Inoteca

11/01/08

Most Amazing Meal for $55

by princesswildflower at Citysearch

Don't give up on this little restaurant yet! Just ate on Wednesday and it was the BEST MEAL I've had in a LONG TIME! Don't get me wrong, this was not my first attempt at Bar Milano. I ate there in early June and was disappointed. However, I saw potential and chose to return this week and give another chance - THANK GOODNESS! I arrived on Wednesday night to meet my date, but i was early. The hostess or maitre d' almost ruined my experience by being short, ingenuine and rolling her eyes(the only bad part of my experience), but the drink I was served at the bar lifted my spirits. It was called a Corpse Reviver. It was the kind of cocktail that inspired me to try everything on the cocktail list (and I did! the 323 is also amazing). When we sat we learned that they pour house filtered water and sparkling on tap, so that they don't sell bottled water. SO GREEN! and the food....

All of the reviews about this place blame the food, but I don't understand it. We asked our intelligent, lovely waitress to help us choose and she picked a fabulous meal for us. There was a sort of gleam in her eye when we told her we were open to suggestions and we eat almost anything. This was our meal:

First Course: Patata Imbottita (potato stuffed with egg yolk and cheese); Yota (seared pork belly stew)

Second Course: Veal Sweetbread and Mushroom Whole Wheat Pasta; Razor Clam and Cuttlefish Pasta

Third Course: Pork Chop (so fatty and so flavorful); Braised Short Ribs and Hanger Steak (the BEST!)

Dessert: Housemade Coconut and Blood-Orange Sorbet; Chocolate Custard with Caramel Sauce and Almond Brittle.

IT WAS ONLY $55 per person to do four courses. It was just the right amount of food and we got to taste so much! Including drinks my share was less than $100 for the best meal I've had in ages.

• Pros: Incredible Food, High-End Cocktails, Amazing Price
• Cons: Location

10/25/08

great food, great wine, great staff

by mfunk1000 at Citysearch

I feel like all the below people ate at a different restaurant. the food was great. additionally they have one of the best value tasting menu's I have seen in nyc for such high quality of food. veal stuffed pasta and sweetbreads are a must. The trout was also perfectly done.

The sommelier was very helpful in choosing a wine with us since their list is so long and also gave us desert wine suggestions.

• Pros: food winelist decor

09/05/08

Out of its depth

by amsterdam99 at Citysearch

I have to agree with the other reviewers who gave high marks for the atmosphere, service, drinks and wine list but low marks for the food itself. Our party of three arrived for dinner on time and we were seated promptly. Service was impeccable and the wine suggestion from the sommelier was just what we were looking for (the entire extensive wine list is Italian wines so if you don't know your Italian wines, you will need some help). The atmosphere and decor was soothing and conducive to conversation. The problem was the food. It just didn't taste that good, from the appetizer to the main course to the desert. I had quail and foie gras to start. It was sort of a terrine, but bland and tasteless. It came with toast points and some sort of jam-like spread, but I had no idea how it was all supposed to work together. The main course was pork chop with mustard fruit and escarole. The meat was cooked fine, but had too much fat running through it. The escarole was so bitter I couldn't eat it. The desert was a sort of chocolate creme brulee, but not very rich, just sweet. It felt like the kitchen tried so hard to visually impress the diner that it didn't focus on making the food taste good. The evening held great promise, but the food just didn't deliver.

07/31/08

sadly, a disappointment

by msk83 at Citysearch

Being a huge 'inoteca fan, I went to bar milano with the hopes that it would be fancy without being pretentious, seeing as how 'inoteca, ino, and lupa all have wonderful food with classy decor that doesn't seem contrived. however, when we got to bar milano, it was a huge disappointment. in terms of price i should preface by saying that i have no aversion to spending money on good food - gramercy tavern is one of my favorites, where the food is worth the money spent. At bar milano, the food was twice as much as 'inoteca at least, and even more than Lupa, and none of it was anywhere close to as good. Pastas were bad, meat was weird, and the desserts were uninteresting (can't even remember what i ordered). The staff was excellent as always, the cocktails were amazing (the 323 especially), the wine list was great - albeit very expensive - but everything else just went downhill. I understand the ambition behind the place and I love the owners and managing staff, but it just didn't work. it wasn't a relaxed place - and the clientele was all a bunch of ridiculous drunk wall street types who just loudly talked about money and football (and you could hear everything, with the acoustics in the place) - what happened to the vibes at the other places, with interesting people who appreciated the level of effort and care that went into the menu and wine list? the whole place just made me uncomfortable. and now even 'inoteca seems to be going downhill, without the star servers and managers and owners around...

what a shame! i wish the best for the place but i recommend if you go, you stay in the bar - much better atmosphere and then you can focus on the deserving drinks.

