Hot Ticket NYC: Bad Roman

 

Vincent and I recently scored one of the hottest tickets in New York City!  No, I’m not talking Hamilton, Sweeney Todd or Here Lies Love!  We got a reservation for dinner at Bad Roman, a hugely popular new restaurant located in the Shops at Columbus Circle!  This new-ish eatery from Quality Branded is described as a modern, maximalist Italian restaurant which features “inauthentic twists on authentic [Italian] dishes.” And while some of the reviews have been less than kind, we found the space itself to be welcoming, whimsical, and fun, and the food to be quite spectacular!

We knew we were in for a good time when we walked in and saw the neon-decorated replica of the famous “Il Porcellino della Fortuna” (or as we call it, the Grr-pig!) behind the hostess’ station.  That statue, one of the iconic attractions in Florence, Italy, has become one of our favorite sights, anywhere!

From the hostess who sat us and welcomed us in the warmest, most lovely manner, to the genial, yet efficient servers, everyone on staff took care of us like we were old friends!  

We began with cocktails - the Bad Ombré for Vincent: an Italian take on a Manhattan, and mine; the Tequila Granita, a playful frozen-ish margarita made with habanero shaved ice.  Both were great ways to start our evening!  I particularly liked the presentation of my cocktail, in which the granita - the shaved ice - arrived separately, and then the alcohol was poured over it to complete the concoction!  Fabulous!

And from the warm, pillowy, addictively garlicky Roasted Garlic Babka - I normally avoid bread, but this was absolutely TOO good to pass up - to the fresh, clean, cold Tuna Tartare, the Yellowtail Crudo and the cleverly constructed Tomato & Burrata - a fresh tomato stuffed with tiny grape tomatoes and topped with a luscious blob of fresh Burrata - all of our starters absolutely knocked us out!  As I had mentioned, some of the reviews of Bad Roman have been less than stellar - particularly regarding the food - but so far, we loved everything we sampled!

Our entrees were equally fabulous!  Vincent chose the Ocetra Caviar Gnocchi.  Served with creme fraiche, chives and dollops of Ocetra caviar, the dish felt creamy and decadent, with a slight undertone of the sea in every bite!  I went with the Lobster Tail Scampi, which was presented gorgeously, and was wonderfully balanced - the distinctive bite of the garlic and lemon, played perfectly off the sweetness of the lobster!  A real winner!

Oh, and even our side dish - the Sautéed Garlic Spinach was spectacular!

And finally, our desserts!  I’m a total sucker for tiramisu, so their Tiramisu Ice Cream Cake sounded amazing!  Umm…it WAS!  All of the flavors of a classic tiramisu, combined with the cold creaminess of ice cream, made it a dessert that was the best of both worlds!  Now, it just happened to be Vincent’s birthday, so his choice - the Hazelnut Cannoli Sbagliati (sort of an Italian version of sopapillas), made with crispy fried dough surrounding a small bowl of decadent hazelnut cannoli cream - arrived with a birthday candle!  Nice!

Then, as if we hadn’t had nearly enough, we decided on polishing off the meal with a nightcap - a flight of their house made Limoncello, Grapefruit-cello, and Kumquat-cello!  And although the kumquat digestif struck me as far too sweet, we enjoyed having ordered them.  Maybe just a simple limoncello next time!

One of those shady reviews I mentioned, described the restaurant itself as looking like “a coked out Ruby Tuesday’s” or “the love child of a Rainforest Cafe and an old Italian nightspot!”  I disagree!  Yes, some of the decor is a bit over the top - a full-on fountain near the restrooms, statues of greyhounds flanking the bright orange banquettes, and of course, the neon-donned wild boar!  But we didn’t find it tacky in the least!  For us, it represented the fun that fine dining can be, while not sacrificing the quality of the food!  We will definitely return to Bad Roman, because we found it, ultimately, to be…well…GOOD!