Scarpetta

I had dinner at Scarpetta last night and the food was amazing. The creamy polenta was to die for and the burrata was great too. I had the duck ravioli and my boyfriend had the pasta w/ sea urchin. Both pastas were perfectly cook and they were very tasty. The service was just ok and the hostess was a little clueless, but overall the experience was good. Scarpetta is a great addition to the meat packing district.

after weeks of calling, i finally got a table for 4 for my birthday dinner with my family. we have read rave reviews of the place, and were eager to try everything. every bite more delicious than the next every selection more delicious than the next. the polenta with truffles was absolutely top 5 apps in the city, braised short ribs in a close second. for main course, the all-hyped spaghetti with tomato basil sauce was mind blowing how could such a simple dish be so tasty? it WAS. the duck and foie gras ravioli and the scallops were world class. dessert was average, but i am not a dessert person.

My wife and I ate here late June on a Saturday night. We had to wait 1/2 hour from our reservation. The calamarati pasta had almost no seafood in it . Lots of pasta and where was the sea urchin? A main course of turbot wasn't really turbot that you get at a fine restaurant in europe. It was a thin farm raised pc of fish with no taste whatsoever. The fritto misto was ok and the other dish we had (can't remember what) was also good. How the NY times gave this place 3 stars is a mystery to me. The food wasn't close to the food we ate at L'impero when Scott Conant was the chef there.

Completely overrated and extremely overpriced. The wine markup is ridiculous- no glass is under $12. The pasta dishes were outragrously priced and average at best. The decor of the restaurant is really nice and was crowded for a sunday night but I seriously doubt this place will be around for long.

We tried to get a few things that the chef is known for, but in the end, we were a bit dissapointed. The polenta was nice for a spoonful or two, but then what do you do with it. The duck ravioli was delicious, but also overly rich. Spaghetti was good, but nothing outrageous. Service was slow, except for the water. I felt like every 5 seconds our water was refreshed. The room is nice and the staff was pleasant. It's a bit loud which was fine for us, but I could see how it would annoy some.

I've been here a couple of times, once as a guest and once with a guest. The food measures up - for the most part - to the very high expectations that all foodies had for Scott Conant' s new venture. There are no off nights here to stroll in and be seated at a table. This is the hottest restaurant in town at the moment. When we left on a Tuesday night at 9:00 PM, we had to fight our way through the jam-packed bar full of people waiting for their reserved tables or trying to get a table. The now-famous capretto entree is even better here than it was at L'Impero. It comes garnished with a couple of tiny rib chops just to make the closet vegetarian feel guilty about eating a poor baby goat, sacrificed at the beginning of life. It's delicious. Other winners: the polenta, enriched with all kinds of dairy to some sort of unknown dish (divine), the frito misto (how do they make it so crispy and tasty with so little residual fat?}, the beef ribs with risotto (a tiny portion but great), the black cod (just about perfect).,the cheese selections (limited but first-rate). The wine list is expensive, but most of it is ready to drink and the wine service is expert and knowledgeable. Order with confidence, as they say. And now to the down side. The turbot ($31) is from South America (?) and bears no resemblance to the huge European flatfish with its silky, meaty texture. Scarpetta's little fish are rubbery and somewhat disagreeable in flavor and served with an acidic sauce verte. The bar is inept. They serve cocktails that would lead you to think the bartenders are trying to save money on liquor. A gin and tonic with no gin. A dry martini mixed in a shaker with residual orange flavoring. Waiters and bartenders don't know what a daiquiri is and serve up an undrinkable potion of lime juice with no rum or decent triple sec. Have bar manuals gone by the wayside? Don't these people have a computer to check cocktail recipes? Order sparkling water or wine. For a restaurant with these prices and pretensions, one should not have to eat off skimpy orange placemats on bare, greasy tables (which the busboys cannot clean). One is reminded of Howard Johnson's. Call in the Chinese! Let's have some tablecloths and decent napkins. The decor seems to be an interpretation of a local leather bar specified by Louis Vuittonmirrors held to the wall with British tan strap belts. It's OK though. The important thing here is the food, but be prepared for the crowds and the prices and lousy bar.

The spaghetti was the reason I'll be back but overall all the food we had was pretty great. I'm a big fan of the dining room as well which has a very comfortable feel to it. The prices are not super cheap but in that area it's my new favorite spot.