A restaurant in the Flatiron District is putting an English twist on the classic Italian restaurant experience.
‘Ino first opened its doors in September 2025 as a sister restaurant to Chelsea’s Bottino. Led by Chef Jamie Kenyon, ‘ino sought to find a way to be more inventive with the dishes they were creating.
“It is very hard to do too much fun and unique stuff with the [Bottino] menu because it’s so big and reduced to so many events, so we’re getting great feedback with the food, but I really felt kind of limited with what we could do,” said Kenyon. “So all the partners are talking about opening up a second restaurant where, even though we’ll have some events, we can kind of be a bit more inventive.”
Kenyon took that opportunity and decided to blend together two cuisines that you wouldn’t normally find together: Italian and English. A self-proclaimed pasta lover to an “unhealthy” level, Kenyon knew he wanted to have an Italian-forward menu, but he also wanted to give a nod to his own English heritage in the menu items.
‘ino’s Cacio e Pepe “Chiantishire”Photo by Alex Staniloff
“I really always said English food is super underrated because it is really focused on seasonality, so having the farmers market right [nearby ‘ino], it’s going to work towards what I want to do,” said Kenyon.
The menu is more streamlined at ‘ino, with Kenyon being very intentional about what he selected. You’ll find some Italian classics like Cacio e Pepe, Cappelletti di Fagiano and Rigatoni Bolognese, but they’ll have a bit of an English spin: the Cacio e Pepe incorporates aged cheddar, the Cappelletti di Fagiano is served alongside pheasant, and the Rigatoni Bolognese is an organic blend of beef, veal and prosciutto.
The menu also features some traditional English pub staples, like scotch egg (dubbed the Duck Duck Goose Scotch Egg), fish & chips, skirt steak and a pub burger, and sticky toffee pudding. Regardless of the dish’s origin, Kenyon leans on fresh ingredients to execute each plate.
‘ino’s Heritage Chicken Diavolo
“If I can really kind of find a bridge between English and Italian cooking, and it really connects, I just sit there and go, this must go on the menu, this speaks to me, this really speaks to something that inspires me when it comes to cooking,” said Kenyon.
Even though ‘ino has only been open for just over a year, Kenyon says that they have made themselves right at home in the Flatiron neighborhood. Though Kenyon thinks customers were a little confused at first, they have really been embraced by the community after finding their footing.
“[The customers] definitely really embrace us now. They can come in and get those unique dishes that you can’t find anywhere else in New York City,” said Kenyon. “At first, it took us a little bit to find our footing and our voice, but I feel like now it’s very cohesive and people really do enjoy the fact that they can come in and have a mixture of a very safe meal with some really comforting, delicious pastas and locally sourced dishes, but [also] expand their horizons and try unique different things that they’ve not had before.”
‘Ino is located at 31 20th St. For more information on ‘ino, visit inonyc.com.
