The Arte Café was a popular Italian restaurant that opened up in Chelsea in 2019. The sister to a 25-year old restaurant on the Upper West Side, The Arte Café was sadly forced to close its doors a year after opening in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thankfully, that’s about to change! The owners of the Arte Café, Maria Guarneri and Adrian Sanchez, recently filed for a renewal of their liquor license in order to reopen the restaurant at 191 7th Avenue. For the past year, only the original location at 106 West 73rd Street remained open.
The original Arte Café was founded 26 years ago, beginning when Dina Malta immigrated to New York from Italy. Passing down her recipes to her son Robert, Robert would go on to open Arte Café by incorporating all of those recipes into his menu. To this day, every dish that is served at Arte Café is descended from the recipes given by Dina Malta.
Featuring upscale Italian cuisine with artisanal homemade pastas, fresh meats, brick-oven pizzas and gourmet desserts, Arte Café was one of the most popular restaurants on the Upper West Side and Chelsea locals were thrilled to discover that it was moving to their neighborhood. The second location stood out from the crowd thanks to its spacious main dining room with exposed rustic brick walls, ornate black chandeliers, and their iconic zebra wallpaper pattern. The location also boasted a middle and back room for private events and cocktail parties.
At the moment, the original Upper West location is still operational, so be sure to give them a visit if you’re curious about the upcoming Chelsea outpost.
