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Spina
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: East Village
175 Avenue B
(between 11th St & 12th St)
New York, NY 10009
(212) 253-2250
175 Avenue B
(between 11th St & 12th St)
New York, NY 10009
(212) 253-2250
- Nearest Transit:
-
1st Ave-14th St (L)
- Hours:
Tue-Thu. 5:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Fri. 5:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.
Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
Sponsored Result
Special Offer Nearby
Trattoria Toscana
- Category:
- Italian
- Neighborhood:
- West Village
Sunday thru Thursday 10% off for Yelpers (cash only). Lunch specials all week for only $12.50, come join us and see what the Yelp is about
19 reviews for Spina
I don't know what took me so long to review this place! (Honestly, I kinda thought i did, and never really checked, but that is besides the point).
Ave B between 11th and 12th was always one of my favorite blocks with Mercadito and Back Forty. Now you throw this into the mix?? Holy crap! I love Spina!! Well, put fresh made pasta in front of me and i'll pretty much do anything you want. But every single pasta is made fresh daily there and you can taste the freshness. I highly recommend their red sauce pastas. ESP the bolognese!!
The place is so cute! It's a perfect setting for a casual but romantic date, or to catch up with friends or even have a full on dinner party!. the exposed brick wall adds a real rustic charm. And the staff!! Warm, friendly and just downright awesome! Highly recommended :)
This place is great. I would happily recommend it to anyone.
The mussels were about as good as mussels can get - olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cherry tomatoes and chive oil. The broth was so good we drank it out when the mussels were gone. The service is super-friendly but not annoyingly so. Burrata ravioli special and other pasta dishes were nice but the salt level seemed to vary a lot.
I usually don't eat bread but between the tomato sauces and the broth from the mussels the two of us went through two baskets of focaccia.
I love Spina. It's a nice sized open restaurant but it feels incredibly cozy. From the minute I walked in on a rainy evening, the host Salvatore was very friendly and welcoming and sat me at a window-side table to wait for my friend. When she arrived, they even took her umbrella. Everyone that came by the table either to serve wine, water or take our orders was knowledgeable about the dishes and when we asked Salvatore about one of their dishes, he even showed us the pasta they used to make it. One of the appetizers on special that day with figs and prosciutto and burrata (i think?) cheese over a bed of arugula was melt-in your mouth tasty.
All the ingredients seemed very fresh and the wine list is extensive offering pretty much everything you could want with a nice comfort food dinner.
The tiramisu is DIVINE. One of the best I've ever had.
This place is a delight. What a romantic setting. Service could not be better. Everything was perfect, except for one thing....portions could have been slightly larger. Would absolutely dine there again.
Maybe we were there on an off night(?). Service-poor-both slow and sloppy. Waiter didn't even bother to tell us the specials. Food-blah and small portions and pricey. Bread seemed stale. Music cranked up loud-perhaps because only three tables filled. There's far better italian and at better price points within blocks of this place. I can't get over the other reviews. I'll be at Perbacco or Lavanga thank you very much.
I just had dinner here with my sister and a friend and we cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. To start, the service was AMAZING, shockingly good actually.... We were waited on by Salvatore the GM and the owner (Chris I think) and every staff member was attentive, knowledgeable and patient (we were all very tired and took forever to decide).
The starters were delicious and very reasonably priced. We had the pear and walnut salad and it was SO GOOD that I will be going out of my way to come for it in the future, the dressing was PERFECT (really, so zesty and light, it was gorgeous!!) the pears were ripe and the pecorino and candied walnuts provided a sweet, nutty and salty element. FABULOUS salad!- sorry...I'll move on now lol
The Panzerotti were ok (it said that there were tomatoes in it but they had been left out) and the bread was a bit old, but the meatballs were very very good, excellent sauce with high quality meat, perfect tiny meatball bites.
For entrees we got the branzino (whole baked in a salt crust, the result of which is not a salty fish but an incredibly moist, purely flavored and delicate fish) and the black ravioli (a hand made pasta with squid ink) filled with lobster in a light cream sauce with poppy seeds. While the combination sounds unorthodox, the pasta dish was PHENOMENAL, with a delicate balance of flavors, generous portions of knuckle and claw lobster meat on top of the ravioli as well as inside and perfect texture (which can be hard with fresh pasta sometimes). The fish was light and a great healthy alternative to the pasta.
Finally, the wine list was clear and extensive as well as varied. One of my favorites to date. The valpolicella we had was very good and was only $32.
While the food was great I cannot stress enough how perfect, friendly and helpful the service was. We travelled from the financial district and Brooklyn respectively and it was worth the trip!!!
I highly recommend that you check it out!!!! It is WELL WORTH A TRIP!
