I’ve read a lot of good things about Po Restaurant in the West Village and have been eager to try it for some time now. Mario Batali used to be the chef/owner there, before he opened up Babbo. Although he is no longer affiliated with Po, the restaurant is still turning out fabulous Italian food with interesting flavor combinations and beautiful presentations.
It was just four of us for this particular Sunday night dinner – me, Josh, and his parents – so we were able to snag a last minute 6:30 reservation at Po. The restaurant really is tiny; it’s basically just a narrow room with limited seating. Tables are small and space is a bit cramped, but the room has a quaint townhouse feel to it. The restaurant did get a little bit too hot though, even though it was cold outside.
We started off with a bottle of bubbly prosecco and munched on the amuse bouche while we looked over the menu. The amuse was a garlicky white bean bruschetta doused in olive oil on top of toasted slices of Italian bread. And boy, was it garlicky! There were whole cloves mixed in with the white beans, camouflaged by their similar appearance, so each mouthful was a bit of a surprise. Fortunately the garlic was cooked through (poached maybe?) so that it was soft, sweet, and creamy, without any harshness. This was a great starter for any garlic lover.
Garlicky white bean bruschetta
They also brought us a loaf of rustic Italian bread with olive oil for dipping. The bread had a hard crust that crackled when we tore into it, which I liked. It had a bit of a sourdough flavor to it that complemented the sweet and fruity olive oil well.
Good bread and olive oil
For my appetizer, I had the roasted beet salad with endive, sliced baby artichokes, watercress, and a taleggio crostino. The beets were sweet and tender and were a nice contrast to the bitter endive and watercress. The sliced baby artichokes kind of got lost in the mix but the taleggio crostino added a nice richness and butteriness. The taleggio was almost like a brie, and I broke up the cheese and crostino and mixed it in with the rest of the salad to give it some crunch.
Beet salad with endive, sliced baby artichokes, watercress, and a taleggio crostino
My beet salad paired perfectly with Alice’s goat cheese and black olive tartufo with pickled vegetable slaw. I love the combination of beets and goat cheese, and I wish the restaurant had done the pairing itself. But her tartufo had a nice tanginess to it from the olives and pickled vegetable slaw, which worked nicely with the creamy and savory goat cheese.
Goat cheese and black olive tartufo with pickled vegetables
Josh’s dad had the polpette di carne, which is meatballs with tomato sauce and cheese. The meatballs were soft and nicely seasoned, though not as good as the ones he makes himself. Lloyd’s meatballs are legendary in the family, and our golden standard that we measure all other meatballs against. That said, Po’s meatballs were actually pretty good, one of the best that we’ve had at any restaurant.
Polpette di carne - meatballs in tomato sauce
Josh had the winning appetizer of the night though, in my opinion (and his). He ordered the cured tuna with white beans, artichokes, and chili mint vinaigrette. He first made sure that the cured tuna was made from fresh tuna that was still rare, not canned or cooked tuna. It was, fortunately, and it was spectacular. The tuna was very lightly cooked on the outside and still bright red in the middle. The curing gave it a nice saltiness and tanginess, and the meat was so tender it almost melted in my mouth. The beans, artichokes, and vinaigrette gave the dish a nice texture and a freshness, so that all the flavors just popped. I couldn’t stop stealing bites from his plate and secretly wished that I had ordered this dish for myself.
Fabulous cured tuna with white beans, artichokes, and chili mint vinaigrette
We decided to share a pasta for a mid course, as well as a cucumber salad. We selected the spaghetti carbonara, which was the lightest version of carbonara that I have ever tasted. Although I kind of missed the silkiness of the egg finish that you get in other versions, the pasta packed in a lot of flavor from the crunchy salted and smoked pork bits (I think maybe it was guanciale, as it didn’t taste like regular bacon). The portion was surprisingly huge and fed all four of us easily.
Spaghetti carbonara
The cucumber salad was thin shreds of cucumber mixed with capers, red onion, and a chili and mint vinaigrette, topped with thin slices of salty ricotta salata cheese. It was a nice mix of salty and tangy flavors. We all thought that it was very refreshing and a great palate cleanser.
Refreshing cucumber salad topped with ricotta salata
For my entrée, I had a really hard time deciding what I wanted to eat, as all of the menu offerings sounded really delicious. After hawing and hemming for a bit, waiting for everyone else to order, and asking the waitress for her opinion, I finally settled on the grilled guinea hen with roasted pumpkin and scallion fregula. I typically don’t order poultry in restaurants, except for the occasional duck, but I was glad that I went with the guinea hen. The hen was deboned and cooked under a brick so that the meat was flat but still juicy and tender. Though the skin wasn’t crispy, it was covered in a delicious balsamic glaze. The fregula is a tiny ball-shaped pasta, similar to Israeli couscous. It had a nice chew to it and worked well with the roasted pumpkin and scallions.
Grilled guinea hen with roasted pumpkin and scallion fregula
Josh had the porcini crusted cod with borlotti beans, sautéed kale, and sweet red pepper vinaigrette. He liked that the earthiness of the mushrooms translated to the fish, making it seem a lot meatier in flavor. I only took one bite but I thought it tasted a bit weird. Josh enjoyed it though and liked the unusual combination.
Porcini crusted cod
Alice had the grilled pork chop with mashed pumpkin and apple mostarda. When I took a bite of her dish, the first thing I said was, “this tastes like fall!” The ingredients were obviously very seasonal, and the pumpkin and apples were spiced in just the right way to make you think of pumpkin pie and hot apple cider, but in a good savory way. The pork chop itself was huge, and cooked perfectly so that it was tender and juicy. It was one of my favorite dishes of the night.
Grilled pork chop with mashed pumpkin and apple mostarda
Lloyd had the linguine vongole with clams, pancetta, chilies, and white wine. Again, the pasta portion was pretty huge and there were plenty of clams mixed throughout. The sauce was a tad heavy on the white wine flavor but the pasta was cooked perfect and it was a pretty good dish.
Linguini with clam sauce
Overall I would have to say that Po Restaurant is one of my new favorites for upscale Italian food. This isn’t a red sauce, chicken parmesan kind of joint. Although some of the pasta dishes are familiar, the food is definitely more upscale and creative. Each course we had was well thought out with interesting flavor combinations, and beautifully plated. While the restaurant isn’t cheap, I wouldn’t consider it expensive either. Prices are pretty reasonable for the quality of food that you receive. Service was attentive and helpful. It was really a lovely meal and I can’t wait to come back again.
Po Restaurant
31 Cornelia St. between Bleecker and West 4th St.
New York, NY
