with a sun-dried fig crumble and mustard gelato; vitello tonnato. The menu, seasonal and sustainable, is under the auspices of brother Simone Panella, the executive chef who returned to Rome once the Brooklyn location was firmly established. Simone comes to New York often and is in constant contact with his young head chef, Mauro Campanale, whose large and luminous figure is present in the open kitchen window as he runs orders and greets passersby.

“I come to Antica Pesa because there are so many Italians here,” says renowned makeup artist Angie Valentino of Ridgewood, Queens via Milan. “But also to meet Americans as everyone is so friendly and outgoing. I love the warm room and the jazz on Thursday nights, too. Of course, the food has to be incredible. Otherwise, I don’t come.”

Thursday is Jazz Night at Antica Pesa. Photo: Andrew Cotto

Andrew Cotto has been eating his way through Brooklyn for 25 years. As an author, the food of our borough has been featured extensively in his novels and journalism. In his new column for the Daily Eagle, Andrew will tell the tales of Brooklyn eateries, from the people behind the food to the communities which they nourish.