A Brooklyn bacaro
in the spirit of Venice.
Not a replica.
A translation.
Democratic elegance at 185 Howard Avenue.
The bàcaro is Venice’s oldest idea.
In Venice, a bàcaro is not a destination. It’s a habit. The place you stop on the way home, prop yourself against the bar, eat a few small things, drink a glass of something good, and stay longer than you meant to. No reservations required. No occasion necessary. The ritual belongs to everyone.
That tradition is built on cicchetti: small bites, intensely flavored, designed for sharing and spontaneity. A crostino. A meatball. A sliver of bacalà. Each one a conversation starter. Together, they add up to a meal that never felt like a meal. This is the food culture we’ve translated to Bed-Stuy.
“The whole idea was to have a sort of translation of Venice in Brooklyn that’s not quite one-to-one.”
Edible Brooklyn, June 2026
We opened on March 8, 2026 at 185 Howard Avenue because we believed something was missing on this block: a place where you could eat and drink well without spending a fortune or proving you belonged. We call it democratic elegance: the conviction that excellent food, honest wine, and a beautiful room shouldn’t be reserved for anyone in particular.
Maximum flavour. Minimum volume.
The menu starts with cicchetti flights: three vegetarian and three mixed crostini-style bites built for intensity. Seasonal, rotating, designed to surprise. From there: aperitivo cocktails, cuisine rooted in Italian regional cooking, and a wine list of fifteen glasses all at the same price.
That last part is deliberate. When every glass costs the same, you choose with curiosity rather than anxiety. You try the orange wine from Sicily. You ask what’s in the Gragnano. The flat pricing model is the most Venetian thing about us: in the bacari of Venice, the wine is cheap and the conversation is free.
Carlo Cittadini built the drinks program around aperitivo culture and the flavors of the Adriatic: spritzes, low-ABV cocktails, and a considered spirits list.
World-class jazz on Howard Avenue. No cover.
Every Sunday from 7 to 9pm, Dr. Antonio Ciacca performs at the centre of the room. Antonio is a pianist, composer, former Director of Programming at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and former Juilliard faculty. He’s also our Doc Jazz: artist in residence and curator of both our Sunday and Tuesday series.
Every Tuesday at the same time, musicians set up near the front window. No cover. The sound drifts onto Howard Avenue. That’s the point.
Jazz Tuesdays — Every Tuesday, 7–9pm. Rotating artists. No cover.
Doc Jazz Sundays — Every Sunday, 7–9pm. Antonio Ciacca. No cover.
We opened in Bed-Stuy because Bed-Stuy made sense.
The same values that define a true bàcaro, community, plurality, a door that stays open, are already here. We’re queer-owned, rooted in this block, and committed to being a genuine neighborhood anchor rather than a destination that happens to be in the neighborhood.
Cicchetti Commons, our free daytime community space, runs Tuesday through Sunday from 2 to 5pm. We’ve hosted clothing exchanges, mahjong meetups, children’s playgroups, a cat rescue organization, a community garden collective, and the local block association. The door is open. Come in.
We’re also half a block from where we live. This is our neighborhood too.
The people behind it.
Emanuele De Biase
Founder
Born in Rome. Fifteen years in Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy. Former antitrust economist, high school teacher, and strategy consultant. Cornell MBA. Classically trained violinist. Amateur beekeeper. Has been hosting dinner parties since before it was a concept.
Carlo Cittadini
Bar Director & Co-Owner
Visual artist, professor, and mixologist. From the Adriatic coast of Italy. Twenty years in New York and London hospitality, formerly at Beverly’s, Fig. 19, and The Lock Tavern. The drinks program is his.