The Inspiring Italian at Vinateria

I often walk by many of the restaurants in my neighborhood, headed to other areas to explore and eat, but it's always nice to find new tasty places so close to home.

Most of the restaurants in Harlem have tables that spill out onto the spacious sidewalks, filled with gaggles of excited eaters, and Vinateria is no exception.

The staff is warm, attentive and friendly; the menus adorable, printed on elementary school handwriting paper.  Oh, nostalgia.  

The lemonade is freshly made and perfect for a warm summer evening.

The crispy baby artichokes, served with lemon-anchovy sauce, were lightly battered and completely tender.  The sauce was bright, savory and just wonderful.

The pastas are all homemade here. The spaghetti with slivers of asparagus, tomato confit, ricotta and sweet corn, took no effort to eat, so light and absolutely lovely.

The black spaghetti with octopus and breadcrumb was a bit heartier, pitch black strands wrapped in toasted crumb and chive with meaty medallions of octopus.

Each plate was almost too perfectly portioned in that we easily finished each plate, cleaned it up with our tongues, and wished we had more, but honestly, it was just enough to keep us satiated while planting a seed for a future visit.

Han's Nonsensical Rating: Vinateria brings a seasonal twist to the traditional Italian - it's lighter, it's lovely and I'd definitely recommend it.

Vinateria

 2211 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10026