Maison, the French brasserie opened 24/7 on the corner of 53rd and 7th is gone, replaced for the past 2 months by Torino, an Italian restaurant. New owner, new decor, with the only artifact of the previous place being the art deco lights on the ceiling.
Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
But, compared to its predecessor, Torino has more spectacular decor: from the impressive display of wine to the open kitchen, it definitely has a certain elegance. Noticeable is the homage to one of the most famous Italian actresses: Sophia Loren.
Painting of Sophia Loren at Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
As far as the menu is concerned, you will find some of the classic Italian dishes, but it is worth noticing that they make their own pasta. I admit that when the bread basket came, I was a bit disappointed, expecting some homemade focaccia.
Bread basket at Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
But the parmesan sticks were to die for and the bread delicious with the spread that followed, made with goat cheese, pepper, tomato and olive oil.
Spread at Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
For the appetizer, I decided to ignore the crudo and salumi in favor of the grilled octopus, one of my favorite appetizers.
Octopus or Polpo e patate at Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
Octopus or Polpo e patate at Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
I will be honest: although all the ingredients were good and worked well together, my only focus was the octopus: perfectly cooked and tender, I just wished it had a bit more texture that additional grilling would have given. But overall, great dish.
The second appetizer was the burrata, that was served with fresh figs.
Burrata at Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
Now, that was a fantastic appetizer: not only because of the burrata that was perfectly creamy, but also because of the pairing of the cheese with the fresh figs that gave another refreshing level to the dish as well as a nice sweetness.
For the main dish, this is where I might have made a mistake...I decided to go for the homemade gnocchi with mushrooms.
Gnocchi at Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
The gnocchi were a bit doughy, heavy, and the sauce overpowering.
For dessert, I picked the tiramisu over the panna cotta.
Tiramisu at Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
Panna cotta at Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
It was a pretty good tiramisu and I really liked the taste of the espresso coming through. Talking about espresso, I enjoyed one with my dessert...
Espresso at Torino, Italian Restaurant in New York, NY
Despite the fact that I did not like my entrée, I found the food at Torino fairly good. Would I go back? Probably, but this time to try their Linguini with clams that was only proposed for dinner.
Enjoy (I did)!
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