On a chilly Wednesday night, this convivial crowd-pleaser is pumping. Puffer-clad walkers from nearby Central Park nab sheltered footpath tables to munch on crisp, airy Roman-style pizza, its dough fermented for up to three days.

Inside, white stucco, pale terrazzo and plush, pink-cushioned rattan chairs come together to create a relaxed holiday vibe, and strains of “Happy Birthday” regularly waft down the steep stairs. Friendly, fast-moving staff squeeze past the open kitchen’s long marble pass to deliver dishes such as the can’t-take-it-off the-menu double-crustacean pasta: fleshy prawn and lobster chunks amid thick ribbons of pappardelle cloaked in lobster bisque.

Tender veal cotoletta arrives in crunchy slices, topped with melted stracciatella and flash-fried basil. To finish, executive chef Joe Di Cintio embraces his nonna’s Sicilian heritage with sfingi, soft ricotta doughnuts rolled in cinnamon sugar. A confident, familiar formula.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.