May 15, 2014 By Christian Murray
An upscale Italian restaurant is opening on the Hunters Point waterfront that will include an outdoor patio area with sweeping views of Manhattan.
The restaurant will be owned, in part, by Rocco Sacramone, the owner and head chef at the acclaimed Astoria eatery Trattoria L’incontro, who spoke at a Community Board 2 committee meeting Wednesday.
The restaurant, which has yet to be named, will be 8,000 square feet and will seat 178 in the dining area, 26 at the bar and about 60 in the patio area. That patio area faces the back of the Pepsi sign and out onto the East River.
Trattoria L’incontro, which opened at 21-76 31st Ave. in Astoria in 1999, is among the highest ranked Italian restaurants in New York City, according Zagat. The restaurant is known for its high-end pasta dishes and wine selection.
Sacramone said that the menu at the Center Boulevard location will be very similar to his Astoria restaurant.
Sacramone said he selected Hunters Point as a place to open a second restaurant since it is a vibrant area and is close to his existing restaurant.
Sacramone, an Astoria resident, has two business partners, Robert Briskin and Tommy Demaras, both of whom live in Hunters Point.
The new restaurant is expected to open by the end of the year.
