Gelso & Grand

It takes considerable skill to make design look so easy. This corner restaurant may tick all the zeitgeist boxes by sporting an ersatz-industrial look, complete with exposed brick, neat light fixtures and metal chairs, but it’s one that’s tempered by huge windows that let the sun pour in. Equally bright service keeps the atmosphere light and even the name is clever—“Gelso” being Italian for Mulberry, the cross street with Grand.

The kitchen, too, is a cut above the norm. The homemade pastas are standouts, from brown butter gnocchi with braised lamb to lighter, if equally filling, choices like ricotta and spinach agnolotti. The wood-fired oven is used to good effect, especially with the pizzas, and flavors are as generous as the portions themselves.