Nello Balan, the founder of Upper East Side eatery Nello, was laid to rest on Wednesday on Long Island. Friends and family attended a service at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City to pay their respects to the renowned pasta king. Balan’s burial took place nearby at Roslyn Cemetery in Greenvale.
Attendees included billionaire John Paulson, publicists Inna DeSilva and Norah Lawlor, and Zach Erdem, owner of Southampton’s 75 Main. However, Balan’s exes, including ex-wife Elbi Askin and former girlfriend Jasmine Oh, were absent. Their absence raised a few eyebrows, according to a source. Balan’s current girlfriend, Texas-born Italian princess Rita von Boncompagni Ludovisi, could not attend but sent a representative in her place.
“There were a lot of people there who once worked for Nello,” said one attendee. Balan’s daughter Lucy was among the mourners and cried throughout the memorial.
Balan was known as the “baron of dining” and had a successful career in the restaurant industry. He underwent surgery less than two years ago to remove a brain tumor but was still recovering from a ski accident that had him “in and out of the hospital for about a month,” according to his daughter.
Balan had four children and three grandchildren. Hedge funder Paulson gave a speech at the service, calling Balan a “renaissance man.” He also joked about the sky-high prices at Nello, which included $275 plates of pasta. Balan once sold a four-pound white truffle to Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin for $95,000.
Nello, which opened in 1992, was famous for its celebrity clientele, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Mick Jagger, and Donald Trump. Balan was forced out of the eatery in 2015 after falling out with co-owner Thomas Makkos. Despite their disagreement, Makkos said he and Balan still spoke and called him a “magician of service.”
Balan was also involved in a number of lawsuits involving his restaurant businesses and, in 2006, pled guilty to an attempted assault on ex-girlfriend Heather Payne. Despite these difficulties, Balan’s daughter confirmed to Page Six after his passing that one of his goals was to take back the Upper East Side restaurant. Balan will be remembered as a talented restaurateur and a larger-than-life personality in the New York City dining scene.