The guy with a “fuck your pasta machine” sign pretentious? Nonsense.
But seriously though the main menu is fine. That wine menu is super intimidating.
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I didn’t find it too difficult. If you eat enough Italian, most things are recognizable. You can always ask the waitstaff. There’s also the Google Translate app, which can OCR translate.
Most things on the menu self-explain themselves. E.g.: carciofi alla giudia says on the next line “violetta artichokes”.
My comment would be that there’s nothing particularly interesting to me on the menu, lots of stuff I’ve seen before, though I’m sure it’s all executed really well and tastes great.
I’d get the branzino, the olive oil cake, and the squash blossoms.
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I don’t eat enough Italian especially at restaurants but thanks for your advice! Might stick to Osteria Mozza for now, especially with Mother Wolf still being such a hot ticket to get.
Almost every dish on the menu is described in detail.
The wine list has the grapes, region, maker, vintage, and (where there is one) appellation. That’s more than many places. A Roman restaurant with no Cesanese, hmm.
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Anyone know if there is bar seating and, if so, if it is open for walk ins?
yes and yes
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The bar area is reserved for walk-ins, however. If you can get there close to opening time (5:30pm on Tuesday through Thursday, 6pm on weekends), you’ll most likely find an empty seat or two.
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Thanks Hal - appreciate the info.
Went last night - wish I had read this thread in more detail to guide better ordering. The start of the meal was great - the recommendations here for the panzanella and prawns were spot on and some of the best individual dishes I’ve had in a while. We probably thought too much about the Funke’s pasta obsession and ordered too many of those which I found a bit underwhelming. The pasta was fine but not particularly memorable. Cacio e Pepe in particular is a dish I only like when it’s extremely well done and it wasn’t here, too cheesy and over-sauced.
My biggest problem was that for a crowded room the musically was painfully loud. My hearing suffers from being a middle aged guy who went to too many loud punk rock shows when I was younger but I’ve never encountered it that bad at a restaurant. This wasn’t just not being able to hear my companions but actually physically painful.
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For his pastas, it’s better to go to Felix.
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How was the pacing?
Haha glad I scrolled down. I was going to ask the Felix comparison question.
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Hard to tell on how we ordered. We got a bunch of apps, some pastas and a dessert. Each group all came out at the same time. I would have liked it to slow down personally but not sure if I should blame the restaurant or my ordering.
I always tell waitstaff (including at Mother Wolf) how I want them to course things. Otherwise they usually bring everything all at once and look perplexed by the fact that it won’t fit on their cramped table. Or you’ll have oysters arriving after pasta, this kind of thing.
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That’s pretty much status quo. They love dropping down pastas piping hot while you’re still finishing off your last dish.
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Yup. We got our squash blossoms first and had a minute with them.
Then prawns, pizza, and two pastas all dropped AT ONCE. Overwhelming.
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It’s the restaurant. They do the same at Felix, trying to turn the table faster. It has led to my bottle of wine arriving well after ALL the pasta dishes.
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server: “The kitchen needs you to put in the full order at once.”
me: “Yeah, we’re not going to do that.”
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I went last week and the food also arrived in a flurry.
Just order in batches with breaks in between - makes a much more enjoyable restaurant experience
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