Il Bastardo

191 Seventh Ave.
Like its older relative next door, Sette VII, Il Bastardo specializes in Italian cuisine in a space that includes a large bar along the length of the dining room as well as a private rear space. Despite the shared kitchen facilities with Sette VII, I... more

Like its older relative next door, Sette VII, Il Bastardo specializes in Italian cuisine in a space that includes a large bar along the length of the dining room as well as a private rear space. Despite the shared kitchen facilities with Sette VII, Il Bastardo is indeed the bastard offspring that feeds off its relative next door. Service can be quite spotty. On one particular evening, our own editors waited 25 minutes for a bottle of wine that seemed impossible to locate. (We offered to assist in the search or to choose a different wine.) After our 45 minute wait for entrees, the oblivious waiter returned to the table and asked, "Would you like to see the dessert list?" We replied we would prefer our entrees first. While the seafood dishes can be quite good, Il Bastardo is all about Tuscan meat dishes. Lamb chops are particularly good. The desserts are especially bad. Perhaps recalling its previously life as Viscaya, the former nightclub in this space, seeing and being seen takes primary focus here over service and being served. The space is charming and ambient lighting creates an interesting atmosphere.


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Chelsea Description

Il Bastardo is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Once a mixed, low-income neighborhood on the West Side, Chelsea has become a focal point for artists and galleries. It has a wide reputation as Manhattan's gay mecca, and while that has historically been true, rising acceptance of the gay lifestyle—and soaring rents—has led to a dissipation of the community in the neighborhood. These days, Chelsea is, very simply, a bastion of affluence more than any other social status, with the conversion of many apartment buildings to condos and co-ops and the on-rush of multimillion-dollar brownstones and lofts. In the ever-northward shift of Manhattan's masses, the high prices of Greenwich Village and Christopher Street area (which has boasted a large LGBT community since the 1960s) led many to head north to Chelsea in the late 1980s. In that migration, many have already moved on from Chelsea to the northern climes of Hell's Kitchen and Washington Heights, or east to Brooklyn. While Eighth Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets formerly had one of New York’s highest concentrations of gay-operated restaurants, stores, cafes, the population transfer changed the demographics once again—you'll find much higher concentrations in Hell's Kitchen nowadays. The Chelsea art scene blossomed thanks to the conversion of garages and warehouses between Tenth and Twelfth Avenues, and likely will become a victim of its own success. What SoHo and the 57th Street area lost in stature has been Chelsea’s gain, and almost all the well-established flagship galleries make Chelsea their base. How did it all begin? In 1987, the Dia Center for the Arts—later known as Dia: Chelsea—became one of the pioneers in the area, establishing its main exhibition facility on West 22nd Street. Ironically, after opening its flagship museum Dia: Beacon upstate, it was left without a Manhattan presence. Plans to move down to Greenwich Village and abut the new High Line elevated park were scuttled, and the Whitney instead grabbed the valuable tract that once appealed to Dia. Of course, the High Line further increased property values, thus begetting additional high-rises between Tenth Avenue and West Street, which in turn brought in starchitects like Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel, whose creations can be seen soaring from the earth along West Street. You can learn more about these in our new architecture of Manhattan walking tour. While the ethnic diversity of Chelsea was once truly enviable, the neighborhood still remains one of only a few places where housing ranges from high-rise public housing projects to single-family brownstones to new glass condominiums—even on the same block! Some of Manhattan’s most affordable rent-stabilized apartments can be found between Seventh and Ninth Avenues. The historic district has some fine examples of nineteenth-century city dwellings, and small gardens and flowering trees abound. If you think the grounds of General Theological Seminary (440 West 21st Street) look familiar, that's because it is frequently functions as a set for the TV show Law & Order! Even seminaries have to make money, and thus G.T.S. (as it's known) demolished its former entrance on Ninth Avenue to make way for (what else?) luxury condominiums. At its Tenth Avenue entrance, G.T.S. created one of Manhattan's most charming niche hotels, the Desmond Tutu Center, named after the great South African archbishop. Speaking of hotels, Chelsea has no shortage of great places to stay and to eat. On Tenth Avenue you'll find the renowned tapas of Tia Pol and its offshoot El Quinto Pino just two blocks away. There's the upscale Cookshop nearby, and further south on Tenth Avenue you'll find the Iron Chef's Morimoto at the great Chelsea Market, also home to Buddakan on the Ninth Avenue side.

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Info

191 Seventh Ave.
New York, NY 10014
(212) 675-5980
Website

Editorial Rating

Category

Italian

Price

$$$$$

Ambience

Casual

Payment

All Major

This Week's Hours

DINNER
Tue-Sat: 5:00pm-12:00am
Sun&Mon: 5p:00m-11:00pm

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