Malatesta Trattoria For the Win!
I recently posted about Otto, an Italian place near school. This post spurred a bunch of helpful recommendations from my friends for other favorite Italian spots. My friend Nikki suggested a spot in the West Village, Malatesta (no website; http://www.yelp.com/biz/malatesta-trattoria-new-york). I put it on my list of places to try out.
Coincidentally, I was going out with my friend Aish for dinner and a West Village cocktail crawl AND she suggested Malatesta for dinner - small world indeed! I was super pumped now - two people I respect recommended this spot. I was ready for dinner!
When we were seated, we were quickly brought a plate of sliced focaccia bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Hey there carbs, get in my belly!
The handwritten menus add a personal touch to the restaurant - both the regular and the daily menus are handwritten.
Menus with a Special Touch!
While we were looking at the menu, we decided to each order a glass of the house Sangiovese.
Sangiovese
It was light, fruity and delicious. We split two of the pasta dishes. One of the regular favorites: Homemade Spinach Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Sauce; and one of the specials: Artichoke Ravioli.
Spinach Gnocchi
Artichoke Ravioli
The sauces for both pasta dishes were delicious - a perfect dipping vehicle for the bread. Both of the dishes were full of flavor and tasted incredibly different, even if they were both green!
I'd recommend coming to this place before it gets super crowded - before 7:30pm for sure. It is a TINY restaurant and you sit fairly close to other diners. Either way, it is worth the trek over to the West side to check out this spot!
Cheers,
Liz