Via Carota

Came for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. Love the vibe here. Similar vibe as their sister restaurant Buvette… Portions are decent. had the Kale with lardo to start. I had veal carpaccio for my main and my husband had the chicken with lemon. Both were delicious. Great wine selection, great grappa selection. I would definitely go back.

A charming space, very good service, and very good, creative food rise to 4 stars, even in light of medium-​high prices and tight spaces for waiting and dining. There are delights to be had at Via Carota.
Deets (01/​16/​2016):
Prosecco, glass, 12
Americano, cocktail, 12
Salame e Pecorino, 10 — nice prosciutto and cheese; the salami is more of an individual taste IMHO
acciughe (anchovies), 10 — very good
Cavolo nero (black kale) salad, 13 — excellent
Carote (roasted carrots), 16 — worth it for amazing varietal carrots with an uncommon topping of lemon, pistachio, lemon, and yogurt
Orata alla Griglia (grilled orata), 19 — excellent
Coniglio fritto (fried rabbit), 20 — delicious and perfectly fried with a feather-​weight crust
Frappato Planeta (red wine), bottle, 42 — good value
TOTAL, 154
We over-​ordered for two. Three or four items should be good, instead of five.
TIP — I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back because of the crowding unless I was going early or at an off-​time
TIP — no reservations

I’m definitely a fan!!! A friend and I have been wanting to try this place for a while but weren’t not the no-​rese, long wait kinda people. So what did we do you ask? Walked in at 5:30 on a rainy Wednesday night, that’s what! I literally was the 3^rd person there so I grabbed a stool at the bar. I absolutely LOVE the atmosphere and décor… very West Village meets adorable trattoria in Rome. The bartender was completely awesome, I was deciding between a Negroni and a Manhattan and I told him to chose, turns out that was a smart decision because he handed me a perfect Manhattan. I waited for my friend to join as I was a bit early and by 6:30 the place was packed with people waiting behind our bar stools for a table. We decided to eat at the bar which was the right decision, the tables for 2 are quite small. We were presented with a few thick slices of bread drizzled with excellent olive oil to start. From there, we had a hard time deciding because everything on the menu looked GREAT. Apparently we were over ordering and I appreciated the fact that the bartendress mentioned that. We ordered the olive all’ ascolana, fried green olives with pork sausage which were amazing. We then ordered the salume e pecorino which was also very good but this was the only dish that was a bit on the small size. We then ordered the pappardelle with wild boar ragu which was out of this world, super fresh pasta with just the right amount of saucey funk. We had to order the svizzerina because everyone talks about it. There was one problem with this, I like my meat rare and he likes it on the well done side. They really only cook this one way and that’s crunchy on the outside and pretty rare in the middle. I think I was let down a touch after all the hype but I did have the remainder the next day and it was very tasty. We just went with a glass of wine each, the Chianti Classico for me and the Nero’D’Avola for him. I walked out of there completely full with a substantial doggie bag! The QPR at this place is right on. I highly recommend a visit.

Lovely restaurant. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was lively and the décor rustic and classy. Took off a star bc I felt it was really overpriced, but for a splurge it was worth it. The serve mostly small plates so obviously we wanted to try a lot of options, all were quite tasty. The mushroom veggies dish, the crostini and pumpkin ravioli were my faves, couldn’t get enough. The chicken dish was too salty (and I do like salt!) and the bean veggie dish was just ok. The desserts were very good as well, but w the Big Gay ice cream shop next door would rather of had that. The wait was really really long, about 60 –90min for a Friday night table for 3. Would go back for a special occasion for sure!

I love this place for casual, reliable Italian food and wine. It’s a fun atmosphere although it tends to get very crowded. They make a good negroni.

We walked in late afternoon in the middle of the week. A late lunch. No wAit, and pleasant server. Fantastic FOOD! We ate family style and tried several items. The shaved artichoke salad with orange zest was spectacular. The carpaccio excellent, grilled artichoke delicious, veg. Soup fresh, meatballs yummy!!! Zabaglione over berries for desert… Can’t wait to go back! I’ll avoid the busiest hrs to not wait. Although it’s worth the wait!

