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Civetta
Rating Details »
Neighborhoods: Little Italy, Nolita
98 Kenmare St
(between Mulberry St & Mott St)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 274-9898
98 Kenmare St
(between Mulberry St & Mott St)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 274-9898
Brunch at civetta
Civetta will be open for brunch from Saturday 08.01.09, from 12 noon till 4pm and every weekend there after
- Nearest Transit:
-
Spring St-Lafayette St (6)
Bowery (J, M)
Prince St (R, W)
- Hours:
Mon-Wed. 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Thu-Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
Sponsored Result
Special Offer Nearby
Trattoria Toscana
- Category:
- Italian
- Neighborhood:
- West Village
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10 reviews for Civetta
Perhaps I expected to much, since it is opened by the owners of Sfoglia, which I think it absolutely amazing, but Civetta let me down a little. The food was good - don't get me wrong - I loved the pastas. But then again, that would be expected since Sfolgia's pastas are mind-blowing, but everything else from the service to the appetizers was a bit of a disappointment.
Ambiance: Civetta is bigger and trendier than Sfoglia. The intimate home-y charm of Sfoglia just isn't there, replaced instead by something big and somewhat impersonal with a very loud kitchen and a bar seating area where people can dine a la Balthazar. The downstairs lounge had a great bar, but the lounge seating was odd and not really condusive to lounging - which I find odd. And the feel of the downstairs was very, very different from the upstairs where the restaurant is. A bit of a disconnect if you ask me.
The service: When I last went, the host and hostess tried to be accommodating and were friendly, they seated my party next to the kitchen at a very awkward, somewhat communal table, and when we asked to be moved away from the kitchen door, they re-seated us at a very loud table closer to the other side of the kitchen, even though we saw a perfectly unoccupied table in the middle of the restaurant. Kind of odd if you ask me. But our server was fantastic - opinionated and helpful.
Food: The pastas were delicious with interesting ingredients. The tagliatelle with bottarga and preserved lemon could have had a stronger flavor but was good nonetheless. I particularly liked the uni pasta dish I had with very bold and inventive flavors (but may not appeal to the masses) and their bolognese was homey and delicious. Their smaller shared plates were a bit of a mixed bag. For instance, while i enjoyed the octopus, i found the arancini to be bland - having tasted much better arancinis at many of the italian delis around the corner.
They've got some kinks to work out, but overall, I think Civetta is provides good food with particularly good pastas and will probably be a good place to eat with friends. I still find the lounge area to be a little odd, but being that it is in Soho, it probably makes sense. Would I make a special trip to Civetta like I do for its amazing uptown sister? No. But would I eat there again with friends? Probably.
Really great space - would highly recommend it for a date, it's warm, romantic, dark. (Ideal date lighting.)
The bartender is very friendly, warm and helpful. The bar is great for having a relaxing drink at the end of the day. Seats are cushy, comfy.
I was excited to try this place b/c Sfoglia has so much hype (and impossible to get a reservation, unless you know where you're going to be in 3 months and who knows that?)
Here's what we had:
Saffron Arancini sausage, spring peas, fontina - these were my second favorite part of the meal, crispy on the outside, cheesy and gooey on the inside - although the sausage flavor was very weak.
Baby Octopus celery, guanciale salad, red wine dressing - skip it. Lots of celery, the octopus was flavorless, I just didn't find anything interesting about this dish.
Peach and eggplant parmesan - this dish was delicious - I never thought peaches would work in an eggplant parm but it does. The tomato sauce in this dish was delicious, ripe, bold and garlic-y and they brought out freshly baked crusty, buttery bread that went perfectly with this dish.
Tagliatelle bottarga di muggine, fennel, preserved lemon - I was excited to try the pasta, since Sfoglia is known for their pasta dishes and well, the tagliatelle was thick and gummy - not what I expected. The caviar flavor was fine - the preserved lemon bits were a little too hard, I get that you want to have a lemon flavor complimented by the caviar / fish taste but it didn't work so well for me. However, my friend who likes fishier dishes, enjoyed this and didn't say anything negative about the pasta, so it might just be me.
They had a quail special which was simple and delicious, roasted well, skin was crispy, wrapped in bacon, with a wine reduction and smashed potatoes underneath that were delicious.
If you were a dear friend, I would say, go to the bar b/c the bartender is friendly and helpful - order the arancini and eggplant parm to nibble on - or if you need a romantic spot for a date, then go ahead and sit in the dining room. Or order dessert at the bar*
Another gripe, though, the wines by the glass - they were out of nearly 1/3 of the list, which was surprising. They do have a very interesting cocktail menu, I had the drink with the cucumber which was light and refreshing - definitely a light summer drink (I'm holding on as long as I can!) *I didn't order any of the desserts - but the cannolis looked slamming good...and the way everyone was scarfing them down, they must've been pretty good.
