Restaurant & bar Barsella coming to Upper Greenville area with pizza, cocktails, Italian-American classics

Liz Johnson of Wallace Johnson Studio is behind the interior design at Barsella on SMU Boulevard. Renderings courtesy of Wallace Johnson Studio, obtained through press release from Lindsey Miller Public Relations.

Barsella, a new Italian-American restaurant, New York-style pizzeria and cocktail bar, is expected to open on SMU Boulevard this winter.

The concept at 5600 SMU Blvd., Suite 120 (between Worcola Street and Greenville Avenue) is meant to offer variety: slices of pizza served via walk-up window during the day, dinner in the evenings, and a “late-night spritz” and cocktail bar with a light bites menu at night, according to a press release. Live music will also be featured most Thursday through Saturday nights. 

“Barsella was designed in hopes of becoming a neighborhood institution, elevated enough for a great dinner or date night, approachable enough to become your regular spot, and lively enough to be where you want to end the night,” said Oliver Steinberg, the Dallasite who created the concept, in the press release. “We wanted to create a place where families, couples, friends and neighbors all feel equally at home, whatever brings them in that night.”

Pizza is an important part of the concept, and there will be a seven-seat pizza bar inside Barsella for diners to enjoy the slices. Italian-American classics also have a place on the menu. 

“The menu is intentionally filled with dishes people know, love and want to order such as rigatoni alla vodka, ravioli and lasagna, yet executed at a high level,” Steinberg said in the press release. 

The main dining room will seat about 80 diners, and there will also be a private dining room for about 16 people. The restaurant’s interior is meant to feel “polished, bright and colorful” with accents of green and red, according to the press release. The design is inspired by classic Italian-American concepts, New York cafés and European aperitivo culture, all the way down to the hexagonal mosaic floors. The patio is expected to be like stepping into Italy with pergola and lemon-vine plants overhead.