Amazing lite Italian fare. Walked in for lunch on a Sat at 2:30 and got seated within 10 minutes. Noticed Mario Batali casually eating lunch in the corner and realized this was probably a good culinary choice. Proceeded to order tea and the black kale, cannelli beans with sausage, grilled artichokes, and mushrooms and were blown away by everything (shared 4 dishes with a friend). The waiter was attentive but not on top of us. Will be back for sure!

Fantastic place. Amazing food. Very professional staff. Great room. Yeah this is my new go-​to place in this area. Try everything.

Chaos to get a table here. Zagat rated this place as NYCs coziest restaurant. They must get commercial and cozy confused. We waited 1 hr for our seats at the bar… The hostess was very blunt and rude about our «30 min» wait and asked us to leave — but we stayed.
The food — small portions so your best to order family style
Bogata Crostini. Delicious but a lot of garlic so make sure your going home straight after
Tagliatelle — best and unique flavors. Light loved the sage and walnuts
Wagu pappardelle — decent but meat was tough
Over all not a bad meal — food was good but for the price, wait and portions won’t be back. But I doubt that matters since all of Nyc will be still waiting for a table. Haha

Food is delicious, but you should really order family style. If you don’t, you will spend an arm and a leg.
Would be really nice if they could have high chairs for (well-​behaved) small children.

Sister restaurant to Buvette. No reservations accepted, wait was about 15 minutes for 4 on a Monday night.
What we ordered:
Stracchino E Promodorini Crostini — fresh cheese was delicious. Great appetizer choice before the main meal.
Funghi Verdure — Also great appetizer choice. The mushrooms had a nice crisp, and ever so tasty with the cheese at the bottom. Get this if you like mushrooms.
Coniglio Fritto (fried rabbit, rosemary and garlic) — too salty for my taste. This is one of the dishes Via Carota is known for. I actually liked the bread and the crushed garlic it came with more than the rabbit itself.
Via Carota Sivzzerina (chopped steak) — another dish that has been written about and what Via Carota is known for. Again, a bit rare for my taste — and our friends felt that it was almost under-​seasoned and lacked flavor.
Wild Boar Ragu Papardelle — The unanimous favorite out of all the meat dishes we ordered. Pasta tasted fresh and ragu cooked to perfection. The sauce was also very good.
Semifreddo — memorable dessert, perfect amount for 4 people to share.
Overall, I think this place is great for vegetarians since there are many options and the vegetarian dishes stood out to me more than the meat dishes. I would also do tapas style if I were to come back.

I was a little disappointed with my meal here, though think I may just have been a little unlucky with what I ordered. The place itself was cute, and both the red and white wine I tried, were good, as was the artichoke appetiser. But I wasn’t impressed with the two larger plates we split: the grilled octopus had an unusual consistency, reminding me more of chicken or a white fish than the usual squeaky cephalopod (things with tentacles!) meat I am used to. Not sure if this to do with the particular animal or the way they prepared it, but I wasn’t a fan. Now my girlfriend reckoned it was because it was so fresh, in which case I prefer my octopus on the stale side. That said, while I thought the meat lacked flavour, the olive pesto dip it came with was excellent.
We finished with fried rabbit, which came highly recommended but wasn’t what I was expecting. I had imagined it would be pan fried, but was served deep fried and battered, a la bunny McNugget. Not my kind of food. Though the little piece of egg fried breaded it was served on top of was a delight. An excellent espresso to end.
I don’t suppose I will go back, but if I did then some of the smaller plates sounded good and might be more to my taste.

Cute italian spot in the west village. There are some tables that count as ‘bar seating’ in case you want to walk in and eat quickly.
We tried the following:
— Crostini: stracchino: fresh cheese & sun-​dried cherry tomatoes, and ricotta di pecora: peas, asparagus, favas & sheep’s milk ricotta
— panzanella: this was the highlight! I want to make this at home!
— tortelli; pumpkin flavored (seasonal) but great!
— tonno ai ferri: this was ok, but not amazing, I would stick to the pastas over the meat mains
We didn’t try the desserts, but they looked good. I would go back, but with so many italian spots in the village, there are many other places to try before visiting here again.

I didn’t eat here. I stopped by for a quick glass of wine with a friend after lunch, though the food appears intriguing.
The wines were excellent. I recommend the Arneis, a crisp Piedmontese white.

