Falai
(212) 253-1960
68 Clinton St
New York,
NY
10002
40.7193
-73.9848
Neighborhoods: Lower East Side, Downtown
What People Are Saying About Falai
The Editor
Kathleen Squires
Citysearch
The Scene
Clever design touches, like glittering crystals, hang over the bread-splayed bar. Plastic candy shop containers stuffed with dehydrated fruits and vegetables keep the white-on-white interior from seeming sterile. Despite the doily place mats and frilly eyelet wall pattern, the crowd is decidedly more leather than lace.
The Food
Chef Iacopo Falai's light and inventive menu stands out for its pure, nimble flavor combinations. Astonishingly fresh Buffalo ricotta forms a flan-like mold and harmonizes perfectly with a drizzle of hazelnut oil and the crunch of crisp snowpeas; ethereal rounds of spinach and ricotta gnudi gracefully embrace a butter and sage sauce; and large, firm langoustines swim in a dainty shell fish consommé. Desserts show equal poise, with a row of tiny, flaky profiteroles filled with chocolate and marsala cream, and a delicate almond foam and cocoa butter panacotta, topped with brittle slivers of dehydrated strawberry.
User Reviews
racheloves2eatout
April 20, 2008
Been here about 6-7 times now, the first time was when they just opened. Immediately fell in love with the little place with unique food, and excellent service. The latest visit was last week when I had dinner there with my husband: we both loved everything. Yes, as people say below, it is a bit expensive but you get what you pay for. The quality, and presentation, atmosphere, service, TASTE - everything is exactly what a doctor ordered: definitely coming back.
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DumpyBumpy
April 18, 2008
Some very unique dishes. I ordered a foie gras appertizer as my main course because there is a "chocolate lollipop" as part of the dish. I liked the dish. Too bad that piece of chocolate is not sweet. My friends enjoyed their dishes a lot too. But I found the portion too small for that price and quality not worthy of that price. Another thing is, I ordered an appertizer as my main, but they served me my "main" first. Then when my friends had their main, they gave me an empty plate. So they assume my friends are going to share with me? I always order appertizer as main, but all other restaurants would serve my appertizer the same time they serve main course to the rest of the table. I found it rude for the restaurant to give me an empty plate and assume we share, without asking. Good that those are good friends so they shared their mains with me. There was a fly buzzing around all night, which was annoying. We were sitting right outside of the washroom but that didnt bother me.
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crazyauntboo
April 17, 2008
We had reservations on a wed night at 8 pm. We didn't leave the restaurant until close to midnight. Yep, it took about 2 hours to get our appetizers and another hour or so for the main meal. It was the longest I've ever waited for food. I don't know how they stay in business, since it seems they only have time for one seating a night. The food is good, but definitely NOT worth the wait. The restaurant wasn't even crowded when we were seated. I wonder if it would take as long if we had been the only customers in the restaurant.
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What to Drink:
The wine list is heavy on well-chosen reds, featuring some great values like an Ermete Medici Lambrusco '03 for $35.
