Ginger Ristorante Opens First US Location Near Rockefeller Center

Ginger Ristorante opened its first U.S. location in New York in October 2025, steps from Rockefeller Center, inside the former Exxon Building. The 7,000-square-foot space is the fourth restaurant in the portfolio of Roman restaurateurs Dario Asara and Corinna Bassetti Josi, joining three Rome destinations: Ginger Spagna, Ginger Pantheon and Corte Laica.

The founders apply one sourcing philosophy across all units: healthy, sustainable and predominantly organic ingredients. In New York that translates into an all-day, Roman-inspired menu built on local farm-fresh produce, seasonal fruit and vegetables, fish and high-quality meats. It is menu engineering aimed squarely at the health-conscious Midtown daypart spread. Light cooking techniques — steaming, boiling, braising — anchor the kitchen's approach, led by Asara and a team of Italian chefs working an open kitchen at the center of the dining room.

What does the design signal?

Bassetti Josi designed the room herself, drawing on the outdoor piazza dining of the original Ginger Spagna. A skylight in the Italian Liberty style, with sweeping curves and soft backlighting, stands at the center. Black-and-white ceramic floors replicate a Roman public square, echoing the basalt sampietrini (the cube-shaped paving stones of Piazza di Spagna). All furniture was designed in Italy: green-and-white glass tables, geometric metal garden chairs in white leather with red trim, forest-green banquettes with orange seating, and floral wall panels of her design.

How does the menu break down?

The kitchen runs Roman classics across dayparts:

• Appetizers: suppli (crispy rice and tomato balls with mozzarella and basil mayo); roasted octopus with black ink potatoes and 'nduja reduction.
• Pasta: spaghettone cacio e tartufo with shaved black truffle; potato-parsley gnocchi with artichoke, jowl bacon and crispy Pecorino Romano.
• Mains: wild striped bass with red pepper reduction; saltimbocca of veal with Prosciutto di Parma, butter and sage.
• Pizza: Neapolitan style from a brick oven, with dough leavened up to 72 hours.

A dedicated Salumi Bar sells freshly made sandwiches plus curated salumi and cheeses, on-site or to go — a rare takeaway revenue line for a full-service Italian room of this scale.

Where does the beverage program fit?

A marble bar wraps the front of the space, pairing a coffee station with a broad liquor and digestives range. One side holds tropical fruit — mango, soursop, ginger, passion fruit — for made-to-order juices and smoothies; the other displays the greens and vegetables used in the salads. Signature cocktails follow the same fresh-fruit logic: a White Negroni (Misguided gin, Lillet Blanc, Cinzano Bianco) and the Diva (butterfly pea tea-infused gin, passion fruit, ginger syrup).

The wine list is small and vertically integrated. Bottles come from the owners' organic vineyard, Le Masciare in Irpinia, Italy, supplemented by selections from small Italian and California producers. The olive oil on the Nerano pizza comes from the same Irpinia vineyard. That is ownership-level supply-chain control, not a distributor's list.

Desserts include tiramisù in a coffee mug made with organic coffee, and acai cheesecake with banana. A signature Roman-style tropical fruit plate — mango, papaya, pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, melon — is sized for a full table.

A private dining room sits behind beveled glass doors, built for celebrations and business gatherings, and the new outdoor patio hosts a daily Aperitivo Hour. Midtown's competitive all-day segment will now test whether an organic, Rome-tested format can scale across the Atlantic.