When a restaurant is this talked about, it usually disappoints. However, Torrisi definitely lived up to they hype! Nearly every dish was great and interesting. This is a great place to take friends from out of town of if you just want a great affordable meal. I will definitely be coming back here often.
Reservation Policy: It’s worth noting how their reservation policy works, since it’s unusual. Reservations are taken for same day only at 5:30 PM the store. Seatings are at 6, 8 or 10 PM. If you want 8, you should probably be in line by 5, otherwise 5:15 should suffice.
Ambiance: Torrisi is small and functions as an upscale Italian deli during the day. It’s therefore not well suited for large groups.
Wine List: Not huge and US only. However, there are some interesting varietals.
Food: You get a prix fixe menu for $50, which is a great deal given the quality and quantity of food. We left filled, without being stuffed. Here’s the rundown of what we had:
Warm Mozz, Davero, Milk Thistle Cream *** – Melt in your mouth mozzarella on crunch garlic bread with herbs. It’s simple, but delicious
Fried Jerusalem Artichokes ** – Sort of like a french fry made of artichokes, it was a fun snack to start the meal. The lemon paired nicely with the bitterness of the artichoke
Big Eye Tuna in an Eggplant Broth *** – A small dish, but packed with great flavors. The eggplant broth is tangy and perfect with the top notch pieces of rare tuna.
Linguini with clams, tabasco *** – I’ve never seen tabasco on pasta before, but it was a really great addition. Clams were also very tasty
Veal Shoulder * – This was really the only miss of the night. The thinly sliced veal was not very flavorful. The peppers and tomatoes in the sauce were reminiscent of many other Italian dishes and not spectacular.
Striped Bass w/ Raw Marinara *** – The raw marinara had some of the tanginess of traditional marinara, but was actually white in color. A nice pairing with a very high quality piece of fish
Desert consisted of a plate of assorted Italian pastries, which were all delicious.
Torrisi Italian Specialties
250 Mulberry St.
New York, NY 10012
