Pietro's opens in Roslyn

After 66-year-old Jolly Fisherman closed in May, the bread baskets were barely cold when Pietro’s of Manhattan announced that it would be taking over the pond-side location. On Nov. 16, it opened its doors to the public.

Pietro's was founded in 1932 by Italian brothers Pietro, Natale and Luigi Donini. In 1992, it was bought by Bill Bruckman Sr. who, with his sons, Bill Jr. and David, has stewarded it ever since. (Bill Jr. oversees the Roslyn location; David runs the one on East 43rd St.) Bill Jr. said the family had been thinking about a Long Island location for years, and looking seriously for the last two. “It’s a natural for us,” he said. “Our client base in the city is at least 50% from Long Island.”

The Bruckmans’ renovation was far less extreme than the one undertaken by Jolly’s owner, Steven Scheiner, in 2012. The three dining rooms now skew more burgundy-and-mauve than blue-and-white but the overall vibe remains no-nonsense contemporary. The wood-paneled bar is virtually unchanged. Bruckman said that, even before he opened, “customers yelled at me not to do anything to the bar, so we just painted the ceiling and changed the lighting to make it a little bit cozier.”

The menu is another thing entirely. Jolly was one of Long Island’s last remaining traditional fish houses; Pietro’s is straight-ahead Italian American. The “soft opening” menu is about half the size of the one in Manhattan and features baked clams ($25), Caesar salad ($20), spaghetti with meatballs ($29), linguine with clam sauce ($34), chicken or veal Parmesan or Francese ($37). There’s a New York strip steak ($61) and a fillet of sole (fried, broiled or meunière, $42). Two of the Manhattan location’s signature dishes have migrated to Roslyn: pasta shells a la Nat (veiled in a rich, bone-marrow sauce, sprinkled with Parmesan and then baked, $29) and chicken Pietro (bone-in chunks showered with onions, peppers and mushrooms, $39).

There’s one Roslyn-only dish: “Jolly Pietro,” an appetizer composed of a small lobster tail, four clams on the half shell and three jumbo shrimp. “We wanted to create something to honor Steve and his family,” Bruckman said.

Prices are on the high side — as they tend to be in Roslyn village — but portions are large. The abbreviated wine list is dominated by name brands.

Roslyn seats 225 people compared to Manhattan’s 130, and Bruckman explained that his goal in trimming the menu was to “streamline everything for the kitchen.” Luis Jara, the city's chef, has been transferred to Roslyn and is gradually bringing his new team up to speed. Bruckman doesn’t expect the menu to include everything that Manhattan has — calf’s liver has already been nixed — but he expects that, over the next few weeks and months, the menu and wine list will assume their final forms.

Pietro's, 25 Main St., Roslyn, 516-407-3255, pietroslongisland.com. Open Tuesday-Thursday 4:30-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 4:30-9:30 p.m., Sunday 3-8 p.m., closed Monday.