After just a year and a half in operation, Marc Forgione’s elite Italian restaurant Trattoria One Fifth is closing on Saturday, February 22. A recent highlight of Greenwich Village’s Italian culinary scene, Trattoria One Fifth opened inside a famous Art Deco building near Washington Square Park in August 2022, with a menu featuring handmade pasta, artisanal pizzas, and a dynamic rotation of seasonal entrées, vegetables, and desserts served alongside cocktails and a curated wine list. The restaurant was a family business, with Forgione’s father, chef Larry Forgione, creating the recipes for the restaurant’s pinsas (hand-pressed Roman-style pizzas).
Closing Amid Mixed Reviews
Reviews of Trattoria One Fifth since its opening have been mixed. Food critic Robert Sietsema praised the Forgione family’s pinsas as varied and well-executed and celebrated the pastas, particularly the agnolotti in its “incandescent” sauce, yet he noted that the appetizers “bombed.” He was particularly critical of the squash blossom zeppole, which he described as “imprisoning a minimal amount of actual flower in a doughy fritter.”
Critic Carina Fenn last year called the five pages of amari to choose from “freaking cool” and quipped, “With its dark wood paneling, bright, knowledgeable servers, and a pages-long list of amari, One Fifth feels very much like the kind of place where NYU faculty members go to get sloshed at a departmental dinner. A glance at the seasonal Italian menu will make you hungry in the best way.” But Fenn added: “Everything sounds so good, but the reality is very hit-or-miss. This is a great place to snack and drink, but not an ideal choice for a full dinner.”
Meanwhile, Hotels Above Par praised the menu, noting that the gelato dessert ensures diners “leave both full and happy.”
What all the critics celebrated was the décor and atmosphere that made Trattoria One Fifth both unique and nostalgic, with its ship-like entry, a serpentine layout that centered the bar with its raised marble counters, and the elegant wood hallway leading back to an open dining space with windows overlooking Washington Mews—a private gated street that offers beautiful Manhattan views.
Moving Forward
While details on the reasons for the restaurant’s closure are scarce and speculative, the owner’s February 12 Instagram post announcing the closure shared that Forgione and his family “have some new projects in the works and have decided to focus [their] energy and resources on those.”
Though Trattoria One Fifth is shutting down, Forgione continues to run a wood-fired Italian restaurant in Nolita called Peasant, as well as his original restaurant, Restaurant Marc Forgione, which was relocated to Tribeca last year but has continued to serve diners for 17 years.
In 2022, Trattoria One Fifth was the first restaurant to debut under Forgione’s hospitality group, Respect, which he formed in partnership with Apres Cru Hospitality. Apres Cru has backed other New York City projects, including Pig & Khao in the Lower East Side and PDT, a cocktail bar in the East Village. It’s possible that Forgione’s allusion to “some new projects in the works” may refer to future openings under Respect’s umbrella.
One Fifth’s Storied History
Though short-lived, Trattoria One Fifth was the most recent chapter in One Fifth’s storied history. In the twentieth century, the location was home to a steakhouse and piano bar frequented by stars like David Bowie and Robert Mapplethorpe. Later, the space was home to Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, which survived the disgrace of its Italian chef Mario Batali, staying open for twenty years until it finally shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The apartments above the restaurant space have had famous tenants, from Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones to film director Tim Burton. Candace Bushnell, who created Sex and the City, even wrote a novel set in the building, calling it a “one-of-a-kind address.”
It may be only a matter of time before another restaurant—and another chapter—opens at One Fifth.
Image Credit: Victoria Shes on Unsplash.
