Match — Restaurant in Norwalk

Not my first time here and from the moment we walked in we the staff was attentive. We went early, had reservations and were given options for seating which was great as it was extremely cold out. We were greater by our waitress who was very attentive and gave excellent food suggestions for the others in the party who have not eaten there before. We started off with the crispy Brussels which were very good and also had sweet potatoes mashed, mushrooms and pomegranate. This combo works well and was a nice starter. Our meals were the spicy sausage pizza which is thin crust, around 14 in and made in a firewood oven. The gnocchi bolognese with ricotta was recommended and excellent. I ordered the burger and this is how I gauge a true chef as I never have luck with the burger coming out correctly. This place nailed it as the beef was juicy, flavorful and cooked perfectly! The Vermont cheddar, bacon and sautéed onion were a good combo. If I had one suggestion it would be when asked how you would like your burger cooked not stating “grey, pink or red” as the word grey (brown?) when referring to beef turns me away. We finished the meal off with the apple crumble and that didn’t disappoint either. I will say again I loved the waitresses honestly when handing the bill and stating that the 20% gratuity was added in and this started at the time of COVID. Again this is over and I tried to talk to her she really didn’t want to hear it, said take it up with management and walked away (only negative about her response) and times are changing. I am suggesting 15%-20% would be more tasteful. She did offer to remove it which again I will state she was worth more than 20% before the bill and walking away after the above comment. 3 people, no alcohol, food ,2 sodas, gratuity and tax...

Went here last night, and I have never been so disappointed after a meal. While the host who sat us was absolutely great, and our server was decent; the main entrees were extremely bad. We started with the Wasabi Tuna and the Baked Clams. The Wasabi tuna was actually good, but that was the only thing. The Baked Clams were adequate at best, not terrible, but nothing I'd like to have again. The worst part of the evening however came with the main entrees. I ordered the veal shank, it was extremely tough, hard to cut, and hard to chew. I took two bites and decided that I wanted to swap it for something else due to the toughness of the meat. I decided to go for the Steak and Frites instead. The dish overall was like somebody threw all the food on the plate and brought it to the table. It's appearance was not the only unappetizing part of the dish. The steak was extremely gamey and hard to cut and chew. It was cooked to about the right temperature, but it was just a terrible cute of meat, not at all worth the hefty price tag. My girlfriend ordered the swordfish, to this I can not speak much on because it was her first time trying the fish, and they may have cooled it fine, but the potato's and the carrots that accompanied the sword fish were not tasty, the potato's in particular were distasteful. I wanted to say something but my girlfriend was extremely uncomfortable, she barely touched her food, however, I already had swapped my veal for the steak and she begged me not to say anything else. On top of the terrible food, the bill came out to be 109 dollars. It was a complete waste of money, and they gave no discounts, had no management come and speak to us, I would not reccomend this...

tl;dr - Best gnocchi I’ve had in my life! Which says a lot, because I’ve tried many disappointing gnocchi. The bistecca alla fiorentina is also delicious but it’s a lot of food for 2 people.

Carpetbaggers - 6 fried Norwalk oysters with truffle cream, truffled steak tartare, and truffle aioli. As someone who doesn’t usually enjoy oysters, these made me want to grab seconds. (10/10)

Tuna tartare - Comes on top of a large cracker which is a bit tough to cut, and is drizzled with sweet soy and an avocado sauce. It had a bit too much sweet soy sauce for my taste. (8/10)

Octopus frites - Braised and charred octopus with fried red potatoes. Solid dish, I’m just not the biggest octopus fan. (7/10)

Greek salad - Lettuce, diced tomatoes, and feta cheese, served on a warm spanakopita (Greek spinach pie with feta cheese). It’s a nice salad, but it doesn’t compare with the other dishes I tried. (8/10)

Bistecca alla Fiorentina - 60 oz Porterhouse, served with broccoli, mashed potatoes, pearl onions, and a bordelaise sauce. It says it’s for 2 people, but it’s so much food that it’s really for 3-4. So delicious if you can find people to share it with! (10/10)

Gnocchi - Gnocchi is usually my least favorite type of pasta. I’m not a fan of their texture, and how they get stuck to the roof of your mouth. But this gnocchi dish was my favorite of the night and probably the best gnocchi I’ve ever had. They’re tossed with peas, mushrooms, spicy Italian sausage, thyme, shallot and cream. The flavor and texture was heavenly. (10/10)

Strawberry rhubarb crisp - Warm fruit topped with an oat crumble, served with pistachio gelato. Delicious way to end the...