biricchino
“I most often come here for dinner with a couple of occasions of business lunch.”
“The place is small and by 6:30 on a Thursday there was not a seat to be had, so I would recommend making a reservation.”
“The setting inside and ambience is simple but inviting.”
biricchino
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
6 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I took myself here on a date in the middle of the day. The restaurant was mostly empty, but the waitress seemed a little surprised that I was on my own. But she seated me, and service was average so I'm not upset about that. I was able to sit, read my book, drink my water, and enjoy my meal.
The food was also pretty average. I had the penne, which was penne. There's not much more to say about it. I followed the entree up with creme brulee, which was absolutely delicious. The sugar crust was perfect, it was delicately creamy inside… except for the area that was singed black. Burned creme brulee is an awful, awful taste that is hard to get out of your mouth, making it difficult to enjoy the rest of the dish.
In search of a pre-Ricky Gervais at MSG Theater location for dinner (Sorry fine purveyors of ice cold beer and pretzels at MSG, my appetite was too great for your wares), I decided to give Biricchino a try.
On 29th street and only a few blocks from the Garden, Biricchino is an offshoot of the notorious Salumeria Biellese. What this means to the casual diner is that Biricchino leverages their relationship with Biellese to provide their charcuterie and sausages to the restaurant.
Don't let the diner like interior fool you– this place knows their pasta and serves it up in large bowls at reasonable prices. You'll see the hanging gardens of Biricchino, basically several plants attached to the ceiling. Tables are reasonably spaced and service was ready to refill our water repeatedly. (In fact, for the celebrity look alike enthusiast, our waitress looked like Kirsten Dunst)
Since this restaurant is focused on Northern Italian cuisine, you'll find a menu of mushroom risotto, gnocchi with brown butter and sage and other hearty pasta delights. Always one for scandalous food, I tried the pasta del giorno of spaghetti alla puttanesca.
And I can report that tradition is honored here– no re-imagining of this dish, just simple preparation with high quality ingredients that when put together taste great. The sauce was judiciously administered– my spaghetti wasn't flooded by the red stuff. Olives and capers were plentiful and the spaghetti itself wasn't clumped or too hard. Delicious!
Traveling back in time, the appetizer was a 5 sausage platter that was also outstanding. These were thin sausages and perfect to split with another diner.
Finally, the dessert choice of a napoleon was also dangerously good. Fresh cream, pastry and strawberries decked in brown sugar was enough to have me reach for my belt in anticipation of having to loosen it.
Final cost for 2 was $63, including appetizer, entree, coffee/tea and dessert.
This was a wonderful place and a real find in the area around Madison Square Garden which is so heavily populated with fast food chains. The service was excellent, Our waitress was efficient, reading the specials and answering all questions. I had the sausage platter to start-it really was excellent and then I had black and white risotto with diver sea scallops, peas and truffle oil. Delicious.
The breads are an assortment from Sullivan Street bakery,.
It is reasonably priced and I would return without hesitation.
I had been skeptical about going to dinner here, as restaurant selection is limited in this part of town. I really liked the brick wall and cozy feel of this place. There's not a lot of space upstairs but it wasn't overly crowded either. We were able to sit at the bar before dinner and order SAUSAGE – which was awesome, tons of flavor – and a meat plate. Overall the food is very good and reasonably priced. The manicotti is definitely homemade!
So delicious. Was a spur of the moment find. Was on our way to a place in the E Village but had to get out of cab as my friend had a train to catch
Our dinners were each molto bene!!
I keep craving the pasta dishes and salad, so we are returning again tonight. Great servers and wines too. Tonight we will try dessert.
I have been to Biricchino several times and each time is better than the last. How many restaurants in NYC can tell you the farms they source their food, the diets of the pigs, and serve their own sausages and cured meat? Very few. It's a very simple menu filled with dishes that are far from ordinary.
The best advice I can give anyone, life advice really, is to start with an assortment of the house salumi. You've had charcuterie before, but you've never had it quite like this. Then move on to the assorted grilled sausages. Order enough for everyone at the table to have at least 4 links. These two plates will give you the full picture of what biricchino is.. Simple, but exceptional.
Remember when you were a kid and your mom made pork chops? She probably covered them with shake and bake and over cooked them? They were so dried of you vowed to never eat a pork chop again? The grilled pork chop at Biricchino will change that for you. Incredibly flavorful, tender and just A+.
Other than that you can't really go wrong. Chef Jeff is a wizard so trust that whatever their specials are will be incredible.