A New York Power-Dining Spot Is Inspired by Miami

Expect to have more fun than usual at the family-run Fresco by Scotto, Manhattan mainstay since 1993

“Stars are back at Fresco by Scotto after it was shuttered by COVID,” Page Six announced last June; and since that reopening, the restaurant from the Scotto family — Marion, the matriarch; Rosanna, co-host of Good Day New York on Fox 5 NY; Elaina, and Anthony, Jr. — has been focusing on fun.

“When we closed during the pandemic, we had a lot of time to reflect,” says Elaina Scotto, in an interview that included Rosanna. “And a lot of our time reflecting, we spent here in South Florida: Everything is full of life. Every night you go out, it’s a show. It’s an experience. It’s beauty. It’s music. It’s a lot of fun,” she says. “And we reenvisioned our restaurant like a Miami restaurant, to tell the truth.”

Elaina and Rosanna cited a recent night when Mayor Eric Adams visited the restaurant when Rosanna asked the DJ to play Odyssey’s “Native New Yorker.” “Everyone just broke out dancing in the middle of the street,” says Elaina. “And the mayor got in the middle of everybody.” There’s also the time a few weeks ago when singer Barry Manilow visited the restaurant, and Elaina led guests in a conga line to “Copacabana” around his table.

In addition to the expansion of outdoor seating last year — one that changes decor with the seasons — the restaurant recently opened the Rose Room, a new private dining room that can host private and corporate events from 15 to 25 people. There’s also Fresco on the Go, serving fast-casual weekday lunch as well as catering.

What should you order in a visit to Fresco by Scotto? Marion Scotto likes executive chef Benjamin Kacmarcik’s beef meatball alla Toscana, potato and zucchini chips with melted gorgonzola, and, we’re told, “she has not met a pasta she didn’t like.” Kacmarcik was previously at Pastis.