- Where
- La Pecora Bianca, Manhattan, New York, NY
- @lapecorabianca
- Reviewed
- July 9, 2026 · updated September 17, 2026
New York · casual dinner
La Pecora Bianca
the all-day Italian group with house-made pasta and big terraces
One of my favorite casual Italian spots in Manhattan. Great atmosphere, a beautiful terrace, and a menu full of crowd-pleasers.
A seven-restaurant Italian group founded in NoMad in 2015 by the former banker Mark Barak, built on pasta made in house daily and long outdoor terraces. This page covers the menu, what it costs, the locations, the booking platforms and how to get there.
Quick facts
- What it is
- Italian group with seven New York rooms · pasta made in house daily
- Price
- Pasta 24 to 28 USD · mains 26 to 39 USD · roughly 55 to 85 USD per person
- Hours
- NoMad 11:30 to 22:00 Mon to Wed, to 22:30 Thu and Fri · brunch from 10:00 at weekends
- Aperitivo
- Happy hour 16:00 to 17:30 · spritzes, carafe cocktails, salumi and cheese
- Booking
- lapecorabianca.com, OpenTable and Resy · NoMad on 212 498 9696
- Locations
- NoMad, Midtown, SoHo, Bryant Park, Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Theater District
What La Pecora Bianca is
La Pecora Bianca is an Italian restaurant group in New York with seven rooms as of September 2026. The first opened in NoMad, at 1133 Broadway on the corner of 26th Street, in August 2015; the newest and largest opened in the Theater District at 1633 Broadway in the summer of 2026, with branches in Midtown East, SoHo, at Bryant Park and on both the Upper West and Upper East Sides in between.
The name means the white sheep, the opposite of the black sheep, and the cooking is Italian in the seasonal, farm-to-table sense rather than the red-sauce sense. Every location runs an all-day menu with pasta made in house daily at its centre, weekend brunch and an aperitivo hour in the late afternoon.
What makes the group useful rather than merely numerous is the rooms: bright, high-ceilinged, loud in a good way, with a big bar at the front and a substantial terrace on the pavement or the plaza. The NoMad terrace on Broadway is the original; the Theater District room seats 175 inside and 125 outside under red striped umbrellas. House pasta, a real bar and outdoor tables is why it fills every night without being a destination restaurant. It holds no Michelin star and no Bib Gourmand.
Who is behind it
La Pecora Bianca was founded by Mark Barak, who is also its chief executive. He took a Wharton MBA and spent about twelve years in banking and corporate media, including eight years living in London, before leaving in 2014 to become a restaurateur. The Italian half of the story comes from that London period: he travelled repeatedly to Cortina, Lake Garda and Milan and took the local, seasonal habits of those kitchens as the model.
His first project was Claudette, a Provençal restaurant that opened in May 2014. La Pecora Bianca followed in August 2015. The branding, sheep included, was designed by Pentagram.
Awards and press
- No Michelin distinction: not listed in the Michelin Guide New York selection, and no star or Bib Gourmand.
- The Infatuation has reviewed both the NoMad and the Midtown rooms, treating the group as a reliable Italian rather than a destination, with praise for the room and the bar and criticism of some of the whole wheat pastas.
- amNewYork covered the NoMad opening in 2015 and Forbes profiled Mark Barak’s career change in 2016.
- Downtown Magazine covered the Theater District opening in August 2026, calling it the group’s most ambitious space.
How the menu works
One à la carte menu runs from opening to close at every location, with a brunch card at weekends and an aperitivo list in the late afternoon. You can eat a pasta at the bar in forty minutes or sit through four courses.
- Antipasti: whipped ricotta with truffle honey at 17 USD, burrata with heirloom tomatoes at 21 USD, roasted cauliflower with grapes and fresno chili at 17 USD, crispy octopus, salumi and cheese.
- Pasta, all made in house: spaghetti pomodoro or cacio e pepe at 24 USD, rigatoni with vodka sauce at 28 USD, tagliatelle with beef and pork bolognese at 28 USD, plus gramigna and seasonal shapes. Burrata can be added to any pasta.
- Secondi: branzino with spinach and olives at 37 USD, chicken paillard with castelvetrano olives at 29 USD, New York strip steak with peppercorn sauce at 39 USD, and the LPB burger with American cheese at 26 USD.
- Brunch, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 16:00: avocado toast at 17 USD, scrambled eggs with breakfast potatoes at 22 USD, eggs benedict with prosciutto cotto at 22 USD.
- Dolci: chocolate hazelnut budino and olive oil cake at 13 USD, tiramisu for two at 19 USD.
- Aperitivo hour, roughly 16:00 to 17:30: spritzes, carafe cocktails, negronis, the house La Pecora Rosa rosé and small plates of Italian meats and cheeses.
Prices vary by a dollar or two between locations and between lunch and dinner.
What I saw when I filmed
I filmed at La Pecora Bianca in July 2026. My note is that it is one of my favourite casual Italian places in Manhattan: good atmosphere, a beautiful terrace, and a menu full of crowd pleasers.
What it costs
Prices below are from the NoMad menu as published in September 2026. Sales tax is added on top and a tip of 18 to 20 percent is expected.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Antipasti | 17 to 21 USD |
| Spaghetti pomodoro or cacio e pepe | 24 USD |
| Rigatoni vodka | 28 USD |
| Tagliatelle bolognese | 28 USD |
| LPB burger | 26 USD |
| Chicken paillard | 29 USD |
| Branzino | 37 USD |
| New York strip steak | 39 USD |
| Desserts | 13 to 19 USD |
| Restaurant Week two-course lunch | 30 USD when offered |
A pasta and a glass of wine runs about 40 USD a head. Antipasto, pasta and a drink is nearer 60 USD, and adding a main or dessert takes it to 85 USD. Menu prices move, so treat the table as a September 2026 snapshot.
