Osteria Morini
“Next the Petroniana- a crispy veal cutlet covered with prosciutto truffle cream and spinach, it was unbelievable.”
“Marea and Ai Fiori are two of my favorite restaurants in the city, and osteria Morini is the casual cool affordable version of marea for sure.”
“I loved it so I decided to go twice this past Christmas 🙂
Michael White's casual eatery has got some serious cred.”
Osteria Morini
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Love this place. I'm a big fan of Michael White, so I was excited when my bf brought me here for my birthday. We decided to put off Marea as a summertime restaurant instead.
The adriatic style seafood salad is a must. The olives and capers were super fresh and it had all the seafood fixings I liked. Gawd I'd go back just to eat that again.
I was also completely enamored by the squid ink pasta and lasagna. They were both so good and packed with flavor. Not too much meat and cheese on the lasagna either, so you don't feel like there's a brick sitting in your stomach afterwards.
He had the veal wrapped in prosciutto which was way too overwhelming for me, but the bites of prosciutto I managed to steal from him were pretty on point!
Everyone's really nice too. I didn't feel too stuffy or uncomfortable as I usually do in fine dining establishments.
Having just flown in from L.A., and staying on the lower eastside, my wife and I felt like Italian food. I like all Italian food especially the red sauce kind. My wife likes her Italian trattoria style. Guess what I Yelp searched this night……..correct-o-mundo Trattoria!
We chose Osteria Morini and were not disappointed.
Packed wall to wall at 10:00 on a Monday night, a sight we rarely see in Los Angeles, this place was popping. Food, wine, commotion, talking, bantering, I thought I was at Penn Station at rush hour.
The menu is pure Trattoria style so my wife was happy. She ordered a arugula salad then a linguini and clams. I had their version of a caesar salad and a black ink and Squid pasta. All four selections were very good.
We ordered two glasses of white wine and it is worth special mention how wonderful the sommelier was in treating my wife who did not love her first pour. He quickly took it away then proceeded to find her a wine of her liking. He actually spent the time and effort to do this. This was such a classy and professional touch that we will not soon forget.
So, the dinner was delicious, the place had great action, thus great people watching, the staff as attentive and concerned about the well being of their patrons, all and all a lovely evening.
I was in an Aziz Ansari mood and came here hoping to eat lots of great pasta. But the pasta I tried was pretty average in my humble opinion.
I got the Stracci (wide flat pasta, braised wild mushrooms and rosemary oil) since I'm a mushroom fanatic. Sadly I thought it was unremarkable…the mushrooms were one note and just tasted like salt. The pasta itself was the biggest disappointment – it was gummy instead of al dente, which is shocking at a place that's supposed to be all about the pasta. Not worth the price tag of $21 or stretching my carb budget for.
I also tasted the Torcia (squid ink with shrimp ragu, $24) which was more unique and flavorful than the Stracci, but doesn't rank among the best squid ink pastas I've ever had (how bougie do I sound right now)
So yeah. I came in search of life-changing pasta, but this was not it. It was barely day-changing really. I think Monday $10 special nights would be worth coming here for, but any other day of the week, I'll pass. I wouldn't drop $100 on 2 pastas, 2 glasses of wine and a salad here again…though based on how absurdly packed it was, I doubt they need my business anyway.
To end on a positive note, the Rucola salad was great and the Lemon Olive Oil cake was incredible – light yet rich, with really bright, fresh lemon and olive flavor. It was the real MVP.
After a great experience at Marea, my boyfriend and I were excited to dine at its sister restaurant, Osteria Morini for our anniversary.
Situated behind the shopping streets of Soho, I'm sure you've walked past Osteria Morini a couple of times and weren't even aware of it. Speaking for myself, I was shocked that it's located where it is because I've never noticed whenever I was in the area!
First, I must commend how great the front of the house is. Because both my boyfriend and I were running late from work, I called last minute to see if we were able to push our reservation back half an hour; they were gracious enough to do so. Unfortunately, I arrived before my boyfriend to our new reservation and my boyfriend was still stuck at work. The host informed me that they had a 15 minute grace period and would continue to hold the table for us, but if a walk in requested it, he'd give me the option to reserve sit at the full service bar or continue to hold the reserved table and finish our meal within an hour since it was then reserved again. To avoid rushing through our meal, I opted to sit at the bar instead. SO glad that I did because the service is true Italian style in which everything is served and eaten at a slow pace, so there was no way we would have finished our appetizer and entrees within 45 minutes – an hour! There's also a shortage of waiters, which contributes to the slower service as well. However, Osteria Morini's bar is different from the other bar seating because they actually make the meat platters, salads, and desserts behind the bar, so with bar seating, you're able to watch all the action of your prosciutto being sliced fresh on the spot. HIGHLY RECOMMEND you sit here!
