Centro Vinoteca (CLOSED)

We loved every morsel of the carefully prepared and presented food. Unusual combinations and selections made the menu interesting. The ribeye was pure perfection. While on the expensive side, the food is worth every penny. We highly recommend!

I heard some mixed reviews, but decided to find out for myself. For a fairly new restaurant, the service was amazing- we were promptly seated and our server was friendly and attentive. She knew the entire menu and was able to answer all of our questions. We started off with the piccolini because the menus were there and they looked interesting. The offerings would be perfect with drinks at the bar, but were a little odd at the table- we filled up too quickly on those to order antipasti. The pasta was very good, the lamb bolognese heavy but delicious- the pizza was excellent as was the bucatini

I had high expectations for CV after reading the reviews. The ambience was hip and energetic on a Saturday night. There was a considerable throng of people around the semi circular bar. I was surprised actually at the layout of the restaurant - the bar space was sizably larger than the dining area - or at least appeared so. I would not have minded the bar activity and noise had not the service and food been up to par. The restaurant immediately dropped the ball - I had a 10:30pm reservation for two and we were not seated until an hour later. By the time we got our table, we were one of the last seatings, and I felt the staff rushed us through the rest of the dinner. The only memorable dish was the polpettini for its flavor; my lamb ragu with gnocchi was a poorly devised combination. The lamb ragu sauce was thin and watery and had a muttonish flavor. My gnocchi ended up looking and tasting like red mush. A Mario Batali sighting towards the end of dinner certainly added cool factor, but having to shout at my dinner companion over the music and bar noise all night dampened my enthusiasm for this place.

Looking for a welcome home night out for my husband who was away on business, I picked this restaurant based on various reviews (not just menupages). I was very excited to try this restaurant. Unfortunately, we found it to be just an upscale diner - nice wine glasses though! Just an ok wine list, nothing fab in the $40 to $60 range, which is (much) more than you would need to spend on this food. Rolling Stones and Coldplay soundtrack over and over (which we do like, well Coldplay anyway, but maybe just at a bar.) The little starters were fine, nothing special. We tried the mushrooms - ok nothing you wouldnt get at a wedding, the truffled eggs, (I am a truffle addict, so found them just ok, a little short of truffle) and white bean ... ehh.. ok. Fiamma serves this with their bread starter - for free. For the second course we shared the gnocci with lamb. We both felt it was heavy and poor. More fried gnocci and very little minced (ground) lamb. Boxed tasting stuffing over your chicken, a "bouncy" pork chop, and most dissapointing of all, because it sounded so good, a mealy and sweet goat cheese cheescake (would have liked it tart - I mean if you are going to do goat cheese cheesecake - go for it!) We were a little dissapointed and will not return.

Chose this place randomly but was soooo glad I did. The service was great, our table was ready for us as soon as we came and they sat us even though we were not a complete party, our friends were 20 mins late and they were totally cool about it. Loved the idea of having the little mini apps before ordering, loved the wine list. Our server was knowledgable and really helpful as I have allergies. I had the lamb shank and it was completely delicious. Had no room left for desert which was a shame as they looked delicious.

A great addition to the W. Village dinner scene. My husband and I had a lovely evening with delicious food and wine. Highly recommended!

Squash Blossoms- need i say more- hot, crunchy, deep fried, but not greasy on the outside.. warm, melty cheese on the inside. We also had the fried califlower and pureed white beans from the picolino menu. The special salad appetizer along with the blossoms. Everything was fresh and bursting with just picked flavor. The primi- i had the pasta special, eh, not my favorite, the tagliatelle were a little overcooked and the veggies could have been more plentiful. The lamb bolognese was good. I think i was spoiled by the picolini and appetizers. But save room for dessert- the hazelnut cake with nutella mousee was out of this world. The cake was rich and dense and the mousse was light and cold. OMG i wish i had some now.. The peach panna cotta- what i could steal from my husband without being stabbed was great too.