New Italian Restaurant, Bar314, Opens In Morningside Heights

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — Two Harlem restaurateurs are expanding into Morningside Heights with a new Italian restaurant located a few blocks away from Columbia University's campus.

Chef Andrew LoPresto and beverage manager Bruno Molfetta opened Bar314 on Amsterdam Avenue and West 122nd Street this month. The casual restaurant and bar features a menu of wood-fired pizzas — 13 signature pies with the option to customize — Italian small plates and 20 original cocktails.

Bar314 is the sister restaurant of Lopresto and Molfetta's first eatery babbalucci, located on Malcolm X Boulevard and West 127th Street. The restaurateurs decided to open up their new venture just a few blocks from their first because they are "committed to uptown," according to a press release.

"Bar314 is a bright and inviting corner space with large windows on two sides, making the restaurant a wonderful daytime or nighttime space for a vibrant community feeling. The pizza oven is central to the space and its flames create a warm ambiance, while guests watch Andrew and his team create their pies," reads a press release.

All the bread and pizza dough used at Bar314 will be baked in-house, and customers will have the option to get gluten-free crust with their pizzas. The restaurant will also offer house-made desserts and gelato from Sugar Hill Creamery.

Bar314's beverage menu consists of cocktails designed by Molfetta, a curated wine selection that includes organic, sustainable and biodynamic wines and drinks made with Cannabidiol upon request, according to a press release. The restaurant's liquor license is still pending, according to a press release.

The restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. and offers delivery until 9:30 p.m., according to a press release. Bar314 plans to offer brunch on the weekends from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Photos courtesy Bar314