There are tons of Italian restaurants in New York. Although I have not visited all, below 4 places are so far my favorite Italian restaurants in the city.
- Locanda Verde, Triebeca
- Scarpetta, Chelsea
- Gramercy Tavern, Gramercy park
- Marea, Columbus circle
Marea, Chef Michael White’s two Michelin starred restaurant right across the central park is known for its seafood and pasta. Chef Michael White has several other restaurants in New York such as Ai Fiori and Osteria Morini. I went to Marea for Saturday lunch and we had ‘business lunch’ that includes the selections of primo and secondo for $52.
Since we know Marea is known for its seafood and pasta, we’d ordered the followings.
For business lunch, a selection of 1 appetizer and 1 main dish is $52. You can also order a la carte.
I really wanted to order the spaghetti with crab, sea urchin and basil. Unfortunately, when I visited they weren’t serving any uni that day… very sad yet now I have good reason to come back soon.
ASTICE (extra $6)
nova scotia lobster, burrata, eggplant, basil
They weren’t stingy with lobsters as some other restaurants. Its burrata was very light and fresh and with a touch of basil, all the ingredients came together in a perfect harmony. Inside, there were chia seeds that added the overall texture.
POLIPO
grilled octopus, smoked potatoes, pickled red onion, radish, chilies, tomato
Its grilled octopus was very VERY tender! I loved it! I’ve cooked octopus before and I know how hard it is to cook right. If you over cook, octopus can get really tough. In addition to the perfect octopus, other garnishes and sauces were just very well balanced.
FUSILLI
durum wheat pasta, red wine braised octopus, bone marrow
At first, my husband did not want to order this because it is wheat pasta. However, I’ve convinced him to order this one and it was the right choice! You can’t even tell it was wheat pasta. Very well marinated with tomato sauce, its braise octopus with bone marrow was just so tender. I never thought about bone marrow pasta! I have to try it now. Every bite was just exquisite.
TAGLIOLINI
manila clams, calamari, white wine, hot chilies.
Although I really liked the other pasta, I LOVED this oneI just like tagliolini noodle. Because it is comparably thin, I do not feel as guilty as with other pastas… Moreover, its texture is extra al dente, almost like Japanese handmade ramen noodle! Enough of the noodles. Let’s talk about its sauce. My favorite sauce for pasta is usually olive oil. Clean and classic. With hot pepper chilies and white wine, the seafood was very flavorful. This dish deserves 3 exclamation mark !!!
At the end of the meal, I was happy and full, so called happyful. Yet, girls always have another stomach for a dessert. Apparently, my husband has two. He loves desserts nore than I do. I never seen a guy who has sweeter tooth than I do. We were debating between BOMBOLON, its signature sugar doughnuts, and SEMIFREDDO AL TORRONCINO because it sounds very unique. I always like trying something unique but I can never win over my husband when it comes to dessert. Therefore, we ordered BOMBOLON.
BOMBOLON $14
espresso sugar doughnuts, honey ricotta, cherry jam
I am not a doughnut person so I cannot judge. However, according to my husband who is a sweet expert, he really liked it. chewy and not too sweet!
SEMIFREDDO AL TORRONCINO $15
nougat, strawberries, caramel, hazelnuts, dark chocolate
Our server asked us before if we are celebrating any special occasion. Yes, we were celebrating our anniversary. He also saw me that I wanted to try SEMIFREDDO AL TORRONCINO but was too full to order two desserts, so took a rain check. He brought us this sweetest happy anniversary message and this just made me love Marea even more. They poured the dark chocolate on top of nougat and it got frozen after a few minutes.
Another treats before we leave. I was full but it was delicious too !
Inside
Ciao~ Marea, I am coming back!
All dishes were delizioso! The food was amazing, but the service was even more exceptional. Our server who looks like George Clooney was very friendly and assisted us the best in selecting wine, food and dessert. I’d love to take my parents when they visit New York. My dad is very picky with food but I strongly believe he will like this place a lot.
Marea
- Location : 240 CENTRAL PARK SOUTH NEW YORK, NY 10019
- Phone : +1 212-582-5100
- Price : The business lunch $52 / Dinner four courses prefix $99