'Piece Of Rome': Ortomare Celebrates 1 Year On Upper West Side

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The family-run Ortomare Ristorante Pizzeria is celebrating its one-year anniversary Tuesday, reaching an immensely important milestone for any New York City restaurant.

The Italian eatery, at 994 Columbus Ave., is known for its wood-fire brick oven pizza, its fresh homemade pasta and its weekly changes to the menu. However, the Upper West Side restaurant also has other consistencies outside of its imported Italian ingredients.

The Hila family.

The restaurant was opened in February 2019 by Alfredo Hila. Alfredo still owns and manages Ortomare with his wife, Arta, and his brother Edi.

The family is originally from Albania, but lived in Rome for multiple years. Alfredo spent 15 years in the Italian capital completing his studies and working in restaurants. The Hila's eventually came to New York City in 2015.

Alfredo began working in real estate upon his family's arrival in the United States, but he had additional aspirations for the family's new life in New York City.

"His dream was to bring a piece of Rome with us here, to New York," Arta told Patch.

That piece of Rome became Ortomare, which translates to "garden and sea" in Italian.

The eatery sits in a single large room with high ceilings, brick walls, a corner bar and outdoor seating in the summer.

The special anniversary event will take place Tuesday from 3 to 10 p.m. "It's a thank-you celebration. We invited a lot of our customers that have helped us to make it this year," Arta said.

"A celebration not only for those regular customers but for everybody who supports us and continues to support us."

The evening will be celebrated with a special pizza tasting from Ortomare's chef, who previously spent 20 years honing his craft in Rome. The restaurant is also set to dish out free homemade desserts to every patron.

At least one member of the Hila family can almost always be found managing the floor on any given night, including Alfredo and Arta's 11-year-old son Francesko.

What does Ortomare have in store for its second year of business?

"We will continue to impress our customers with innovative and special menus," Arta told Patch.