The plan was to write this post in December, since this restaurant is one of my favourite places to go to around the holidays - it has a very homely vibe and the nicest winter decor. Plus the dim lights, the brick walls, the wine racks, and the sparkling glasses just add an extra something to the festive atmosphere. Ciao New York is an Italian bistro, perfectly pairing the delicious Italian nonna food with an exquisite rich-bitch attitude (obviously rich-bitch is not the word I am looking for, but it's exactly how my friends would describe my taste). I prefer it in winter because it's tiny, cosy, doesn't have outdoor seating anyway, and because I've never been here in the summer months.
I dined here with my husband and our neighbours. It was our neighbours' first time in this restaurant and it's now officially their favourite restaurant in town.
Without further ado, let's discuss food.
As it is my habit, I start with coffee no matter the hour I have dinner. They might say don't judge a book by its cover, but I definitely judge a restaurant by its coffee - especially one that is Italian. Fear not, their coffee is gorgeous: creamy and aromatic.
For antipasto we had the zucchini fritters, which were on my wishlist for a while - each time I come here I have a hard time deciding between the zucchini fritters and the fried calamari, but I am glad we tried the zucchini this time because now they are probably my favourite starter (at least until I will miss their calamari). This dish manages to combine freshness with that satisfying feeling you get when eating something deep fried. The batter that coats the zucchini is almost tempura like, although a bit lighter.
They also have arancini on the menu, but I have yet to try them. Maybe next time.
For my main dish I went for something from their daily specials - which changes quite often, European bass with seafood served in a gorgeous tomato sauce accompanied by toasted bread. It felt like such a homely family dish where everyone just dips their bread into that amazing sauce and has the best of times, which is more or less what happened at our table too. This dish is simply too die for and next time I am going there I hope they still have it on their menu. It's heartwarming.
My husband had the mushroom risotto, which impressed our neighbours so much that they went again a week later just for this risotto. It is very rich and creamy, oozing with parmigiano. The neighbours had seabass as well, served in a subtle mustard sauce, accompanied by peppered broccoli and potatoes. They were very happy with their dishes.
The restaurant has a huge Italian wine selection that I wish I could tell you more about - but I am not that good when it comes to wine (just ask me about cocktails instead, okay?) and funny thing is that before we ordered we were discussing which white wine to get (my neighbours know their wines more than I do), then when my neighbour did the wine order he went for red. Can't say I mind it, it went extremely well with the amazing tomato sauce of my dish.
Unfortunately we were too full for dessert, but not too full to end the meal properly with an espresso. Complimentary, they sent us some yummy cantuccini to enjoy with our coffee. What more can one wish for?
