Quartina Trattoria Restaurant Gets 'Good' Review from New York Times

New York Times Connecticut restaurant critic Patricia Brooks loves the atmosphere and likes the food at Quartina Trattoria & Vineria, a restaurant that opened in May on Washington Street in SoNo.

And she loves the tirimasu. (“From now on at Quartina, it will be tiramisù every time.”)

“Everything about Quartina draws you in, including the owner, Giuseppe Cinque, who comes by your table to welcome you, and the bustling kitchen, partially visible on the left side, beyond the long bar,” Brooks wrote in her review before Thanksgiving.

Cinque opened the restaurant May 12 at the former site of Bacchus restaurant on Washington Street in SoNo, according to an article last spring in the Norwalk Hour.

The critic noted that the menu has eight different pastas, along with risotto and gnocchi in what the owner called a traditional Italian menu.

Brooks praised the spaghetti, the pompano al forno and salmon carpaccio (an appetizer). She and her dining companion also liked the carciofini imbottiti, mama’s polpette, eggplant rollatina and insalata semplice. The calamari fritti was so bad that the waiter, unasked, deleted it from the bill, she wrote. Overall, she rated the restaurant “Good.”

Reviewer Melanie Bernard in the Connecticut Post (and Stamford Advocate) also gave the restaurant a thumbs up: “Pastas are a highlight, especially a lovely linguine with briny clams redolent of an excellent olive oil and wine broth, but orecchiette with broccoli rabe, sausage and pepperoncino is a close second.”

Here’s what diners at various websites had to say about the restaurant:

• Urban Spoon: 95 percent give it a thumbs up (24 votes); four reviews, including one that said in part, “Great wine list, Italian, American... nicely priced & they give you your choice of pour size, 6 oz, 9 oz, or 1/2 liter. Wonderful.”
• Open Table: Overall rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars from six diners, with “ambiance” the category receiving the highest rating (3.8); “Great pasta and salads,” said one.
• Trip Advisor: Nine of 19 reviewer-diners rated the restaurant “excellent,” and another 7 rated it “very good.” One reviewer wrote: “The restaurant has good bread, nice wines, a cozy atmosphere and excellent service - the kind that’s attentive but not aggressive.” Another said: “That’s about how I feel. The menu looks great but the food is ok and pretty pricey. A bit disappointing ...”
• Yelp: Out of 14 reviews, the average rating was 4 out of 5 stars, with six revieweers giving it 5 stars and four more giving it 4 stars. “A MUST FOR DESSERT: tiramisu!” wrote Jennifer S. of Norwalk.
• Restaurant.com: Three reviews. Two liked it. One didn’t.

If you want to try the restaurant with a discount, you could go here (but this offer expires on Wednesday, Dec. 3) or go here or go here.

Quartina Trattoria & Vineria

120 Washington St., South Norwalk

(203) 956-6220

QuartinaSoNo.com

On Facebook

Lunch: Tuesday to Friday: noon to 3 p.m.

Dinner:

• Monday (sometimes open, check the Facebook page)
• Tuesday to Thursday: 5 to 10 p.m.
• Friday and Saturday: 5 to 10:30 p.m.
• Sunday: 5 to 9:30 p.m.

Post by Norwalk Patch.