L’Antipasto

This restaurant is located in a quiet row of shops in the leafy Sixth Avenue neighborhood. We were there on a weekday night, and a number of tables were taken by what looked like regular customers. The server that greeted us was polite and showed us to our reserved table. He was also very helpful and enthusiastic in making recommendations from the wine list and the menu, which was divided into a regular à la carte and a chef’s specials’ section. Taking our server up on his recommendations, we ordered the new house pour white wine, and a seafood soup and antipasto special to start. The soup was made from real seafood stock and was acceptable but also predictable, while the antipasto platter of buffalo tomatoes, mozzarella and Parma ham was generously portioned and delicious. Our server was affable and checked in on us periodically without being intrusive. However, the tables in this restaurant are rather close together, and we unwittingly found ourselves party to what was going on at the table next to ours. Our mains were mushroom ravioli in a four-cheese sauce and a seafood risotto. The ravioli was very nice, with fresh mushroom stuffing and a thick cheesy sauce. It was truly rich, and we struggled to finish the four ravioli parcels that comprised the dish. The risotto too was well done, with liberal chunks of seafood, and that lovely wet and creamy texture that characterizes good risotto. For dessert, we had cannoli filled with ricotta cheese, orange peel and chocolate chips. While we enjoyed the filling, the tube of pasty it came in was far too hard and we had trouble cutting it up without it flying off our plate. But that was really the only flaw in what was essentially a fine meal. At the end, the hostess introduced herself to us and we had a friendly chat. We appreciated her hospitality and that of her staff, and will quite happily return for more.