Bar Americano (180 Franklin St.) is breathing new life into the corner of the Astral building that was formerly Brooklyn Label. The new bar and restaurant will bring the European concept of aperitivo to Greenpoint in the coming weeks.
Aperitivo is a cultural institution in Italy and other parts of Europe, and something the team at Bar Americano believes Greenpointers could really get behind.
Bar Americano’s team includes co-owners Conor Hynes, David Clarke, and Steve Kämmerer overseeing the bar program and Chef Vicent Iborra operating the food and wine programs.
The food and drink menus will pull inspiration from parts of Southern Europe, including the Lombardy and Piedmont regions of Northern Italy, the Savoy region of Southeast France, and the Catalonia region, Basque Country, and the Balearic Islands of Spain.
“Aperitifs and digestifs will be the main players in the bar program,” said Steve Kämmerer. The drink menu will highlight the “Americano” as it is “the quintessential aperitivo drink,” according to Kämmerer. Bar Americano will be serving two versions of the cocktail, a Classico and a Bianco, and both will be on tap.
Bar Americano will also be serving an entire menu of spritzes, “showcasing different versions of the aperitivo culture in different regions of Europe.”
The wine program will include only natural European wines from small producers, including a variety of aromatized wines from the vermouths, quinquinas, and gentians, and fortified wines like jerez and Pineau de Charentes.
Chef Vicent Iborra, originally from Mallorca, is experimenting with a food menu focused on small plates. It will include snacks like pan tumaca, cured and pickled Cantabrian anchovies, chicken liver paté, a cheese and charcuterie plate, burrata with lavender, and black sausage croquettes.
The totality of the food menu is currently being established, but Kämmerer said it will also include “other items more familiar to the American palate” like oysters, a cheeseburger, and a Caesar salad.
Kämmerer explained that Bar Americano’s team has renovated the entire space “to portray the same atmosphere you would find in a classic timeless Mediterranean cafe or bar.”
He said Bar Americano will be a “very bright space full of oak floors, mahogany woodwork, white quartz countertops, and beautiful stucco walls.” There will also be outdoor seating, “just in time for winter,” jokes Kämmerer.
The owners have been working on Bar Americano for the past nine months and are finally closer to opening, hoping to be ready in the next month or two. “I believe four to six weeks is a fair window…if everything goes according to plan,” said Kämmerer.
Bar Americano’s hours of operation are still being decided, but the team expects to be open for dinner seven days a week and serve brunch on Saturday and Sunday.
I hope they have a few more standards like a chicken sandwich, turkey, etc. and a happy hour.
Wishing you guys all the luck in the world with bar Americano. Fabulous job.