Everyone knows the hidden laws of Manhattan restaurants: Space is usually at a premium, incomplete parties will not be seated, and the check has a tendency to arrive long before you want it. But none of these rules apply at Covo, a rambling restaurant nestled along the West Harlem waterfront under the graceful curves of the Riverside Drive Viaduct. Cross the threshold and you’ll find yourself transported to a rustic Tuscan farmhouse complete with exposed beams, antique chandeliers, a tiled wood-fired pizza oven, and even a pitchfork or two. The food adheres to the same Italian philosophy, too—keep it simple and make as much of it as possible by hand. True, your fellow diners may look suspiciously like a mix of Columbia and CUNY professors, musicians, artists, and other young locals out for a bite before heading to a late night show at the nearby Cotton Club (or a nightcap upstairs at the Covo Lounge). But close your eyes, and the crisp, thin-crust pizza and the succulent, silky taste of a lamb ragù will transport you to Italy before you can say molto bene.

Beet, avocado, and goat cheese salad with hazelnut vinaigrette
Pizza with fig, Gorgonzola, and pancetta
Spaghetti with braised-lamb ragù
Sautéed spinach with garlic
view full menu here

In warm weather, head outside for al fresco dining with a cinematic view of the sweeping, 70-foot limestone-and-granite viaduct approaches overhead. On colder nights, settle in at one of the massive wooden tables near the pizza oven (family-style dining takes on a whole new meaning when six can actually sit comfortably together).

The building housing Covo has the cavernous feel of a railway station for good reason: Until the early 1900s, it was a warehouse and a hub of activity in the bustling dockside manufacturing neighborhood known as Manhattanville. Between Columbia University’s recent purchase of a 17-acre tract of land in the neighborhood, the opening of the nearby West Harlem Piers Park in 2009, and talk of forthcoming water taxi service, all signals suggest West Harlem will be booming again.

Mon.–Fri. 11:30 AM–12 midnight; Sat.–Sun. 10 AM–12 midnight
brunch: Sat.–Sun. 10 AM–2 PM

$11 (Paesana pizza) to $22 (rack of lamb)