The Solo Scale:
Near Madison Square Gardens in New York, you’ll find Ci Siamo, which is a lovely Italian restaurant. It may be a little hidden, but once you discover it, you’ll head upstairs to the second floor where the tables are.
TRIP TIP: This may sound strange, but take the elevator. It’s gorgeous and outfitted with a drink cart and is actually one of the nicest parts of the restaurant.
After you check in with the host and they’re ready, your dining experience begins with an escort to your table. Your options will be the front area near the stand, or around the corner with a view of the kitchen. My table was back near the kitchen area, but no matter where you sit, there’s lot of options. It was easy to get a reservation, but was pretty busy for a weekday evening.
I ordered a starter, a glass of wine, a main, and then a dessert. For the starter, I had the “gnoccho”, a fried pair of gnocchis. My entree was a vegetarian pasta dish that was very tomato-forward for my main. Then, for dessert, I ordered the “lemon torta”, which despite translating directly to lemon cake was actually a lemon meringue pie slice.
In general, I felt that the menu was a little incomplete. Nothing was bad, but everything felt like it was missing a little something. The gnoccho was dying for a fresh green verde dip or a red sauce to counter the dryness of the parmesan on top. The pasta was delicious, but extremely one note — even adding parmesan only helped a little. A crispy vegetable on top would have given it a little more texture and variety. The “cake” was also a bit disappointing as I had been hoping for a cake and not pie. Everything was still very tasty, but it could have been incredible were it not for what felt like missing elements.
However, while the menu was a little shy of great, the service was absolutely fantastic. I had a waiter and an assistant throughout the whole dinner. My water was refilled promptly, they checked on me at a perfect rate, and at dessert, they surprised me with a free order of fig gelato. Strangely, this is what I was planning to order if not for the lemon cake (and yet, I didn’t mention this to the waiter, which means it was a little bit of a psychic moment of perfection). In truth, the fig gelato was actually my favourite part of the whole evening. It was tasty and unique in a way that most dishes aren’t.
Overall, Ci Siamo is a good choice if you like Italian food, but don’t expect to be blown away. It’s serviceable and steady cuisine and a good option for New York, but on my visit, it felt like they were a few small tweaks away from an incredible experience. That might be what you experience when you go. On the other hand, the service was some of the best I’ve experienced, and for that alone (plus the great restaurant design), it’s worth a shot if you’re in the Madison Square Gardens area!
Check out the menu to see what’s cooking or to make reservations!
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