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
03/02/2008 Posted by EGF
I was looking forward to dinner at Al Di La, but was greatly disappointed. We waited over an hour for a table after being told it would be 30 minutes. The tapas starter featured great shrimp, but the other tapas selections were nondescript. The orange salad was quite good with a dressing that enhanced, but did not overpower the salad. The rabbit that I ordered was tender, but too salty for my taste, and the pear cake with chocolate was really a chocolate infused cake with an almost complete absence of pear. On balance, my experience at Al Di La failed to live up to its reputation. As a new resident of Brooklyn, I find the Garden Cafe on Vanderbilt, Convivium Osteria in Park Slope, and The Grocery in Carroll Gardens to be superior to Al Di La in both food and ambiance.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful
01/13/2008 Posted by newspapertaxy
My roommate and I took a couple of friends here tonight. We got there right at 700 PM and were told that we had an hour wait., which was what we expected. We took seats at the wine bar and ordered a bottle. We also got the awesome cheese plate. We got called to our table right on time and were immediately greeted by Kevin, who was a most attentive server. He rattled off the specials - all which sounded delightful. We got the tapas appetizer, and the squash and sage ravioli - FREAKING AMAZING. This was the best stuff I had ever put in my mouth. Our table ordered the rabbit, the pork tenderloin, the oxtail special, and the hangar steak. After that we got dessert and we also received a complimentary dessert from the chef, to accommodate all the other desserts that we bough :) I really recommend this place -= it was so nice and the atmosphere lovely. I have nothing bad to say. Amazing meal, and great job.
Pros: awesome food, great service
Cons: just the wait but you expect it here
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