I've been to Civetta a couple of times, and overall, I think it's pretty average if not disappointing. I want to like it because of the pedigree and many of the staff I met were very friendly. But the food is nothing special and I felt like it was really overpriced and out of place in the neighborhood.
The first time I went I had the veal meatballs, baby octopus, and beets. They were pretty good, but honestly, $14 beets is a bit excessive. I went a couple weeks afterwards, and it seemed like those same dishes went down a bit. I then had a pasta with a cheese sauce and hazelnuts. I at first thought the hazelnuts were chickpeas, and after tasting the whole hazelnuts, I thought the texture, size, and taste were really out of place. I wanted the chickpeas instead. My friend had the branzino which was ok, but nothing special, especially for $32. I'm usually not so preoccupied with the price of food, but it's hard not to leave here spending so much, and feeling a little ripped off. The bright point was some of the Italian wines were very nice, and I liked one of their cocktails that had cucumber in it (can't remember the name).
The space/decor was subpar for me too. I liked the front bar area because I like big seats and ample bar depth. But I really disliked the downstairs lounge with it's marble tables with rose petals. It was dark and cavernous, and it kind of seemed like some cheesy guy's idea of a romantic cave.
In the end, it seems a little out of place with the neighborhood with food that doesn't live up to its ambitions.
I went just a couple of weeks after Civetta opened and they clearly had a lot of bugs to work out. The space is great and I was really looking forward to a good experience.
Unfortunately, the kitchen was still figuring out how to get orders out and there were extremely long waits for our food to come out. But, it wasn't just my table, but everyone around me. Each table was complaining about the wait and flagging down their waiter to ask what the problem was. It's hard for the waiter because they really can't control when the food comes out, BUT he could have been more attentive to let us know what was going on instead of waiting to be flagged down.
When our food finally came, it really wasn't very good.
It was surprising that they were still having such issues with pre-opening runs, but I hope things have gotten smoothed out.
I have never had food here but the bar downstairs is a great place to chill and mingle with great people from the neighborhood.
Great space...food is generally pretty good. The service is really mediocre, considering what they're going for. They really need a re-training session. Also, went downstairs after dinner for some drinks and were told the table was reserved...we sat there anyways, no one came. Again, great space, pretty good drinks, but something is missing from this mix.
I would give 4.5 stars. I think the food were very solid. The bread they served us was nice and warm. I ordered mussels as an appetizer; it was excellent. The sirloin for main course was not bad but unremarkable. The dessert was so good. I don't remember the name; but it was something tasted like mocha ice cream with cream and hazelnuts. Very light and good.
The place is spacious and cool.
If I knew how to give 3 1/2 stars, I would, but if there's a way, it alludes me.
Anyway, Civetta: Parts were amazing and parts were...good. First of all, the space. The space! it is so much roomier than most restaurants. Loved that. We arrived early to have a drink at the bar. The bartender was a bit of a diva (when I asked him if the "Rossa" was good he said -- not cracking any sort of smile or whatever -- "I created it, so yes, it's good." (this is not translating well, but trust me, he had issues). That said, the drink was terrific as was my husband's (the nolita cocktail).
We shared the octopus salad (very tasty) and the baccala fritters (delicious). I decided -- purely based what I'd read here -- to stick w/ the pastas. I ordered the gnocchi. It was....good. But what came to mind first was "overcooked." (My husband disagreed). The mushrooms it was cooked with were delish, but the pasta itself not so much. Husb got the pesto w/ clams (was apparently new to the menu). It tasted like...pesto. He couldn't really taste the clams. But the pesto itself was good.
Our server was lovely (though a bit chatty), and I must say a word for the bread which was superb.
We didn't order desert, which probably says something too...but I would go back and I did like it, just wouldn't order the gnocchi again.
I want to start of by saying how much I love Sfoglia (their other restaurant). Maybe it's because I had such high expectations for this place that it was a complete let down. We ordered Italian cured meats and it came with a side of a mustard based sauce - COMPLETELY ruined the dish. It was almost not edible and a huge waste of money. They also have a few kinks to iron out - our server didn't even speak english and kept disappearing. I had to spend most of my night tracking her down which detracted from the experience. When all said and done, I think I would go back for a drink in their lounge downstairs, but nothing else!
Great atmosphere! Goat cheese and spinach tart app was delicious. Everyone I dined with loved the food.
Also has great lounge space downtairs for parties