This is my first review...but I just had to add my opinion of Spina to all the others, since Yelp was how I found it in the first place!
My boyfriend was visiting from out of town and wanted "good Italian" on Friday night....so I came to Yelp...and Spina really jumped out at me! When I called to make a reservation I was told that the restaurant was full, but if we came by at 9pm we would probably be able to get squeezed in.
We arrived at 9pm on the dot and was told by Salvatore that we'd probably have to wait about 30 minutes, even though he knew we were coming. We had anticipated a small wait so it wasn't that big of a problem. Well!!!! A few minutes later Salvatore offered us a wine list and said he'd buy us each a glass of wine while we waited at the bar. I don't know if they do this for every customer who has to wait, but it sure did make us feel special.
Once we were seated Salvatore and Roberto both came by to check on us throughout our meal (but weren't at all overbearing - just the right amount of attentiveness to our table). They were both very personable and made us feel like we were the only ones in the restaurant.
The wine that was recommended to us was FANTASTIC, the food was DELICIOUS (Fresh homemade pasta!!!), and the service was some of the BEST I've experienced in the city! AND to top it off...the bill didn't break the bank. I've been to restaurants that ended up costing double of what we paid at Spina - and have left those "other" places feeling like I'd been cheated, with bad food and poor service.
I love Spina! I can't wait to go back!!!
6.11.09
After seeing the slideshow of Spina's food on Grub Street, I immediately called for a reservation. After two rather hilarious conversations with the charming host, D and I arrived on Thursday night to a larger than expected, typical-in-decor, Italian trattoria. D had arrived earlier (or I, late) and started with a glass of pinot noir blanc from Finger Lakes, which was ridiculously sweet but perfect for summer, and I renewed my vow to take a wine tasting tour of that area this summer.
The focaccia bread basket was served with two amazing spreads.. a tomato-y olive oil and a seemingly local whipped butter/cheese? We ordered a pitcher of the rossi wine punch, which was refreshing but not quite as strong as I would have liked it to be.
One of the many specials was RICE BALLS with cheese and beef, deep fried. Plated with a tangy, not overly sweet marinara sauce, the rice balls were not cheesy or oily enough to provide that deep down satisfaction. A heaping plate of MUSSELS were served in a bath of delicious broth, however, the mussels were a little too large and meaty and not completely fresh for my taste.
D ordered the BLACK FETTUCCINE (with crabmeat), and I ordered another of the specials, RISOTTO (with rock shrimp). While both sauces were rather blah, the pasta and risotto themselves were absolutely fantastic. Having grown up in an Italian family, the freshness of the pasta was clearly evident in the taste and texture, and both were perfectly cooked.
Overall, the food was a little too mediocre for the price ($120 total for two, including the pitcher of wine punch). This is New York, and amazing affordable Italian is a dime a dozen. I would return, however, if in the area.. due to the freshness of the pasta and risotto being the exception(al standouts).. sadly, not the sauces.. and the fabulous service (every person there contributed a little something extra to the make the meal a pleasant experience, whether it be humor, attentiveness, interesting tidbits, etc). Spina still has some room to improve, but I genuinely hope they do.
I don't know where to begin with our experience! We were looking for a little Italian place to grab good food from and we found it. Service was great from the door, but not over the top a laid back efficiency. The place was quaint and stylish. My friend had the Lobster Ravioli where the hand made pasts was colored with squid ink, sounds weird but it enhanced the texture just right. I had the traditional bolognese and it was everything I wanted it to be. Everything including the wine selections were perfect and the service was the icing on the cake! I will definitely return when I am back in the city.
Fried risotto balls. Mmm. Mussels. Mmmmmm.
Shrimp with saffron. Deeeelish
I rode the unbearably hot, dirty subway, switched once, transferred to a bus, then walked a block in a sketchy area to get here and it was well worth it. I cooled off with a light prosecco after requesting the table with the most amount of exposure to the A/C in the entire restaurant. The owner and sommelier were so nice to Rebecca H. and me. In addition to the ricotta cheese that came with the bread basket, we also tasted a special goat cheese and a soft light French cheese made from cow's milk. Then we got to taste a meatball dish and a calamari dish. The veal/pork meatballs came in a delicious savory tomato sauce. Our next course of mussels came in a light sauce -- tasted just like moules marniere. Then the fettucine nero (black fettucine) with crab was set delicately on our table. The sauce was decent, but I think the dish could have had a bit more flavor and the pasta could have been a bit more al dente. Next came the freshly made and de-boned branzino with little pearls of pasta that was very elegant. Then we topped off this feast with some delicious tiramisu.
Rebecca H. and I actually ate everything--every single bite believe it or not. I'm having a major food coma right now....