How to book
- Online: lapecorabianca.com has one booking form where you pick the location, party size, date and time. The group is also on OpenTable and Resy.
- By phone: each location has its own line. NoMad is 212 498 9696.
- Email: info@lapecorabianca.com for larger parties and private events.
- Walk-ins: the bar and the terrace take them at most locations.
Hours differ by branch. NoMad, as the reference, runs 11:30 to 22:00 Monday to Wednesday and to 22:30 Thursday and Friday, then splits the weekend into brunch from 10:00 to 16:00 and dinner from 17:00, closing 22:30 Saturday and 21:30 Sunday.
Getting there
- NoMad: 1133 Broadway at West 26th Street, NY 10010. R and W at 28th Street, N and R at 23rd Street. Madison Square Park is one block south.
- Midtown East: 950 Second Avenue near East 50th Street. The 6 at 51st Street, the E and M at Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street.
- SoHo: 54 Prince Street. The N, R and W at Prince Street is at the corner.
- Bryant Park: 20 West 40th Street, facing the park. The B, D, F and M at 42nd Street Bryant Park is one block away.
- Upper West Side: 359 Columbus Avenue near West 77th Street. The B and C at 81st Street, the 1 at 79th Street, the Natural History museum two blocks north.
- Upper East Side: 1562 Second Avenue near East 81st Street. The Q at 86th Street.
- Theater District: 1633 Broadway between West 50th and 51st Streets, with the plaza terrace. The 1 at 50th Street, most theatres within ten minutes.
Before you go
- Book the time, not just the day. The 19:00 to 20:30 window on Friday and Saturday is the hardest to get at every location.
- Sit outside if the weather allows. The terraces are the best part of the group and most of them are heated into the autumn.
- The pasta is the point. Rigatoni vodka, gramigna and tagliatelle bolognese are the three the kitchen puts its name to.
- Aperitivo hour is the cheap way in. Late afternoon spritzes and salumi cost a fraction of dinner.
- Weekend brunch is busier than dinner at NoMad and on the Upper West Side.
- It is a good group room. High ceilings, loud, no dress code, large tables.
- For a quieter, smaller Italian dinner, see my Il Corso review, the opposite end of the same cuisine in Midtown.
- Check the hours before you go. The hours on this page come from the venue’s public listings, which drift, so confirm on Google Maps or the venue’s own channels before a special trip.
Watch the visit
The reel above is the short version of this meal, terrace and plates included. For the rest of what I filmed in the city, open my map or browse the other New York recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
How many La Pecora Bianca locations are there in New York?+
Seven as of September 2026. The addresses are 1133 Broadway in NoMad, 950 Second Avenue in Midtown East, 54 Prince Street in SoHo, 20 West 40th Street at Bryant Park, 359 Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side, 1562 Second Avenue on the Upper East Side, and 1633 Broadway in the Theater District. La Pecora Bianca has also announced sites at Lincoln Center and at Merrick Park in Coral Gables, Florida.
How much does dinner at La Pecora Bianca cost?+
On the 2026 menus, antipasti run 17 to 21 USD, pasta 24 to 28 USD, main courses 26 to 39 USD and desserts 13 to 19 USD. Three courses with a drink comes to roughly 55 to 85 USD per person at La Pecora Bianca before New York sales tax and a tip of 18 to 20 percent. Lunch pasta is a dollar or two cheaper than the same dish at dinner.
Does La Pecora Bianca make its own pasta?+
Yes. All pasta at La Pecora Bianca is made in house daily, and the group has built its reputation on it. The three dishes it names as signatures are the rigatoni with vodka sauce, the gramigna and the tagliatelle with beef and pork bolognese. Historically the kitchen has worked with whole grain and ancient grain flours, including einkorn, alongside standard semolina.
Do I need a reservation at La Pecora Bianca?+
It is the safer plan, especially at 19:00 on a Friday or Saturday and for weekend brunch. Bookings are taken on lapecorabianca.com, on OpenTable and on Resy, and by phone at each location. The bar and the terrace seats at most La Pecora Bianca rooms take walk-ins, which is the easiest way in without a booking.
Which La Pecora Bianca has the best terrace?+
The NoMad original at 1133 Broadway, on the corner of 26th Street, has the long-standing sidewalk terrace that most people picture. The Theater District room at 1633 Broadway, opened in 2026, is the largest: 175 seats inside and 125 outside on a plaza under red striped umbrellas. The Bryant Park location at 20 West 40th Street looks straight at the park.
Who owns La Pecora Bianca?+
Mark Barak, a restaurateur who spent twelve years in banking and corporate media after a Wharton MBA before changing careers in 2014. He lived in London for eight years and travelled through Italy in that period, which is where the idea came from. He helped open the Provençal restaurant Claudette in New York in May 2014 and opened the first La Pecora Bianca in August 2015.
Does La Pecora Bianca have a Michelin star?+
No. La Pecora Bianca does not appear in the Michelin Guide New York selection and holds no star or Bib Gourmand. The Infatuation has reviewed the NoMad and Midtown rooms and treats the group as a dependable neighbourhood option rather than a destination, praising the bright room and the bar and criticising some of the whole wheat pastas.
What does La Pecora Bianca mean?+
La Pecora Bianca means the white sheep in Italian, chosen as the opposite of the black sheep. The name fits the cooking, which is farm-to-table Italian in the rural, seasonal sense rather than red-sauce Italian American. There is a sheep in the logo, designed as part of the branding work by the design studio Pentagram.
