A Michelin Guide-recognized Italian restaurant is eyeing an expansion into Manhattan.
Il Gigante recently filed a liquor license application with Manhattan Community Board 3 for a new location at 99 2nd Ave. in the East Village. The restaurant opened its flagship location in Queens in early 2025.
The upcoming space plans to offer both table and bar seating.
Il Gigante is known for Italian comfort food and homestyle cooking rooted in Central Italy.
The menu features shareable plates, curated meat and cheese boards, salads, pastas and main dishes.
Highlights include Pollo alla Cacciatora, slow-baked chicken in homemade Tuscan tomato sauce; Branzino al Cartoccio, an oven-baked branzino fillet marinated with cherry tomatoes, lemon and herbs; and Linguine alle Vongole, homemade pasta with Manila clams, garlic, parsley, white wine and Calabrian red peppers.
Signature cocktails, including the BLQ Paper Plane made with Vecchia Romagna, Casoni Aperitivo, Amaro Bubbòlo and lemon, along with a curated selection of red and white wines and Negronis, will pair with the dishes.
“Il Gigante is about creating a feel-good, unrushed, happy space for all the things we love most: eating, drinking and gathering together. It’s a version of our old home, in our adopted home,” the website reads.
An official opening date has not yet been announced.
Once open, Il Gigante plans to operate daily from 5 p.m. to midnight.
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