Photos by William Klayer
Sono, a Korean-Italian trattoria, debuted this past week at 176 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.
The restaurant comes from Chef Sechul Yang, whose résumé includes stints at Gramercy Tavern, Oiji Mi, and DDOBAR.
According to published reports (Time Out, Eater), Yang aims to create a modern trattoria that blends Italian technique with Korean flavors without leaning into gimmicks. The menu features handmade pasta alongside fermented sauces, pickled vegetables and other Korean-inspired ingredients drawn from Yang's upbringing.
Hours are 5:30-11 p.m. on weekdays and until midnight on weekends.
Sono takes over this space from Black Seed Bagels, which departed in April 2025 after 10-plus years here.
The storefront was previously DeRobertis Pasticceria and Caffè, which had operated for 110 years until December 2014.
Black Seed kept as many of the former business's interior architectural elements as possible, including the tiled floors and ceiling... though those elements seem to be gone now...
9 comments:
What a shame to lose that beautiful tile floor :(
Foolish move to lose those original Italian design elements, very foolish.
gimmicky asf
Amazing how so many truly iconic spaces in the city have been destroyed. Basic is as basic does.
I will not go because they destroyed the tiles...
What a shame. Did they not notice how nice the remains of DeRobertis were? Or offer some mementos to the neighborhood? A “trattoria” that dumped this amazing history?
This place looks plain Jane. Who’s rec room is it? Come on Chef Yang, do better.
Ugh do I miss DeRobertis. Yes Veniero’s is still here and hopefully thriving. But we were 100% DeRobertis fans.
Is it possible the tiles are still hiding behind the dry wall? If they can show proof that they didn't destroy them, maybe I'll go to this dumb restaurant. It's like a hostage situation.
"Airport Terminal Fast Casual Dining" is not working for me. :(
Wow. Why replace what was functional and beautiful to something new and decidedly ugly in comparison? It was so lovely in there. I’m shocked. No reverence for the hood, sadly. Count me out. If you would have just asked the neighborhood, we would have told you: Preserve. Preserve. Preserve. It’s good karma and history.
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