Torrisi has been sitting in my bookmarks for a while, and for several reasons. Firstly, it's owned by Major Food Group which is behind some of the more trendy restaurants in NYC - I've been to several MFG restaurants and have (mostly) had good experiences. Secondly, this is regarded as one of the best Italian restaurants in the city - it has consistently ranked on NYT's Top 100 Restaurants in NYC and it also has a Michelin Star. I was also curious because people tend to compare it to it's sister restaurant Carbone, and usually say this is the "better" of the two. That being said, my friends and I made plans to dine here for dinner.
Torrisi is located in the historic Puck Building, and as such has a pretty grand presence. Even though it has the potential to be more of an industrial feel - it really isn't as they made the place super warm. The ceilings are very high and lined with brick, but the rest of the aesthetics are very grounded with greens, browns, and high-end finishes. The kitchen is open and paired with an impressive bar that serves as a focal point. Overall they did a great job with the decor.
The menu contains mostly Italian fare, but definitely leans more towards the innovative side - especially when comparing to Carbone which is more traditional. There are dedication sections for starters, apps, pastas, mains, and sides. Our server explained that the dishes are meant to be shared, so on that advice we decided to get three starters/apps, two pastas, two mains, and one side.
To start, we went with the Italian ham with zeppoles, cucumbers New Yorkese, and the octopus nha trang. The ham was essentially prosciutto, which was pared with a pineapple relish and mini zeppole - meant to be assembled as a "sandwich", though we were told there was no wrong way to eat them. This was delicious - the zeppole were super light, the pork was high quality, and that pineapple relish was awesome - I found myself just taking forkfuls of that. The cucumbers were also great - they were prepared with a lot of dill and a light dressing which made them taste like a mild pickle. The octopus was also great - a decent size and super tender; it also had some slight heat which elevated the dish overall. We were also provided some complimentary sourdough and homemade compound butter which were excellent.
For pastas, we had the tortellini pomodoro and the cavatelli with Jamaican beef ragu. These were both great - the tortellini was tender but not overdone, filled with flavorful cheese and sat atop a delicious marinara. The cavatelli was a little more adventurous - it had a slight heat to it and the ragu really did taste like a Jamaican beef patty. Finally, for mains we went with the duck alla Mulberry and the Dover sole francese. I'm not a big duck person, but this was quite delicious - the breast was tender, seasoned well and served with a tasty sauce. The sole was outrageous and definitely a highlight of my meal. It was lightly breaded, super tender, and served atop a light francese sauce. Francese is very overplayed in Italian restaurants, but they totally innovated the dish to make it exciting. The scalloped potato side we ordered was a great complement to the mains - I was expecting these to be cheesy, but instead they were prepared with vegetables which kept it light.
We couldn't leave without dessert - after being served some complimentary ices as palate cleansers, we decided to go with the affogato and almond cheesecake. The affogato was unlike one I've seen before - the ice cream was topped with hot fudge, and then in lieu of coffee being poured on top, the dish was topped with crushed frozen coffee. The best part of this dish for me was the hot fudge - I appreciate the innovation with the crushed frozen coffee but personally would still prefer a traditional affogato. The cheesecake was out of this world - the almond flavor was perfect as was the consistency. It felt nostalgic but also new - they hit it out of the park, I'm still thinking about it. Before leaving, we were provided some complimentary house-made cookies which was a great finisher.
Service was excellent - everyone went out of their way to make this a memorable experience. Overall, I had a great time at Torrisi - the food was adventurous while also being familiar, and most importantly was high quality and delicious. I would definitely return for another meal - it's well worth the work to secure a table. read more