By Caroline Benveniste
Ristorante Rafele has all the things you want in a neighborhood restaurant—good food, a convivial atmosphere, and a friendly staff. On a warm summer evening, we ordered a number of dishes from the large, mostly Southern Italian menu.
The arancini were oozing perfection, the fried artichokes were as good as anything I’ve had in Italy, and the pizza was delicious—oblong with a thin, superbly-cooked crust. The dining room was full and everyone was having a good time.
Ristorante Rafele is on a stretch of 7th Avenue between Bleecker and Carmine, which has seen a large turnover in restaurants and shops. The site of the restaurant, 29 7th Avenue South, has most recently been home to an Indian restaurant and a pizza place which was only open for four months. It seemed like a cursed location until Raffaele Ronca took it over at the end of 2011. Raffaele, the owner/chef, is a 23-year West Village resident. He emigrated to the U.S. from Naples when he was 20 and has lived here ever since (besides a short stint in LA when he was pursuing an acting career). He worked in various restaurants including the now-closed Café Torino on West 10th, Bellavitae on Minetta Lane, and Palma on Cornelia Street.
The restaurant was not in good shape when Raffaele took possession, but all the renovations were completed in about seven months. The wood-burning oven came from Naples, and Raffaele did all the brickwork. The façade of the restaurant is lovely and inviting—it took three months to get approval from Landmarks. When you see the restaurant from the street, it fits in so well that it seems like it was always there. The inside of the restaurant has a rustic feel with beautiful flower arrangements. The tables are all made from recycled beams. The restaurant opened a little over four years ago and has been successful ever since.
Raffaele explained that when he first came to the U.S., he used to entertain friends in his living room, and now his restaurant is an extension of that. With the open kitchen and focus on hospitality, he wants to avoid a corporate feel, instead making customers feel like they are in his home. One customer told me that, by the end of the evening, it always feels like you are at a party with everyone talking to each other.
Even those who love the restaurant may not know that there is more to Raffaele than Ristorante Rafele. What really sets him apart are his activities outside of the restaurant. Raffaele has donated his time, energy, and food to many charitable organizations, such as “The Hope Program” which provides job training to poor New Yorkers, God’s Love We Deliver, and City Meals on Wheels. He has also participated in numerous benefits for West Village schools. He achieved some fame as a recent winner of Chopped and decided to donate his $10,000 prize money to the St. Elizabeth Seton Children’s Foundation, a pediatric hospital which provides “specialized clinical and rehabilitative services to medically complex children with multiple physical and neurological conditions and disabilities.”
Raffaele also welcomes food tours to his restaurant—culinary students and tourists participate. He told us that this is a way to get more people to the neighborhood, to keep it vibrant. He worries about some of the neighboring restaurants and thinks they may not make it due to lack of business.
If you haven’t been, certainly stop by, and get the cheesecake for dessert. About a year ago, Food & Wine magazine included it in their list of the “17 Best Cheesecakes in America.”
Ristorante Rafele
29 7th Ave. South (Bedford & Morton)
212.242.1999
