Vinatería — Restaurant in New York

JANUARY 2022: It is crowded, and the host asks us for our vaccination cards. I pull out my phone and hold up the QR code. He says “That’s very pretty, but...” It appears most places can’t scan the QR code, so I pull out my printed card. We are seated on stools by the front window waiting—we hope—for one of the ‘pods’ to open outside. None does. Still, we get to people-watch and are served appetizers of excellent grilled octopus and quite good bacalhau croquettes, followed by mafalde short ribs ragu and seafood black spaghetti, and a bottle of Feudo Montoni Nero d’Avola, Lagnusa 2018. It is creamy and delicious. Dessert is a vanilla bean crème brûlée—also creamy and delicious.

EIGHT MONTHS LATER: We have made reservations at Vinatería for 8:45 to be safe in case the train is very late. We’re early, so we ask if we can be seated. We can, but they warn us that a substantial birthday party has the kitchen running behind; large metal troughs are out in the street to form parklet seating. While waiting, we have a margarita and Macchu Pisco. The Macchu Pisco is an odd, wood-aged, grassy-tasting brandy made from the quebranta grape, giving it a kind of grappa flavor. The four small plates are an autumn salad with candied walnuts, arugula, kale, carrots, raisins, and dressing; amazing, crispy calamari; sauteed wild mushrooms; and grilled asparagus. Sadly, the lower halves of asparagus were almost inedibly tough, either being too old or not steamed ahead of time; this is clearly just a rushed kitchen issue. The mafalde short ribs ragu with sun-dried tomatoes and gorgonzola are very good, though a little short on the short rib meat. The black spaghetti with scallops is delicious, save for it being a little too salty (though it might fit in with the trend for strong seasoning). (We ordered the very same two main courses in our review above, with my very same complaint about the salty black spaghetti--something others have noticed as well.) With the meal we have a bottle of Wonder Womanne Languedoc-Roussillon, a pétillant-naturel (naturally carbonated) wine described as “Méthode Ancestrale sparkling of Cinsault, Syrah & Grenache. After a short maceration, the wine ferments in tank and is bottled, where secondary then completes. Unfined, unfiltered, no SO2, disgorged.” Because we ordered the Wonder Womanne, the maitr’ brings out the sommelier to explain the wine further. At the end of the meal, we are treated to a rhubarb cordial, Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro, a strongly flavored and (to me) rosemary-scented drink. Once again, overall, a...

Edit: I wrote an email to the email address provided in the owner's response the same day I received the response (over 10 days ago). It's been radio silence, and I even followed up a few days ago, too. Let it be known their promise to make things right is an empty one, and merely a public gesture to appear apologetic and accommodating without actually being any of those things.

I came here for a celebratory dinner with my partner on a Monday evening.

We ordered two appetizers/antipasti, 2 pastas/primi, 1 entree/secondi and a side to be served in 3 courses.

While we were halfway through our antipasti, the pastas arrived. Mind you -- we are not slow eaters by any measure. Never have I ever been served another course while I'm still working through my food. So our pastas were just sitting at the table and getting cold while we were finishing up our appetizers.

A few bites into our pastas, guess what? Our secondi arrived. The pacing was just so off. Granted, it was a slow Monday evening (we arrived at 8:30pm), and perhaps the staff wanted to get off work. If that were the case, I would have appreciated a heads up from our server that the restaurant was going to close soon, and that a three course meal would be rushed, and we would have ordered less food.

The food was also subpar, especially given the prices.

The appetizers: Veal meatballs -- very tough. A waste of veal. Duck breast -- it was tough, too. Evidently it was precooked then reheated. The skin was browned but hard -- a sign that this was not made fresh.

Pastas: Short rib ragu -- passable Black spaghetti with seafood -- actually quite good

Secondi/sides: Salmon -- this was laughable. Our server asked us how we wanted it done, which I thought was an odd question. We said medium. It arrived completely overcooked. At first, I thought the salmon was skinless, because the flesh side was served up. To my chagrin, when I flipped the salmon fillet over, I found the skin -- burnt to a crisp. No wonder they served it skin side down, when it's customary to serve seared fish skin side up so that the crispy skin doesn't become soggy.

Brussel sprouts -- laughable also. They were soggy and burnt. An interesting combination -- not sure how the kitchen managed to achieve this texture.

It was $160 for two people -- not worth the money, at all. If you must come here, stick...

We happened past this restaurant on the way to a neighboring place. The Grilled Octopus and Bacalao caught our eye, but other items on the menu were also interesting. We decided to stay and seated ourselves at a sidewalk table on this early autumn evening at 8 PM. It was comfortably warm. The restaurant was bustling, a signal that it must have a great reputation.

From the beginning, the service was impeccable. Our San Francisco native waitress, new at this restaurant, was incredibly accomodating and attentive. We decided to enjoy two appetizers each.

The Grilled Octopus was the standout. Incredible would be an understatement. It was served on a bed of calamata olives caramelized fennel, grilled cherry tomatoes and capers. The Octopus was perfectly grilled, charred and tender, not overcooked. I could have consumed two and been in nirvana.

We also tried the Bacalao which transported us back to Portugal. Crisp crust and soft center of cod, dressed in a sauce remoulade.

The third course was steamed mussels in a Chimichurri broth. The dish was trimmed with crisp Sopresetta and sun dried tomatoes. It was a tasty combination but the mussel meat was rather small.

The fourth dish was grilled Duck Breast cooked to medium rate and served with pickled onions and crisp pancetta. The dish was tasty but small.

We also shared a plate of grilled asparagus which were delicious. The slight char gave these al dente spears a smokey taste which was complemented by a hollandaise dressing

We shared two desserts, Tiramisu and Creme Bruleè, both trimmed with summer berries. Both desserts were sinfully good.

As one would expect, a Vinateria like this had an extensive wine list. We both chose a St Émilion by the glass. The glass was generous portion and the wine steward/manager opened a new bottle for us. It was the perfect accompaniment to our dinner. We could have paired each course with a different wine, but that would have been too much alcohol.

This restaurant was bustling even at 9PM when we finished. The outdoor seating conveyed an enjoyably upbeat neighborhood vibe that complemented our dinner.

Our meal came to $110 plus tip, a good value in New York City.

If we lived in the neighborhood, this would surely be our...