121-year-old NYC Italian restaurant Ferdinando’s is getting new life — but with a twist
A red sauce revival is coming to Brooklyn.
Ferdinando’s Focacceria in Carroll Gardens — which closed abruptly last year after 121 years of serving classic Sicilian fare — will reopen next month with a new owner and a new twist.
The venue will reopen as Bar Ferdinando with its new owner, Sal Lamboglia, who was handpicked by longtime Ferdinando’s owner Frank Buffa last March. Lamboglia, who owns the busy Cafe Spaghetti across the street, will reopen the space on April 15 as a neighborhood cafe and cocktail bar.
“My goal is to preserve what makes Ferdinando so special while giving him the care he needs to continue for years to come,” Lamboglia, who is also an assistant at Brooklyn spots Swoony and Sal Tang’s, said in a statement shared with The Post.
“We don’t want it to be invisible – but I want to see myself visible in space.”
The revamped Union Street red sauce joint will still serve Sicilian rice balls, octopus salad and the “original” panel sandwich — made using the Buffa family recipe — along with coffee and espresso.
New additions include house-made eggplant caponata and insalata di mare, added Lamboglia, and a dessert menu from Radio Bakery alum Jackie De La Barrera.
The bar will feature a cocktail program led by Ricardo Echeverri — formerly of Swoony’s — offering “inventive twists on the classics, amaro-forward pours, martinis, vermouth, and the bar’s spin on the Manhattan Special,” said Bar Ferdinando in response.
Lamboglia said he will be keeping about half of the center’s original art, historic lamps, chairs and stools — as well as a decades-old sign that “has defined the room for generations.”
Other famous customers of the restaurant commemorated on the walls include Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese – the latter of whom used Ferdinando’s in a scene in 2006’s “The Departed.”
Local Michael Hafftka, an artist who owns a private art gallery on the block, sees the new opening as a welcome addition from Cafe Spaghetti — which he described as an already popular restaurant in Carroll Gardens.
“I eat there often, it’s a great place,” he said of the four-year-old restaurant, adding that the space will be “improved” with an incoming bar and cafe.
“They bring a lot to the area,” added Hafftka, “so I think Bar Ferdinando will be a great addition as well.”
Buffa, who closed the store last February due to health issues, previously told The Post that he considers Lamboglia “great” and chose him over other buyers because “he’s a popular person, and I like the way he’s doing Cafe Spaghetti.”
“He will continue [Ferdinando’s] in his own way.”
