Our Story
In 1983, when New York restaurant kitchens were still largely a man’s world, Paola Bottero opened a 32-seat restaurant on East 85th Street. One of the city’s first noted female chefs, she cooked the food she knew from growing up in Rome—handmade pasta, Roman artichokes, seasonal ingredients, and family recipes—and built the kind of place where people quickly became regulars.
Paola grew up in a family where music, art, and food were part of everyday life. Her father, violin virtuoso Alessandro Bottero, came to New York to perform with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and Paola followed from Rome as a teenager.
Her younger brother, Fabrizio Bottero, made his mark first on the city’s dining scene. At just 22, he opened 65 Irving Place in Gramercy, which became a gathering place for artists, writers, actors, and figures from New York’s creative world in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Inspired by Fabrizio’s success, Paola entered the restaurant world at 36, working with the acclaimed Lattanzi family at Trastevere on the Upper East Side. A few years later, she opened Paola’s.
For Paola, her restaurant was a welcoming place in the community where people could enjoy good food and conversation. She knew her regulars, welcomed new guests graciously, and made everyone feel at home.
In 1985, just two years after opening, influential New York Magazine critic Gael Greene wrote about Paola’s, describing the intimate dining room as “one happy family”—and soon began sending friends there.
“We are a family feeding other families.”
- Paola Bottero
Paola’s son, Stefano Marracino, grew up in that world—squeezing oranges behind the bar at his uncle Fabrizio’s 65 Irving Place, washing dishes, and eventually working side by side with his mother.
Today, Stefano brings Paola’s into its next chapter on Madison Avenue in Carnegie Hill. The family recipes Paola grew up with remain at the heart of the menu, including fresh pasta handmade daily and seasonal Italian specialties.
The locations have changed. The generations have changed. But the spirit of Paola’s remains: family, community, and the joy of sharing good food together.