Antica Pesa, owned by four generations of the Panella family, has been honored for its outstanding wine program in Wine Spectator’s 2023 Restaurant Awards, which celebrate the world’s best restaurants for wine. Antica Pesa Rome is honored with the Best of Award of Excellence and Antica Pesa Brooklyn with the Award of Excellence. It’s the first time for both locations and one of eight restaurants to receive the award in Rome.
Antica Pesa, Rome (ph Leonardo Cestari).
The Award of Excellence recognizes restaurants whose wine lists feature a well-chosen assortment of quality producers along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style and the Best of Award of Excellence recipients display excellent breadth across multiple winegrowing regions and/or significant vertical depth of top producers, along with superior presentation.
«We take great pride in our craft and authenticity of delivering a true Italian experience from our family for over 100 years, which is of course nothing without beautiful Italian wine! We place a great deal of thought and care together with team Patrizio Amici in Rome, Riccardo in Brooklyn alongside both my brothers Simone and Lorenzo into our wine lists, and it means the world to be recognized by Wine Spectator for this accomplishment» – says partner Francesco Panella.
Francesco Panella at Antica Pesa Brooklyn.
Established in 1922 in the Trastevere neighborhood in Rome, the Panella family continued to evolve Antica Pesa Rome into an award-winning establishment recognized city-wide with three of the brothers taking the lead. With oldest brother Simone becoming head chef, middle brother Francesco running the restaurant's international operation, and youngest Lorenzo becoming the owner in Brooklyn they decided to open their first international outpost to carry on their legacy while sharing the philosophy that began within the walls of their ancestors’ small Roman trattoria. For the three Panella brothers, the neighborhood of Williamsburg was a fitting homage to their Roman home because, like Trastevere, this New York neighborhood located on the other side of a river forged its character through creative transformation. Antica Pesa Brooklyn opened on Berry Street in October of 2012 and was one of the initial openings during Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s rebirth.
Antica Pesa Roma.
In Brooklyn, Antica Pesa’s wine program is directly inspired by their storied, underground wine cellar in Rome. The current collection in Williamsburg is a window into their world, which showcases centuries of Italian history captured artfully in bottles. Specializing in showcasing the bounty of each region in Italy and their interesting collaborations with Italian winemakers, the offerings allow guests to transport directly to Italy in just a sip. Antica Pesa Brooklyn uses their wine storage as art, to put forth a visual impression of bottles and labels. These bottles adorn their walls showcasing wine from their homeland with labels they think to be as beautiful as the mural artworks that adorn their walls in Rome.
Antica Pesa Roma's cellar.
For the Panella family, sharing the authentic experience of Roman culture is an essential part of the rhythm of their daily life. Antica Pesa’s wine program in Rome is carefully curated in its renowned and historic underground wine cellar. In advance of their olfactory and tasting sensations, the cellar storage allows a visual impression of bottles and labels. Their ever-changing section rotates regularly with a collection of wine that embodies Antica Pesa’s philosophy to tell stories that mark the passage of time with anecdotes, memories, and moments captured in bottles.
Antica Pesa Brooklyn.
After a decade in New York and a century in Rome, Antica Pesa continues to pay homage to their homeland by reworking traditional recipes with a nod to modern trends. Both restaurants have consistently been recipients of awards & recognitions over the years such as "Best Roman Restaurant" La Repubblica, “Best Italian Restaurant” Gambero Rosso, “Candidates for UNESCO Patrimony” by the Italian Ministry of Culture, and “Commitment to Sustainable Gastronomy” Michelin Guide.
Antica Pesa Brooklyn.