The Cafe Spaghetti Team Brings New Life to Ferdinando’s, a 120-Year-Old Carroll Garden Treasure

By Scott Lynch

Bar Ferdinando is located at 151 Union Street, between Columbia and Hicks Streets, and is currently open on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

For more than 120 years, Ferdinando’s Focacceria had been holding it down near the western end of Union Street, serving spleen sandwiches and such to the locals and the longshoremen who once swarmed the waterfront over here. A true Brooklyn institution, to say the least. 

So, when Ferdinando’s then-owner, Francesco “Frank” Buffa, announced his retirement in 2024, speculation and fear ran through the community about what would happen to the sacred space.

Enter chef Sal Lamboglia, a Bensonhurst native whose three excellent restaurants—Cafe Spaghetti, Swooney’s, and Sal Tang’s—are all within a block or so of Ferdinando’s, and who also, it should be said, is just an all-around great guy. Buffa reached out to Lamboglia and asked him to take over the place. Lamboglia said yes, and so last week began a whole new era for this historic patch of Carroll Gardens with the slightly revamped, mostly intact, Bar Ferdinando.  

Photo by Scott Lynch

“I am not resurrecting Ferdinando Focacceria,” Lamboglia told Brooklyn Magazine. “Some people are worried that it’s not going to be the same, and the reality is, it’s not going to be the same. It’s not. But I have Frank’s blessing. I have his wife’s blessing. And I’m holding on to what he did here, paying homage to the space, and keeping a couple of things that meant a lot to him and mean a lot to me.”   

Pane e panelle, $12 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Old and new-timers alike will love Lamboglia’s takes on Ferdinando classics like the pane e panelle, a simple sandwich of chickpea fritters and tangy whipped ricotta on a soft roll, with a lemon on the side for spritzing. It’s a bright and lively delight, as is the prosciutto sandwich on pastry chef Jackie De La Barrera’s superb housemade focaccia, loaded with stracciatella, roasted peppers, fried eggplant, and a nice hit of balsamico. 

Sicilian arancini with bolognese, $9, (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Another key holdover, from like the early 1900s or something, is the Sicilian arancini, which Lamboglia cooks to a crackle on the outside, keeping the risotto within surprisingly fluffy and stuffing the thing with gooey mozzarella, peas, and some funky bolognese. The cheesy potato croquettes, served with a crock of lovely marinara for dipping, are a lovingly fried winner as well. 

Not all the classics made the cut. “We have people ask, are you doing the spleen sandwich?” Lamboglia said. “I’m sorry, but who wants a spleen sandwich on the regular? Maybe when you were in Sicily, you had it once, but you didn’t even finish it. So don’t even bring that shit here. No, we’re not going to have a spleen sandwich.” 

Vongole alla patatine, $21 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Honestly, though, my favorite dish on opening day was a Lamboglia original, which the menu calls “vongole alla patatine,” but you can call clams on fries. Because that’s what it is. Just a pile of crisp, salty, perfect potatoes, topped with tender, nibble-sized bivalves and enough clam juice to deliver a nice briny hit without everything getting all soggy. Plus, the lemony aioli that comes with makes for a zippy dipping sauce. The plate looks like a party, too. Expect to see this beauty on every table. 

Bomboloni classico with vanilla cream, $5 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Pignoli cake, $6 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Pastries are a big part of the all-day, grab-a-coffee vibe here, and chef De La Barrera, formerly of Radio and Agi’s Counter, fills the case up front with a bunch of bangers. The bombolini is soft, but too bready, and comes packed with custard. The pignoli cake is so moist it’s almost juicy and delivers a nice citrus tang. And the chewy white chocolate pistachio cookie instantly enters my personal pantheon of best in town.    

Ricardo Echeverri comes over from Swoony’s to manage the bar here, and the cocktail list includes concoctions like a limoncello spritz, a highball with fennel, and an Italian espresso martini. Me, though? I went straight for the “Brooklyn Special,” Echeverri’s kicky, housemade espresso soda that’s replacing the bottled Manhattan Special that was served here forever. 

(Photo by Scott Lynch)

The space seats about 40 at tables up front by the bar and along the wooden banquette in back, and that will increase once the backyard patio, complete with fig trees, opens up later this spring. The chairs and tables are new, said Lamboglia, as is the bar, though the latter was constructed using repurposed countertops from the old kitchen. But really, it all kind of looks and feels the same as it did in pre-Lamboglia times. 

(Photo by Scott Lynch)

The fresh paint job, for example, uses the same yellow mustard and maroon as has graced these walls for decades. Other holdovers include the tile floor, the light fixtures, the tin ceiling, the bell above the front door (though the new team quickly tired of hearing it ring every time someone walked in, so they moved it up and out of the way), and most of the picture frames. It’s a new beginning that respects the past. The best of both worlds.