The stylish Bar Madonna has now opened at 367 Metropolitan Avenue, in the space that previously served as the Williamsburg location of Taqueria Diana.
The new enterprise is the brainchild of Eric Madonna, alongside Ray Rando, chef Rob Zwirz, and general manager & beverage director, Rob Crowe. Rounding out the creative side of the team are Catarina Guimarães of the Brazilian design firm Studio Guia and Kid Super (aka Colm Dillane, who Vogue once dubbed “the Willy Wonka of Williamsburg.”)
The bar is largely a local labor of love. “When working with KidSuper at his headquarters a block away on Roebling Street, I saw the space and fell in love with it as a Williamsburg resident for four years,” managing partner Eric Madonna tells Greenpointers.
Members of the team first met while working at some of the city’s most acclaimed Italian joints, like Carbone, Babbo, and Lupa. Though the bar will keep some of that Italian influence, pasta lovers should take heed, as Bar Madonna aims to do something a little different.
“We’re not a red sauce joint, we’re a bar,” said Madonna. “Our menu brings witty reimaginings of beloved Italian ingredients and preparation styles to life in dishes like Calabrese Wings and Smashed Meatball Parm. It’s bar food with an Italian-American twist.”
The bar program features at least 14 cocktails, with four draft options. Patrons can sip on options like Gemma’s Sauce (coconut-washed Boatyard Gin, strawberry Salers, and Cocchi di Torino extra dry) and the Brooklyn Special (coffee, Michter’s bourbon and rye, Fernet Branca, and cherry).
Bar Madonna is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 5 p.m. – 2 a.m. They are currently taking reservations on Resy.