Had a pretty fantastic dinner last week at Convivio, an Italian restaurant in Tudor City at the far east side of 42nd Street. In the former space of L'Impero, Convivo retains the essential decor of its previous inhabitant, but the menu is revamped to focus on Southern Italian. The tiny (but cool) bar was full when we arrived, so we sat down in the small lounge area for a pre-dinner cocktail. Shortly after ordering our drinks, the waiter returned to tell me that they had to go downstairs to get a martini glass for my drink and it would be just a few minutes. After ten minutes I complained, and another 5 minutes passed before I got my a drink (variant of a lemon martini). The waiter was very apologetic, and ended up comping the drink. Once we got inside the restaurant, things got better. The menu was exciting and extensive. The $59 prix fixe was well worth it, and highlights included a fantastic gamberini (small fried shrimp), frutti de mara, maccheroni alla carbonara, brasato al pomodoro (braised short ribs in tomato sauce), and a marvelous budino (warm dark chocolate, hazelnut). For wine we had a Cerasuolo di Vittoria Gulfi 2007, Frappato/Nero d'Avola from Sicily ($45) that was excellent. Service was attentive and overall very good. I'm giving this joint three stars, and hope to be back real soon.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Convivio: Real Italian in Tudor City
Had a pretty fantastic dinner last week at Convivio, an Italian restaurant in Tudor City at the far east side of 42nd Street. In the former space of L'Impero, Convivo retains the essential decor of its previous inhabitant, but the menu is revamped to focus on Southern Italian. The tiny (but cool) bar was full when we arrived, so we sat down in the small lounge area for a pre-dinner cocktail. Shortly after ordering our drinks, the waiter returned to tell me that they had to go downstairs to get a martini glass for my drink and it would be just a few minutes. After ten minutes I complained, and another 5 minutes passed before I got my a drink (variant of a lemon martini). The waiter was very apologetic, and ended up comping the drink. Once we got inside the restaurant, things got better. The menu was exciting and extensive. The $59 prix fixe was well worth it, and highlights included a fantastic gamberini (small fried shrimp), frutti de mara, maccheroni alla carbonara, brasato al pomodoro (braised short ribs in tomato sauce), and a marvelous budino (warm dark chocolate, hazelnut). For wine we had a Cerasuolo di Vittoria Gulfi 2007, Frappato/Nero d'Avola from Sicily ($45) that was excellent. Service was attentive and overall very good. I'm giving this joint three stars, and hope to be back real soon.
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