This place is AMAZING!!!!! I have eaten here about 5 or 6 times and been impressed each time. I have also brought a different friend each time and they have all loved it also.
How can you not love FRESH hand-made home-made pasta?? The mussels are ridiculous good - as many other people have already mentioned, and the tiramisu is probably the best I've ever had. I LOVE the staff - they are all very hospitable, funny, helpful, friendly, I could go on... and they're also GREAT with wine selection. The interior is so cute, and the windows open to the street... it's great for both dates and groups.
Love, love LOVE Spina!
I've been wondering what was going to open in this adorable space and was very excited when I discovered Spina! I went with a few friends for dinner and were greeted by a very friendly and knowledgeable owner who walked us through the menu and the wine list.
We started with a glass of the Rossi punch which was perfect for a hot summer night. Then moved onto a delicious (but reasonably priced) bottle of wine with the mussels, rice balls and polpettine. All 3 were very flavorful, but the mussels were by far my favorite - I could have eaten the whole bowl myself! We had three different pastas (pappardelle, malloreddus & gnocci) and they were all great. Simple but flavorful, and the home-made pasta was the perfect texture.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere...it was laid back, but the staff was very attentive without being overbearing. The portions and obvious quality of the food for the price is a great value. I plan on finding a friend and going back for the mussels, ribeye for two and a big bottle of Italian red...doesn't get much better than that!
Last night my girlfriend and I were walking through the East Village when we decided to try Spina. I guess they just opened and there was quite a crowd in the dinning room. Usually that means it must be pretty good.
We started with the mussels and they were probably the best mussels I had ever had. Coming from the Northwest I have had my share of mussels. I usually prefer clams since mussels have more of a musky taste. These mussels were mild and had a lot of flavor. Not to mention the broth that complimented the flavor of the mussels. I would say hands down a must have if you go there.
The wine list was right on par with my cheap budget. They had a lot of wines to choose from under $40 a bottle. I got the pasta with smoked mozzarella. The mozzarella made the dish. It was also very good. My girlfriend went with the flatten chicken with salad on top which was also pretty good from the one bite my girlfriend let me have before she ate everything. We did not have any desert but everyone else seemed to be enjoying it.
Update - I've been back quite a few times since I wrote my first review and it just keeps getting better. Everyone who works here is so friendly - you can't help but be in a good mood. And the more food I try on the menu, the more I love it. The panna cotta is perfect - sweet but light, a refreshing end to the meal. Even the pasta feels like, not heavy like at other places. I can't recommend this place enough. I think I said that in the first review but I'll say it again...!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
8/26/2009
I LOVED my dinner at Spina last night. I'm totally going to come here regularly. The waiter was… Read more »
this is a hood with a Ton of decent italian restaurants. i am rooting for this joint though. i live around the corner and loved panificio when that was around. anyway. the fresh(!) pastas are very very good, service was courteous and friendly, i preferred the interior in its previous life but that's just nitpicking.
orrechiette with rabbit ragu was amazing - the leftovers were even better the next day. (i had a hangover)
We were there yesterday evening. Great service, great food, intimate atmosphere.
Hand made pasta, made daily.
Had several apps, favorite was the shimp with olive oil and saffron. All pastas we ate plus salmon were great. Tiramissu to die for.
Service was friendly and very accomodating. Owner works the restaurant every evening, ensuring satisfaction.
Based on the contnued turn of the tables over the evening, and the accolades as folks were leaving, I think all really enjoyed the new Spina.
I highly recommend!!!!
Fantastic! When I walked into this place with my 2 other girlfriends, they were making fresh farfalle (bow-tie) pasta in front of you. What a treat! We split the carpaccio, mussels and lobster ravioli...Everything was delicious! The carpaccio salad was an entire plate of yummy greens and bitter arugula with shavings of sharp cheese and grilled shitakes, very different; keep in mind all of this was over a bed of fresh, sliced paper thin beef that was covering the whole plate. The mussels were cooked in a white wine, garlic butter broth. The mussels were sweet and the broth was so mouthwatering; we soaked it up with the bread even after all the mussels were gone. The lobster ravioli (albeit a small portion) was so elegant. My friend said it reminded her of a dish that would be served at a wedding. It was about 5 or 6 raviolis of black squid ink pasta filled with lobster filling. The sauce was a creamy butter sauce and it was dressed with poppy seeds and little chunks of lobster. YUM! And, tonight, I'm taking another friend. :)
the pastas, salads and mussels are fantastic and so inexpensive - a big plate of delicious gnocchi, bolognese or lasagna for just $14! no room for dessert but great sangria-type drinks, good crowd and music, comfortable room. try to snag one of the tables by the french doors in nice weather if you can. nice, easy, delicious, very reasonable. I'd totally love to have it in my neighborhood.