For starters, my boyfriend and I ordered 3 of the cured meats because it's 1 for $11 or 3 for $24, so why wouldn't you order 3?! We had the 24 month prosciutto, the speck (smoked prosciutto), and the sopresseta (sweet cured pork sausage). Definitely a huge and generous portion, especially with the amount of bread they give you to accompany the cured meats. Needless to say, we inhaled every bit of it.
For our pasta entrees, we ordered the famous Cappelletti (truffled ricotta ravioli with prosciutto in a melted butter sauce) and the Torcia (squid ink pasta with shrimp & seppia ragu and brussel spout leaves. Of the two, I loved the Cappelletti; from the first initial bite, it was pure heaven. There's plenty of truffle as this was the ingredient that was the most predominant. It is a heavy dish though, so I'd recommend you share half with someone to ensure you can sample something else. The Torcia fell flat in my opinion as I've had better elsewhere. I wasn't a fan of the ragu as it had a funky aftertaste (from the seppia?). I also didn't taste any shrimp. However, it is a different squid ink as it's not your typical squid ink linguine. Osteria Morini's squid ink has more texture. My boyfriend on the other hand loved the Torcia over the Cappelletti (he's a bit biased though because he absolutely loves squid ink pastas).
Lastly, although we were too full for dessert and asked for the check, they bought out a complimentary peach sorbet with a butter cookie because it was our anniversary. Such a cute gesture! The texture of the sorbet was perfect too.
Make a reservation and ask to sit at the bar! I can't wait to come back for the Monday night $10 pasta deals!
It seems that Osteria Morini has got pretty extreme comments from various people, to me this is not necessarily a bad thing as I can come in with a completely neutral mind, which was exactly what I did today. Famous chef Michael White, let me give a try on your non-Michelin starred pearl.
Too bad that they don't carry a prex-fixe menu, so we shared everything. While the squid ink pasta was a bit bland and hard to bite, the veal with truffle cream sauce was definitely the bomb – the truffle has absolutely done a good job by bringing up the flavor of veal! The app was above par as well – recommend the grilled baby octopus, very tender and juicy!
While Morini probably is not at the same level as Marea and Ai Fiori, it is among one of the better-valued Italian places in the city, with a more affordable price tag.
Don't be a moroni and get yourself to Osteria Morini for a comforting Italian meal. The restaurant is casual rustic with top notch cuisine. It's best to dine family-style for a chance to try different plates.
-ANTIPASTI-
Polipo (4/5): a mound of seared tender octopus stacked on wild red rice
Tortellini in Brodo (3.5/5): I wanted to take the bowl and slurp up all the broth, but I don't think that would've been proper.
Polpettine (3.5/5): couldn't taste the difference between a prosciutto and a regular meatball.
-INSALATA-
Rucola (4/5): there should be some greens with your meal, right?
-PASTA- (all handmade, portions are a bit smaller than most other Italian restaurants)
Cappelletti (4/5): RICH, strong truffle flavor, & butter, definitely meant to be shared
Tagliatelle (4/5): classic flat ribbon pasta with meat sauce.
Torcia (3.5/5): squid ink lovers unite
Stracci (2.5/5): a little too plain jane
-CARNE-
Porchetta (4/5): a generous portion of roasted pork with CRACKLINs
Agnello (2/5): you would expect "porterhouse chops" to be large, but these are tiny medallion sized and mostly bones
Monday's after 9 pm are $10 pasta nights. I am sure the staff hates it but as a eater, I am ecstatic. The pastas here are all amazing and delicious. I loved all the stuffed pastas and the focaccia is soft and tender. He knows his carbs and I am happy to obliged. I had the mushroom pappardelle and I had to say this was my least favorite. The pasta was a touch too al dente but the flavors were still so good. The gnocchi is fluffy and just little pillows of happiness. I honestly love the pastas and wish I could eat all the time.
I can't believe we just found out this is a Michael White restaurant, and OMG it did not disappoint! We got here a little after our reservation time but were seated without a problem. We both got Bloody Mary, forgot the names, but mine definitely had a "seafood" taste and it was really delicious. We got Polpettine meatballs as appetizer, and Cappelletti and Spaghetti Alle Vongole to share.
I love the tomato sauce here. Sometimes tomato sauce can be too sweet or too sour, but here it's just the right balance between tartness and sweetness. Meatballs were tender, juicy, topped with crunchy breadcrumbs. Cappelletti definitely lived up to the hypes. Ricotta cheese filled cappelletti cooked in truffle butter, I mean it can't really get better than this. Spaghetti alle vongole was cooked perfectly al denta, clam was fresh, the whole dish had the perfect amount of acidity to it that I think was perfect to balance the richness of cappelletti. Highly recommending ordering it if someone else in your party orders cappelletti.
Overall, GREAT Italian restaurant. Do not compare it to Marea, in my opinion, Osteria Morini is less stuffy, less "luxury" or refined. But it has simple and amazingly delicious traditional Italian food. I will definitely be back.