Caravaggio Ristorante

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

An Upper East Side Table, Rooted in Southern Italy

Caravaggio Ristorante has held its address on East 74th Street, between Madison and Fifth Avenues, since 2009. The man behind it is Giuseppe Bruno — Owner, Executive Chef, and Sommelier — whose cooking draws directly from the traditions of Salerno, in Southern Italy, where his family's relationship with the table began long before he arrived in New York. After more than three decades cooking in the city, Bruno's philosophy remains unchanged: go to the market daily, choose fish, meat, and vegetables by hand and by eye, and let the seasons set the rhythm of the menu. "Food is the soul of the family," he says — and the restaurant is built around that conviction.

The Kitchen and the Cellar

The Italian cuisine at Caravaggio is grounded in craft. Pasta is hand-rolled each morning; the menu moves between the familiar and the refined without strain. A Spaghetti alla Carbonara arrives with house-extruded pasta, guanciale, farm egg yolk, Pecorino Romano, and cracked black pepper. Elsewhere, Ricotta-Stuffed Zucchini Flowers rest over a San Marzano tomato coulis, and a Grilled Octopus is charred and served over fingerling potato purée with braised radicchio and aged balsamic. The raw bar — California uni with Royal Osetra caviar on warm brioche, or Hamachi and tuna sashimi with avocado mousse and jalapeño — signals a kitchen comfortable with range.

The wine program is equally serious. Co-Owner and Sommelier Nicolina Bruno, Ph.D., has assembled a list of 2,335 selections spanning Champagne, the full breadth of Italy, Burgundy, Bordeaux, and California. It is precisely this cellar that earned Caravaggio the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence — recognition that reflects both the depth of the list and the care with which it is maintained.

Setting and Private Dining

The room carries the weight of a grand New York dining address without formality becoming a barrier. A smart-elegant dress code is in place — jackets appreciated at dinner — and the atmosphere matches: unhurried, attentive, built for conversation. Outdoor seating is available, and for private occasions, Caravaggio offers two distinct experiences: an intimate twenty-seat salon or a full restaurant buyout, suited to anything from a business dinner to a wedding celebration.

The Italian cuisine here is the product of a single, consistent vision — one chef, one philosophy, more than fifteen years in the same room on the Upper East Side.