Felice’s newest New York restaurant opens at one of Flatiron’s most privileged corners, where Fifth Avenue meets 26th Street beside Madison Square Park. Set inside a 21-storey neo-Gothic building completed in 1912, the site gives the family-run Italian brand a dining room with unusual scale, daylight from three sides and a strong connection to the street.
Wallpaper* dines at Felice Flaitron, New York
The mood: go big and come home
Since opening on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in 2007, Felice has grown to fourteen locations across New York, Connecticut and Florida. Designed by local studio Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture, Felice Flatiron is arguably the brand’s most architecturally ambitious opening to date. The room boasts 18ft ceilings, windows on three sides and a Fifth Avenue presence that changes with the light. Afternoon sun cuts across amber banquettes, pale tablecloths and warm timber.
‘We wanted the space to feel instantly familiar but elevated in every detail, Tuscany in its materials, New York in its energy,’ says Enrico Bonetti, co-founder of Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture.
The design works through proportion, material and cathedral-like drama: custom Italian oak millwork crafted in Florence, Chianti terracotta sourced from Tuscany, deep red blinds, leather seating, soft pendant lamps and a 30ft illuminated wine wall. At the centre is Felice’s largest bar to date, wrapped in Grigio Versilia marble and engineered to be the restaurant’s social anchor.
The food: all-day entertainment
The menu stays close to Felice’s Tuscan roots: seasonal ingredients, regional recipes, signature pastas and dishes made for sharing. New to Flatiron is the Il Toscano Plate, with rotating salumi, pecorino, olives and crostini, alongside a tableside tiramisu cart and an interactive amaro station.
Wine remains central. The by-the-glass list champions small producers, with Italian bottles joined by selections from Spain, California and elsewhere. A ‘Back to Natural’ section brings in low-intervention wines, while the cocktail programme leans full dolce vita: Dirty Martini Spritz, aperitivo drinks, and a nightcap menu running from Amaro Shakerato to Affogato Martini.
Felice Flatiron is located at 220 5th Ave, New York, NY 10001, United States