New York, NY 10014
212.367.7470
www.centrovinoteca.com
If you watch the Food Network, you'll probably recognize the executive chef right away when you walk into Centro Vinoteca and look into the open kitchen. It's both surprising and impressive that she's been there every time I've ate at Centro Vinoteca since a lot of famous chefs these days seem to be absentee (Anne Burrell has since left to pursue more of a TV career but she was there). I've always just wandered in for a late night dinner or a good start to the evening and it has quickly become one of my favorite meals and settings.
Sitting at the bar with a full view of the kitchen behind you and the restaurant in front of you is my preferred experience there. The bartender is always attentive and you can have your choice of ordering from the bar menu or the full dinner menu. Don't miss the truffled deviled eggs (bar menu) which are rich and decadent but worth having every time you visit. Also on the menu, the chef stays true her classic Italian roots with refined presentations of arancine and polpettini. For something a bit more modern, I also recommend the mushrooms stuffed with pork & pancetta. For the entrees, I always find comfort in the bucatini all’amatriciana which is surprisingly evenly portioned. I've tried all the grilled seafood in the starters and found them to be excellent. For other pastas, I'm a big fan of the raviolo al’uovo with sage butter sauce & guanciale (pig cheek which should be a staple in every Italian restaurant). Stick with the lamb shank for mains and make sure you save some room for the hazelnut cake with nutella mousse. Since I grew up on Nutella, anything with that magical spread is okay in my book. What the restaurant lends itself most to, especially if you sit at the bar, is just sitting down and having a few drinks with a good friend or two. The bartender always entertains you (even making up stories of special dessert drink glasses) and there's always a vibrancy of people flitting in and out of the area. While I love the food here, the memories that fuel me about Centro Vinoteca are the ones where I just sat there with a good friend enjoying the night away.
Sitting at the bar with a full view of the kitchen behind you and the restaurant in front of you is my preferred experience there. The bartender is always attentive and you can have your choice of ordering from the bar menu or the full dinner menu. Don't miss the truffled deviled eggs (bar menu) which are rich and decadent but worth having every time you visit. Also on the menu, the chef stays true her classic Italian roots with refined presentations of arancine and polpettini. For something a bit more modern, I also recommend the mushrooms stuffed with pork & pancetta. For the entrees, I always find comfort in the bucatini all’amatriciana which is surprisingly evenly portioned. I've tried all the grilled seafood in the starters and found them to be excellent. For other pastas, I'm a big fan of the raviolo al’uovo with sage butter sauce & guanciale (pig cheek which should be a staple in every Italian restaurant). Stick with the lamb shank for mains and make sure you save some room for the hazelnut cake with nutella mousse. Since I grew up on Nutella, anything with that magical spread is okay in my book. What the restaurant lends itself most to, especially if you sit at the bar, is just sitting down and having a few drinks with a good friend or two. The bartender always entertains you (even making up stories of special dessert drink glasses) and there's always a vibrancy of people flitting in and out of the area. While I love the food here, the memories that fuel me about Centro Vinoteca are the ones where I just sat there with a good friend enjoying the night away.
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