My friends and I came for dinner. We were quickly seated after the whole party was here but we ended up going to a long communal table that they sat other people with us later on during our dinner. Those people were extremely loud and elbow-​y if you know what I mean. You would think they would have planned better for us but whatever. That really is the only complaint I have of the entire dining experience.
The food was delicious and perfectly executed.
We ordered several items to share: Burrata di puglia, ricotta di pecora, ramps with pancetta and polenta, grilled octopus and green olive pesto, and sea bream with grilled escarole.
I really enjoyed the appetizers and they were perfect to share. The burrata was perfect (then again, how could it not be!) I also really enjoyed the flavor of ramps. I would order those two dishes again, no question.
I found my grilled octopus a little more tough than I am accustomed and the pesto too salty.
Overall, I would return but ask not to share a table.
Service was attentive in the beginning and near the end.

I’ve always thought of the West Village as a culinary wasteland for overpriced and underwhelming fare, where authenticity is butchered in favor of superfluous presentation. Too many places in this neighborhood leave you feeling unsatisfied and your wallet in a state of shock. I’ve had more than my fair share of such experiences in the West Village to justify that opinion.
But Via Carota was different…
It was such a perfectly balanced, yet exceptional experience from the moment we stepped inside, from the service to the quality of the food.
Here are the highlights from my experience:
SERVICE: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
— Friendly, attentive staff (While waiting for our table, I asked for Dewar’s on the rocks, which they didn’t have, so I ordered a McCallan instead, even though I hadn’t anticipated on spending that much. She returned with a comparable whiskey to Dewar’s, one that was a lot cheaper than the McCallan. It was like she read my mind…)
— Only waited about 25 mins for our table (on a Friday night around 9pm)
— Efficient, yet extremely hospitable service.
AMBIANCE: ⁷⁄₁₀
— A little noisy, but overall ambiance was intimate, chic, and homey all at the same time.
FOOD: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
It was amazing… never been to Italy, but I imagine this is how Italian grandmas would cook… if Italian grandmas were hipster perfectionists.
Ordered the zucchini flowers (stuffed with ricotta and basil, then fried) and prosciutto for appetizers, the wild boar ragu for pasta, the polipo (octopus) and svizzerina (chopped steak) for entrée, and the chocolate mousse for dessert. Note: Everything is meant to share.
My favorite was the chopped steak. It was cooked perfectly. A carnivore’s wet-​dream for sure.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

The food, the space, the people are all gorgeous.
They don’t take reservations. We were a two-​top on a Friday 930pm, waited 30min at a crowded bar with a bottle of wine. Perhaps the wait was shortened due to our commitment to an entire bottle.
Again, the room is decorated so beautifully that it would take the most perfect of weather to get me on the dark sidewalk. I want to see the food I’m eating, along with the people I’m dining beside.
The lardo crostini, drizzled in honey, was perhaps the best bite of the night.
Well, then the polipo came, and that was pretty unbelievable, too. Of course anything drizzled in EVOO is delicious, but the tenderness of the octopus was extraordinary.
Carrots are worth every penny ($ 17). Yogurt and pistachios are a dope touch.
Prosciutto and melon are BFFLs and for good reason.
The twice cooked lamb had both a softness to it that only braising can bring, but a smokiness straight from the grill.
Then came the chopped steak which was basically – and I mean this as a supreme compliment – a super fancy, carb-​less burger. Whatever you call it, it was bloody perfection. No seriously, cooked medium rare, the plate is left in a puddle of blood, fat, and oil that only a carnivore can love.
The service was excellent. Will certainly come back to try the other items we wanted.

