Al Di La Trattoria
Brooklyn, NY 11215-1201
Phone: (718) 636-8888
- Price:
- $$$
- Cross Street:
- Carroll Street
- Directions:
- F at 4th Ave; M, N, R at 9th St
- Best of Citysearch:
- Italian Food 2005
- Hours:
- Mon, Wed-Thu 6pm-10:30pm, Fri 6pm-11pm, Sat 5:30pm-11pm, Sun 5pm-10pm
Editorial Review for Al Di La Trattoria – by Dana Bowen
The Scene
Since 1999, locals have quietly coveted this friendly trattoria, charmed by its casual, candlelit elegance and superb Northern Italian cooking. Now, an all-borough crowd crams the communal tables, sharing reverential sighs under a gigantic glass chandelier that dominates the small room. Venetian-born Emiliano Coppa is the quintessential host: He welcomes guests, busses tables and describes his wife's daily-changing menu.
The Food
Chef Anna Klinger cooks the food of the Veneto, a region flavored by Venice and the countryside that surrounds it. Start with fennel-fragrant grilled sardines and the extraordinary pastas, such as poppy-seeded sweet beet ravioli, brown-butter-slicked squash tortelli, and airy swiss chard-ricotta "malfatti" (misshapen gnocchi with fried sage). Days later, you'll dream about luscious polenta beneath braised rabbit with thyme and olive gravy, tender calves' liver slivered over sweet and sour onions, meaty monkfish with lemon-rosemary escarole and sublime chocolate pear tart.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Know Before You GoLike many neighborhood favorites, Al Di La doesn't take reservations. So give the hostess your cell number and head to the restaurant's new wine bar around the corner.
User Reviews for Al Di La Trattoria
06/23/2008 Posted by bgourley
the first 2 or 3 times I ate here I loved it. I live in the neighborhood, one block down in fact. The past 2 times I have been have been lukewarm and downright cold respectively. the front dining room you can have a great experience if you get a good server. we did not . they were snobby, inattentive and generally speaking unhelpful. the food was mediocre, I guess the acclaimed chef had taken the evening off the night before. last night i went to the wine bar, and the bartender was horrible. the restaurant was not busy when we arrived but she kept on forgetting simple things , like, ummm.. drinks. water. and, oh yeah , food. when I pointed out that a couple that got there 30 minutes after us, got their food before us, and asked to just cancel our order, she slammed down her tray on the surface, stormed out of the room and then we were told our meal was comped. I just cant deal with attitude, especially drama when I go out to eat. I would rather go down the street to family run La Villa where they appreciate their customers.
06/04/2008 Posted by zaranoff
Been there several times. I don't recall what I ate exactly (it's been a while...) but all I can say that everything on the menu is superb. This establishment is the real deal. Wish NY had more of these kind of places: intimate, superb food, homey, top notch all the way around. Everyone's complaining about the lines. In a sense I prefer that. If the place would take reservations, I would never make it there. I can't plan a meal three months in advance. I go out to eat spontaneously. If that means I have to while for 30-60min, that's life. Certainly worth the wait. Some people have been complaining about the service. I don't recall having bad service there, but next time I'm there I'll pay attention to that.
Pros: top notch all around
Cons: a long wait
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