• Pros: serving and managing staff, drinks, wine list
• Cons: overpriced, forgettable food, weird vibe

07/07/08

Fancy, but fails to deliver

by mversche at Citysearch

Went to Bar Milano for dinner on Saturday. The friendly and helpful staff, and the trendy decor were high points for our dinner. The wine was good. The food however, was a disappointment. The kitchen's reach definitely exceeds its grasp. All the menu items attempted something clever and, while there were some hits (the mustard fruit, octopus, and veal stood out), most of food was merely average: the rabbit appetizer was unappetizing and bland, the pork chop was similarly uninteresting, and I had one bite of tuna that reminded me of the supermarket sushi bar. Given the high-end decor and price, the restaurant fails to deliver.

• Pros: Nice decor, friendly service
• Cons: Average food

06/11/08

Nothing like 'inoteca!

by huskygrl88 at Citysearch

I went here because my favorite place in the city is 'inoteca, but this place did not live up to its sister restaurant's reputation. The menu was way to game-y for my taste. I had the lobster risotto, which was fine, but nothing spectacular. My friend had the chicken which was too oily. Mediocre food at best.

• Pros: location, good happy hour vibe
• Cons: gross food

05/30/08

Ladies...a place to go on 3rd

by tonofuno at Citysearch

Let me start by telling you that I have been to Bar Milano more that several times as I live in the area and I love their bar. The cocktails are wonderful and diverse and so is the ambiance, but the drinks are little inconsistent as of late and I am not seeing my favorite cute guy bartenders that I would walk by and have to come and chat. I guess that's why I haven't been there lately. The pasta is decent (not like moms), and the appetizers are good.....get the octopus! Get a drink or two and save room for dessert...my favorite is the goat cheese gelato , awesome! I haven't tried the dining room yet because it looks a little stuffy for me. I hope this place sticks around and gets some personality behind the bar fast.

My tip: get there late (12ish for a late night menu) or early 5-6pm for a seat at the bar and order your drinks from a tall gentleman (they make the better drinks, trust me!) or just order some wine. Great girls night out spot!

• Pros: cocktails.....if made right, great bar ambiance
• Cons: loud, music (or lack there of), inconsistant Bartenders

05/29/08

Ehh your average trendy hot-spot of the month

by scorpgirl at Citysearch

They don't quite have their act together - it was chaos trying to get seated. Once I threatened to walk out the door, we got a table. The wine list was decent. The food was ok. It didn't quite match the restaurant and ambiance. Food was pricey, small and too complex considering the environment, which was crowded, noisy, young 20 somethings.

Modern Milan comes to Gramercy, courtesy of the team behind Lupa, 'ino and 'inoteca.

by Kathleen Squires at Citysearch

In Short
If there was a fashion week for restaurants, this would be the hit of the show, with its marble walls, chic furnishings, vaulted ceilings, wine lockers and sunny, windowed bar area. Shrimp-stuffed agnolotti garnished with pea shoots; fried rabbit with apricots and carrots; and grilled tuna with veal sweetbreads and cannelini beans show that the menu is tailored to Northern Italy, while the dessert menu acts as a runway for fashionable sweets like rose gelato and a mascarpone soufflé.

05/24/08

Great ambience, food needs a little work

by kissy28c at Citysearch

I absolutely adore 'inoteca so my friend and I were moved to try out Bar Milano. As written below, the service was fantastic and very attentive. Let's talk about the food. This heavier northern Italian fare is best served in smaller portions but it may leave some customers a bit hungry. My friend and I felt satisfied with an appetizer and entree but I could not bring my boyfriend here as he would gasp at the tiny portions. I had the fried rabbit entree which tasted a bit too close to chicken. Fried items can loose their distincitiveness based on the coating which happened a bit here. Don't miss out on the fantastic drink menu. Very nice wine selection and exciting mixed drinks. I had the "Veneto". It was quite the experience.

• Pros: service, ambience, drinks
• Cons: food portions