Urban Foodie Finds: Piattini

Piattini is an Italian tapas and wine bar on Newbury Street. It’s a different type of Italian than what you’d find in the North End; it's more upscale and (for lack of a better word) more Newbury Street. I’ve heard criticisms of Piattini (and similar places) for not being as good as the North End. I don’t these are fair comparisons; it’s a different thing. I would compare Piattini to Ivy, my go to spot for Italian tapas until they closed about a year ago. My friends and I were disappointed when Ivy closed, but agreed that over the years it had gone downhill. We tried Piattini recently because the concept seemed similar, but had low expectations. We were pleasantly surprised and agreed it was much better than Ivy at its best.

The menu includes a mix of hot and cold tapas and entrees, each with numbers corresponding to pairings on the wine list. I went with two other people and we opted to share a bottle of the house red wine (Montepulciano) and five tapas. Our server let us sample the wine before ordering the bottle and gave us recommendations for some of the most popular tapas (mostly pasta dishes).

After some discussion, we settled on the mixed olives and cheeses, prosciutto wrapped mozzarella, eggplant with mozzarella and truffle cream sauce, spicy calamari, and grilled Italian sausage. Each of us had a different favorite, which was a good sign. I loved the eggplant – it came breaded and fried, and was served in a tower layered with smoked mozzarella and sundried tomatoes. The whole thing was topped in the truffle cream sauce, which was delicious and not too heavy. My friends’ favorites were the Italian sausage with roasted red peppers and peas, and the pan-seared calamari in a spicy tomato sauce with olives, capers, and tomatoes. The portions were good sized and we had just enough food to be satisfied but not too full for dessert.

We ordered the tiramisu and black forest cake, and one of our two complaints for the night was that our server forgot the black forest cake. We weren’t charged for it and had plenty to eat, so we never mentioned it. The second complaint was that there was no bar and we had planned to arrive early and have a few drinks. However, when we arrived 10-15 minutes before our reservation time we were seated and served wine right away. Aside from these two minor flaws, the meal was excellent and we all agreed we’d go back. Piattini is one of the better options on Newbury Street, the food is tastier than most and it’s not nearly as overpriced. Dinner and drinks for three people came to just over $100.