I was the first of my friends to arrive, so I posted up at the crowded bar. I had to wait a while, as there was only one waitress making drinks for the entire bar and restaurant. The bartender was apologetic and once she got to me, made me a very stiff drink, which I appreciate when you are paying 12 bucks a cocktail! Once 3 of our party of 4 had arrived we went to the hostess station to check in, and to our surprise they let us sit before the rest of our part arrived. This is one of my biggest pet peeves with restaurants. I know some restaurants have to do it to keep service moving smoothly, but when you are looking forward to a leisurely dinner it is nice to be able to sit and have a cocktail before you have to make all your dining choices! The inside of the restaurant was truly charming. A small dining area with a curved marble ceiling, dim lighting, and a wall of floral arrangements running down the centre of the dining room made for a intimate and cosy feeling.
The menu had a good variety of pasta, protein and pizza options. We decided to split the pate and pickles appetizer. When it first showed up I was skeptical. The piece of pate was giant. It came with toasted sour-dough bread, pickles, and brown mustard. While none of the elements stood out on their own, when they were all combined in the right proportion it was quite tasty. The pickle was the most distinct and important element. It added a subtle sweetness that help cut the intense saltiness of all of the other elements. It was very rustic and overall enjoyable, but nothing to rave about.
For main courses, two of us got Pizza. I got the spinach pizza. It was awesome. Thin flaky crust topped with lots of wilted spinach, garlic and some parmigiana cheese. We also had the tomato pizza at our table, which was pretty classic with tomato sauce, mozzarella and some basil. Both were wonderful, and honestly it was nice to have both.We traded each other a couple of pieces, the combo of the two was fantastic. Neither pizza was too heavy, but both portions were more than either of us could finish!
The other two people at my table got the seafood salad. It was a large bowl of calamari, mussels, and clams atop some veggies and broth. I only had a small bite, and it was fine. The salad was served cold, which for a dinner item seemed an odd choice, and was not what either of my friends were expecting. So the cold salad was met with only luke-warm reviews overall.
They had an extensive cocktail list. Several of which we tried at our table, and they were all great. None were too sweet, which is generally my biggest complaint with speciality cocktails! Overall this was a fun place to have dinner with some girl friends. It was very reasonably priced and the atmosphere was spot on! This is the kind of place where I think you will be best served to stick to the more basic items on the menu, as this is where they seem to really shine!
Five Points
31 Great Jones Street
New York NY 10012
*They are on open table!
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