I may have a new favorite restaurant in NYC, and I think this may be it. I love Buvette, so it’s easy for me to like this place. Jody’s restaurants always have a magnificent charm that make me want to make her places a regular stop for me. This feels like a neighborhood restaurant with a local flavor, and the rustic comfortable space certainly inspires it.
The pastas all looked so fabulous, but I was craving the restaurant’s famous chopped steak patty (think: fancy hamburger). It arrived at the table medium rare with juices combining with the olive oil that made each bite memorable. I chose to accompany the patty with the side dish of grilled asparagus, sautéed onion and prosciutto over a risotto like base — I’m still thinking about it.
The Manhattan was wonderful.
So many more things to try here, but I’ll be back. This place is special and feels like home.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a meal I thought of for days after, let alone one where the flavors were so simple and spoke, for the most part, for themselves.
Let’s start with the banga caudo: the most sublime radishes with an anchovy dipping oil. I could have stopped there, gone home and not eaten anything else just to preserve the splendid taste in my mouth.
Next, the jumbo white asparagus and smoked prosciutto — OMG. But wait: the citrus risotto came next and it was sublime. So simple. Pure. Delicious.
The grilled octopus I’d recommend — perhaps with a vegetable side. And the chopped steak — my mouth waters as I recall the dish. Basically that, grilled with salt and pepper, with roasted rosemary and whole cloves of garlic as garnish. The word that comes to mind is fresh. I could mainly taste the beauty of the beef!
We shared the panna cotta after, finished with rough sea salt and the most sublime olive oil. Our waitress had informed us it wasn’t sweet which is why it was perfect. PERFECT.
The place is full of neighborhood regulars. The service is casual, attentive, and effortless. I can’t wait to go back.

People love Buvette, so I knew this new spot from the same team just a few doors away would be packed a few days after opening.
We showed up for the early bird special at about 5:30, and were turned away with the info that they would be open in «a half hour or so». I didn’t know because they don’t answer their phone and there’s no info on social media or their website yet, so we were stuck waiting around. No problem though, just go to Big Gay Ice Cream a few steps away and get some ice cream as a dinner appetizer.
We returned right around 6, and the place was already filling up. By the time our meal was done, the fairly large space was completely full, with the crowd of mostly miserable old people couples and very West Village-​y younger couples all on top of each other in the closely packed tables. It fits in perfectly with a very West Village atmosphere.
The menu is pretty large, but we got a good sampling of most of the sections, with stuff ranging from just ok to amazing:
— Choice of 3 Salumi, Formaggi or Crostini for ($ 20)
For these, we chose the Fegatin’ di Pollo ($ 7) from the Crostini section and the Mangalista Lardo ($ 8) and Cacciatorini di Cinghiale ($ 8) from the Salumi section. The best was definitely the Mangalista, which actually should have been in the Crostini section, as it consisted of honey and walnuts on the excellent crusty bread. We asked for some additional bread to go with the Salumi option, which wasn’t nearly as good as the bread used for the crostini.
— Lasagna Povera ($ 16)
This was one of the more disappointing items, as it was surprisingly quite bland. It also looked like it could have been cooked more, as the cheese scattered on top was completely unmelted. Some meat probably would have helped things instead of the winter vegetables inside.
— Cavolo Nero ($ 10)
From the veggies section, this is of course the best course, as the description reads «black kale & pork sausage». The little chopped up pieces of kale are in practically the same proportion to the crumbled up, delicious pieces of sausage. If you want a good vegetable side dish, but one that is by no means healthy, this is a great choice.
— Via Carota Svizzerina ($ 17)
This one’s getting some hype on the food blogs, being described as an amazingly good, bunless burger. In terms of the meat, it was indeed incredibly good. Cooked very rare, and seasoned very well, this sizable patty served pretty much alone on the plate except for some garlic on top, is as excellent as it is simple. Make sure you try this one.
— Coniglio Fritto ($ 17)
Even better than that chopped steak actually, this fried rabbit was one of the best entrees I’ve had all year. It consists of 3 sizable pieces of rabbit and a crusty piece of delicious bread. Unlike most rabbit dishes I’ve had, instead of small, boney pieces with little to no meat, these pieces were really meaty, juicy and satisfying. The skin had a salty seasoning that made it so addictive. Make sure you get this one too.
— Cioccolata ($ 8)
This was an excellent, though fairly standard slice of flourless chocolate cake, served with a little dollop of whipped cream. It was quite good, and a nice choice to end the meal.
— Semifreddo ($ 8)
This one was much better than the cake, and a better choice if you are going to pick just one dessert. Topped with hazelnuts, the cool hazelnut semifreddo was also presented impressively overflowing out of the glass it was served in, with a long spoon sticking out for digging to the bottom. Another rich dessert to go with the flourless chocolate cake, this was also very sweet and delicious.
Some of the dishes weren’t the best, like the lasagna, and service deteriorated quickly as the high maintenance dining room filled up, but the chopped steak and the rabbit were so good I see no choice but to give a 5 star rating,