I Sodi

Rita Sodi opened I Sodi in 2008 to cook the Tuscan food she grew up with outside Florence, and the restaurant has spent nearly two decades proving that restraint is a style. In 2023 it moved from its original sliver on Christopher Street to a larger room at 314 Bleecker — a short walk from Via Carota, her other restaurant — without changing what it is: dark wood, low light, Negronis stirred properly, and a lasagna whose many thin layers have their own following.

This is the dressier, quieter sibling of the Williams–Sodi restaurants, the one for an anniversary rather than a Tuesday. The menu is short and does not chase trends. Order the artichoke salad when it is on, commit to the lasagna, and let dinner take the whole evening.