Italian Restaurants Near Baruch College, by the Minute
Priya Raman · September 5, 2026 · 4 min
Four Italian kitchens sit within about ten minutes of Baruch's Vertical Campus. Which one fits depends on whether you have twenty minutes or a full evening.
Baruch College’s main campus sits at 55 Lexington Avenue, at East 24th Street, right in the pocket where Gramercy, NoMad and Kips Bay meet. Four Italian kitchens fall within about a ten-minute walk of the Vertical Campus, and which one makes sense depends on whether you’ve got twenty minutes between classes or a free evening. Here’s what’s actually nearby, sorted by direction and walking time, not by “Gramercy” or “NoMad” labels that don’t tell you much on foot.
At a Glance
- Closest, south: Novitá, 102 East 22nd Street — about 5 minutes on foot.
- Closest, north: Tarallucci e Vino NoMad, 44 East 28th Street — about 6 minutes on foot.
- A short walk south, on Park Avenue South: Isabelle’s Osteria, 245 Park Avenue South — about 8 minutes on foot.
- Furthest, north on Lexington: Vezzo, 178 Lexington Avenue — about 11 minutes on foot.
- Subway: the 6 train at 23rd Street–Park Avenue South, and the N/R/W at 23rd Street–Broadway, both sit within two minutes of the Vertical Campus entrance.
South on Park Avenue South: Novitá
Novitá, a 60-seat trattoria at 102 East 22nd Street, is the closest sit-down Italian kitchen to Baruch’s main campus, a straight shot down Lexington and then a short jog west. It’s been in the neighborhood since 1994 and runs a modern, seasonally driven menu with handmade pasta and seafood. Lunch runs Monday through Friday, 12 to 2:30pm — a workable window if a class or office hours ends by noon and you need to be back by 2:30. Dinner runs Monday through Friday 5:30 to 10:30pm, Saturday until 11pm, and Sunday 5 to 10pm. Check the current lunch and dinner menus on Novitá’s own site before you go, since a trattoria this size changes dishes with the season.
North on Lexington: Tarallucci e Vino, NoMad
Tarallucci e Vino’s NoMad location, at 44 East 28th Street, is the better call if your afternoon runs north instead of south. It’s a wine-bar-forward Italian spot with a happy hour from 4:30 to 6:30pm at the bar and outdoor tables, ahead of dinner service that starts at 4:30pm and runs to 10:30pm most nights, later on Friday and Saturday. That happy hour window lines up well with a late-afternoon class letting out.
Straight Down Park Avenue South: Isabelle’s Osteria
Isabelle’s Osteria sits at 245 Park Avenue South, about eight minutes on foot from the Vertical Campus if you walk down Park Avenue South rather than Lexington. It’s open seven days, with hours running roughly 11:30am to 10pm on weekdays (later Thursday through Saturday) and weekend hours starting earlier for brunch. For a group project dinner or a meeting with visiting faculty, it’s close enough to walk to without eating into the whole evening, and its Aperitivo Hour — weekdays from 5pm — gives you a lighter, earlier option if the plan is drinks and a bite rather than a full sit-down dinner. Confirm the current hours and any seasonal menu changes on Isabelle’s own site before booking.
Furthest but Still Walkable: Vezzo
Vezzo, at 178 Lexington Avenue near East 31st Street, is about eleven minutes north of Baruch on foot — the edge of what most people would call a reasonable walk rather than a trip. It’s a Murray Hill thin-crust pizza and pasta spot, open daily, with hours generally running late morning through 9:30 or 10pm depending on the night. It’s worth the extra few minutes if you specifically want pizza rather than a full pasta-and-secondi menu.
Which One to Pick
If you’ve got less than half an hour, Novitá is the only realistic option — everything else eats too much of that time in walking alone. If you’re free for a full evening, the choice comes down to whether you want a heavier, more composed dinner (Isabelle’s or Novitá) or something quicker and more casual (Vezzo, or Tarallucci’s happy hour). For a small group meeting before a longer night out, Irving Place is the natural walking corridor from this stretch toward Union Square if none of these four quite fit.
Frequently Asked Question
Is there an Italian restaurant near me that’s open for a quick lunch between classes?
Novitá is the most realistic option for a genuinely quick lunch near Baruch, with a weekday lunch window from noon to 2:30pm and a five-minute walk from the Vertical Campus. A sit-down lunch anywhere in this pocket of Manhattan still generally needs 45 minutes to an hour once you account for ordering and the check, so it fits best with a two-hour gap rather than a single free period. If you truly only have twenty minutes, none of these four rooms will get you back on time — plan for a full lunch period, not a passing break.
Walk it once before you need it for a real meeting or a birthday lunch, so you know the actual time on your own feet rather than a map estimate.
Editor’s note: Isabelle’s Osteria is affiliated with this publication. Restaurants were selected using the criteria described above.
